#I love that the later DDs look less human

[jazzyblusnowflake]

You've got some cool headcanons for Nuzi and Vuzi, but what about the third? You got any for EnVy?

Wow i suck at answering these on time smh. sighhhh, in my defense i procrastinate answering some questions cuz i don't wanna just put together some random stuff and call it a day-

i actually wrote some stuff for some asks before but had to delete it last minute cuz i thought its worth putting more time than that, i guess TvT sorry, im probably taking this too seriously idk.

My eNVee headcanons TvT:

[yall know the drill, the drone versions only, the human versions aren’t involved, and no nsfw- for now.]

k so, light envuzi involved too, Uzi is the mediator here, whether u consider her a friend here or their mini toaster in the middle- also there's some of the stuff from my future version where V is safe and sound thankfully. and also maybe some stuff from their past too.

With how N was realizing that V was lying or hiding stuff from him in a constant manner, naturally he grew to grieve the loss of who V USED to be, and with that loss he tried to accept that he has to let her go, because the V he fell in love with was long gone. despite this, when they both started teasing each other over their relationship with Uzi and N started to bite back a bit at Vs behaviors with more self confidence, they grew to form a completely different kind of relationship. Uzi was just having fun seeing them try to win her over lmao; but in the end they kind of started enjoying eachothers company again. Uzi felt happy seeing them get closure for the things they went through and was more than happy to support them through it.

Back at the manor V was fixed up after J and N, she was one of the later drones added to the family, she hardly spent much time at the manor at all before the great yeetening happened- she was originally a maid drone for a family before she was broken and dumped in the drone corpse junkyard. Maid drones are programmed with sweet and soft AIs with more round/short body shapes to have a friendly image in a household, they are made to be able to deal with both adults and kids, and they are best made for cleaning and setting up the house in mind. N was made as a butler/chauffeur before getting broken and yeeted in the junkyard [yes he can drive]. Due to V getting broken for some sort of mistake during work, she was left scarred after her reboot to make any more mistakes, which left her slightly jitter-ish and clumsy. Tessa put N in charge to help her around and although at the beginning V didn't talk much and felt unsure, slowly N became her safe space- especially since Tessas abusive parents remind V alot of her old household. N in turn thought V was always cute, he helped her with her work, having more steady hands, which ended with a lot more hand touching and blushing on both their ends :p

N was the one that suggested glasses for V which Tessa decided to try doing to see if it would help her visual efficiency in any way, and it did. V as a DD often tries to rely on her real eyes rather than look through her main visor, the glasses remind her too much of N...

N and V sometimes used to get out of the manor in secret spots to spend some time away from the chaos to help V calm down. during this time they would read books, learn stuff from each others past lives, and sometimes draw lol, but V just liked watching and listening to N, she felt happy with him. although unlike N, V felt a bit nervous around the animals in the area XD

N and V actually have shared kisses, just not on the lips. with N kissing her on the back of her hand as a gentleman and V giving him kisses on his cheek [Tessa's idea of a cute plan to put them under a mistletoe lol], but Vs last words to N was a promise to give him a kiss before she became comatose. as more drones in the manor stopped working and Ns efficiency and work became less useful to the manors occupants due to him wanting to spend time with V all the time, Louisa and James started becoming more impatient with Tessa's drones, which lead to the whole "get rid of them" line...

back in the current time V is obviously trying to protect N in her own traumatized way; but even then, most of the things she had done to "shelter" N, was probably not the best choice one could make, and some of it was done out of jealousy towards N and Uzi getting closer. However, slowly she started convincing herself that N deserved someone like Uzi. V had convinced herself that she deserves nothing. She was willing to give up everything for N and keep him safe from the beginning, even if it meant knocking N down a few limbs/heads just to keep him away from danger- which is problematic in itself. she made choices based off fear and urgency. she was always traumatized.

When N and V started getting along together a bit more and hanging around a bit in the human cities- V takes N to a bookstore she found once and they spent the whole day in the shelter of the store reading different old books. V still does not admit she did this to see N happy again lol.

When N started showing V affection again, V started becoming heavily touch starved and dependent on him again, just like the manor days, which she feared, which caused a minor set back for a while where she tried to avoid N. Uzi had to come and fix this shit cuz apparently only she can scold 2 dinosaurs without feeling intimidated. after N and V kiss for the first time PROPERLY after the whole solver BS ends, V just gets more touch starved and she hates both N AND Uzi for this lmao.

N and Uzi know that one of the only ways to make V calm down is to act soft with her, occasionally praising her and calling her nice things; even when V is literally threatening to bite their head off- [shes bluffing-.......mostly.]

N is usually the one that initiates any closeness with V. after their first kiss, N does tell her that she's done stuff that he might not be able to casually forgive, but at the same time he has seen her grow, and she does have good in her that he still loves her for.

V has nightmares and hardly ever sleeps, and when she does, its usually cuddling N or Uzi.

V tries to wear her glasses more often in the future. N likes it a lot :"3

V is surprisingly a good mom :p [spoilers for my au lmao bye] but yeah, since her original OS was for a maid, she still has some functions to be good with little ones. she cant help herself, she just really likes babies and kids.

N likes sometimes ballroom dancing with V for old times sake...

[i think this is as far as my brain will allow me, please excuse me as i jump off a cliff :") ]

[turnsbouts]

NO ITS OK I LOVE HEARING UR THOUGHTS!! They are very similar to my own!!

I had considered Apollo and Athena being sun/moon breathing duo because of their names/themes… but getting more creative with it is always a plus. I do love the idea of Metis being the moon breather. I had absolutely planned Athena’s attacks to be heavily emotion based too… psycho-breathing? bahaha. Or maybe we can call the moon breathing offshoot “lunar breathing”. related to the moon, and usually used to refer to lunar phases… many phases aka emotions

Apollo could have Sunflower Breathing, to have both the fire and the plant theme. Offshoot of the original flower breathing of course, as is Flytrap Breathing. Apollo’s perception can act like a type of “Total Concentration”, really. Apollo probably could learn multiple breathing styles LMAO

I imagined Blackquill as a demon slayer with Hawk Breathing… him turning into a demon to protect Athena is VERY good… that, OR he was accused of Metis’ death, as there was no sign of a demon attack (Phantom is trickyyy), and lost his position as a slayer as the Corps couldn’t figure out how to get around that. He admitted guilt etc, the story plays out similarly. He’s let back into the Corps later on in the equivalent of the DD timeline so he can help Athena.

Yes!!! MVK was a Hashira-turned-demon like Kristoph, and amidst his corruption, turned Edgeworth as well. Not sure yet when Gregory dies in this timeline… maybe MVK and Gregory (both hashira or similarly highly ranked) had a duel, MVK was going to be punished for killing Gregory, and then encountered and was offered to be turned into a demon. Edgeworth would get turned later on after being offered (so it was ‘consensual’), while Franziska remains a human.

I don’t think MVK is going to be Muzan, maybe just an Upper Moon… but to be fair, I haven’t decided on who exactly Muzan would be replaced with yet. Phantom was another concept, but i’m not sure about that.

The Judge is the Master equivalent though, as leader of the Demon Slayers. heh

Ohohoho Apollo and Thena as a sun/moon matched set yessss

I LOVE both lunar and sunflower, especially how sunflower can work both as flower/fire and flower/sun.....

Ahhhh I love Blackquill both as a slayer and as a demon!! Hawk breathing would be so cool!!

I think Phantom could work as a demon without any major changes lol. His thing would be less physically impossible as a demon than as a human. But he could have some fun illusion magic to make it look like Athena killed Metis and force Blackquill to take the blame

Also I've been thinking if anyone would fit as a demon eater... my top picks would be Phoenix (already eats weird shit. like glass), Blackquill (for the ostricization themes), Athena (same reason but only Blackquill knows about it), Nahyuta (I just think it could fit the themes) but idkkkkk

Ohhh the DRAMA of Edgeworth being a demon and Franziska being a human and MVK in all of this!! Was Franziska a human training under a demon and waiting to be turned?? Or did she know MVK only as a human?? Does Franziska become a slayer???

Mmmm I don't thing AA has a Muzan equivalent of a Big Bad Source of Evil, unless you're willing to substitute Muzan with like. The entire penal system of Japan/Japanifornia.

I've been thinking what the Feys should be... maybe they can still be mediums, but I'm wondering about a more explicit support role, like the swordsmiths or ubuyashiki clan (minus the authority part)... or would the detectives work better as the swordsmiths??

Also the Paynes being a family of really weak demons <3 And Larry being a civilian with a rare blood considering how much he attracts trouble

[tricktster]

i finally bought a new car, which required me to trade in my beloved old car. Now there was a lot that sucked about my old car, like, for example:

 the driver’s window seal leaked, so I had to hold a towel up to it whenever I went through the car wash or got caught in a thunderstorm, or in the alternative, appear places as my alter ego, Ol’ Wet Sleeve.

one day, for no discernible reason, the passenger door power lock made a metallic shriek for thirty minutes and then refused to ever work again

the windshield fluid reservoir was cracked, so I not only had to stop at every gas station to wipe the salt off my windshield all winter, but until the last of the fluid worked its way out of its system, every parking spot looked like my car had done a blue tinkle

something went terribly wrong with the anti-theft system which caused it to beep incessantly until the battery quite literally drained from the effort every time I locked my door and it was even mildly humid, culminating in the day its incessant wailing ruined a kishi bashi concert and then never deployed again

once there was a chipmunk on the windshield and I needed to get to work so I started the car and began driving VERY slowly in the hopes it would jump off, but it instead disappeared into a hole next to the wipers and I just had to hope it crawled out at work because i was late and surely that hole didn’t lead anywhere

the hole apparently led somewhere, and the chipmunk made a home somewhere under the hood

thereafter, the chipmunk, and I do not understand the mechanics here, figured out how to get into the cabin and left about 15 uneaten acorns, 30 partially eaten acorns, 100 acorn shells, and 1000 tiny poops on the floor

after i got the tires rotated last year, the right front wheel made an irreversible and humiliating squeaking noise whenever i went less than 50 miles an hour

it got stuck in very small amounts of snow with extreme, perverse regularity

there were inexplicable danger buttons on the steering wheel that made the automatic transmission turn into a manual - which I cannot drive. But don’t worry, they were incredibly easy to deploy accidentally and could only be fixed by turning the whole car off

the horn sounded like a clown nose

After five years without so much as a scrape, I told my mom about my intention to buy a better car and trade in the old one for a few thousand bucks. Approximately 17 hours thereafter, my mom accidentally backed into it with her car, leaving a huge dent and rendering the whole car worth literally dozens of dollars.

Three days later, my mom ran into it again, but this time with the rider mower. Although the rider mower cannot top five miles per hour, she claimed the collision was unavoidable because “the rider mower doesn’t have brakes!” although she was unable to explain how that prevented her from, you know, steering around the large stationary object. Also the rider mower has brakes. 

Now I know this all sounds very bad and dumb. However, there were three great things about my car that made up for all that nonsense:

1. it only had two seats. Examples of why this ruled:

 “oh, you guys need a ride somewhere? Oh sorrrrrry I caaaaaan’t, it’s a twooooo seater.”

 “you need help moving? SOOOOOORRRYYY I CAAAAAN’T FIT ANYTHING IN THERE AND I ONLYYYYY GOT TWO SEATSSS MANNNNN.”

“It’s my turn to be the DD? Sure, that only seems fa- OH SORRY CAN’T NOT EQUIPPED TWO SEATS IS THE THINGGGG.

2. because it was stupid small, I could go roughly 340 miles on about 20 dollars of gas (unless I pressed the red button that made it much less fuel efficient but made the engine noise go “vrmVOOM,” you know, to impress men)

Lastly, and most importantly:

3. the license plate that it was randomly assigned was absolutely incredible. Now I don’t want to get doxxed so this is a fake plate to protect my car’s identity, but it was, in essence, ORC-42069. It was fantasy creature + the funny numbers. It was so fucking choice. 

Anyway, I loved that stupid, selfish, garbage car, but it was time to let it go, on account of I Drive In Vermont And This Winter It Nearly Killed Me (On 3 Separate Occasions). So two weeks ago I agreed to trade in the Jerkmobile for, and this is no joke, ONE DOLLAR, I said goodbye to the funniest plates in automotive history, I put several thousand bucks down on a preowned car with only 8k miles and that sweet all wheel drive, and I settled in to wait for the NYSDMV to process the registration.

It took like fifteen days to get the registration settled, but because NYSDMV employees, like the rest of us, are dealing with a global pandemic, I wasn’t about to complain about the wait. And I like to think that my non-Karen energy reaped beautiful rewards. See, at the dealership this evening, I finally laid eyes on my brand new car. 

Look, I don’t believe in God. I have to remind myself sometimes that there’s nobody pulling the strings, that human beings tend to draw connections between unrelated points of data, that none of this MEANS anything. And yet, at the same time....

oh what intelligence

what divine providence

that my new randomly generated license plate should begin with a thrash metal band and end in 69.

[4ragon]

can you please expand your thoughts on how aai1 handled turnabout ablaze? I noticed your (rightfully) low ranking of Alba earlier so I’m kinda curious about your opinion ^_^

Okay, before I go into this, I want to say: I love this game. I love all the AA games. Even the ones I have the most complaints about (this and DD) are wonderfully fantastic games with a fun cast and intriguing murder mysteries. You should play the ones you haven’t played yet, even the ones you’ve heard negative stuff about.

That being said, Turnabout Ablaze I think is sort of emblematic of every single problem I do have with AAI.

Ace Attorney Investigations is a little bit of a mess. At its best, it’s a fun murder mystery game with a stellar cast. It introduces Kay Faraday and Shi-Long Lang, it gives us more time playing as Miles Edgeworth, always a treat, and more time with my man Gumshoe. The mystery solving is fun and it offers a new kind of gameplay than the usual point and click style for investigations.

However, it also has a lot of weird pacing problems. Your new assistant and rival don’t show up until case 3 of 5. And Lang isn’t even in case 4, so he’s barely even a presence in his debut game, even though he’s a wildly interesting and fun character. All of his development is shoved into Turnabout Ablaze, and even though it’s welcome development, I kind of wish it was spread out more.

But going more into Turnabout Ablaze: It is long, arduous slog occasionally interrupted by some fantastic moments only to be dragged back down into the deepest recesses of hell. Its midpoint feels like a climax and everything past that point slowly and sadly peters away into a sad mess of one man slowly walking away from you to get on a plane.

To start with, this case in particular has so many different people being accused of murder. Kay, then Larry, then Shih-na, then Franziska, then Alba. AAI has this issue in almost all these cases, but it never feels as pronounced as it does in this one, this meandering, confusing mess of a case. It feels like we’re never really making progress, we’re just running in circles and occasionally hitting a brick wall while we get derailed from some bullshit or another.

I feel like the setup of AAI makes accusing people you care about far less impactful than it did in any of the other games, since that blame can be passed around so quickly and easily. Every single case has at least one moment where a recurring character gets accused, and it feels almost artificial? Like of course we’re going to have to care about Gumshoe and Maggey and Kay and Franziska and maybe not Larry but that’s a personal choice of mine. Yet most of those accusations never really last long enough to have anything meaningful happen plot or character wise, save for maybe Gumshoe in the flashback case? But there’s no tension to that one since we know Gumshoe ends up fine. The rest of the time it’s just an excuse to keep dragging Miles through a constantly meandering plot.

Also, there’re these weird distractions all over the place that lead nowhere. Having to deal with Larry and Oldbag for a few minutes hours even though it has nothing to do with the case at hand is annoying. If we got rid of that second murder, would anything have changed other than a few hours of gameplay? You just have to rewrite a few parts and boom, two hours of my life saved. Or the statue section, did we need to have that statue section? These would be well and good if they were fun to solve, or character building, but they weren’t. They were just there to add time to an already bloated final case.

Adding to that, I was not a huge fan of the Smugglers plot that they were pushing to be the overarching narrative. I feel like it was meant to be this big, intimidating force, but it ended up being so boring and impersonal. And boring. And did I mention boring? 

You know what was interesting? Calisto Yew, betraying her friends. Calisto Yew murdering Byrne Faraday, and then Kay’s investment in hunting her down. Then you get to the big climactic showdown with Shih-na, and it’s amazing! It’s satisfying! We’ve been developing this Big Bad for three cases and watching her finally break down, getting to that reveal of who she was, the shootout, all of it was fantastic and wait, what was that? Shih-na didn’t do the murders for this case? She was just a cog in the machine? There’s more game? Oh. Uh. Right. Okay. Whoo.

Also Quercus Alba, uh, sucks? He sucks. He sucks so much. He’s boring and smug, but also he’s this nothing character. He sweeps in at the eleventh hour to be the final hurdle, but he had no buildup other than walking around in the background as this doddering old man we didn’t care about. It wasn’t even in a “Ooo he was always there the whole time” way that Shih-na had, it was just this boring old man doing boring old man things.

And then they have the audacity to make the final confrontation with him last for HOURS longer than it needed to. And every single time it feels like we’ve progressed, not only have we made no progress, but we are actively slamming ourselves into the same brick wall over, and over, and over again.

“Oh, you see, Miles Edgeworth, I have ✨Diplomatic Immunity✨!”

“Ah, well, how about this proof! Proof that you are involved with the smuggling ring! What do you think about that?”

“Well, what do you think about this ✨✨Diplomatic Immunity✨✨ that I still have. Oh well time to go on a plane—”

“Wait! Wait Quercus Alba, what about this new proof! This proof that you could have done the crime!”

“Wowie, my ✨✨✨Diplomatic Immunity✨✨✨ certainly thinks you’re making an interesting point.”

And then Lang shows up to get rid of his ✨✨✨✨Diplomatic Immunity✨✨✨✨ after we’ve been in the same fucking time loop for what feels like twenty years of my life and then suddenly we have to prove without a shadow of a doubt that Alba did the murder?? Why???? That’s not how it works?????? Can someone fucking ARREST THIS MAN???? GUESS WHAT GUYS YOU DON’T NEED TO PROVE HE DID IT YET, YOU HAVE MORE THAN ENOUGH TO ARREST HIM YOU’RE NOT IN COURT?????????? END IT!!!! PLEASE!!!!! JUST END IT!!!! FUCK!!!!!!!!

I don’t care about the Smuggling Ring! It’s this weird nebulous idea that has no real bearing on any of the main characters other than Lang. And also like “Oh no, my country’s economy is in shambles” that’s so????nothing???? Again, if we could have anything tying us to the importance of improving Zheng-Fa’s economy maybe that would be different. Human beings as a species don’t really connect that well to a macro level if there’s nothing to make it feel personal, you know? We know nothing about Zheng-Fa and have no connection to Zheng-Fa, and we don’t have any way to conceptualize Lang’s struggle in a way that holds any meaning. Sure it’s important, but it’s not dire to us, and that makes for a shitty confrontation!!!

Let’s look back at the other final cases in this series. AA original: Miles is in danger. His smug mentor is not only trying to get him killed, but did the killings himself. AA2: Maya is kidnapped. It’s a struggle between your ideals of finding truth and justice and making sure your best friend isn’t killed. AA3: Maya is missing, and then later, suspected of murder. You’re confronting this big bad who's been a problem from case one and then also proving yourself to Godot.

They’re all personal stakes. They all matter to the main character, and the bad guy had a DIRECT hand in why. And yes, Alba ordered the killings, but again, it’s so impersonal, it’s like three steps removed so as rendered meaningless. Then you add on top that he’s got no motivation, other than greed and power I guess, he’s not fun, considering how many circles he makes us run in only to get to the same problem every single go around, he’s barely a character, he—!!! I hate him!!! I hate him and not in a fun way!!! Just end the case!!! Please Capcom!!!!

Again, the first half? When we were building to that confrontation with Shih-na? Great! Climactic. Fun. Interesting. But the rest? So deeply incredibly frustrating.

Sorry this was longer than I meant for it to. But I’m not too sorry. After all, I have ✨✨✨✨✨Diplomatic Immunity✨✨✨✨✨

[deaddovecoterie]

butterflies

marinette dupain cheng x adrien agreste || ladybug x chat noir

fandom: miraculous ladybug

rating: T (maybe R to be safe for next chp? ahaha jk jk,,, unless?,,,) 

word count: 1.8k

genre: angst. just pure angst. maybe fluff if you squint real hard

warning(s): swearing, vaguely unedited, blood mention

a/n: heyyyy :DD im back on my writing bullshit with my favourite personnnn (guess who) @whoseblogsthis cause me and this talented mf co-wrote this :’) ky i just wanna know what it feels like to carry every ff we write together on your back because of my linguistic incompetence. anyway this is my first mlb fic so i hope yall like it i guess !!

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“...Bystanders have not been hurt, although Paris’ superheroes have not made an appearance yet…”

There was unrest among the students of Francoise Dupont High School as Adrien listened to his friends talk quietly amongst one another. Thunder rumbled in the distance as heavy, chilling rain poured down from the skies. There was a gloomy eeriness that clung to the air, a quiet that made the high schoolers feel like they were just waiting for something to shatter the silence. Grey clouds were collecting, casting the city in shadow-like darkness. 

Another Akuma attack had been reported yet again. The Parisian superheroes were more than glad to help out, but it was obvious they were tiring: their moves became sloppier, their conversations shorter, and their patience thinner. 

Adrien listened to the chatter exchanged between Alya and Nino, while Marinette remained quiet. She looked tired, which really wasn’t that uncommon, but her fatigue seemed to spill into all of her activities. She had less “pep in her step,” as Alya had said, and her eyes weren’t nearly as bright as they used to be. Not that he meant to pay attention to such things, of course, but it was hard to not notice. Even Chloe, who couldn’t give a rat’s ass about anyone but herself, had laid off on the harassment. Adrien chalked up his attentiveness to Marinette as nothing more than being a good, concerned friend, but as of late that excuse was becoming harder to sell, even to himself.

It started about four months ago when they came back from summer break. Everyone had gone back to school and while Adrien was physically there, he was mentally absent. Kagami had just gone abroad for school again after they’d broken things off. He would have liked to say it was a mutual breakup, but she was the one who brought it up. Kagami was wise beyond her years so when she told him that his heart wasn’t in the relationship, he knew she was right. He expected his first heartbreak to be gut-wrenching, but it wasn’t. He felt sad, sure, but not in the way that leaves you paralyzed in bed for weeks on end. At the time, he wondered why that was, but the answer was obvious: Marinette. 

When he got to school, it was almost as if she could see the gloomy cloud over his head. She was there for him when no one else seemed to notice, her stuttering and fumbling hardly present in their conversation. In the beginning, he felt almost guilty for confiding in her. It would’ve been ignorant of him to believe she didn’t have problems of her own (who didn’t?), but it was a fact known by many that Marinette Dupain-Chang was one to do whatever she could to help the people she cared for. 

It was then that he noticed it: the butterflies. It was like a tsunami of anxiety, excitement, and shyness all rolled into one whenever she did anything: the way her hair moved in the breeze, her clear laugh that dared him to smile, but most of all, her kindness. Marinette was one of those people that you couldn’t hate. She was that person who helped others even when no one was looking. He didn’t want to, but he couldn’t help himself when he started falling for her every move. 

She didn’t know, probably never would, but she had him whipped. 

The blonde was snapped back into reality when his best friend nudged him: “You coming?” Nino’s brow arched in question.

He looked across the street, where his bodyguard was waiting for him, standing by the driver’s side door of the sleek black Audi. Though it’s been the same car since Adrien was like thirteen, it still looked brand new. 

“I forgot my homework,” he said to Nino, calling out to his bodyguard to repeat the same thing. With a barely discernible nod of approval from the bodyguard, Adrien turned back toward the school doors.

Adrien grumbled as he jogged away from his friend group: “Well, Nadia, Paris’ superheroes happen to have vaguely normal lives too if you weren’t aware.”

Plagg floated up from Adrien’s pant pocket and did circles around his owner’s head. “You put too much faith in humans, they don’t think about that kinda stuff. To them, you and Ladybug are untouchable.”

“Yeah, well we’re not,” he mumbled frustratedly. He pressed his palms into his eyes tiredly and took a deep breath before dropping his arms back down to his sides. 

“Plagg claws out,” he muttered. 

Plagg liked to think he knew his miraculous holder quite well. Despite the kwami’s demeanour and seeming distaste toward anything non-cheese related, he did have feelings. Yes, he loved cheese, but he also loved Adrien. He had spent the last two years with Adrien, and he knew something was terribly wrong with his owner. 

He’d ask later. The cat-like kwami entered the ring miraculous, and with that, Adrien Agreste was gone, replaced by Chat Noir. 

The leather-clad hero headed toward the disaster zone, the rain not doing anything to help his vision. He landed on a rooftop near the Akuma attack and swiftly surveyed the scene. Upon not seeing Ladybug anywhere, Chat Noir sent a quick message to Ladybug, highlighting the damage, before swooping in to hold off the Akuma.

xXx

To put it simply, Marinette was struggling. It had been the fifth Akuma attack that week and after two years of being Ladybug, her excuses were becoming weaker and weaker as time went on. Adrien’s abrupt exit was odd, but she didn’t have time to think about it as she felt the ground shake slightly. It didn’t matter how exhausted she was, she couldn’t put off her duties any longer. 

“I uhm, I forgot I had a question for Miss Bustier. I’m going to go see if she’s still around and I’ll uh just stay here until Ladybug and Chat Noir get everything taken care of!” she flashed her friends a thumbs up and with that, she ran back inside the school, toward the locker room. She opened her tiny purse in order for Tikki to emerge. “This is bullshit,” she muttered to herself. 

Tikki gasped in shock. “Marinette!”

“Sorry,” she mumbled half-heartedly, “You wouldn’t happen to care if I maybe just happened to not show up and let Chat handle it?” 

The glare that the small kwami sent her way told her otherwise. “Something about this one tells me that you’ll need all the help you can get,” she told her owner. 

Her stomach twisted with anxiety, both confusion and shock washing over her face. Tikki had never talked about the dangers of an Akuma before, which alarmed Marinette. Shit.

“Tikki, spots on.” 

Ladybug swung with all her might as her trusty yoyo grabbed onto buildings and chimneys, the sounds of destruction nearing. A black blur, undoubtedly Chat, streaked the cloudy, grey sky as an akumatized villain screeched out. Her eyes skimmed over the cobblestone streets in front of her, but nothing could prepare her for the screams of terror and bloodied civilians that scattered the scene below. 

Her feet had only touched down on the ground for a second when she heard him. 

“Nice of you to drop in,” Chat purred, startling her. “You’re late,” he added, his voice icier than expected. 

“Cry about it,” Ladybug responded coldly. 

“Meowch m’lady,” he said in mock hurt. 

“Sorry,” she muttered to her partner as she took him in. His blonde silky hair was plastered to his head from the pouring rain, the droplets permeating the black leather. If the suit wasn’t skin-tight before, it certainly was now. She had to tear her eyes away from the sight of him, her sensibility screaming at her to focus while her eyes wanted nothing more than to drink in every inch of him.

Literally what the fuck, she said to herself. Now was no time to pine for her partner. 

The Akuma that stood before her was physically underwhelming in stature, but her clothing made up for it. The girl in front of them held herself at around 5’3 and couldn’t be more than 18, but her wicked smirk sent a chill through her spine. The girl was clad in an array of green from forest, sage, to mossy shades, the dress that adorned her body looking like that straight from greek mythology. It was made up of grand silks, almost entrancing Ladybug and Chat with the way that the fabric moved like rippling water. It was ethereal, really, but the closer she looked at it the deadlier it became. 

From around the waist and shoulders, long strips of silk floated behind her like the snakes on the head of Medusa. They almost seemed to bend to her will, the fabric defying gravity. Not only were pieces of the dress floating, but so was her long dark hair. In her hand was a staff made from tree trunk like material. Resting atop her head was an obsidian black crown with spikes the length of Ladybug’s hand. 

After looking around at the already distraught state of the street, their evaluation was over: she was not going to be another walk in the park.

“Shit,” Chat breathed out. It was at that moment that the villain opened her mouth to address both the heroes and bystanders. 

“Citizens of Paris, I am Gi Mágissa. I am not here to compromise with your heroes. Others in the past have failed to retrieve what Hawk Moth desires, but I will not: today will be the day that you remember as the fall of Ladybug and Chat Noir.” Her voice resonated as if it was echoing off the walls. She shifted her gaze to the left, her eyes locking with the two of them. 

“Give me your miraculous and I may decide to spare you and your city,” she said in a dangerously low voice. Her voice was smooth, yet it cut right through the two partners like a freezing wind in the dead of winter. Under any other circumstances, her words would be humorous, cheesy even, but this was not like anything else they faced.

Chat laughed as his trademarked smirk appeared. “Funny, because I don’t remember agreeing to that,” he said in mock thoughtfulness, almost like he was trying to recall a memory.

“Chat,” Ladybug hissed, “I’m starting to get the feeling that you won’t be able to joke your way out of this one,”

“C’mon m’lady, live a little.” 

“Yeah, well I might not be alive to do so if you keep being an idiot.” Ladybug could feel the frustration rising in her as Chat continued to appear so casual and relaxed. How could he not sense that this was so much worse than before?

Chat turned to her and she could finally see his eyes. Despite his outward appearance, she saw the nervousness in his gaze. There was almost a buzz in the air, a metallic smell that made them wrinkle their noses: blood, iron maybe. 

“Fine. Let’s get this over with.” 

[mcrmadness]

I think what the person meant by aroace and bi was a bi-oriented aroace.

Oriented aroace is aroace but the other types of attraction besides sexual and romantic are there and like a sexuality in a way. Like I'm ace but I still say I'm gay bc not only do I have romantic attraction to only men, but I also have aesthetic, sensual, ect attraction towards only men as well

So that persons attractions (besides sexual and romo) are oriented in a bi way

Idk if that made sense but I hope it helped

Ohhhh I see!

I just find it very confusing because personally I am able to divide attraction into 4 or 5 different ones: sexual, romantic, sensual and aesthetic. Of which I myself only experience aesthetic regardless of gender which is why I sometimes might use the word "pan-aesthetic" even. And then there is the fifth one aka platonic attraction which I still don't really understand what it means or feels like. I might be aplatonic too.

So when a term has the word -sexual attached to it, I immediately imagine it also means _sexual attraction which is why I find/found it so confusing because asexuality is the lack (or very small amount) of sexual attraction, so how can one feel and not feel sexual attraction at the same time? Unless their sexuality just is fluid, but I am not sure if there's also a word for that. Actually, I think there's yet another term even in the asexual/aromantic spectrums for this, but I have never heard anyone being both at the exact same time.

I have heard of the -oriented terms before, tho, and have seen people using them, too. They do make somewhat sense but at the same time not (for me, at least), unless it's someone who's maybe demi or greyace, as sometimes people also like to define their gender "preference" (if it's the right word) with these.

More about my personal experiences under the cut ↓↓↓

I guess my own asexuality and aromanticism just are so black&white for me that I find it really confusing when I see posts and terms where these things are basically all over the place. It's so difficult to put them in order in my head when my own order is way different and much "simpler". I cannot even compare sexual and romantic attraction with each other because I don't experience either at all. It's like trying to imagine something that simply does not exist at all.

I also don't experience sensual attraction because I'm touch-repulsed, but I can imagine that it probably feels a bit same as when I see a picture of a tiger and have an urge to pet. Aesthetic is just the urge to "stare", for me. Bit like sometimes I wanna stare at the orange SALE tags because they are so pretty and bright color it almost hurts my eyes. (Ummmm why do I have the sensual and aesthetic urge to do only things that could either kill me or then hurt my eyes??? ::D)

And platonic attraction makes maybe even the less sense for me of these all, especially because I understood that it and "platonic love" are quite far from each other. Or not far, but not linked the same way as e.g. romantic love and romantic attraction are to each other. There are also several different descriptions for platonic attraction, depending on whom you're asking from. But being aplatonic does not mean that one does not want to have friends, that much I know.

This is why I sometimes use the label "loveless aro" but I don't know if there's much or any difference between aplatonic and loveless aro, so I often use them both interchangeably cos I forget which one I like more :DD And whenever I'm confused by platonic attraction, I use 'loveless aro', and whenever I'm confused by loveless aros, then I use aplatonic... simple, but not really... :D

So basically if I was put mine as a list, it would look like this:

Asexual

Aromantic

Asensual

Pan-aesthetic

+ Aplatonic and/or loveless aro.

What I prefer to do is to just stop at that aesthetic/platonic state, and I don't want to start chopping these identities into microlabels inside microlabels as, personally, I don't feel like it serves any purpose for myself. Only exception being that loveless aro one, as it's main idea is that "love is not what makes us human" and it makes me feel better on those days when I start worrying about what if I am a psychopath for not feeling/understanding even platonic emotions.

And then of course I also use the terms sex-repulsed, romance-repulsed and touch-repulsed, but I don't think these have to be tied only to aspec identities. Especially touch-repulsion can simply be just a trauma related. I find it also highly unlikely that every single allosexual is "sex-favorable" even when they experience sexual attraction.

This is actually something I was already so annoyed by even back then when I found out about asexuality for the first time when I was 16 or 17 (it was in 2008), it annoyed me so much that being not-ace automatically meant (or still means) that every allo is sex-favorable.

Back then, asexuality also basically meant only these two: aromanticism + sex-repulsion. At least that's how it was understood in my country back in the day, or at least I understood it that way, as no one talked about romantic orientations yet.

I learnt about romantic orientations a few years later and finally things made even more sense - as for a moment I kept calling myself as "asexual bi". But turns out I was just aroace with ADHD and having people-hyperfixations on online friends! :D

[viltrumitesuperboy]

Important to Me (Matt Murdock x Male Reader)

"Imagine meeting Daredevil one night and helping him. You two end up talking and you tell him you have a crush on your colleague, Matt Murdock"

Yeah, I stole the prompt. Powers not specified. I’m on a DD phase.

Word count: 1938 

You hadn't been in the vigilante business for long, but you were trained and enhanced and the rise in popularity of the Devil of Hell's Kitchen gave you a chance to help. You usually kept out of his way, but you both ran into each other (quite literally) trying to stop a gang selling drugs. He narrowly avoided you, and, after explaining your reason for being there, you quickly decided on a teamup.

"I'll go in first and cut the power," he said.

"What, you can see in the dark?" you chuckled.

"Yeah, this mask is pretty useful," said Daredevil quickly. "You take down the people outside and then we both move in. I doubt you can see in the dark, so you don't have to come in if you have to."

"I'm enhanced. I got other ways to see."

He paused for a moment before nodding and leading you closer. He gestured to the people at the front. You jumped down and took them out as quietly as you could, then watched as Daredevil made his way to the metal door.

"See you inside."

He slipped in without another word, and soon you could hear multiple people shout from inside. You went in and ignored the pitch black, focusing on your other senses. After taking down a number of people, the power came back on. You were now facing a room with packages and people on the floor, a few groaning in pain.

"Hey, let's go. You call the cops?" you asked, leaning on the doorway that led to the basement.

"Yeah, they know the address," he replied.

He bounced up the steps two at a time and motioned for you to exit the building. You both traveled the rooftops and towards the centre of Hell's Kitchen once more.

"Hey, that was a fun time. We should team up more," you suggested, punching his arm lightly.

"Two vigilantes working together means more of a chance of us getting caught together," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Aw, come on. We got stuff done faster! And you're not as beat up as you normally are."

"You're right, but it's still not safe for us to do it that frequently."

"So we will team up?"

He huffed out a laugh and leaned on the ledge of the rooftop, looking out into the city.

"We have a little more justice to serve tonight," he smirked. "Coming?"

You both stopped two muggings, one person at each location. He found you again and motioned for you to follow him to a rooftop.

"This city sounds like a disaster and reeks of pollution, but I love it anyway," Daredevil chuckled.

"You remind me of someone I know," you mused.

He silently listened, an invitation for you to continue.

"I work part time somewhere, and my friend there is the office manager, kind of. She deals with the two knuckleheads who work there and I just organise the stuff."

He smiled in amusement, turning his head towards the lights from Times Square.

"I really just get paid in food, but I stay mostly for one of the guys there. Matt Murdock. He's blind, and we make jokes about it and he laughs at them. I think he would too if he just loosened up a bit. Loves this city to hell and back, and he would do anything to give people a second chance."

"Matt Murdock the lawyer? The one who sent Fisk to prison?"

"I figured you'd know him. He did help a lot in that, didn't he?"

"I'm sure we aren't all that similar."

"Well, I don't have a crush on you, so you don't have too much in common."

You snickered, still watching him as he tenses up slightly.

"Relax, dude. I don't even know you, which is probably why I'm telling you all this."

He tilted his head as he looked a little further down Times Square, probably watching the billboards.

"So you're telling a complete stranger about your crush on a coworker in your... not vigilante identity."

"You're not exactly stopping me."

He hummed in agreement.

The second time you worked together was the third time you met. The second time was an accident of you getting thrown off a building, and Daredevil happened to be swinging on his billy club and caught you as he passed. He left you back to your business, saying he had something to do.

This second team-up was a gang selling drugs. He claimed that there were too many people, and when you got there, you realised he was right. Even for an enhanced man, he would have something broken if he got through all of them. Luckily for him, he knew how to find you. It was a little concerning that he might learn your identity, but he said that wasn't trying to find it out anyway.

"Safer for both of us," he had said, then pulled out his billy club without another word.

Drugs were easy to get. On the streets of New York City, you couldn't walk a block without something smelling like weed. The person with the drugs is another story. They could be a block away but you could still be smelling it, human or not. You'd gotten everyone in the building, but there was no sign of the gang's leader.

"I can hear him. He's in a motorcycle, going down 10th. Think you can keep up?" Daredevil said, then scaled a wall in seconds.

You sighed and followed him, shaking your head but making it up at the same speed. You both hopped across rooftops, taking quick turns when he told you to. He threw his billy club at the motorcycle when you just caught up to it, and the entire thing skidded on its side for a few seconds. The man on it had managed to move just in time so he wouldn't get his entire side injured.

"That kind of reaction time is an enhanced person," you told Daredevil, climbing down to get to the man now running away.

He threw his club once more and it tangled the man's legs together. He shouted as he fell, unable to get it off even with his free hands. You ran up to him and wrestled him down, trying your best to knock him out. Daredevil retracted his club and hit the man over the head with it. He fell limp on the ground.

"Damn, that thing is hard. I'll call the police," you said.

"Already called them. They'll be here in a few minutes. We should get out of here."

"Uh, okay."

You ended up in a children's playground, him sitting on top of the monkey bars and you swinging on just one.

"Hey, since we don't know each other, mind if I just talk to you about something?"

He shrugged and leaned back on his arms, tapping his fingers on the metal.

"It's about my stupid crush. I don't know how to even tell Matt that I like him. We're all just friends, and he's straight. I think."

"Well, what is it that you like about him?"

"He's just... such a great person. He's compassionate and empathetic, and he's hilarious when you get to know him. And he knows that he looks good, I mean he's beautiful. It's like he can tell when other people are attractive too."

"Well, I bet he can tell that you are."

You snorted in response, dropping down from the bar.

"You hear anything yet?"

"Yeah, 3 blocks from here. Let's go."

A quiet Saturday brought you to the Nelson and Murdock law firm, sorting out some files you had meant to do the day before. Someone entered the office, so you turned to face them.

"Sorry, we're not- Matt?"

He was breathing heavily, lip bleeding and tie loosened.

"(Y/N)? Shit. What are you doing here?" he panted, shutting the door behind him.

"I'm sorting files. What happened? Where's your cane?"

You tried to lead him to a chair, but he waved an arm at you and collapsed into it with a wheeze.

"How did you-"

"I fought some guys in an alley. I didn't have time to get my suit. Go get your mask, now. They're coming."

Trying to process the information, you grabbed your mask from a hidden zipper in your bag and yanked it on, letting your hoodie and sweatpants cover the rest of you.

"What about you?"

Matt has already taken off his glasses and was pulling on a black cloth already tied in the back.

"You're the Devil."

"(Y/N), please."

“You look stupid.”

His sigh gave you the answer you needed. You heard shouts and very loud footsteps, even louder to your sensitive ears and probably more to Matt. As soon as they burst through the door, you took the three out easily. Thanks to the lack of furniture in the area right by the door, nothing was broken, except possibly one of their bones or two.

"You probably have questions-" Matt began.

"And I'll ask them later. I can take two of these guys. Grab the other one."

With some effort you hauled the two men with you towards the elevator. You could hear Matt grumbling about superpowered people and snickered as he entered.

"They know who we are?" you asked.

"No," Matt mumbled. "But I made a stupid mistake bringing them to the office. I just didn't know where else to go."

"It's fine. We'll figure it out," you promised. "It's not like they can really attest to a blind man fighting a whole group of them. And to them, you were the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. It's too dark for anyone to have seen your face, so they probably just think they were fighting Daredevil the whole time."

He pondered the thought as you grabbed the men out of the elevator.

"Where to?" you asked.

"45th and 9th. There's an open area. Not a park, just a place to relax."

You put both men over your shoulders and walked in the shadows and darker sides of the sidewalk as Matt followed with just the one. You finally decided to ask the question nagging at you the whole time.

"How did you get your powers?"

"When I was blinded. All my other senses are heightened. You?"

"Long story short, science."

"Riveting."

Once you were nearing the area, you realised another thing.

"Holy shit. Did I just tell my crush about my crush on him? And did you ask me why I liked you?"

He laughed and adjusted the man he had in a fireman's carry.

"I thought I would have been able to tell you in a less intense situation. I knew it was you right away but I'm not really used to throwing out my identity."

"Were you pretending to be able to see too? You were facing the billboards in Times Square."

"Yeah, I can just barely feel the warmth if we're close enough."

A quiet "damn" followed by a search of rope later, the three men were tied together in the little area. He called a Brett on his phone and motioned for you both to leave.

"Do you believe me? About the stuff I like about you?" you asked self-consciously.

He was silent, but took your hand as you walked down the quiet streets back to the office.

"No, but I would say the same about you. There's so much you could do in both destruction or good, but you always choose what I would. That's important to me."

He stopped and leaned in to kiss you, letting the distant sirens congratulate two vigilantes admitting their feelings.

[artcenterstories]

Experience Seeker: Meet Artist/Author Dominick Domingo

ArtCenter: What inspired your current creative project? Dominick Domingo (Illustration ‘91) arist/author/designer: A prolonged hospital stay and the proverbial brush with death. Being in touch with my mortality has lit a fire creatively and put legacy at the forefront. My latest IP, mythic fiction novel The Seeker is a parable of my recent trials and a portrait of all I’ve learned about the spiritual journey we are all on.

AC: What have been some of the most memorable twists and turns in your professional/creative journey after graduating ArtCenter? DD: A month after graduation, I began work at Disney Feature Animation on a small film to later known as Lion King. Having interned there between fourth and fifth terms, I visually developed the film during preproduction, then went on to paint production backgrounds. I continued on with Disney Feature for 11 years, in L.A. and Paris, painting backgrounds and creating visual development art for Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tarzan, Little Match Girl and One By One.

I then attended New York Film Academy and began making independent live-action films as an auteur. My films won awards in the festival circuit and garnered distribution. Original screenplay credits on SAG/IMDB films led me to put my lifelong love of writing on the front-burner, while keeping one foot in animation by freelancing for major companies like Mirada, Blue Sky, Dreamworks TV, Nickelodeon, Disney Interactive, etc. The electives I offered for 20 years at my alma mater, ArtCenter, became the foundation of what has diverged into today’s Entertainment Arts and Entertainment Design tracks.

My essays and short stories have been included in anthologies and collections, some winning awards (most recently Writer’s Digest 2020 and Craft Literary 2020). My young adult trilogy, The Nameless Prince, launched in 2012 through Twilight Times Books. The Seeker marks my debut in the mythic fiction-meets-visionary fiction genre. I’ve had the good fortune of crafting a career that spans various formats and genres, all expressions of a drive I consider essential to the human condition: storytelling.

AC: What’s been the most unexpected or valuable takeaway from your ArtCenter education? DD: I am grateful for the ArtCenter legacy of excellence, and its stellar reputation in the fields of art and design; both have served me well. The demanding program and high expectations of instructors like Gary Meyer, David Mocarski, Jon Conrad, Harry Carmean and Burne Hogarth taught me to strive for excellence, believe in my potential, and push boundaries. At ArtCenter I learned nothing less than the art of alchemy and manifestation, to co-create with the universe and use my authentic gifts to contribute to our collective transformation.

AC: What’s the one tool you can’t do without? DD: My imagination. Like many artists, I consider myself a storyteller with different modes of expression. Whether editing a film in Final Cut, modeling in Maya or SketchUp during visual development or painting concepts in Photoshop, the common denominator is my imagination! My fingers come in pretty handy as well. And my eyeballs.

AC: What design cliché are you most tempted to use? DD: In my teaching, I've heard myself say, "Know the rules before you break them!" With regard to figurative and representational work, I am a big fan of buckling down and applying the discipline to master foundational principles at the outset. Whether Chevreul’s laws of color theory or Gestalt studies, internalizing theory with the faith it will become second nature is precisely what eventually allows one to take risks and explore. In developing one’s authentic voice, a framework of regiments and a clear vision can, in the end, free up the intuition to orchestrate magic that may not occur if one is struggling with technique or "finding one’s way…"

AC: What’s the first site you look at when you open your computer in the morning? DD: I tend to check e-mail and (UGH) Facebook first. But NEVER before putting caffeine in me and getting a change of scenery. As a long time freelancer/independent contractor, I like to get a walk in and listen to inspirational content (blogs or podcasts) before settling in front of the computer. Novelty is crucial for the ol’ dendrites and for brain plasticity!

AC: If you could trade jobs for a day with anyone, who would it be? DD: Pretty much anyone at Laika, as I would kill or die to get in there. I love their brand, its spirit, and the content they produce. As a kid who once knew every dinosaur that ever walked the earth and the period in which it lived (although they’ve changed them all), I'm often baffled I did not make every attempt to work with Stan Winston on Jurassic Park. I guess I was busy at Disney, but I often kick myself as that ship has clearly sailed… Also, Peter Jackson — he is living my dream!

AC: What books are on your bedside table? DD: Rather than imposing my recommendations (like "all artists should read Letters to a Young Poet or all humans should read The Alchemist,) I will give an honest answer: I don’t have a bedside table. However, on my coffee table currently: The Kybalion, Giant, 12 Years a Slave, and Jane Fonda’s autobiography, My Life So Far. Jane is an inspiration: the fact that she still gives a damn and gets up every morning and walks the walk. I also admire her tackling ageism head on, the societal ill I am most passionate about rectifying at over half-a-century. As a writer, I read a wide variety of genres. Neil Gaiman, Junot Díaz, Davy Rothbart, David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs are also huge influences.

AC: What is your prized possession? DD: I have two. One is an amazing painting titled The Three Muses painted by the formidable John Watkiss, with whom I worked on Disney’s Tarzan and who has since passed. The other is the traditional animation desk I had commissioned in the '90s using Disney’s patented design. There was one architect in the world with the Mouse’s blessing to use the patented design. But none of that is what makes it a prized possession — the reason is this: I nearly lost it in a fire. But unbeknownst to me, rather than taking the charred thing to the dump as discussed, my father secretly took it home and brought it back from the dead. Refurbished every bit of charred wood, every molding, right down to the laminate and the proper finish. Like new.

AC: What’s your best piece of advice for an ArtCenter student who’s interested in following your career path?​ DD: Remember why you do what you do. There are plenty of times in life when we must keep our noses to the grindstone and work can feel like drudgery. But inspired work energizes — the opposite of drudgery. Whatever is paying the bills, I would be sure it’s something that contributes to your personal transformation on the micro level and to our collective evolution on the macro. The artistic journey is lifelong: We may find our authentic voice, but it’s ever-evolving. I would encourage all artists to take stock now and then, and assess whether that voice has been married with a sense of purpose. And whether that purpose contributes to the dialectic of our human potential!

[gravityfallsgarbagecan]

Waiting in the Shadows AU

In summary, Bill bides his time and waits to activate the portal, after all, what's a few decades to an immortal being? (this is kinda long so be prepared)

Everything that happened in Stan and Fords childhood is the same, Stan accidentally breaks Ford's project and he is kicked out. Ford goes to Backupsmore and meets Fiddleford and goes to Gravity Falls to study anomalies. He writes the journals and summons Bill honestly just to see if it was real. Ford still works with Bill but doesn't let him take over his body, he wants to be the one to make it, pride and stuff. After Fiddleford falls in, Ford decides the portal is (a bit) dangerous, puts it on pause, and calls Stan to help hide the journals. 

When Stan comes he and Ford talk it out and Stan talks some sense into him. Not wanting the years of work to go to waste, Ford doesn't destroy the portal, but he does shut it down and hides his journals*. Stan and Ford repair their relationship for the most part, and it takes a while, close to 30 years (wow, would you look at that). The twins come and Ford lets Dipper look through his journal. Dipper wants to go on adventures so he uses the copier to have his own journal to go on monster hunts with (and add his own things). Him and Mabel hid it from their Grunkles and went on adventures themselves. The show mostly follows canon,(Gideon doesn't have a journal though, so no dreamscapers, but he does still try to steal the shack instead by working with Mcgucket to build a giant robot (to “promote the Tent O’ Telepathy”) and the twins stop him. 

*He rewrites just the anomalies from all 3 books into one and destroys the original ones, most of his research is safe and the notes and blueprints of the portal are gone, win-win situation.. Mostly. 

Dipper and Mabel decide to tell Stan and Ford about the copy of the journal after the zombie incident (BAMF Stan, Ford is still a lil nerd since he was never in the multiverse). Stan understands (he would have done the same thing, let's be honest) and Ford is a bit upset, but he saw how well the kids handled everything and let them hang onto it. 

It's around here that Bill decides he’s waited long enough and wants to get Ford to complete the portal and turn it on. (at this point Ford doesn't think Bill is /evil/ but he is a little wary of trusting him, unlike at the beginning).  Bill goes to Ford in the mindscape and tells him that after 30 years he still isn't famous, and that he knows it's his dream. Bill is SUPER manipulative and convinces Ford to make the deal to take over his body and complete the portal. Ford doesn't tell any of this to Stan, and instead sneaks down to the basement at night to work on it. After a few days of this, Ford is sleep deprived enough that Bill takes over at night to work on the portal. 

Bill is less careful than Ford, and Stan figures out something is up, but doesn't know exactly what. He looked through the journal but all the pages about Bill were not added so he can't figure out what is happening, but he will still figure out how to stop… whatever it is.

Stan confronts Ford about it and Ford denies anything happening, he just has interesting research that's been keeping him up and Stan is worried about pushing Ford too much, especially in his sleep deprived state, so he tells Ford to just go sleep some. Bill knows he’s gotta hurry up before Stan puts a stop to him, so when Ford goes to nap Bill takes over and hurrys to start up the portal. 

Later when Stan goes to check on Ford (to make sure he's actually sleeping) he finds Bill in the basement working on starting up the portal Stan thought had been destroyed. He gets upset at “Ford” for not destroying it earlier and trying to figure out wtf is going on. Bill tells him he is Ford's muse he summoned to help him become famous because Stan was “holding him back from greatness” and all the mean things Ford was thinking when Stan was kicked out. Stan gets pissed but doesn't want to hurt his brother. Bill chooses this moment to bounce, so Stan has to deal with an unconscious brother and a demon trying to start up the portal. (at this point Stan doesn't know why the portal is dangerous, just that it is, especially if that creep is trying to start it.)

When Ford wakes up Stan tries to talk to him but just ends in a huge fight between them. Ford goes to sulk in the basement, and Bill uses their fight to get Ford to finish starting the portal. The kids know something is wrong after the fight and try to get them to hug it out. Stan is stubborn and doesn't want to talk to Ford, at least for a bit, so they decided to try and talk to Ford themselves. Stan is a responsible grunkle and goes with them, not trusting Fo Bill. They find Ford starting the portal, and a scene very similar to NWHS happens. Stan is at the button and Ford is pleading with him to keep it on. Stan doesn't want to, but he still trusts his brother. 

The portal causes weirdmageddon and everyone is too shocked to be pissed at first, but Stan is pissed that his trust resulted in this, and Ford is pissed that Bill lied to him (who'da thunk!) The younger twins have to deal with both the apocalypse and their grunkles fighting. There is no unicorn barrier around the shack, so it is no longer a safe place. Dipper and Mabel get Ford and Stan to stop fighting long enough to figure out how to stop Bill. He tells them of the zodiac so they have to work together to get everyone together. They split up into two teams, Mabel with Stan and Ford with Dipper. They go to find everyone in the zodiac, surviving in the throws of the apocalypse (similar to Dipper in canon). As soon as everyone from the zodiac are together Bill figures out he cannot leave Gravity Falls, and goes to kidnap Ford. He tries to just get the equation himself but since hsi deal was “Now till the end of time” and in weirdmageddon “time is dead” the deal is no longer in place and Bill can't get it. 

Everyone else (zodiac members and survivors) are trying to come up with a plan and Mcgucket's idea is a giant robot. Gideon suggests using the Gideon Bot since it's only moderately destroyed rather than starting from scratch. Stan is very unenthusiastic to help (his brother kinda betrayed him and he's salty and stubborn) but he doesn't get in the way or anything, he knows he still cares, even if he doesn't want to. 

The rescue mission goes well, they arrive faster than canon and see Ford being tortured for the equation. Stan feels a bit guilty at this point, the relization that if he pressed that stupid button none of this would have happened hit him and now he hates himself more (he could never hate Ford, no matter what he does). The Gideon Bot distracts Bill enough to free Ford and get the zodiac set up. Without a barrier protecting the robot it is defeated much quicker and Bill stops the zodiac before they can get Stan to join (he’s really salty at Ford, and Ford isn't exactly happy with Stan either. Ford doesn't want to blame himself so he blames Stan just a bit). 

Bill captures them like in canon and the twins distract him while the grunkles come up with a plan to stop him. Since Ford doesn't have a plate in his head they don't switch, Stan just has to effectively kill his brother after he starts the apocalypse. Logically both of them know this is the only way to save the kids- and the world- but it doesn't make it any easier. Stan still suggests they switch, “Your mind is useful, Sixer, mine's never been good for nothing”. Ford pauses for a sec and actually considers it, everything Bill said, everything that happened, but Ford still cares about his brother, and will not let him take the fall for his mistakes. No matter what happens, Ford can't hate his brother, and he still cares about him regardless. 

Ford makes the deal and Stan erases him, the pyramid falls and weirdmageddon is over. Stan feels even more guilty now, he enabled the apocalypse and then killed his brother to end it. They find Ford and he doesn't know who they are (this follows canon). Mabel and Dipper drag them back to the shack (which has been repaired since Weirdmageddon) and try to get his memories back. (“Remember when we played DD&D? Or going on monster hunts?” “Or when I showed you how to knit? The time I made your hand into a hand turkey?”) Stan is in the corner hating himself, but he doesn't want to show it to the kids. 

Ford gets his memory back and offers to sail with Stan (I love sea grunks, okay? I want them to live out their childhood dreams like the sappy old men they are) and Stan of course says yes (it's the least he can do after erasing his brother). 

On the boat Stan still feels bad about everything that happened, but he and Ford actually talk like functioning humans and Ford explains his deal with Bill better so Stan can better understand what happened. They get to live their dreams and get a happy end cause it's what they deserve!

[eyeofnewtblog]

Chapter One

David passed through the airlock of the station and into the cargo bay of the ship, taking a deep breath as he does it.

 He loves that first moment on a new ship, that first whiff of a too-lived-in space, clogged up with the smells of cleaning chemicals, food he’s never tried, and the half-wild smell of aliens he’s never met. It’s a constantly recurring First Contact, moving him through the void of space with the constant familiarity of the moment, constantly leaving him shocked at the newness of each time it happens. 

David bowed to the Zelinth captain, fumbling through the complicated hand motions that were supposed to go with; he didn’t have two extra sets of arms to do the accompanying gestures, but the hand book said humans were generally excused if they made the effort.

“I return your many honors, Captain. In a human gesture of honor, I would like to state my appreciation for being chosen to accompany you on your voyage.” David tried not to stutter over the intermittent clicks of the Zelinth language, and thought that he had done a passable job, until he straightened from the bow and noticed that the Zelinth crew members behind the captain were trying to fold their forward mandibles out of the amusement position.

“Loo-tent-ant Rikk-are-dd-sssss, issss pplllleeee-sssssoor,” the captain tried, forcing the vowels past his mandibles, before pointedly taking out his translator and switching it on. “We have easy thing with this, yes human? Yes, easy things!”

David took out his own translator and fumbled it into his ear.

“Yeah, yeah, easy things. Easy thing for you to say, I think this thing is literally designed against old people!”

“The translator is designed against your venerable ancestors?” The Captains mandibles clacked a bunch, but David had already reached the extent of facial expressions with the Zelinth.

“Look, cap, I ain’t looking to start anything and I literally have no idea what the polite protocol is, but these things are brand spanking new and I’m still learning how to use the damn thing. So, y’know, sorry. Look, I’m over fifty, my grandkids know more about this than I do.”

There was a lot of chittering, clacking mandibles, and the difficult translator turning on half way through so that David knew pretty generally how much they doubted his experience.

“You forgive? Much information is needed.” The Captain said, after he’d turned around and basically told everyone to shut up. David shrugged and held his hands out, the captain bowed again, David tried to mimic it, no one was amused.

“My crew is much concern that you cannot fingers gun if you cannot fingers translator.” David raised his eyebrows; blunt and to the point, exactly the opposite of what he had been told the mission would be like, and exactly what he preferred. He felt his own adrenaline kicking up, and the grin spreading across his face was genuine.

“Cap, I fought in Lupus Minor, and I’ve been in search and rescue for most of my life. I can ‘fingers’ every fucking gun on me just fine. You want anything else besides finger banging my guns, fuck off, I ain’t good at it. But you wanna live through the next week in a fire fight, I’m the only thing that’s gonna pull you through the black. By the skin of my teeth, if I have to.”

None of the Zelinth moved for a long moment, before the captain went into an elaborate bow that David didn’t even try to mimic.

“Cause of offense has taken place. Forgive us this act.”

“Nothing to forgive. You’re gonna have to try a lot harder than that to offend me. Just, look, humans are really rude compared to you guys, okay? And I’m really rude compared to most humans. So I’m sorry in advance if I say or do anything, alright? Just don’t ever doubt that I can do my job.”

The captain bowed again. David bowed, everybody bowed, it was a great time. David hiked his bag up his shoulder, glanced around the ship’s cargo bay, and nodded to himself. 

“We good? Can I go put my stuff away, or do you want to keep chatting?”

They parted before him, and he strode purposefully into the belly of the ship, 

��Three work cycles later, D’espen Fitx of the Zelinth Research and Development Fleet filed a commendation to the Confederacy of Allied Planets for Lieutenant David Richards, for fending off a pirate attack. 

David saw the commendation come through, and reached for his aug-unit just as the call came through. He flicked the hologram open, and waited out his CO’s tired, withering sigh. 

“What did you do?”

“Fired myself out of an airlock and planted some bombs.”

“You realize that even by human standards, that’s insane?”

“Not my fault the Zelinth have a really low tolerance for lack of self preservation. How they ever made it into space is beyond me.”

“See, it’s comments like that. That, right there, is why people don’t like you.” 

“Human people like me just fine.”

“That’s not the compliment you think it is. Also, I can count on one hand the number of human people that actually like you.”

“Sir, is this conversation going in a particular direction, or do you need to keep berating me so that you can feel better? Because I’m going to hang up on you right now if this isn’t going anywhere.”

“The Zelinth are requesting a transfer. Gratefully, politely, and adamantly, because, and I quote, they require a less abrasive and insane human to administer to their emergency medical response needs.”

“Oh thank god, please get me off this boat, I promise not to piss anybody else off if it means I don’t have to do the weird hand shit every time I pass one of them in the hall!”

“Please don’t blatantly lie to my face.”

“I’m telling the truth!”

“You and I both know that regardless of your intentions, you will, in fact, piss a shit ton of people off. Pack your bags, I’ll arrange for transport at the next station.”

David was quite pleased to be hung up on. 

[caratdeobii]

pairing: lee jeno x reader

word count: 1.9k

genre: fluff; a little bit of angst, i guess?

warnings: mentions of alcohol and drinking (kids, don’t drink until you reach the legal drinking age)

note: not proofread, i love jeno so much and i have other wip scenarios for the rest of 00 line but i really miss this cute lil baby

the bass of the stereo beats simultaneously with your heart, the booming music obviously loud enough to shake your insides. it has been less than an hour since you arrived, and a total of four guys already came up to you to shoot their shot at you.

one of the fratboys - wooyoung, was it? - who hit on you earlier approaches a lost-looking and naive freshman by the couch. her face brightens up as he pulls a cheesy pick-up line, probably the same one he used on you (the did-it-hurt-when-you-fell-from-heaven one, it was lame), and it makes you scoff at how pathetic and desperate he appears.

he’d really stoop that low?

“that’s the first time i saw you willingly look at another human being for the entire night.” an amused voice muses from beside you.

you sigh loudly with an eye roll, knowing where this is going. but even before you could brush him off, he immediately explains himself. “i’m not here to get laid, don’t worry. i’m the designated driver. i just wanna talk to an actual human being who isn’t trying to feel me up.”

“yeah?” you hum, still a little suspicious.

“there’s a standee upstairs, you know? it took me half an hour to realize it was inanimate. and then some dude tried to feel me up when i went to the restroom to take a leak.” he sighs, shivering at the unfortunate memory. “and since i got here, you’ve already been staring at the same guy. please, it’s been an hour, it almost looks pitiful.”

“i thought you’re the dd?” you eye the red solo cup on his hand, ignoring his remarks.

“it’s just some diluted soda or whatever this is.” he defends, handing you the cup.

examining the contents with a small sniff, you take the cup and bring it to your lips. you confirm it’s diluted... something when your face twists in disgust. “what the hell is this?” you almost spit.

he laughs in satisfaction at your response, and takes his cup back when you practically shove it at him. “no idea, but i’ve been drinking it for almost two deadly hours.”

“has it been an hour already?” you ask, nodding your chin towards the guy you’ve been watching.

“yeah, more or less. d’you need some help?”

you stay silent for a couple of seconds, trying to decide whether or not you should tell a random stranger about why you’ve been eyeing the same guy for almost an hour. you throw reason out of the door and look up to tell him the truth. but damn is he attractive. “what’s your name?”

“hyunjin,” he smiles. “architecture major.”

“i’m y/n,” you introduce yourself. “and thanks, hyunjin, but it really isn’t like that.”

“but you’ve been staring at him for an hour, sis. a beautiful girl like you pining over some guy, that isn’t right.” he whines, bouncing slightly.

you grin at his childishness, “i’m not lying! i swear, jeno’s just a friend.”

“tell me more.” his eyes widen in anticipation.

“sorry, what?”

“you know? when did you realize you were in love with him? is there a bad guy in the story? why won’t you confess?” he asks all in one breath, prepared to listen with undivided attention.

you laugh out loud, “hyunjin, be honest. how many romcoms have you watched?”

he smiles sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. “i, uh, none. i just thought...”

“well, here’s the thing.” you begin. “we’re already juniors in college but jeno still hasn’t been... out there, you know what i mean? he’s always been shy and reserved, too focused on his studies for the past two years that his best friend almost knelt in front of him to even come here tonight.” you tell hyunjin, recalling the way jaemin almost threw his dignity for jeno’s social life.

you met jeno during freshman year. you were in the same orientation group and the ol assigned you as buddies. the first few minutes were a little awkward, but the moment you asked him about pets, everything began looking up. in truth, he was your first college friend. you met jaemin, donghyuck, renjun and mark a week later, and the six of you became best friends. you and jeno, having the same major, became inseparable.

chenle and jisung came the following year. jisung shared the same major as you and jeno, and had been your tail since he got into the university. your friends joke about how you three look like a family, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

until jeno had a summer epiphany about being a little too introverted for his liking. he first told you about it, then jisung. the younger said he didn’t understand his dilemma, so jeno brought it up to jaemin, who told renjun, who said it to donghyuck, who relayed it to mark until everyone in your circle knew (chenle found out from jisung). talk about the grapevine.

the moment you all stepped foot on the uni, mark called in an emergency meeting. thus, the get-jeno-more-friends mission was born.

so, there you are.

“ah well, it’s a good thing seungeun isn’t shy.” hyunjin comments, his eyes on jeno and a girl, presumably seungeun. she places a hand on your friend’s bicep as she giggles.

a small feeling of protectiveness erupts across your chest and you almost march over them to pry her hand from your precious friend. however, one look at jaemin and donghyuck’s proud grins by the beer pong table, and you’re suddenly reminded why you even went here to begin with. it wasn’t for jeno to get laid, no, but it was for him to socialize and expand his circle. you went here to help him make more friends and it wasn’t difficult when almost every girl in the party wanted his attention. none of you were even surprised. he always had that innate charm with him and that eye smile can disarm a sniper in half a second. and you can’t deny how uneasy your stomach feels every time your friend actually laughs at whatever the girl says.

maybe jeno will be okay after all? you wonder to yourself when he spots you and smiles from the other side of the party. you don’t see the way his smile falters when his gaze flickers at hyunjin, who’s standing a little close to you.

“you sure you two don’t have some unresolved feelings in there?” hyunjin asks, obviously seeing the way jeno’s smile fades.

“i never said that.” you admit.

the truth is, you like jeno. and you always thought there was something going on between you two, until he told you about the summer epiphany. the way he said “i want to meet new people” just hit differently and somehow you begin to think you’re lacking as a best friend... and whatever.

“so, will you tell me the story?” he pouts.

“what do you wanna-” you begin, but get cut off by someone calling your name.

“y/n,” jeno calls.

you don’t notice the way hyunjin steps half a foot away from you and the girl, seungeun’s, glare. your eyes choose to see jeno only, and you have no idea how he managed to snap you away from reality by the familiar sound of your name.

“what are you doing here?” you ask, blinking.

“i-”

“hey, y/n. can i borrow your phone?” hyunjin cuts jeno off innocently. this time, you don’t miss the way your best friend frowns.

you give him a sharp look, “what?”

“i think my friends wanna go.” he nods towards a group of boys, one of them beckoning him over. “but i still wanna hear that story.”

“right.” you nod, handing him your phone. none of you notice how jeno’s jaw clench when your and hyunjin’s fingers brush. hyunjin punches his number in and gives it back with a sweet smile.

“it’s nice to meet you, y/n.”

“you, too. keep in touch.” you genuinely say. the exchange might be brief, but you actually like him and would love to keep in touch with him.

he joins his friends and with one salute towards you, their group leave the premises.

“so...” jeno starts. “hyunjin, huh?”

you give him a look, “you know him?”

“everyone knows him.” he rolls his eyes. “he’s like, the prince or whatever it is they call him.”

“huh,” you blink. “i had no idea.”

“and you guys say i’m the asocial one.”

this time, you roll your eyes. “how’s seungeun?” you manage to ask without bitterness dripping on your tone. “she okay?”

“i guess?”

“you guess?” you echo in disbelief. “honey, she’s gorgeous. i’d kill for that hair.”

“what’s wrong with your hair? i like your hair.” jeno says, looking straight into your eyes. “and she’s not my type.”

“jen, i have ten thousand split ends.” you deadpan, ignoring the way your chest inflates after he said she isn’t his type.

“where’s the fun of running my fingers through your hair if there aren’t any obstacles?” he grins, his eyes forming into your favorite crescents.

it catches you off guard for a whole minute. your chest feels a little heavy when you think about having to share them with other people. selfish, they’d say, but you want it all to yourself.

hell, you want lee jeno all to yourself - the eye smile and the mole underneath it, the dry sense of humor, the blinding eyeglasses of his, the confused eh’s, the pouts - everything.

you want him. all of him.

“so, uh, what’s the story hyunjin’s talking about?” you don’t realize you’re staring until he speaks again, his eyes a little pink from your gaze.

“why did you want to make new friends?” you suddenly blurt out. “are we not enough?”

“what?”

“never mind, i’m just being-”

“i don’t want you to feel suffocated of me.” he explains, eyes downcast. you suddenly feel bad for pressuring him to tell you, but you can’t bring yourself to stop him. the way he says ‘you’ makes your heart beat five times faster than usual. “you’re easy to make friends and you have lots of them. but i only have you, and it must be tiring. all of you must be really exhausted.”

oh.

all.

of.

you.

he means it collectively, idiot.

you compose yourself quicker than you expected as you reach a comforting hand on his shoulder. “jen, we won’t ever be tired of you.”

“i just don’t want you to think i’m too clingy or pathetic, y/n.” he sighs.

“we don’t think you’re pathetic. jisung and chenle look up to you, jen. jaemin adores-”

“i meant you.” he admits. “every time i see you out, guys are flanking all over you. they’re head-over-heels for you. even tonight. five guys, y/n. five guys came up to you. one of them even got your number. who am i to compete with hyunjin?”

“you’ve been watching me.” you state a little absentmindedly.

“i don’t mean to, but i can’t help it. not when you’re looking like that.” he groans, his hand going through his hair in frustration.

“ask me about the story hyunjin wanted to hear.”

“what?” he asks, confused.

“ask me again, jeno.”

he blinks, and it takes a few seconds for him to catch on. he smiles, his eyes - god, his eyes - forming into crescents, before he steps closer.

“what story was hyunjin talking about?”

“he wanted to know the story about how i fell in love with you.” you say.

you don’t even know how it’s possible, but his smile widens before he puts his lips on yours.

[zalrb]

Do you have any posts about your opinion on the got main characters?

Hmm, I don’t think I have one where I discuss what I think about the characters in a single post, more like I list favourite characters and favourite scenes and best actors, so here it goes.

Robb Stark

The reason why Robb was my favourite is actually pretty simple, I thought he was a badass – and Richard Madden was really good at radiating a calm intensity which added to that persona — until he ruined it by being basic. I loved his dialogue, I loved his strategy, I understood why the North would rally behind him, he was compelling onscreen, he was great to watch and then Talisa happened and I’m still salty about it,

Cersei Lannister

Besides the fact that Lena Heady is a fucking boss, I like Cersei because she’s honest and the framing of her character is honest, she makes no excuses and no excuses are made for her and that doesn’t mean she isn’t a complex character.

I believe she truly loves her family and will do everything in her power to make sure her family is safe and keeps its status, it just so happens that by doing those things she also destroys her family.

In relation to that I respect that she doesn’t half-ass, she goes big or she goes home and her going big destroys everything.

I have always said that Cersei was [season 1] Sansa before she was Cersei, she was idealistic and naive (which does not suggest that Sansa is now Cersei because Sansa is everything Cersei wasn’t)

and then Robert hated her or didn’t care about her, her father undervalued her and used her as a pawn and  she feltlimited and constrained, that she wasn’t living up to her full potential because no one took her seriously

and she had to sit by and watch these men try to rule the Seven Kingdoms whether it was Robert who didn’t care or Joffery who was tyrannical or Tommen who was gullible

and she just finally takes it for herself. But I also find her to be a truly terrible human being who can be short-sighted and reactionary and just difficult for absolutely no reason.

Sansa Stark

I mean I’ve been doing in-depth breakdowns of her character for weeks so you can find them here:

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/184463381555/what-do-you-think-of-sansas-character-overall-and

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/184787962300/im-not-tryna-sht-on-sansa-i-just-have-a

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/184790549330/agree-with-the-other-anon-sansa-is-being-a-ruler

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/184485128465/hey-zal-whats-your-take-on-the-idea-that-sansa

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/184795134250/about-sansa-trusting-littlefinger-dd-made-it-so

Jon Snow

To be honest, I didn’t particularly care for Jon until season six after he was resurrected. Prior to that, I just found something slightly annoying about him, I think his earnestness combined with his naivete irked me but having seen where the show took him in season 8, I’m a lot happier with who Jon was in the earlier seasons because at least he had a personality but Jon (like Arya) is definitely a character I like better in relation to other certain characters. For instance, I like seeing Jon interact with Sansa partly because Kit and Sophie make great scene partners but also because I find interesting things happen when they’re together.

In season one I did like seeing Jon interact with Tyrion although we got way too much of that in the finale because who CARES for the same reason.

I essentially like characters who challenge Jon because I find Jon more interesting when he’s met with people who question him or make him question, an exception to that would be his relationship with Sam, which was just pure sweetness.

Theon Greyjoy

I’ve mentioned before that I never particularly cared for Theon, not when he was a little shit, not when he was Reek (I mean I felt bad for him but an objective, damn this is A LOT sympathy) and not when he transformed into a better Theon  but I absolutely loved watching Alfie Allen play Theon. I thought Alfie was brilliant as that character, there was so much nuance to his performance:

I realize it’s because Alfie manages to do (not to the same extent) what I feel like kdrama actors can do, which is show a wealth of emotion in his eyes and expression

He holds the emotion in his body so one of my favourite Theon moments is actually when he kills Ser Rodrik because you can see the adrenaline and the agitation and disbelief at his own actions in Alfie which is why the camera lingers on him instead of doing different cuts or angles, we just watch him in this moment

Or even just before he’s betrayed

He looks ready to die, he’s got a manic gleam, he believes his own speech, he embodies that.

Arya Stark

Like I mentioned above, Arya is a character who I think works best when she’s in the right dynamic. For instance, I liked her relationship with Tywin

and I liked her relationship with Sandor

I think Maisie shines best when she’s with particular scene partners and I also think Arya as a character is more compelling to watch when she has someone to riff of of otherwise, outside of that, I don’t find her to be a particularly compelling character and for the most part I find her obnoxious. She has her moments but I’m rather indifferent to her.

Tyrion

My favourite Tyrion is seasons 1-3 Tyrion, his dialogue was fantastic back then (I’m big on dialogue) and I mean, frankly, it is Tyrion in his prime

we see him clever, we see him play the game with Cersei

(Lena and Peter have FANTASTIC chemistry, I loved their scenes, although that doesn’t change when they finally do get to interact again, one of my favourite scenes between them is in season 7)

and Littlefinger and Pycelle etc. I just found Tyrion a lot more compelling before The Purple Wedding and definitely before Daenerys when he just becomes inept and almost bumbling tbh.

Daenerys Targaryen

I never liked her character and again, I’ve broken down why for the past few weeks so you can find them here:

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/184840125235/this-show-destroyed-a-great-female-character

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/184904471095/all-im-saying

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/184853496740/ngl-i-was-buying-into-the-whole-from-broodmare-to

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/184354340265/daenerys-saying-that-shes-fighting-jons-war-and

Jaime Lannister

Jaime is another character I’ve been indifferent to. I’ve mentioned before that I found him more interesting when he was more caustic and sardonic because i felt like he had more interesting things to say with that acidic bite

and also more entertaining to watch

The more the series went on, the less I cared about him although the more I did appreciate Nikolaj’s acting because I mention it in another post but his eyes are expressive and I think he gives insight into what Jaime’s actually thinking/feeling through his eyes and that’s something I noticed later on.

I think that’s all I’ll do for now. If you’re interested in what I thought about Ned and Catelyn and Tywin etc. maybe I’ll do it later, lol.

[charminglatina]

The Biorhythm Compatibility Ratings Between Popular TV & Movie Couples & Their Actors! (Part 2).🌹

In case you are wondering what Biorhythm Compatibility is, it’s a scientific test or analysis that discovers the true compatibility and chemistry between two people, usually between a romantic couple. However, biorhythm compatibility can be used for friendships, family relationships, co workers/business partners, pets, and enemies. The biorhythm compatibility between two people is based on two people’s full date of birth (DD/MM/YYYY). There’s a percentage rating system that determines how compatible a couple is. There are three different categories within a Primary Biorhythm Love Match Compatibility test. These include Physical Compatibility, Emotional Compatibility, and Intellectual Compatibility. First, there is Physical Compatibility which focuses on sexual compatibility, physical compatibility, sexual desire, lust, and the level of passion that exists between a romantic couple. Second, there is Emotional Compatibility which focuses on emotions, feelings, moods, sensitivity, romantic feelings, compassion, empathy, and general intensity of an emotional connection between a romantic couple. The Emotional Compatibility category is arguably the most critical and important component in regards to romantic compatibility between two people in this test next to the Spiritual Compatibility rating (which is the primary purpose of this post and I will explain this later on). Finally, there is Intellectual Compatibility which focuses on mental and verbal communication between a romantic couple, intellectual and mental stimulation, analytical thinking, logical thinking, decision making, learning ability, and mental understanding between a romantic couple. My last rating post focused on the Physical, Emotional, Intellectual and Overall Compatibility Ratings. However, did you know that there is a Secondary Biorhythm Love Match Compatibility Test which focuses on another four separate categories? These four categories in the Secondary Biorhythm Love Match Compatibility Test include Spiritual Compatibility, Awareness Compatibility, Intuitive Compatibility, and Aesthetic Compatibility. Let me explain what each of these four categories in a Biorhythm Love Match Compatibility Test represents. First, there is Spiritual Compatibility – focuses on the spiritual connection and bond, the telepathic and emphatic connection between two people, and the degree of unconditional love, selflessness, harmony and peace between a romantic couple. Second, there is Awareness Compatibility –focuses on the learning ability between two people, cognition compatibility, and the ‘sixth sense’ between a couple. Third, there is Intuition Compatibility–focuses on the instincts and unconscious perception between a romantic couple. Finally, there is Aesthetic Compatibility–focuses on the appreciation for aesthetics and beauty, the understanding of creativity and the arts, and the creative compatibility between a romantic couple.  

The first thing, the most important thing is to know who you are, and how you connect to people. Are you the type of person that wants to have fun, a good time, go dancing, shopping, sit around and chat, the human contact type? Or are you the person that likes to go for hikes, go biking, diving, flying, sailing, skiing, the active kind? Or do you prefer to have intellectually stimulating conversations with intellectual or philosophical people, the intellectual kind? Of course, most of us are a combination of all of those things to varying degrees. Once you have determined who you are, and what you look for in a relationship, it is quite easy to find people that are compatible in this regard, be it physical, emotional, or intellectual. Also keep in mind that we need different things at different times. Problems in friendship appear when you try to take people from one crowd, and you try to bring them into another one where you are simply mismatched. That’s when the ‘you never want to have fun’ or the ‘we can never talk’ accusations happen. Yes, these people want to have fun, and they want to talk, but now when you want to, and you don’t want to when they want to. So, to sum it all up, don’t try to make your friends something they are not capable of, accept people for who and what they are, and concentrate on what your are compatible on. Rather, have several groups of friends and spend time with each group depending on your current needs and wants. Life will be much better this way. To further the concepts of the Biorhythms and Friendship concepts, we now move into a closer relationship of two individuals in terms of Love and Romance, and why some people get along and others don’t. Physical attraction is usually what opens the door, but what happens once you get into the room is dependent on compatibility. Physical attraction (i.e. looks) will work for the first date, but whether dating will continue depends entirely on how much these people have in common. Alternatively, if physical attraction is not part of the original intent, having spent some time with a person that is very compatible can nonetheless lead to a good long term relationship, and even Love and Romance. In order for Love and Romance to flourish in a relationship, the most important biorhythm to be compatible is the emotional cycle. To be in the same ‘mood’ is very important for any relationship to last. High compatibility in the physical biorhythmic cycle is no doubt a powerful ingredient, and you might have the time of your life for the first little while, but Lust alone cannot sustain a relationship. A physical cycle compatibility, which is in effect lust, only carries you so far. Eventually you need to talk. Eventually you need to feel. Eventually, you need to connect, so if there is nothing but physical compatibility, it will not last. There are people who have bounced from partner to partner to partner, focusing only on the physical compatibility component, and then wondering why they can never find somebody permanent, something that lasts for the long run. Love and Romance is not the physical biorhythm compatibility, and it is not the intellectual biorhythm compatibility, although both are very good and important to have to back up the romantic relationship. Love and Romance is the emotional cycle compatibility. Over time, an Biorhythm emotional mismatch will always manifest itself in the same way: “You never want to have fun.” But this is not the case. They just don’t want to have fun when you want to have fun, and they don’t want to be down and depressed when you what to be down and depressed. There is no perfect shoe and there is no perfect foot, there is only a perfect shoe for a certain foot. So if the slipper doesn’t fit, chances are this is not your Cinderella or Prince Charming. So, as an exercise to more successful dating and more love and romance, use Biorhythm Compatibility, and start scanning people for whether your biorhythms are compatible, and more importantly, which ones. Life is too short to keep dating the wrong type of person. Finally we move from Friendship and Love and Romance to Marriage, the quintessential long term relationship.   

What can be expected from the relationship of two people with different Biorhythm when they come together in a social or business relationship? The purpose of the Bio-Compatibility Analysis is to explore this situation. Forewarned can be forearmed. Is what you feel for that other person really love? We have been so distorted by our upbringing that we might not know who would be right for us. We are taught that we should love everyone. You attract opposites if you do not like yourself or if you have a need to suffer or if you were conditioned wrongly by being raised with people who are not like you. You can now find the love of your life. No need to settle for less. If you have been getting involved with people who make you unhappy, you can see what you are doing and correct it. You are on your way to greater happiness. Do not be afraid of it. You can learn to live with yourself; to accept yourself and others, too. Don’t fight it. You are what you are. There are people who will love you because you are you. At least 50% is needed IN EACH AREA of Bio-Compatibility (Physical-Mental-Emotional) for two people to be happy together without much friction. If you have an area of compatibility below 50-60%, it means there will definitely be friction in that area. The relationship will only work if both of you compromise equally. It may also work if one of you willingly becomes the giver and the other becomes the taker. Any action short of these two options will most likely result in a relationship termination. This termination will be a difficult decision for both of you, especially if you have a high Emotional (Love) percentage compatibility, but it will be for the long-term benefit of your individual personal growth. If your average compatibility is between 0% and 40%, it means you have low compatibility, but high polarity. Your high polarity will cause much stress but it will have the effect of balancing each other so that your risk factor becomes low as long as you are willing to give the other person much space to be who they are. Jealousy or fear easily arises in this type of compatibility and can be extremely detrimental to this relationship. High polarity is better for business relationships than it is for social relationships. A commitment to unconditional love for the other person is what is needed to insure the relationship. Accomplish this and you have the key to a fulfilling relationship. Every biorhythmic category has its own sphere of influence when it comes to harmony, disharmony, incompatibility and compatibility. The harmony or disharmony of certain biorhythms also affect relationships between people. The intellectual biorhythm can, under certain conditions, be called male or masculine biorhythms because its disharmony has a strongly negative influence on the stronger sex’s overall conduct and produces to constant discomfort, unsociability and a lack of self-esteem. All of these factors can be “successively” altered by alcohol or by cheating with another woman. This is one of the reasons for drunkenness and alcoholism among men. Disharmonious intellectual rhythms within a romantic relationship or romance can have a negative effect on the partners’ professional sphere and hinder their creative work and self-realization. On the other hand, harmonious intellectual biorhythms between individuals in a relationship gives us self-confidence and stability and they give rise to new ideas, professional self-improvement and self-development. Without the intellectual stimulation within a marriage or a relationship, a man will seek asylum in self destructive attitudes and behaviours including infidelity, gambling, partying, pornography, addictive hobbies, drug abuse, and alcoholism. The emotional biorhythms are considered to be more female or feminine biorhythms. So, their harmony influences the fairer sex more strongly but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a strong influence on men and how they act and behave within a marriage or relationship with women. Disharmonious emotional rhythms between a man and a woman in a romantic relationship and marriage mean loss of attractiveness, apathy about life, loss of empathy for others, imbalance, irritation and constant inner turmoil and distress, as well as dissatisfaction with life in general and tastelessness of food. Such moments are like “death” for men and especially women. Harmonious emotional biorhythms with a male partner are the main thing which women aspire to achieve. It is the mystery of their heart. There are a lot of things, without which she could be content, but she can’t live without harmonious emotional biorhythms (read “love”) with a mate. Any woman can find something positive in a criminal, whose emotional biorhythms are harmonious. A similar situation can be observed with harmonious intellectual rhythms, but it is more energy dependent than feelings and emotions. Finally, the physical biorhythms are responsible for health and sexual affairs. Disharmonious physical biorhythms between a man and a woman in a relationship and marriage mean, first of all, sexual dissatisfaction and lack of sexual interest with their mate. The principles of Indian techniques or “Viagra” are helpless, the bodies of the man and the woman have a different vibration and sexual energy that’s incompatible. Its results are infrequent sexual contact or the complete absence such sexual relations or even extramarital relations (in other words, cheating or infidelity). A disharmony of physical biorhythms can lead to different illnesses (and to weaker organisms, as a rule). Treatment gives only a temporary effect. The easiest way to stop a deluge of physical disharmonious biorhythms is to sleep in different beds. A harmony of physical biorhythms between two people gives the greatest sexual pleasure and orgasms. If we don’t restrict ourselves just to animal-like sex and develop human mutual relations, we can achieve unusual depths to cosmic heights. Sexotherapeutics gives the possibility of getting rid of various illnesses and diseases.

Is the love between a romantic couple so enigmatic and mysterious? While analyzing biorhythmical compatibility, we can get a new point of view on mutual relations between people and appreciate them in another way. A certain scheme of relations is created, seemingly a range of reciprocal relations. It is practically impossible to overcome this no matter how hard they try or want to. There are nine possible combinations of the three biorhythmic categories in a range of reciprocal relations. Let us examine them: All three biorhythms are disharmonious or incompatible (0% to 40%): There is no real family life or marriage with these kinds of biorhythmic compatibility ratings. The cause of marriage is an outward attractiveness, pure lust or sex, mental advantage, duty or just habit. Some feelings which appear at the beginning of relations are lost during the course of time. When the love is gone, leaving no children or bo common property, the marriage is absolutely destroyed. Otherwise, the married couple is just a financial-material unity or a business venture. They are energetic vampires to one another, who coexist in one house and abuse and torment each other and their children. Only physical biorhythms are harmonious or compatible: The situation is similar to the previous one where there are two disharmonious biorhythm between two people. The marriage will be filled with much turmoil and destructiveness. Eventually, the relationship with deteriorate due to a lack of feeling and love between the partners. But here, a physical bent and sexual satisfaction keeps the family from being completely destroyed unlike the first example. But the marriage or relationship can’t be salvaged with the help of sex alone… a spiritual warmth, a feeling of love and emotion, and mutual understanding between the two involved in the marriage are also strongly necessary. Since this couple lacks the harmonious emotional and intellectual biorhythms, this is a marriage that will likely end up being seriously shallow, abusive, or end up in divorce. Though the man will be sexually satisfied by his female partner, he will still likely commit infidelity because he is not achieving satisfaction in the emotional or intellectual biorhythms. Only emotional biorhythms are harmonious or compatible: With this scenario, there is something like love, especially from the woman’s point of view. A great feeling of love appears from the very first acquaintance or from the first time a man and a woman meet each other. But over the course of time, the man’s feeling towards the woman can grow cold, distant, aloof and frigid towards the woman. Intimate relations don’t give any sense of joy or happiness. Their love becomes broken. It’s a real tragedy, especially for the woman in the relationship. She can’t reconcile herself with it. She is ready to do anything to bring her male lover back, and then live at his expense, doing nothing in return. Without the harmonious physical biorhythm with a female partner, the emotional relationship with his female partner feels sexually empty. There’s no passion or desire on the man’s behalf towards the woman. Because of this, the man may commit physical or sexual infidelity to satisfy his sexual needs. And if there is no intellectual biorhythm harmony between a man and a woman, the man is likely to drown himself in outside hobbies or work instead of spending time with his spouse or partner. As a result, the man may become a workaholic, using work and finances as an escape from the lack of intellectual or mental stimulation from his partner. Emotional and physical biorhythms are harmonious or compatible: The situation is quite complicated. It is better for men to avoid women in which they have such biorhythmic compatibilities. Besides a desire to possess you completely, there is a physical bent and sexual satisfaction, which is not achievable with anyone. The latter confuses men and makes woman’s behaviour more cruel in her struggle for her happiness. Only intellectual biorhythms are harmonious or compatible: It is the third type in reverse. A woman can be attracted by a man’s mental abilities or his skillfulness in speaking. But over a period of time, a person gets used to everything and finds nothing that brings warmth to their soul. A man begins to fight for his happiness. It means trouble for the woman, who gets married to such a man. Intellectual and physical biorhythms are harmonious or compatible: A physical satisfaction (contentment), which is associated with love, is added to the previous type. A man will make a lot of efforts to conquer such a woman. Intellectual and emotional biorhythms are harmonious or compatible: It is platonic love. Everything is good, except the sex factor. It is the type that is a real friendship and cooperation on all the levels. It is a good choice for a secretary, but not for a wife or romantic partner. Young people, whose feelings are developed more than their intimate relations, can fall into such a trap. In such families there are rare occurrences of love-making or a lack of sexual relations altogether. It is better for partners to take a rest from each other or sleep in different rooms. All three biorhythms are harmonious (60-80%): There is stability, warmth and mutual understanding between the romantic partners, which could be even stronger. For people who are satisfied with their position and have a good family, it is more like deep, strong companionship and cooperation. Maximalists, who are looking for complete harmony and compatibility, can destroy everything they should save with their own hands. Three harmonious biorhythms (more than 80%-100%) should unite people in marriage: True love, real feelings and the right kind of sex is possible with this dynamic. Such couples might say that others don’t understand what real love is: one shouldn’t speak about feelings, one should just love! These women end up giving birth to intelligent, beautiful and healthy children who live a happy life and are free of all kinds of problems (if they don’t make problems for themselves) including health, romantic, educational and financial. So, we have the characteristics of marriage from the biorhythmic point of view. Maybe someone thinks that life is more complicated than theories and formula. But our being can’t be more difficult than natural laws. We can’t always be united with the one we want, but we can avoid an unpleasant person. The main thing is to give our children all the very best, but our trust in God alone.

The following ratings are compatibility ratings between the two actors portraying the fictional characters and the fictional romantic couples. This is not a real life shipping post so please look at these ratings and results as purely compatibility between two actors (Results are based on date of birth between the actors). All of the results and ratings are 99.9% accurate with a margin of error of +/- 1.

Tyler Posey & Arden Cho (TV or Film Couple: Scott McCall & Kira Yukimura; TV Show or Film: Teen Wolf; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 53%)

Chris Noth & Sarah Jessica Parker (TV or Film Couple: Mr. Big & Carrie Bradshaw; TV Show or Film: Sex In The City; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 54%)

Milo Ventimiglia & Alexis Bledel (TV or Film Couple: Jess Mariano & Rory Gilmore; TV Show or Film: Gilmore Girls; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 35%)

Chad Michael Murray & Sophia Bush (TV or Film Couple: Lucas Scott & Brooke Davis; TV Show or Film: One Tree Hill; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 57%)

Josh Radnor & Cobie Smulders (TV or Film Couple: Ted Mosby & Robin Scherbatsky; TV Show or Film: How I Met Your Mother; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 95%)

Michael Vartan & Jennifer Garner (TV or Film Couple: Michael Vaughn & Sydney Bristow; TV Show or Film: Alias; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 56%)

Chad Michael Murray & Hilarie Burton (TV or Film Couple: Lucas Scott & Peyton Sawyer; TV Show or Film: One Tree Hill; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 42%)

Rupert Grint & Emma Watson (TV or Film Couple: Ron Weasley & Hermione Granger; TV Show or Film: Harry Potter Franchise; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 74%)

Colin O’Donoghue & Jennifer Morrison (TV or Film Couple: Killian “Captain Hook” Jones & Emma Swan; TV Show or Film:Once Upon A Time; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 43%)

Bradley James & Colin Morgan (TV or Film Couple: Arthur Pendragon & Merlin; TV Show or Film: Merlin; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 62%)

Josh Dallas & Ginnifer Goodwin (TV or Film Couple: Prince Charming & Snow White; TV Show or Film: Once Upon A Time; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 79%)

David Boreanaz & Emily Deschanel (TV or Film Couple: Seeley Booth & Temperance “Bones” Brennen; TV Show or Film: Bones; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 55%)

David Duchovny & Gillian Anderson (TV or Film Couple: Fox Mulder & Dana Scully; TV Show or Film: The X-Files; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 49%)

Neil Patrick Harris & Cobie Smulders (TV or Film Couple: Barney Stinson & Robin Scherbatsky; TV Show or Film: How I Met Your Mother; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 60%)

Richard Burton & Elizabeth Taylor (TV or Film Couple: Mark Anthony & Cleopatra; TV Show or Film: Cleopatra; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 83%)

Jared Padalecki & Jensen Ackles (TV or Film Couple: Wincest; TV Show or Film: Supernatural; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 83%)

Wilmer Valderrama & Mila Kunis (TV or Film Couple: Fez & Jackie Burkhart; TV Show or Film: That 70′s Show; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 88%)

Sam Heughan & Catriona Balfe (TV or Film Couple: Jamie Fraser & Claire Fraser; TV Show or Film: Outlander; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 52%)

Darren Criss & Chris Colfer (TV or Film Couple: Blaine Anderson & Kurt Hummel; TV Show or Film: Glee; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 42%)

Vanessa Morgan & Madelaine Petsch (TV or Film Couple: Toni Topaz & Cheryl Blossom; TV Show or Film: Riverdale; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 54%)

Jared Padalecki & Alexis Bledel (TV or Film Couple: Dean Forrester & Rory Gilmore; TV Show or Film: Gilmore Girls; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 74%)

Chris Wood & Melissa Benoist (TV or Film Couple: Mon-El & Kara Danvers; TV Show or Film: Supergirl; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 55%)

Dylan O’Brien & Shelley Hennig (TV or Film Couple: Stiles Stilinski & Malia Tate; TV Show or Film: Teen Wolf; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 45%)

Bob Morley & Eliza Taylor (TV or Film Couple: Bellamy Blake & Clarke Griffin; TV Show or Film: The 100; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 71%)

John Boyega & Daisy Ridley (TV or Film Couple: Finn & Rey; TV Show or Film: Star Wars Franchise; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 76%)

Nathan Fillion & Stana Katic (TV or Film Couple: Richard Castle & Kate Beckett; TV Show or Film: Castle; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 73%)

Alexander Skarsgard & Anna Paquin (TV or Film Couple: Eric Northman & Sookie Stackhouse; TV Show or Film: True Blood; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 70%)

Tyler Posey & Dylan O’Brien (TV or Film Couple: Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski; TV Show or Film: Teen Wolf; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 62%)

Camila Mendes & Lili Reinhart (TV or Film Couple: Veronica Lodge & Betty Cooper; TV Show or Film: Riverdale; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 65%)

Charles Melton & Camila Mendes (TV or Film Couple: Reggie Mantle & Veronica Lodge; TV Show or Film: Riverdale; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 48%)

Jason Dohring & Kristen Bell (TV or Film Couple: Logan Echolls & Veronica Mars; TV Show or Film: Veronica Mars; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 89%)

Toby Regbo & Adelaide Kane (TV or Film Couple: King Francis II of France & Queen Mary of Scots; TV Show or Film: Reign; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 64%)

Torrance Coombs & Adelaide Kane (TV or Film Couple: Sebastian “Bash” de Poitiers & Queen Mary Of Scots; TV Show or Film:Reign; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 57%)

Chace Crawford & Blake Lively (TV or Film Couple: Nate Archibald & Serena Van Der Woodsen; TV Show or Film: Gossip Girl; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 89%)

James Lafferty & Bethany Joy Lenz (TV or Film Couple: Nathan Scott & Haley James Scott; TV Show or Film: One Tree Hill; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 48%)

Joseph Morgan & Phoebe Tonkin (TV or Film Couple: Klaus Mikaelson & Hayley Marshall; TV Show or Film: The Originals; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 35%)

Joseph Morgan & Leah Pipes (TV or Film Couple: Klaus Mikaelson & Camille O’Connell; TV Show or Film: The Originals; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 67%)

Daniel Gillies & Phoebe Tonkin (TV or Film Couple: Elijah Mikaelson & Hayley Marshall; TV Show or Film: The Originals; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 47%)

Gavin Leatherwood & Kiernan Shipka (TV or Film Couple: Nick Scratch & Sabrina Spellman; TV Show or Film: Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 87%)

Ross Lynch & Kiernan Shipka (TV or Film Couple: Harvey Kinkle & Sabrina Spellman; TV Show or Film: Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina; Biorhythm Compatibility Rating: 45%)

More couples in Part 3!

[sdhanagare]

Happy Birthday Amitji

Amitabh Bachchan completes 77 years and 50 years of entertaining us.

It was 1969 he made his debut. I was just 5 years old.

In 1970 we left for Brighton England for my Fathers doctorate, ( before which in 1969 a superstar came on the horizon in form of Rajesh Khanna

I remember the last movie we saw before leaving India was Aradhana).

We were in England for almost 4 years. So I missed the phenomena of Rajesh Khanna and the blooming of Amitabh Bachchan.

I remember the first movie I saw was Roti Kapada aur Makaan it was 1974 at Heer Palace Kanpur. I fell in love with the charismatic character of Vijay .

His journey from a unruly youth to the army where he looses his arm( my father used to tease me for many days as Dunda Haath Chalaaye Bandook ) was very well depicted by him under the direction of Manoj Kumar. The way he drives the motorcycle with the accelerator between his teeth. I was overwhelmed , His anger was so genuine.

The second movie I remember was Benaam. A suspense thriller and my admiration for him increased.

This was followed by reruns of Anand Namak Haraam and Abhimaan at our L7  auditorium at IIT Kanpur ( as they had been released when we were abroad )

I used to ask my parents to take me to see his releases.

Those were the days of advance booking and being away from the main city many times we could not get tickets to his movies..

We had to try thrice before we could see Deewar and Sholay both released in the year of emergency 1975.

Faraar, Chupke Chupke and Mili were the first movies I saw more than once in those days as a 11 year old. Thankfully for me my parents also were movie buffs. ( Obviously I could not go alone then but started doing so 4 years later )

Something which came to me genetically as my grandmother also was a movie fan. We used to see movies over the fortnight.

After almost 2and half months during my Diwali Vacation of 1975, we finally got tickets to Sholay at Sundar theatre. The movie then was ruthlessly edited with Asranis scenes as also Jayas Holi Scenes being cut . But that movie had a great impact on me, esp the character of Jai.

It was later in 1976 in its Golden Jubilee week I we saw Deewaar.

After Deewar I was totally smitten with Amitji, I used to tie a knot on my shirt like he did. Since then somehow or the other I saw every movie released.

In 1978 we shifted to Pune.

In Pune I realised that theatres were not so far as in Kanpur and I had a cycle.

In 1979 in 9th Standard I bunked school and went to see The Great Gambler ( which my parents would not allow as it was for Adults ). In Pune I understood the concept of Advance Booking, where bookings for a movie used to open on Monday and if one wished to see a film First day then that booking needed to be done.

In vacations we used to go my Dads Hometown of Washim ( then in Akola, now a district ) , there we had a theatre owned by a trust of which my grandfather was a trustee. Movies were free for us and seats were reserved for trustees.

Used to love going to the movies there but my memory brightens up when I remember that I saw Muqaddar Ka Sikander 4 times on the trot in 4 days, including once ( Interval to Interval ). Sholay I saw there 5 times in a week, this was thankfully the uncut version .

It is a well-known chapter of Indian film history beginning with the release of Prakash Mehras Zanjeer in 1973 which turned Amitabh into a goldmine.

This movie I finally got to see first on DD and in the theatre as late as 1980 during a re-run. Smouldering in the Salim-Javed dialogues and refracted through the Amitabh flamboyance fired the imagination of a whole nation as nothing had ever done before a trend which was carried ahead in Deewar, Sholay,Trishul, Don, Kaala Pathhar, Shaan, Shakti.

Movies then used to release phase wise first in Metros and a week or even later in other cities . Pune normally movies released a week later than Mumbai

And Lonawala used to come in the Mumbai circuit. I used to take a local to Lonawala to see Amitabhs movies. Once for Yaarana the tickets were not available in Black also , I took a ride at the back of a truck and went till Khopoli and saw the movie. Similarly Kaalia also I saw at Lonawala.

From Pune used to go for Summer Vacations to Mumbai and saw many movies there. Namak Halaal, Dostana, Desh Premee, Mahaan were all seen there.

Once I decided to go and visit his house, then Prateeksha. I had gone alone and after I reached just looked at the house in awe.

I always used to think if I could ever meet him, see him.

Thats a long story and long time ahead.

One incident I remember that in 1991, my father was travelling from Delhi to Mumbai,( and from Mumbai to Pune by road, as Pune airport was not functional then). On reaching home he asked me during dinner , guess who was next to me on the flight ( He was eligible for Business Class then ). I couldnt guess and he told me, your favourite Amitabh Bachchan. I was zapped, I said Dad did you get his autograph ? Dad replied, why should I , Iam not his fan, when you meet him, take it .

Cut to 1994 , I had won the All India award for Best Sales performance and the award was to be given at Mumbai. We were invited to Mumbai and put up at Ajantha Ambassador hotel. We were to join the team from Pune as they started from Sangli by Mahalaxmi express which reached Pune at 6am, we found that very early and decided to come by Deccan Queen which reached Mumbai by 10.30 am. As I reached the Hotel, I saw a Mercedes Van coming out of the gate, I wowed it and came to the reception where my colleague Pravin Rayate greeted me with.. You should have come a bit earlier, Amitabh Bachchan was in the lobby to pick up Jaya Ji {who had her office on the second floor ( Saraswati Audiovisuals, the makers of the TV hit seriel Dekh Bhai Dekh )}. So I Mercedes I saw was his and if I had taken Mahalaxmi express and come, I would have met him. It was not to be. It dampened the spirits of my award ( which I received two days later at Taj from the hands of Adi.B and Nadir.B Godrej .

The Journey moved on..

Insipte of the ups and downs, odds and evens Amitabhs box-office records can be described only in superlatives. Producers and distributors seemed to believe still that even a flop with Amitabhs name on the marquee is a good enough grosser, which was proved by the trade.

His image of the angry young man had viewers reeling under the magic of neorealism, where dream and daydream coalesced in a brave new world. The myriad manifestations of Amitabhs no-holds-barred rebellion offered a blissful release to the repressions of a whole generation. The star became a cult figure of radical dynamism, of iconoclastic change. He was no stranger to the seaminess of street life. His idealism rose not from birth or class, but from action. His avatars recurred in shanties and ghettos, in the underworld dens and among the dregs of humanity. There he battled with the predators of the concrete jungle for survivalhis belligerence hiding a tender heart, family virtues, human kindliness. He was the ultimate good man, often turned bad by circumstances, whose atonement came through self-sacrificeoften unto gory, long-drawn death.

So from Zanjeer through Deewar, Sholay, Mukaddar ka Sikandar, Shahenshah, Inderjeet, Agneepath and Akayla, to Khuda Gawah, the Amitabh archetype continues to reflect variations on a simplistic mould, magnified to a brilliant potency; it has now become part of the collective psyche of a nation of filmgoers. It was the perfect antidote to the dystopian nightmare of modern mechanistic existence, especially in the less cynical times of the recent past. Amitabh individuates his roles with the utmost confidence and conviction. He makes the unsubtle seem subtle, touches the crass with class, makes melodrama credible. Certainly, no other Indian actor had the speaking eyes and spellbinding voice to infuse nuanced suggestivity into stereotypical situations. His finesse did not alienate his characters from the masses.

In the mid 90s he moved towards central Character roles the catalyst being Mohobattein.

Then came the super hit T.V. show Kaun Banega Carorepati anchored by Amitabh. It gave an entire new life to his career which was under the dark shadow.

Finally out of the blue came the date, 12th November 2018.

The prelude to this date was the fact that I had connected to Amitji on all his social media accounts , also my senior colleague Dr Manoj Mehta who was an active participant of ABEF ( Amitabh Bachchan extended Family ), offered us a chance to be a spectator at the KBC show , we ( My friend / ex senior from Godrej Sanjay Pandey, and current colleague Kapil Sharma ) . The date was 12th November. It was the last week of shooting of that season. We reached the sets at Film City at 2 pm sharp but had a long wait till 8pm till we were finally seated, alas in the third row. It was another wait for an hour before the shoot began. Finally at @ 9.00pm he came in a Maroon Suit, seeing him I froze.. There he was some 25 feet away from me. Very interactive with the crowd, very sportive, responding to our comments and jokes. How almost 4 hours past, and it was well after 12am that the photos he has with the audience started and well after 1 am that he left. Look at his dedication reached the sets at 9 am completed 2 episode shoots and left at 1 am. He had just turned 76 then. I had finally seen with my eyes, my hero , my idol, or even if I may say My god.

But better things were ahead, The 2019 edition of KBC started in August 2019.

We had epressed our wish to be a participant again. It was 18th July, at 7.12 pm got a message from Dr Manoj that we could attend the shoot on 6th August as the show restarted on 5th August. This time the procedure was different. There was an online procedure which need to be followed up with the invite.

We did that. But July end, rains started in Mumbai and Pune, everywhere there were spells of flooding, roads closed. Sanjay and Myself were the only two left from Pune and a friend of Sanjay, Kailash Agarwal was to jpin us at Mumbai.

The forecast was rains, we debated till late evening weather to go or quit, but the urge of seeing him was so much that we decided to take the risk.

We reached at 3 pm sharp , but this time there wasnt a long wait. We enrolled ourselves and it was an hour and half later that we were inside. This time being enrolled from the ABEF , we got privileged entry, and were in the first row.

Oh what a feeling it was !! Another hour Later Big B made his majestic entry. Again he was interactive with the crowd, and the shooting ended at 8.30 pm.

Then the photographs moments came. Finally he was in front of me, I had taken a token gift for him, which he accepted. Took his Biography along which he autographed. I was trembling in joy as I shook hands with him, talked to him, it lasted a minute but the emotions were beyond eternity.

Finally at the age of 55 and 45 years later I got to meet him.

Nobody else ever had this deadly combination of unmatched talent and charisma and nobody else will ever have it in future. Then there was style, polish and a great deal of seclusion encouraging rumours and augmenting the aura. Anyway one looked at it, the man radiates power. To recapitulate there has only been one super star in India, and that is Amitabh Bachchan. 

[qqueenofhades]

Oh dear 😅 Okay so basically part one was me saying how someone was complaining that Maria's whole character was how perfect she was and how they were upset that we didn't get to know her better, and I said that's kind of the entire point? Especially because Frank even said to David that he only remembers good things, and then part three was me saying that while this is yes the trope of women being used for male development, because it's Frank, the application of this trope is a good one

(part 2) his memories are always of her loving him. we don’t get to know who Maria truly is because we were robbed of that, just like he was. We only see her as how Frank remembers her, and of COURSE she’s gonna be perfect and loving because that’s what frank is choosing to remember (and like what a beautiful thing to be remembered as??)

(part 4) and of course he is going to imagine her as beautiful and perfect and he’s going to keep that memory untouched by his reality because he sees who he has become. I am not going into detail about his children, but I of course recognize that they were also taken from him too, but someone was specifically complaining about Maria’s character and i felt like they missed the whole point? Idk what are your thoughts on this/might you be able to put what i’m trying to say into better words 😂

Well, as noted, I only got two parts of this ask (glares at Tumblr) and despite your many and valiant efforts, parts 1 and 3 never came through on any of your attempts. You have the patience of a saint, so bless you. 

(It turns out I have a lot to say on this topic, so brace yourselves?)

By definition, the “dead wife” trope is going to involve some of this, since it’s still totally standard practice to kill off a woman (mother/daughter/wife, but usually wife) to explain a male character’s motivation, and usually to induce us to support him on his vengeance quest. Most of my trash male favorites have or had a dead wife/similar romantic partner at some point, and a lot of the narrative’s success at convincing us that this is a sympathetic character, regardless of the other violent/angsty/anti-heroic things that he does, rests on selling to us that he truly loved his wife (and vice versa, though we also have the Surprise Evil Now Not Dead Wife glares very very hard at Timeless) and it was a travesty that she was taken from him in an unfair way by people much more evil than him. Since Frank’s entire initial character motivation, for much of his to-date appearance in the modern MCU, rests on getting vengeance (often in spectacular and bloody fashion) for the people who killed his wife and kids, in some sense, yes, that emotional thread is necessary. If we’re going to be like “yeah Frank, shank eight more mobsters!” and continue to see him as someone for whom we have an investment in the positive outcome of his story, he needs to be, in some sense, doing the right thing, however badly or violently. And yes, the Dead Wife and Dead Mother trope for protagonists just… happen a lot. Everywhere.

Next, while fandom is in often many cases predominantly female, it still has a lot, a lot, of internalized misogyny to deal with. Dead wives are viewed suspiciously and as possible obstacles to ships, especially when her widower has moved on to a new canon/onscreen relationship with someone else. By virtue of seeing it develop, viewers are more invested in this one, and when dead wives return for whatever reason, she is often implicitly or explicitly used for ship drama with the current couple (glares at Timeless again). This sets her up to be disliked from the start, since we all know shippers aren’t really the most rational creatures in the world at all times and are eager to look for/invent reasons to dislike a character being outright used to keep their OTP apart. If for some reason Maria DID return to life (not at all likely, if not out of the question in the MCU) I can imagine that she would probably, unfortunately, receive some of the same treatment. This happened a lot in the OUAT fandom, where shippers relentlessly villainized a male character’s past/dead love interest (in this case, Milah, for Captain Hook) because it was somehow felt necessary to make the current ship (CS) more valid if the previous one was discounted. Milah was a complicated character and not one that I particularly personally was invested in, but yeah, we know complicated women get turned into “bitch” or “ship obstacle” PDQ. Here, again, I am obliged to glare at Timeless a third time. And when she and Emma met in canon, it was respectful, they both worked together to save the man they loved, and then Milah got fridged AGAIN, which was pretty rage-inducing even if you didn’t like her all that much. Also, the OUAT fandom was extremely tribal in the shipping regard as it was, so yes.

Now, with the overall commentary on Dead Wives out of the way, onto Maria. As you note, and Frank himself notes, he is an extremely unreliable narrator when it comes to Maria. What we know about her canonically/outside his dreams/nightmare about her is the following:

She was Italian Catholic (probably like him) since her grandmother came over from Sicily, and a good cook;

She met Frank in a park by telling him to play a better song;

She got pregnant with Lisa three months into their relationship and told Frank that he could leave if he wanted, but she was keeping the baby, and instead Frank proposed to her that day;

Frank was absent for the birth of at least one and probably both of their children (“we serve 15-month tours in Afghanistan… you leave, you’ve got a pregnant wife, you come back, the kid’s walking”);

By Frank’s own admission, he sometimes preferred to be overseas with his unit rather than at home with her and the kids, which is probably not a reflection on how happy their relationship was, but the fact that Frank really flat-out enjoys being a soldier and indeed, killing;

Maria could probably be very jealous at times and had a hot temper (as Frank tells Karen in the diner scene in DD 2x11, she could be vicious and put him through the wringer emotionally)

She was close to Billy and viewed him as part of their family;

Frank’s last memory of her is her coming to wake him up on the morning after he returned from his last deployment, which is also the day that she and the kids were killed, because they went to the carousel later and were shot. That is the memory that keeps playing in his nightmares/increasingly deteriorates, with him witnessing her being shot in their bedroom and then by himself (which is of course not what happened).

The one time that memory continues on past her just waking him up, in TP 1x12 when Frank is being tortured by Orange, it’s clear that their relationship has suffered from Frank’s long absences and preference to be overseas/at war, and Maria asks him point-blank where home is, says he’s here but not really here, and wants to know if he is yet again going to be mentally somewhere else.

Anyway, all of that points to the fact that Maria was probably a complex human woman, like most women are, and had mixed feelings about her husband’s addiction to war and violence, even as he was by all accounts a good and loving husband to her and father to their children. Frank himself clearly states that he feels guilty about not paying more attention to them while they were alive, so of course, yes, he has valorised their memory and put them on a pedestal and made them the all-consuming reason for his vengeance. I’d say that part of his motive is to keep punishing himself, as well as the actual killers, over his guilt and regret about what he lost with them ��� some of it unavoidably, and some of it by his own choices. As he indeed says to David, their relationship was not perfect, because no one’s is, but now he only remembers the nice/good/beautiful parts of it. Which is a fairly understandable response to losing a loved one, especially in a horrific/traumatic way like he did.

And yes, exactly, the tragedy is that we DON’T get to know Maria outside Frank’s highly idealised and increasingly fantasised memories of her. She is dead, and he continues to struggle over and over with that fact, even as there is an awareness that he is starting to move on. He already compared how he feels about another woman (Karen) to how David feels about Sarah (his living/current wife). In some sense, Frank has started to/to some degree already fallen in love with someone else, and the entire end of S1 was him coming to terms with his trauma in some part, having to let Maria go (“come home, Frank” / “I am home”) and figuring out how his life looks now. But he clearly loved her very much, she loved him the same, and he’s willing to burn down the world for her and for their children, so we certainly can’t say that she was anything less than someone he loved with his whole heart and soul and had built a life and family with, with all the problems that go with that. And that should definitely be defended.

[urdearestmom]

I Love You A Latte

so ao3 won’t let me post this for some reason. I’ve been working on it for about five months and it’s probably trash but here is this monster, the longest oneshot i’ve ever written!!!!!!!!!! 

i’d like to dedicate it to @robynhoots because she loves mileven just as much as i do and also @fatechica because her 27k chapters of solely quality content inspire me :DD thanks ladies!!!!!  

El looks up as the door opens, and there they are again. The redheaded girl and the tall guy, pushing each other through the entry and glaring. It's a regular occurrence, so she knows that's just how they are and not that they're about to punch each other out or something. El turns away to wipe down the counter, trying to avoid staring at the couple as they head to a table and spread out their belongings. She can admit that she low-key has a crush on the dude, but he's clearly another girl's boyfriend and she's not going to get herself in the way of that. It's just a crush, after all.

He comes up to the counter and awkwardly smiles at her. The pair always comes at this time, when this particular Starbucks isn't very busy, so there's no one else working the register and machines.

"Hi, what can I get you today?" El asks. She always feels a little bit like her feet are about to lift off the ground from nerves whenever Mike comes to order instead of his girlfriend. He's so tall it should be intimidating, but it only would be if he was thicker. As it is, he's a walking bundle of twigs with a mop of dark hair on top. For some reason, El finds it attractive. She thinks he's just about the cutest guy she's ever seen: dark hair, dark eyes, a face splashed with freckles. She just wishes he wasn't already taken.

"A tall iced coffee with milk and a grande chai latte for Mike and Max, please," he answers, pulling his wallet out.

"Don't get my order wrong!" Calls the redhead from their seats, smirking.

Mike rolls his eyes and huffs exasperatedly. "I've never gotten her order wrong in my life," he says, looking at El and shaking his head.

She plasters on her customer service smile and replies, "That'll be six eighty-nine, please."

They've been coming in since before she even started working there, El thinks. At least, her manager told her that Mike and Max had been regulars for a long time when she asked. So they've been together for a while. El's kind of envious, not just because she thinks Mike is cute, but because they seem like the type of couple everyone wants to be. They're confident together, and they look happy. Well, sometimes. Most of the time one of them is ribbing the other while their partner fumes. A lot of the time they come in just for drinks and a study session, spreading out books and laptops across wherever they've decided to sit that day, and they'll spend hours sitting across from each other without saying a word. She's never seen them kiss or hold hands or anything of the sort, but El figures maybe they're just not into PDA (which would suck for her if they were).

Their relationship is actually kind of aggressive. Whenever El's not super busy (which is always), she likes to watch them, and she's noticed that Max seems to like hostile physical interaction. She slaps Mike upside the head or punches him in the arm a lot, and sometimes she even kicks him, but he always retaliates by either pulling her hair or with a slew of sharp words. It's an interesting dynamic, and El wonders if she weren't so shy, would she have been able to make friends with them? She kind of wants to. God knows she needs friends; this is her third year in college and she barely has any.

It's on one day, when Max comes in alone, that El decides that she's going to talk to her. It's less of a task without Mike there because he makes her nervous, and Max seems like the type of girl who'd be open to a conversation. She's also in one of El's sociology classes, so that could be something to talk about.

The redhead is leaning against the end of the counter as El makes her regular chai latte, blowing strands of hair out of her face. El takes a deep breath and opens her mouth to speak before she loses her courage. "So, what are you studying?"

Max jerks back to attention. "Sorry, what?"

El gulps. "Um, what- what are you studying? You know, like, what are you in college for?"

"Oh," Max says, nodding. "I'm in marketing."

"That's cool," El answers, turning off the machine before passing off the cup to the other girl. "You like it?"

Max rips open a packet of sugar. "It's fine, I guess. Never really what I pictured myself doing, growing up, but I'm here and I'm not bored and I don't hate it," she replies, pouring the sugar in. "What about you?"

El takes a quick look around the store, noting that there are no new customers. "Developmental psych, but sociology minor. You enjoying Tepperman's class?"

Max's eyes widen. "I knew I recognized you! Ellen, right?"

"Eleanor, actually," El says, smiling. "Old nickname, it's my middle name. It stuck."

Max smiles back. "Hey, I don't wanna take you away from your job or anything, but the store looks pretty empty so… you want to come sit down? I have so many questions about that goddamned class and my friend is busy today so…"

No way is El going to pass up the opportunity to begin what she feels could be a beautiful friendship. "Sure!"

It goes naturally from there. El sits down with Max whenever she's alone, and they exchange phone numbers shortly after their first meeting. A few times, she even sits down when Mike is there too, although she talks a lot less because she feels like she's intruding on their time together. She finds that Max is a spitfire, just exactly as she looks, and that Mike is a really nice guy with a sharp tongue. He's an engineering major (somehow, that makes him even more attractive. El needs to get over it). They mention someone named Lucas a lot, but neither of them ever specifies who that is and El doesn't want to ask. She assumes he must be one of their friends.

It's been about a month since she first talked to Max, and she wonders if she's ever going to meet their other friends, or if she's just the random Starbucks employee they talk to sometimes. The answer comes one afternoon when Max gets up to leave.

"I'm gonna head home to get ready," she says, swinging her bag over her shoulder and nodding at Mike.

"Alright, guess I'll see you later then," he answers. "Try not to ravage the bathroom while you're at it, would you?"

She rolls her eyes. "Fuck you." She's standing there looking between El and Mike as if waiting for one of them to say something.

"Are you leaving or what, Mayfield?" Mike asks exasperatedly. Max stands there for a moment more before winking at him. He sinks lower in his seat, flushing. "Kindly fuck off, I'll see you later."

She laughs and walks away, waving as she pushes the door open and disappears onto the street.

"So you guys live together?" El asks, picking at her nails and trying not to make it obvious that the new information makes her uncomfortable. Clearly, there's another level of commitment here that she hadn't been aware of. It makes her crush on Mike even more awkward than it already is.

Mike sighs, reaching for his drink and taking a sip. "Yeah. It's easier to live with someone you know than to room with people you've never met. It could be a gamble with new people, but Max and I have known each other our whole lives."

"Oh? How'd you guys meet?"

"We were neighbours and our parents were friends so we grew up together, but we kind of hated each other until like, junior year," he says, tracing a finger around the rim of his cup. "Shit happened and we realized that neither of us was as bad as we thought. Been inseparable since."

Suddenly, he laughs. "Ask anyone from our hometown about Mike Wheeler and Max Mayfield, they'll tell you. Anyway," he adds, leaning forward, "We're heading out to Detroit tonight, it's our friend's birthday. We were wondering if you wanted to come? If you're off work, that is."

El's shocked, and she doesn't know what to say for a moment. Mike must take this the wrong way, because he says, "It's no problem if you don't want to! It's just, the others want to meet you. We talk a lot about you."

"You- you do?"

He smiles. "Yeah! You're really cool."

Her heart flutters, even though she tells herself not to let it. "Um- yeah, my- my shift ends at six-thirty, is that enough time?"

"Totally," he says enthusiastically. "We're all meeting up at mine and Max's place before we leave, I'll text you the address."

A few moments later, her phone buzzes, and when El looks at the address she's surprised to find that- "We live in the same building!"

"Oh, cool! We're on the eighth floor, apartment 8D," Mike says, pointing at her with his straw. "You should come by sometime."

El scoffs. "Yeah, maybe, if you need help with your humanities classes."

Mike's smile disappears and he clutches his chest dramatically. "You're starting to sound like Max! Where is the nice, kind El I once knew?! Where hath she gone?!"

She snorts, then covers her face, her eyes widening. "Oh my god, that was nasty. I am so sorry you had to hear that."

Mike shrugs. "It was kind of c-"

"Also, you're so dramatic," El adds, forging on.

He laughs again. "That's what happens when you have two sisters and end up living with Max Mayfield, biggest drama queen on the planet."

"I feel like she would dump your ass on the side of the road if she heard you say that," El says, tapping her nails against the table.

Mike snorts, taking a drink. "She would. I'm sure she's considered kicking me out just for breathing too loud sometimes."

El's about to respond when the door opens and a customer enters. "Well, guess it's time for me to get back to work!"

She's not free for another hour, and by then it's six-fifteen. When she looks around the store, she sees that Mike is gone. She frowns. She hadn't noticed him leave, but when she checks her phone for the text she'd gotten about half an hour ago it's from him.

Mike [5:43 PM]: Hey sorry I left without saying bye you looked busy but 8D around 8pm ok?

[6:16 PM]: I'll be there dw haha, she responds.

He texts back immediately. Mike [6:16 PM]: Cool see you soon :D

El slips her phone back into her pocket with a smile and turns to see one of the baristas for the shift after hers clocking in. "Hey," she says. "Kinda dead in here and I've got somewhere to be, do you mind if I clock out now?"

At quarter to eight, El's ready. As she makes her way to the eighth floor of her building, she's wondering what the others will be like. She likes Mike and Max just fine and they seem to like her, but will she fit in with the rest of the group? Then she's in front of 8D and she's knocking on the door. There's some muffled yelling from inside (likely arguing about who's going to open the door) and a few moments of silence before it swings open.

Max stands on the other side, dressed in a nice white blouse tucked into fitted black pants. She's got red lips, but other than that her makeup is pretty simple, and half of her hair is straightened. She grins. "Come on in, El. Mike'll be out in a second, he's just being a bitch. Michael!"

There's a muffled "I'm coming!" From somewhere inside the apartment, and then Mike comes out of a room at the end of a hall, messing up his own hair.

"Hi," El says as Max disappears back into what El assumes is the bathroom. "Since when is your hair curly?"

Mike blushes, actually blushes, putting his hands into his pants pockets. He's in a light blue polo and navy pants, a matching blazer thrown over top, and El thinks he looks great. The curly hair is new, though. "Uh, this is what it looks like if I don't blow dry it," he answers, laughing nervously. "Which I always do, but someone's hogging the bathroom!"

"Fuck off, Wheeler! You should've come home earlier but you were too busy ogling a certain someone to remember what time it was!"

At that, he blanches and stalks toward the bathroom door, wrenching it open. "Do you want to shut your mouth for once in your goddamn life, Max?"

Max doesn't answer, but El can hear her humming to herself, ignoring Mike completely. El wonders who he was staring at. Are Max and Mike having problems? For a second she lets herself be selfishly happy that they might, because maybe it'll give her an opening, but then she quickly reprimands herself for thinking that way. They're her friends, she's not going to wish something as horrible as a breakup on what seems to be a perfectly good relationship.

Mike gestures awkwardly around. "Shall I give you the tour? The others aren't here yet. Lucas said they've got him on a late night at the observatory, Max, by the way!" He calls toward the other girl.

Max curses. "And to think I was excited about tonight!"

"It's Dustin's birthday, we have to celebrate anyway! He's already bummed enough that Lucas isn't coming," Mike replies. He turns to El. "Anyway, that's the bathroom," he says, gesturing to where Max is. Motioning to the general area beyond the front door, he tells her it's the living room-slash-kitchen, which is made obvious by the TV/sofa combination on one side and kitchen appliances and furniture on the other. Also, the entire apartment is the same general layout as hers, but she lets him talk anyway. Listening to Mike talk is a guilty pleasure.

The only thing different from her apartment is the fact that this one has two rooms. "That's Max's," Mike says, leading El down the hall and pointing to the door left slightly ajar, "And this is mine." He opens the door directly across to reveal a nicely sized room with a queen-size bed and a dresser in it. It's not messy like she expected it to be, which is nice. It means Mike's not a messy person. What she does question, though, is why they sleep in separate rooms, but she keeps it to herself. Maybe Mike snores, or maybe Max is a kicker.

There's a knock on the door and Mike goes to get it, revealing a man a few inches taller than El with light brown hair and green eyes. He has a kind face, and El takes to him right away. "This is Will," Mike says, gesturing the man in. "Will, this is El."

Will smiles and extends a hand. "The El I've heard so much about?" A look passes between him and Mike, and then Mike glares at him and Will laughs. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," El says. She stands in the living room with Will and Mike for a few minutes, talking, until there's another knock.

"That'll be Dustin," says Will, and Mike lets in another man with curly hair that's got a weird shape to it. It looks like he wears a hat over it all the time, and that's when El recognizes him as the hat-wearing guy from her abnormal psych class.

"Hey," she says. "I'm El." She extends a hand to shake one of his. "You're in Denton's class, right? The guy with the hat?"

Dustin grins. "You got me! And you must be the El we've all been waiting to meet. Mike talks about you a lot." He coughs, looking over her shoulder. "Um, Max does too," he adds.

El thinks it's a little weird that he specified that, but she's not going to question him about it. The four of them spend a few more minutes wishing Dustin a happy birthday and talking as they wait for Max, and El finds that she likes Will and Dustin a lot. They're easy to talk to and really funny. She feels like she is fitting in, after all. When Max emerges, she goes straight to the birthday boy to give him a big hug, and then pulls back and says, "El's coming with me, I want some girl time before we spend the entire night with you boys."

"Don't say anything weird to her, Max," groans Mike.

"Don't get your panties in such a twist then," she retorts.

Will and Dustin smile, used to their friends by now, and El just looks on in slight amusement. Max drives a Smart car, so it only fits two people anyway, and the three boys pile into Mike's blue Kia Forte before they all peel off to the interstate in the direction of Detroit.

The girls travel in comfortable fun, talking and making jokes as usual, but with the addition of singing along to the radio. It's all good and happy until twenty minutes into the drive when Max goes in for the kill.

"So... you like Mike, right?"

El almost chokes on her own spit. She's trying to hide her shock as she turns the radio down a little bit. "Um, yeah, I guess? We're friends," she says mildly.

Max smirks as if she knows something El doesn't and shakes her head. "You know that's not what I meant."

El swallows, tugging at one of her curls. Her crush's girlfriend is asking whether she likes him. What is she supposed to say to that? Turns out, Max already has an answer.

"I know you do, you're kinda obvious," she says. "Although I can see why you might not want to admit it. I think it'd be a little embarrassing to have a crush on that. But that's just me, I guess."

Now El's wondering what the hell is even happening. Max doesn't seem angry at all, quite the opposite in fact. She seems pleased that another girl has taken an interest in Mike. Which is... completely bizarre, to say the least. Maybe they want a threesome or something. "You're not mad?"

Max's eyes look like they're going to fall out of her head as she looks at El. "Why would I be mad?"

El looks down, wanting to avoid eye contact with the other girl. "I mean... if I had a boyfriend and another girl liked him, I don't think I'd be happy about it."

It's dead silent for a few moments but for the radio, until Max bursts out laughing.

"Oh my god!" She exclaims. "You thought he was my boyfriend?!"

El's cheeks flush in embarrassment. "Yeah..."

Max is still laughing. "I can't breathe," she wheezes. She's silent for a few moments before her face wrinkles. "He's not. That's so gross I can't even imagine it."

"But you guys are so close, I just thought..." El trails off, refusing to look at the redhead.

Max shakes her head. "Mike's like my brother, in every way. I don't even like him most of the time, I just put up with him."

El looks out the window, taking a deep breath to gather her courage, much like the first time she spoke to Max. "Okay, so I like him. Why did you want me to admit it?"

Max smirks again. "Tonight's the perfect night to make your move."

"Nope," El shakes her head. "I am way too anxious for that. Also, I don't want our friendship to be awkward if it doesn't go through."

"Why wouldn't it, though? He's liked you since you were in his classics lecture. You know-"

"He was in my classics?"

"Yes," Max says exasperatedly. "But that's not the point. You know we started going to Starbucks way more often after you got a job there? I'm broke because of his bitch ass wanting to see you all the time but never saying anything," she adds with an eye roll.

"I- okay," El says. "I'll try."

Max reaches out to clap her on the shoulder. "Atta girl! And for the record, I'm dating Lucas."

El smiles. "I'll keep that in mind for when I meet him."

Upon arriving in the city, El spends her time looking out the window and marvelling at the sights. She only passed through Detroit on her way to college the first year, and since she hasn't had many friends, she hasn't had many outings. The city is new to her, and she loves all the lights and colours and people walking around. Max pulls up in front of a small restaurant and the boys park behind her, everyone getting out of the cars and stretching for a moment before walking into the establishment.

El ends up beside Mike (because of course she does), Will and Max across from them and Dustin at the head of the table. Dinner runs smoothly besides Dustin burning his tongue on the soup he ordered, El fitting into the group seamlessly. It's looking to be a great night, but El's wondering how Max thinks she's supposed to make her move. She can't exactly do it in a restaurant, can she?

Her opportunity comes in the form of the group going to a club. Dustin's just turned twenty-one, but the rest of them are already overage so they might as well enjoy themselves, right? The three non-drivers have spent the last half hour or so knocking back mojitos, margaritas, and daiquiris, so Max and Mike are sitting off to the side enjoying watching their friends lose their inhibitions. El's very aware of the fact that she's drunk, but it's also literally liquid courage, so she's going to use it to her advantage. She's just drained her piña colada and slapped the glass back onto the bar when she grabs Mike's arm and tugs him away with her.

"Come dance with me," she says. She doesn't allow him time to respond before she's squeezed them into the mass of writhing people on the dance floor. He's moving along with her, but he's clearly feeling awkward if his erratic movements and half-smile are anything to go by.

"I'm not very good at dancing!" He yells in an attempt to be heard over the thumping bass.

"That's okay!" She yells back, swinging her hips and raising her arms. "Just move with me!" It's kind of funny, El thinks, that she's even doing this at all. Hanging out with Max must have made her develop some kind of outgoing kink (or maybe it's just the alcohol). Whatever it is, El's having a good time. Suddenly, a thought occurs to her. Mike's arms are just hanging limply by his sides, swinging around slightly as he rocks himself from side to side, but she would love to feel his hands on her. So she does the only logical thing: grabs his wrists and puts his hands on her waist.

He looks down at her in surprise but when he sees that she means business he lets his hands rest where they are and presses his fingers into the sliver of skin between her top and her jeans. That sends the best kind of shiver down her spine and Mike must feel it because he sends the most devilish grin her way. He's moving a little more in sync with her now because of where his hands are; he knows which way she's going to move right before she does it. They stay like that for a bit, progressively getting closer to each other until they're practically chest-to-chest and standing between each other's legs, but all of a sudden Mike gets a weird look on his face and rushes off to the restroom. El doesn't want to look like a fool dancing by herself, so she returns to the bar with a scowl. Upon seeing her, Max bursts out laughing.

"Did he leave you out there by yourself?" She asks, watching El order another cocktail.

El slumps against the bar and pouts. "We were having a good time dancing, I don't know why he left!"

The other girl cackles. "Probably went to go rub one out in the restroom!"

"Max!" El reaches out to slap her on the arm. "Don't be gross."

Max smirks. "He's a young man with needs, El! And also insanely attracted to you, I'm probably right."

El sends her a grumpy look and gratefully accepts her drink from the bartender. "Where's Will and Dustin?"

Max shrugs. "Dustin felt sick so he went outside to get some air, and I think Will saw a hot guy somewhere on the dance floor."

"He's gay?"

"Very," Max says. "You ever need guy advice, Will's the one you want. He's not called Will the Wise for nothing."

El takes a sip from her martini and nods thoughtfully as if considering, looking into the crowd. She perks up when she sees a mop of messy hair floating above it, correctly identifying the person as her man of interest. Mike slinks up to the bar and gives El a weak smile.

"Sorry about leaving," he says. "I just... had to use the restroom."

Max scoffs at him. "Sure, like we don't know why."

He throws her a look. "I swear to god, Mayfield. Where's the guys?"

Max rolls her eyes and El stays silent, sipping some more martini. "Dustin's outside getting some air and Will saw a hot guy somewhere."

"Mm," Mike agrees. "I did see some. Michigan's got more hot guys than Indiana ever did, that's for sure."

Max laughs and El looks up at Mike curiously. "You like guys too?"

He nods. "Mostly girls, but every now and then I'll see a really good-looking man and remember that the grass is green on both sides."

El hums before poking him in the arm. "You look like a frog, did you know that?"

Max tries and fails to hold back a snort and Mike looks hurt for a second before regaining composure. "Really?"

"I think so," El says, and giggles. "But I like frogs, they're cute. And! I had to do a project on frogs in second grade and I always liked them. Froggy froggy froggy," she adds, with a poke on each 'froggy'.

All things considered, it's a good night. Dustin doesn't throw up, Will gets the guy's number, and El gets in a few more dances with Max. When they're leaving, Max volunteers to take Dustin home.

"He rooms with Lucas," says Mike knowingly. "She probably won't come back."

He bundles Will and El into his car with him, and the two of them sit in the back gushing about the guy who caught Will's eye the entire way home. After they drop Will off at his place, the first floor of a duplex about two blocks away, El's almost asleep and Mike has to practically drag her out of the car and into their building. He's got an arm hooked around her waist to help her, but that just means his body heat is radiating even further. She kind of wants to latch onto him and curl up like a baby koala on its mother, but she still has enough self-restraint not to.

"El," he says, "El, which floor are you on?"

"Fourteenth," she answers sleepily. "But I don't know where my key is. I wanna sleep."

Mike sighs. "Is it okay if you stay over? Max probably won't be back, so you can take her bed. I don't want to take you upstairs and then have you spend forever looking for your key."

"Okay."

And that's how she ends up spending the night in her crush's apartment. It's a good sleep, but she wakes in the morning with a bad headache and a terrible taste in her mouth. Her whole body hurts. The only good things are that someone's left an aspirin and a glass of water on the bedside table, and that she can smell something cooking.

El takes the pill and then groans when she looks at her phone and sees that it's only nine o'clock. Seems her body clock is still working. She hears steps coming down the hall, deducing that the noise was loud enough to attract the attention of whoever was in the kitchen.

Mike's head pops into the room, a sunny smile attached to his face. "Good morning, sleepyhead!"

"Fuck this shit."

He frowns. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today."

"My hangovers are terrible."

"Are there good hangovers?" He asks with a laugh. "Come on, I'm making breakfast. Hope you like waffles!"

The truth of the matter is that waffles are actually El's favourite food, so she rushes to get herself to the kitchen.

"Waffles are the best food, no contest," she says, watching as Mike takes fresh waffles out of a waffle toaster and puts them on a plate.

"Well, then I hope mine will live up to your expectations," he answers, setting the plate in front of her and turning back to the machine.

He's laid out whipped cream and some other stuff (syrup, M&Ms, and strawberries) on the table, so El puts some of each on her waffles and digs in. They're heavenly. They're fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside, just the right texture and sweetness. She nearly cries with delight.

Mike seems to pick up on this, because he's sort of smirking when he joins her at the table. "You like?"

"Do I?" El exclaims. "Best waffles I've ever tasted!"

He's smiling as he digs into his own plate of crispy deliciousness. "I'm glad you like them, but if you want really good waffles you should go to Belgium."

"I'm too poor for that," El says around a mouthful. She swallows. "College student, and all? But I'd love to. Where'd you learn to make waffles this good?"

"I used to work at Waffle House in high school. The only reason they didn't fire me before I left was that I was the best damn waffle maker that town ever had."

"But?"

"But what?"

"I sense that there's a but here."

Mike laughs. "But I learned to cook with my mom. My younger sister was too little to cook, my older sister was useless in the kitchen, and my dad is…" He trails off. "Anyway, I liked cooking and I was good help, so my mom sort of took me under her wing and showed me the ropes. I can cook pretty much anything if you give me a recipe, but baking is a whole other ball game," he says, making gestures with his fork.

"Good to know you and Max aren't starving all the time, then," El replies dryly. She's smiling.

Mike squints at her. "You're something, El. Really something."

After that, Mike starts coming into her Starbucks by himself often. Two months go by where there's not a day that she doesn't see him, whether it be at Starbucks by himself and with Max, or in their apartment building. Upon discovering that the three of them live in the same one, Max and Mike have hung out with El a lot more. He also texts her frequently.

Frogge 🐸[4:53 PM]: victreebel.mov

It's a video of Victreebel screeching.

[4:53 PM]: Why do u text me such weird shit

Frogge 🐸[4:53 PM]: I thought it was funny :(

[4:54 PM]: I'm working

Frogge 🐸[4:54 PM]: And I'm impatient

[4:55 PM]: Hi impatient I'm El.

She puts her phone in her pocket just in time to get the finished cup of coffee to the customer, then pulls it back out again.

[4:56 PM]: Come inside for 5 mins dumbass I'm almost done

Within a literal half-second, Mike's standing at the door in all his windswept glory. It's a windy April day outside, most of which El had avoided by arriving at work before the wind picked up. Unfortunately, Mike hasn't been so lucky, coming to meet her as soon as his exam finished. Two days ago, he'd texted her in the middle of the night asking when she was free.

Frogge 🐸[2:34 AM]: Ellie

[2:34 AM]: Mike its 2:34 am

Frogge 🐸[2:34 AM]: You're awake too whats your point

[2:35 AM]: Yes froggy

Frogge 🐸[2:35 AM]: Smh that's so rude

Frogge 🐸[2:35 AM]: When are you free

[2:35 AM]: U have distracted me from my sleep for this

[2:35 AM]: U could've easily asked me in the morning

Frogge 🐸[2:36 AM]: I couldn't sleeeeeeep

[2:36 AM]: Not my fault

Frogge 🐸[2:36 AM]: El please

Frogge 🐸[2:36 AM]: Its important

[2:36 AM]: Wednesday after 5 or Friday after 6:30

[2:37 AM]: Why

Frogge 🐸[2:37 AM]: :DDDDDD

Frogge 🐸[2:37 AM]: You'll see :)

Frogge 🐸[2:37 AM]: Wednesday !

She has no idea what it is that he has planned, but as she removes her barista apron and clocks out, he's bouncing on his feet, a huge smile on his face. "You really look like a frog when you smile like that," she says, reaching up to give him a hug. It's become their customary greeting since he started it a few days after that morning in his apartment, and every time it happens it leaves El happy with a positive, glowing warmth around her. It makes her wonder if kissing him would have the same effect.

"Come on," he answers excitedly, latching onto her hand and pulling her out the door. The wind is blustering but that doesn't stop Mike from tugging El down the street with gusto, only coming to a stop when they reach the Subway near the corner of Packard and S State.

Once inside, El smiles and asks, "Out of one food place and into another?"

Mike waves her off. "Subway is better than Starbucks," he says, leading her to the counter.

"And yet you're in Starbucks almost every day," she retorts.

He rolls his eyes before looking up at the menu. "Yeah, but that's only because you're there."

She doesn't know what to say to that.

They each order a sandwich because, well, it's Subway, and a bag of chips. El doesn't finish hers, so it's more like Mike ends up eating a bag and a half. It's as he's sitting back, patting his stomach, that El finally lets her curiosity get the best of her.

"So why'd you bring me here?"

He grins. "Alright, so here's the thing. I don't know what your plans are for the summer-"

"Don't really have any, besides working," she interrupts.

"Okay, great! That's awesome," he says. "So I'm going to Lisbon for four days and my sister was supposed to come with me, but something important came up at work and she can't go. So-" here he pauses for dramatic effect- "She cancelled her plane ticket and sent me the money 'cause it was my birthday present to her, but since there's reservations for two and I've been saving for a while I didn't want to waste that. I can take someone with me."

El's not sure she knows where he's going with this. Is he really-?

"And I wanted you to come. If you want to?" He asks this in such a hopeful tone, El can't help but want to.

"But- what about Max? Or the others?"

"Max is going home with Lucas for the summer to meet his parents and I haven't asked the others, but I really wanted you to come, El," Mike says softly. "It's fine if you don't want to, I understand."

"No!" She laughs nervously, rushing to fix her mistake. "I'd love to come, I'm sure I can get one week off. I'm just- you really want me to come with you?"

"I really want you to come with me everywhere in general," he jokingly responds. "I think it'll be great. And I mean, they might not have the best waffles, but I hear their food is to die for?"

The week after is a flurry of bookings (a train and plane ticket for El, and booking off work). The two of them will leave Ann Arbor for Chicago on June fourth at seven-twenty AM for their twelve fifty-five flight to Washington D.C., where they'll have a six-and-a-half hour layover before getting on their way overnight to Lisbon. If everything goes to plan, they should be in another country by ten thirty-five AM local time.

El's the most excited she's ever been. Getting to explore a foreign country? Sign her up! She's never left the States before. The only thing she's worried about is not speaking the language, but Mike assures her that they'll be bound to find someone who speaks English. After all, it's not like they'll be in the middle of nowhere; they'll be in a city of millions. And, he adds, tourism is one of Portugal's biggest money-makers, so there's gotta be translators somewhere.

It also gets Max off El's back about telling Mike about her steadily growing feelings. She hasn't attempted anything since the night at the club, letting her slight anxieties get the best of her. He'd seemed into what was happening, and according to Max he likes El a lot, but there is also his weird escape to the restroom and that's what El's brain holds onto. She's afraid that he'll run in the other direction if she so much as tries to hint that she holds anything besides friendly feelings for him, even though she's smart enough to pick up on his blatant affection for her. Max makes El promise that she'll do something about it on their trip.

The group finishes off their school year in relatively high spirits, and Max leaves almost immediately with Lucas. They're going to road trip and sightsee for a few weeks before heading to Lucas' home in Delaware. El, Will, and Mike all have jobs to busy themselves with, but Will is going home to Maine to visit his mom and then New York to visit his brother at the end of the month. Dustin is preparing to take on an internship at a bioengineering company that will hopefully help land him a job when he's finished with his education. When they've got free time they all like to hang out at someone's place and enjoy it, but since Mike and El live merely floors apart they hang out most often. In fact, Mike has taken to falling asleep on El's couch at least once a week, coming up for dinner when he doesn't invite her down instead (he claims he misses Max and doesn't like eating alone).

Eventually, Will has gone off to Maine and the morning of El's first international venture dawns bright and clear. Her bags have been packed for a few days now, all she needs to do is one last clean sweep of her apartment before going downstairs to make sure her travel partner isn't still sleeping. When she knocks, the door swings open and a very dishevelled Mike is standing on the other side. She laughs at the mess of hair on his head, just as she does every other morning she sees him like this, and thinks that it really isn't going to take much longer for her to truly be in love.

"It is six in the fucking morning," he says, pulling her through the door, "and I have just ingested approximately three gallons of caffeine. This is ungodly."

"I'm fairly sure three gallons of straight-up caffeine would make you overdose or something," she responds, leaning against the kitchen table and watching him putter around straightening blankets before streaking down the hall to his room.

"I haven't gotten up this early in years!"

On the train to Chicago (which they have to take because Mike's sister Nancy lives there so it's where the flight is scheduled from), they look out the windows for a bit but mostly sleep. An alarm is set so that they don't end up sleeping through the stop. They make it to O'Hare just in time for check-in and boarding, and then they're on their way to D.C. Once there, they head into the city to have lunch and take a tour of Capitol Hill before switching airports for the red-eye to Lisbon. El is fascinated to see all the buildings where the nation's greatest decisions take place, to stand where thousands have stood during events that made history. Mike's just sort of tagging along, having been to D.C. before, but she thinks he's enjoying himself nonetheless.

The flight is uneventful other than some light turbulence when they're about an hour out from landing, and the fact that Mike falls asleep on her. El's freaking out internally when he lays his head on her shoulder, but continues to watch the movie in front of her as if nothing's happening. It makes her feel warm inside.

As the plane approaches land, El can see the blue, sparkling ocean spread out beneath her and little orange roofs dotting the landscape ahead. "Hey, why are the roofs orange?" She asks, shrugging her shoulder a little bit to get Mike's attention.

He looks out the window, squinting as if that's going to make them hear each other better (their ears have yet to pop). "They're made of tiles instead of shingles, that's just their colour."

"That's cool."

A few moments of silence later, Mike lifts his head off her shoulder and says, "So, you excited?"

"Yeah!" El exclaims. "What are we doing first?"

Mike laughs. "I think we're sleeping, you're gonna want to crash the second you get off this plane."

He's right, of course, if only partially; she doesn't want to sleep the second she gets off, she wants to sleep as soon as the stress of border control and baggage claim are over. She does sleep a bit on the way from the airport to where they're staying, only waking up long enough to get inside and collapse in the first bedroom she comes across.

When El wakes up it's dark out the window, and she sees that it's past midnight when her phone buzzes on the bedside table. She wonders for a moment how she's getting messages if she didn't connect her phone to wifi, but realizes that Mike must have done it. He's her best friend at this point, so he does know her passcode. It's the group chat, so she scrolls to the top to see what they were talking about.

Frogge 🐸[12:34 PM]: hey guys I know it's barely morning for you but just wanted to say we're here

Maxie [1:47 PM]: good flight?

Dustin [2:16 PM]: they're probably both sleeping off the jet lag

Will [3:58 PM]: yeah mike'll probably wake up first, he sleeps on flights doesn't he

Maxie [4:00 PM]: probably

Maxie [4:00 PM]: miCHAEL WAKE THE FUCK UP

Maxie [4:01 PM]: ELEANOR WHERE U AT

Lucas [4:02 PM]: that's a lot of probablys

Dustin [4:07 PM]: they'll be back dw about it

Will [4:10 PM]: yeah don't wake them

Maxie [4:32 PM]: u right if u wake mike too early he'll kill u

Maxie [4:33 PM]: idk about el but since they're a match made in heaven she's probs the same

Will [4:35 PM]: so I'm not the only one seeing it then

Dustin [4:36 PM]: will do u think the rest of us r blind

Maxie [4:36 PM]: ok gotta go me and Lucas are leaving now

Will [4:37 PM]: have fun

Dustin [4:37 PM]: don't die

Frogge 🐸[11:46 PM]: can you guys not

Frogge 🐸[11:47 PM]: yes the flight was good, I fell asleep but el told me it was fine

Frogge 🐸[11:47 PM]: just a little turbulence like an hour before we landed

Will [11:53 PM]: you guys slept literally the entire day?

Frogge 🐸[11:55 PM]: No I woke up in the middle of the afternoon to go pee and then I went to some random store to buy food but I didn't check my phone

Frogge 🐸 [11:56 PM]: idk if el has woken up today but she didn't sleep at all on the plane so probably not

Max [12:01 AM]: why'd u go buy food aren't u in a hotel

Frogge 🐸[12:02 AM]: no we're in this place it's like an apartment and you pay for it like a hotel but it's cheaper Lisbon has a lot of these

Frogge 🐸[12:02 AM]: also if we go grocery shopping it's cheaper than eating out 3 times a day for a week

Lucas [12:03 AM]: so where is she

Frogge 🐸[12:03 AM]: sleeping

Frogge 🐸[12:03 AM]: yeah I think she's still asleep

[12:04 AM]: incorrect I have returned to the world of the conscious

Frogge 🐸[12:04 AM]: great come eat! I saved you some food

Will [12:04 AM]: El: wakes up

Will [12:04 AM]: Mike: 😍

Frogge 🐸[12:05 AM]: shut up will bye

[12:05 AM]: lol I'm coming

El makes her way to the bathroom to freshen up a little before going down the hall, where she finds Mike standing by the open window in the living room area cradling a cup of what appears to be milk.

"Hey," she says, poking him in the back.

He turns around with a smile and hands a second mug to her, also full of milk. "Milk fills you up but also makes you sleepy," he answers.

"Thanks for the fact," El quips in return, taking the cup. She leans out the window to look at the city around them and sips. "Is that a river?"

"Yup. The Tagus."

"Weird name."

Mike laughs quietly and throws his free arm over her shoulder, dark eyes sparkling. "Things usually sound a little better in their native language, but I don't know how to pronounce it properly."

El hums in response. "It looks like a beautiful city, though, I can't wait to explore."

"Then we should probably get some more sleep to wake up early, huh? There's toast on the counter for you if you want it," he says, chugging what's left of his milk before depositing his cup in the sink and going back into the room he's claimed as his.

It's silent for a few moments but for the slight rustle of bedsheets as El drinks the remnants of her milk and Mike settles in. Then: "Night, El!"

She rolls her eyes, but her heart warms and a smile blooms on her face. "Night, Mike."

El wakes up again around nine hours later, feeling fully refreshed but confused. She was awoken by a loud crash, and blinks her eyes open to see her friend lying on the floor in her doorway. "What are you doing?" She yawns.

"Can I just die here?" Mike says. "I fell coming to wake you up."

El can't help but laugh at the mental image that conjures, but it gets so funny that she has to bury her face in her pillow to muffle the giggles.

"It's not that funny, El!"

She feels the mattress sink next to her and immediately flips over to push Mike away when he starts to tickle her. "S-stop!" She shrieks. "I can't breathe!"

"Never!" He tickles her with renewed fervour until she manages to kick him away, at which point he flops down onto the mattress and smiles at her. The sun is coming in through the window and it backlights his hair in a way that makes him look like there's a halo on his head, which El thinks is appropriate because he is the closest a human can get to an angel. She smiles back.

"So what's on the agenda for today?"

That first day is spent lounging by the river for a while and taking pictures, followed by walking around the downtown streets. Some of them are wide and full of shops and people, and others are narrow, steep hills that look like they'd be impossible to navigate by car. What do pass are these little things that look like three-wheeled mopeds with bench seats and a roof, and they roar up and down the busy streets at what looks like should be an impossible speed for the incline of the roads. Mike tells her they're a tourist thing, so who knows, they might end up in one too.

The night ends with dinner in a nearby restaurant, which serves not quite the best food El's ever had (after all, homemade always has that touch of… something that makes it special) but it is a good dining experience. Mike was right, all of the people they've interacted with have been able to speak English or direct them to someone who does, so they're able to enjoy the meal without having to worry about misunderstandings. In all, El's first day out of the United States is a dashing success.

The second day begins with a shower straight out of bed, after which El realizes that she's the only one awake, so she dresses and makes herself breakfast. She's sitting at the table reading a tourist magazine and sipping coffee when her travel companion stumbles into the kitchen, bleary-eyed and with quite the bedhead.

She grins. "Top of the morning to you, Mr. Rat's Nest," she greets him.

Mike blinks at her. "What?"

El feels like her smile is going to break her face. She could get used to seeing him like this every morning. He looks more like a boy than the young man he is, and less stressed too. What a sight. She could just combust from looking at him and she'd be happy about it.

"Your hair," she answers, gesturing to his head, where his hand follows and settles in the nest as if to confirm that his hair is indeed as much of a mess as she's making it out to be.

Mike glares half-heartedly. "I'll thank you to leave me and my hair alone. I haven't fixed it."

"Whatever you say," she replies, smirking back into her mug.

He putters around the kitchen for a few moments before suddenly whipping around. "Is that black?"

El raises her brows. "Straight," she says, slurping obnoxiously.

"I can't believe my- you drink black coffee?" Mike interrupts himself before he finishes his sentence, but it's already kind of too late.

"Your what?"

He looks away. "Nothing." He turns back to the fridge, taking milk out of it and pouring it into a mug. El's still watching when he shakes his head and mutters, "Black coffee."

"I'll thank you to leave me and my black coffee alone," she retorts, but she's smiling again. It's almost impossible how happy this man makes her.

A few minutes later, when Mike is sitting across from her with his toast and drink (it's honestly more milk than coffee but since it is a mix, she guesses it could be considered a latte), El speaks again. "My dad used to drink his coffee black."

"He used to?"

"Yeah, I-" She falters.

Mike reaches out for her hand and cups his around hers on the mug. "You don't have to talk about it."

"No, I-" She shakes her head quickly. She will tell him. "My mom was a drug addict and she died when I was born."

Mike's grip on her hand tightens and El's grateful for it. He's always been a reassuring presence. "I'm so sorry."

"It's- fine, really, I- anyway." She clears her throat. "My mom died giving birth to me and no one knew who my dad was. But I was adopted as a baby, by a man who had lost his daughter a few years before. He's the one I grew up with. His name was Jim. Jim Hopper."

El's feeling the tears build up and she's thinking that maybe she should stop talking, but she also thinks that this is something Mike should know about her before anything else happens. "He was a cop. But he was such a loving person. He took care of me, he gave me room to grow, he played with me, he taught me, he loved me." At that she lets the tears flow. Where did the joy of five minutes ago disappear to? It never hurts any less when she thinks about him, it just gets easier to deal with. She can still see his smiling face and hear his laugh, and it pulls a hiccupy sob out of her.

"What happened to him?" Mike asks softly.

"One night, when I was thirteen, he was called out on emergency," she says, looking at their joined hands on the mug in front of her. "And he never came back. He was killed on the job."

Mike doesn't say anything, but she meets his eyes and sees something in them that warms her. It's this moment, the most vulnerable she's ever been in front of him, that makes her realize: she's not falling, she's already fallen.

El looks away. "After that, well. I got put in the system. But nobody wants to adopt a teenager, so I just got bumped around from foster home to foster home until I was eighteen. Then I was left to fend for myself," she laughs. "Good thing I turned eighteen in the summer, otherwise I probably would've had to drop out of high school and work."

"So you're older than me?" Mike asks.

El rolls her eyes and sniffs. "I just spilled my entire life story to you and that's what you ask?"

Mike smiles, and it squeezes her heart in a good way. "Well, it's not like you're a criminal or something. It could be worse if you did illegal shit. But I'm sorry that happened to you."

El looks back into her cup of coffee, the catalyst of this entire conversation. "Well, yeah. He never would've allowed me to drink coffee a way other than black, so that's how I take it. It reminds me of him."

When they're on their way out the door to another day of adventure, Mike stops her and pulls her into a tight hug. He looks directly into her eyes when he pulls away. "If you ever need something, I'm always here for you."

She nods. "Thank you."

Everything is going well until they make a turn down some side street that was supposed to be a shortcut and end up getting lost.

"Mike," El pleads for the fifth time, "Let's just ask someone for help?"

"No," he answers, "I've got this. Just a second." He's still looking at the map they were using to try and get to the castle. The two of them were on their way to Castelo de São Jorge, the castle on top of a hill from which you could get "wicked views of the city and river", but unfortunately they'd gotten turned around in the maze of windy cobblestone alleys and had no idea where they were. Neither of them had gotten a roaming plan either, so using a GPS is out of the question unless they want to pay a hefty sum at the end of the month.

El huffs impatiently. "You've been saying that for the last ten minutes!" She throws her arms up in exasperation and walks back down to the nearest corner, leaving Mike squinting at the map uselessly in the hopes that she'll find someone to help.

She stands on the corner and waits for someone to walk by, finding a target within a few minutes. It's a woman who looks like she might be around El's age or older, with wavy, long brown hair and striking green eyes that El notices from feet away. She's carrying some shopping bags and walking down the street with a wide smile on her face. She looks approachable, but El's having a hard time screwing up the courage to talk to her.

Luckily, the woman seems to notice El's slight distress and stops in front of her.

"Español?" She asks.

El shakes her head. "English?"

The woman smiles again. "Are you lost?"

El's relief is great. The woman speaks perfect English, so El doesn't have to stand there and make a fool of herself trying to be understood.

"Oh thank god," she breathes. "Yes. My friend and I are trying to get to the castle but we got lost and he's still looking at the map."

"Men," the woman says, shaking her head ruefully. "I can take you there, if you want. My name's Sabrina."

El smiles shyly. "I'm El."

"Alright, El," says Sabrina, hefting her bags. "I'm going to leave these at home real quick and I'll meet you here in a few minutes, it's just down the street."

She starts walking in the direction she was originally going and vanishes around a corner. El's a little worried that it was a mean joke and Sabrina's not going to come back at all, but she turns around and calls Mike anyway.

"Hey!" She yells, cupping her hands around her mouth. Mike's head jerks up from the map he is still looking at. "I found someone to help us!"

He starts jogging down the street and joins her on the corner in a few moments.

"Where are they?" He asks, furrowing his brows.

"She had some shopping bags so she went to leave them at home, but she said she'd meet us here soon."

"Okay, cool. She speak English?"

El nods. "Perfectly. Sounds just like us."

A few minutes later, El sees Sabrina coming back in their direction. "There she is!"

Mike squints. "You sure she's not going to kidnap us?"

El elbows him. "Be grateful. We're lost because of you, smart one."

Mike rolls his eyes but doesn't say anything else as Sabrina walks up to them.

"Hey!" She greets. "I'm assuming you're El's friend? I'm Sabrina."

"Mike," Mike answers, shaking the hand Sabrina extends. "Heard you could help us get to the castle?"

"Glad to help!" Sabrina leads them down to the end of the street they had been on, makes a left, and keeps walking.

"So," says Mike curiously, "not to be offensive or anything, but how come you speak English so well? We haven't met anyone here who speaks like you do."

Sabrina waves a hand and makes a right. "It's not offensive, don't worry about it. I was actually born and grew up in Canada, but my parents moved back when I was eighteen so I moved too. I decided to live down here instead of up north with them."

El nods along, trying to pay attention to where they're turning so that they can find their way back later.

"It's a very pretty city, from what we've seen," she says.

Sabrina smiles. "There's just something here, right? Porto is very nice too but I love Lisbon."

A few minutes of mindless chatter later, after they've made another right and then two lefts and one more right, Sabrina pauses and asks, "So you guys are Americans, right?"

El laughs. "Are we really that obvious?"

Sabrina shakes her head. "I knew it! There's something about you. Also, I tend to meet more American tourists than Canadians."

"We're from Michigan," adds Mike. "I was supposed to be here with my sister, actually, but she cancelled last minute and El agreed to come instead, lucky for me."

"You don't have to sound so unhappy about it, you ass," El says, poking him in the side.

"Maybe I don't really like you, ever think of that?" He answers, then sticks his tongue out her. It's such a childish action that El doesn't even know how to react, so she just shakes her head and walks faster.

Sabrina looks like she's about to laugh at them, but instead she opts for asking, "Are you sure you guys are friends?"

El can sense the underlying secondary question that she knows the other woman is not going to ask, and she wonders herself what the answer to that is.

Mike, however, either ignores it or doesn't notice at all, as he throws an arm over El's shoulders and pulls her close. "Nah, I love her. El's the best."

Her heart skips several beats at his words, but she ignores it for the time being. She's been dealing with this for months at this point, she's a pro at pretending Mike doesn't make her feel like she's going to float away at any second.

Sabrina just smirks knowingly and stops walking at the bottom of a steep hill a moment later. "Okay," she says, "You can see the walls from here. Just go up this hill and you'll find your way. It was nice meeting you guys, enjoy your trip!"

Both of them say their thank yous and watch as Sabrina walks away and vanishes around a corner back the way she came.

"She was nice," remarks Mike, shielding his eyes against the sun as he looks up.

"Good thing I talked to her, otherwise we'd probably still be lost."

"Oh, come on!"

They're almost at the top of the hill when El falls. She's slightly behind Mike and gets so distracted by the shape of his shoulders that she doesn't see a cobblestone sticking slightly out from the rest. She lands with a loud thump and sees Mike whip around.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asks concernedly, reaching down to help her up.

El grips his hand firmly, the warmth from it bleeding into her and causing her face to flush as she stands. She hopes that if Mike notices, he chalks it up to the outside temperature.

But then he doesn't let go. And El isn't about to either, so…

They end up walking around looking for the ticket booth while holding hands. El's pretty sure it's the sweatiest her hand has ever been, which is gross, but it's so nice to hold Mike's hand that she's not even really thinking about it. They only separate to have an argument about who's paying for the tickets (which El wins by stating that she will not speak to Mike for the rest of the trip if he doesn't let her take care of it) and then gravitate tentatively back together as they enter into the castle grounds.

There are a ton of tourists inside, but Mike and El join a group being led by a guide who explains the history of the castle and surrounding area. It's quite interesting, especially for people like both Mike and El who think of themselves as low-key history buffs (they've watched a lot of documentaries on the History Channel together, sue them).

Afterward, they walk around on their own, taking pictures of the skyline and the river. They take pictures of each other, then get a random group of German tourists to take ones of them together, and it's just a good morning all around.

Back at the apartment for lunch, Mike cooks a delicious pot of farfalle with Alfredo sauce, which he takes a picture of and posts on his Instagram story. A few minutes later, El gets a notification.

m_mayfield sent you mwheels' story.

m_mayfield: HE NEVER COOKS THIS NICE FOR ME

m_mayfield: EL COME GET UR MANS LMAOOO

lhppr: I'm literally with him

lhppr: He is in front of me right now

lhppr: Watching me message u with a very suspicious face

m_mayfield: tell him I said he's stupid

"Max said you're stupid," El says noncommittally.

Mike rolls his eyes as he sets down their plates. "Tell her I love her too."

lhppr: He said he loves u too

m_mayfield: atta boy :)

m_mayfield: so u guys fuck yet

lhppr: Omg Max

lhppr: No why the hell

lhppr: I feel like u would find out from him first anyway jesus

lhppr: We held hands today tho it was so nice! He has nice hands!!!!!!!!!!!!

m_mayfield: ( ͡°👅 ͡°)

lhppr: DO NOT

lhppr: WE ARE ABOUT TO EAT I AM ABORTING THIS CONVERSATION GOODBYE

El slips her phone into her pocket and ignores the buzzes as she digs into her plate of pasta.

"So what did Max want?" Mike asks, stabbing the pasta onto the fork and bringing it to his mouth.

El gets distracted by his lips for a second (wow those are also… really nice…) but shakes herself out of it before he notices. She smiles. "Nothing, she just sent me your story and told me that you never cook this nice for her."

Mike swallows his food, then scoffs. "I have cooked whole roast chickens for her. That liar."

"Whole roast chickens?"

"And potatoes, and rice."

"Sounds nice."

He nods. "It's her favourite food, so whenever she needs a pick-me-up."

And ugh, Mike is just too sweet for his own good. El can all too easily imagine him taking the time to cook something special for his friends to cheer them up, and when she imagines him doing it for her it makes her want to kiss him more than usual.

For the afternoon, Mike and El decide to go on one of those little three-wheeled things and take a tour around the city. The drivers know all the cool spots, after all. Theirs takes them on a two-hour tour, stopping at a bunch of churches to explain their history (the interior of one is made entirely of gold, apparently) as well as lookout points and other important buildings. They're able to get off at some locations to take pictures, which is also really great. El's phone's camera roll is quickly becoming filled.

At the end, the driver leaves them back where they started, but it's too early for dinner, so Mike suggests they go souvenir shopping. Lord knows Max would kill them if they dared to go home without souvenirs for her.

"Hey," says El, scrutinizing the window display in front of them, "Do you think Dustin would want a duck?"

"Dustin would go for a duck."

For Dustin, El and Mike buy a bright green rubber duck. It has #LisbonDuckStore printed on the side. Will's getting a specialty jar of Nutella, which El buys another jar of for herself because waffles. Lucas gets a tiny pair of novelty binoculars, but Max is harder to shop for. For her, they end up buying name keychains that have a little Lisboa charm hanging from the end. There's no Max, so El buys a Maria and Mike gets an Xavier, and then they mix up the letters on one chain to spell her name.

The pair heads back to the apartment for dinner, then go for a walk along the riverside as it's getting dark. El's trying not to think too much about the fact that Mike keeps glancing at her. He looks nervous and she doesn't really want to consider why that might be.

But then… she hears a sharp intake of breath and feels his hand fumble against hers, so she takes the plunge and laces their fingers, heart in her throat. She doesn't look at him for a few seconds, just to gauge what's going on, but when she does she's faced with an adorable sight. He's looking at their hands and smiling, the tips of his ears pink and the same pinkness spreading across the apples of his cheeks.

Neither of them says anything for a few minutes, just walking and enjoying the bubbly feeling between them that El knows she isn't imagining. Mike starts swinging their joined hands lightly before he breaks the silence.

"So, I have something embarrassing to tell you," he starts.

El's intrigued. "What?"

"You were in Doddmann's classics lecture last year," Mike says, now blushing deeply.

"I know."

"So was I."

"I know."

"You know?"

"Max told me."

At this, he blanches. "Um, well… basically, I had a huge crush on you. And I didn't even know you yet, so that's embarrassing."

El already knew this months ago, thanks to Max, and she tells him as much. "I just wasn't expecting to actually hear it from you," she adds.

Mike's avoiding her gaze now, looking at the river beside them instead. "You didn't think it was weird? That I was weird?"

El laughs. "Let me tell you something embarrassing. I thought you and Max were a thing."

"Are you serious? Ew!" Mike exclaims. "I would never. She would never."

"Well, I didn't know any better!" El defends. "It was a good excuse not to talk to you."

Mike quirks an eyebrow curiously. "Why didn't you want to talk to me?"

"You make me nervous."

"…I make you nervous. Me. The human stick man."

El sighs. "Not so much anymore now that we've gotten to know each other, but you used to. I felt like I was about to fly through the ceiling every time you came to order. Know why? I was crushing on you too, hugely and stupidly. I didn't even know you."

Mike's beautiful smile returns. "Guess we're just a couple of idiots, huh?"

El feels like her face might break. "Guess so."

They walk along silently observing others on the sidewalk for a little more before Mike speaks again. "Bet you're wondering why I told you that, right?"

She was, but she wasn't going to say it. "Yeah, I guess."

"Well," says Mike dramatically, "If it wasn't already obvious, I still like you. A lot more now, actually. If this keeps going at the rate it's going then I'm about to fall in love with you."

El doesn't respond for a moment and she swears she can hear him swallow.

"Was that too much?" He asks, and she can hear the nervousness in his voice back in full force. "It's totally cool if you don't feel the same way, I just thought… you know… you should know."

She now has two options: either confess now or do it later in private, but she kind of doesn't want to wait. The sun is almost gone over the horizon, bathing the sky in brilliant reds and oranges, and it's warm and their walk has been so indescribably good that El just-

She has to stand on tiptoe to reach him, but she pulls Mike's head down by the back of his neck and kisses him.

Later, the group chat blows up.

Maxie [9:37 PM]: HWAT THE FUKC IS THIS

Maxie [9:37 PM]: IMG.294

Maxie [9:37 PM]: IS THIS REAL LIFE?

Dustin [9:38 PM]: or is this just fantasy…

Maxie [9:38 PM]: DUSTIN I DO NOT NEED U TO QUOTE QUEEN LYRICS AT ME I NEED AN EXPLANTAIAN

Maxie [9:38 PM]: ELEANOR HOPPER U EXPLAIN UR RECENT RIGHT TEH FKUC NOW

El had posted a picture she'd taken with Mike by the river after their unexpected confessional. He had his arm around her shoulders as he took the photo and she had hidden her face against his chest out of embarrassment, but she ended up liking the picture so much that she posted it to her Instagram captioned simply with a heart. Max had sent a screenshot of it to the group and also left multiple scandalized comments on the post itself.

Maxie [9:39 PM]: MICHAEL EXPLAIN THIS

Maxie [9:39 PM]: I WILL TELL UR MOTHER

The two of them are watching Max's messages come in on El's phone and at this, El starts laughing as Mike whips out his own phone to start typing furiously.

Frogge 🐸[9:40 PM]: DONT TELL MY MOM

Frogge 🐸[9:40 PM]: ID LIKE TO HAVE A GIRLFRIEND IN PEACE FOR A LITTLE BEFORE SHE FINDS OUT

Maxie [9:40 PM]: OH SO SHES UR GIRLFRIEND NOW???????????

Maxie [9:40 PM]: ( ✧≖ ͜ʖ≖)

Will [9:41 PM]: but are you really surprised tho?

Will [9:41 PM]: idk about you guys but I was expecting this

Dustin [9:42 PM]: ✧·ﾟ: *✧·ﾟ *( ͡˘̴  ʖ̫ ͡˘̴ )* ･ﾟ✧*:·ﾟ✧

[9:42 PM]: love how Lucas is just absent

Will [9:42 PM]: he doesn't like chaos

Lucas [9:43 PM]: max was legit screaming my ear off sorry I was too busy recovering to answer

Lucas [9:43 PM]: but I'm happy for you guys

[9:43 PM]: we're happy too ty Lucas :)

After she sends that message, El looks away from her phone to find Mike looking at her with a warmth in his gaze that she's certain now is meant for her, and although their romance has only just begun, El feels deep inside herself that it's going to last a long time.

El looks up as the door opens, and there they are again. Max and Mike pushing each other through the entry and glaring, but now they smile when they see her behind the counter. Max waves and calls hello before making her way to a table, while Mike comes straight up to the register. El cashes him in and then starts making the coffees, all the while grinning because she can see her boyfriend watching her with that sappy smile of his in the reflection on the espresso machine.

"Iced coffee with milk and a chai latte?" She says, turning to hand the two drinks over.

Mike's floppy hair swings a little as he leans forward to give El the flightiest of kisses. "Thank you," he answers, picking up the cups. "We still on for later?"

El's smile doesn't falter. "Definitely."

"Great!" Mike starts to walk away toward Max, but then thinks better of it and retreats back to El for a second longer. He stands at the counter shuffling his feet until El boops his nose.

"What do you want, silly?"

He hesitates before saying, "I love you. I don't know why I'm still nervous, it's not like it's the first time I've said that."

El rolls her eyes. "I love you too. Now go bother Max, I'm working."

Mike gasps dramatically. "Why doth my fair lady rebuke me!"

"Shoo!"

He goes away. El watches the pair for a bit, just like she used to, but she isn't jealous anymore. She's happy.