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tabitha42 · 7 months ago

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The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 9

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

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Saff stared intently at the tattered sleeve of Gale’s robe as she sewed it up as best she could. They’d managed to get all the blood out of it and now she was patching it up. The bracer was completely beyond repair though, for her at least. Perhaps a proper leatherworker could fix it or make a replacement.

Unfortunately not only was it quite difficult to repair, but she was also getting very distracted by the thought of Gale bathing in the river behind her. She tried to tell herself not to think about him. How would she like it if the tables were turned and he was thinking of her while she bathed, imagining the water running over her slick, naked body?

She’d quite like that, actually.

Again she shook her head, for the 10th time. She forced herself to focus on the sewing once more, yet as she did she found herself wondering how far down his body that tattoo on his chest extended…

“How’re they looking?”

She almost yelped in surprise as his voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she desperately hoped it hadn’t been obvious she’d been daydreaming about him.

“Wha- how, um, how’s what looking?” she stuttered, looking up at him.

“The robes,” he answered, stifling a chuckle at her flustered response.

“Oh! Um, yeah, mostly done,” she answered, holding the sleeve up for him to see. He sat down opposite her and took the robes to inspect the damage. He was wearing his camp clothes now, and though she couldn’t see much of the tattoo anymore, she could still see the lines reaching up his neck. Sometimes she swore it looked like it somehow continued under his skin up to his eye, though she wondered if that was just some oddly prominent veins. She should really ask him about that tattoo at some point and if it meant something.

“That gnoll really really did a number on this, didn’t it?” he mused as he handed it back to her. “Thank you for offering to fix it.”

“You’re welcome, though I’m not sure I’m going to be able to do much more than this. It’s always going to be pretty bad, unless you get someone to remake the whole sleeve.”

“Well, what’s an adventurer without a bit of battle damage?” he chuckled.

“Not looking forward to getting my battle damage,” she replied, half-jokingly.

“With any luck you won’t have to, and I won’t have to get any more. We should be far at the back, out of the range of fire. They call wizards glass canons for a reason, after all.”

“Mmm… easier said than done, when goblins are swarming round the whole group,” she murmured, remembering the one that nearly got her before Gale took care of it.

“Do you know Misty Step?” he asked, frowning a bit as she looked at her.

“I know of it, but I’ve never tried to cast it.”

“Let’s put that at the top of our priority for the next lesson, then. An extremely useful spell every wizard should know. As soon as combat starts you want to find a safe spot, preferably on the high ground, where you can pick off enemies but they can’t reach you. Misty Step will take you right there. It’ll also get you out of trouble in a pinch.”

“It’s quite a bit more difficult than just standard cantrips though, isn’t it?”

“It is, yes. But I think you’re up to the challenge.” She couldn’t help the smile that came to her lips, and Gale mirrored it as he continued. “I know you said you were out of magic for the day, but want to give it a quick try, just in case?”

Well how could she say no to him?

After showing her the movements and the incantation, the two returned to the river bank and stood a few metres apart.

“Now focus on the spot in front of me,” Gale called to her. “Have this spot in your head as you cast the spell, think of nothing but moving here. And remember, use the momentum of your movements to imagine yourself moving too,” he called to her. She nodded and took a deep breath to prepare herself. Finally, she lifted her arms.

“Inveniam viam!”

As usual, nothing happened the first time. But she didn’t let that deter her. She tried again, and again. Gale called the odd suggestion to her, a slight change in her position or change of pronunciation. Soon she started feeling a brush of magic with each attempt, growing stronger and stronger… til suddenly she felt a lurch and a flash as she said the words. In an instant the ground fell away, her body was pulled in one direction and her mind another, then suddenly she was back on the beach, stumbling forward disorientated, completely losing her balance.

Before she fell suddenly she was caught and she found herself in Gale’s arms, her hands on his chest as she leaned against him.

“Woah…” she whispered, looking up at him as the world spun around her.

“That’s it, you’re ok,” he said softly. “It can be a bit disorienting at first, but you did it!”

“A bit…” she laughed, feeling like Gale was wildly understating the extreme dizziness she was feeling right now.

“It’ll pass, don’t worry,” he assured her. She rest her head against his chest, feeling like she couldn’t stop her head swimming right now and needed to force it to stay still. After a few moments, as promised, the dizziness began to die down, and only then did she realise what position they were stood in.

She lifted her head and looked up at him, her hands still on his chest, his hands still on her waist where he’d caught her. Feeling his hands there, holding her so tenderly… it almost made her feel light-headed again, and this time not from the magic. As their eyes met her breath caught in her throat and her heart skipped a beat.

“Feeling better?” he asked softly, the tenderness in his voice sending excited shivers down her spine. All she could manage was a small nod. Then she could swear, just for a split second, his eyes flicked down to her lips. Her heart raced in her chest as slowly, almost subconsciously, they drew closer together

There was a noise to the side and they both turned in surprise to see Astarion sitting on a large rock nearby, watching them.

“Oh, please continue, don’t let me stop you,” he said innocently. He then let out a yelp as two mage hands suddenly pushed him off the rock.

They returned to the tents to find the others just arriving - it seemed Astarion had walked on ahead a bit. But before Saff could think about her annoyance towards him any more, her attention was taken by the tiefling walking along with them.

She was incredibly tall, well-built, wearing black leather and carrying a greataxe, one horn broken off while the other curled around her dark hair.

Suddenly Saff recognised her.

“Wait, isn’t that-?!” she gasped, the words coming out before she thought about what she was saying.

“Yes, it is,” Wyll said with a sigh, knowing what she was getting at. “Turns out I was misled. Karlach is no devil, she is a tiefling, and infected the same as us.”

“You guys must be Saff and Gale!” Karlach said happily with a big grin. In the visions she’d looked terrifying, but now she had the warmest, most welcoming smile.

“A pleasure to meet you,” Gale said, walking towards her, lifting his hand for a handshake. “Woah now, wouldn’t do that soldier. Not unless you wanna burn your hand off,” she warned, taking a step back before he got too close. Saff frowned as she followed Gale towards her.

“What do you mea-”

The pain, again. She saw Avernus, devils and imps, the Blood War… and felt Karlach’s fear as she cut through them all, desperate for escape.

“Arg, forgot that was gonna happen again,” Karlach said as the vision ended.

“We did try to warn you,” Wyll laughed.

“Yeah yeah, well I guess I can’t complain too much,” she said, turning back to Gale and Saff. “Without this little worm, that one would never have believed my story,” she explained, pointing to Wyll.

“I like to think I’m a good judge of character, but I fear you may be correct,” Wyll admitted, clearly not proud of it, but not going to hide it. “And what a mistake I’d have made. Heh, who’d have thought the tadpoles would prove useful?”

“Suppose I’ve got two things to thank the mind flayers for then,” Karlach joked. “Seeing people’s memories when I meet them is definitely a new one for me!”

The others chuckled and agreed, though Saff’s smile faded as a realisation suddenly dawned on her.

With a gasp she turned to Gale and found him looking back at her with a slightly nervous look on his face. He knew what she’d just realised…

With wide eyes she stepped back instinctively, and by this point the others had clearly noticed, and soon Gale felt all eyes on him, wondering what Saff was reacting to.

“Ah, yes, I wondered if you might ask about this…” he started, before Lae’zel interrupted.

“Ask about what??” she demanded, not wanting to be left in the dark. Meanwhile, Astarion looked quite excited.

“Ohh, we’ve only just got back and already there’s drama,” he whispered to Karlach, who happened to be standing next to him, and who looked significantly more concerned about all this.

“I didn’t see anything when I met Gale…” Saff whispered, the fear in her voice evidence of her fears about the reason behind that. “There was no connection, not like with everyone else…”

“Did everyone else not see Gale’s memories?” Wyll asked, trying to remember what he’d seen when they’d met. “I saw books and a wizard’s tower.”

“Those were my memories,” Saff said, knowing exactly which memories they’d seen as she’d seen them as well when their minds connected.

“If you’d just let me explain-”

“Kaincha!” Lae’zel spat, drawing her sword. “He’s lying! He’s not infected at all!”

“I assure you I am not lying!” Gale said quickly, holding his arms up in front of him defensively.

“What, then? Speak!”

“I just blocked it out! It’s not so different to Detect Thoughts and other such similar spells. I blocked out the tadpole the same way I would block out those spells.” “Ch’k, you expect us to believe you can just block out the tadpoles with such ease?” Lae’zel sneered, not believing him. Shadowheart clearly thought similarly.

“The tadpoles are powerful magic,” she said, implying he wouldn’t be able to overpower them.

“And I’m a powerful wizard,” he replied, the hint of a threat at the edge of his tone. “To control one’s mind and defend it against such threats is basic training at any good wizardry academy. I won’t claim blocking out the tadpoles is easy, but it is possible.”

There was a moment of uneasy silence as they each weighed up whether or not to believe him.

“Bah, enough! I will settle this!” Lae’zel declared, then strode towards Gale. For a moment the group thought she was going to kill him there and then, til she stopped in front of him and the pain ripped through their heads once more.

They all felt it - Lae’zel trying to enter his mind. They felt her slashing the walls of his consciousness, trying to force her way in, as if trying to bash down a door… then suddenly they were all ejected as Gale’s defenses dropped like a portcullis.

“Out!” Gale shouted, holding his head. He glared at Lae’zel, and she at him.

“Ch’k, it didn’t connect. You have no tadpole!”

“I stopped you connecting!”

“And why should I believe you?” she demanded, raising her sword again in a threat.

“If you want me to prove it then just ask, don’t start trying to force your way in!”

“Very well. Prove it to us,” she demanded. Hardly the polite request Gale had meant, but better than having his mind forced open. At least this way he could control what they saw… he hoped.

“Fine…” he murmured, taking a moment to gather himself, before closing his eyes.

The feeling returned, but this time it wasn’t painful. Not like their minds suddenly clashing together, but instead of his mind willingly opening up to them and sharing with them. He tried to focus on an unimportant recent memory, but quickly found the tadpoles seemed to gravitate towards rather more impactful memories. He could focus it somewhat, keeping it to recent memories, but couldn’t control exactly what they saw.

The vision that came to them was that of a forest, though they felt his anxiety - then came the gnoll, jumping on him, throwing him to the ground. They saw its teeth, gnashing and tearing, sinking into his arm, blood and bile, searing pain, nothing but hunger behind the gnoll’s empty black eyes…

Then a blast of wind and thunder as the gnoll was thrown back. A blink and Saff was stood in front of him, protecting him as she hit the gnoll with everything she had, attack after attack. They felt his pain, his fear, his adrenaline… and maybe something else as he looked up at her…

The vision disappeared and they were back in the present. For a moment the group was quiet, some of them feeling a bit bad about turning on him so quickly when he’d been telling the truth, til Lae’zel spoke.

“You were attacked by one of those creatures?” she asked, a hint of familiarity in her tone - they’d faced them out on the road, too.

Gale lifted his sleeve and showed the bandages on his arm.

“I was. And I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for Saff,” he said, turning to her. For a moment she blushed as the rest of the group looked at her. Astarion and Lae’zel in particular looked surprised, having seen how she’d reacted to the goblins the day before. Astarion’s look of surprise turned to a smile as he stepped forward.

“Well then, a toast to your saviour is in order, is it not?” he said, taking his pack off and pulling out a bottle of wine.

“Fuck yes!” Karlach agreed, happy both about the fact that the misunderstanding between her new friends had been settled, and that one of them had a surprise bottle of wine in his bag.

#gale #bg3 gale #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #gale x tav

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ladysomething · 9 months ago

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I love everything that you’ve written for F1 so far (you are just the most incredible writer, I could read all of the fics you’ve written a million times and never get bored) but you’ve truly outdone yourself with Where You Go, I Go!!!! I literally read chapter 2 like 4 times last week and I’ve just been counting down the days until I could read chapter 3 (but I pinky promise I do not mean that in a “write faster” kind of way, I mean it in a “I was excited that I audibly squealed when I saw you posted today” kind of way). And ABO is something that I hardly ever read. But you just do it SO well. I LOVE the world you’ve built. And this fic is just SO incredible. I wasn’t sure how you could top the first two chapters, but eek CHAPTER THREE. The way that Charles going into pre-heat prevented any questions about Max and his intentions from getting answered (the tension is buildingggg) and Pierre showing up and Charles getting claimed, oh my god every scene was incredible and I am SO EXCITED to find out where this is going, because I genuinely don’t know what to expect!!! Thank you so, so much for sharing this fic with us!!!

I am a different anon than before, but I was very interested in reading your response about if you found writing long fic to be daunting. Like prev anon, I am a numbers girl, so learning a little about your writing process/philosophy was super interesting!! I have another question if you don’t mind me asking- how do you decide on your posting schedule?! Although I would literally read this whole fic in one sitting, I do love the 1+ weeks between updates because I love getting excited for a new chapter and looking forward to it, but you said in the ask that you were already writing ch6, so I’m curious what made you pick the schedule you did!!

thanks again for sharing this fic with us, we are truly all so lucky to read it!!

ahhh!!!

well firstly I can't take the entire credit for this fic. @saiyanwitcher reached out to me after I wrote Give Me That Fire and offered to beta for me. As we were getting to know each other, she asked if I'd ever consider writing an Omegaverse fic, and I said yes, and here we are. But if there is any reason why this fic is better than the others, it's all because of her! She has spent so many hours brainstorming with me, proofreading, and pulling me back from the edge when I said "I want to do THIS" and she said "girl what" (she didn't really, everything I propose she says "alright, lets figure out how we can make that work").

I'm so delighted to hear you loved chapter 3! this whole fic is sooo different to anything I've ever written, but I LOVE exploring new themes and topics and ideas in fic - you'll never really catch me doing the same thing twice. pushing boundaries is what I love about fic, but it doesn't always pay off, so I'm SO happy to hear that people are loving this fic as much as they are.

as for your question ... which, firstly, like most artists I am extremely self involved, so talking about myself is like my fave thing to do lmao. I will answer literally ANY question you could ask.

but, posting schedule. after many years of trial and error while posting long fics, the thing I've found that works for me is that I need to have a fairly sizeable amount of the story in the can before I start posting. I usually like 5-6 chapters, but, more importantly, I want to know that I have the feel of the story before I start to post, because once I post I can't go back and change things. at about that 5-6 chapter mark, I know that I'm deep enough into a story that the plot is right, the characters are right, and the tone I'm using is right, and then I feel comfortable starting to release it out into the world.

from there, I post a chapter only when I finish a chapter. so I finished chap 6 on Tuesday, and then I worked on chap 3 on Wednesday, gave it to @saiyanwitcher to beta on Wednesday evening, and then by this morning she'd done a final check and I was okay to post.

my own personal goal is to write one chapter a week, with Wednesday being the day I'm always aiming towards. so this week I was actually a little later than my "schedule" because ch 6 was giving me a headache and it took longer to write than I wanted.

at this point, I know roughly how long it takes me to write one chapter for this story (a week), but I also know some of these chapters are harder to write than others so I HAVE to give myself some extra leeway (hence the maximum of 2 weeks).

I hope that kind of explained my thought process and as I said, I'm so happy to answer any questions!

#where you go i go #anon ask #lestappen fic

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bewitchingbooktours · 11 months ago

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Boss Level by Allyson Lindt - Deck the Halls with Books Holiday Extravaganza

Holiday Lemon Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Christmas is getting close, and it’s always been one of my favorite holidays. I love picking the perfect gift for the people I care about and then seeing their faces when they open it. In my younger, less anti-social (or rather, less filled with work during normal hours) days, I could wander the malls forever (back when we had more malls here. And not really forever, but for a while). I love the lights, the people, the sounds, the smells… And the cooking. I get all kinds of domestic for Christmas. Or at least, a little. I like making sweets. The years have taught me that working with a bunch of guys (is it possible I pull story ideas from previous jobs? I’ll never tell 😉), a lot of them single, means that food makes great gifts for my coworkers. One year, two of my best friends at work were single guys. I found this cookie recipe and pretty much tried it out on them disguised as a Christmas gift. It went over so well that I’ve made it my go-to every year. I think the response was something like ‘next time you get bored, if you wanted to make these again…’. Making these will occupy my kitchen this weekend, at least for a little bit, because fortunately they’re really quick and easy to make. Lemon Cream Cheese Holiday Cookies Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 3oz package cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon lemon extract (you can substitute any kind of extract here. I’ve used cherry and orange as well. Sharper flavors stand out better)

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup mini m&m’s

Red and green food color (optional)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 F (176 c), grease 2 baking sheets

Beat together cream cheese and butter at medium speed

Beat in sugar, milk, and lemon (or other extract)

(optional) split mixture into two bowls. Add 2 drops of red food color to one, and 2 drops of green to the other. Divide flour into two equal parts.

Beat in flour, 1/4 cup at a time until blended.

Stir in chocolate chips and M and M’s

Drop rounded tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets, 2 inches apart.

Using a spoon, flatten each cookie slightly

Bake cookies for about 10 minutes, until set and golden.

Boss Level

Three Player Tag-Team

Book Six

Allyson Lindt

Genre: Erotic Romance

Publisher: Acelette Press

Date of Publication: 12/24/2022

ISBN: 9781955518291

ASIN: B0CJ83FY8P

Number of pages: 350

Word Count: 76,000

Cover Artist: Romance Premades

Tagline: Her Fake Fiancé is Her Childhood Sweetheart’s Husband

Description:

Judith

It’s lonely at the top.

I knew it would be when I clawed my way up here, trading away favors and any personal life to get to where I am today, the head of the hottest new video game company in the industry.

When an old friend calls in one of those favors, I’m happy to help Xander out. His partner, Dominic, needs to impress some conservative clients, and showing up to get-to-know-you dinners with a heavily tattooed man on his arm isn’t the way to do it.

And there are far worse things in the world than pretending to be Dom’s fiancée.

When the fake kisses with Dominic start to feel real, I realize there’s something missing in my life. Worse, I’m starting to realize I never should’ve let Xander get away.

But the three of us together will bring everything we’ve worked for toppling down around us. There’s no way love is worth that kind of sacrifice.

Books2Read Amazon

About the Author:

Award winning and USA Today Bestselling Author Allyson Lindt is a full-time geek and a fuller-time author. She likes her stories with sweet geekiness and heavy spice, and loves a sexy happily-ever-after. Because cubicle dwellers need love too.

Website: http://allysonlindt.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AllysonLindt

Newsletter: http://newsletter.allysonlindt.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllysonLindt

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/allysonlindt

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7024176.Allyson_Lindt

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writer-monster · 3 years ago

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11 reasons why cap 4 should reintroduce Bucky Barnes as the love interest, an essay

to start this off, i am not writing this essay from a shipping place nor do i believe that this would have any influence at all over the upcoming movie. i expect nothing. this is simply something that i would personally like to see. (of course no hate to anybody who thinks differently)

here are 11 reasons why i think making Bucky into Sam Wilson's love interest in Cap 4 would be a good move for Disney.

1. on the Chinese film market - and why it's an irrelevant argument against the inclusion of homosexual themes in Cap 4

the Chinese film market is something that has been blamed for a lack of diversity in Hollywood films a lot lately. many people claim that this market with a lot of buying power has been responsible for the lack of gay and black representation in particular within Hollywood films.

and we have certainly seen Hollywood treating it as such, going so far as to cut gay scenes from movies for their Chinese releases, and vastly minimising John Boyega's (a black actor's) presence in the Chinese poster of Star Wars The Force Awakens.

[image ID: on the left is an image of the American poster for Star Wars The Force Awakens, featuring John Boyega prominently on the right-hand side. And on the right is the Chinese poster for the same movie, in which John Boyega is barely visible.]

so we know at the very least that Disney believes this through their own actions and efforts to self-censor for the different markets.

but Captain America 4 is a black-led movie, don't you forget. and Disney can't minimise Sam Wilson/Anthony Mackie in the movie or the poster because it's his movie and his poster. and no amount of creativity in the editing room can change that (thank God!).

so if by their own argument the film is already going to be either banned, panned or slammed in China... then what do they have to fear from making it a gay movie too?

2. oh, the queerbaiting

queerbaiting is an unusual cultural idea. and sometimes i find myself thinking that the term is far too easily used, but then all of a sudden i will stumble upon a movie or show that is so quintessentially cruel and overt in it's... well... queerbaiting that i will start to wonder what the hell kind of a bizarre relationship all these straight people seem to have with their friends. take Troy and Abed from Community or John and Sherlock from Sherlock as the perfect examples of this. (in which my reaction to the show's creators saying the show wasn't gay was to ask so then why did you make it so gay?!)

i felt that Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes in tfatws were getting quite close to this level of queerbaiting.

there was the field scene, the couple's counselling scene, the boat scene, the couple's counselling scene, Bucky going with Sam to face Karli when she told Sam to come alone, the couple's counselling scene, ALL the staring scenes, Sam checking out Bucky's ass here as they said goodbye, the "i would move in with him but" hidden scene, "Uncle Bucky" showing up at the cookout scene, the romantic walking off together into the sunset together ending scene, and the couple's counselling scene. did i forget anything? but i mean seriously, the couple's counselling scene!!! that thing they did with their legs and their crotches while staring deep into each other's eyes, would any straight guy willingly do that? do straight guys crotch-snuggle now?

[image ID: an image of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes during the therapy scene with the quote, "Isn't anybody going to drag me into impromptu couple's therapy and slot my legs firmly between theirs before staring deeply into my eyes?"]

(yeah i stole this image from a buzzfeed article on the fan reactions to the couple's therapy scene. but given that they stole 80% of the content of that article from fandom tumblr, i think it's pretty even-steven.)

there's also the fact that people started talking about bisexual Bucky Barnes a lot after the tiger pictures line, and the lead writer Malcom Spellman responded to the talk of Bucky's bisexuality with "just keep watching". well we watched, Malcolm. but it's beginning to feel like you were just jerking us around.

3. the writing

seriously though, what else is Bucky Barnes doing right now in the MCU? his only remaining connection to anything going on right now is through Sam. there is literally nothing else established that's left for him to do that doesn't involve Sam. he moved to Louisiana to be closer to Sam (canonically), he hangs out with Sam's family (canonically), and Steve is presumably gone and is definitely not coming back for more adventures.

he has no villains or loose ends left. he has no other superheroes that he appears to be in contact with. he has no girlfriend or potential love interest, or even other friends or family. he is living in a tent that he has secretly set up in Sam's backyard and is mysteriously appearing from the bushes when it's time for dinner like a stray cat.

in my opinion there is no other meaningful and pre-established progression for Bucky's character that wouldn't just feel cheap.

plus, i don't think the general audience would be all that surprised if they kissed. i think a LOT of people picked up on all that tension. i think a lot of straight people picked up on all that tension too.

4. the chemistry between the actors & the chemistry between the characters

the original pitch for tfatws was essentially just this, it was the chemistry between Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie and their respective MCU characters of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson.

now obviously Anthony and Sebastian are simply friends, and i wouldn't mean to imply anything more. but they are also not their characters.

Sam and Bucky's scenes together before tfatws were both limited and short, and yet audiences still fell in love with the dynamic between the two characters.

in interviews, these two actors are constantly slipping into character and flirting with each other and frankly it's adorable. plus it's really entertaining. i'd love to see that dynamic, unfiltered, in a movie.

because believe it or not the flirting is actually even more open in their interviews than it was in tfatws. and i'm leaving some links as proof.

this here is known as the "married" compilation

and here's a "lucky dip" selection of interviews - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

and here's Anthony trying to get Seb to take his jacket off.

i'm just saying, why not let their chemistry shine? these two are so talented and so entertaining, especially when you put them in a room together. and can you imagine how absolutely hilarious and brilliant it would be to watch them navigate being a couple?

(and for those who bring up the "friends would be uncomfortable pretending to be dating" argument, i'm not here asking for a sex scene or anything. i don't think anyone would expect them to show any more intimacy (physical or emotional) while playing a couple than what they've already shown together in say... tfatws or in their own interviews. not that i actually expect anything regardless.)

5. if they were a man and a woman they would've gotten together in tfatws

i have no more to add here. just that... yeah, they would've.

6. and i'm not talking about the comics here, i'm talking about the MCU.

i understand fully that none of what i'm saying here falls in line with these characters from the comics. but the mcu itself doesn't fall much in line with the comics either, and these two characters especially are very different from their comics counterparts.

i'm not asking for these two to get together in the comics. tbh i don't think that it would work.

but the mcu Sam and Bucky are different and closer than their comics counterparts. they've got different histories, different backstories, and a very different dynamic. please rest assured that i am only talking about them in the mcu.

7. Bucky Barnes is believably bisexual. and Sam Wilson has never been proven to be straight in the mcu, nor has he had a love interest.

(now please continue to keep in mind that these points only stand for the mcu versions of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson, and not at all for their comics counterparts.)

Sam Wilson has never had a love interest, which is crazy because have you seen that man! he has had two blink and you'll miss it moments of verbal expression of attraction to women, both in TWS. and that's the extent of it, through his entire history in the mcu.

Bucky Barnes has had a number of surface-level female love interests, but none of them even came close to the level of connection and chemistry that Bucky shares with Sam.

and i'm sorry SarahBucky fans, but i just don't think there's very much to their relationship either. i love Sarah, i really do. but it's Sam who shares all the meaningful moments and history and chemistry with Bucky. and i don't see what making her into a love interest would do for Sarah's character either, what would that add to her story?

[Picture ID: Bucky at the cookout with Sam, Sarah, Cass and AJ. Bucky and Sam are looking at each other and smiling.]

and also there is the whole tiger pictures thing... again. which does strongly suggest that Bucky is bisexual whether this was intentional on behalf of the writers or not.

8. it's representation... AND it feels natural

marvel hasn't had a lot of queer representation that's been noticeably present in the MCU at the time of writing this.

there have been a lot of failures so far, from the bisexual erasure of Valkyrie in Thor Ragnarok to the wlw erasure in Black Panther.

there was queerbaiting almost identical to the bisexual Bucky baiting for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. when asked if he had considered featuring a gay hero in gotg2, director James Gunn stated that "We might have already done that. I say, watch the movie." after the movie's release audiences were understandably confused about the lack of queer representation. To which the director followed up his comments with, "But we don't really know who's gay and who's not. It could be any of them."

there is also Loki, considered by most fans after the airing of his six episode series on Disney+ to be both a poor attempt at both genderfluid representation and bisexual representation. with both attempts being summed up fairly well by the term "blink-and-you'll-miss-it". (also it's just terribly written and Loki doesn't wear any interesting clothes! fanficcers are a Goddamn blessing in this hard time!)

and let us not forget that Andrew Garfield was apparently FIRED for pushing for a bisexual spiderman. a bisexual spiderman within an interracial mlm relationship no less.

so for all these failures, marvel, why not allow us queer fans this? two brilliant and heroic men in a loving interracial relationship. two heroes that we can look up to.

now, one of the biggest detractions from the argument for representation is the idea of "forced diversity". and some poorly written characters certainly do end up feeling forced into the narrative. take Iceman in the comics for example, with Jean Grey just straight up suddenly telling him he's gay. like, marvel, sweetie, that's not how this works! and i don't know a lot of queer people who thought much of that "representation".

but the crux of the "forced diversity" argument is almost always that it feels unnatural within the story, right? and i don't think that anyone could say that about MCU Sam and Bucky ending up together, given these characters' existing chemistry and their history. they've both played characters in gay relationships before so we know that it's not outside of either actor's wheelhouse. and y'all know that Anthony and Seb can act, people. if it's in the script i believe that they'll make it seem like the most natural thing on earth.

9. it'd be a nice change

there's been an ongoing meme lately about "Disney's first gay character", the joke being that they continually announce gay characters without really ever including gay characters in their films.

this is to the point where Disney has formed a reputation amongst queer audiences of being homophobic.

if Sam and Bucky were to become a couple, then Disney could have its first actual gay character within a gay relationship. AND have him be in the lead of his own movie, no less.

it's also worth keeping in mind that there's likely an overlap between the people who were outraged by a Sam Wilson Captain America, and the people who'd be outraged by a gay Captain America. and if they were already not seeing the film, then i don't think much is gonna change that.

queer audiences would definitely love it, and the media attention would be guaranteed to be huge. i mean, simply look at the amount of media attention mere rumours of a character's queerness gets you and multiply that by a canon confirmation of said rumours.

but i'm pretty sure that Disney already knows this.

10. and yet, in truth, it's not about the representation

in truth i've never felt that i had any trouble relating to characters of any sexual orientation, race, gender, sex, body type, etc. (although that is not to throw any shade at all on people who do wish to see themselves represented) but for me, i think it's more about the story than the packaging.

and yet, a love story is still just a story. straight or queer, monoethnic or interracial. when two characters have chemistry and history and have sacrificed for each other time and time again, and they also can't keep their hands or their eyes off each other, then i'm pretty sure that that's a love story.

straight or queer, monoethnic or interracial, it shouldn't be about these simple labels. it should be about how well written the relationship is. it should be about chemistry, and history, and sacrifice.

because i'm fucking sick of all the hollow, forced romances in media no matter the genders of the participants. i'm sick of lazily written, shallow relationships where any two people sharing the same space for any extended period of time will simply fall in love. it's boring, it's repetitive, and as a writer myself it drives me up the wall!

romance stories suck! and everyone knows that romance stories suck. between twilight, and most of the entire YA genre, and love triangles (so boring), and romance used as poorly-written throwaway subplots in Hollywood movies, the world is in agreement that the romance in western media is simply dreadful. and yet we still want love stories. it's an entire genre that sits at the heart of the human experience (<3), and yet one which so few of today's best known writers seem truly able to capture.

i don't think that i'm the only one who feels this way, either. i suspect it's actually a large part of why fandom is so romance-centred in the first place, that we're all just starving for a good love story.

(btw i think fandom has a reputation for being something that as a whole that it is not. it has this reputation for straight up demanding things and harassing people until they get their way. while unfortunately there are a few people who do this, they're fucking annoying and i swear that they're far from the majority.

in my experience fandom is mostly about writing a five thousand word story at three am while drunk off your ass because it might make someone whom you've never met smile, editing it in the cold light of day, and then posting it. expecting nothing. sometimes getting nothing. and sometimes getting someone send you kudos or a comment so heartbreakingly wonderful that it makes you smile in return.)

11. so once again, it is all about the writing.

i want to see Sam and Bucky get together in the mcu, not because they would be a gay couple but because i genuinely believe that their story has potential to be an amazing love story.

and i know the mcu isn't about the romance. it's why in my personal opinion we haven't gotten a lot of good canon romances besides Peter Quill and Gamora. and i don't think that the mcu should be all about the romance either. i fucking love the action and the fighting scenes. i love the comedy. Captain America: The Winter Soldier had no romance and it was a fucking treasure, it was an amazing spy-action-thriller and it made my little gay heart dance. Thor Ragnarok had no romance, and it was an utterly brilliant comedic spectacle action film. not every movie needs romance.

but mcu Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes were doing couple's therapy and fixing a boat and walking off into the sunset together in tfatws. they were inseparable on the battlefield. they've got a dynamic. it's beautiful, it's romantic, and it's gold.

a budding relationship between them in the next movie would be a good way to explore both characters more without the narrative feeling too stilted and separate. at the end of tfatws, both Sam and Bucky fans found that their respective fave felt somewhat underutilised and that their characters were underexplored.

now, that problem would be even more difficult to remedy in a movie, because the plotline of a movie needs to be really tight to work (giggity). and we know that the central conflict of the movie is gonna be action-based (which is good), but we still need each character's personal journey and growth to tie into the main conflict. (which is another issue that some fans found with tfatws, that these characters didn't really feel connected to the action-based plot on a more personal level.)

if Sam and Bucky are already in a relationship, however, this whole dynamic changes. first, their relationship has already been set up for nicely since TWS and through tfatws and they would officially be the best-fleshed-out couple in the mcu. but most importantly, a relationship gives them a perfect vehicle to explore both of their pasts comparatively and connect them personally to the action-based plot.

do you want to establish that Sam is a little too trusting and naïve? then establish this through his relationship with Bucky, and through showing his placing his trust in Bucky. (rather than through having him sympathise with a villain who threatened to murder his sister and his nephews).

perhaps you want to show Bucky recovering from his trauma? show us how comfortable he is with Sam. they get along, they're enjoying each other's presence, we see more of Sam's life and of his family, and then let Bucky tell Sam something that's raw and dark and honest about his life as The Winter Soldier. something about a memory, one that he only just recalled. he's opening up. and maybe what he tells Sam is even something that sets up the future action-based conflict, to ground that in something real.

you want to explore that Sam has trauma too? do this through Bucky. he tells Bucky a story about his time in the military. in the form of a flashback, he shares his own story of loss to evoke before the audience the shared theme of feeling at fault even when you're simply a helpless bystander to an act of pure destruction.

then, action sequence! and it's directly connected to Bucky's time as the Winter Soldier. explore the grief of someone whose life the Winter Soldier tore apart manifesting into a villain perpetuating the cycle of pain. establish your villain.

Later, Sam is dragged into battle against this villain for protecting Bucky. But Bucky doesn't want Sam to protect him. He feels guilt for what he can't control and he doesn't want Sam getting hurt because of him. Bucky reminds Sam that he has a family, one who needs him and who loves him. He tells him to go home.

Sam reminds Bucky that he's a part of that family. And that sure Sam's a hero and his job is to protect anyone and everyone, but that he's doing it because he wants to. It's not simply to prove that he can, or to prove that he's not a bystander (this connects to Sam's trauma here), but that he's doing it to help people.

and this gets Bucky thinking about who he is and what he's doing here. is he a hero who stands by Sam's side? or is he an ordinary man who stands aside? or perhaps, does he stand alone? what does he stand for? Maybe Sam knows. But does Bucky?

Sam and Bucky fight off the villain again, and for the first time Bucky meets this adversary face to face. And Bucky recognises this villain, and has a flashback to the genuine pain that he inflicted upon them in the form of the Winter Soldier. Bucky freezes mid-fight, he almost dies, and Sam has to save him.

Sam chews Bucky out for almost getting killed because he was afraid for him. but Bucky takes this the wrong way and goes off to fight the villain alone, or perhaps to die alone, he's not quite sure.

He puts up a half-hearted fight. He apologises for what the Winter Soldier has done, and he waits for the killing blow, when Sam swoops down and he saves him. He asks Sam why he saved him and Sam calls him a moron. And then, Sam asks him what sacrificing himself would solve. He tells him that you can't choose your past but you can choose your future (connecting to his own experience of loss and guilt and grief). And that no matter what Bucky Barnes still has a future, whether that's as the Winter Soldier or the White Wolf or just some dork with a day job. And that he has a future as a part of Sam's family too.

Sam fights the villain, and it's toe to toe. He delivers a few good blows, but receives a fair few himself. And then the villain tears off his wings, first one and then the other, in a manner reminiscent of what the Winter Soldier did to him in TWS. Through Bucky's eyes there's a flashback to highlight the parallels. Sam gets back on his feet and he fights his best fight, but is now losing.

And then the heavily injured Bucky steps up and fights by Sam's side, and only together do they take down the villain.

"So... I inspired you, huh?" Sam teases with a smile, utterly exhausted. "With my heroism and-"

"You inspired me." Bucky said, equally exhausted. "Let's leave it at that."

Together, Sam and Bucky go back to the safety and warmth of their family. Sam fixes his wings. Sam goes back to being Captain America. And Bucky... he's around, but it's unclear what he's doing.

That is, until the very end. When Sam is in a fight, and suddenly Bucky shows up and helps him out.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asks.

"I've made up my mind." Bucky says. "I'm the Winter Soldier. But now I'll save lives, Sam. Now, like you, I'll be a hero."

Sam smirks. "So does this make you my sidekick, then?"

Bucky smiles. "C'mon, at least make me a partner." He says.

"How about co-workers." Sam says (in flashback, he remembers back to the death of his last on-the-job partner).

"How about friends." Bucky says, with a wry look.

"Bucky... I don't want to see you put your dumbass self in danger." Sam says.

"Oh, and it's ok for you to go running off into danger on your own all the time?" Bucky asks.

"Yes." Sam says stubbornly. "Absolutely it is."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not a dumbass?!"

"Sam, if you think I'm not gonna be watching your back for the rest of time... then you're the biggest dumbass I know. And I don't care if you need me or not, I will be there for you."

"Because Sam, you're more than Captain America. You're more than a good soldier. You're a good man. And I think sometimes, the world forgets what the difference is."

...or something like that.

(i only spent like 15 minutes on that. you know if i were actually writing this movie i would come up with something much better. and if anyone from marvel is seeing this, yes i can come work for you. i will make the time, let's do this thing right!)

finale

at the end of the day, whether or not the mcu chooses to make Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes a couple, it's their decision. and they don't owe me anything.

i'm just some random person on the internet. who thinks that Captain America 4 should #givecaptainamericaaboyfriend

#givecaptainamericaaboyfriend #meta #analysis #captain america 4 #caatws #fatws #tfatws #captain america #cap 4 #sam wilson #bucky barnes #sambucky #marvel #mcu #mcu phase 4

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my-soul-sings · 3 years ago

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kiss the girl | ch 1

Fandom: Tears of Themis Characters: Artem x Reader

Summary: Armed with a trusty book, Artem Wing attempts to win the woman of his dreams.

A/N: Artem’s personal story cracked me up so much that I had to write a fic about him with a less dense MC to troll him. :)

***

It’s no secret that Artem is a genius. As the youngest person in Stellis to become a senior attorney, the firm has attracted hordes of clients seeking his services despite his higher-than-average hourly billing rates. Themis Law Firm may be a relatively new firm and much smaller compared to the bigger, reputable and more established ones in Stellis, but Artem’s presence has made it a force to be reckoned with in this industry.

And yet, despite being perhaps one of the finest lawyers of his time, the Artem you know is quite something else altogether. You don’t really know how to explain it. Sure, he’s your boss and you admire his work ethic, intelligence, wit, charisma… the list could go on and on. But over the past few weeks it’s become evident that even geniuses like Artem lack in some ways.

In Artem’s case, the area of lack is painfully obvious.

“So what kind of man are you into? We’ve all shared, it’s your turn now.” Celestine is sitting on the edge of your desk, a playful smirk on her lips as she sips her coffee.

“Well… I don’t know…” Your words trail off as your eyes dart towards the pantry, where you spot the familiar back of your boss who’s trying very hard to blend into the side of the fridge at the moment. Needless to say, he’s not doing a very good job. He’s been stirring that cup of coffee for the past ten minutes now—yes, you’ve been keeping track ever since you noticed him come to the pantry for coffee despite having a coffee machine in his own office—and you’ve already spotted him glancing over in your direction at least twice when he thought you weren’t looking.

It’s been like this for the past few weeks. You didn’t really pick up on the signs at first: Artem leaving work almost always at the same time that you do, your conversations about work almost always ending with personal questions to get to know your likes and dislikes, and the unusual number of times he would walk out of his office a day to pay a visit to the pantry, only to leave empty-handed.

But one incident became two, two became four, and it didn’t take much brainpower to figure out that he was oddly interested in matters involving you. It doesn’t matter if it’s about work or about your personal life, he seems to want to know everything, but especially about your love life and love interests.

If the fact that he’s been not-so-subtly eavesdropping on your conversations with Kiki and Celestine in the office isn’t clear enough, then nothing will be.

You could just clear the air with him directly, although there’s that lingering fear of, “What if he isn’t actually interested?” It’s not like you can read his mind; maybe he’s just doing this shoddy spywork in an attempt to know his employees better. Something about employee welfare and morale building maybe—you wouldn’t put it past him.

But then you think about it deeper and realise it can’t be, especially not when Celestine isn’t that subtle either with her pointed glances in your direction before staring straight at Artem with a smirk on her lips. She obviously knows what Artem is up to and is in on it somehow, which might be why lately she’s been asking you all sorts of questions relating to your love life whenever Artem happens to stroll into the pantry yet again.

Just like that three weeks have passed, and you still haven’t gotten around to talking to Artem about it. It’s not for a lack of guts; really, it’s not. It’s just… it’s quite amusing to see Artem Wing, the youngest senior attorney in Stellis, a brilliant mind who usually has the answers to every legal problem, at a complete and utter loss.

“The kind of guy I like… I think I’ll know when I meet him...” The answer is deliberately vague, which makes Kiki groan and Celestine click her tongue in dissatisfaction. Your attention, however, is focused on the back figure of your boss whose head is now drooping like a wilted flower.

“...and I think I’ve found one.”

In that instant, his head perks up, as do Kiki’s and Celestine’s. They begin to badger you for details, but your stubborn lips won’t budge. When you hear footsteps coming from the pantry, you allow your eyes to dart upwards only once, and you see Artem’s usual cool demeanour and straight face as he returns to his office.

Your lips curl into a tiny smirk when you notice that the mug of cold coffee is still sitting on the pantry counter.

***

She found one…

The sentence she just said is playing over like a broken record in his head, much like when he’s mulling over a witness’ statement when preparing for a cross-examination.

Does that mean she’s met someone who might be her type? Or is she already dating someone?

No wait, it can’t be the latter. She just told Celestine last week that she wasn’t seeing anyone because she’s “married to work”.

A chuckle spills past his lips before he realises it—that’s the kind of thing he tells his relatives when they pester him about not having a girlfriend at his age.

His smile quickly fades however, when he remembers the dilemma he’s in. Her answer left no room for him to guess what kind of guy she likes, let alone whether he fits into that box. And the fact that she’s found someone who’s her type… Does that mean he’s already lost the battle before he could even try?

A knock on his office door jolts him out of his reverie, and he barely has time to clear his throat and fix his tie before Celestine enters the room. There’s only one reason she comes into his office when he doesn’t call her in, and it’s written all over her amused face.

“I think she noticed you in the pantry this time. You stood there for way too long—even Kiki was starting to notice.”

Artem groans, leaning back in his seat and turning away so Celestine won’t have to see him crumble internally and wallow in shame. First, she has a type, and now she’s noticed him needlessly hanging around the pantry, suspecting that he’s been eavesdropping on her conversations (which he has). She must think poorly of him now.

“Don’t look so down, I think you still have a shot.”

“What shot?” he asks with a sigh, fumbling with the knot of his tie to loosen it. “She’s already found someone who’s her type.”

“She never said she was dating him. She could just be, you know...” Celestine waves her hand in a gesture that Artem can’t understand, “...making a general statement of some sort. Point is, you can still try. Don’t give up.”

“As a lawyer, shouldn’t you be advising your client to give up if there are better alternative modes of settlement?”

His know-it-all response is not appreciated, and Celestine folds her arms across her chest, glowering at him. “Artem. She’s not a case that you need to solve. This is about love! Romance! The heart! Read a book about it, will you?”

“I have, but nothing has worked so far. The advice in the book is at best ineffective, at worst a hoax.” He glares at the book on his desk, and Celestine follows his gaze to it before she recognises it as the book she’d given him a few weeks back.

For the first time since coming in, her gaze turns into something more sympathetic. Artem isn’t sure he appreciates the sentiment.

“Trust me on this, Artem. Don’t give up yet. I really think you still have a chance.”

“I do?” He perks up at that, raising a brow. “Did she say something about me?”

“Not exactly…” Celestine grimaces when he starts sulking again. “But it’s a woman’s intuition. Trust me. I know her better than you do.”

At his prolonged silence, she adds, “We both know my intuition is way more reliable than your gut feelings when it comes to relationship advice.”

The silence lingers on for a few more minutes, before Artem finally relents with a sigh. He doesn’t say anything however, merely fixing his tie and picking up the book from his desk to put in his drawer.

“...You really should get back to work now.”

“Got it, boss.” Her tone is patronising as always, and she throws what’s probably meant to be an encouraging smile his way before she finally leaves him alone to his thoughts, although Artem can’t help but wonder if she’s still laughing at him internally.

In his now quiet office, his breathing is the only thing that can be heard. He picks up his pen and flips open the case file he was reading earlier before he left to visit the pantry.

But then not even a minute passes before his office is filled with the repeated sound of a pen clicking, a dejected sigh... and then the sound of his drawer opening once more.

#tears of themis #tears of themis artem #artem wing #artem #tears of themis fanfiction #tears of themis fanfic #artem fanfiction #artem wing fanfiction #artem fanfic #he cracks me up so much #my writing #kiss the girl

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the-lone-witch-and-secret-room · 3 years ago

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The Owl House and pacing, a perspective from a fanfic writer that works with a large cast

I’ve seen a bunch of complains about the way The Owl House is paced lately. People claiming that it’s bad writing, and rushed, and whatnot. But from how I see it, you’re complaining for all the wrong reasons, and to the wrong people.

TL;DR: this is an overlaying issue with Disney and the industry that doesn’t allow long shows anymore, essentially forcing writers to pick between good pacing and complex stories being told with large casts.

For context: the fandom I wrote for before I got into The Owl House had a pretty small main cast. There were a few reoccurring characters, but most of them only showed up like five total times over the course of four seasons or had little personality, so my main cast I was writing about always consisted of my main five characters, with occasional cameos here and there. All characters were living together and experienced the adventure from the same perspective. There was one overarching storyline and not multiple. The interpersonal relationships still varied, though, for obvious reasons.

Now think about how large The Owl House cast is, and why that’d send them running into issues. Or don’t, because I have a whole-ass in depth analysis under the cut because this got unreasonably long.

(Also I’d appreciate a reblog, I spent… an unreasonable amount of time on this, lol)

The Owl House is different. There’s the main characters: Luz, Eda, King, maybe Hooty, technically (someone recently pointed out that he’s technically the titular character of the show and I’m still processing that, lol).

But they also have a HUGE additional cast to work with. There’s Lilith, Eda’s sister, and the main antagonist of season one, who has a lot to her character and gets a ton of screen time. There’s Amity, and there’s Willow and Gus, Luz’s friends. They’re all very fleshed out characters, and got a bunch of screen time and development, despite “only” being reoccurring characters and not the main characters.

Then there’s characters that have played a fairly minor role so far. There’s Belos, the big bad villain, who we will likely learn a lot more about this season. There’s the Golden Guard, the new main antagonist our cast deals with personally, who we’re just starting to learn more about. There’s Camila, Luz’s mom, who, despite only showing up a couple of times in the show so far, is very relevant to Luz and how the plot will ultimately turn out. There’s Edric and Emira, Amity’s siblings, who despite only showing up a few times as well seem to have a very worked out personality and background and also have a story that is (at least to some extent) going to be told according to the AMA.

There is at least one more seemingly important character whose role in the bigger story is hard to tell at this point, Raine, but according to the description of the episode, they’re probably going to influence the story a bunch.

There’s Alador and Odalia, who are responsible for a lot of their children’s toxic behaviors, and seem to have bigger plans that will probably be relevant later on.

The characters that are only focused on for an episode or two (like Matt and the troublemaker kids) all have very worked out personalities and even short arcs.

And heck, even characters like Boscha, who is extremely minor and seems like a very one-dimensional bully for the most part, get their moments that hint at there being more to them. We know Boscha has a clingy mom, that apparently has a rivalry with Odalia and works with Amity’s parents. The scene at the beginning of Wing It Like Witches tells us a lot about her general mindset and how she’s embraced that winning at whatever cost is the only thing that matters.

This leaves us with: 3-4 main characters

3 friends with fleshed out stories

Lilith, who is probably the most relevant aside from the main cast

Belos, the main antagonist, and the Golden Guard, currently starting to become a lot more relevant

A whole handful of minor reoccurring characters that have the potential to become bigger characters at any point in time

A handful of minor reoccurring characters that mainly seem to be there to further the story, but still get to have distinctive personalities and motivations (looking p.e. at the troublemaker kids)

That is AT LEAST 9 pretty major, relevant characters whose stories have to be tackled in the same show, in addition to the people that joined in season two and a huge supporting cast of well-developed characters that clearly also have stories of their own, even if not all of them will get told.

On top of that, the Owl House lives from exploring different relationships and different storylines. There’s the overarching story of how flawed the system is that will likely end with them overthrowing Belos, but there’s so much more.

Eda and the curse. Eda becoming a better mentor for Luz. Eda coming to terms with the loss of her magic.

Luz learning to cast magic with glyphs. Making friends for the first time. Slowly falling in love with Amity. Fighting to be able to learn whatever kind of magic she wants to. Learning that she’s not a burden to people. Struggling with her relationship with her mom, and trying to restore the portal so she can get back to her. Figuring out her future and what she really wants.

Lilith trying to cure Eda, and now in season two coming to terms with the loss of her magic and fixing her relationship with her sister. Lilith learning to ask for help.

Willow switching tracks. Willow growing more confident.

Amity becoming a better person, fixing her relationship with Willow, standing up to her parents, falling in love with Luz. Starting to fix her relationship with her siblings.

King finding out where he came from.

Hints at Gus struggling with decision making and stressing himself out less. Gus learning to be more selfless. Struggling with his magic track and being the youngest in his grade.

The newly introduced plot point with the Golden Guard. The plot point about the rebellion that will get introduced next episode.

The mystery with the letters.

And I’m like 90% sure I’ve forgotten something.

That is… a lot of different plots and relationships that are in some way important to the story.

In comparison, as stated, the last show I wrote for focused mostly on the same five characters and their relationships with each other, and one overarching plotline aside from some minor interpersonal relationships with two people’s family members that weren’t even introduced for several seasons. The first season fully focused on establishing the bond within this found family with exactly 1 important reoccurring character, an antagonist that had little personality and got a total of one line of backstory before he died.

If you have 90% of a season to develop 5 characters who live together, that’s a lot easier to do than developing twice the amount of important characters + introducing reoccurring characters season one of The Owl House has—the majority of which have separate lives and do not live together and thus can’t be focused on at the same time.

I’ve seen a bunch of people complain recently that the pacing of The Owl House is off, that the writing is bad, that the show is rushed, etc. etc.

And I get those complains. Believe me, as a viewer and also as an author that takes a lot of time to develop each character and their issues individually, I 100% get it.

But as an author that’s currently learning how hard it is to tackle a cast of the size that The Owl House has, I’ve also come to a whole different understanding from the perspective of the writers on the show.

For context, Locked Out focuses on a couple of serious themes, in the same way that the show does. It has 4 main plotlines: Amity Camila and Luz, Edric and Emira, Eda and Lilith, Willow and the Grudgby Squad (as well as a Gus arc that ties into the last one while also being its own thing, we’re getting to that part). So far, it prominently features: Luz, Amity, Camila, Eda, Emira, Edric, Willow and Gus, and to a lesser extent King, Lilith and Boscha, Skara and Amelia in relation to the separate plots.

That’s eight main characters across five different households. And then there’s the reoccurring characters that will have a larger role later on that I’ve not even had the opportunity to bring into the story yet/feature in a more prominent way. The cast is still growing.

And heck, I have all the time in the world to write this thing, because I don’t have an episode limit, or a deadline, or a limited amount of money to produce it.

For Locked Out, it took me 120k to get through a single week of plot at a very high level of character development, with about as many important characters as TOH has in season 1, and with an equally high number of reoccurring characters, some minor, some major. I think you can compare it to the show pretty well. I’d say, if I were to split Locked Out into episodes, I’d set one episode at about 10k. That would be 12 episodes. 12 episodes to get through a single week. Heck, even if I said 20k words were to be one episode, which I’m pretty sure is too much realistically, that would still be 6 episodes for one week.

And TOH covers more than three months.

That would be at least 72 total episodes to get through the three months of summer camp. And we’re currently progressing past that point.

72 episodes.

Let that sit for a while o.o

Everything that’s happened in season one (which as we know now was about 2 months) would have happened in 48 episodes rather than 19. Pacing-wise, everything would happen at less than 0.5x the speed. The first four episodes of season two would’ve been 24 episodes, assuming we hadn’t skipped a week and a half and had instead shown the immediate aftermath of the petrification ceremony, too.

And I’d love if we could have that, and if we could actually develop the characters and their relationships that thoroughly.

But the sad fact is that shows like The Owl House do not get the amount of episodes that would be required to develop every single aspect of the show to its fullest potential. Disney rarely greenlits shows of 150 episodes anymore. They used to, once, (Phineas&Ferb for example had 130+ episodes—you could tell one hell of a story in that many episodes), but that’s not a thing anymore. And the writers know that going into a show. They know the chances their story will be told in that way are very low.

And thus, the writers, especially ones working with large casts, have to make a choice: cut characters they love, and plots that are important to them, because they know they won’t get the amount of episodes required to do everything perfectly, OR include most of what they want to do, but at the cost of the pacing being off and everything seemingly happening too fast.

The Owl House crew went with the second option. The biggest issue the show has isn’t bad writing. The show’s biggest issue is that its cast and the story the crew members want to tell are too big for the amount of episodes they’ve been given (especially now that Disney decided to cut season 3 down into just three 44 minute specials).

And that’s on Disney, and Disney alone.

The crew is making the most of the amount of episodes they have, and unfortunately the lack of time forces them to rush things, and to sometimes sideline characters to focus on others.

Lilith got a bunch of screen time in the first four episodes. I’m sad to see her go, but she’s basically guaranteed to be back by season 2B. And there’s other people that have gotten way less focus than her so far. We‘ve seen basically nothing of Willow and Gus for the first few episodes, and I’m super happy Gus finally got some focus! We haven’t been inside Hexside all season except to see Luz expelled! And episode seven is even going to introduce a new character. Sometimes there’s parts of the story that certain characters don’t have a place in. And it sucks if they’re characters you like. But Lilith has to go for a bit so other characters can get the same amount of spotlight she did. At the end of the day, Lilith is not part of the main cast. She’s a very important reoccurring character, yes, but so are Amity, Willow and Gus. The main characters are Eda, Luz and King, and they’re the only ones that will always be around. And heck, even Eda got sidelined for a bit in the last two episodes, because we needed to focus on other characters. If not even the main characters are always around because we need some spotlight time for other characters, you can’t expect any more minor reoccurring cast member to be.

God, I wish they’d be given more time and more episodes to bring every part of the plot to its full potential, but they don’t have those, so they sometimes have to take shortcuts that unfortunately cheapen the story here and there. It’s the only way they can hope to tell their story to the end at all. And that makes me hella sad because it’s so obvious that they have an incredible story to tell, and that there’s so much more to so many of the characters we just don’t have the time to focus on.

The thing is: I liked the episode with Gwendolyn. It sends an important message that will hopefully get some parents who watch with their children thinking, and I’ve seen a couple of people talk about how close to home it hit for them. I have also seen a couple of people complain about that being too fast—and also just in general about things in the show getting sorted out too fast. And I get it. At least with this particular episode, I 100% get it.

(I’ve also seen some people complain that “Amity stood up to her parents too fast in Escaping Expulsion”, but I vehemently disagree with that. We’ve been building towards that moment since season one, with her doing more and more things that were technically defying her parents. I don’t see how this was rushed.)

Just… please don’t blame the writers. Dana even said that Keeping Up A-Fearances is one of the episodes that hit very close to home for her in the recent stream iirc? So I highly doubt this was rushed on purpose, or because the whole thing is “bad writing” when the entire writing quality of the show says otherwise.

A lot of shows in general have the issue that they have to be written season by season rather than as a full story these days, because there’s always a chance that they won’t get a next season. How large scale the story they want to tell actually is doesn’t matter if there’s a solid chance they won’t get to do any of it.

From a viewer perspective, I get being frustrated at the pacing being off. But from a writer perspective, the chances are very high that this is a choice they had to make, rather than one they wanted to make. And I don’t think you can truly see this if you’ve never worked with a fleshed out cast that large—Locked Out was really eye-opening for me in that regard.

This isn’t simply a case of bad writing/bad pacing by choice. It’s forced. They’re forced to rush through their plots because otherwise they won’t get the chance to tell certain parts of the story at all. And the saddest thing about this is really that those 72+ episodes to flesh out these plot points further wouldn’t have been an impossible thing to get, at a time.

Go for Disney’s head. Yell at the industry for being what it is today, for constantly axing shows before even giving them a real chance. But this isn’t on the crew.

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sturchling · 4 years ago

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Masterlist

I have had a few people ask about a masterlist of my work. So here it is. I think I got all of the stories I have written. Here y’all go!

Miraculous Ladybug Stories

Salt Fic September stories:

Salt Fic September Day 1: But I’m The One Controlling You

Salt Fic September Day 2: Pick

Salt Fic September Day 3: There’s No Need to be Rude

Salt Fic September Day 4: Breakdown part 2: Heartbreaker

Salt Fic September Day 5: You’re Not Invited

Salt Fic September Day 6: Camera

Salt Fic September Day 7: I’m Going to Call You Karen

Salt Fic September Day 8: Stolen

Salt Fic September Day 9: Lucifer Shouldn’t Be Kept Waiting

Salt Fic September Day 10: Identity

Salt Fic September Day 11: I’ve Been Planning This For A While

Salt Fic September Day 12: Trip

Salt Fic September Day 13: He Is Handsome, No, Hot!

Salt Fic September Day 14: Song Fic

Salt Fic September Day 15: It Seems Your Number Has Finally Come Up

Salt Fic September Day 16: Rejection

Salt Fic September Day 17: This Is Who You Wanted Me To Be Right?

Salt Fic September Day 18: Transfer

Salt Fic September Day 19: I’m Disappointed In You

Salt Fic September Day 20: Enemies

Salt Fic September Day 21: No You Listen To Me

Salt Fic September Day 22: Blackmail

Salt Fic September Day 23: We Are Done Here

Salt Fic September Day 24: Dare

Salt Fic September Day 25: I Know Who My Friends Are

Salt Fic September Day 26: Abandoned

Salt Fic September Day 27: This Isn’t Over

Salt Fic September Day 28: Bankruptcy

Salt Fic September Day 29: Well I’m Not Working With A Terrorist

Salt Fic September Day 30: Escape

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

Original stories

Be An Example

How The Web Was Spun

The Miraculous Dancers

I Can’t Stand Liars

Accident on the High Road

Left in Gotham

The Truth Will Set You Free

Liars in Crime

Turn the Page Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Adrien Agreste: Ace Attorney

Birthday Surprise

How MDC Actually Started

The Gilded Poppy Meets Marinette

Gilded Poppy VS Hawkmoth

Listen Instead of Lie

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

Prompt requests

Marinette brings Jagged tickets for the class

Alya stops doing her class deputy work

The class graduates and looks to Lila to fulfill her promises

Marinette switches classes and wins a trip to Central City

Chloe tears Lila a new one

Paris bans heroes, after Hawkmoth is defeated, the Justice League arrives

The Young Justice team finds out what the Justice League did in Paris

Sadie comes to Dupont and takes Lila’s place

Sequel to Sadie’s story

Final part to Sadie’s Story

Mrs Rossi has an embassy meeting about the akumas

Transfer students from Italy come to Dupont

Lila tries to kill Marinette once she was exposed

Damian uses the lasso of truth on Lila and the akuma class Part 2

Marinette and Damian are married, and Lila is plotting revenge

Marinette moves to New York and meets the Waynes while working for Audrey

Lila takes over as class rep and chaos ensues

Lila lies about dating Damian Wayne, only Marinette knows he is only 10

Jon thinks Marinette is a Wayne and reveals the family secret

Lila’s reign over the school ends because she moves away

Adrien rejects Lila and she starts lying about him

Alya takes Chris and the twins to an akuma battle

Felix, Juleka, and Rose believe Marinette and film Lila

Adrien tells Marinette that lies aren’t hurting anyone, Marinette would disagree

Virgil Hawkins (Static) x Marinette

Virgil Hawkins comforts Marinette

Marijon- how they met

Marinette is doing Mrs. Bustier’s job, so she gets her pay

The class tells Marinette they aren’t friends, and she feels like a burden is lifted

Lila tries to frame Marinette to Alya, but Alya knows something is wrong

Damian and Jason learn not to underestimate Marinette

Adrien realizes he loves Marinette. He has a train to catch

The Batfam finds out how many responsibilities Marinette has forced on her

Alya spreads a rumor about Aurore to get her to stop her blog

Alya VS Aurore Saga Part 1 Part 2

bio dad! Bruce Wayne sends his lawyers after Lila

Lila sees her future and it isn’t pretty

The class leaves Marinette in Gotham and Mrs. Bustier pays the price

The class was a mariharem, but broke up with her because of Lila

Lila tries to sabotage Marinette at fashion week

Adrien yells Lila. Gabriel tries to make him apologize, Adrien’s boyfriend steps in

Mrs. Martin helps Marinette learn to say no Part 2

Lila is messing with Plagg’s holder. No one messes with Plagg’s holder

Dr. Doofenshmirtz is Adrien’s father instead of Gabriel

Adrien tries to date a girl who looks like Ladybug and goes too far (Extreme Adrien salt)

Gabriel tries to trick Marinette and gives her the peacock miraculous

Sentimonster Adrien Agreste

Aurore won’t interview Lila for her blog and Alya gets angry

Alya vs Aurore compete to see whose blog is better

The Ashley Saga Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Marinette moves to Gotham and starts her own boutique

Aftermath of Damian exposing Lila

The class is only pretending to believe Lila to knock Marinette down a peg

Avengers help Team Miraculous take down Hawkmoth

Alya and Marinette leave the class and the class falls apart

Marinette moves to Gotham. Bustier’s class comes for a trip and Lila’s lies fall apart

Marinette leaves Dupont. And no one notices.

What if Lila was lying about her mother’s job?

Chat finds out Ladybug left Paris and demands to know her identity. He won’t take no for an answer this time.

Marinette goes to train in Tibet and Lila tries to get her in trouble, which backfires

Gajeel and Levy of Fairy Tail are Marinette’s bio parents

Bruce tries to hint that he is Batman to an oblivious Marinette

Marinette and Lila are actually good friends, and test the class’ friendship

Peter Parker comes to Dupont and causes Lila’s downfall

Black Butler meets Miraculous Ladybug: Sebastian and Claude take care of Marinette

Adrien pushes Nathaniel down the stairs in a jealous rage (Luka x Nathaniel)

Alya worries about how much all the calls to Lila while she was in Achu cost her parents

Fairy Tail Stories

An Awfully Big Adventure

Harry Potter Stories

Hagrid stories:

Hagrid goes to the movies

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ekaterinatepes · 3 years ago

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Nothing But The Best

Author Notes: once again I apologize for how long this took to update. Schedule is still hectic and will remain so for the following month or so. But fear not. I shall continue to update at least once a week. Once again reblogs and comments are appreciated!

XVI

Our ability to survive depends on our skill to change and adapt. Everything in life is about transformation.

The drastic changes in your life seemed like a never ending avalanche of heart break and tough decisions… once again, transformation.

Your own choices placed you exactly where you were at, there was no one else to blame but yourself.

Satoru chose to remain in New York for another two weeks during which he had invested himself into re-discovering you (in his mind you never stopped being his. In the sanctuary of his thoughts you are always referred to as his wife, his one and only Mrs. Y/N Gojo. The woman of his life and owner of his heart).

Satoru tried a gentle approach with you. Not wanting to push you too far not to leave you alone all together. Using all his knowledge of your personality and preferences he slowly inserted himself in your life once again.

At 5:30am sharp he would meet you at the entrance of your building wearing his training clothes, he wanted to show you he supported you and your career. He would go for a run with you around the park. This, of course evoked memories of when you both first started dating and Satoru would show up to workout with you or take you out to dinner after training.

You got to know he had been working harder to help Yuuji control the curse inside him but it was a hard endeavor. He didn’t have to specifically verbalize it for you to know it was a loosing battle and he felt responsible for it but he was trying his best to find a way to help the boy. You missed the kids, they were like family. So you made sure to ask Satoru to tell them you missed them.

But despite your ex-husband’s best efforts you still wanted to be alone. You needed some clarity, the opportunity to sort out your feelings. Gojo wasn’t particularly thrilled with you pushing him away but he promised to you and himself that he would change and would do an effort to respect your wishes so he gave you your space.

But Satoru wasn’t stupid, he knew you missed Suguru and felt guilty for choosing your own husband (ex-husband) over your best friend.

And that’s why you kept pushing him away. Saying you needed time to think.

His time was running out, he had to return to Japan. At least for now, he had unavoidable responsibilities with his students as well as the rest of his missions. He went to your apartment the night before his flight and explained to you why he had to return but he also promised to come back to New York as soon as possible.

“It’s alright Satoru, I understand… I’m gonna be just fine” you reassured the sorcerer who didn’t look convinced at all about leaving you alone. “Please, at least answer my calls and messages. I’m gonna be worried sick if you don’t” you nodded and then he hugged you tightly, inhaling your intoxicating aroma as if he wanted to commit it to memory. His lips soon found yours and before either of you knew it you were in your bed ripping off each other’s clothes so you could express with your bodies how much exactly you would miss one another.

He had taken you for granted once, he would never make that same mistake.

-1 Week Later-

It had been three weeks since you last saw Suguru, he wouldn’t answer your calls, texts nor your emails. You didn’t even know if he was still in New York for that matter. Not knowing was slowly killing you, consumed by guilt you knew you deserved this treatment.

And yet, you wanted to find him and explain… try to make it up to him somehow. He didn’t deserve the pain you had inflicted upon him.

From: Kitten 🐱

To: Sugu

I need to talk to you, please give me a chance to explain. I don’t want to lose you Suguru. I know it’s selfish on my behalf but I can’t let you walk away without explaining. Please Suguru.

I miss you.

Another message sent, he wouldn’t answer your texts. At least he didn’t block your phone number. (Not yet, supplied your tortured mind)

The whole reason why you held back from actually having sex with Suguru although you both had wanted that very much during the last 6 months was because you wanted to give Geto everything. Not only half of you. He deserved someone who would chose him completely. At least that’s what you knew was right.

You didn’t want to toy with his emotions. Then again Satoru’s sporadic presence in your life didn’t help at all. Everytime he showed up you were back to the beginning.

There was no other way to explain this other than saying…you could never resist him.

It was a Monday evening, you just got home after your training at the academy. Sitting on the couch eating some salad when the doorbell rang. You were not expecting anyone. And most importantly someone who didn’t need to be announced by the guard downstairs. There were only two people who could show up at your door in such fashion.

When you opened the door the first thing you saw was a broad torso covered in a very familiar black fitted t-shirt. Long black hair framing a handsome face and those beautiful amber pools looking at you. Without hesitation you threw your arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Suguru responded to your embrace by surrounding your firmly in his arms lifting you a few inches from the floor.

His sweet lavender and sage scent welcomed your senses once more. It wasn’t until he dried the tears from your cheeks that you realized you had been crying.

“Yo..you are here… Suguru! I am so sorry! I-“ he stopped you by placing his right index finger upon your lips. “You don’t have to say anything. I am here because I have to tell you something important. Come Kitten, let us sit” he took your hand and guided you to the couch where as soon as you both sat next to one another you threw yourself into his arms once more making the raven haired sorcerer chuckle “I missed you too Kitten” he whispers against your h/c tresses.

“Listen…. I was angry… I was mad at you because I thought you would choose me and instead chose Satoru. But these past weeks without you, I have been a wreck to say the least and then I realized… I have always known you loved Satoru from the beginning and that never bothered me before.” Sighing he made a small pause before continuing “Granted… I do resent him for hurting you but I never expected you to completely loose your feelings for him.“ you were about to explain to him that you were trying to sort those feelings out but he interrupted you with a little kiss on your lips “let me finish Kitten” a tender smile spread across his lips making you blush again.

“I realized that I don’t want to renounce to you, I don’t want to give you up. Because there simply is no other person who I want to be with. No one can replace you. And you don’t have to choose between Satoru and me…. At least on my behalf I am ok with sharing you with him. I don’t want to lose you and I don’t want to put you in a position that only will hurt your heart.” Stroking your cheek softly Suguru leaned in and kissed your lips once more, just this time the exchange was sweeter and lasted longer. His tongue teased the entrance to your mouth before fully delving in to revel in your warmth and sweetness. Pulling back and looking into your eyes Geto assured you “I love you… and I want you to be happy. I am not going to make you choose because I don’t want to lose you Y/N”.

To say you were shocked to the core and touched beyond words was an understatement “Suguru… I don’t know what to say…” you start but Geto chuckled

“You don’t have to give me an answer right away.. I und—-“

You cut him by crushing your lips against his, kissing him throughly. Your legs straddled his waist immediately so you could feel his strong and warm body against yours. Was this man even real? I mean… Suguru Geto was a remarkable person but at this point you started questioning your own sanity. Did you make this man up in your imagination? Because you have never met someone sweeter, nor kinder nor more loving than him. And this was without counting all his very alluring physical attributes.

By the time you pulled back you were out of breath and so was he.

Now, the thing was… is this what you wanted? Did you want them both? Wasn’t it too greedy to have them both as lovers?

There was also the possibility Satoru would flat out reject the idea but… you didn’t want to choose between them. You…. Loved them both.

Before you could speak once more you ‘felt’ someone behind you stroking your back.

Almost jumping out of your skin you turned around to find Satoru in his usual jujutsu high uniform sans blindfold.

“You’re late…” Suguru comments as if he had been expecting his best friend to teleport right then.

“I know… Yaga was being a pain in the ass as per usual” added Satoru with a grin before taking a sit next to Suguru with the biggest shit eating grin you could imagine.

“So? Did she agree?” Questioned smirking and moving his hand to stroke your hair away from your neck while you still sat on Suguru’s lap.

“I am not sure… I think we broke her…” added Geto amusedly before chuckling and kissing your cheek.

“I know how to fix that!” Excitedly announced the white haired man. Cupping your face between his hands he pulled you in to kiss you deeply. His tongue voraciously licking the inside of your mouth and enticing you to kiss him back.

This was surreal…. Were you dreaming? You had to be dreaming or maybe you hit your head and now we’re in a coma. Yeah… you have to be hallucinating this.

When Satoru pulled back he laughed “Princess… don’t look so surprised… you must have known this would have happened sooner or later… Sug and I would never give you up and we know you wouldn’t pick one over the other either… and well, we didn’t want to give you the chance to pick neither…” they knew exactly how you were. Even before you knew it yourself. They just knew you would bolt and choose no one if that meant not hurting the other so they had to figure out a solution where all of you were happy.

Tags: @sleepyamaya

@jxvajxy

@okkotsuoasis

@my-reality-is-in-my-head

@dok-ja

@jscarlet06

@fiona782

@thatsharklovingwoman

@heichoustheoryofcleanliness

@syynnaaah

@shaylove418

@coldvillainess

@vampgguk

@sukuna1stwife

@tampon-earrings

@actualdeemon

@darenolilbitchahkoredesuka

@bloombb

@redbircl

@heizenka

@haleypearce

#jjk #gojo x you #gojo saturo x reader #jjkgojo #gojo x reader #jujutsu kaisen gojo #gojo angst #jujustu kaisen #jjk suguru #gojo x female reader #gojo x y/n #getou #geto x reader #geto x y/n

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jmnjmnjmn · 4 years ago

Text

Your Noona | Requested Idol!JK x NonIdol/Noona!Reader | Fluffy Oneshot

Pairing: Idol!Jungkook x NonIdol/Noona!Reader

Sides: ChildhoodFriend!Taehyung, Friends!BTS

Keywords: noona, age gap, secret crush, f2l

Warnings: swearing

Word count: around 5,500

There is mention of a house warming party. In Korea it is somewhat traditional to bring over toilet paper and cleaning supplies when going to such gathering, so please don’t be surprised when YN talks about the stacks of tp in her apartment xd

Request

Inspo board

Masterlist

Noona

Noona is a word used by Korean males to address females older than them who they are close to (biological or not).

With her leather handbag full of gifts and trinkets from France weighing on her shoulder, YN pressed the elevator button. She waited in front of the heavy steel door, staring at the bright red light-up sign above it.

“10, 9, 8.” She counted in her head as the numbers went down signalling the coming of the elevator. “7, 6, 5.” She sighed, unable to brush off the tiredness caused by the jetlag. “4, 3, 2, 1.” The door slid open with a quiet bell sound. YN hesitated before pressing in the correct number. “Was it 6th or 7th?” She whispered to herself, cursing at her forgetfulness. She ended up pressing both numbers.

Looking into the mirrored back wall of the elevator she checked herself out, making sure there were no imperfections in her outfit, hair, or makeup. Her camel-coloured coat reached right to her knees, leaving just the right amount of leg out to look cute, but not feel too cold in the winter’s cold weather. She unbuttoned the outer garment to take a look at the light brown mini skirt and blazer combo she wore today. Paired with an ecru blouse, nude tights, and white leather sneakers she looked rather casual than smart.

A robotic female voice announced the elevator’s arrival on the sixth floor of the building. YN looked out the door, unsure if that was where her best friend had his studio. She stepped out onto the somewhat familiar corridor, looking around for anyone to ask for directions. She walked down the long hallway, white lights above her head, unmarked doors to either side of her, unrecognizable chatter behind most of them.

“Where are you Kim Taaehyung?” She muttered under her breath, simultaneously reaching into the pocket of her coat to fish out her cellphone. “Tae-hyung-ie.” She syllabized while typing in her best friend’s name into her contacts. She raised the device to her ear right after starting the call. “Pick up, pick up, pick up.” She whispered quickly, hoping she didn’t drive out here for no reason. The static beeping noise was abruptly broken and replaced with the familiar low voice of a boy she knew since kindergarten.

“YN noona?” Taehyung asked and his surprised tone echoed through both of YN’s ears. She looked around, taken aback by the weird stereo effect she was experiencing. She turned to look behind her and saw one of the doors she passed by opening.

“Taehyung-ie, are you at your studio?” She asked, skipping over any greetings.

“Y- yes, why?” He answered her with another question. He wasn’t expecting her call and had to excuse himself from dance practice to pick up.

“Taehyung-ie!” YN exclaimed, seeing him walk out from behind the opening door and onto the bland corridor.

“Noona?!” Taehyung yelled into the phone making her wince at the incredible volume of his voice. “Oh my god!” He discarded his phone into the back pocket of his jeans before running up to and engulfing her in a suffocating hug. “YN noona!”

“Ah, seriously?” YN gasped out the bits of air that he didn’t manage to squeeze out of her lungs with his strong embrace. “Let go of me.” She groaned, pushing him away playfully. He had the sweetest boxy smile on his face and her expression wasn’t too far off of his.

“When did you come back?” He ran his hand through his black hair. It was still slightly curly with remains of the perm he got a couple of weeks back.

“Last night, you crazy person.” She chuckled, punching his arm and he squirmed jokingly.

“Ah, noona.” He sighed, his eyes dreamy with all the happiness he was experiencing at this moment. Spontaneously he threw his arm around her shoulders, bringing her into a side hug. “I missed you.” YN felt her heart growing warmer with every second.

“I missed you too, Taehyung.” She admitted without hesitation earning a giggle from her friend.

“Why are you here?” He asked after a moment, realizing she should be thousands of kilometres away, working in her company’s European branch. “I mean- I thought you weren’t coming back until next Chuseok.” He corrected himself not to sound rude.

“Yeah, well I got bored of Paris.” She shrugged, unconvincingly since there was a mischievous grin plastered across her face.

“Bored? Of Paris? You?” He cocked his eyebrow at her, knowing she’s withholding some juicy piece of information from him.

“I just missed Korea too much to stay away for any longer.” She looked up at him with that same grin.

“Yeah, right.” He scoffed.

“And…” She elongated the word as she slipped from under his arm and stopped to stand face to face with him. “I got a promotion!” She finally exclaimed, grabbing his hands in hers.

“Congratulations!” He screamed out, matching her excited pitch.

“Thank you!” They jumped up and down, tugging on each other’s hands for a moment longer before Taehyung stopped to ask an obvious question.

“So who are you now?” YN smiled, happy to hear him ask about her new position.

“Say ‘hello’ to Y/Company’s/N’s youngest C.A.O..” She said in a jokingly seductive tone, smiling brightly.

“What is that?” Taehyung scrunched his eyebrows in a frown. YN exhaled a chuckle at his lack of knowledge about company titles.

“God, it’s- it’s Chief Administrative Officer.” She explained but seeing his expression stay the same as it was she decided to go deeper into the description of the post. “It means I’m a top-tier executive who supervises daily operations of the company and I’m also responsible for its overall performance.”

“That’s good.” He nodded unsure if it was good.

“Hell yeah, it is!” YN laughed, wrapping her arm around his shoulders with some struggle since he was now taller than she was.

“Does that mean you’re moving back to Korea?” He looked at her with hope, but she didn’t notice as her gaze was directed forward.

“Yeah, at least for a couple of years.” Taehyung shoved her arm off of himself in shock.

“A couple of- that’s great, YN!” He pushed his chest against her face when he suddenly hugged her tightly. “I’m so happy for you!” He screamed, rocking them both side to side.

“Thank you!” She snaked her arms around his waist before pushing away. She was usually the one breaking hugs and ending sad goodbye’s because if it was up to Taehyung she would never leave his side. “I’m also so very happy, but still, a little bummed I had to leave my Parisian life behind.” She whined slightly, looking down onto her fumbling hands.

“Ah, but now you’ll start your Seoul life again.” Taehyung spoke in a tone of a visionary. He put his arm behind her back and used the other to drag over the imaginary horizon. “With me by your side, it won’t be that bad.” He added quickly.

“Won’t be bad at all.” She chuckled, putting an elbow to his side.

“That’s what I like to hear!” He laughed out. “So, when are you buying me dinner?” YN scoffed at his forwardness. Sometimes he just loved to take advantage of their month-long age gap.

“Who do you think-” She was getting ready to teasingly scold him, but interrupted her with a loud call.

“Jungkook-ie!” He exclaimed, looking to the door he earlier exited. “Look who’s here to buy us dinner.”

“You little- wait, that’s-”

YN barely managed to keep her jaw from dropping at the sight of the boy she last saw about a year ago - face to face at least. She saw all the boys of BTS all the time during her Skype calls with Taehyung, they’d often drop by to chat or whatnot, Jungkook included, but seeing him in real life… Was an experience, to say the least. He was fit, there was no way around it. Well dressed. With a handsome face and a good haircut. YN sighed as she was reminded of her small crush on the boy.

To add gasoline to the flame Jungkook had a similar experience seeing YN, standing under his hyung’s arm in the middle of the sixth floor’s corridor looking so… Breathtaking. Ever since he realized he had a crush on her he… He merely couldn’t find any other way to describe her. She changed so much in the passing years, evolved, grew into herself. He wasn’t expecting to see her and if she paid him enough mind she would notice how shocked and flustered he was. However, preoccupied with the excitement of seeing her best friend again and the time pressure of having to go meet her realtor in just a short while she didn’t. Jungkook inhaled sharply in an attempt to calm himself down and stop the racing of thoughts in his head.

“YN noona!” He exclaimed with excitement and shock lining his voice. “When did you-”

“Last night.” Taehyung interrupted him, dragging YN under his arm to walk closer to the other boy.

“And for how-”

“For good!” He interrupted him again and Jungkook’s eyes widened at the prospect of seeing YN more often because if she was going to stay in Seoul she was most definitely going to hang out with Taehyung and if she hung out with him he could tag along and stare at her all he wanted, admiring her beauty, getting lost in the sweet sound of her voice, the smell of her-

“Hey, that’s not decided.” YN replied, poking her best friend in the side and removing Jungkook out of his daydream.

“For a couple of years at least.” Taehyung explained by quoting her earlier words.

“That’s great.” He smiled at her as they stood right by each other now. “It’s so nice to see you again. You look healthy.” She smiled at his kindhearted comment, not paying it much mind while he cursed himself out in his head for not saying something more personal or meaningful.

“So, noona what are we eating?” Taehyung asked, rubbing her shoulder.

“Nothing, Taehyung!” She scolded him, instantly jumping from under his heavy arm. “I only came by to say ‘hello’ and give you…” She reached into her purse and pulled out a big paper bag. “This.” As soon as she showed them the packageTaehyung’s hands were already on it, discarding the bag and opening the box hidden inside.

“Yes!” He hummed, looking inside to see a bunch of miniature croissants with different toppings and fillings, ones YN always raved about and promised to bring over whenever she was going to visit.

“I hope you like them as much as I do.” She said smiling at the content in his eyes. As much as she hated having to pay for his meals when they ate together she also loved seeing him get excited over certain dishes and simply eat. “Just don’t eat them all in one sitting.” She cautioned him already imagining the stomach ache he would have to endure if he did that. “And leave some for your friends.” She added gesturing to Jungkook’s hungry stare.

“I won’t, noona.” He assured her quickly and closed the box.

“I have an apartment viewing in about…” She glanced at her wristwatch and noticing how late it was already she sighed slightly. “Ten minutes. I’ll buy you dinner next time.” Taehyung pouted sweetly at the sound of her words even though he knew there was no way for him to get out of the studio right now.

“You’ll have to invite us over to your new place, noona.” YN smiled warmly at Jungkook who finally spoke up again. He smiled brightly at her, showing his bunny-like teeth she adored.

“Ah, I work a lot.” She breathed out, imagining how would be hosting the entirety of BTS in a tiny studio apartment because there was no way she could afford anything more if she wanted to live close to her work in Gangnam-gu. At least not yet. “I don’t know if my schedule will allow me to do that.”

“Is that your excuse to get out of treating us?” Taehyung teased her, pulling on the sleeve of her woollen coat.

“How did you know?” She shot right back with a cheeky smirk that quickly turned into a loving smile. “Keep reminding me.” YN wrapped her arm around his back to pat it caringly. “Hopefully soon our plans will align and then I will buy both of you whatever you want.” Both boys smiled with hope glistening in their eyes at her promise.

“Coming!” Jungkook heard YN’s muffled voice right after he pressed on the bell. He swallowed loudly and within seconds she opened the door. Dressed in more of a laid back outfit than he was used to seeing her in - a simple t-shirt, a pair of high waisted beige pants and thinly rimmed silver glasses - she still managed to both knock the wind out of his chest and make him feel underdressed. “Hi! Oh-” Her happy expression faded into a slightly confused one. “I thought you would come over together.” She stepped to the side to let him walk past her and inside the apartment.

“Ah, didn’t Hyung tell you?” He asked, slipping his black boots off as she locked the door behind him. “He had to stay late for dance practice. He said to order without him.”

“No, Taehyung called me already.” Jungkook barely stopped himself from grinning. Taehyung’s last-minute call to YN was part of a much bigger plan. “I meant Jimin Oppa.” She clarified, leaving her keys in the lock. “I thought he would come with you.” Jungkook scrunched his eyebrows, hoping his acting skills were good enough to make his performance believable to her.

“I meant Jimin Hyung too.” He slipped off his jacket and she took it to place it on a hidden hanger in a closet behind her. “He’s still at the studio. I didn’t see Taehyunf-ie Hyung there.” He added.

“Oh. Weird. ” YN frowned in confusion. “None of them said anything in the group chat or anything. I mean Taehyung called me, but-”

“Ah, Jimin must have just forgotten.” He shrugged, playing it off. “You know how he is.”

“I guess.” She nodded before turning to face him. In the thin hallway of her apartment there couldn’t be more than forty centimetres of space between them - an amount that to Jungkook seemed like an unswimmable ocean at this moment.

“So it’s just the two of us until they decide they’ve had enough dancing for the night.” He smiled, feeling the blush creeping up onto his ears and slowly making its way onto his cheeks.

“If they decide that.” She giggled only making him feel warmer in the face.

“So, noona, will you show me around?” He asked in hopes of taking her piercing gaze off him so she didn’t notice his nervous state.

“Yes, of course.” She exclaimed, excited all of a sudden. “So where we are now is my tiny genkan.” She gestured to the small space they stood in - a lowered, tiled area, a little smaller than a square meter. “Here is my wall of closets.” She tapped on the white doors behind her, hiding tons of storage much needed in an apartment as small as this one. “Here is my tiny bathroom.” She walked to the door next to him, switching on the lights to reveal a modern bathroom - something hard to come by in buildings that weren’t newbuilds. “Please don’t mind the toilet paper stacks, I’ve had friends come over for a housewarming party last weekend.” She chuckled, pointing to the surprising amount of toilet paper stacked under the shower. From the bathroom she led him to the main space of the flat. “Here is my kitchen-living-dining-office-room combo.” The room wasn’t big, but it somehow still managed to fit a kitchenette, bar and coffee table, some shelves, and a decently sized couch. “In that nook over there is my bed, you can’t really call that a bedroom, but it’s fine and here- here is my favourite part of this whole place.” YN almost skipped to the large sliding door on the back wall of the apartment. She pulled on it and gestured for him to take a peek inside. “The sunroom!” She exclaimed happily. “It’s dark now, but believe me in the mornings it’s just breathtaking.” Jungkook smiled at the sound of the word.

“Yeah, I bet.” He murmured, glancing over the small rectangular space constructed of mostly windows where YN put up some plants and a tiny table with chairs.

“What do you think?” She asked leaning on the door frame, dangerously close to him.

Truth be told her apartment was everything he expected it to be. Small, but not cramped. Neatly decorated and clean, but not entirely perfect. It didn’t give off a vibe of being creepily overplanned as if taken out of an IKEA booklet. It felt warm and homey, but most importantly it smelled of her which he simply adored.

“It’s nice.” He smiled, looking down at her. “Cozy. It suits you.” She batted her eyelashes, playing shy.

“Thanks.” She muttered before looking straight at him again. “You hungry already?”

“Starving.” Jungkook breathed out with a slight chuckle, letting the tension in his body loose.

“Let’s order then.” She chirped, reaching for her phone to scour the apps for something tasty.

Jungkook’s eyes widened, staying focused on YN’s throat while she downed almost the entirety of her glass. The two of them sat on the carpet-covered floor of her apartment, back resting against her sofa, soft music playing from a Bluetooth speaker in the background, boxes of chicken and fries on the coffee table.

“Drink slower or you’ll get in trouble.” He chuckled, licking his fingers clean from the chicken he just ate.

“This is my first beer.” She shot back, almost choking on the last sip of the fizzy beverage.

“You don’t want it to be the last.” He said in a jokingly warning tone earning an overdramatic eye roll from the girl. “Drinking fast makes you get drunk faster. It was scientifically proven that-”

“Ah, let me do what I want.” She interrupted him, laughing through her words. “If you weren’t Taehyung’s friend I would kick you out already.”

“No, you wouldn’t.” He smirked, hoping for his words to ring true and with the way she smiled at him he was almost certain they would. “Something came to my mind on my way here.” YN leaned her head against her bent leg and hummed, signalizing for him to go on. “Knowing your future is the shittiest feeling of all.”

“Yeah?” She looked up at him curiously, resting her chin on her knee now to see him better. “What’s your shitty fortune then?” Jungkook sighed, letting his head fall back onto the soft cushions of the couch behind him.

“I’ll live my life the way I am expected to.” He murmured. “I’ll show up where I’m needed. I’ll sing when people want to hear it. Dance when they want to see it.” His words carried an unimaginable weight with them. A weight YN imagined would break any other man, but not him. “I’ll get married in my late thirties or early forties, because ‘what even is an idol that’s not single?’.” He chuckled sadly. “And after all that I’ll fade away and- what?” He stopped his reasoning as the sudden sound of her muffled scoff.

“You won’t fade away.” She shook her head and straightened up. Hearing Jungkook say all of that made her heart ache. “You’re too good for that.” She patted his shoulder firmly. “Too cool.”

“You think I’m cool?” He muttered out the question so quietly it got drowned out by YN’s next argument.

“Also you have to create your fate.” She said in a stern tone that Jungkook couldn’t possibly take seriously after hearing her call him cool. “I think I heard that in one of your guys’ songs.”

“Am I cool to you?” He repeated himself.

“Don’t interrupt me.” She scolded him, taking advantage of their age gap. “You can change your life depending on what you do, Jungkook-ah.” She looked into his deep brown eyes and seeing an unfamiliar shine in the otherwise perfect irises she decided to add one more comment to her speech. “Just don’t do anything too reckless.” She rested her hand on his shoulder for a second. “I would hate to watch you getting hurt.”

Jungkook smiled at her, sincerely, with all his heart. Her words gave him hope and courage. He breathed in sharply, showing off his bunny-like teeth in a wide smile.

“All the girls I dated- ah, it sounds like I dated a lot of girls.” He chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. “All those girls, those moments…” He continued despite knowing she must be a little taken aback by the change in topics. The two of them never talked about their romantic lives with each other for which he was grateful because if he heard of even one boy that wasn’t him hitting on YN he was sure he’d implode. “I thought that was what love feels, but in reality, it might not have been love at all.” YN frowned sadly, her eyes still on his, getting lost in their beauty. “Not true love at least.”

“What even is true love?” She scoffed, breaking eye contact. If she was going to say what she thought of just seconds ago she couldn’t be looking at him. “I’ve never been in love.” She confessed without much hesitation now that she averted her gaze.

“Never?” She simply hummed out an agreement while looking at her feet on the fuzzy rug. “I have. Actually, I still am.” YN smiled, but her gaze remained down.

“Lucky you.” Jungkook traced her movements with caution, not wanting to say too much or too little. This moment was important and he wasn’t going to mess it up.

“Yeah. There might be some luck in my situation.” He was being vague and she easily read it in his voice that he wanted her to ask him more. As new as this situation was - since she never talked to Jungkook about this kind of stuff - it also felt almost natural.

“Are you together?” He stayed silent so she decided upon explaining her question further. “With the girl that you’re in love with.”

“Ah.” He exhaled weakly, leaning his head on the couch again, but keeping his eyes on her. “Not entirely.” YN looked at his blonde hair scattered on the grey cushioning of the sofa. Later her stare travelled to his forehead, his strong eyebrows and then his deep brown eyes that contrasted so perfectly with the lightness of his hair.

“How so?” The corner of his lips tugged upwards as she took the bait he was trying to give her.

“Well, we’re not dating-” His eyelids fell slightly as his gaze went to her lips and then opened back up as it came to her eyes again. “- but we are in the same room.” YN exhaled a slight chuckle and smiled at him sweetly.

“You are a lot smoother than the last time we talked.” She admitted, still hugging onto the leg she had up to her chest. She felt oddly comfortable with his corny confession, taking it as a weak joke of some sort.

“Smooth enough to get you to agree to go on a date with me?” He asked, staying in the same relaxed position. YN shook her head slightly, looking down once more, releasing it might have not been kidding.

“I’m your noona.” She muttered under her breath. Jungkook shifted from his previous spot and shuffled to sit closer to her. At this point YN was sure he wasn’t kidding though she kind of wished for him to be.

“By less than two years.” He said sternly, sitting right in front of her, scanning her face up and down while she didn’t dare to even glance at him.

“Still, it’s-”

“It’s what?” He interrupted her at which she lifted her face, making their eyes meet. The glimmer she noticed said it all.

“Inappropriate.” She seeped through gritted teeth. YN never thought the boy could see her as anything more than his senior, his noona, his bandmates childhood best friend who bought him dinner whenever she came over.

“Pft.” Jungkook scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Says who?” He asked, cocking his eyebrow.

“Everyone, Jungkook.” She declared and raised her finger at him right as he opened his mouth. “And don’t say ‘fuck everyone’!” He shook his head before coming up with a different comeback.

“So stop making excuses and face your feelings.” This time it was her that scoffed.

“Who says I have any feelings for you?” Jungkook felt his stomach turn. He considered getting rejected, but coming face to face with it he wasn’t prepared to take that blow.

“M- my gut.” He stuttered.

“Your gut?” She shot him a patronizing stare. Seeing that look in her eyes angered him and anger gave him a rush of courage he needed.

“Yes. Stop repeating my words.”

“Stop disrespecting your noona.”

“Stop taking advantage of our age gap.” YN sighed breaking the staring contest and brought her other leg up as if to shield herself from him. “If we were in Paris or Madrid or anywhere else you lived while you were working in Europe you wouldn’t think twice about it and you know it. If the roles were reversed and I was older it wouldn’t be a problem either.” He spoke from his heart and she knew he was right. “Why is it suddenly so important when you’re in Korea?” She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to stop herself from blowing up on the poor boy. He wasn’t the one to blame for the norms generally applicable in Korea when it came to dating.

“Because of societal rules.” She uttered out quietly. Feeling the pain in her voice made Jungkook want to be close to her, wrap his arms around her and whisper sweet nothings into her ear, but he didn’t want to cross any lines so he opted for just shifting closer to her. Close enough so the sides of his thighs touched her curled up legs.

“It’s two years.” He whispered, twirling a piece of her hair between his fingers. “Barely two years.”

“To you.” YN murmured, faced away from him.

“And to you?” Her shoulders rose and fell down abruptly as she sighed deeply.

“Stop it.”

“My mom is older than my dad.” He started slowly, now stroking her arm. “By two years too.”

“Is she?” He smiled at the hopeful change in her tone.

“Yeah.” He purred. “And to make it even less socially acceptable she was the one that hit on my dad, not the other way around.” YN chuckled, sending a shiver of excitement down his back.

“So that’s where you get your determination from.” Jungkook hummed in agreement.

“You bet.” YN straightened up, pushing his hand away. With great struggle, she managed to look him in the eyes again.

“Jungkook-ah, I-”

“YN Noona, I like you. A lot.” He interrupted her as soon as their stares met. “And your age was never a factor in me coming to those feelings.”

She stayed silent for a moment after he said that, keeping eye contact and after that short while Jungkook saw her legs drop down as she came into a kneel. Her soft palms made contact with the warmth of his cheeks bringing his lips to her own. His hands instantly travelled to her waist, guiding her to sit in his lap, her legs draped to the side. She teased him by biting on his lower lip lightly, asking for him to open his mouth to her and he did, allowing her tongue to dance alongside his as if they kissed like this a million times before.

“How am I going to tell Taehyung about this?” YN asked after breaking the kiss. Her fingers were tangled in his hair, his hands caressed the bare skin of her back under her t-shirt.

“He already knows.” Jungkook smiled against her lips as he leaned forward to plant a wet peck on them.

“What?” YN looked at him wide eyed and he smiled brighter. Her gaze fell down to the space between their chests as she felt a hint of pinkish lush blossom on her cheeks.

“Did you really think both him and Jimin had to bail last minute, leaving me and you all alone?” Jungkook grazed his nose over hers in an attempt to get her to look back at him again, but it didn’t work. “I told Hyung I was going to confess to you this morning.” Her eyelashes fluttered slowly and he was able to look into her shining eyes once again. “He came up with this plan and even cheered me on.”

“Really?” YN asked in disbelief, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting them upon his shoulders. He liked it, the weight of her body on him, it made him feel strong and needed.

“Yeah, I told him that I liked you a long time ago.” He noticed the questioning raise of her eyebrows, but kept talking as if he didn’t. “Ever since then he’s been teasing me about it, but when I spoke to him this morning he was so serious.” Jungkook rolled his head back exhaling a small laugh at the memory of the conversation he had with Taehyung earlier in the day. The small movement exposed the skin of his neck to YN and her eyes naturally travelled to the surface she never before paid much attention to, but now wanted to shower with not only kisses. “He even gave me a speech about how I can’t ever be mean to you and ruin your guys’ friendship and that I should treat you right-”

“And will you?” She tugged on his shoulders lightly, but he was faster in his reaction. He straightened up and rested his forehead against hers.

“Are you kidding me? Of course.” He spoke in a low, calm voice. “So?”

“So what?” YN smiled, running her fingers through the hair on the back of his head - a motion he already grew to love.

“Are we like a thing now?” He grinned without hiding his excitement. Jungkook wanted them to be ‘a thing’, something, anything, as long as it was him and her.

“Take me out first and then I’ll make up my mind.” She joked, keeping the same smile on her lips. Jungkook leaned forward, pulling her hips closer as their mouth crashed in a quick yet passionate kiss.

“What are we waiting for then?” He smirked into the kiss. “Let’s go.”

“Now?” She asked, pushing his chest away so she could see him whole and make sure he wasn’t joking.

“It’s still early.” He shrugged, bringing his hands to her upper back. “We can fit in a romantic walk by the river and I’ll treat you to a ridiculously expensive dessert after.” YN chuckled at his simple proposition. It seemed so heartfelt, so tempting. She let her hands travel mindlessly from his hair to his shoulders, then neck, jaw. She pulled him in to leave a sweet peck on his hungry lips.

“Lead the way.”

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entertainment · 4 years ago

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Entertainment Spotlight: Mattea Conforti, NOS4A2

Millie is the daughter of vampire Charlie Manx—can you tell us a bit about her? What made the role fun to play?

Millie Manx is a very interesting character to play. She is definitely strong and unafraid of a lot of things. She can be mean and even deadly, and she takes a lot of cues from her father, Charlie Manx. She is very devoted to her father, and she will do anything to please him. However, there is also a side of Millie, and it especially emerges this season, where she begins to question all that she knows. She starts to develop real fears of losing her father, and she also starts to emerge as a true leader. This role is both really fun and challenging to play. Playing a demon child is like nothing I’ve ever done before, and getting into all the special effects makeup, my demon wig and fang-like teeth is really fun. In Season 2, I am able to develop Millie’s character far beyond her scary, gory presence in Season 1. Millie is much more than a scary horror character. She is loving, thoughtful, scared, brave, independent and vulnerable, all at the same time. I really enjoy the challenge of showing this unexpected side of Millie Manx.

You began your career on the stage, how do you find the work differs between stage and screen, and do you prefer one over the other?

Working on the stage is completely different than working on a tv or movie set. In theatre, you get one chance each night to connect with your audience, to make bold acting choices, to express your character the way that you want. But, with TV and movies, you are given multiple opportunities to explore your character’s range. You can take a note from a director and then a few minutes later apply it to the scene you are shooting again. In theatre, everything is big – your movements, your expressions, your vocals; because you need to reach the people in the back and the people in the balcony. But, on the screen, I’ve learned to make my acting more subtle, because the camera is usually right there with you, and you don’t need to exaggerate your actions. I don’t really have a preference between stage and screen, I’m just so grateful to have had the opportunity to work in both. Both are unique in their own way, and I would welcome the opportunity to work in either genre in the future.

Do you have any fun facts about the making of the show that fans would be surprised to find out?

Well, I have found it interesting that in making this type of horror/fantasy show, it is not scary at all to do my job. Actually, this show has so much gore and scary scenes that when we are filming, we have a lot of fun joking around and being silly, in between takes, amongst all the gore and special effects. There are some really cool and scary scenes coming up in Season 2 that I got to be a part of, and I would like the fans to know just how much fun it was to shoot them!

Do you think you’d make a good vampire? What would that look like?

I’m not sure that I would make a good vampire. I’m kind of afraid of the dark, so I probably wouldn’t be very good at it. Also, I really do like people, and I’m not a big fan of playing deadly games like, “Scissors for The Drifter.”

Without giving anything away, what’s your favorite line of dialogue from the show (yours or someone else’s)?

My favorite line from the show is definitely with Zachary says in Episode 202, “Who wants to go to Christmasland?!?” when we are in the wraith. This line makes me smile because we shot that scene so many times, and each time Zachary said that line a different way. I loved it because I never really knew how he was going to deliver it, and I challenged myself to match his energy with my response every single time.

If NOS4A2 were a musical, what would Millie’s big number be?

Great question! Millie’s big number would have to be, “Who Wants To Go To Christmasland?” and it would come right before intermission, to hook the audience. I think the first act of the musical would build to Charlie and Millie Manx’s first arrival in Christmasland. They would fly through the theatre in the wraith, and the song would end with them stepping out of the wraith and seeing Christmasland for the very first time.

Which, if any, fandoms are you in?

I’m actually not in any fandoms. I have so many varying interests in the entertainment industry that I prefer to support as many different genres as I can.

You’ve worked on two iterations in the Frozen universe, playing both young Elsa and young Anna in different projects. Which of the sisters do you prefer to bring to life?

I still can’t believe that I’ve played both princesses! My experience bringing Young Anna to life for Frozen the Broadway Musical, and my experience playing Young Elsa in Frozen II were so unique, and as different as the two sisters really are. I started originating the role of Young Anna for Broadway when I was 9, so I could very much relate to the younger princess at the time. I was definitely a spunky, carefree, and funny, just like Young Anna! I started recording for Frozen II as Young Elsa when I was around 12, so I was a bit older, and I think more mature and cautious, like Elsa. I could never pick which sister/experience I prefer because they were both such incredible opportunities that I will never forget.

If you could play any character, historical or fictional, who would it be, and why?

That’s a really tough question to answer, and I don’t think I could pick just one character. I think the most important thing in selecting a role is to make sure that I am being challenged to tell a very important story. I love characters with a lot of depth to them, where I can show my acting range and make bold choices.

What does your ideal day off look like?

My ideal day off is definitely a summer day. I would spend my day on the beach with my family and friends, swim in the ocean, and go for long walks to find shells and sea glass. It would also include some really good food and of course, ice cream for dessert!

Thanks for taking the time, Mattea! Catch NOS4A2 Sundays on AMC.

Headshot: Emily Assiran

#entertainment spotlight #mattea conforti

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ashintheairlikesnow · 3 years ago

Text

Misread Details, Part One

CW: Death talk, BBU, dehumanizing language about Box Boys

A Box Boy Serial Killer On the Loose? Part 1 of 3

r/LetsTalkTrueCrime

•Posted by u/oshaycanyousee 1 month ago

Hello, r/LetsTalkTrueCrime!

I’ve posted this write-up in a couple other reddits, but someone pointed me to this one as being a good place for discussion, and this is a really weird set of three unsolved murders (well, one death and two murders? Maybe?) and I wanted to see if any of you have some thoughts or maybe more info on these cases.

Three men died within two years in three different cities.

While each death is unique, all of them have one thing in common - fingerprints and DNA from a single human pet was found in every single location.

Let’s start with the first death.

Nathaniel Matthew Benson, who went by “Nanda” (a childhood nickname given to him by a younger brother who couldn’t pronounce his full name as a toddler, apparently), was forty-one years old at the time of his death.

He was born and raised in North Dakota by very strict religious parents, and had three younger brothers and one younger sister. There is some disagreement here about whether his home life was peaceful or not. His younger sister claims that the environment at home was strict but fair, and the family was mostly happy. Two of his three younger brothers tell a different story, about a father who put too much on their shoulders, especially “Nanda” as the eldest, and the pressure they felt to be perfect.

His other brother, the youngest of the family, has never given a public interview beyond a short statement that he and Nanda were not close, and he did not feel able to speak about his character. There were nearly fifteen years between the oldest and youngest childrens’ births, and Nathaniel had moved out of the house by the time the youngest was four years old, so this makes sense.

By all accounts, Nathaniel was an excellent student, getting all A’s throughout his years of education. He was considered quiet and shy, and most of his high school classmates don’t have many standout memories of him. He graduated valedictorian of his high school class, then surprised everyone by stating he wouldn’t be attending college, and instead would be taking a “gap year” to travel the United States using money from his graduation party and also some he’d saved up from working part-time retail and restaurant jobs.

Between ages 18 and 19, he took his small secondhand four-door vehicle around the nation, calling home every week or so to give his family updates, sending postcards, etc. After about six months, though, the phone calls and postcards became fewer and fewer, and eventually he told everyone he had gotten a new job and decided to forgo college entirely.

His family was shocked - and by all accounts his father was furious - but Nathaniel refused to budge.

There was apparently a very hostile phone conversation about one year after this decision which was the last time Nathaniel Benson spoke to his father directly until his death.

After this, his family received only sporadic communications sent from a P.O. Box located in central California, in a mid-sized city known as Dosaba. He never did give anyone an actual home address.

He occasionally called them, mostly his sister and one of his brothers, but surviving family states that the phone number he called from was different every single time, and usually didn’t have a California area code.

“He used burner phones for everything,” Nathaniel’s sister Samantha told WNDR, a local news station, shortly after his mysterious death. “And he would never tell us what job he did. We asked and asked and Nanda would just say ‘oh, this and that’, or ‘I do contractor work’. Just answers that don’t tell you anything. It was all very mysterious, very secretive. You know, we talked about how maybe he’d gotten into drugs or something, but my brother wasn’t a drug user, ever. It just seems so out of character for the brother I knew.”

“He was always reading his Bible when we knew him,” Younger brother Timothy stated. “But you know, I asked him once if he had found a home church wherever he was living, and he laughed and laughed. Then he just said, ‘they’d have a lot of opinions on how I live my life if I did that’, and changed the subject. So I knew whatever he was doing, it probably wasn’t good.”

There has been a lot of speculation by investigators that “Nanda” had indeed picked up employment within some kind of drug smuggling group at this time. Evidence found after his death has even opened the possibility that he worked as a high-end hitman.

There’s a lot of international travel during this time period, far more than can be accounted for unless travel was part of his workplace responsibilities. Employment records show him working as a sales manager for a company called Sunrise Investments, but this is believed by many to be a shell corporation hiding something much, much darker.

However, all of this remains speculative, and there’s never been any proof that Nathaniel Benson did anything but the financial sales the company claims. No one ever did much work with him, and other employees at the company stated contact with him occurred entirely by phone and fax (and then e-mail) at this time.

When investigators pored over the documents after getting a warrant, they weren’t able to find anything suspicious - and that in and of itself seems suspicious to some.

For years, Benson seemed to simply drop off the map entirely when it comes to local information - investigators did find that he owned a vintage Corvette that he fixed up himself (found via vehicle registry and taxes listings, which is public knowledge), and that about two years before his death he bought a large five-bedroom house with a basement in Dosaba, which he renovated in total secrecy. I was able to find records of him paying home taxes through his mortgage company, and that he spoke to local contractors and building companies, paying for consultations about the renovations he undertook.

None of the companies he spoke to kept any kind of detailed notes about these consultations, but you’ll see why it’s relevant when I discuss what was found after his death.

Nathaniel Benson’s life came to an abrupt end on August 16th, 20XX, but nobody would find his body for more than two days.

On August 18th, his cleaning lady arrived for her usual weekly visit to discover him crumpled at the foot of the stairs, face-up. She called 911 immediately and first responders arrived within twenty minutes to her white-faced and nearly silent.

First responders noted that Nathaniel’s eyes were closed, unusual for a violent death. A wet cloth had been laid over them to help them stay that way. The medical examiner stated later that this would have to have been done within the first hour after he died, before rigor mortis could stiffen muscles and lead to them opening again.

That whoever witnessed his death knew to do this is deeply unusual, and may be a sign of affection or grief.

The autopsy found that Nathaniel had met his end approximately 36 hours before he was found, and had died due to an undiagnosed heart defect that had resulted in cardiac arrest.

Sounds like any sudden death that can simply be written off as sad but natural, right? Well, there’s a few details that make things a little murkier than that, and have led to his death being listed as “undetermined” officially, and possibly including foul play.

For one thing, Nathaniel hadn’t simply collapsed next to the stairs - he had fallen, or been pushed, and showed evidence of bone fractures and head trauma consistent with the fall. A bit of blood was found on one step that came from his injuries. This head trauma would likely not have been fatal if he had received medical attention, but cardiac arrest ensured death even if head trauma didn’t.

Did Nathaniel Benson suffer a heart attack and fall down the stairs, dying only when he reached the bottom? Maybe.

Or maybe he really was pushed, the shock of it is the reason he went into cardiac arrest.

There’s one more unusual fact that makes foul play a possibility in this mysterious death.

Nathaniel Benson owned a legally purchased Box Boy, no known legal name, who went by his original purchase number: 334235. The Box Boy was a Romantic designation, and was purchased from Facility 001 in Berras, a city in Southern California, where the WRU headquarters is located.

WRU, when contacted by investigators, easily agreed to meet and provide detectives with information regarding the Box Boy’s purchase, as well as the DNA and fingerprint samples the company keeps on file.

According to WRU’s internal records, this Boxie was not only a designated Romantic, but a specialty Romantic, trained for ‘masochism’. This tracks with multiple books on, shall we say, somewhat salacious interests that Benson had for his love life.

As Benson never seemed to date anyone or maintain a relationship, it’s theorized that the Boxie was his way of dealing with the stress of his work. WRU noted that Benson had contacted them after the purchase was complete to give his compliments on the Boxie’s training and note that he was ‘perfect’ and they ‘got along just fine’.

The Box Boy’s fingerprints were found all over the house, which is totally normal. He was living there full-time, after all. But investigators also located something a bit more unusual: a secret room within the home that the cleaning lady had never seen before, hidden behind a carefully camouflaged door.

This is what Benson had been working on when he ‘renovated’ his newly purchased home: He built a secret dungeon room with stone walls and a concrete floor, outfitted with a dip and a “drain”, plus a garden hose hooked up on one wall.

The room also had rows upon rows of cabinets full of various tools consistent with a ‘hard BDSM lifestyle’, according to one detective. I wasn’t able to get ahold of the actual list of items found, but was able to determine that whips, knives, ‘unspecified implements purchased from adult stores’, and other things were found.

Tests done on the walls and floor showed that blood had been spilled nearly everywhere in the room at one time or another, and large amounts of it. There was also evidence of blood found in Nathaniel Benson’s bedroom, primarily on the floor and in the bed. A small faded stain was found on the headboard just below a set of cuffs hooked into it.

A few small dried bloodstains were also found around the master bathroom sink, and investigators were able to determine the blood matched the DNA of the Box Boy, and was left there much more recently than the rest of the blood in the house, possibly even on the day of Benson’s death.

Here’s the thing, though: the Box Boy himself was nowhere to be found.

Was this Box Boy tired of being used as a human pincushion? Did he take matters into his own hands and commit the ultimate crime a pet can do, killing his owner? If he did, he no doubt knew what happens to pets who kill their owners, usually either being ‘put down’ or wiped clean to be resold.

Is our Boxie a killer right from the start? Or was he only a witness to a natural death who panicked and ran away?

Without locating the Boxie himself, it’s impossible to know.

The cleaning lady remembered him, and gave a description: Somewhere between 5’8” and 5’11”, wiry but with some muscle, usually dressed in just a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt when she was in the house. He has short dark hair, brown eyes, and an angular face. She mentioned visible scars on his arms, but none on his face. She was told to call him only “pet” if she needed to speak to him. She stated his voice was slightly hoarse and rough, as if he had a sore throat all the time.

They had only one significant interaction, where the cleaning lady inquired about a large bruise on the Boxie’s face and bandages on his arms. He apparently told her, at the time, that he ‘liked the reminer’, but thanked her for asking after his health. They never spoke directly again.

The detail about his face being unscarred will become incredibly relevant in parts 2 and 3.

Neighbors, when asked, mentioned that they had seen someone matching that description walking away from the house somewhere around 4 and 5 pm on August 16th. The medical examiner believes Benson died around noon, so this leaves about four or five hours between the death and the Boxie leaving.

He appeared to be walking very quickly and one neighbor noticed he was holding what looked like crumpled cash in one hand and a plastic shopping bag in another.

He was spotted waiting at a nearby bus stop, and footage from a camera mounted inside the bus shows someone matching the Box Boy’s description riding the bus all the way into Dosaba’s historic, artsy downtown. There, he was again captured on CCTV purchasing a one-way train ticket with cash. The train station employee who sold him the ticket remembers offering him a round-trip ticket for a discount, which she always did anyone who asked for a ticket to another city, only to have him “nervously” say he wouldn’t need to come back. She mentioned that he scratched at the side of his neck, and that when he walked away, he looked like his shoes were a little too big for his feet.

It is believed, as Nathaniel Benson was found barefoot but wearing clothing that suggested he had been outside doing yard work just before his death, that the Box Boy stole his shoes.

The fleeing Box Boy is captured one more time on camera as he arrived at his destination, Red Hills, approximately a two-hour train ride to the south. He walks past the CCTV quickly, hunched over as if trying to hide his face.

After that, he disappears.

Red Hills is a significantly larger city than Dosaba, with nearly a million residents within city limits and another 600,000 filling its suburbs and outer neighborhoods. Red Hills is a city that has seen better days, and it would be easy for a runaway Box Boy to simply fade away into its seedier districts. While Red Hills has had more than a dozen runaway Boxies picked up over the years, mostly Romantics who engaged in prostitution to make ends meet, it’s not believed that Benson’s Box Boy knew this when he chose the location.

As Romantic Boxies usually can’t read, it’s believed he simply chose a location he’d overheard someone else say, knowing nothing about what he would find when he got there.

Two days after his death, Nathaniel Benson’s debit and credit cards, Driver’s License, and a folded-up note he had written to himself about buying toothpaste were found in a plastic shopping bag tied-off at the top, were found inside the bus the Boxie had ridden, stuffed between the edge of a seat and the wall. The Boxie’s fingerprints were on everything.

But the Boxie himself wouldn’t be seen again until more than a year later.

Nathaniel “Nanda” Benson’s death for a time remained a one-off unsolved mystery. A little on the unusual side, but entirely possible that no foul play occurred, just some details that need filling in.

The shocking murder of a Red Hills man known locally as “Brute” would bring this Box Boy back into law enforcement’s line of sight, and open up questions about whether the Box Boy had simply been running away from Nathaniel Benson’s death… or leaving to find a new victim.

I’ll post Part 2, about “Brute”, shortly! Then Part 3 will be about a third murder, in which our potential Box Boy serial killer takes out… another serial killer.

I told you this one gets interesting.

@astrobly @finder-of-rings @burtlederp @whump-tr0pes @raigash @orchidscript @doveotions @pretty-face-breaker @eatyourdamnpears @boxboysandotherwhump @whumptywhumpdump @whumpfigure @outofangband @thehopelessopus @downriver914 @justabitofwhump @butwhatifyouwrite @newandfiguringitout @yet-another-heathen @nonsensical-whump @endless-whump @gonna-feel-that-tomorrow @oops-its-whump @cubeswhump @whumpiary

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wolvesandpetals · 3 years ago

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Postscript. Part 1 of 3.

Loki x Sylvie "Our divorce never went through" Modern AU. Angst with a happy ending, Rated T. For Sylki Week day 7: Free day @sylkiweek

Masterlist of my fics here.

The last thing he wants to do is call up the woman who tore his heart into pieces. But it has to be done. His business partner and his lawyer both insist on it.

[[MORE]]

And he agrees. They are about to land a huge contract that will put them at the top, and he has no intention of letting the woman who left him broken claim any share of his upcoming financial success.

Not that he thinks she would. But he didn't think she'd leave him either, so what does he know?

It's been ten years, but he remembers her number all too well. He wonders briefly if she has changed it by now, but he dials anyway.

Six rings later, she picks up. "Hello?"

It's the familiar voice, warm and irritated, but older, mature, and more jaded. It is clear from her tone that she has forgotten his number, and it stings a bit. "Hi. It's me, Loki."

There's silence, and he has to check to see if she hung up on him. When she recovers, she speaks softly. "Loki? Hi... How are you? I wasn't expecting your call."

"I wasn't expecting to call either", he says matter-of-factly. He called her so many times over the first one year, left her so many messages. But she never replied, and he eventually stopped, vowing to never call her ever again. "But it couldn't be helped. It's an urgent matter."

"Okay?" She asks, confused.

"Do you remember your lovely divorce lawyer?"

Sylvie grimaces. That divorce was a complete mess. She wanted out, Loki didn't, and it dragged on for months. They both had rich parents, but they had married hastily against their wishes, and they were not going to take their parents' help and hear the "I told you so". They were both college students, barely in their 20s, barely married for a few months. They both relied on their limited funds to find lawyers that best represented their interests. Sylvie's was particularly cheap, and particularly inefficient. "Yes, Lacey. What about her?"

"Oh, nothing much." Loki says in a taunting voice. "It's just that, she messed up the paperwork. It turns out our divorce never went through."

She's silent again, and he waits for an outburst, for an accusation that this is his doing, since this is what he wanted. Instead, her reaction is shocked, but controlled, far from the woman who used to fight with him on everything in those last few days. "What? How is that possible?"

"You'll have to ask Lacey that." He replies. "But my lawyer has confirmed that we are indeed still married."

The silence returns, and Loki grimaces. It was better when she had a retort for everything he said. "This time, I do have a competent lawyer, and he will make sure the divorce goes through, I promise you. I just need your signature."

"Okay", she says quietly.

"If you can just send me your address, I will mail the papers over." Then he adds, because his lawyer insists. It's been ten years, surely you're over her, he has said. "Or we can meet and do it in person, make sure this time the process actually goes through properly. Whichever you would prefer." He would prefer never to see her again, but it can't be helped.

"We can meet." Her voice is shaky, something that's rare. "Where are you, these days?"

"I'm still in London." He says casually. "But I'd be happy to drive to wherever you are."

"I'm in London too."

Convenient. At least he won't have to undergo a long trip now.

"Perfect". He says smoothly. "Let's set up a meeting and get this over with then."

---

"I don't believe you." She tells him bluntly.

Tears rolls down his cheek, and he clutches her hands helplessly. "I promise you from my heart, this isn't about your money."

She snatches her hands back from his grasp angrily. "What was I thinking trusting you? Has this whole marriage been a con?"

Something in him breaks, and it shows on his face. "Really? That's what you think of me... after all this time? Sure. Why not? Evil Loki's master plan comes together. Well, you never trusted me, did you? What was the point?"

Sylvie takes a step back. She heard the rumors from a friend who heard it from a friend, and of course she didn't believe them. There is no way Loki married her for her inheritance. But she found her mother's expensive pen hidden in his pocket one night after dinner with her parents, and he didn't have a good explanation for why he had it. He said he didn't recall slipping it in, but there was no way that was true.

The pen isn't everything, but it is the last straw. Combined with all the fights they have been having lately, and all the ways she feels suffocated in the marriage, unable to do the things she wants to do, the pen is what seals the last nail in the coffin.

"Why aren't we seeing this the same way?" She asks desperately.

"Because you can't trust", he says with the saddest smile and the saltiest tears, "and I can't be trusted."

Her hands grip the handle of her suitcase. "Then I guess we're in a pickle."

"Sylvie, wait." He begs, but she's already at the door. "Wait!" He screams, but she's hailed a cab. "Sylvie. Sylvie!" He calls out as her cab disappears around the corner.

And that's it. That's the end of their marriage.

---

They decide to meet in a small cafeteria on their old campus ground on Saturday evening. Neutral location, safe, and with the comfort of familiarity, it is the perfect meeting spot.

Loki gets there early and waits. Every second is tortorous, everything around him bringing back a memory that he wishes he had forgotten. He feels himself tapping his feet restlessly as he orders two coffees. He wonders if her preferences have changed, if he should have waited and asked her first.

"Hi". There's her voice, followed by a burst of blonde. She has cut her hair short, into a tidy little bob, dyed it back to her natural blonde instead of the dark black from her goth days, and her make-up is quieter now, in neutral tones. She would be hard to recognise now, if he hadn't spent countless nights worshipping every inch of that face.

"Hi". He says politely, and hands her a cup. "Two sugars, extra cream, no milk. Is that alright?"

"Yes, perfectly." She says just as politely, with a hint of surprise in her voice. "You remembered."

He tries to brush it off like it's not a big deal. It really isn't. When you spend so much time learning every single thing about a person, all that information doesn't just leave your brain when it's no longer useful. It all stays, and it comes back in unexpected ways, from words of strangers and friends, every little thing triggering a memory he pretends to have forgotten. He shakes his head, willing the inner monologue away for another time. "I remembered the papers too." He swiftly transitions into the matter at hand. He digs into his briefcase, and pulls out a bundle of papers, placing them into the table.

"Right." She says, a little taken aback at how quickly he wants to get this over with. The Loki she remembers from ten years ago wanted to stretch every brief conversation into hours, in the vain hope that she would change her mind. She didn't.

She takes a seat next to him, and glances down at the papers. A question forms in her mind, one she shouldn't be asking, because she's not sure whether she can deal with the response. "Why now? Why the sudden need? Are you getting married?"

He wants to say yes, just to spite her, just to show her he has moved on and found happiness. But he has never been able to lie to her, and he can't start now. "No." He doesn't explain further, has been warned against it by his lawyer.

The man who never shut up is talking so little. It baffles her. She reaches inside her purse to pull out a pen.

Loki shakes his head, his face suddenly contorted in veiled rage. "Don't. I might steal that one too. Use this." He supplies her with a pen he brought himself.

It stings. She didn't expect him to forget about it, but she had hoped nevertheless. She owes him an apology about it, about everything. "I'm sorry I accused you of stealing." She says sincerely. "Dad told me later that you were doing crosswords that night, and you must have mixed up your pens. But at that point, I just really wanted out of the marriage. I just couldn't-"

"Sylvie." He doesn't raise his voice at all, but it's so commanding, that it makes her stop abruptly mid-sentence. "I don't need you to recount the ways I suffocated you. I just need you to sign the papers."

"Right." She says, a little unnerved and suddenly parched. She reaches for her cup, feels her fingers shake, and then-

"Shit!"

There's coffee spilt all over the divorce papers.

"I am so sorry." She says quickly, wiping at the papers with tissues desperately.

He takes in a deep breath to calm himself. He's never going to hear the end of this from his lawyer, is he? "It's okay." He assures her. "I'll get fresh papers ready and get them to you."

"I don't want to inconvenience you again." She says apologetically. "Maybe I can meet you this time? At your place? Or maybe at work?"

"No, that's not necessary." He says in a measured tone. "I will meet you here again when the papers are ready."

"Okay." She says quietly.

He gets up, and she follows. She reaches for his hand, then hesitates when she sees the cold look in his eyes, and just smiles. "It's really good to see you again, Loki."

He nods, doesn't return the compliment, and he leaves, not even bothering to walk her to her car. Why should he, anyway?

#fanfiction #sylki fanfic #sylvie x loki #pro sylki #sylki #loki x sylvie #loki disney+

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wrenhyperfixates · 3 years ago

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Loki Series Thoughts—Glorious Purpose

Ok, I’m always nervous about posting my thoughts, but here we go. Spoilers ahead of course!!! (Disclaimer: Any gifs or images are not mine.)

Let’s start out with the episode’s name: Glorious Purpose. I know some people were a bit miffed about the emphasis put on the line, but I actually thought it worked well. It’s not so much that Loki actually believes in this “purpose,” but rather he is clinging to what he’s been told his purpose is. And by the end of the episode, he’s finally working through some of the things he’s been hurt by, abandoning what he’s been forced into and ready to be who he wants. Granted, it’s still going to take some time for him to come to grips with all that has happened, but I’m excited to see the journey.

The TVA. They undeniably suck. Whether or not it will be addressed directly, they are the (or one of the) antagonists in the show. What they are doing is, frankly, tyrannical. Three “time keepers” have taken it upon themselves to force countless versions of time and people into one single stream. And you know what? They can’t control that timeline. Not like they want to. As much as Loki’s line about “the weak” applies to himself, it applies to the TVA, too. It’s a facade of control that they cling to; if they truly had the right, the ability, to control time, everyone would follow their path. There would be no variants. Now, I could write a whole separate analysis on the MCU’s explanation of time travel. It’s convoluted and in a large way doesn’t make sense.

I’d like to talk about Loki’s characterization. I am, in a word, relieved. From the trailers, Tom seemed to be over-acting, something rather strange for someone so good at conveying deep emotions through nuanced actions. Now I believe any exaggerated lines from the trailers are just Loki trying to separate himself from who he’s been told he is, and trying to reinvent himself. I don’t think that’s a bad thing either; they’re not rewriting Loki, he’s just growing in a new way. And though this way is “new” I think it will be similar to what we’ve seen before. From what we’ve seen so far, there is good continuity, and they are addressing things about Loki that should be addressed in canon.

Loki projects. Most notably in the Avengers, but also a bit in Thor 1 and The Dark World, a lot of Loki’s lines can be applied to himself, though he is talking generally or towards another group. What comes to mind is actually something he touches upon again in the series. The illusion of freedom. And though it is not said that line in particular is him thinking of himself, it can be inferred based on his admission that the line in the gifs above apply to him. Also that little gesture when he says “weak” breaks me. He’s hurting so much.

Loki is not a villain. He may think he’s one because everyone else is telling him that, yet we’re already seeing it brought up that it’s not true. I can only hope that we’ll see Loki state this himself later in the series. He was largely forced to do what he did. It is not his fault, so how can he be a villain?

Loki cares. Tom’s acting is just *chef’s kiss* Seeing his mother’s death hurts so much. I love that his first response is denial. Loki is thrown into something he’s never known about before, being shown things that, to his knowledge, have never happened. But then when he’s had a few seconds to wander around the TVA on his own terms, he’s more come to grips with all that’s going on. So, when he’s by himself and see’s Frigga lying there, dead, it gets to him. Then seeing Odin still call him his son, he feels the slightest glimmer of hope, but also regret; he already knows in the back of his mind that he’s not actually going to get that. Loki’s living from second to second, trying to hold on. He probably thinks this ends with his death. (I do have issues with that Odin scene in context of Ragnarok but that’s more a tangential aside, so I’ll gloss over it for now.) Then seeing Thor and himself acting like brothers again is heartwarming. So just when he’s feeling uplifted, Thanos comes into the picture. He realizes how much control the titan still had over his life; he never really escaped. And in the end, Thanos made good on his promise. And that is terrifying! And he laughs at it. It’s a sad sort of laugh, one that’s slightly crazed. Loki feels that no matter what he does, it ends in pain. By the end of seeing all that, he is a man broken. Rather, more broken than he already was.

Loki is struggling. That’s nothing profound; it’s obvious. But where it really stands out to me is actually in a part I originally thought to be out of character. I am referring to “What if I was a robot and I didn’t know it.” Upon closer inspection, I realize it’s actually that his perception of himself has been so thrown that he really isn’t sure about his own chemical makeup anymore. Odin and Frigga keeping from him that he’s a frost giant made him so unsure of himself, he thought he might not even be a living being.

Nervous tics. Was I the only one noticing his leg bouncing when he talked to Mobius? And what about that scene when he’s sitting on the steps? He begins to pick at his hands. Note, that’s something he did in T1 after finding out he was a frost giant and while confessing to the Warriors Four about how he was the one who told the guard of their trip to Jotunheim. Just a little detail I really appreciated. (If anyone has gifs of any of these things, feel free to share :)

Mobius. I’ll be honest, I’m a bit undecided. I’m hesitant to say he’s evil. After all, we haven’t seen that much of him yet. However, I will say he is unscrupulous and manipulative. His questions weren’t to help Loki work through his trauma. Mobius was trying to goad him into helping, and likely was trying to gauge how much this Loki is like the variant he’s tracking. When Loki makes any admission of his feelings, it’s something he already knew, not a conclusion Mobius helped him reach. Mobius mocks him a bit and pushes his buttons because he sees Loki as a means to an end, and wants to know how easily he can get him to work with him. And what strikes me is how similar Mobius’s deal is to Thor’s deal in TDW. Thor doesn’t offer Loki freedom, he offers revenge. Mobius’s deal is just another variation of this. He can’t offer “salvation” but he can offer something “better”. Working for the TVA really isn’t better, though. So what does he mean? Well, I think he means a chance for Loki to prove he’s a hero. I hope as the show progresses it’s addressed that Loki doesn’t have to prove himself to anyone. That’s what he’s been doing his whole life, but I want Loki to see for himself that he doesn’t have to.

Miss Minutes. Propaganda. Plain and simple, it’s propaganda. Besides the way it praises the “time keepers” as amazing saviors, necessary to keep the world in order, it’s essentially saying “don’t think for yourself.” The whole point of the video is “the time keepers are great. The TVA is flawless. Trust us to decide everything. You have no autonomy in the world we want, so surrender your free will. Submit to the system we’ve decided is perfect and everything will be just fine.” Of course, by “just fine” they mean the variant will be pruned and the timeline will keep going as the time keepers see fit. The animation style was great though! It really fit.

The infinity stones. I think their inclusion makes sense. If you remember from Endgame, the stones being in the right place in the right time keeps the timeline from branching, and thus prevents the multiverse from being created. Likely, the time keepers used the stones to make their “sacred timeline.” Naturally, any variant time stones would cause a problem. That’s why they have so many extras. But think about how pointless so much of what happened seems. Nat, Gamora, Vision, Tony, everyone who was snapped, everyone who was left. So, literally the entire universe was flipped upside down for paperweights. It really puts Thanos’s pursuit of the stones into perspective, doesn’t it?

The cloaked figure. I think there’s some misdirection going on here in one way or another. Mobius says he’s chasing a Loki variant, then immediately it cuts to a scene with the cloaked figure. Our minds are likely to assume that is the variant then. But they don’t actually say it’s Loki, so I’m inclined to believe it’s not. Though, I don’t have enough information to say who I do think it is, I could make a couple of educated guesses and say Mephisto (he certainly interacted with Loki in the comics, plus there’s the stained glass window) or Sylvie. Well, whoever Sophia Di Martino’s character is. I know she was previously listed as Sylvie on sources such as IMDb, but that has since disappeared. But why would you have a “young Sylvie” (Cailey Fleming) without an older version? There is speculation Di Martino’s character will be Lady Loki, but I hope this won’t happen. If they make Lady Loki her own character, I doubt we’ll see Variant Loki get to be fluid. Even if it’s confirmed on the record, it’d be nice to see actually happen beyond a piece of paper. And with twist villains being such a prominent force in modern media, I’m interested to see who our cloaked friend really is.

Time travel. Like I said earlier, this is a lot. But I can’t talk about the episode and not mention this aspect in at least a little more depth. I don’t like how the MCU deals with time travel. I think it’s an unnecessarily complicated mix of a number of different, already complicated theories. However, I think Loki will ultimately escape from the TVA and create a multiverse too difficult to prune (and maybe he’ll actually get to burn the place down too!) This will then tie directly into Doctor Strange 2. Do you guys know what that’s called? The Multiverse of Madness. Actually, in the Miss Minutes propaganda, they almost exactly say “will throw the multiverse into madness.” Will we get to (finally!) see a certain raven-haired god meeting Dr. Strange? And maybe even the Scarlet Witch herself? Well, I’m not sure, but right now I think it’s looking pretty good!

And some random things that didn’t really anywhere else:

Peggy is in the background?! My thought here is that Steve wasn’t supposed to stay with her. This made not only a Variant Steve, but also a Variant Peggy. We may not see Steve, but I bet he’s been taken care of too!! And who knows? Maybe there will be a cameo later. Otherwise, it might be something that was cut from the show, or just a fun easter egg of sorts.

The score was so good! It sets the mood perfectly.

Loki is a good fighter. Even if he’s overpowered, he finds a way.

Some of the humor didn’t land, but that might just be a personal thing.

So now my final thoughts. It’s their strongest pilot yet. So much emotion crammed into less than an hour. A lot of exposition, too, yet it didn’t feel tedious (Endgame I’m looking at you). And then we get to delve into Loki’s psyche, something that really appeals to me! Overall, 9/10. I hope the rest of the series is as good!

Did I miss anything? Was there something you were hoping I’d mention and didn’t? Or do you have something to add or (politely!) disagree with? I’d love to hear it all! Remember, fandom is a safe space to talk about, analyze, and debate about things you enjoy. My ask box is always open with anon on. Reblogs and comments are great too. Thanks!

Me after watching the episode:

#the loki show #the loki show spoilers #the loki series #loki series #loki analysis #loki odinson #loki laufeyson #loki friggason #the loki series spoilers #I know there’s nothing particularly profound here but here you go #*throws thoughts into the void*

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mochegato · 4 years ago

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Hope on Board

Chapter 8 – Walking My Baby Back Home

Chapter 1 Chapter 7

“Are you sure you should be lifting that?” Dick asked anxiously. “Maybe I should…” He reached out and grabbed the bolts of fabric out of Marinette’s hands. Marinette squeaked in surprise as the weight of the fabric was suddenly lifted, nearly falling backward from the shift in weight. Dick groaned under the unexpected weight, not expecting fabric to weigh so much.

“What are you doing?” She asked amused.

“You’re pregnant. You shouldn’t be carrying this much weight,” Dick insisted. “How were you carrying this much weight? I swear this weighs more than you do.”

Marinette chuckled. “This? This is nothing. I grew up in a bakery and helped stock the flour. Do you know how much one of those bags weighs?” She looked away with an indulgent smile to look through more fabric.

Dick cocked his head to the side to think about her question. How much did industrial sized bags of flour weigh? He honestly had no idea. But the idea of Marinette, little tiny, pixie-sized Marinette carrying heavy loads didn’t seem possible. “No. How much?”

Marinette blinked a few times not expecting the response to her rhetorical question. She wrinkled her nose as she thought about it. Dick smiled at her expression, wishing his hands were free to pull her into a tight hug and snuggle. “Um... I don't know in American measurements. But a lot. Like… 1000 hooves.”

Dick blinked at her a few times this time. He looked at her uncertainly. Was that a French term? Was it a mistranslation? That couldn’t have been what she meant to say. It had to be a baking term. “Hooves?”

“I don't know. I made up a unit, just like Americans do. So, 1000 hooves.” She nodded in confirmation.

Dick leaned his head back to fully laugh, eyes crinkling, chest rocking. Marinette took a moment from her search to appreciate how gorgeous he was when he laughed. “Wow. That much huh?” She nodded solemnly. “I apologize for doubting you. Now quit foal-ing around. What do you think of these fabrics? Yay or neigh?”

Marinette stared at him open mouthed for a few seconds. “No. Nope. Nuh uh. I already have to deal with Papa and Adrien. You are not allowed to make puns too.”

“So you’re saying I need to reign it in or you’ll bolt?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. She rolled her eyes at him but couldn’t stop herself from giggling and he laughed again. He stared at her for a few more seconds before sighing. “I wish I wasn’t carrying these so I could kiss you.”

Marinette looked back in surprise until a sultry smile overtook her lips. “You could always set them down on the cutting table over there, you know.”

Dick followed where she was pointing and grinned back. He quickly made his way to the table to drop off the bolts and rushed back to her side, picking her up as he rushed to her, then backed up between two overstuffed aisles. Marinette let out a surprised giggle that turned into a full belly laugh at his excitement. Dick’s watched her dreamily as she laughed. “I hope our baby laughs like you.”

Marinette quieted immediately and looked at him in awe for a few moments. She smiled lovingly and traced the smile on his lips. “I hope the baby has your smile,” she looked up to peer in his eyes, “and your eyes. You have the most beautiful eyes and the most captivating smile. Your smile makes it hard to remember my name sometimes.”

Dick gazed at her, studying her features and thinking again how lucky he was to have her. How amazing she was, kind, thoughtful, brilliant, creative, brave… he could list attributes all day. “I like your eyes and smile better. I guess we’ll have to have a second so they can have yours. And that one can have my laugh.”

Marinette gaped at him, her face turned deep red. “Um… how about we get this one out before we plan the next one.”

Dick’s face fell. He’d pushed too far. He’d gotten carried away again. He was going to scare her at this rate. He stopped when he felt Marinette’s kiss on his lips. He melted into the kiss and moved to deepen it. She pulled away after a few moments. “I like that combination though. And once I don’t feel like throwing up constantly, maybe we can think about starting to practice for the next one.”

Dick’s face lit up and he nodded excitedly, but quickly became concerned. “How are you feeling now? Need to sit down? Need water or food?”

Marinette giggled and pecked his lips quickly. “I’m okay for now, but I anticipate needing something in my stomach in like… twenty minutes.”

Dick furrowed his brow. “We should probably get going then. It’ll take that long to find someplace and order.”

Marinette looked around anxiously. “Good point, but I’m not done. It’s… I need more time. I don’t want to have to come back. I’m actually feeling not terrible for a few moments today. I can push it a bit.”

Dick shook his head and leaned his forehead on hers. “The baby doesn’t like being pushed. It’s quite insistent. I’ll grab something quick and not messy from the store next door. That should give you a bit more time, right?”

Marinette looked up at him relieved. “Yes, thank you. A snack should help.”

“I mean, I’m already right here,” he gave her a sly grin. She cocked her head to the side in confusion. “I’m a snack and I’m right here for you.”

“Oh my God,” her cheeks flushed and she buried her head in his chest. She shook her head and gave him a playfully dirty look as he folded over in laughter. “Believe me, I agree. You are. But, how about one the baby can appreciate, not just me?”

He smiled and kissed her temple. “Of course. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay. It should just be a few more minutes. Like… thirty minutes?” She offered apologetically.

It was not. It was two hours and several snacks later by the time she had finally compared, sketched, tested, and finally selected the fabrics and taken them to get cut. But that wasn’t the end of it like Dick expected. That just led to the next phase in shopping, the accessories. She scrounged through all of the buttons, zippers, clasps, inserts, thread, and ribbon.

Dick had never known there was this much thought in an outfit. And this was supposedly just a quick trip. He couldn’t imagine a full trip. He would have to make sure to be busy when that happened… unless she wanted his company or asked, in which case he’d say yes. He sighed at himself. He was whipped. He looked over at Marinette’s shining face and couldn’t bring himself to care that he was. He would happily be whipped for her as long as he got to see that smile and be a cause for it. No matter what she said, he hoped their baby had her smile. All of them.

“Hey, there’s a good little diner around here. Want to get lunch there?” He asked when she was finally done and had arranged for them to drop it off later.

Marinette nodded happily. “Yes. I think the little one wants food now. No more snacks.” She absentmindedly rubbed her flat stomach. The motion made Dick smile. She was already so protective of the baby, which he could understand, he was too, of the baby and her. He pulled her closer into his side and leaned down to kiss her cheek. She looked back up at him with a brilliant smile and oh yeah, he was gone.

As soon as they walked into the diner, there was a loud, enthusiastic greeting for Dick from an older woman and a smile from the man in the kitchen who had peeked around to see him. “Dickie! It’s been too long. How are you?” She brought him in for a hug. Before he could answer she looked over at Marinette with a kind smile. “And who is this? Don’t tell me someone has finally caught you.”

Marinette smiled back at her and waved. “Hi. I’m Marinette, madame.”

The woman moved quickly to pull Marinette in for a hug as well. “Now, none of that. I’m Kora. Any friend of Dickie’s is family here.”

Marinette giggled and looked up at Dick with an impressed gaze. “Dickie is that good, huh?”

“Best teacher my grandson ever had. Only one to get him interested in something constructive. But, come, come. You didn’t come here to chat.” She showed them to a table. “Here are a few menus. Let me know when you’re ready to order.”

“Actually, I wouldn’t mind catching up for a second. How is Eddie? How about Rachel?” Dick spoke up before she could get far away.

“Oh, you know Eddie. He’s trying to stay out of trouble, but not too hard. It doesn’t help that the police keep an eye on him constantly. Makes him jumpy. Makes all of us jumpy. Rachel is doing great. Eddie’s making sure she stays safe. More responsibility than a young kid should take on, but what else can you do? She loves school. Taken a liking to clothing if you can believe it.” Marinette perked up instantly. “Decided she’s going to start designing them at fourteen. Saves money I suppose.”

“Would she like to see someone do it? Design I mean?” Kora looked at her questioningly. “I’m a designer. I actually moved here because I’m working on designs with Wayne Enterprises. I could take her with me to a meeting, if they are okay with it. There’s some top secret things going on, so they might not want anyone else there, but if they’re okay with it, I can show her the process.”

Kora looked over to Dick looking for his input, but Dick was too engrossed looking at Marinette in awe to see Kora’s inquiry. Kora laughed at him. That was endorsement enough for her. “Yeah, I think she’d like that. I’ll give you my number. We can arrange something.”

Marinette smiled excitedly and bounced in her seat. “That sounds great!” She looked back over to Dick as he took her hand.

“We better order before you start feeling sick. Know what you want?” When she nodded, they both placed their orders.

“I was fourteen when I started entering design contests,” Marinette said excitedly. “Hey, do you think Tim would be interested in sponsoring a design contest for kids? I think kids like Rachel and me at that age, would really love it.”

Dick smiled proudly at her. “I really think he would. And I think Jason would probably be willing to help out too.”

Marinette nodded decidedly. “I’ll talk to Tim about it at our meeting on Monday, the contest and Rachel.” She looked to the side for a moment and returned her gaze to him with a sly look. “So… you teach gymnastics to kids?”

Dick looked down shyly. “When I can. I haven’t in about a year because of other obligations, but… I miss it. I really liked doing it.”

“I would pay to see that. I bet it’s adorable.”

He smiled at the memory of the kids. “Yeah they were.”

“Them too.” She smirked and took a drink of her water, enjoying the sight of Dick blushing. Her expression slowly morphed to more dreamy. “Maybe you can teach our baby.”

Dick perked up at the idea. “I can’t wait. I started when I was in diapers. I’d like to pass that on to my kids. Oh, speaking of that, I was wondering if you might be interested in doing some pregnancy yoga classes or we can YouTube it and do it at home.”

“We?”

He shrugged. “I thought it might be something we could do together.”

“Yeah. I think that might be fun.” She squeezed his hand and blushed when he pulled her hand up to his lips to kiss the inside of her wrist.

They pulled apart when Kora came back with their food. She gave them a knowing look as she set the food down for them. “Young love. You two are adorable.”

Marinette blushed but Dick grinned. “Hey, Kora?” Dick spoke up before she could turn to leave. “What do you mean the cops are keeping an eye on Eddie?”

Kora sighed out. “It’s like they’re waiting for him to mess up. They’re constantly watching him. We try to make sure he’s never alone and there’s always surveillance cameras somewhere but it’s just about impossible. Honestly, I almost trust the gangs more. At least they’ll try to keep him safe.”

Dick shook his head. “I didn’t realize it was that bad.”

Kora shrugged. “No accountability and a gun. Who’s going to stop them?” With that, she walked away to let them eat, leaving Dick to consider her words.

<><><><><>

“So you’ve been doing gymnastics since you were in diapers?” Marinette prompted Dick as they walked hand in hand through a park on their way back to her apartment.

Yep,” Dick confirmed doing an aerial front flip without breaking his stride.

Marinette pulled him to a stop so she could gape at him. “Oh yeah, by all means, pretend that’s completely normal.”

“What?” Dick asked innocently.

“Don’t give me that, show off.”

“What that ? Oh! That. That was nothing. You should see what I could do if I was trying.” Dick shrugged casually, but the smug grin on his lips gave him away.

“Oh yeah, I could do that too, if the idea of being upside down didn’t make me want to throw up. But just wait, in 10 months or so, I’ll show you a cartwheel that will knock your socks off,” she mock threatened him.

He grinned, a sincere, warm look in his eyes. “I can’t wait to see it.” He did a side flip into a walk out without losing his breath. “I’m going to have our baby out doing you by the time he or she is one.”

Marinette playfully narrowed her eyes at him. “Okay Mister gymnastics is in my blood. Let’s see what you can do when you try.”

Dick grinned and leaned down for a quick kiss before moving a bit away to start. “Don’t blink, you’ll miss some amazing moves,” he winked at her before launching into a completely unprepared gymnastic routine. He did flip after flip, moving through the air with an ease she didn’t even think she had even as Ladybug. He jumped on the back of a bench with a single fluid movement, using it to launch into a double summersault flip. It went on for a few minutes at dizzying speed before his finale, using a water fountain to give him enough height for a triple flip. Only he didn’t quite land it right. He landed in an awkward, painful looking roll until he was laid flat out on his stomach.

Marinette stopped breathing as she waited for him to move. After a few seconds he still hadn’t moved. Her heart faltered. “Dick?” her voice was weak and uncertain. “Dick? Are you… are you okay?” the anxiety was becoming more apparent with every word. “Dick!” she ran to him, cursing herself for encouraging him and pushing him. “Dick!” Her hands were trembling as she turned him over to face her.

He looked up at her with a radiant smile. “I guess this means I fell hard for you.”

She stared at him for a few seconds while he curled up from laughing so hard. Tears started falling down Marinette’s cheeks while Dick continued to laugh. He immediately froze when he heard her let out a sob. He looked up at Marinette but she wasn’t kneeling above him anymore. She had backed up a few feet and was sobbing into her knees. “Marinette?” He reached out for her tentatively, her whole body was shaking. “Marinette? Are you okay?” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t funny. I’m sorry,” he whispered over and over again in her ear, breaking it up with the occasional kiss to her temple.

After a few minutes her cries started to quiet. Dick brushed her bangs out of her eyes and wiped away her tears. “I’m sorry, Marinette. I wasn’t expecting you to take it so seriously.”

Marinette’s eyes flashed from distressed to anger in the span of a second. She backed away and shoved him in the shoulder. She wanted to punch him instead but she wasn’t at a good angle to punch his perfect jaw and even as upset as she was, she knew that wasn’t okay. “Seriously? I wasn’t supposed to take it seriously?” Dick stared at her in confusion… and pain. That seriously hurt. “I thought I pushed the father of my baby into killing himself. I thought you got hurt or broke your neck because of me. I thought you were hurt and I caused it,” she repeated again, tears starting to form again.

Dick’s expression softened and turned to guilt. He was an idiot. She was pregnant. Her hormones were going crazy. Not that he was stupid enough to mention that in his apology. He watched her cry over a commercial the other day, not even a particularly sad one. She was not in the frame of mind to accept jokes like this. “I’m sorry,” he said again as he rubbed her arms and pulled her back into his chest. “That was thoughtless and mean. I’m sorry.”

After a few minutes she pulled away just enough to look up at him through glassy eyes. “No, I’m sorry. I absolutely should not have shoved you. Normally I would have just rolled my eyes and pushed you back down, but these damn hormones.”

Dick nodded. Again, not something he wasn’t going to agree with verbally though. “Maybe I’ll do it again later.”

Marinette scoffed but pushed further into his embrace. “Nope that one is done. You’re going to have to come up with a new one. I’m sure you can do something with flipping or flopping or making your heart do cartwheels.”

Dick grinned and hugged her closer. “You’re taking all the best ones.”

Marinette smiled back and wound her arms around his neck. “I already have the best one.” She pulled him down for a kiss pushing all her anxiety and relief into it.

Chapter 9

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