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precuredaily · 1 year ago

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Precure Bonus Day

Film: Precure All Stars Go Go Dream Live! Date watched: 19 March 2023 Original release date: 8 November 2008 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/QBTEHWY Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

#squadgoals (I am hip)

2008 marked the fifth anniversary of Precure, as in the fifth season since 2004’s Futari wa Precure. I’m not sure of everything Toei did to celebrate, outside of a pair of song compilation albums and possibly some merch. But one thing they DID do was to release a short film before the fall movie. It was the first ever on-screen crossover between the different teams, and serves as a precursor for the crossover movies that ran from 2009 to 2020. So just as this short preceded the Go Go movie, I’m going to precede my Go Go review with this! Let’s dig in.

The Plot

It starts with the title card over a bright blue sky, with a chorus of the 11 cures reading the title aloud.

The camera pans down to show a stadium and then we see Saki, Mai, and all their friends from Splash Star running up to the entrance. Saki drags Mai along by the hand past Akane and Hikari’s Tako Cafe, where we then see Nagisa, Honoka, and Hikari, and their friends from FW/MH in line. (as well as Masuko Mika from Y5)

The woman behind Hikari could be Shoko (Regine’s human form) from FWPC

Inside we see Nozomi running down a hallway past lots of people, leading along Rin, Urara, Komachi, Karen, and Kurumi, telling them to hurry up. None of them notice an ominous shadow following them.

Nozomi’s group emerges into the arena of the stadium, which is oddly empty, and are confused. Nagisa’s group as well as Saki and Mai emerge through adjacent entrances, all looking over at each other and the otherwise vacant stadium in confusion. Notably, none of the non-heroine characters make it inside.

Suddenly a deep voice calls out “PRECURE” and they see a huge giant black figure in the middle of the arena. It casts 4 shadows, with the three behind it revealing the face of a Zakenna, an Uzaina, and a Kowaina. It moves to punch the ground, threateningly, so everyone foregoes their secret identities and transforms into Precure.

There’s a brief moment of surprise as the three teams realize there are other Precures besides themselves, but they don’t have time to dwell on it as the Shadow Giant punches at them.

Bloom and Egret jump in to block the attack with a spirit barrier. Everyone else regains their composure, and the barrier shatters. Black and White leap through the air in an iconic scene from their opening, while the Precure 5 run along the ground. Black and White block a giant punch, then Bloom & Egret use a spirit attack on his chest. The PC5 team rapidly scatters. Lemonade wraps the Shadow Giant in her Prism Chain, followed by Aqua, Mint, and Rouge using their respective attacks.

Bloom and Egret fly high into the air and transform into Bright and Windy. Windy launches a gust of wind that catches Bloom, who adds her light to it as they charge rapidly down on the monster. Dream charges along the ground with her fists glowing, while Black and White rebound off some girders and leap straight at the Giant.

Everyone's attacks converge on the Shadow: the Wind and Light attack, Black and White’s double punch, and Shooting Star. A huge explosion of light is seen from the exterior of the stadium. The smoke clears as everyone regroups, but the monster is unharmed and blows everyone away in a huge gust of wind.

Cure Dream stands up amid the rubble. Black, Bright, and Dream explain in turn that they'll listen if the Shadow has anything to say, but there's lots of people there today who came to see the show and they won't let him ruin the event.

The Shadow spews an energy beam from his mouth at them in response, but Shiny Luminous and Milky Rose have blocked it with a barrier. The teams perform Marble Screw Max, Spiral Star Splash, and Rainbow Rose Explosion together, and the Shadow disintegrates.

The girls find themselves back in their civilian forms, standing on a stage in the middle of the arena. The Max Heart theme starts to play and the crowd cheers. The girls realize THEY are the performance. Nagisa doesn't want to dance, but Nozomi encourages her, and she joins in.

All the girls dance and sing along to a medley of the opening themes. The dance alternates between spotlighting each team, having all 11 girls dance together, and having just Nagisa, Saki, and Nozomi in focus. The sequence is interspersed with still images of everyone eating and having fun together while the credits roll. At the end, they all stand together in the shape of a heart, looking up at the camera, while “The End” is written in the middle.

The Analysis

What I Liked

Because this short is only 5 minutes from start to finish, it’s extremely fast-paced. The characters are introduced rapidly and they’re face to face with the monster in 45 seconds, and kicking butt by the 2 minute mark.

The fight scene does a good job showcasing the difference in fighting styles between the three teams. Max Heart are all about raw strength, punching and kicking, jumping off of things to get more leverage. Splash Star make use of the spirits to fly around and deflect attacks or emphasize them. Precure 5 use their individual attacks. Luminous and Rose don’t do much of anything, which is out of character for Kurumi, but it's going to be a theme in this double feature.

The dance at the end is fun! It’s also the only time All Stars will have a 2D animated dance ending, and the last 2D animated Precure dance ending in general. It is ALSO one of the last times that the dance ending will feature the characters in civilian outfits rather than their cure forms, with the only other instance after this that I recall being in Heartcatch’s first ending.

There is a really cool shot when the GoGo team is dancing that starts far out from the audience’s POV, zooms all the way in on Nozomi’s face, spins around her, and then zooms back out to show them dancing from behind, looking out at the audience. There’s another great shot where the camera pans down the line of cures as they all come together for the big finale shot.

Pretty much every named character from the last 5 seasons makes a cameo appearance in the crowds or the audience. This includes the villains.

You can see Miss Shitataare, Gamao, and Shoko (Regine) from the back here.

No, I am not listing out every single character here.

The individual outfits the girls are wearing are really nice. They’re more intricate, fancier clothes than their usual civilian attire, which suggests the show they expected to go see was somewhat upscale.

What I Didn’t Like

Milky Rose and Shiny Luminous just disappeared during the fight. After the barrier shatters they’re nowhere to be seen until after the big explosion of light when the smoke clears. Then the only thing they do is put up another barrier. Rose is capable of fighting, and Luminous has support abilities that would help the team, so it’s strange they didn’t take a few seconds to showcase either of these two.

Even on a movie (or short film) budget, some of the art quality is lacking.

Miscellaneous

As I pointed out in another post, for some reason the Blu Ray cut of the film is about 11 seconds shorter than the DVD cut, and presumably the theatrical version. The main cut is the shot of the giant’s shadows with the faces of the Precures’ past enemies in them, but lots of scenes throughout the film have a few frames cut off of them. I am unclear on the reason for this.

The establishing overhead shot of the stadium shows it surrounded by countryside, not many buildings around. Not where you usually expect a stadium to be.

For the sake of brevity, the Yes 5 team didn’t get to call out their Cure names in the roll call.

Between their transformation scene and Shadow Giant’s first attack, the cures somehow teleport onto the field of the stadium. Whether it was a continuity error or just convenience for animation, I don’t know.

Bloom and Egret are able to switch into their Bright and Windy forms instantly, without detransforming. In the series, these were completely separate transformations, but it’s understandable that the writers would do it here to keep the momentum of the scene. Also it looks awesome.

No fairies appear in the film other than one still image in the credits. Kurumi is never shown transforming into Milk, but she is present as Milk in the scene with all the fairies, and then also present as Kurumi when the human characters are shown. She lives a busy double life.

The villain is not named in the dialogue, but the credits call him “Kage no Kyojin”, or Shadow Giant, which is what I am also calling him.

Since this film is basically a teaser for the feature length Precure All Stars DX film, several of the action sequences end up being reused in that movie. I will do a side-by-side comparison when I get to that. Also, the design of the Shadow Giant is the same as the final form of that movie’s villain, Fusion. It’s unclear if they are meant to be the same character or not. Shadow Giant is certainly a fusion of the three enemy types, but Fusion in the DX movie is also shown to have Hoshiina powers not seen here, and is voiced by a different actor.

Unfortunately the voice actor for the Shadow Giant, Yanada Kiyoyuki, passed away in November of 2022 at age 57.

Conclusion

It’s a short, sweet, action packed special. It knows what it’s about and it doesn’t waste a second getting to the point. You want all the Precues teaming up and fighting a giant enemy? You got all the Precures teaming up and fighting a giant enemy! In its short runtime, it of course manages to pack in everything you want from Precure: pretty outfits, dynamic fights, and speeches about the value of friendship and community. It even ends with a dance! It’s a great showcase of how the series has evolved in its (at the time) short life, and what being a Precure means to its different teams. You can clearly see how each group’s approach to combat is different, and they all bounce off of each other excellently. And even though it’s short, it manages to throw in a ton of cameos for long time fans. As a teaser for the upcoming All Stars movie, it does a great job at whetting the audience’s appetite. And as a lead-in to the main event, the Go Go movie, it also gets the audience suitably pumped for a roaring good time.

Next time, on Precure Daily, we finally get to the movie itself. Look forward to it!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count:

1 Arienai 0 Zekkouchou Nari 0 Kettei

#Precure #Pretty Cure #Precure All Stars #PCASGGDL #PCD Bonus

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duskkodesh · 2 years ago

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I could write a paper longer than War and Peace trying to explain where he falls on the hero-villain scale in Marvel and it would still be confusing as hell. *Clears throat* Morbius’ debut was in Amazing Spider-Man 101-102 as an antagonist and yes, he really was a pure antagonist BUT he was shown as having regret and suffering nightmares of what he’d done as well as trying to kill himself to protect his then fiance’. Because he had these facets people latched onto him and he was pretty popular. He had two comic runs thereafter where he was the protagonist instead but still did HIGHLY IMMORAL THINGS... you know, like eat people. After that Marvel has been pretty much using him however they want. In some Marvel Team-up issues even he goes both ways, trying to attack an innocent woman and afterwards helping Ben Grimm take down a threat. In other comics he’s straight villain, in yet others absolutely hero. Now Marvel is no noob to antiheroes with the likes of Namor and the Hulk in their lineups from way back in the golden age but a lot of those have shifted over the years to be considered pure hero. Morbius... has not.

And yes, this is 616 main Marvel universe. He still walks the line purely on the basis that the man really has zero self-control, suffers a debilitating condition, and receives no help from anyone... which really says more about a lot of the heroes of Marvel that they’d rather throw him in jail than feed him donated blood and give him therapy. WITH a steady supply of food and basic human dignity Morb does really well. He has been able to work as a doctor for A.R.M.O.R., St. Jude, as well as at Horizon labs doing research and running a free clinic for the poor in New York. My personal theory heavily implied by the comics is a lot of how he behaves is dictated by those around him. Treat him like a threat and he will be one. Treat him like a normal man and he’ll play the part to a certain extent. Amanda Saint kind of treated him like a normal protector and so around her he really was the part, but Spidey is nearly always an ass to him, the few times he’s been like “Do you need help?” the situation changes in a flash. This is why people like Max Modell, Jenifer Walters, and the Legion of Monsters are friends.

Villain to some, hero to others. Mostly a complete mess and oddly polite.

#Morbius The Living Vampire #Morbius #Michael Morbius #Marvel Comics #His ethics are a colloid #Sometimes solid #sometimes liquid #But he never stops trying to do better when he knows he slipped up #And that's why I love him

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newvegascowboy · 4 years ago

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i think deacon’s idle voice lines reveal a lot more about him as a person than anything he says during affinity conversations, and here’s why

get ready for a long meta post about deacon that nobody asked for, because we’re deep diving today.

okay. so Deacon’s a liar, everybody knows this. He tells you straight up that he does and WILL lie to you, and will praise you if you call him out, but i think his idle voice lines are more honest about himself than he would have you believe.

Personal Life

i first noticed stuff he says in idle conversations when we were taking rad damage and he said, “Great. I didn’t need to have more children.” (0:58 for anyone interested) and “Guess there won’t be any little Deacons scurrying around in the future.” The above video doesn’t include it, but I have heard him say it in game. Unfortunately, I can’t go digging around in the game files to find it, so you might have to take that one at my word!

I always take his affinity conversations with a grain of salt because, well, it’s Deacon, but given how angry and upset with a dismissive Sole Survivor he becomes, I’m willing to give him a little bit of leeway and believe that Barbara either was or is real, and she’s no longer in his life. Plus, given what he says about them “trying for kids”? It’s not unreasonable to think that he has or had children. If he ever did, they’re not in his life anymore either.

(the reproductive ability of synths is debated. i couldn’t actually find any information on the fallout wiki, but there were a few forums discussing the topic where the general consensus seemed to be “no”, but if synths are 100% biologically human, then i don’t see why they technically couldn’t. it’s kind of a YMMV thing.)

Plus, it’s pretty consistent that he gets freaked out when up in high places. (:44) here to listen to his voice lines about being up in the quarry, and here to listen to his dialogue during the Railroad aligned quest Red Glare. Safe to say this man is honestly afraid of heights.

"Alright. You got me up here... let's go down. Now?"

At the top of Trinity Tower.

The Railroad

Not going to spend a lot of time on this, since his voice lines about it are minimal, but it is of note.

Game files and terminal entries hint at Desdemona believing that Deacon is “John D”, the sole survivor of an attack on the Railroad back in 2266. Post 2273, there is no more mention about “John D”. Admittedly, this is pretty weak evidence considering it’s in-game conjecture, but Deacon mentions knowing Desdemona as a green recruit, finding it hard to take her seriously at times.

Even if his claim about being the real leader of the Railroad is bullshit, he’s obviously one of the eldest members of the Railroad, confirmed membership going back at least 12 years to 2275. He could very well be the oldest surviving member of the Railroad.

Hidden Depths

this one is pretty well known, so I’m not going to say too much on it either.

the man knows a lot of stuff about the pre war world! Don’t know why! He never offers any reason for why he’s so familiar with the pre war world. It’s very clear that he either had a much, much more thorough education than most Wastelanders, or he was around people who did. University Point was a pretty major settlement until the Institute wiped it out, so I suppose it’s possible that he could’ve been schooled there, but I find it unlikely. He never makes any mention of his childhood other than an obvious joke where he says, “I grew up just over there. Lot of fond memories by that...thing.” (this link is a compilation of voice lines, so it may take a moment to get there.)

Obviously there’s the famous Proust line, indicating he’s pretty well read, though, oddly enough, he doesn’t have anything to say about Henry David Thoreau’s cabin! You’d think he would. In addition to Proust, he has the combat voice line, “Insert something Shakespearean about your death and inevitable doom here,” indicating he’s familiar with Shakespeare.

He also mentions knowing and wanting a talk radio show. I mean, the Charles River Trio exists, but it’s a stretch to call that a talk radio show. He also mentions having read “a few textbooks” and asks if we were planning on an invasion of mathletes. This hints at nothing, but i do think it’s funny that he knows the word mathlete, but refers to pre-war objects as gizmos.

Involvement in other games

It’s canon that Deacon has been to the Capital Wasteland, and based on his dialogue, may have been VERY involved in the goings on there.

The events of Fallout 3 take place in 2277. The wiki tells us that sometime in 2275, Deacon was kicked out of the railroad by then-leader Pinky Thompson because Pinky was "sick of the lying, face-changing son of a bitch." So maybe unlikely, but very possible for Deacon to have been in the Capital Wasteland during the entirety of the events of Fallout 3. Though this pretty much kills the idea that Deacon was the Lone Wanderer, that’s a headcanon i love and probably one that I want to do something with in the future.

He also seems to have quite a history with the Brotherhood of Steel and seems familiar with them and their actions in the Capital Wasteland, going to far as to say that they did good work in the Capital. Not only that, but he mentions “Code Violet”, part of Harkness’ override code from Fallout 3. It’s possible that Deacon could’ve been a runner for escaped synths heading for the Capital Wasteland sometime around 2277, which could be why he’s so knowledgeable about Capital-era Brotherhood and President Eden.

Deacon talks about winning something from Robert House in a poker game while chatting with Deezer in Covenant. (1:26) Also interesting to note - he mentions “Being a soldier in the west” (17:43) at one point, hinting to possible involvement with the NCR (or possibly with the Western chapter of the Brotherhood).

of course it’s possible that Deacon is bullshitting. He’s a liar. even if he doesn’t have a “reason” to lie, that doesn’t make every random word that comes out of his mouth the truth. simply - this man knows a lot. Knows things that, arguably, he shouldn’t or would be very hard for him to learn without some dedicated poking around.

in conclusion?

is there more? most definitely. what does this mean? well...not really anything. part of why i believe that his idle voice lines are more truthful than anything he says during his affinity conversations is because during those conversations, a lot of the time, he’s lying to try and prove a point.

"But I had a point here. A lesson, if you will. There're other organizations out there. And, in time, I'm sure they're going to spoon-feed you their own patented form of bullshit. Ignore the verbage and look at what they're doing. What they're asking you to do. What sort of world they'd have you build and how they're going to pay for it."

I believe a lot of Deacon’s lies are meant for himself. To run from himself, to comfort himself, or simply because he doesn’t want to be affiliated with the man he was when he was younger. To me, his idle lines are him “thinking out loud”. Grumbling because the Sole Survivor dragged him into an irradiated hell hole, or freaked out because they’re standing on top of Trinity Tower and by god, he can feel the building swaying.

Maybe his honesty is completely on accident. Maybe he’s just hinting at a personal life with a max affinity Sole Survivor because this person is his best friend and despite everything he’s ever tried to teach himself, he trusts this person. Or maybe it isn’t honesty at all, and he’s just bullshitting to bullshit. It’s impossible to know for sure.

Either way, we’ll never truly know the real Deacon.

#fallout #fallout 4 #deacon #fallout meta #kal talks #this was actually quite a lot of fun to write and research #and it all started because of his voice line about children #thanks deeks #for baby's first meta post i think i dif pretty well lmao

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garbagevanfleet · 4 years ago

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Brightest Blue (series)

PART ONE

Pairing: Josh & female!Reader Warnings: None yet. Summary: Things are changing. New state. New school. New roommate. You just pray things are going to click into place. Notes: Here we are everyone. This fic has been a long time in the making, but I’m pretty dang happy with it so far! I made Josh extra lovable and squishy for you all. I hope you enjoy! This fic is edited by the amazing and gorgeous, @lantern-inthenight. And big thanks as always to @myownparadise96. I literally could not have found the motivation to do this fic without you.

MASTERPOST

taglist: @myownparadise96 @n1-party-anthem @valleyd0ll @bigblack-catattack @guitarfingers @thebohemianpenguin @oblvions @hansonobsessed @satingrass-maidensfair

The scenery in Michigan was vastly different than back home. You were used to and comfortable with the nearly unforgiving heat of the American South West, but the farther away you got from home, the more foreign everything seemed. The scrubland slowly started being replaced by emerald green grass and dense forests of towering pines. Once you hit Illinois, little farmsteads were scattered along every road you took, boasting fields thick with corn and beans.

It was a bit over a full day’s worth of driving. You had originally thought you could just drive right through - after all, you were young and you had plenty of caffeine at the ready. In reality, you wound up digesting the trip over two days.

You were a fortunate enough person that you had a reliable car, which made up for the fact that it wasn’t very pretty to look at. It didn’t exactly sip gas, but that had never even been a concern before this - it wasn’t very often that you left home, let alone make a trip across the country. But you were able to breathe a sigh of relief when you started seeing the exit signs for Ann Arbor.

Your parents had been a bit judgemental about you picking a school so far away - they were even worse homebodies than you, and they knew that you being across the country meant they wouldn’t be seeing you until the school year was over - but there was no way you could turn down an opportunity like this one. You had worked your ass off to qualify for a scholarship, knowing full well that there was no way you could afford higher education otherwise. MU hadn’t been your very first choice but with one of the better programs in the country for your desired field, you just couldn’t turn it down.

You had to pull over into a McDonald’s parking lot to pull up the address you were looking for and program it into your phone’s GPS before continuing further into the city. Your mother had been particularly wary about your living situation. See, she was a woman that adamantly liked to have a plan and then stick to it - she didn’t see any value in just letting things happen. “Go with the flow” wasn’t in her vocabulary, but you’d always romanticised the idea. Which was why, when you pulled up to the apartment that you were going to be living in for the next year, it was the first time you’d ever seen it.

You had found the listing on the Facebook marketplace for the area, looked at a couple of pictures, and signed the lease agreement online - all without knowing what you were really in for. You’d been informed that you’d have a roommate when you’d contacted the landlord, but she hadn’t mentioned a thing about the person other than that. All she really said was “no pets, no smoking, and one month’s rent for the security deposit. You had told yourself that it didn’t really matter what the situation was as long as the other person wasn’t outwardly malicious and the place wasn’t infested with pests or anything, even though you knew it mattered a little.

An audible sigh of relief left your lips when you pulled into the apartment parking lot and found that your new home looked well kept. The building had old, slide-up windows, but the brick siding was clean, and the shrubs that lined the property were trimmed and neat. You and your back seat stuffed to max capacity with house plants had made it - and with only a bit of sleep deprivation and caffeine jitters for damages.

After you got out of the car, you grabbed your very favorite potted cactus and found your way into the building, meandering down the dim hall until you came upon the door marked 6. You hadn’t been given a key yet, so you knocked with your free hand and waited until you heard someone shuffling around inside.

You would be lying if you said you weren’t nervous - obviously, you were - but more than anything you were excited. Anxious, maybe? That seemed like the right word.

The door opened to reveal a boy, around your age, hair a mess of curls on the top and shorn tighter to the sides of his head. You were immediately taken aback by the depth in his eyes, chocolatey and warm.

“What’s up?” he asked casually, leaning against the door frame, a pair of old-school headphones dangling from his hand.

You frowned at him slightly, suddenly terrified you’d gotten the wrong apartment number. You weren’t sure how you’d live with that embarrassment, especially if you had to live next door to him - you’d just be that stupid girl that didn’t even know where she lived. “Oh, I think I’m your new roommate? This is number six, right?” You peered around the other side of the open door, just to confirm.

A beaming grin spread over his soft face, showing you his blindingly white teeth and the deepest pair of dimples you’d ever seen. “Oh, cool, yeah. Come on in.”

He stepped aside, giving a dramatically flourished bow as a gesture for you to enter. You obliged, and even though this was your new house too, you paused and waited as he shut the door behind you.

“Sorry, I was expecting you yesterday, so.” He trailed off with a sheepish smile and then extended his free hand to you. “Anyway, I’m Josh.”

You shifted your cactus to one arm so you could shake his hand. “Y/N. Yeah, sorry, it took me longer than I expected to get here. Which is why my stuff apparently showed up before I did.”

You eyed around the apartment, spotting boxes of your things in piles. The original plan your parents had come up with was to have you rent a U-Haul, but since you’d never driven anything bigger than your Camry, you had quickly shot that idea down. After some expert negotiating, they had agreed to hire a moving company. You hadn’t had the balls to ask what a service like that had set them back - decided instead that it was better if you didn’t know.

“Oh yeah,” he replied, rubbing at the back of his neck. “It all showed up yesterday at like noon. One of the boxes was open a little, and I saw records so I looked through them to make sure you weren’t some kind of freak.”

It was more of a statement than a warning, and the smile he gave you showed not even a shred of an apology so you just smiled back. “Find anything you like?”

He turned on his heel and headed into the kitchen - connected to the living room by a huge square archway. “Your music taste is,” He paused, opening a cupboard and pulling down two mismatched glasses. “Eclectic.”

You laughed at him, bending to gently set your plant down on a side table. “That’s true.”

“But I found plenty I could listen to, so I guess you’re okay. You want some juice?” he asked as he held up a paper carton of store brand orange juice

“That would be lovely,” you agreed, standing stick straight the way you did when in the presence of new company. “My dad used to take me to a lot of thrift stores and we’d go home with a minimum of two records per trip.”

“I love thrifting,” he said simply, giving you an alarmingly serious look. “There are three here, I think. Every once in a while you can find something really worth keeping. I have kind of a ‘catch and release’ policy where if I don’t instantly know what I’m going to do with an item, I leave it there, but I think - like - a third of my wardrobe is from thrift stores.”

You listened, feeling oddly entranced by the way he was handing you thoughts as they came to him. There was something truly honest about it - a quality people back home didn’t seem to have. It was charming.

He brought your glass of juice to you and then motioned to the rest of the apartment. “You want the grand tour of Casa De Joshua-” He gave you a pointed look and a cheesy grin. “And Y/N?”

You breathed a laugh at him, nodding as you sipped. “Please.”

“Okay, try not to get lost - this is obviously the living room. I do most of my living here as the name would suggest. I found this couch on the side of the road - actually almost all of my furniture is adopted.” As he explained, he was gesturing to items like Vanna White.

The couch looked. Well-loved. You could tell just at a glance that it was probably past it’s prime when Josh had stumbled upon it, but it did look comfortable, and it wasn’t like you had a couch to offer, so you were happy with it.

“I have this TV but it’s really only for movies and stuff because I’m twenty-two and I’d rather die than pay for cable. But there are literally hundreds of DVDs in the TV stand that you are welcome to peruse at your leisure,” he informed, his hands gesturing almost arbitrarily as he talked.

You followed as he moved on through the archway. “This is the kitchen. All of the food lives here. There’s lots of stuff, but I try to just make two bigger meals per day. I don’t have a real ice tray so I’ve been using a chocolate mold- Well anyway, our ice will be in the shape of wiener dogs.”

You were shocked at the laugh that escaped you, genuine and uncontrolled. He grinned over at you, clearly also surprised - but pleased with himself for getting the reaction he was aiming for.

“I think I can live with that.”

“Good,” he agreed simply, giving you a new kind of smile - something sweeter. After a beat, he motioned down the hall with his eyes, letting you lead. “The bathroom is this way. The water takes like three or four minutes to get hot. I realized that I have a lot of products for some reason, but I condensed them all into this one area in the corner just in case my new roommate was a girl, and you are so that’s great. I’ll probably get a shelf.”

There was a proud quality to his voice like he felt gentlemanly for letting you have all the space you needed. For some reason, that made you feel warm and fuzzy.

“And what if your new roommate had been a boy?” you inquired with a smirk.

He put a finger on his chin, taking on a contemplative look for you. “Hmm. Then I guess I slowly would have moved my stuff back to the cabinet - probably just one thing per day so he wouldn’t notice. Unless he had a lot of makeup or something, then I’d just let him have it.”

He grinned as you teasingly shook your head.

“This way is the sleeping quarters. My room is there on the right and yours to the left.”

You stepped into your new room and let a sigh of relief. Two huge windows took up a lot of the far wall, framed underneath by large sills. The space was bright and roomier than you’d pictured. Your bed was set up in the very middle of the room, but you already knew exactly where you wanted it to go. For some reason, you had been concerned that you wouldn’t like the space, but it was kind of perfect.

“This is great,” you breathed, turning to him and giving him a sly grin. “Wanna give me a hand moving my furniture around?”

He pretended to consider for a moment until you spoke again.

“My mom sent money for pizza while I get stuff unpacked,” you said coyly. “If you needed any convincing.”

He laughed, showing you his teeth. “You drive a hard bargain. Okay, I’ll help as long as I get to look through your stuff while we move it.”

You gave him a questioning look, earning a one-shouldered shrug in return. He looked benign enough standing there, propped against the door frame with a goofy upturn to his lips, so you relented.

“Deal,” you agreed.

You were positive you would not have been able to move stuff without his help. For being a slender boy, he seemed to easily be able to get things where they needed to be. He dutifully helped you shove your furniture into place - your bed against the window wall, your desk and vanity on the wall with your closet door. Then, bless his little heart, he helped you move it all again when you decided you didn’t like the arrangement (but not without some light griping).

One by one, you brought in your boxes from the living room and you allowed him to poke through them, perched on your bed. He flipped through your books, thumbing pages of ones that piqued his interest - you could only imagine that he was already planning on borrowing some of them. He reacted similarly to your framed photos, as he unwrapped them from their packing paper.

When you got your record player set up, he put on a vinyl and started to hang your art prints on the wall where you instructed him to. The look of concentration on his face was rather endearing as he held a few nails between his teeth and hammered them into the wall, one by one. There was a time or two you were convinced that he was going to mutilate his thumb, but he didn’t, and when the last picture was hung, you breathed a sigh of relief.

You called in a pizza, adorned with his requested toppings as you hung your clothes into your closet, your phone tucked against your ear and shoulder for maximum efficiency.

Plants collected on your bed until there was no more room for them - after that, he started setting them on the floor as he brought them in from your car. He didn’t seem to be judging the sheer amount of them, even though he had every right to.

“It’s going to look like a jungle in here,” he stated finally as he took a bite out of a slice of pizza that he was holding like a taco, his eyes raking over all of the foliage scattered around your room. Rather than sounding like he was teasing, his tone seemed excited.

You grinned at him, starting to arrange them on the window sill and your bookshelf that had only ever served you as a plant shelf since you’d bought it. “Plants are my passion. Botany major,” you explained as you fluffed up your Monstera’s huge leaves.

“Ooh.” He raised his eyebrows at you, pulling one of his legs up underneath him on your bed - now fitted with sheets. “I think that’s going to be nice. Give it some life in here.”

You grabbed another slice from the pizza box on your nightstand and tried to think of the right tone of voice to use to ask the next question. “How long have you lived here by yourself?”

He hummed, eyes flicking around distantly as he thought. “Well, I’ve lived here just over a year, and my first roommate dropped out and moved back home about...six months ago?”

“Have you been lonely? You seem like a social guy.” You gave him an empathetic look but he just shrugged at you. You hadn’t known him long enough to know for sure, but you suspected he was more affected than he was letting on.

“I mean, a little lonely. But I got used to it for the most part.” He paused for a good couple of seconds before a smile spread across his lips. “And Penny’s kept me company.”

“Oh, does your girlfriend stay here too?” you prompted, trying to remember if you’d seen any feminine looking items lying around that weren’t yours.

“What? No,” he said under a chuckle and stood, gesturing for you to follow him across the hall.

The second you walked through the doorway, you were met with the smell of incense sticks and linen. His room was dimmer than yours and kind of cramped with all of his mismatching furniture, but he had a huge bed - you thought it could easily fit three people in it. There were some clothes strewn about around a laundry hamper by the door and you tried to not be jealous that his closet seemed to be about twice the size of yours.

He crossed the room to crouch in front of a coffee table that he seemed to be using as a catch-all. The varnish was worn off the top of it in rings because sitting on the coffee table was a globe of water and a calico colored goldfish swimming around aimlessly inside of it.

“Ah, so this is Penny,” you giggled as you bent over next to him. When the fish spotted him, it rose to the surface of the water, opening its mouth in demand for food.

He grinned down at it. “Light of my life. We’re not allowed to have pets but I figured that a fish didn’t count.”

You hummed, admittedly a bit charmed by the whole situation. “But don’t goldfish require a lot of space?”

The smile fell from his face, adopting a level of concern you hadn’t yet seen from him as he peered over at you. “Do they?”

Immediately, you felt guilty for putting that look on his features. Your brain kick-started - trying to think of a way to make it right again. “I think so? Maybe we can find her a small tank? Put a few little plants in there for her?”

Josh nodded at you, stroking his fingers over the glass with a frown. “I’m a bad dad.”

“No, no!” you assured, putting your hand on his head but then removing it instantly when you realized that you didn’t really know him, he’d just already made you feel like you did. Either way, you figured it would be inappropriate to touch him. “You’re great. She looks really happy.”

“She’s great at begging for food, so don’t get tricked,” Josh instructed after a moment, seemingly able to put his concerns aside to jest you.

You nodded in agreement. “I’ll be ever vigilant,” you promised, making him smile again.

He stood back up, so you did as well.

“Well, I’ll give you some time to get comfortable in your room,” Josh said, sitting back on his bed. “Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

“I promise I will,” you assured, tapping your hand on the doorframe on your way out.

By the time the sun was set, your room was shockingly well put together. The emotional rollercoaster that was the album Rumors helped you keep on task, losing yourself in the music so it didn’t feel like work at all. You hadn’t been expecting it to come along so quickly, but you guessed that was because you hadn’t anticipated such a friendly roommate. The nesting had always been your favorite part, so you took your time to enjoy placing out all your knick-knacks and photos.

You took a break to shower when you decided you were done for the day, reveling in the feeling of the water after such a long time in your car - He was absolutely right about how long it took to warm up from ice cold. When you got out and changed into your pajamas, Josh was sitting in the living room with a laptop across his legs.

“You wanna chill?” he asked when he heard you padding down the hall, shutting the lid of it and setting it on a side table. “Or if you’re too tired, that’s okay too.”

“No, no. I’d love to talk.” You sat next to him, leaving a comfortable amount of room between you as you pulled your knees up to your chin. “Tell me more about yourself,” you requested, tugging a blanket from a beat-up wicker basket on the floor and wrapping it around your body.

“Hmm, okay,” he started. You wondered how long it had been since he had to introduce himself to someone new. “I’m from a tiny little town here in Michigan. I’m the oldest of four - two brothers and a sister. My brother, Jake, also attends MU and lives just off campus.”

You frowned at him. “Wait, why wouldn’t he live with you?” you asked through a disbelieving laugh.

“He lived with me long enough,” Josh explained in a humored tone. “There are only so many people where I’m from and well - we wanted to meet new people, you know?”

“I guess I should be grateful for that.”

“Yeah, probably,” he teased and then paused to think. “I’m in performing arts - I’m actually putting on a production around Christmas with some elementary school kids.”

You suppressed the aww that was threatening to pass your lips. “You like kids?”

He beamed you a smile, shaking his head. “Love them. I want to have like ten of them someday.”

The thought of him surrounded by kids made you soften. You were genuinely shocked about how easy he was to talk to - how easy he was to like. You had never thought in a million years you’d get along with your roommate so well, let alone the first day meeting them.

“I hope you get to,” you said as genuinely as you could muster, prompting him to give you a grateful smile.

A yawn escaped you before you could hide it, and you quickly breathed an apology, but he just waved you off.

“You must be exhausted from that drive,” he said, his voice soft. “You should get some sleep.”

You nodded in agreement and gave him a thankful smile. “Is it okay if I sleep out here?”

The look on his face was quizzical, forcing a laugh from you. “Why would you do that?”

“I have this tradition where whenever I’m in a new place, I always sleep in the living room on the first night. It’s good luck.”

“Whatever you say.” His lips pulled back into an unconvinced smirk. “Well, yeah, you live here now too, so you can sleep wherever you’d like.”

He disappeared into his room for only a moment before popping his head back out, fingers wrapped around the door frame.

“Do you mind if I join you?”

You tried not to look too taken aback by the question, but you could feel your cheeks flushing warm. You raked your eyes along the couch, entirely positive that there wasn’t enough space for the two of you to lay out on it together fully - at least, not without being pressed flush against one another. However, his face looked innocent and soft - not a single tint of mischief colored across his features.

“Yeah, that-. I guess that’s okay,” you agreed sheepishly with a shrug. “But I’m not sure we’ll both fit if I’m being honest.”

He frowned questioningly at you, his brows lacing together until he realized what you thought he meant. His face instantly turned a light shade of pink to match yours. “No, no,” he quickly assured in between a breathy laugh. “I’m not going to sleep with you - I’ll take the recliner.”

“Oh, right.” You gave a nervous laugh of your own, cursing yourself out in your head for being so dull.

You were still well embarrassed as you made a nest of blankets on the couch and he brought out a pillow for you when you realized yours were still tucked deep in your bag of bedding. When each of you was situated on your respective pieces of furniture, he flicked the light off with a comfortable sigh.

It was silent for a moment before he spoke again, his voice taking on a tone that was far too smug for your liking. “You were awfully quick to agree to sleep next to me. You don’t have a crush on me, do you?”

You knew he was teasing, but your heart rate still managed to pick up under the pressure. You had never been particularly good with awkward social situations; you rolled your eyes in the dark, thankful he couldn’t see how red you were. “No, Josh. I do not have a crush on you.”

“Okay,” he said through a melodic laugh, and you got the feeling that he’d gotten the reaction he was aiming for from you. “Should we be best friends though?”

You snorted a laugh of your own, wanting to be annoyed at how likable he was, but falling short. “You are the most peculiar person I’ve ever met, I think.” You curled up, clutching your blanket tight to your body. “But yes. We can be friends.”

“Okay, cool - I’ll order matching t-shirts for us.” You could hear the pleased grin he was wearing, making you feel warm and cozy. You pulled the worn blanket up to your chin.

“See to it that you do.”

Author’s Note: okay, I hope you guys like it! please let me know if you want to be added to the tag list or removed from it. I’m using the same taglist from my Jake!fic, so no hard feelings if you don’t want to be tagged!

#josh fic #josh kiszka fic #josh x reader #joshxreader #greta van fleet fic #gvf fic #brightest blue fic

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glenngaylord · 4 years ago

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Glenn Gaylord’s Capsules From The Bunker – Summer 2021 Lockdown Style

Like many of you, I’ve lost all concept of space and time during this lockdown era. I’d watch movie after movie, but somehow forget to write about them. I’d consume films for sustenance, but then I’d move on to the next task of cleaning a room, doing a crossword puzzle, or staring at my dog for hours on end. Thank goodness I have a few friends to have breakfast with every now and then, or else I’d have assumed I had been transported to a cabin in Montana. “Am I a film critic or a hermit?” I’d ask myself daily…that is, if I even understand what days are anymore. All of this is to say that I have a lot of catching up to do now that we’ve taken a baby step or two towards returning to some sense of normalcy. Wait a minute. What’s that? Highly transmissible variants? Back into the cave I go. While I still can, I’ve managed to blurt out a few capsule reviews of some films worth mentioning.

In Between Gays – Film Review: Summer Of 85 ★★★★

Prolific French filmmaker, François Ozon, has made a career out of finding dark crevices in the most unexpected of places. Here, with Summer Of 85, he tweaks this New Wave era gay romance just enough to upend our expectations. In pure Talented Mr. Ripley meets Call Me By Your Name meets Luca fashion, Ozon spins what could have been that sun-dappled, seaside summer that changed everything into a love that perhaps never was, zeroing in instead on a young man’s obsession for something unobtainable. Beautifully shot and acted, Ozon takes the story to more provocative places than you’d initially expect while still maintaining the boppy fizz of a great Cure song. Despite the mish mash of tones, the film has a pulse all of its own. It’ll make you swoon, pull the rug out from under you, and then make you wonder how he managed to quietly get a little twisted.

Summer Of 85 currently in select theaters, see official website for details. Released on DVD and BluRay August 17th.

Truffle In Mind – Film Review: Pig ★★★★

Writer-director Michael Sarnoski makes an auspicious feature debut with the story of a man searching for his stolen truffle-hunting pig. Caked in dirt, blood and looking not so much like a homeless man but as a person who died inside a thousand times over, Nicholas Cage gives one of his best performances ever as a man who seeks the truth at all costs. He asks his only connection to the outside world, Amir, played wonderfully by Alex Wolff, to drive him through Portland’s dark underbelly to retrieve his pet companion.

Although the film takes us to a rather unbelievable “Fight Club” moment, it generally holds its mood with credibility. It’s a great calling card, not only for Sarnoski, but also for his talented cinematographer Patrick Scola, who brings a painterly quality to every single image. The film finds beauty in a bite of food, a breath of air, or simply the compassion between two main characters who have seemingly little in common. It’s a shame the trailer elicits laughs when Cage utters lines like, “Who has my pig?” Clearly they want to sell the actor’s neo-gonzo persona, but Cage brings so much depth and seriousness to this project, only raising his voice once. He deserves the highest praise for committing to such an oddly touching, gorgeously quiet story. At risk of sounding Dad-jokey, the only thing that hogs the scenery is his porcine friend.

Pig is in theaters now.

All Is Lost – Film Review: Old ★★

In 1999, M. Night Shyamalan made a great film, The Sixth Sense, and has been chasing that dragon ever since, often to diminishing returns. His films, however, often do well because he has great concepts, a keen eye for visuals and timing, yet things always seem to turn clunky and inane real fast. With Old, he continues down that path by giving us something compelling—a group of people on a beach who age quickly—and ruining it with dialogue seemingly written by an algorithm and rendered unintelligible much of the time, while the terrific cast seem to have no idea how to make Shyamalan’s words sound any better than a high school play. A couple of sequences did make me sit up and take notice, and he uses compositions and offscreen space well, but overall, Old plays like a stretched-out episode of Lost, and like that cool but overstuffed series, you’re not gonna get very good explanations as to what transpires. Sure, the big twist works well enough on some level, but it doesn’t save you from the discomfort of watching good actors flatline in more ways than one.

Old is currently in theaters nationally.

Hi Fidel-ity – Film Review: Revolution Rent ★★★1/2

Shot in 2014, Andy Señor Jr., who played Angel on Broadway along with a host of other credits, staged the classic musical Rent in Havana during a thaw in our relations with the Communist regime. He did so against the wishes of his Cuban family, who suffered under Castro and insisted his production would merely serve as a propaganda tool for the government. He plows ahead instead, capturing the months long process in a rather artless home movie style. The aesthetics don’t carry any weight here when you have such a compelling subject matter. Witnessing his actors struggling with their performances while also living in harsh conditions adds new layers to the late Jonathan Larson’s story of squatters in the age of AIDS.

With a limited talent pool, one of whom doesn’t feel comfortable with the gay subject matter and another who lives with HIV himself, Señor finds new connections to Larson’s material as well as an affection for his heritage. What we may have taken for granted here in the US in terms of sexuality and gender expression feels like a whole new experience when seen through a Cuban lens. Señor speaks out against the Castros with quick sequences showing moments of oppression, thus preventing this film from perpetuating the lies of its government. Instead, he gifts the people of this poor, struggling country with a real sense of community and its first burst of musical theater in ages. Sure he’s a privileged westerner who dangles hope in front of people only to return to his cushy life, but he does so with heart and good intentions. You end up loving and rooting for his cast in this moving, sweet documentary.

Revolution Rent is currently streaming on HBO Max.

Do The Hustlers – Film Review: Zola ★★★★

Call me wary when I went to see a movie based on a viral twitter thread and directed by Janicza Brava, whose Sundance Award-winning short, Gregory Go Boom, proved to be not only tone deaf but downright offensive towards people with disabilities. Her new film, Zola, excels however, in ways her prior work has not. Taylour Paige, a standout in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, plays the title character, a stripper who meets Stefani (Riley Keough) one night and is convinced to travel with her down to Florida where they can make a lot of money dancing all weekend. Things, however, do not go as planned, with Zola’s story escalating from one insane twist after another. Paige and Keough are outstanding, as are Nicholas Braun and Colman Domingo as their traveling companions. Jason Mitchell, so great in Straight Outta Compton and Mudbound, brings a wild, dangerous energy, something he shares with the film itself. It comes across as The Florida Project meets Hustlers, but with its own surreal, unexpected tone. I laughed out loud often, especially with Paige’s loopy reactions to her surroundings and the giddy, zippy energy on display. Zola chews you up, twerks on your face, and spits you out, exhausted yet anxious to see whatever this talented group of people will do next.

Zola is currently playing in select theaters and available on demand.

Banned On The Run – Film Review: There Is No Evil ★★★★

It’s impossible to review There Is No Evil without giving away its central premise, so I will avoid as much description as possible. Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has crafted a four-part anthology of sorts around an agonizing moral issue important to people worldwide. At the end of the first part, a stunning cut to an unforgettable visual reveals everything and allows you to watch the rest with informed eyes. Rasoulof seamlessly excels at different genres, from family drama, to action escape, to romance, weaving a tale of such depth and sorrow for its talented cast of characters.

The making of it proves as interesting at the film itself. Banned by the regime from producing feature films for two years and prohibited from traveling outside of Iran, Rasoulof, like any crafty filmmaker, came up with an ingenious plan. He slipped under the radar by calling these four short films, mostly shot in small towns far outside the reach of Tehran, and then had the final product smuggled out of the country. A filmmaker with such talent not only at telling stories, but the with ability to will his vision into existence against all odds, deserves the world’s attention.

There Is No Evil is available on DVD, BluRay and VOD now.

In Space No One Can Hear You Think – Film Review: F9: The Fast Saga ★★★

Considered review-proof, the Fast and the Furious franchise has ruled the box office for the past 20 years, so my calling its latest entry, F9: The Fast Saga, monumentally dumb will have zero influence on anyone’s decision to see it. We all know it’s big and stupid, as do the filmmakers. These films, deliver said stupid with such gusto, that you simply surrender and have a great time nonetheless. Nothing, however, prepared me, for this series to go all Moonraker, sending a car to a place no car has ever gone before. You’ll know it when you see it and probably say, “That’s ludicrous!” and also say, “That’s Ludacris!”

F9: The Fast Saga is currently playing on every screen on Earth and in select theaters throughout the universe.

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dawniebb · 5 years ago

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Thoughts about Renegades

ALRIGHT FOLKS, TAKE A SEAT BC I’M ABOUT TO KICK MYSELF OUT OF THIS FANDOM :’)

Not really

But I’m going to rant for a while so perhaps you can go grab a snack or something :’)

So…I LOVE Renegades and I always will but I’ve been thinking about some of the things that seem…off to me. Not that they’re a big deal ofc (because I love Renegades in a really dumb and blind way) but some of them are quite unpopular opinions among the fandom, so I’m finally going to share them in case someone out there feels the same way X’DDDDD

They’re not in any particular order. Here we go:

- I completely stan the idea of Nova and Oscar and Nova and Callum being brotp material, but I stan Nova and Callum way more, not because I don’t like Nova and Oscar, but because I think it was genuinely good (and healthy) for Nova to have a friend out of Adrian’s circle. I mean, she’s been isolated most of her life now, and when I realized she finally had someone of her own… like, a person she met with whom she connected without Adrian introducing them to her, was a HUGE step. Callum is one of my favorite characters in the whole series, and when the t h i n g happened I was devastated for MYSELF *sobs* but also because MM took him away from Nova. She opened to him more than she ever opened to Oscar throughout the three books. Sorry not sorry :’).

- AS A YOUNG ADULT (I’LL BE 20 IN MAY, YOU GUYS) let me tell you that all these dumbasses act like completely normal teenagers and all their shitty decisions sound like something I would’ve done when I was their age. Actually, the Team Sketch really reminds me of my own circle of friends. I’ve seen you guys complain about Adrian acting extremely dumb for his age but GUYS HE’S FUCKING 17. WHEN I WAS 17 I WAS AS CLUELESS AS HIM. ALL MY FRIENDS WERE. AND IT WAS SO STUPID IT HURT BUT SHIT BE LIKE THAT SOMETIMES. I was the Nova among them. That is: I joined their group hella late and one of the guys became my crush. I was so dumb I told him he was my crush when I was defeated on the floor with a dislocated knee because I was having a breakdown and I legit thought I was D Y I N G. Teenagers.Are.Like.That.

- HOWEVER, EVEN IF I JUST SAID ALL OF THAT….And I want to believe all of you agree with me: I don’t justify Oscar. It’s okay being a dumb teenager, but you can’t just ask your crush to be your girlfriend during a PUBLIC EXECUTION. That wasn’t romantic. At all. If I were Ruby I would’ve been really offended, no joke. (AT LEAST WHEN I TOLD *MY* CRUSH WHILE I THOUGHT MY LEG WAS GOING TO BE AMPUTATED, WE WERE IN CHORUS CLASS. ALL THE GUYS WERE SINGING TO ME BC THEY THOUGHT THAT WOULD CALM ME DOWN. IT WAS A GROSS AND ODDLY SWEET MOMENT, YOU KNOW?).

- I feel like Ruby is…I’m not going to say mistreated, but…Idk. I feel like she’s trying her best and she’s kind to everyone in the group and in some parts of the books they just…forget about her :’). (This may be Marissa’s fault, though). Which makes me really sad, because she’s genuinely sweet and I felt like she was the most welcoming to Nova since the very beginning (Apart from Adrian, of course).

- I’m part of the “Leroy switched sides at some point” squad, but at the same time I believe he’s just very, VERY chaotic neutral and (I’m never giving up on this) since he loved Nova, he would just stick to the side where they promised to keep her safe, even if that meant being jumping back and forth between the Renegades and the Anarchists.

- I ALSO BELIEVE WINSTON MAH BOI SAW A LOT OF HIMSELF IN NOVA. To my particular point of view, his mental state was the most stable when she moved with them. He unconsciously tried to stop her from becoming what he’d become and the Anarchists realized that, so when they found Ace’s little human weapon being threatened, they just teared her away from Winston, which caused his mental health to go downhill again until he ended up all psychotic (which is how we got to meet him during Renegades).

- Honey had way more complicated issues than just being “evil”. Yes. She’s dead. And me defending her won’t make her less dead. And I know she got what she deserved because she was…completely out of control and Marissa tends to kill those who are too far gone (take Levana as an example). But I think that if she hadn’t neglected her own mental health so much she would’ve had a chance; Honey had good in her :’) maybe, before meeting Ace, she was a different person. Like, it’s mentioned she grew up in a small farm. I think she fell in love with him at some point and, by the way he talks to her sometimes, I’m *almost* sure he knew that, so he tried to take advantage of the situation to keep her in line, even though he had no intention to reciprocate her feelings. Sure, Honey is a manipulative brat, but she’s a hundred times worse when she knows Ace is around or when she knows she has a chance to get him back (she goes batshit crazy in the cathedral, you know?). Ace was a power-hungry sociopath/psychopath and she was a depressed, also power-hungry woman who was in love with him. And that’s a BAD combination. Honey Harper was hopeless… and I think she even showed some signs of Stockholm Syndrome.

- Still, Honey and Nova’s relationship reminds me a lot of my relationship with my dad. Theirs was a toxic relationship, but since I’ve been through that (still going through that), I refuse to believe it will be easy for Nova to overcome her death *that* easily. They loved each other in a…violent, weird way, but Honey was Nova’s mother more than Tala ever got the chance to be (because Ace took that opportunity away from her) and if Honey hadn’t been so –like I mentioned before- hopeless, they could’ve fixed their relationship until it was normal and healthy, because Honey showed signs of loving Nova, and Nova showed signs of loving her.

- Every death in Supernova had a very specific narrative purpose but, even if I hate Evander as much as y’all do, I think his death was done for the sake of the shock factor afgshja like, he died in such a sudden, meaningless way :’).

- Tamaya is nothing but wasted potential. You have a savage, feral, badass woman with w i n g s and the only thing she does is getting her fucking face burned and throwing fists with entitled teenagers.

- I LIVE for Simon and Hugh as couple, but (gosh, saying this makes me feel really guilty) the fact that they didn’t share not even ONE kiss throughout the trilogy made me feel really queerbaited :’). Same thing happened with Danna and Narcissa, but I think that was PLAIN half-assed.

-Why doesn’t Adrian has Simon’s last name as well? :’)

- ADRIAN NEEDS THERAPY AS MUCH AS NOVA DOES. LET’S BREAK THIS DOWN, HERE WE GO:

*So, we know that Marissa Meyer’s male characters are always really sweet and kind and wholesome and omg :’)…and then there’s fucking Jacin (whom I love, but that doesn’t minimize the fact he shall burn in hell X’DDDD) . I mean, he’s kind…to Winter and Winter only…and Cress…sometimes. When it comes to Winter, he’s capable of a lot, A LOT of things. He comes off as rude many times (especially to Cinder, during Cress) and…yeah. He looks like he could kill you and he could ACTUALLY kill you; I feel like the fandom moves Adrian to …whatever category Kai’s in….but I’m not sure that’s the case. Let’s analyze Cinder’s equivalent to Nova’s bracelet: Peony’s chip; Kai was mad at Cinder, FUCKING mad. But once he kinda figured out Cinder was grieving his sister and keeping the only thing she had left from her for emotional reasons, he didn’t, under any circumstance, no matter how much he hated Cinder at the moment, want that chip to be taken away from her. Kai had lost his father. He KNEW what it felt like and he didn’t want anyone to feel the same way, because he SAW Cinder suffer her little sister’s death. Adrian had lost his mother and he knew Nova had lost both her mother and her father AND her little sister; she had opened up enough to tell him that bracelet was the only thing she had left from her father…and when he learned Nova was Nightmare, instead of interrogating her, taking a sample of her blood or things like that, he straight took her bracelet. Because Adrian was hurt and he wanted her to be hurt too, so he took away the one thing that mattered the most to her and THAT WASN’T VERY KAI OF HIM IF YOU ASK ME. My point is, sadly: Adrian is ABSOLUTELY traumatized due to his mother’s death (who wouldn’t?) and now that he knows he indirectly killed her he will only get WORSE. He hated Nova for being Nightmare just because he thought she had something to do with Georgia’s death, so when things went to shit, he did her in the dirtiest way he could, making her feel hated and unwanted, which were Nova’s delicate spots afgshja…like, Adrian’s capable of a lot of things(just like Jacin). He NEEDS therapy. Now.

- The heated kiss scene during Archenemies is both heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time (besides…you know, heated). Nova’s so touch-starved she gets overwhelmed when Adrian suddenly gives her all the physical affection she didn’t have during her childhood. And…I feel it was a very intimate moment between both of them, because they were physically and emotionally invested and omg. This only makes my previous point (about the bracelet) more horrible, because I can’t imagine how she must’ve felt when he took away her bracelet with so.much.hatred.

-WE DESERVED TO KNOW THE CHANGES THAT WERE MADE TO THE SYSTEM BC TBH THE RENEGADES SYSTEM WAS SHITTY AF… It’s like…they claimed to be against what the Anarchists did but then suddenly they were doing the same things themselves. And I don’t think that’s fair. The Renegades acted as messed up as the Anarchists during Supernova. They wanted to EXECUTE a MINOR who committed MINOR CRIMES. I mean, what did Nightmare even do? Right, she tried to assassinate Hugh but she FAILED, and she neutralized Team Frostbite in SELF-DEFENSE and in Max’s defense.

- Besides, the way Anarchists were treated was...really inhuman. As far as I understand, they didn’t have access to public services or anything like that. What if they needed meds? Where did they get their food from? Did they have, like, fucking running water? Electricity? There are also three women among them and they get *periods*, people, and *period stuff* is expensive as fuck. Like, did they have to steal tampons? And if they did…were they chased because of it? Even though they had no way to get income in a legal way because they were Anarchists and being out there like normal people was against the rules for them? Lol?

- JESUS THAT SYSTEM REALLY NEEDED TO BE CHANGED LMAO AFGSHJA

-Also, Cragmoor? Wtf.

- AND, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, NOT BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY BUT BECAUSE THIS IS TOO LONG ALREADY: It think Nova and Evie have been apart for too long and it’s going to be hard for them to create a bond. They’ll have to get used to it, because it’s going to be confusing for Nova and, given the fact Evie’s personality is…like that, I think she’ll go as far to blame Nova like “But you were SUPPOSED to look for me.”

I rest my case.

#salty lmao #renegades trilogy #marissa meyer #nova artino #nightmare #adrian everhart #the sentinel #sketch #honey harper #leroy flinn #winston pratt #alec artino #hugh everhart #simon westwood #mostly unpopular opinions

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wheresmynaya · 4 years ago

Text

Two Ghosts Ch. 27 | Brittana

I must’ve been in a Soft!Riz mood when writing this so enjoy that.

Also available on ff.net (x) ao3 (x) & below the cut!

Everyone – mainly Quinn – said she wouldn’t last a day, but here she is a whole week later still going strong! Well technically, she’s starting to slowly lose her mind but with all things considered, she thinks lasting this long without spontaneously booking a flight to San Francisco is actually pretty good! She has done well by keeping her mind busy and revisiting some old hobbies.

Surprisingly, one of those hobbies involves the old piano she inherited from her Abuelo that’s been left untouched for months now. She kept it and the record player he left to her here at Maribel’s until she was ready to settle down somewhere permanent and move them properly but she hasn’t felt like settling down anywhere yet. It felt weird to do it alone, but things are changing now that she has found Brittany again.

It’s a surprise she even remembers how to play the thing, but there’s something about it that makes her feel a little closer to her Abuelo. Maybe it’s the holiday season and Brittany’s absence and the loneliness settling in, but Santana finds herself reminiscing a lot lately.

As a little girl, she use to sit on this very bench next to her Abuelo and watch him play. Always so captivated by him and the way his fingers danced along the keys so effortlessly, Santana would watch with a child-like curiosity and try to mimic his movements. He would smile proudly and encourage her to sing along, even when she didn’t know how to control her voice just yet.

They were quite the pair and sometimes Santana thinks that maybe she got her musical genes from him too. He cultivated her passion for music without even trying. When he introduced her to the glorious sounds of Fleetwood Mac, it was like an awakening. She loved her Abuelo dearly; he would always be first in line to congratulate her after a performance, a giant bouquet of flowers in hand and a proud smile on his face.

Santana finds herself wishing her Abuela could look at her like that again before she shoves the thought away. She doesn’t want to think about her, about someone so quick to judge. Her Abuelo only met Brittany in passing once the night Santana performed Valerie, but Santana’s convinced he would’ve loved her if there was more time to get to know her.

He would’ve loved that Santana was loved by Brittany too.

It’s that thought that causes a tear to roll down her cheek. With everything that happened with her Abuela and her dad, Santana just wishes her Abuelo was still around. She just needs one other person from her family to be happy for her and what she has found in Brittany, because that’s what family is supposed to do. They’re supposed to love you and celebrate with you and when she marries Brittany one day, she doesn’t want Maribel to sit alone at the Lopez table.

If her Abuelo was still around, he would make sure Maribel wasn’t alone. Santana is certain of that.

She misses him and a part of her will always regret not visiting more before his health started to turn. She regrets not talking to him about her feelings for Brittany before –

Santana wipes away another tear and continues to play. She can almost hear his voice telling her how beautiful she sounds and that she should play for him more often.

She thinks now is the perfect time to do just that.

It’s a couple hours later and Santana has maxed out on watching reality tv. She has now ventured into the Hallmark movie territory which is nothing but straight people doing holiday things and all the sappy, cheesy love stories that have been set to Christmas music play on all of Santana’s feelings.

Like if she wasn’t a little emotional before, she is now. But like, don’t tell anyone.

She just really misses Brittany, okay? They’ve done a pretty good job of keeping in touch through phone calls and texts and the occasional video chat, but Santana has been trying to limit how often they talk. She doesn’t want to intrude on the time Brittany is meant to be spending with her family, but it gets hard sometimes. Especially when she keeps subjecting herself to watching hetero couples fall in love over and over again.

Honestly, it’s so cringe-worthy but she can’t take her eyes off of the screen. Though, she’s certain of one thing: her and Brittany’s love story is so much better than the crap Hallmark churns out!

Santana’s already camped out on the couch with a cozy blanket and she’s having an entire carton of coffee ice cream for lunch while she watches re-runs of Chopped: The Holiday Edition. She’s really into it to be honest – it’s way better than A Christmas Prince – and even starts shouting at the tv when a chef forgets to include a basket ingredient.

“See? Didn’t I say?” Santana shakes her head after another spoonful of ice cream. She listens as Alex Guarnaschelli points out a contestant’s technical error then starts to nod along with her, “Exactly, Alex, I completely agree with you. Marcus is such a dumbass for that.”

Another ten minutes go by and it’s time for tasting. Santana eagerly awaits the judge’s criticism, it’s her favorite part of the whole show. Sometimes she thinks she could do this one day for a living – she wasn’t gifted with impeccable wit for nothing – but she’s sure she’d probably get fired pretty quickly for making a contestant cry.

Aarón Sánchez starts to complain about lack of spice and Santana shakes her head disappointedly, “You should’ve used the gingerbread in the stuffing like I told you. Maybe it would’ve helped out your bland ass dish! Pathetic. Where did you even go to culinary school?”

“Like you even cook,” Quinn smirks which causes Santana to nearly jump out of her blanket burrito.

“What the fuck, Q? How’d you get in here?” Santana gasps at the sight of Quinn dressed in her soft grey peacoat standing near the front door.

“The door was wide open?” Quinn quirked her brow as she untied her scarf, “I literally said ‘Hey Santana!’ did you really not hear me?”

Santana tried to backtrack but ended up shaking her head, “Does it look like I heard you? Jesus…can’t just roll up on a girl during a Chopped marathon. Have you no respect?”

“A what marathon?” Quinn glances at the tv then to Santana’s set up on the couch and frowns, “Uh…when’s the last time you’ve left the house?”

Santana ponders, “How long has it been since Britt’s left?”

“Oh my God...” Quinn laughs, “Seriously?”

Santana rolls her eyes, “No. I went out to get this ice cream.”

Quinn shakes her head as she rounds the couch to swipe the remote off the coffee table and turns off the tv.

“Excuse me, I was watching that!” Santana huffs, “I needz to know if Cecile makes it to the next round, she’s the underdog!”

“Get up, we’re going out.” Quinn says with no room for argument, but Santana tries anyway.

“I don’t feel like going out, hence the pjs and ice cream.”

“Right,” Quinn smirks, “And this is why Brittany wanted me to check up on you.”

Santana rounds on her, “She did not.”

“She totally did,” Quinn assures her, “So go get dressed, we’re going out. I know just what you need.”

Santana snorted, “I highly doubt that.”

Quinn rolled her eyes and ripped the blankets from Santana, “Move it, Lopez. I don’t have all day.”

Santana let out a heavy sigh and thrust her carton of ice cream into Quinn’s hands before stomping up the stairs to her room. Through the echo of the staircase, Santana yelled out, “You suck!”

“Drama Queen!” Quinn smirked then she stole a spoonful of ice cream.

“I’m…oddly impressed,” Santana comments as she and Quinn sit on a bench in front of Old Navy with their lattes in hand. They had been people-watching for awhile now, alternating with what shops they wanted to observe.

It was Christmas Eve in Lima and people were stressed the fuck out.

It was great.

“Yeah, I thought you’d like this,” Quinn says before taking a sip, “You love watching people suffer.”

“In theory,” Santana grins. They had seen about three instances now where a fight nearly broke out over something ridiculous like a scarf or the last cable knit sweater that was on sale. Santana was loving every minute of it but she didn’t want the compliment to boost Quinn’s ego.

“Uh-oh, check that one out,” Quinn nods over to another argument breaking out.

“This is awesome,” Santana smirks, “I wouldn’t fight over anything Old Navy has to offer, but if it were like Gucci or Prada then I could understand. I’d cut a bitch for some Burberry.”

“Of course you would,” Quinn chuckles and they knock their coffee cups together in one swift motion. They sit there captivated by all the action for a moment longer before Quinn turns to Santana, “So how are you holding up while Britt’s away?”

Santana’s smile falters slightly before she shrugs, “It’s hard and it brings back some shitty memories of when we did long distance once, but I’m okay. We’re okay. We talk often so it’s fine.”

“That’s good. She’ll be back soon enough.”

“Yeah, it’s only temporary,” Santana agrees, “I don’t want to make it about me. I know she has missed being near her family so I’m just keeping busy.”

Quinn just nods and they go back to watching the drama unfold before them.

It totally beats sitting on the couch and watching it through a tv screen, that’s for sure! And although Brittany can’t be here for this, Quinn isn’t so bad to be around. In fact, it’s kind of nice to hang out with her. Maribel’s been so busy with work lately, Santana’s had to spend a lot of time alone and we’ve seen what happens when she’s left alone with her thoughts for too long.

“Oh look who it is!” Quinn jabs her pointy elbow into Santana’s bicep.

“Ow! Watch where you shove that thing,” Santana grumbles and looks to the direction of where Quinn’s pointing. Her eyes widen at a familiar face and watch as the blonde makes his way over to the pretzel stand. Santana almost forgot how much of a small town Lima was and how it’s almost impossible to go out anywhere without running into someone you know.

“Is this weird? Do you want to leave?” Quinn asks when Santana doesn’t say anything more.

She shakes her head, “No, it’s okay. He’s Britt’s best friend.”

Just as she said that, another familiar face joins his side and her jaw drops.

“Is that,” Quinn gasps and she’s on her feet before she’s finished her sentence.

Santana scrambles after, also happily surprised by the other Glee Club alumni.

“Mercedes!” Quinn squeals and it makes her and Sam jump at the sound, but soon their faces fill with delight as they see who it is.

“Quinn! Hey girl!” Mercedes beams and pulls her into a tight hug, “Is that Satan with you too?”

Santana smirks, “Hey ‘Cedes.” And then she’s pulled into a bone-crushing hug along with Quinn. It’s nice, she secretly kind of likes hugs like these.

“Hey guys,” Sam chuckles as he holds a pretzel in each hand, “I’d get in on that group hug too but…pretzels.”

For some reason that makes Santana laugh and she’s reminded of a time before everything happened where she actually didn’t mind Sam too much. Afterall, they sort of dated once but it was purely to hide the fact that she was brokenhearted. He was a dork and a nerd but he was alright in her book for the most part. She also remembers the time he and Quinn dated and it makes her smirk, to think she was the reason they broke up in the first place. Yikes!

They’re all just funny memories now though.

“Hey Sam,” Santana greets as Mercedes finally pulls away.

“Sorry! Hi Sam,” Quinn waves too before looking to them both, “What are you guys doing here? Last minute shopping?”

“Yeah,” Mercedes’ rolls her eyes, “Someone didn’t get his own mother a gift yet so we’ve had to brave the crowds which is exactly how I want to spend my Christmas Eve.”

“Hey,” Sam frowned, “How am I supposed to figure out what to get a woman that deserves everything? It’s hard.”

“Trouty has a point,” Santana nods and thinks about her own gift for her mother. It’s not nearly enough for what she actually deserves but she hopes she’ll like it anyway.

“I’m just messing with you,” Mercedes teases and presses a kiss to his cheek which makes Santana and Quinn’s brows rise.

They didn’t know they were a thing still, it kind of makes Santana swell with pride. She always liked those two together and genuinely hoped that they’d work it out at some point. Mercedes was her Troubletones home girl and Santana remembered how she use to light up around him.

She’d never admit it aloud, but it was kind of cute or whatever.

“Is Brittany with you somewhere too?” Mercedes asks Santana while Quinn talks to Sam about some jewelry store sale that he might find luck in.

“No, she’s visiting her family in San Francisco for the holidays this year,” Santana tells her with a shrug.

Mercedes looks surprised, “And you didn’t go with? I’m shocked.”

Santana chuckles at that and wonders if Mercedes thinks she and Brittany have been together all this time. She can’t remember the last time she even spoke to Mercedes, maybe the last time she was back in Lima for Thanksgiving? She isn’t sure, maybe Sam told her something. Either way, she likes the fact that Mercedes still thinks they’re joined at the hip.

“Couldn’t leave my mom alone for Christmas,” Santana replies and quickly changes the subject, “How about you? Have you been living here this whole time or are you just visiting?”

Mercedes sends her a look of disbelief, “Girl no, I’m only here visiting my family and my man. L.A. is my home now. I’ve been trying to get Sam to move out there with me for awhile but it really is a different pace out there.”

“That’s awesome,” Santana says and she’s genuinely happy for her, “You know, Nationals are in L.A. this year. Might see you around!”

“Nationals? You take over the Glee Club?” Mercedes asks.

“No way, Mr. Schue is still all over that,” Santana laughs, “Britt, Quinn and I coach the Cheerios now. It’s a long story.”

“Ah, that’s right,” Mercedes nods, “Sam did mention something about it. I couldn’t make it to Sue’s funeral. How are you liking it? The coaching thing? Make anyone cry yet?”

“Maybe,” Santana smirks devilishly, “You know me.”

“Unfortunately I do,” Mercedes chuckles, “Well, when you guys make it to L.A. let me know! I’ll show you around or something.”

“Deal!” Santana grins before Quinn’s interjecting about scheduling a day to catch up before Mercedes heads home. Of all the people that Santana could possibly run into at the Lima Mall, she’s happy that it was Mercedes and Sam. Well, mostly Mercedes.

“So Trouty, hitting up a jewelry store for your mom?” Santana asks once Quinn and Mercedes get to talking about some church service they want to attend together. Sam looks a little surprised that Santana’s making small talk with him, but he just wipes away the pretzel salt with the back of his hand.

“Yeah, Quinn was telling me about it. I hadn’t even thought about jewelry,” Sam answers, “How about you? Got all your shopping done already?”

Santana nods, “My list of people I needed to shop for was pretty short. Just needed to get things for my mom, Q and Britt.”

“Awh, you got me a present?” Quinn teases and reaches around Mercedes to poke at Santana’s shoulder.

“Yeah so you better have gotten me one too,” Santana quips making Sam and Mercedes chuckle.

“Well, we better get going. Don’t want be here when all hell breaks loose,” Mercedes says and hooks her arm with Sam’s.

They all exchange hugs again and bid each other a Merry Christmas. Santana even hugs Sam in the end which she’s sure would make Brittany so proud if she was around to see it. She’s just chalking it up to the Christmas Spirit though.

“I can’t believe they’re still together!” Quinn gasps once they’re far enough from the couple, “I wonder if Britt has known this whole time and just didn’t tell us?”

“Look, probably…she’s sneaky like that,” Santana replies, a small smile creeping up at the mention of her name, “She’d probably say well you guys didn’t ask so…”

“Ugh, she so would!” Quinn groans playfully.

They spend another hour or so people-watching before Quinn drops Santana home again and tells her she’ll be checking up on her in a few days.

“Yeah okay, whatever,” Santana brushes her off but then they both go in for a hug, “Merry Christmas, Q.”

“Merry Christmas, Santana,” Quinn says with a pat on her back before Santana heads inside.

She’s surprised to see Maribel home relatively early and calls out to her, “Hey Mami!”

“Hi mija!” Maribel greets and her voice is coming from the kitchen. Santana follows after it and finds a collection of various Chinese takeout boxes.

Santana is in awe, “Woah, did you order everything on the menu?”

“We have to keep our tradition alive, right?” Maribel laughs.

“Oh yeah!” Santana beams and they both dive in and pile their plates high before wandering into the living room to watch Love, Actually. It’s something that they usually do when Maribel visits Santana in New York, but she’s glad that the tradition has carried over to Lima too. It’s something that’s just for them and Santana sits contently through the movie with her mom at her side.

Maribel had said goodnight awhile ago, but Santana decided to finish the movie in the living room while she awaited Brittany’s nightly phone call. She doesn’t realize she has fallen asleep on the couch until she feels something vibrating at her side. When she blinks her tired eyes open, she finds the fleece throw draped over her and the tv turned low. The Christmas tree lights cast a warm glow around the room and she feels so comfy cozy that Santana almost forgets why she woke up in the first place.

She reaches for her phone tucked under her hip and quickly swipes the screen before the call goes to voicemail.

“Hey Britt,” Santana chuckles with her voice a little raspy from just waking up.

“Hi Santana,” Brittany’s cheery voice greets down the line. There’s a soft gasp, “I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

Santana stretches and cranes her neck back to rest against the decorative pillow, “No, I was just resting my eyes.”

“Are you sure? I can call back in the morning?”

Santana smiles softly, “Talk to me. How was your day?”

“Well, my day…it was so much fun. I got to hang out with my cousins – who aren’t as mean as when we were younger – and we helped my grandma bake cookies for tomorrow,” Brittany tells her excitedly, “Did you see the pictures I sent?”

Santana smiles and remembers Brittany’s text she received while she was out with Quinn. It was a picture of a very colorful pair of gingerbread women that she was holding up proudly by either side of her head, a great big smile rounding out the adorableness.

“Yeah I saw it,” Santana tells her, “It was very cute. Sounds like you’re having a great time over there.”

“Yeah, but it’s not all that great since you’re not here too,” Brittany answers without missing a beat, “How about your day? Did…you have any visitors?”

“Ah so you did enlist Quinn to kidnap me,” Santana smirks.

“What? No. Wait, did she kidnap you because that’s not what I asked her to do?”

Santana laughs at that, “No she didn’t, but she did interrupt my Chopped marathon. I never did find out who won the dessert round…” She could hear Brittany snort as she continues, “But it wasn’t so bad hanging out with her. We actually ran into Sam and Mercedes at the mall.”

“No way! I thought Mercedes was only going to be in Lima for New Years?”

“Well I didn’t know she was going to be in Lima at all,” Santana jokes, “Have you known they’ve been dating this whole time?”

“I wouldn’t say whole time…they’re on and off. You know how tough long distance is, but they always end up back together.”

Santana ponders her words, “Huh, sounds familiar. Can’t believe you’ve been holding out on me all this time.”

Brittany chuckles, “Honestly I didn’t think you’d care, but I don’t want to talk about them. What are you doing right now?”

Santana notices a shift in Brittany’s tone – something mischievous – and it makes Santana sit up a little straighter, “Uhh…I’m just lying on the couch watching tv.”

“Right…” Brittany drawls out and suddenly Santana’s intrigued to see where this goes because she might have an idea, “Same couch we made out on on Thanksgiving?”

Santana’s suspicions are confirmed when she hears that, “We’ve made out many times on this couch, Britt, not just Thanksgiving.”

“Mmm, and we’ve done a lot more than make out there too.”

Santana feels a flush cover her cheeks at the memory but she presses further, “You should see what I’ve got on right now too.”

She thinks she can hear Brittany audibly gulp which is hilarious because in reality, she’s just dressed in leggings and Brittany’s sweater from Homecoming. It’s nothing too risqué, but who is she if she doesn’t play along and paint Britt a lovely picture?

Brittany’s voice is husky when she says, “Tell me.”

“I don’t know, Britt, Santa’s coming to town any minute now,” Santana teases, loving how easy it is for them to turn their conversations flirtatious, “Wouldn’t want to get a free show and risk missing out on my presents. I’ve been a very good girl this year.”

“Fuck a present, I can give you something better.”

Santana has to bite her lip to keep from snorting at the sound of Brittany cursing. It’s rare but when it happens, it’s the greatest thing ever because Britt kind of has a potty mouth during certain situations.

It’s kind of hot actually.

“Hmm…I’ll hold you to that, Britt-Britt,” Santana says just as the grandfather clock chimes from the other room, signaling midnight. At least, for Santana it is. Brittany still has a few more hours to go with the time difference.

“It’s officially Christmas!” Brittany cheers excitedly – the huskiness completely gone – and she’s so loud about it that it nearly deafens Santana. The lusty tone has been replaced with a child-like delight as a familiar ringtone replaces static.

When Santana looks down at her phone, she sees Brittany requesting a video call. She swipes at it and soon her screen is filled with a rosy-cheeked Brittany wearing an elf hat.

“Merry Christmas!” Brittany sings accompanied with this cute shoulder shimmy that would put Kurt Hummel to shame. She’s all kinds of adorable and Santana really can’t help but feel smitten.

“Merry Christmas!” Santana replies breathlessly and watches as Brittany’s eyes scan her up and down. She tilts her head at the way Brittany is not-so-subtly checking her out and asks, “Uhm, can I help you?”

“You’re wearing my sweater again,” Brittany points out through a smirk, “Not as risky as what I was imagining you wearing, but I’m not mad at it. You’re cute.”

“Do I even want to know what you were imagining?” Santana asks and watches Brittany wiggle her brows.

“Let’s just say it didn’t involve a sweater…or any clothing for that matter.”

“You’re a horny mess,” Santana giggles.

“Can you blame me?” Brittany jokes, “My girlfriend is hot and all I want for Christmas is to put my – ”

“Hey, don’t start something you can’t finish,” Santana cuts in and suddenly her eyes feel heavy again.

“You’re right. You look tired,” Brittany comments through a soft smile, “You should head up to bed.”

“I will, just wanted to talk to you for a bit more before I did. I’ve missed you today,” Santana says shyly as she picks at the fabric of the blanket across her lap, “Well, I’ve missed you everyday but a little more so today.”

“Awh, look at you,” Brittany coos and Santana’s cheeks instantly flush.

“I’ve been playing the piano again,” Santana tells her then suddenly she feels a kind of sadness, “It reminds me of things and makes me miss people.”

She knows she’s being really vague but she also knows Brittany gets it.

“Oh honey,” Brittany says tenderly and there’s this apologetic smile on her face, “I’ll be home before you know it, only one more week left now. Maybe you can play something for me?”

Santana melts at the sound of home and wonders if Brittany considers that to be Lima or her or both. It’s a silly thought because she thinks she knows the answer to that already. It’s just nice to hear her say it out loud and it makes Santana rethink who or where she considers home too.

“Maybe I will,” Santana beams but just as she was about to continue, a yawn escapes her.

“San, go to bed…” Brittany says and she’s giving her this cross between a smile and a pout so of course Santana has to listen.

She rubs at her eye and nods, “Yeah okay, I’m going. You think…we can stay on the phone tonight?”

There’s something familiar about the request and it seems like they both pick up on it because Brittany nods and soon she’s up too. A moment later and they’re both doing their nightly routine together.

It’s something they use to do when they were doing long distance just to make them feel a little closer together although it was never as good as the real thing. Back then, Santana hated that feeling but now she doesn’t mind it so much. She knows it’s only temporary and soon Brittany will be here in person trying to leave toothpaste-coated kisses on her cheek again.

A moment later, Santana is tucked away in bed with her phone propped up next to her. She watches Brittany through half-lidded eyes as she tells her more about the day she has had with her family. There’s this warmth or softness or something that surrounds Santana while she listens to Brittany gush over her cousin’s two year old daughter. Santana’s really biting her cheek, hoping nothing slips out like it did with Maribel but imagining Brittany with this toddler does something to Santana’s fluttery insides.

She’s blaming the lack of sleep for this one.

“You should’ve seen it, San. She was so cute! Sprinkles were going everywhere,” Brittany giggles, “Then I had to clean up after her which was a little less exciting, but I didn’t mind. It was her first time decorating cookies, it was bound to get messy.”

“Sounds like fun,” Santana replies. She’s shocked that she’s managed to say just that although her head fills with images of what their family would look like a little ways down the line. She imagines a little blonde with Santana’s complexion and Brittany’s smile toddling around their living room. She imagines coming home from work to that same little blonde head curled up at Brittany’s side as they nap on the couch. She imagines the first words and first steps and she realizes something: she can’t wait to have a family with Brittany.

She also realizes that she’s about to be caught in her daydreaming.

“What are you smiling about over there?” Brittany asks, her smile matching Santana’s

Santana feels like a deer caught in the headlights, but she manages recover before her truth comes tumbling out on her again. Letting her thoughts on marriage slip out is one thing, but talking about a family? Way too soon, Lopez!

“Just thinking about how cute you would’ve looked decorating cookies,” Santana says, “There’s this face you pull when you’re concentrating really hard…just adorable.”

Brittany rolls her eyes as she smiles bashfully, “I don’t know how anyone thinks you’re so big and bad when you’re actually the gushiest and mushiest person I know.”

“You take that back,” Santana narrows her eyes playfully. She ends softening a moment later, “You bring it out of me, I can’t help myself around you.”

“I know,” Brittany replies as she tucks her hand under her pillow, mirroring Santana’s position, “It’s my favorite thing.”

Santana sighs and snuggles deep against her pillow as their conversation lulls. She’s really feeling the heaviness in her eyelids now, but she finds herself trying to fight to stay awake. She just wants to be present and listen to any and every story Brittany has to tell, she doesn’t want to miss anything.

“You wanna know something?” Brittany whispers a bit later and the sudden sound of her voice has Santana struggling to look up. She finds Brittany’s eyes closed and if she didn’t know any better, she would’ve assumed she had fallen asleep already.

Santana’s not sure she’s coherent enough herself to form actual words, so she just hums out in response.

There’s a long pause and Santana almost falls asleep while waiting when Brittany begins to mumble sleepily, “We’re gonna make some cute babies.”

Santana’s eyes go wide at that.

Here she was, forcing herself to stay quiet in fear that she was going to scare Brittany off or something. She looks back to her and finds she’s still lying there with her eyes closed which makes her wonder if that was the sleep talking or if it was Brittany? She doesn’t know, but she finds comfort in at least being on the same page about something like this. She wants to laugh, but stifles it so she doesn’t wake Brittany. It makes her heart swell and nearly burst free from her chest though, because if Brittany’s thinking about what their family could look like then maybe Santana’s on to something here.

She hadn’t considered proposing anytime soon, but if Brittany keeps this up she doesn’t know how long she’ll actually last. If anything, she can at least be a little prepared. Right?

“One day, Britt-Britt.” Santana says and it’s the last thing she does before she falls into a deep sleep.

Maybe it has something to do with the New Year just around the corner, but in the days leading up to Brittany’s return, Santana does a lot of thinking.

She thinks about the conversation she had with Maribel the night before Brittany left for San Francisco. She thinks about her family, her Abuela and Abuelo, and the difference in the ways they showed their love for her. She thinks about her father and how easy it was for him to vanish from her life. She thinks about the people in her life at this very moment who love her unconditionally and have repeatedly come through for her, whether it has been all of her life or again in only the last year.

She thinks a lot about love and remembers a time long, long ago when she didn’t think she was worthy of it. She was harsh and tore people down with her vicious words without a second thought so she didn’t think anyone would ever break through that and attempt to understand the real Santana Lopez.

Then Brittany came into her life and everything started to change.

She was still harsh and tore people down with her vicious words, but with Brittany it was different. Brittany accepted all of the parts that Santana was made of and she never shied away, she only ever wanted Santana to be herself and embrace all of her awesome.

It makes her think about something her Abuelo once said to her a long time ago. She was only in middle school when she first experienced heartbreak, her boyfriend of three weeks had broken up with her for someone more popular and Santana was wrecked. Maybe not so much because a boy broke up with her, but more so because he didn’t want her anymore. She felt replaceable and it sucked.

She had cried with her Abuelo during their weekly piano lesson and he said, “Santana, the easy part of life is finding someone to love. The hard part is finding someone to love you back.” He reminded her of how she still had so much time and that she was better off without that stupid boy. Those words always stuck with her throughout her life.

Little did they both know, Santana would find her person just a couple years later.

She remembered standing in the hall in front of her locker, tears in her eyes, begging Brittany to love her back. She had been so sure this time, she had found her person, but things didn’t come easy for them at first. She thought she had made a mistake again and gave her heart to the wrong one, but then something crazy happened…

“I do love you! Clearly you don’t love you as much as I do or you'd put this shirt on and dance with me!”

Brittany was pissed – probably the most pissed she had ever seen – but it was in that moment that Santana realized something: Brittany just wanted Santana to love herself first. She could see straight through Santana’s bullshit and even after that she wasn’t afraid to call her out on it. Even more importantly, Brittany still loved her anyway.

A lot of their relationship had been full of moments like that, like sudden clarity where all the drama and hurt suddenly made sense because on the other side of that was this…happiness.

She wouldn’t trade it for the world.

It’s New Year’s Eve and Santana’s desperately trying to ghost Quinn.

A couple days ago, Quinn got word of a New Year’s Eve party being hosted at Breadstix and has been trying to convince Santana to go ever since.

“Come on, it’ll be fun! Mercedes is going and she’ll perform at midnight, you have to go.” Quinn had urged but Santana wasn’t budging. She didn’t feel like celebrating when her person wasn’t going to be there to celebrate with. She didn’t have to say that for Quinn to pick up on it though, “You can’t ring in the New Year alone, San. I know Maribel will be working.”

“What? How do you know that?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just come! There’s a dress code and everything, since when do you turn down any excuse to paint on one of your hooker dresses?”

Santana rolled her eyes, “I have no one to impress so there’s no point.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this but, you can always take pictures and send them to Brittany.”

“Please, as if a picture could capture all this hotness.”

“Well it’s all you can eat breadsticks – “

“It’s always all you can eat breadsticks if you talk to the right person.”

“Ugh, why are you like this? Can’t you just go with me? I don’t want to third-wheel with Mercedes and Sam…”

“You really aren’t going to drop this, are you?”

“No. So you’ll go?”

Santana stewed on the question for awhile until she ultimately gave up and agreed to go. It would be a little depressing being stuck home alone on New Year’s Eve and she knew Brittany wouldn’t want her to miss out on a chance to party with her friends.

And it’s that kind of thinking that has landed her in the current situation she’s in, wedged between Quinn and Sam in a booth in Breadstix while they watch Mercedes sing. All in all, it’s not the worst situation she’s ever been in – she’s totally being dramatic – but it does feel off to hang out with everyone without Brittany there.

“She’s so good,” Sam compliments as Mercedes belts out a high note. Santana looks to him from the corner of her eye and he’s completely fixated on the woman on stage. There’s this dopey smile on his face and love hearts beaming from his eyes and for the first time maybe ever, she knows exactly how Sam feels. To be so enamored by someone, so filled with love for them, that you can’t help but to stare in awe.

“Amazing,” Quinn adds breathlessly as the final note rings out.

The entire place stands as they applaud Mercedes. She bows graciously and waves, even blows a kiss to Sam before she makes her way down the steps and rejoins her friends at their booth. A jazzy cover band takes over while dinner is served.

“You killed it up there,” Santana says as the salads come out.

“Thank you,” Mercedes replies with a flip of her hair, “I’m glad you made it out tonight, would’ve missed the surprise.”

“Surprise?” Santana wonders before she catches her usual waitress’s eye. She sends her a look and soon an additional basket of breadsticks appear on the table. She slaps away Sam’s hand as he goes for a stick and the girls all laugh.

“You’ll see later,” Quinn says, “I’ve been practicing my runs so I can keep up with this one.”

“You’re going up there?” Santana asks then glares at Mercedes, “And you didn’t ask me?”

“It was a last minute thing,” Mercedes explains, “And I was already talking to Quinn at the time.”

“I’m deeply offended that I wasn’t your first choice,” Santana quips in between bites of her breadstick, “Could’ve brought back River Deep, Mountain High.”

“Girl, you know this place couldn’t handle all that..” Mercedes laughs.

Dinner goes on without a hitch. It actually is kind of nice chatting with her old friends and she’s glad she made it out of the house for this. She couldn’t imagine spending the night at home getting wine drunk alone while watching the ball drop, if she even stayed up that late to catch it. She has an alarm set for midnight in Brittany’s time zone just incase she did end up falling asleep early though.

“When’s Britt back again?” Mercedes asks as the last course came around, “I hope I can catch her before I go back to L.A.”

“Two more days,” Santana replies and just uttering the words aloud make her heart race, “This has been the longest two weeks of my life.”

“I’m sure,” Mercedes chuckles.

“When are you heading back?” Santana asks.

“Thursday,” Mercedes replies, “So I might be able to see her before I go. We’ll see.”

Santana nods and looks to Quinn who has been oddly quiet all of a sudden, “You’re quiet. What are you plotting?”

Quinn cracks a smile, “Plotting? Can’t a girl eat in peace?”

“I guess,” Santana chuckles and they return to their meals while listening to the band.

Sam’s in the middle of telling a story about this guy he was working with at the gym he works at part-time when Santana checked her phone. She hadn’t received a new text for a few hours now, not since she was modeling different outfits she had been considering to wear tonight for Brittany earlier. It was getting closer to midnight now – just thirty minutes away – but Santana was getting anxious. She kind of missed Brittany and just wanted to hear her voice.

“I’m gonna go call Britt,” She whispers to Quinn.

Quinn nods and slides so that she could let Santana out of the booth.

Santana made her way to the bathroom, opting that it was warmer than outside and quieter than the lobby, and made the call.

At least, she tried to but the call went unanswered. Santana checked the time again and converted it to what it would be for Brittany and it started to make sense. This was usually game night time and the Pierces were probably deep in a very competitive game of Monopoly. Brittany was always pretty serious when it came to that particular game so Santana didn’t think too much of it and instead sent her a selfie and a text.

Santana L. – Thinking about you xo

Santana rejoins the gang just as Mercedes is getting up to perform again. She looks to Quinn who moves to sit back down and asks, “You’re not going up too?”

“Not my time yet,” Quinn shrugs and scoots in so that she’s the one sitting in Mercedes spot next to Sam now.

Santana slides in too and goes for her wine glass as Mercedes greets the audience again. She’s such a natural up there and Santana is actually really proud of how successful she has become and still manages to stay true to herself.

She thinks about her future career and what she wants but it’s all so spotty. She loves to sing, but she doesn’t know if she’d ever do it professionally. She has this business degree yet she’s not putting it to use and before she randomly took over a co-coaching position, she was a singing waitress.

She’s young but seeing Mercedes up there really gets her thinking about getting serious when it comes to her future. Afterall, it’s not only affecting her, it’ll affect Brittany too. She wants to make something of herself, maybe make a difference in people’s lives, but she doesn’t know where to start.

Those thoughts are cut short when suddenly Mercedes is speaking to the audience again, more specifically to her. Santana was kind of zoned out so she only catches Mercedes saying, “Let’s end the year with this little throwback since I’m surrounded by such talented friends.”

Before Santana knows it a familiar tune begins to play, the God Squad’s version of Cherish/Cherish. Santana starts to laugh as Quinn and Sam pull out their hidden mics and sing to Santana as they accompany Mercedes on the number. They slowly emerge from the booth and join Mercedes on stage, leaving Santana behind in nothing but smiles.

She claps her hands and dances along to the beat from where she sits while memories of the first time they sung the song came to her.

She remembers it from her high school days and how Brittany lit up when their friends began to serenade them. Brittany had been so surprised that Santana would gift her something like that, something so public which she was still struggling with at the time. When it came to Brittany though, Santana endured a lot to make sure Brittany knew she was loved.

Santana felt so carefree that night, she barely even noticed any of the talks or looks. She doubted Sugar would’ve allowed anyone in if that were the case, but hearing the song being performed now is a little bittersweet without Brittany here to experience it.

Santana goes to grab her phone in hopes that Brittany will answer this time just so she can hear this awesome performance. She’s about to press call when someone stops before their table.

A familiar voice asks, “Is this seat taken?”

Santana snaps up to find Brittany – her Brittany – standing there before her with her long blonde hair cascading off her shoulders, blue eyes twinkling, and the smuggest grin on her face.

“Oh my God, Brittany!” Santana just about squeals as she scrambles out of the booth and launches herself into Brittany’s arms, “You’re home early!”

Brittany’s angelic giggles fill her ears as she wraps Santana up in a tight hug, “Missed you too much so I caught an early flight home. Came straight here from the airport.”

“What?”

Brittany shrugs casually, “I figured we’ve had such an awesome year, I didn’t want to spend the last moments of it apart.”

Santana stares back almost speechless and instead leans in for a much-needed kiss. It’s like her body has been on pause ever since the last one they shared at the airport and when their lips touch it’s like she’s finally herself again.

“You like my surprise?” Brittany asks when they pull apart and glances to the side.

Santana’s jaw drops as she follows Brittany’s eyes to where she looks. Santana sees her wave to their friends on stage. Mercedes and Sam wave back while Quinn sends them a wink.

“You did this?” Santana’s wide eyed, “I…how did you – “

Brittany leans down and cuts her off with another kiss before saying, “I’ll tell you later. Come dance with me.”

Santana doesn’t even respond, just gets whisked away to the makeshift dancefloor. It’s all so reminiscent but new at the same time to be dancing with Brittany in almost the exact same spot to the exact same song. Santana thinks she might just be the luckiest girl in the whole world, to be loved by Brittany and their friends, it’s so much.

And the feeling only intensifies when Brittany whispers out an, “I love you.”

It makes the question begging to be asked so much harder for Santana to conceal, especially when Brittany smiles down at her the way that she does while they sway to the music.

“I love you too,” Santana says but it’s filled with so much more, so much promise.

Maybe Brittany doesn’t pick up on it, Santana hopes she doesn’t, but that I love you means more this time. It’s a vow that she’s never going to stop loving her and one day she’ll have a ring to prove that.

For now though, she’s content with dancing the night away with Brittany but only until the clock strikes twelve. She’ll ring in the new year with her girl, surrounded by their friends, but after that she’s taking Brittany home to spend all night making good on a different promise.

A promise that doesn’t involve quite so many people and a lot less clothes.

The heated look Santana earns when Brittany catches her eye tells her that she and Brittany are definitely on the same page. It’s barely 12:03am when the two are hurriedly telling their friends goodbye and rushing to the car with their hands already starting to wander.

#Two Ghosts #brittana #brittana fanfiction #fanfics

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raayllum · 5 years ago

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Could i request a rayllum meet cute where rayla's in one of those elf costumes at a christmas stand? Ive been watching cringey hallmark xmas movies and i cant get this out of my head! I cant write for the life of me, but id be eternally grateful if someone wrote this. (Also, i LOVE 'if time is money')

this accidentally got really long and maybe isn’t quite what you meant but here, take it

the most wonderful time of the year

also on ao3

Ez is thirteen—maybe a little old for this—but Callum’s never been good at telling his little brother no, let alone around the holidays and the kid needs a drive. So that’s how Ezran drags him out to a Meet Santa stand at their local mall the first Saturday of winter break once Callum has finished parking the family car, Callum’s fingers still a little cold from the frigid air outside.

Santa isn’t there but Ez’s enthusiasm isn’t diminished. He takes one look at the chair with Christmas lights and garland and then sets about making sure Bait’s Santa hat is sitting properly on the glow toad’s head. “Callum? Does that look straight to you?”

To his own credit, Callum does check, before he says, rather flatly, “It looks fine Ez.” Then, a tad more incredulously. “Why does it matter? You have plenty of photos of Bait with Santa.”

“Yes, but,” Ezran says, “this is the first year I’ve convinced him to glow matching colours. I’ve left it up to him to decide which ones—red and green or blue and white—but either way, the picture will look perfect.” He holds Bait a little closer. “Won’t it, Bait?”

The glow toad harrumphs and Callum feels like maybe Bait got cajoled into this just as much as he did, if only because Bait’s face reads all too much like You get this for one hour, max, kid.

With that in mind, Callum checks the clock. It’s noon and nobody else is clustered around the event, one red rope clipped across the matching carpet underneath. Giant candy canes stick out from either side of Santa’s chair. Maybe the big man himself is on a lunch break? They could be here for a while. Callum cranes his neck. There’s no Be back soon sign…

Then, behind one of the Christmas trees and backdrop, he spots a girl. Tall, lithe, his age, with white hair that goes amazingly well with her elf getup. It’s the whole nine yards too, with stockings and little bell earrings, a hat and pointy ears. He doesn’t recognize her, so she must not go to his high school.

“Wait here,” he says to Ez, plucks up his courage (because well, she is pretty, and he’s already a little socially awkward around not very pretty girls at best) and walks over.

“Hey, uh—”

She turns, looking up from her phone. Her eyes are a striking violet that makes his heart do a somersault in his chest. “Uh—” She regards him as though she’s trying to figure him out. He guesses it does look odd, to find a teenage boy here to ‘meet Santa.’ “Can I help you?” Her Scottish lilt matches oddly well too.

“Yeah, uh—I was just wondering when the uh, Santa is going to be here? My little brother wants to meet him and—?”

“Oh, uh. He gets in at like one. This is his lunch break.” Her expression turns dry. “I’m here to hold down the fort.”

“Oh, okay.” He offers up a half heart smile. So they’ll be waiting here for an hour. Great. At least they’ll be first in line. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” She turns back to her phone, and Callum is just glad he didn’t embarrass himself as he heads back to his brother and relays the news.

Ezran holds up Bait and gives him a stern look. “Since we have to wait, I’ll take off your hat for now, but you have to let me put it back on when it’s time, okay?” Bait grunts and only shifts a little in Ezran’s arms as the kid undoes the tiny string and stuffs the Santa hat in his pocket.

By the time he’s done, movement catches Callum’s eye, and the girl is walking out from around the tree to the main seat to leave a sign that says Back at one. Then she straightens up and catches him staring, and horrified, Callum flushes and looks away. He hopes his scarf hides it as he bends down to be more on Ezran’s eye level.

“I know Barius’ Diner is near here,” he says, “if we want to grab lunch—”

Then he hears a sharp bark of laughter, a little throaty but bright, and looks up. It’s the girl, arm curled over her stomach as she looks at him and Ezran and Bait with glee. “Sorry,” she sputters, and Callum relaxes. Ez can be a sensitive kid, but he doesn’t sense any malice in her humour. “Just—what is that little bugger? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Ezran beams and walks over to the rope, the girl meeting him on the other side. “His name is Bait,” he says proudly. “He’s a glow toad.” Bait grunts in reply. “Do you want to see his hat?”

The girl’s smile softens and Callum knows he was right to like her, at least a little. “Sure.”

Bait won’t let Ezran put the hat on, though, seemingly knowing it’s not time, as Callum comes up behind Ezran’s shoulder. “He’s going to glow Christmas colours for the photo,” Ez explains rather seriously.

“Ah of course,” she says with a conspiring wink.

“We might go grab lunch now,” Ezran says. “Bait likes sandwich crusts.”

“I’ll do my best to hold your place in line,” she promises, and Callum grins appreciatively. It may not be busy now but it will be, and he knows from years past how busy it can get. He also, maybe strangely enough, trusts her word, mostly because he doesn’t think she has any reason not to keep it, and really, who can say no to Ezran?

“We could grab something for you, if you want,” Callum says, offering before his brain can catch up with his mouth. It doesn’t seem like she’ll be allowed to leave for her lunch break for a while, if she’s here to stay and then will have to help manage the kids once the meet-n-greet actually starts.

The girl blinks prettily in surprise—really, how is that possible—and a blush crawls over his face, but then she looks to Ezran’s happy grin and firm supportive nod, and smiles. “Uh. Yeah, sure. Where’re you going?”

“We were thinking Barius’,” he says. It’s only a level up in the mall.

The girl closes her eyes and hums. “Mm, they have great moonberry surprises there.” Her eyes reopen, still striking violet. “Cheap too. I think I have a dollar or two on me.” She pats the pockets of her green dress. “Nobody tips at this job,” she jokes.

“Don’t worry about it,” Callum says and she looks up, even more surprised this time.

“Yeah,” Ezran sweeps in. “It’s the holidays.”

“So,” Callum says, “Moonberry surprise?”

She slowly smiles, big and bright, eyes crinkling. Worth a million dollars, easy. “Yeah. Thanks.”

They come back maybe twenty minutes later with two baked subs, both crusts set aside for Bait, a juice box for Ezran, latte for Callum, and moonberry surprise for the girl. Callum has never ordered one before, but it’s such a thick with berries and who knows else in the purple sludge that he gets why it could easily be a meal on its own.

The girl is waiting for them by the velvet rope, a couple of families sitting on benches across the way—it seems she’s kept her word about keeping the front clear for them—and she tucks her phone inside her pocket. Callum hands her shake over. “My Christmas miracle,” she says, taking a slurp and letting out a content sight. “Thank you so much.”

He smiles back at her. “Don’t mention it.” Then his attention is stolen, because Ezran is trying to drink juice, eat his sub, and hold Bait all at the same time, and Callum has to save the sub from hitting the floor entirely. “Here, I’ll hold your juice for now, okay?” It’s a little uncomfortable to hold his latte in one hand and Ez’s juice in the other, his sub held awkwardly in the cradle of his hand (it’ll be a bit cold when he gets to it) but it’s fine. It’s what big brothers do.

“So,” the girl says, smiling and resting her elbows on one golden pommel of the velvet rope stand, “do you buy smoothies for all the holiday helpers you meet, or—?”

“I mean,” Ezran considers, “I think Callum would, if he could, but he’s also saving up for art school, so—”

“Minimum wage it is,” she finishes, catching his eye. She understands all too well, apparently. Probably why she’s working here so close to the holidays, too. “He’s a good brother, though, using his free Saturday to bring you here.”

Callum’s cheeks warm. He fidgets with his scarf before remembering he doesn’t have a hand for that, and adjusts his grip on his latte instead. Is it hot in here, suddenly, or is it just him? Maybe he drank too much too fast?

“Oh he’s the best,” Ezran beams. “A good artist too. He’ll probably draw you later too. That’s why he stares at people.”

“I wasn't—” Callum fights down the rising panic, as he knows fighting down the blush overtaking his face now is a lost cause, as the girl looks at him a little blankly. “I mean, maybe I was, but—I won’t draw you unless—that’s okay with you?”

Then she smiles, laughing a little and waving him off with her hand. “Relax. I don’t mind. It’s sort of flattering, to be honest.”

“Flattering?” he says, perhaps a tad too hopeful.

“Yeah.” She meets his gaze though, and there might be the same sort of hopeful nervousness, hopeful interest, in her face. If his eyes aren’t playing tricks on him. “Besides, I owe you one, right?”

He swallows, knowing this could be interpreted horribly, but he doesn’t know how else to set up being… smooth? No, this can’t be smooth. He’s too nervous to be smooth. He says it anyway. “Well uh, I don’t know if I’d pick a drawing for that.”

“Oh?” And maybe it’s because he’s here on a Saturday and looking after his little brother, but she gives him room to follow through. “What would you prefer, then?”

Callum says it before he can lose his nerve. “Your name.”

She grins. “Rayla. My name is Rayla.”

Ez butts in. “It’s nice to meet you, Rayla.” Callum has to rescue the juice box next, so Ezran can shake her hand. “I’m Ezran, this is Callum, and you already know Bait.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.” She looks up. “And it’s nice to meet you too, Callum. And Bait.”

Callum opens his mouth to reply—maybe, since he’s feeling a little daring, to even flirt—when Rayla is tugged away by an upcoming parent and their toddler, and she has to answer their questions. Ezran wants to go sit on one of the benches so that Bait can sit while he eats Ezran’s leftover crust, and Callum lets himself be tugged away too. It’s nice to not have to hold everything and actually eat his sub, and when he glances over again, halfway through the meat and cheese, Rayla is still busy.

Still, she keeps a spot at the front of the line for them when they meander back over, the line now forming. “They were here first,” she cites, and only has to put up with one dirty look.

“Thanks,” Callum tells her, and this time she’s opening her mouth to say something, when cheers rise up from the kids because Santa, white bearded and red coated, emerges from behind the curtain. Rayla shoots him a quick, apologetic glance, although she what she’s apologetic about, Callum isn’t sure, before she goes to stand by Santa’s side.

There’s an undeniable fondness as she watches Ezran get Bait situated with Santa, who looks a little less than pleased to have drool on his knee, Bait’s hat a little askew before Ez fixes it. Callum gets his camera ready as Bait finally picks his colours, going with blue and white, and snaps a few pictures along with the more official camera that Rayla works. It’s a work of art, honestly, Ezran on one knee and Bait on the other.

“Santa doesn’t get paid enough for this,” Rayla whispers to Callum when she hands him the promptly developed photo, and they both have to hide a snicker.

The line is long by the time their relatively short turn is over. A new sign is set up by the end of the carpet when they pass by. Closed at 3. It’s only 1:15 now, so they’d be heading home early. Not as early as Callum had wanted, maybe, but he can’t regret today at all. If unresolved.

He glances over at Rayla, helping get a pair of twins settled, her earrings twinkling. Hair shining somehow even under the bottom dollar Christmas lights.

“Hey Ez,” he says, stopping his brother. “Do you have a present for Dad yet?” Harrow is famously hard to shop for, always saying that he has everything he needs right here. Callum brought him a tie, and he knows Ezran always makes him a card, but now that his brother has some allowance, it might be nice for Harrow to get something other than a nicely decorated piece of paper.

“Ooh,” Ezran says. “I do have thirteen dollars on me. Maybe I could get him a gift card.”

“That could work,” Callum says. “Let’s check the store directory and see what they have.”

Ezran takes a long time looking at the nearby mall map (Callum glances back at Rayla a few times too) and then spends a long time making a list of possibilities.

“There’s the bookstore—Dad’s always reading new fantasy novels—and the petstore—I think Pip needs more birdseed?—and—”

“Why not check out all of them?” Callum suggests. “Then once you’ve seen everything, we can go back around to whatever you decided.”

“Okay!”

Ezran examines bookmarks and thick high fantasy novels, little holiday themed birdseed packaging and new bird stands, among many other possibilities. Eventually he decides on the birdseed—"It seems practical,“ he says proudly—even if he’s short on the last two dollars, which Callum provides, before they circle back around to the meet-n-greet at five to three. The last family is done, the velvet rope clipped up again, and—Callum’s heart soars. Rayla is still there.

Looking a little tired with a customer service smile plastered on, before she looks up, sees them, and it turns into a real one.

The last family is given their photo and walking off when she comes back over to the rope and they approach, Santa scratching his belly as he disappears once again.

“I thought you left,” she admits.

“Had some Christmas shopping to do,” Callum shrugs, hands in his pockets as he smiles at her.

Ezran holds up the bag. “We got birdseed. And went around to all the stores. It was nice. Callum’s usually a bit more impatient to get going.”

“Is he?” Rayla says, joking but it falls away as she looks up at him. Gets what really happened. Pink stains her cheeks, but a smile curls her lips. Could she get any prettier?

“Christmas spirit got the best of me, I guess,” he says. “And it wasn’t all bad. I got a little notepad.” He hadn’t been able to resist at the bookstore. He digs it out of his bag, a smiley elf face sticker on the front. “It’ll be good for doodles on the go.”

“Any of me yet?” she asks, leaning over.

“Not yet.” There hadn’t been time, and besides, if and when he does draw her, he wants it to be on a bigger piece of paper, where he can do her justice.

“Hm.” Rayla presses her lips together. “You got a pen, too?”

Callum blinks. “Uh. Yeah. Hang on.” He finds his pen after a bit of fumbling, nervous now, as he hands the notebook and pen over to her. For a second he thinks he’s being stupid, and that’s not what she wanted, but then she writes something down on the first page and passes it back over.

“Well it was very nice meeting you,” she says, tucking her hair behind her still pointy ear. “But we’re done for the day, so I should probably get going.”

“Merry Christmas,” Ezran calls after her, when she goes back behind the trees after one last smile. Then he tugs on Callum’s arm and leans over. “What’d she draw in your tiny sketchbook?” Then he pulls a face. “Her number? She gave you her number?” The realization strikes suddenly. “Wait, were you two flirting? Ugh—”

“Christmas miracles, Ez,” Callum says, too giddy to care about his little brother’s distaste, winter break and all its possibilities stretching out ahead of him. It’s never looked brighter.

He’ll have to call her, obviously. Maybe go to Barius’ with her and actually sit down while eating. Try moonberry surprise? The details are fuzzy. She could show up in her elf costume again, even in July, for all he cares, even if he’d really like to see her again sooner than that. The details don’t matter, as long as she says yes.

(She does.)

#rayllum #dangdiggitydang #tdp #fic: modern au #happy holidays #my fic #this is tooth rotting fluff and i had a blast writing it #modern AU #hope you enjoy!!#fic #AU #also my first time writing modern au with them #it was fun #brotp: we're in this together #broyals

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writtenjewels · 4 years ago

Text

Reconnected

(As usual, only keep reading if you want to read smut, please and thank you)

Jacob's heart fluttered in nervous excitement as he followed Max into the room. His body was already buzzing in anticipation. Finally. The desire had been building up in him for days. Maybe since the night Max came back into his life, maybe the next morning. He couldn't pinpoint it, only that it kept getting stronger and finally getting Max to kiss him made it better and worse at the same time.

In a way, this reminded him of the night Max fucked him the first time. He was just as nervous and eager, just as unsure of what was about to happen. He remembered how his body came alive and the heat became so intense he wondered how he didn't burn.

Max told him this would be different; this would be making love. He wasn't sure what that meant. When the two of them were together before, they were intense and hungry. So hungry they couldn't always wait to get fully undressed. Jacob could tell just from the way they kissed that they hadn't lost that intensity and hunger even after twenty years. If anything it got stronger.

Jacob never forgot. Max was a persistent thought in his mind, popping up at unexpected times. He still had dreams of their time together and on many occasions he would have to take care of a hard-on that came from those dreams. Hattie was a good companion for a night but neither of them wanted each other that way, not really. No one could make him feel the way Max did.

Though it was completely unnecessary, Max closed the door once they were inside his-- their room. Jacob shivered a little and reached for Max's shirt. He brushed his fingers over the material, gliding across Max's shoulders and along his sides. He smiled seeing those intense eyes get dark, and then Max's face was getting closer. Jacob's fingers latched onto the bottom of the shirt as their lips connected and he tugged up.

“Jacob,” Max growled against his mouth, teeth scraping his bottom lip. His breath stuttered in his lungs. He felt hands in his hair and sighed, sliding his hands under Max's shirt to feel his skin. His body reacted with a fresh spike of arousal. Oh, he hadn't been shy about looking whenever Max undressed around him, but it was different thing to touch-- to feel the flesh again after so many years.

He found himself unwilling to rush. He spread out his fingers to touch as much as he could, focusing more on moving his lips against Max's in slow, heated touches. At one point Jacob paused to breathe and he let his lips stay parted. He knew the older man would take advantage and sure enough that clever tongue slid inside to taste. He prodded back, his fingernails digging into Max's skin. Max's hands left his hair to grip onto Jacob's hips instead and without thinking Jacob moved his body forward.

He remembered how well they connected. Hip to hip-- he noticed quickly how this was exciting Max and he chuckled, though of course his reaction was about the same.

“Well, my dear, it has been twenty years,” Max remarked, unembarrassed.

“About sixteen for me,” Jacob admitted.

Max began unbuttoning Jacob's shirt. When he was younger, having so many layers between them would annoy him. He tore a few of Max's shirts in his eagerness to get at the man. He was still impatient, but he could control it better. He let his hands skim up and down Max's body as he waited for the buttons to be loosened and his shirt to open.

“Lovely,” Max praised, running his fingers through Jacob's chest hair and following the line it made to Jacob's navel. Jacob's breathing grew erratic and he shivered. Max caught his eyes and smiled. All right, so Jacob wasn't that patient-- he tugged Max's shirt again, sliding it up and over his head in one go.

Jacob took a moment to just observe with his eyes, to really study Max's torso. It was a close match to his memory. The man was still fit and Jacob couldn't spot any scars he didn't recognize. He ran his fingers over a few of them, smiling remembering how he used to imagine the fights Max got into for these to form. Just like then, thinking about it gave him a fresh wave of affection and desire. His mad thespian was a fighter, a survivor, so spirited and wild.

“Why, Jacob, I do believe you're blushing.”

“Max, you're so...” He searched for the right word. All he could come up with was, “Gorgeous.”

“I'm glad you think so, my darling Assassin.” Max pushed aside Jacob's shirt, letting it fall to the floor. Jacob waited, nervous again while Max took in his appearance. He knew Max had stared before, but that was only for a few seconds. When he stared now he could take in every inch, every new scar.

Max's lips pressed into a thin line and his thumb brushed over a scar Jack left across Jacob's abdomen. The memory of how he got that scar threatened to surface and ruin the moment but Jacob pushed it down.

“Jacob?” Max was watching him in concern. “Is this all right?”

“It feels good,” Jacob assured him.

“Because if it didn't,” Max continued, his eyes dancing, “I could always kiss it better.”

“Oh.” Jacob's smile turned devilish. “In that case, it doesn't feel good at all.”

Max cackled and kissed him, pulling him so they were flush against each other. Jacob moaned his approval. Max began to move them until Jacob bumped up against some piece of furniture. He knew which piece when Max started coaxing him to lie down. He spread his legs the moment his back hit the mattress. He liked the way Max looked above him. His hair was more gray and his face had more lines, but none of those details mattered to Jacob.

True to his word, Max dipped his head down and began to kiss a slow line along Jacob's scar. He cried out, fingers gripping tight in Max's hair. He anticipated this but didn't expect to react so strongly. Then Max's lips moved on to find another scar and give it the same treatment. Jacob could barely think. It was like Max was erasing the terror and pain of how those scars were given, changing the memory into something sweet.

“So, my dear,” Max hummed, lifting his head to meet Jacob's eyes. “Do you see the difference yet?”

Yes, it was a world of difference. He felt so admired, wanted, desired, loved. But he couldn't resist teasing a bit. “Well,” he responded shakily, “we would've already been naked with your cock in me if we were fucking.”

“Cheeky bastard,” Max chuckled, climbing up to kiss him. Jacob laughed against Max's mouth, letting his fingers play along the man's spine.

“That was a hint.” His fingers grazed lower to Max's hips. He slid around to Max's belt and worked to loosen it. “I want you inside me, Max.”

“You're very demanding,” Max observed. He was still until the belt was loosened, and then he moved to work on Jacob's belt as well. Jacob was lifting his hips to wiggle out of his trousers before Max was even done. “And eager.”

Jacob let out a huff and settled. His heart was racing, his body aching. This slow adoration was very good, but the longer it was going on the more eager he felt. Max stared down at him for a moment, his eyes a dark fire. Without a word he slid off the bed. Jacob let out a noise of distress and sat up trying to get him back. But Max was already on his feet at the foot of the bed.

Jacob's ache was painful now. “Max, please.”

Max slid his fingers under his own belt and coaxed the fabric of his trousers off his hips. The process seemed painfully slow as more and more skin was revealed. Jacob sat up straight, alert. Max's erection was freed-- not fully stiff yet, but well on its way. Jacob could barely breathe as Max exposed his thighs, his calves, and then discarded his trousers onto the floor. Jacob's eyes centered on that erection. He could coax it stiff; he was sure he remembered how.

But just as he was shifting forward, that was when Max pounced on him. Jacob let out a yelp of surprise, but quickly wrapped his arms around the man. This time when he lifted his hips up Max complied, sliding his trousers off and adding them to their pile on the floor. He grabbed Jacob's legs and hiked them around his hips.

“Very demanding,” Jacob teased, “and eager.”

Max laughed, teeth scraping against Jacob's throat, hips jutting up against Jacob's body. This, this was what he remembered. This desperation that consumed his every thought and feeling. The sparks of friction they caused as they shifted against each other. Lips seeking any skin, breaths hot, hands anchoring into Max's shoulders, Max touching him greedily.

He fell apart so easily, but he refused to let Max go. Moments later he felt the hot mess of Max's orgasm on his stomach. But his kisses and touches kept coming, barely missing a beat. Which was good, as all of this only made Jacob ache for Max more.

“Fuck,” Max gasped. “Jacob, Jacob, my Jacob.”

“Yes,” Jacob agreed dazedly. “My Oberon.”

Max kissed him, spreading his legs apart wider and moving his hand between. The air burned in Jacob's lungs as he struggled to breathe. He remembered this, too: the press of those fingers inside him, opening him for something larger. He knew Max wasn't ready but he could wait now. He had Max's lips on him, tasting his skin, stealing his breath. Max's fingers knew where to touch to make Jacob groan.

And when Max finally did push inside him, Jacob's body nearly exploded in the sensation of it. He went slow so Jacob could adjust to it. Twenty long years since he felt this. The memory seemed weak now that he was experiencing it. They moved together, still slow at first to appreciate this joining of their bodies. But then the heat between them built and the pace quickened, the thrusts deepened.

He didn't want this to end. He wanted to keep this feeling of Max filling him, of their legs tangled, of aching breaths and lips threatening to bruise with the frequency of their kisses.

When he came again it was oddly similar to how it felt when he took a leap of faith. He felt himself tumbling, the rush of it overwhelming anything else. Jacob didn't recognize the sound of his own voice when he cried out. His legs instinctively tightened around Max. He was tired but he wanted his partner to feel this, too. A few more thrusts later and Max did, spilling hot between Jacob's legs.

Max went limp on top of him. They stayed like that as they worked to get their breathing back to normal. Jacob was actually surprised Max had any energy left at all, but he did. At least enough to slip his cock out before falling back on Jacob's body.

Jacob took one of Max's hands in his and threaded their fingers together. Max squeezed back in response. The moment was perfect.

#smut #jacob frye #maxwell roth #rothfrye #assassin's creed syndicate

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kaypeace21 · 6 years ago

Note

I have a question but I just want to say first that I love your theories. They’re very well thought-out and interesting. Anyway, I wanted to ask if you could explain how Mike is queer-coded? I’ve seen you mention it and I’ve seen others talk about his attraction to androgynous El, but is there more? Thanks!

ALOT MORE! I talked about it here in the past- but without getting too much into s3 (since I’ve already talked about s3 byler extensively).I’ll just have links for everything I noticed in s3 at the bottom of this post. In regards to s1 and 2, Mike was heavily coded as queer. But most significantly this was done in s1- arguably he was more queer coded than Will ever was. I won’t get into all the details (we’d be here all day) but the highlights, at the top of my head are-

- Mike in his his basement has a red heart being propelled by a rainbow.

- 4 separate characters said El looked like a boy, but Mike doesn’t care! Even one of the men thought El might be the missing ‘Byers boy’. When El loses her wig , Troy said “she doesn’t even look like a girl” to the cops. But Mike just calls her “really pretty”

-Nancy says “I thought you were acting weird, but I thought it was because of Will” And Mike responds “I thought you were acting weird too I thought it was because of Steve … Do you like Jonathan now”?” Nancy: “No, do you like Eleven?”. They literally compared the explicit love triangle between Steve/Nancy/Jonathan to the Will-Mike-El dynamic!

- Mike literally uses gender inclusive pronouns when talking about crushes using the word “someone” (3 times), and embarrassing himself because he can’t articulate the difference between friendship and romance. When he could of simply given the 80s heteronormative answer of ‘when a boy likes a girl’.

Mike: “ you go to school dances with someone.

You know someone that you like”

El: “a friend?”

Mike: ‘not a friend uh … uh someone like a” (gives up and kisses her)

-Mike’s mom said “ What’s been going on with Will, I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you. I just … want you to feel like you can talk to me. I never want you to feel like you have to HIDE anything from me” (she even emphasizes the word ‘hide” (which is heavily queer coded)

- when Will ‘dies’, “we can be heroes” by David bowie (a bisexual singer) plays, “And we kiss as though nothing could fall and the shame” is the lyric that plays when Mike returns to his house and cries in his mother’s arms over the ‘death’ of Will. Do I have to explain how ‘kissing and shame’ are queer-coded . And how such a lyric is oddly romantic- if we’re supposed to see their bond as nothing but platonic XD

-his dad jokes “Absolutely not” *turns to wife* “our son with a girl?”.

- when Lucas makes fun of his crush on EL, Lucas gets down on one knee and says “ I love you so much, will you marry me?” and literally 1s later, we’re introduced to the bullies and the idea (for the first time) that Will is ‘gay’, and Mike is in the forefront of the scene and unlike his friends he is THE ONLY ONE physically assaulted (like a gay-bashing) . They leave Lucas and Dustin unharmed. Even though Lucas just proposed to another guy- which should have gotten him a beating by the homophobic bullies.

It’s supposed to subconsciously hint Mike is queer like Will, and likes Will. The first interaction with the bullies, they mention Will being ‘gay’ right after they mention Mike’s crush on androgynous El and have a guy propose to Mike. Mike says to “ignore them” ( the homophobic remarks) but is assaulted anyways. And when asked what happed he doesn’t want to tell El the details cause he’s ashamed .

2nd time the bullies talk about Will, Mike is once again in the forefront, unlike his straight friends who are in the background . But this time Mike initiates the confrontation), as the bullies say Will is “flying in fairyland with all the other little fairies. All happy and gay”. Mike was literally on the verge or tears at this comment (despite being happy a few moments earlier , telling the others to ‘act sad’ because they’d look suspicious other wise). But this is the comment where Mike snaps and pushes Troy back (because he took it personally/wanted to defend Will).

The framing of Mike once again being in the front and snapping at the homophobic remarks (these gifs don’t do it justice, just rewatch the scene -Mike eyes water at the remarks). Then the last time the bullies appear , Mike jumps off the cliff and “flies like a fairy” (like Troy said) thanks to El . Troy at the police station even uses the word “fly” not levitate.

- Mike proclaiming “I’m the only one who cares about Will!” Seems like something a kid with a crush might say ( because obviously his other friends care about Will). But he thinks he cares the most.

-Mike sneaking out to find Will, as Steve sneaks in to Nancy’s. They both even make eye contact (and pretend not to have seen each other).

- they share dinosaur toys , in s1 and 2 they appear to be the only ones with dinosaur toys.

- The s1 mom hug scene where Mike feels he lost Will is paralleled in s3 - signifying how he lost him a 2nd time.

- Mike in the 1st ep being the one to insist on looking for Will in the rain (callback to s3). But he never went looking for El when he saw her through his window? Even when Mike saw Will’s dead body, the second he heard his voice he convinced his friends to help rescue him!

- You remember the binder (from s1) that Mike keeps, filled with 100s of Will’s drawings, and how he caresses the drawing after thinking Will was dead. That’s totes platonic.

- Will in all 3 seasons identifies as a wizard. But in s2 Mike (the paladin) says Will is a cleric. Meaning this reflects how Mike actually feels about Will. In d&d, they have similar moral values, powers, and generally need and depend on each other in the lore of d&d. Paladins have similar healing powers to clerics, but clerics have stronger healing abilities - which is interesting since Mike has always been viewed as the protector. But to Mike Will has helped him (maybe deal with the loss of El and other trauma) , just by being there. And if Mike says Will is a cleric,despite Will still identifying as a wizard in s3, it shows how deeply Mike actually feels about Will. It shows he views Will as one of the only people who understands him and views him as a healing presence and his moral compass.

“ strength of conviction gave many paladins a sense of common fellowship but did not always endear them to others. In many cases, paladins did not get along quite as well with other non-paladin adventurers, with the exception of clerics with similar beliefs.”

“A Paladin tries to hold to the highest standards of conduct, but even the most virtuous Paladin is fallible. Sometimes the heat of emotion causes a Paladin to transgress his or her oath (of honesty, courage, compassion, honor ,and duty). A paladin who has broken a vow typically seeks absolution from a cleric who shares his or her faith or from another paladin of the same order. After a rite of confession and forgiveness, the paladin starts fresh.

-Mike stands next to Will under the rainbow poster

- Mike forces Will to dance with a girl, but you literally see Mike’s shocked expression like ‘what,why’d I do that ?’ And after this, they show Dustin looking sad about Max/Lucas dancing and then they have Mike get into the frame (next to Dustin) and look sad when Will/girl are dancing in the same exact frame as Max/Lucas. As they switch between these 2 shots.

- All the mileven byler parallels or byler scenes were almost ALL initiated by Mike. If the parallels were meant to show a one sided love triangle (on Mike’s end). They would of made Will the instigator not Mike! Parallels can be watched here , start at 6:50)

-Mike initiated the “crazy together’ line- and in s3 he said ‘blank makes you crazy’. So subconsciously he knew the line had romantic connotations.

-Mike initiating the hand hold (with a zoom in shot) and in the show this is only done for romantic pairings. Also Mike being the one to initiate the ‘arm thing’ which is generally romantic. But in s3 , Lucas also does this, saying “I am spending quality time with my girlfriend’

-Mike saying, asking him to be his friend was the “best thing I’ve ever done”

-Mike constantly following Will around, asking if he’s okay or biking to his house to check on him. In s3 running out to chase Will to the garage and apologizing, and running into a storm to apologize a 2nd time.

YOU SEE A PATTERN! Mike is whipped! And is the one constantly chasing and pursuing Will, not the other way around! Before s3, people always portrayed Will as the (stereotypical- problematic trope of ) a sad-pinning-gay in a one sided love with Mike. It’s like people didn’t even watch the show (and just assigned tropes/stereotypes they wanted, that weren’t actually there). Will (probably too shy or scared to- because of homophobic taunts) never initiated a single byler moment- it was ALWAYS Mike!!! If people were actually objective, they would of thought it was Mike who was the one pinning! I talked about it here.

We literally only saw Will pine or be jealous in s3 when Mike was in a relationship with El/when they fought.

The cannon Spotify playlists

called ‘Mike’s basement beats’- These are character playlists that Spotify and St worked on together after s2.

-his first song is “small town boy” an 80s LGBT anthem about living in a small town and being queer and bullied. Every band member was openly gay.

-his 11th song is ‘don’t you want me’ from a “celebrate your gay pride” album

I’m not repeating my literal essays so here are the links to pretty much all my s3 byler meta. (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x)

- brief s3 mentions) it’s implied Will and Mike go on movie double dates all the time (right after he makes out with El). He celebrates the holidays (generally associated with introducing s.os) with Will/El. The breakup with El is treated comedically - and all Mike does is complain and burp on the couch. The byler breakup is serious (with the backdrop of rain)while Mike was visibly upset he hurt Will and apologized twice almost immediately . Running to the garage and then into the rain and banging on his door (s2 callback). The “it was the best thing I’ve ever done “ shed scene was shot purposely more romantic than the pool shed scene of “you’re the most important thing in the world to me”. The fact he think “blank makes you crazy”,and he used a similar line on Will in s2. The fact that Mike equates falling in love with girls as a part of growing up and his love for El as something “old people” say. While his affections for Will , he believes are childish (like d&d) and something he has to grow out of. The “I love her” scene was treated comedically. The last Mike/Will exchange vs Mike having his eyes open and not kissing El back . Not remembering he said “I love her”, and dismissing it as something he said in the heat of the moment. Mike looking back at the Byers house , then flashing to Will crying, than flashing back to Mike hugging his mom. Then those scenes having a monologue about not wanting feelings to change but how it’s inevitable.

Also we see in s3 (in El’s room) the return of the heart being propelled by a rainbow.

No hate, but I’m honestly flabbergasted when people think Mike is straight when he’s literally MORE queer coded than Will. Is it just my autistic brain seeing things as obvious, that others easily miss- or just people refuse to see it … or heteronormativity getting in the way?

gif credit : (not sure about the first 2, tell me if they’re yours so I can give credit), last 3 by eggogorgon , the last gif by cath-avery

#byler #byeler #mike wheeler

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planetsam · 6 years ago

Text

Michael Guerin, Space Pirate

Huge shout out to @signoraviolettavalery who made a great post about a Martian au that I cranked up the angst on by deciding Alex would be a great space voyeur to Michael’s space pirate.

Being stuck on the graveyard shift feels oddly appropriate.

He thinks Michael would have loved the irony of it.

Alex takes a long drink from his coffee. He watched the launch after it happened, in one of the staff break rooms. He didn’t think much of it, only the 3AM shift he had the next morning was on his mind. Now he wishes things were different. Not that he fully expected his high school fling to remember him, or to realize that he was working for NASA as well. Alex is in SatCom, he monitors their satellites. Eyes in the sky, some people call him, but he likes to think of himself as an Interplanetary Voyeur. Most of his education and training goes to waste. He didn’t mind it when he felt like he was a part of something bigger than himself, making sure that everyone got home safely.

Now when he looks at the red planet, all he thinks is how Michael finally got his wish.

Michael always wanted to be part of something bigger. He also wanted to get the hell off the planet. Alex remembers their endless conversations about it, laying under the real stars when they could and the fake, tacked on stars when they couldn’t. Michael found his way off the planet. And was the most popular astronaut to boot. He was the only one surprised at that. Alex saw his face everywhere. Each time it kicked up a gut punch of emotions. Mostly now it was a sadness that was far too familiar when it came to him, to them—now though there was a finality to it. The idea that Michael would be bones on Mars and the only way Alex would ever see him was in old footage was borderline incomprehensible. For the moment Alex let himself not think about it and focus instead on his job. The storm had cleared and he focused on what they could see. It was highly unlikely they would ever see Michael’s body, the dust storm would have buried him. But Alex hopes he does. Michael deserves that closure.

Taking another hit of caffeine, he turns to scrolling through the pictures and cataloguing things that have shifted in the dust. He frowns and zooms in towards the HAB. Alex refines the pictures, teasing out a clearer image. He can picture the conversation in his head, he knows the exact arguments. He brings up the images from the past few days. The way things have shifted does not line up with what is in front of him. The solar panels should be completely covered, but they are clean. Spotless, or as spotless as anything gets on Mars. He looks again and triple checks just to make sure. The chance is impossibly slim. But his hand is already reaching for his phone. He thumbs in the number for security.

“I need the emergency contact number for Dr. Kapoor,” He says, “this is Alex Manes in SatCom.”

“Are you sure it’s an emergency?” The bored voice asks. Alex isn’t sure of anything at the moment.

“Yes,” He says instead.

The head of the mission is wildly above his pay grade and Alex has been raised to respect the chain of command. Why his violations of it seem intrinsically linked to Michael Guerin is something he doesn’t have the capacity to figure out at the moment. Not after the phone rings twice and he hears the man on the other end clear his throat. God, he’s woken his boss up at 3:35 am.

“Hello?”

“Hi, sir, this is Alex Manes in SatCom,” he says, “I think Michael Guerin is alive,” there is a distinct bang and a groan, a whispered apology and the sound of feet moving, “the solar panels are clean.”

“And you’re sure it’s not the wind?”

“Yes, sir,” he says, glancing up at the screen as the next round of images come through. He almost drops the phone, “sir, the Rover has moved.”

“What?!”

“The rover moved,” he says, scrambling to look at the photos again, “the solar panels are clean and the rover has moved.”

“I’ll be there shortly.”

Fuck. Mars.

Fuck it so hard.

Michael is over this planet. He wants off. Why he can’t find a planet he wants to stay on is beyond him and now definitely is not the time for those deep philosophical questions. He’s got more pressing issues like making sure the hole in his gut closes without infection, finding a way to supplement his food and, oh yeah, contact earth.

“Look, I’m not upset about being left behind,” he tells the log, “that’s protocol. What pisses me off is the fact that I’m doing everyone’s homework,” he shakes his head, “here’s my new universal constant: a group project will always end with one person doing all the work. We’ll call it Guerin’s Law.”

He has an idea for contacting earth. The problem is that it rides on earth knowing he’s contacting them. He’s got no idea if anyone has even figured out he’s alive. He doubts it. But there’s a chance. He knew it was bullshit but he had an affection for the dramatic Rover that gave it’s dying words and sang itself a birthday song every year. Michael has had plenty of those birthdays. And of course when he’s already doing everyone’s work, he now has to do the extra credit and pull off the save. If he doesn’t get an A, he’s fucking suing. He looks in the camera, aware this could be his last message.

“Captain Evans,” He says, “none of this is your fault, I forgive you for everything if that’s what you need to hear,” his solemn face turns deadly, “but if this doesn’t work and I die listening to your alarmingly inclusive Donna Summer, I will turn your life into the karaoke bar from hell.”

Seems like a good note to go out on.

Summer eat your heart out.

Alex looks over the chart again.

And again.

The spotlight is nerve wracking. They have established Michael is alive, but they don’t have a way of communicating. He knows Michael is trying to figure something out and everyone is scrambling to find it. He also knows he has an advantage. It’s been years, so many thing have changed, but he’s got a good idea of how Michael’s mind works. He follows the paths the Rover is making and connects the dots before anyone else.

“Opportunity?”

“It lines up,” he says, “he’s going for the Rover.”

“Let me make some calls.”

Thankfully the Opportunity team is largely still around. By the time Michael gets it up and working, they are ready. The images come in and patch together. Alex is awake for twenty hours straight but he’s there when the images come in. Michael standing in front of two signs and holding a third. Alex’s heart leaps into his throat and it’s got nothing to do with the truly staggering amount of coffee he has consumed. A cheer goes up and he sits down before his knees can do anything like buckle. Michael’s face is just visible. Alex can make out a single curl that’s half escaped from his cap and it’s always the little things. Michael is alive. They point the camera towards the ‘yes’ sign and the next image is blurry but only because he’s jumping up and down. He’s got no back up supplies and he’s jumping up and down.

Alex thinks he might be the one who dies in all of this.

OPP: Huston we had a problem.

DSN: Good to hear from you.

OPP: You have no idea.

So the communications issue is more or less resolved which is awesome. And he’s saved Opportunity. Which makes him even more awesome. All around it’s awesome. Except Isobel still thinks he’s dead which is less than ideal. So he’s in a little trouble on that one. But he would trade everything for her to yell at him. Not that he’s got a lot to trade.

OPP: hey, DSN whose babysitting me tonight?

DSN: SatCom

OPP: no shit

DSN: language

OPP: fuck

OPP: whose babysitting? got a name?

DSN: alex

OPP: i’m michael

DSN: i know

OPP: does this mean i’m super famous? think i can get free fries at the mess?

DSN: no it’s alex. from high school.

Michael is literally on a different planet but he jumps anyway and twists around like he’s being spied on. Alex was a punk kid who, okay, he may have been slightly in love with. But his homophobic dick of a dad ended that. He may have crossed Michael’s mind a few times, but never enough to do something like look him up and see that they worked for the same place. For some reason he feels more comforted by this news than he has by almost anything else. Except maybe that people knew he was alive at all.

OPP: no fucking way. i thought you said you were joining the Air Force.

DSN: i did. then I went to grad school and joined NASA.

OPP: wait SatCom figured out i was alive. was that you?

DSN: yes

DSN: i saw the solar panels were clear

OPP: and you thought that was me?

DSN: i figured even you would clean if your life depended on it.

Michael snorts, it’s not like he’s had much to clean back when he knew Alex. He was living in his truck. But when he thinks about his desk at NASA—okay it is a mess. He can admit that. It blows his mind that Alex has been here the whole time. That Alex figured out he was alive. He tries to reconcile the idea of who he remembers with whoever found him. But all he can picture is the kid who unknowingly saved his life more times than he can count. More times plus one, if he thinks about it. Probably plus more to come, if things keep going this way.

OPP: do you still have that septum ring?

DSN: go to sleep

OPP: come on, do you?

DSN: no

OPP: too bad, I thought it was kind of hot.

DSN: bed, michael

OPP: yes dad

DSN: please do not call me ‘dad’, they are reviewing these

OPP: ok daddy

Captain Isobel Evans reads the message several times to be sure. Then she gathers everyone together. She’s thought she was a good leader this whole time, focusing on getting the crew that was still alive back home even though the only thing she wanted to do was cry over the loss of her crew member. She runs the scenario over and over again. But it remains the same. There was no other choice. Now she doesn’t know what to think when she has to tell them. It’s only Max she looks at when she speaks.

“Michael’s alive.”

Pandemonium erupts from the others but Max stares at her. His own horror and guilt reflect hers. Michael is alive but he’s on another planet. Michael’s alive but who knows for how long. She made the call to leave him, but as the ship’s doctor he made the call that he was probably dead. They are both culpable and innocent, but Isobel blames herself more than anyone. She should have given the order to wait, no matter the risks. They all scramble over to the communications screen. Kyle gets there first because it is, after all, his chair. He refers to it as his ship too. Then again he is the one who flies it.

HRMS: sorry we left you on mars, we just don’t like you that much.

OPP: assholes

OPP: hows the cptn?

HRMS: we’re all good. how are you?

OPP: bored af

OPP: look. boobies ( . Y . )

HRMS: michael!

That night Max sits hunched over in his bunk, arms wrapped around himself. He never should have said that Michael was dead. But he and Isobel have been running over everything. But now it turns out Michael is alive and he can’t fathom what it must be like for him to be back there alone. Did he know that they would learn he was alive? Did he think he would die there a second time and no-one would know? The thoughts are horrible and each occurs to him in rapid succession until he thinks they might drive him crazy.

“Hey,” Liz slips into his pod, “how are you holding up?”

“I told Iz there was no way,” he says, “he’s been there the whole time and i had no idea—“ he stares at her, aware he is asking for answers she doesn’t have, “what if he dies there? How is he going to spend four years there until we launch another mission?”

“He’s going to be fine,” she says, cradling his face in her hands. He ignores the rules, the fraternization line they always dance around and leans into her touch, “he’ll be okay and soon you will laugh about this,” she smiles, “after you buy him all the vodka on earth.”

“I’ll buy him whatever he wants, as long as we get him back.”

OPP: alex

OPP: ALEX

DSN: i’m sorry, Alex has been transferred to SatCon.

OPP: GO GET HIM

Huddled in the Rover, Michael forces his breathing to be steady. He cannot afford for something else to go wrong. Behind him, the HAB stands as a shell, blown when he failed to pressurize it correctly. It broke. He broke it. His crops are gone and he feels like crying. Which is not going to help. He can’t panic. He can’t flip out. He wants Max and Isobel and his pod on the ship that’s getting farther away with each second. Mostly he wants the person on earth whose his lifeline in this. He forces himself to look away from the screen. Maybe Alex is asleep somewhere. Maybe he’s just as fed up with his bullshit as he was in college. Michael grips the chair. No, no he is not giving into his abandonment issues because he’s literally the only person on a planet and his only friend won’t answer the phone. Mars is his planet and he refuses to have them go down like this.

DSN: michael what happened?

“Thank you Martian God,” he breathes

OPP: the hab depressurized

OPP: i’m ok. crops are gone. all of its gone.

DSN: you’re ok. thats the main thing.

OPP: says the guy with seamless at his fingertips

DSN: i told you you were going to have to learn to cook one day

Michael laughs despite everything. And okay maybe it ends in a sob, but just one. Alex throwing shade like they’re texting and this isn’t a life or death situation makes him feel so much better. He knows Alex is probably hyperaware of being watched but he’s still willing to do it. Michael knows it shouldn’t be a big deal but he’s alone on a planet. The only person who can judge him is in a mirror and he sure as hell doesn’t bring one of those on the rover.

DSN: michael are you there?

OPP: i’m there i’m just outraged

OPP: i am an extraordinary boiler

DSN: do i want curly or regular fries with this sandwich?

OPP: asshole

OPP: thanks

DSN: hang in there

Maria Deluca, astrodynamicist extraordinaire figures it out.

She checks her math, swears loudly and breaks her almost new piece of chalk. Guerin is a planet away and he still manages to ruin her love life for at least—ugh—another year. Asshole. Why couldn’t he have just stayed on the ground with Alex like he wanted to? She writes out her calculations and tells the mission heads. Then she does the right thing and hides the info in the latest data dump for the ship, knowing her wife and her bff will figure it out.

That evening she finds Alex in SatCon.

He looks awful and she feels the same annoyance at Guerin. They’ve both slept with him and she might have had feelings for the mop haired cowboy at one point, but Guerin is good at leaving and being so focused on one thing that he fails to see anything else. Like an unhappy boyfriend or girlfriend. She sits next to Alex and hands him a cup of coffee.

“Any word from the space cowboy?”

“His food supplies are ok but the rations are getting to him,” he says, “part of its mental but the rest—“ he shakes his head, “he shouldn’t have to deal with his issues up there.”

Michael was food insecure for most of his childhood. He’s good at functioning on limited calories but he’s also scared of not getting his next meal. The fact that Alex remembers that makes Maria want to hug him. She settles for sighing and shaking her head at the situation. All of NASA has been reading their back and forth. For science. The fact that it reads increasingly like a romance novel is definitely not important. And people definitely aren’t taking sides. She doesn’t have a Team Alex t shirt like some people. Just a baseball cap.

“He’ll be okay,” she says.

Alex nods wordlessly but his eyes are glued to the screen where their communications occur. She nudges him.

“Say hi,” She says.

“I can’t. He needs to focus.”

“You can still say hi,” she says.

“It’s a waste of resources.”

Rolling her eyes at men and their excuses she nudges his chair out of the way and gets at the keyboard.

DSN: hi

“Maria!”

Ten seconds later the reply come.

OPP: hey i was just about to message you

OPP: you miss me that much?

“Maria—“ Alex tries for the keyboard.

DSN: always

Alex grabs it finally.

DSN: adokfjosiaf

OPP: you ok?

DSN: sorry. yes.

OPP: good. i miss you too.

Alex sucks in a breath and Maria grins. It’s almost almost worth another year with her wife. Not quite but almost. Alex gulps and stares at the message. His fingers hover over the keyboard as he hesitates, swamped by an insecurity Maria has seen before. She looks between him and the keyboard, sending every mental signal she has to him.

DSN: keep going and we can see each other again

OPP: dunno, you could always come to Mars

OPP: visit me

DSN: I like earth

OPP: you’re making this song way too relevant

DSN: what are you listening to?

OPP: I would do anything for love

“That is my song,” Maria says, “my song with my wife.”

“She’ll be back soon,” Alex offers.

Maria hates them both.

“This is a mutiny,” Isobel says, “we all need to participate and we all need to agree. Kyle and I know the consequences. We’re military. But the rest of you need to understand this could mean the end of your careers. They might not let any of you fly again,” she says, “it also means another year without your families. There isn’t any shame in wanting to go home. We do it together or not at all.”

“No one gets left behind if we can get them,” Kyle says, “I might be flying this thing but I am still a doctor. Do no harm. I vote we go back.”

“Michael is my brother,” Max says.

“My family is here,” Liz tells them, gripping Max’s hand, “let’s do it.”

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” Jenna, their long suffering media relations director says.

“The Hermes is in the middle of an unsanctioned maneuver to slingshot themselves back to Mars using earth’s gravity as an assist.”

“So a mutiny,” she says, “you want me to put out a press release that says a bunch of astronauts turned space pirates have performed a mutiny?”

“Actually it’s Guerin who would asked to be referred to as a space pirate, since he is technically commandeering a vehicular over international territory.”

She sighs. It’s too early for a migraine.

“I hate everyone in this room.”

DSN: michael

DSN: michael update me

DSN: GUERIN

DSN: captain blonde beard, do you copy?

OPP: CBB: i copy. everything’s good

DSN: you are taking this way too far

OPP: CBB: that’s kind of judgmental for someone whose not a space pirate

OPP: CBB: if you were here id make you walk the plank. by that i mean solar panel

DSN: find water and maybe it’ll work

OPP: CBB: i have to starve, become a pirate, now i gotta find water too?

OPP: CBB: anything else?

DSN: come home

OPP: CBB: only because I want to, not because you’re making me

He modified the ship like they tell him but until he’s in there, he doesn’t feel so great about sitting there. Not until his radio crackles to life with the first human voice he’s heard in over a year.

“Guerin, do you copy?”

“Iz!” His voice breaks around the syllable of her name.

“Michael, oh thank god,” she says. Isobel has had her game face on this whole mission, hearing the relief makes the tears break free, “we’re launching you, strap in.”

“Tell Valenti to be careful,” he says.

“I got you, Guerin,” Kyle says, “you ready to come home?”

God that sounds so nice.

“I don’t know, it’s kind of nice having this all to myself,” he chokes out.

“We got you, hang tight.”

He blacks out.

When he comes to, the ship is too far away. He can hear the swearing. It’s bad. He takes a deep breath and refuses to give in to the panic. The side door opens and he sees Isobel coming towards him. Max is on the side of the ship. His family is there.

“I’m going Iron Man,” he says, punching a hole in his hand.

“Michael!”

He aims himself as best he can and propels towards Isobel. She reaches and just when he thinks this isn’t going to work, they collide. They lurch violently to the side but she locks her arms and legs around him and snaps a carabiner to the front of his suit. The lead connecting them snaps taut and for a moment he’s sure it failed. He’s dead in space. But he blinks several time and nothing has changed. The relief shatters him in a way he didn’t know was possible and Isobel lets out the best laugh he’s ever heard in his life.

“I got him!” She calls and everyone erupts into cheers, “I got you,” she says.

“You have terrible taste in music,” he tells her.

They reel them in. The only possible reason he would let go of her is to throw his arms around his brother. Max clutches him and Isobel together as the hatch seals and the chamber pressurizes. Michael collapses against his siblings who take his weight immediately, undoing his helmet. Their voice goes into his ears, no radio or texts. But the first human hands that touch him belong to a friend.

“Mikey!” He’s not even mad about the nickname as she hugs him and then works on getting the suit off him.

“Liz! Get me—“

“On it.”

She gets him out and then Max and Isobel are there. Kyle and Liz fall with them and it’s a big pile of tears and hugs and laughter and snot. He doesn’t care. The pile make their way to the comms to message that they have him. Unwilling to let go of each other even though Michael is very aware that he needs a shower.

CMMND: good work! Come home.

Alex has his last 3AM shift the night before they get back. Maria keeps him company. She suggests that he come with her to the families area but he turns her down. He’s not family. His boss insists he come with him to the command center. He watches the ship land. When he sees Michael pop out, throw down his helmet like he made a touchdown and throw his hands up, he feels like the breath he’s been holding for the six months it’s taken to get back to earth can finally be released. Michael is okay. Everyone is okay. He staggers from the room.

“I’m gonna just—five minutes,” he says. He’s woken up every night certain the news will come in that Michael is dead. He has to go to a second funeral. Michael is fine. He’s dizzyingly exhausted with the thought. He drops onto the couch. It will be hours before he sees him. “Five minutes,” he tells himself and closes his eyes.

He wakes up to the smell of hazelnut coffee.

He opens his eyes, already knowing what he’s going to see. All the ways he thought about this going, Michael crouching there in a NASA onesie with his hair wet and two cups of coffee isn’t it. Alex carefully sits up, afraid that this is a dream. But Michael stays every time he blinks. When he’s sitting, Michael holds out the coffee cup.

“A small token of my—“

Alex throws himself into his arms. The coffee goes flying as Michael bands his arms around him, equally tight. Two years of text messages sent through a Rover and suddenly all of their other senses are flooding with each other. Alex never wants to let go of him and he can feel Michael trembling against him. Their faces are buried in each other necks and he’s never been so glad they are the same height.

“Thank you, thank you,” Michael breathes into his neck and Alex clutches him closer.

“This was all you.”

“It wouldn’t have been if you hadn’t seen me.”

They pull back enough just enough to look at each other, taking in the differences. The reports all say how driven Michael has been with his recovery and Alex has been pushing harder at his own pt. In that moment he doesn’t think that it matters. He doesn’t care what either of them look like or what state they are in. He just wants Michael here. Michael presses his lips together, his eyes dragging to his lips. After everything, there’s something he immediately recognizes.

“You’re not seeing anyone, are you?” He says.

“No, this really infuriating guy named Captain Blonde Beard keeps texting me at 3am.”

Michael is still laughing when he kisses him.

This, Alex thinks, is more than worth the wait.

#michael guerin #alex manes #malex fic #malex fanfic #roswell new mexico #roswell nm fanfic #isobel evans #max evans #liz ortecho #max x liz #maria deluca #isobel x maria #kyle valenti #Jenna cameron

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brittanybutler · 5 years ago

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Sydney to the Max + The Importance of Representation

Can I just say, I really love Sydney to the Max on Disney Channel??? When I saw promos for it, I was interested in the plot because it’s about a single dad named Max raising his daughter Sydney and they also live with his mother Judy. So it’s this nice father/daughter/grandmother dynamic going on and it’s so cute! Caroline Rhea plays the grandmother, so I knew it was going to be a decent show at least. It has surprisingly good writing for the most part. I absolutely LOVE the fact that it takes place in two timelines, 1992 and 2019 -- showing parallels (and differences) between Max’s upbringing and Sydney’s. The 90s flashbacks are so freaking fun and nostalgic. Max’s best friend Leo is HYSTERICAL. They give him the best lines, omg. I mean, this happens one minute into the very first 90s flashback:

I was immediately hooked. ANYWAY...

I knew right away that the star Ruth Righi (Sydney) was mixed/possibly biracial and I kept wondering if Disney would acknowledge that or not. Max and Judy are white and Sydney is clearly of a different hue + more ethnically ambiguous. Disney pretty much could’ve gone the entire series without addressing it, but they just recently revealed that Sydney’s maternal grandmother is black and it made me really happy. EDIT: They also finally revealed her late mother as well through flashbacks in a very emotional episode. I love that they’re not making a big deal out of it though. It’s not some big plot point that Sydney is half black. It’s just a casual thing. It normalizes the situation, which is how it should be done imo.

I’m 26, but it made my heart so full to somehow see myself represented on this Disney Channel show, even though it’s 14-18 years too late for me lol. If this show existed back when I was the target demographic of 8 to 12, Sydney probably would’ve been my idol because I’ve never seen a girl that actually looks like me on TV, actually playing a mixed character.

It might be kinda weird to do a comparison picture, but you need to understand how SEEN and represented my tween self feels by the casting of Ruth:

Nearly every time a biracial/mixed actor is cast in a mixed role for TV/movies/advertising, they’re obviously/stereotypically mixed looking: extra ~exotic~ with big curly hair, etc. I don’t look like that. I actually think it’s helpful sometimes to cast actors who are “obviously” mixed. It helps ignorant people make sense of us when they can clearly see it spelled out in front of them. But, it’s important to see other phenotypes too. Some of us are rather plain looking in comparison -- with straight/loose type 2 hair and a tan. We look like we could be a number of different ethnicities. Sydney literally looks so much like I did as a kid. I’ve never seen our “brand” of mixed/biracial represented like that before, especially on Disney Channel!

I’ve always been very confident in who I am. But growing up mixed, I was still very aware that I was different than most people around me, at school, and yes -- on TV. I was also very aware that I look different in comparison to the rest of my family. In a lot of ways, I’ve always liked being a little different. I actually think my being mixed oddly makes perfect sense and goes hand in hand with the fact that I’ve always been a strong-minded, creative ~individual.~ But, still. It’s always in the back of your mind.

Me and my cousins circa 2001.

This show sorta feels literally made for me in practically every way, even at 26! I’m a child of the 90s, so I love and get a kick out of the flashbacks. I’m biracial, and I also completely relate to the familial situation. I, too, was raised by my white single mother and white grandparents. Not only that, Sydney is very into music on the show. She plays bass and it’s a big focal point for her character. I’ve been in love with music my entire life and I’ve played guitar since age 11.

A screenshot from the opening credits. Which features a pretty awesome Third Eye Blind “Semi-Charmed Life”-esque theme song btw.

It’s just crazy to me. I really feel like I’m seeing my younger self portrayed here in more ways than one, haha. It’s like they took inspiration directly from my life or something. The importance of representation is a big topic these days, but I didn’t truly realize how impactful it can be until now. Seeing my type of upbringing on the Disney Channel today, even if it is many years past my childhood, is very emotional. It makes me want to shed a tear for tween Brittany and all of the little girls today who are in the same boat I was.

EDIT: Sydney also plays guitar and writes songs. This is FREAKING ME OUT. Here’s Sydney vs. myself at age 14:

You have no idea how insane it is for me to watch this show. In a recent episode, they literally say the word “biracial” multiple times. I just about died. The way Sydney straight up says she’s proud of being biracial and she doesn’t have to choose a side. I’m cryin. If hearing that on Disney Channel means this much to me today, I can’t even imagine how validating it could’ve been for me years ago.

My Disney Channel idol that I desperately wanted to be like growing up was white & blonde Hilary Duff/Lizzie McGuire (which I’m not saying is a bad thing, I freaking love Hilary to this day and think she’s the best) but I just started thinking about how different my youth might’ve been had Sydney to the Max been on my TV screen. Maybe I wouldn’t have felt different than anyone else at all. Because here’s Sydney -- a girl who’s mixed and looks a little different than her family. It’s normal, and that’s awesome. I would’ve felt SO COOL knowing someone like me was the star of a Disney Channel show.

Here, why don’t we end the post with this photo of me trying really hard to rock gold sparkly jeans like my tweenhood idol Lizzie.

#sydney to the max #SUPPORT THIS SHOW OK!!!#disney channel #biracial #ruth righi #mixed race #lizzie mcguire #rant

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studiobeebo · 6 years ago

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SO,,i decided this was cute but difficult to do a complete hc for, so i just made it like a mini hc series with Lots Of Boys

Izuku Midoriya

Izuku is a pretty mild snapchat user to be honest

If he uses it at all, it’s usually to send you a good morning pic on the days the two of you don’t have school

He does this mostly because he knows you get a kick out of his adorably wild bedhead

He also likes to post pics of you on his story whenever the two of you are out on dates or you just happened to do something photo worthy, but other than that he doesn’t post much else to his story other than the occasional pretty scenery or selfies of him and his mom

Katsuki Bakugou

He’s an aggressive snapchatter

Says he hates that ‘stupid fucking app’ but he still uses it?? No one really gets his logic

Everyone he knows gets at least one snap of him flipping them off once a day and yes, that means even you

He’s also surprisingly funny and often sends you funny snaps of his friends doing dumb shit

Katsuki also definitely sends ‘Mom snaps’ but with his usual tone and pictures of his grumpy face or a blurred background

“you better be fucking sleeping”

“get off your ass and get some fresh air”

“Its cold if you aren’t wearing a jacket by the time to get to school i’ll kill you”

He also replays all of your snaps (especially if they’re selfies) but will heavily deny doing so

Iida Tenya

He’s...not really a Snapchat person

He has it, but that’s mostly because of the efforts of both you, Ochako, and Izuku convincing him to get one so you could have a group chat

Never really posts to his story much just because he sees you and his friends daily anyways and would prefer to talk to them face to face instead

But he still does use Snapchat to talk to you! He basically uses it the same way he would through messenger since he really only talks rather than sends things, but he likes the cute pictures you send him and he enjoys being able to keep up with your life when he’s not around!

Shoto Todoroki

He’s the Grandpa Snapchatter That has no idea how to use half of the functions

Took him two months to even understand what a filter was, let alone use them

He doesn’t really get the concept of selfies either so the ones he sends you are really awkward, usually just his straight face and something simple like “How are you?”

Even though he’s sort of plain, it’s actually really cute because he checks up on you quite frequently using Snapchat

Plus he’s the cutest hype man when it comes to your snap stories and he ends up sending a lot of messages saying how nice you looked in a certain selfie you posted

Kirishima Eijirou

He’s a very excitable snapchatter and snapchats everyone and everything

This is sort of bad because his Snapchat stories can be extremely long but he just can’t help it!!! He loves broadcasting his friends to...well, all his other friends.

Not only that, but he loves being a bit of a showoff when it comes to you as well

He definitely takes pictures of you (with your permission of course) before posting them to his story with like 30 little heart gifs or lovey bitmojis because he!!! Just loves you so much!!!! And he wants everyone to see his incredible amazing awesome attractive s/o!!

He has also saved every single snapchat picture the two of you have ever taken together and rotates his favorites as his phone backgrounds

Kaminari Denki

Meme snapchatter. His stories consist of funny things he sees during the day, but it’s mostly him taking pictures of Mr. Aizawa or his friends and drawing funny faces on them

He’s definitely the one who sends dumb questions or snaps in the group chat at 3 AM, usually it’s either you or Bakugou telling him to shut up and go to sleep (though how you say it is much sweeter than how Bakugou does).

He’s also one to show you off on his story as much as possible, he loves taking selfies with you especially if you let him pick out one of the weirder filters and he’ll d e f i n i t e l y save said selfie as his phone background later on.

Shinsou Hitoshi

Shinsou doesn’t use Snapchat religiously like some of his friends and classmates do, but he does use it

He’s pretty infamous for almost never responding to people and leaving them on read, though sometimes it’s not on purpose, he just forgets about it easily.

Most of his snaps aren’t of his face and aren’t too specific, generally just whatever’s in front of him.

Really all he ever posts on his story are the cats he runs into when he’s out and about or pictures of you and him together

A piece sign is honestly just muscle memory for him at this point

He himself usually chooses not to bother with Snapchat filters, but he doesn’t mind it when the two of you are taking pictures together to post on your story. The amount of pictures you have of him with a grumpy face that’s the opposite of the cute cat filter surrounding it is ridiculous, yet somehow he allowed you to screenshot and save all of them.

The two of you are also pretty teasing to one another so he’ll often take random pictures of you with minimal sarcastic captions

“they’re cute sometimes”

“that’s my sweater they’re wearing and i probably won’t get it back”

“dork.”

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

He actually doesn’t use his Snapchat much and he’s that guy that muted the group chat like seven years ago.

He takes so, so many screenshots of everything you post on your story though and will often repost them to his own story with captions along the lines of “my s/o is cute to the max!”, “they’re so talented <3”, and stuff like that

Oddly enough, even though he doesn’t take many pictures, he does like taking pictures of the two of you cuddling together

He just thinks you look so damn cute snuggled up to his chest like that and he likes to look at those pictures to be reminded of how warm you make him feel when he’s feeling down

Hawks

Idiot snapchatter

Takes a lot of videos of him doing dumb stuff, or him doing “cool” stuff so he can show off

He posted his Snapchat publicly so he has many, many followers and he likes to put on a show for them

He posts to his story daily and he makes even the most mundane things like his commute into work entertaining in some way

His stories consist of a good balance of annoyingly cute selfies and awesome scenery since he can get to high up places a lot of people can’t

Because he has many followers though, he also likes to be very smug about his incredible s/o

He brags about you religiously, often taking pictures of the two of you doing whatever it is you’re doing together with captions like “my s/o is better at (insert thing) than yours is” along with a shrug emoji and him sticking his tongue out

He’s also like that privately though and will have his coworkers take pictures of him laying on the ground as if he passed out to send to you in response to the selfies you send him

Even though it can be annoying to have your relationship on display at times, it is incredibly cute and flattering to have him promote you how he does

Unfortunately he’s also the idiot that comes up with elaborate ways to say “send nudes” in his private snapchats to you….and sometimes he gets lucky and is “forced” to ‘leave work as soon as possible’ for ‘extreme emergency reasons’ because of the snaps you gift him with.

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whimsoriginalcharacterscentral · 5 years ago

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OC Origin

MAX

Origin: 2006 or 2007

Appearance: golden-blond hair, sky or cerulean blue eyes

Backstory: Changes with each iteration

1st + 2nd iteration - Max Dragon

Max Dragon is the prince of dragons. Well, a version of dragons that are part human and primarily look like humans until they're capable of transforming at the age of twelve. Max and his twin Giancarlo were the subjects of a prophecy that they could kill a dark dragon known as Ken. Ken attempted to assassinate the royal twins during their first public appearance as literal infants.

The King and Queen decided the best course of option for their children's survival was to send the twins away to live amongst humans. They were given to two guardians who would take them away. Max's guardian was a twelve year old boy named Jake (renamed Valen in later iterations) who descended from the family of a dragon that had married a wizard and not a human.

Jake leaves the hidden paradise island of dragons and runs away to the human world with baby Max. He hopes to reunite with a distant human relative that will help him raise Max in secret. Unfortunately, Ken is hot on his heels with the belief he has both infants. Jake spends months running from Ken but a recent encounter leaves him gravely injured. With a stroke of luck, he makes it to his human relative and stresses the importance of Max and his protection. With his dying breath, Jake obscures Max from Ken's sights and succumbs to his injuries.

Max is raised by Jake's relative known as Old Man Jenkins. They don't have a good relationship since Jenkins didn't want the responsibility of taking care of Max. It's a better relationship than the one they have with the other villagers. Max is ostracized by the villagers for his unusual eyes, his mysterious origins and because he lives with the odd hermit. As such, he's lonely most of his youth. He joins a secret organization of rangers to develop some of his skills and also meets pure dragons that he has an automatic connection with.

Things change when Max is 11 as the village leader figures out Max is working with the rangers to overthrow him. He sends men to trap Max inside a burning building in order for him to have a terrible death. However, Max's heritage allows him to survive the fire. Max is confused but puts it on hold to effectively end the reign of the village head. On the eve of his 12th birthday, Old Man Jenkins reveals Max's origin and how he came to take care of him. Max, with the Old Man's permission, decides to return to his home, reclaim his title and kill Ken. His adventure begins.

The adventure includes finding his brother, meeting mermaids and their princess Zelda that he grows affection for, returning home, traveling to different worlds and times, war, loss, love, clones, truth of a clone-triplet situation and meeting an evil alternate self of his.

3rd iteration - Max Darwin

Max Darwin is a human boy who lost his parents to a teacher who had become obsessed with him. He's a quadruplet - Giancarlo, Sehel and the official appearance as a sibling with Halt - but is distraught since the other three are in comas since the attack by the teacher. Max is a closed off boy that Jake Anderson, legal guardian and cousin, struggles with since he knows Max is just hiding his pain.

Max meets Zelda and the two have a typical teenage coming of age story where they begin to open up to each other and fall in love until news break out that his obsessed teacher has escaped prison and is most likely searching for him. Then it becomes a thriller.

**least developed version**

4th iteration - Maxiel Garwin

***Current Iteration(s)!!***

Maxiel "Max" Garwin is the latest iteration that has subcategories: the king/prince, the God, the damaged soul and the assassin.

King category: King Maxiel Ilian Draconian

Maxiel I. Draconian is the Dragon Witch-King of the country of Draconia in the No. 6 fanfiction Children's War (first fanfiction appearance of the character!). He lost his father at a young age, before his father could choose a successor. So he and his brothers became the Four Kings, ruling the country until an invasion from a foreign country's king led to their deaths(?)

God: Leixam, 12th God, "Maxiel"

Leixam - Leixam is one of the Elder Gods in the No. 6 fanfiction universe that makes his first appearance in the OC-centric Serendipity: Through the Eyes From Above. He is initially an apathetic, bored deity until he becomes involved in the love story of Nezumi and Shion. He goes through great lengths to ensure their happy ending, messing with the natural order in order to do so. To summarize, he's a big NezuShi shipper.

12th God - 12th God is a part of a large pantheon of gods that has been helping humanity for centuries. Unlike his fellow deities, 12th God likes to spend his days disguised as a human and chilling with them. He meets an interesting village boy named Nath, who is a complete atheist. 12th God grows fond of Nath and is distraught when Nath catches a terrible plague that kills his family and nearly kills him. 12th God spirits Nath away to the realm of the gods and gives him the gift of immortality since he can't cure the plague, as it was another god's doing. Nath initially hates immortality and is rattled by finding out gods are real. He grows thankful of his new life and stays with 12th God for centuries. Forces threaten to tear them apart such as jealous gods, amnesia, near loss of immortality and, oddly enough, death.

Another version of 12th God has him meet a modern day Nath - short for Nathaniel - under the human alias Maxiel. The two met at several points in Nath's human life while "Maxiel" was fighting a celestial war. The two became a couple a year after Nath divorced his wife and they lived together for decades. They had several demigod children - none of them born in a traditional way - and fun adventures.

However, 12th God finally realizes one day that his Nath has become old. Despite Nath's insistence, he remains by his side with the promise to immortalize his soul after his death. Unfortunately for the duo, others want Nath's soul and immortality seems less likely to happen.

"Maxiel Nikas" - "Maxiel Nikas" is not a god like the previous versions but he's not completely human either. He was created as an Irregular weapon with the power to implant, erase and manipulate memories. For the power to manifest, he has to have physical contact with the person. He weaponizes his power in order to complete his mission.

The damaged soul: Maxiel Hadriel Garwin-Russo

Maxiel H. Garwin-Russo - Maxiel is the son of a wealthy CEO and an international actor. Like most of the other incarnations, he is born with other siblings. This time, he's a quintuplet with the same brothers plus a younger, quintuplet sister Gwendolyn. For reasons not to be told to avoid spoilers, he ends up in the streets where he meets Zelda and their love story begins anew.

The Assassin: Maxiel Garwin

Maxiel Garwin - Max has been an assassin since he was seven, eliminating an entire crime organization that killed his parents, sold his brothers and kept him as a slave. He was found by two men, Jason and his younger brother Ken who, instead of doing the right thing and sending Max to therapy, recruited him as an assassin for their organization.

He does pretty awful acts in his line of work until he disappears at the age of seventeen and reappears at age nineteen with an interesting case of amnesia and a bullet that should've killed him. Instead of letting him go, Jason takes advantage of the amnesia to convince Max that he is his father and Max is fiercely loyal to the organization. He brainwashes Max with falsehoods before he allows him to interact with others.

As this happens, "Felix" wants to create the Black Jokers, a group of 4 individuals that they can use to assassinate anyone they please. "Felix" wants the amnesiac Max to be the leader, to Jason's anger since he wants to have Max completely under his finger before releasing him. After a threat, Max is released and allowed to join the Black Jokers.

The story involves friendship, experimentation, fake deaths, hurt and comfort, child abuse, manipulation, fragmented memories, more mature content, quintuplets, racism, etc. I can't divulge more without spoiling anything but I can say that therapists should come out more often.

Love interest: Max, in many iterations, is either bisexual or ace. Bi!Max is present in the fourth iterations with the exception of King Maxiel Ilian Draconia and "Maxiel Nikas". Those two are asexual and have no love interest. Hell, the war that led to the downfall of King Maxiel was his insistence on not getting married and a spurned man deciding to try to take him as a spouse by force. "Maxiel Nikas" doesn't have any romantic or sexual interest in people and he doesn't fault his mission for it. He genuinely doesn't understand it. The godly versions of Max are either pan or aro/ace.

Max Dragon in his first iteration had no love interest since both he - and I as the author - were children. So his sexuality was never brought up or thought upon by yours truly. The second version of Max Dragon did have more options since he lived longer and I was older. He dated Maxine, Hebe and Zelda, only marrying Zelda and having children with her. 2nd Max Dragon still didn't feel straight, though, so it could be possible he was bisexual.

The 3rd iteration of Max is also a mystery. Again, I didn't think of a sexuality because it didn't seem important.

Depending on the iteration, Max has either Zelda or Nath as his love interest. So he definitely has a type since both have black hair and bluegreen/sea-green eyes. Both Zelda and Nath are morosexual - exclusively attracted to morons - since they like Max (Just a joke, ya'll).

Several people have fallen for Max - mostly women - for his status, looks or personality. The majority do it for his status since he's either a prince, king, rich kid, god or just a powerful assassin with influence. Nath and Zelda are the few of the people that look beyond the mask of Max, loving him because of who he is rather than his money or looks.

Possible love interests: I actually had to read back my old writings (yikes) to discover people who could've been Max's love interests if the story had taken a different route. They are: Maxine, Hebe, Greyson, Lady Cassandra, and Oliver.

Maxine was Max Dragon's fiancee but circumstances caused by one of the people on the above list (Greyson) cause Maxine to believe Max was dead. She mourned for two months before marrying his cousin, Samuel. Upon his return, Max was heartbroken but tried to not show it. Maxine was the first love interest written for Max.

Hebe, the goddess of youth, didn't think her relationship with Max was as serious as he thought it to be. He loved her more than she ever loved him, leading to their mutual separation.

Lady Cassandra's the darkest of the girl love interests since she wants Max despite his marriage to Zelda and their children. She didn't view Max as a person either, seeing him more as a trophy to be earned. She wanted Max because he was a powerful, handsome king, not for anything else. She's the most selfish person "in love" that I've written.

Greyson is the prince of the wyverns (drakons in the original version) who was manipulated by Ken to see Max as an enemy to his people. The two nearly destroy each other until they realize that they were manipulated. After that, the two began a very close relationship. Greyson always did his best to save and protect Max and was his most loyal friend during Max's darkest times.

Oliver met Max when the two were slaves. Oliver immediately decided he wanted to protect Max because he saw the other boy as fragile and weak. The two were separated and Oliver temporarily lost his purpose and thought Max had died in his absence. They reunite but Max has no memories and Oliver feels slightly intimidated by Max's strength and independence.

The closest people to qualify as potential love interests are Greyson and Oliver. Heck, Oliver and Max would've become a couple had they not been separated. Alas, the two are second to Zelda and Nath.

Family: Max tends to have an extensive family. The first iteration has him with the largest amount of siblings who would either be written out or rebooted. His original family consisted of his parents, the eldest and only sister Elizabeth, older brothers Jake, Jacob, Zack, and Cody and his twin Giancarlo. The 2nd iteration brought Sehel into the family.

The 3rd iteration removed Elizabeth, Jake, Jacob, Zack and Cody and put in Halt and having Max be a quadruplet. Max is also orphaned in this version with his legal guardian being Jake/Valen, his older cousin.

The 4th iterations returned some of Max's previous siblings. Elizabeth, Jake, Jacob, Zack and Cody are the older siblings of Maxiel Garwin-Russo while Max is a quintuplet thanks to younger sister Gwendolyn. He doesn't have true siblings in his godly forms, though. Just vaguely connected to other gods. Maxiel Garwin the assassin only has three brothers and two sisters (removing Jake, Jacon, Zack and Cody).

As for kids, only 3 versions of Max has kids: Max Dragon version 2, Maxiel Garwin and 12th God "Maxiel".

Max Dragon has a lot kids with Zelda: Blake, Gabriel, Dylan, Atticus, Kay, Zora, Senna and Nami. The first three are later incorporated into Maxiel Garwin the Assassin. 12th God Maxiel and Nath had 7 children, currently unnamed at the time.

Closing thoughts: I really really love Max. He was my first and oldest OC. I created him as this spunky, confident and outspoken kid because I was the complete opposite. I've changed throughout the years and Max has been the only OC that changed with me. I even used him as a form of therapy when I got a bit depressive in middle school. Max has a special place in my heart and is the OC that made me fall in love with writing. That's all for Max's OC Origins. See you next time!

#my writing #my ocs #max my oc #my original characters #oc origin #oc origin part 1/?#man i feel old #max is over 12 years old

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