#YES he knows how much a banana costs but I do think he should be like 'what? [expensive grand gesture] is not a big deal' because it's FUNN

[silverhalla]

Seleny Merlot, 8:92 Blessed

Teia had looked far too pleased when she asked him to dinner. That should have been the first clue.

Viago didn’t trust restaurants. In all honesty, he detested them. He could only test for so many poisons at once, and had only developed his immunity to a few dozen. A restaurant was danger. It was his life, in the hands of an unknown chef, in the hands of many unknown persons with many untold reasons to perhaps want him dead. As a rule, he avoided them, but Teia was... insistent. She owned the little bistro, though, and had personally vetted anyone with access to his food for the evening. It was a touching gesture, truly, to make him feel more comfortable in a place he felt deeply, uniquely exposed.

It should have been his second clue.

(also on [ao3]!!)

The establishment was irritatingly nice. Candles flickered on every table, although theirs was the only one taken. If he’d been on edge before, his concern was certainly peaking now.

"You're planning something," he groused after the waiter walked away, pulling out Teia's chair for her. She sat delicately, looking up at him through her lashes as he sat down across the table.

"I am not," she insisted, sounding far too smug.

Viago sighed. "It's bad, isn't it?"

"Oh, hush. Drink some wine." She reached for the menu, smiling at him in a way that reminded him far too much of a satisfied cat. "Try to enjoy yourself for once."

"I'm enjoying myself," he huffed, not enjoying himself at all. "Hand me the wine list."

“Of course,” she said, taking a quick glance at it before passing it over. "Seleny Merlot, 8:92 Blessed. Isn’t that Rook’s favorite?”

Viago squinted at her, unamused. “Why do you know that?”

“Oh, it just came to mind.” She waved a hand dismissively, returning to her study of the menu. “It came up recently in conversation.”

That was news. “You saw Rook?”

“No,” Teia purred, batting her dark, pretty eyes at him. “I saw Lucanis.”

Viago’s voice went deadly serious. “Andarateia.”

“He was thinking of buying a bottle or two,” she hinted, “or so I heard.” She leaned forward, barely hiding a smirk, and he could feel a vein at his temple begin to throb.

"Why is a Dellamorte..." - he hissed the name through his teeth - "...buying expensive wine for my protege?"

Teia fluttered a hand, looking nonchalant. “Oh, I’m sure there was a reason. Perhaps her nameday?”

“Half a year ago,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “You planned her trip to the coast.”

“Did I? I must have forgotten.” Teia bridged her fingers and rested her chin upon them, blinking up at the man innocently. “Well, friends buy friends gifts. Like the dagger she got for him, or so the vendor mentioned.”

It was a trap, he knew, and he walked into it anyways. “When?”

“A few months, give or take.”

That was a horrifying concept – how long he’d gone without spotting it. "Months!?"

“Oh, don’t be so glum,” Teia teased, “I’m sure it's nothing. She would’ve said something. To one of us, at least.”

There was a beat, where Teia smiled serenely and his fury simmered.

"Did she say something to you?" he asked tersely, already regretting the question.

"Nothing comes to mind." She pretended to think about it carefully, her brow furrowed. "I suppose she hasn't had much time lately. The last time I saw her was..."

"When you were planning Caterina's funeral," Viago finished, wheels turning in his head. "...and he brought her with him."

"For moral support, wasn't it? He needed her close by, just in case." She paused, tilting her chin thoughtfully. "Now that I think about it, there was a comment..."

"Teia...," he groaned, his eyes pleading.

She waved a hand dismissively. "I had complimented her. And insulted you in the process, of course."

"Of course," he said, sarcastic as ever.

"And Lucanis got a little..." Teia paused, considering her words carefully. "...defensive."

Vi's eyes narrowed. "How so?"

"He told me not to flirt with her." That, at least, seemed like a decent idea.

"For once, something he and I agree on," he said, casting her a scathing look.

She ignored him, continuing. "And he looked absolutely pitiful about it," Teia added, "...and he called her his colleague."

There was another shoe that had to drop, surely, but he had to know. “Is that it?”

"Oh, but he almost didn't. 'Teia, don't flirt with my... colleague'!" she mimicked, affecting his slightly posher accent, "Like that."

"Like he wanted to call her something else." Viago frowned, brooding. "Did she seem surprised?"

Teia's grin only grew. "She blushed. To the tips of her ears."

Viago cursed, leaning back in his chair. It was a bigger problem than he'd thought. If Lucanis was smitten, he'd kill him. If Rook was smitten, he could give her a strong talking-to and make thinly-veiled threats. Of course the fool had to fall for a Dellamorte, of all people. It was irritating how easily she shaped up plans to ruin her own life. If it were a one-sided crush, yes, he could deal with that. Find a way to dissuade her, or to threaten him. But if that interest was mutual... Mierda.

“Maybe we’re reading too much into it,” he said hopelessly, desperate for another explanation. "Plenty of Crows send out gifts for well-struck contracts. Maybe a gift for a job well done?"

“Perhaps,” Teia conceded, going back to perusing the drink menu. Her eyes kept flickering back up to him, though, a mischievous look on her face, which he ignored for as long as he could manage.

Finally, after a minute of terse silence and furtive looks, he sighed. “What?”

“Nothing! I’m just thinking about that wine,” Teia hinted, “It must be good.”

He considered deeply whether he’d done something stupid recently. Stupid enough, at least, that she’d poison him for it. It wouldn’t be anything he hadn’t built up a tolerance for, but it would certainly make for an unpleasant evening.

The waiter, seeming to sense his acquiescence, materialized at the table. “Signora?”

“A glass of Antivan White,” Teia said sweetly, flashing the boy a dazzling smile that had him stammering as he turned to take the other assassin's order.

“And… and for you?”

“I’ll try the 8:92,” Viago sighed, annoyed that he had to take the bait, “…a glass, but only if you have a fresh bottle. We’ll uncork it here.” The odds of getting poisoned at one of the Cantori’s restaurants were low, but never zero. He untucked the tester kit from his sleeve regardless.

“Of course, signore. If you enjoy the vintage - well, it should be much easier to come by in these next few months.”

“Is that so?” Teia chimed, flashing the boy one of her dazzling smiles, one she'd used on Viago on plenty of occasions. It politely demanded conversation.

“Yes. The winery is under new ownership, you see. And under strict orders for restaurants to keep a reserve.” He returned the Seventh Talon’s smile, every bit as starstruck and moony-eyed as would’ve been expected, faced with Teia’s interest. The comment did not go unnoticed.

Viago recovered as best as he could, already on edge. “What do you mean?”

The boy launched into a long demonstration that he didn’t comment on simply because he was fuming, and feeling utterly foolish, and because language seemed to escape him. The Dellamortes hadn’t just bought the wine, the sommelier had explained cheerfully. They’d bought the whole vineyard.

Teia smirked, and Viago nursed a headache that began forming almost immediately. Somewhere, he was sure, he had a poison that could end this misery.

“On second thought,” he grumbled, “…I will take the whole bottle.”

[aurumixm]

HOW VIKTOR EMBODIES THE HEXCORE

HEAVY S2 SPOILERS DOWN THE LINE!

discussions and theories about whatever tf happened at S2

Okay so first of all please bear with me with this, I ain't a League player and my English is very wonky wobbly. This is just me and my two brain cells rambling about Arcane season two and hypothesizing and stuff. Please be kind!

So I actually posted a brief explanation on what I think may cause the cuckoo bananas shit that happened in Season 2, Episode 3 entitled "The Instability of Hexcore" here's the link: https://www.reddit.com/r/arcane/s/CZdS4fgI7i

I try to swim through the waters to try and explain everything that happened there. Please keep in mind that this is purely theoretical and it merely serves as a post where y'all can discuss and share your thoughts and stuff!

I. An analogy of the Hexcore

Think of the Hexcore as a Rubik’s cube (I know, yes, because it already looks like one). The Rubik's cube has an even amount of miniature cubes that complement each other to build one singular cube. The same with the Hexcore which contains Runes that compliment each other, which helps it learn and adapt. Although, upon trying to fix it, Viktor suspects that there's something ‘missing’ in it, something that can sustain the Hexcore’s adaptability process and therefore help it learn and evolve. However, the moment that Viktor tries to merge himself with the Hexcore with his blood and inject himself with shimmer at the same time, this action alone would be akin to forcing another color to a Rubik's cube, breaking the laws of space. Viktor's blood may have the ability to help the Hexcore evolve biologically, but shimmer, as it always does, makes it unstable. And if the instability of the shimmer is unable to affect the Hexcore itself, it will find a way for it to do so, and therefore explains the reason why it's spreading and affecting others.

II. Jesus Viktor HOW??

How the hell did Viktor manage to heal himself and other people? My theory surrounds the three main components of the new and improved Hexcore: the Hexcore itself, blood, and shimmer. Once again, the Hexcore is the object of evolution and adaptability, and blood enhances its abilities by letting it adapt biologically. However, in terms of shimmer, in the entirety of the series, we are shown that there are good and bad effects of shimmer. The good effect: its ability to heal and regenerate. In my opinion, this fact also has something to do with Viktor's ability to heal himself and other people, but with a cost.

III. Why does Viktor himself and the people he healed are half metal now?

The moment Jayce “combined” the Hexcore and Viktor's body together, they became one, which was also why the Hexcore was no longer to be found. However, back to the possible reason why Viktor became some sort of a cyborg, I think it happened to be because of his spinal brace? Considering how it was entirely attached to his skin too. Maybe the Hexcore in him realized from his spinal brace, metal can be an object to help people just like how it helped Viktor. Therefore, it also explains why when Viktor heals Huck, scraps of metal were magnetically embedded onto their bodies as well. The Hexcore knew how these metals helped Viktor, and therefore gave it an idea to make use of it in healing other people.

Additional idea from my friend's sister, credits to her!! When Viktor healed Huck he actually took or erased his impurities by spiritual means, a void was left which should have resulted in his death due to its inability to be physiologically viable. However, because both worlds (the spirit and the body) have to complete, connect, and complement each other, the physical voil must be replaced by the materials from the physical world which is metal.

Once again, these are just theories!! You can ask me in the comments for questions, clarifications and stuff yada yada. I personally love Jesus Viktor but I miss the goofy side of him in this Season ☹️. Much love! xoxo

Don't forget to drop your ideas, thoughts, and other theories!

[ariadne-mouse]

I know he's on the wrong continent for it, but I would love for the EXU party to meet Essek - not seriously in the story, but just. In concept. Essek, whose life and identity were thrown into complete upheaval by the shenanigans of the Mighty Nein. Essek, whose INT score is higher than Dariax's and Fearne's put together.

---

He smells the chaos on them from fifty paces.

Every instinct tells him to flee.

But then the black-eyed dwarf is crouching down to poke under the edge of his floating mantle with his spear, and Essek is reminded so sharply of Beauregard rolling a handful of ball bearings that he misses his chance to cleanly get away.

"Huh, that's neat," says Dariax, now on his hands and knees to peer through the empty space between Essek and the ground.

Essek finds he is reflexively curling his toes and drawing up his feet further under his mantle, like a hermit crab that resents being investigated.

"Gilmore said you could help us." The halfling Orym wears the long-suffering look of a parent, or perhaps a chaperone.

"Gilmore should not be handing out my name like host gifts at a party," Essek replies, wrapping the sharp words in polite tones. "I do not particularly enjoy unexpected visitors."

"Really? You were pretty easy to find, just sayin'." The shiny human - Opal - also reminds Essek of Beauregard, but before he'd begun to like her. "Hey, where are your arms?"

"You can't just ask people where their arms are," admonishes the tall, graceful faun. "They could be tentacles, or, or wisps of smoke." Fearne's peaceful aura reminds him of Caduceus, but the fire monkey on her shoulder is an unsettling addition. It looks... intelligent.

"He said you might know what this is." Dorian speaks up, but the air genasi carries nothing in his hands but his strange axe-flute.

"What... what is?" Essek prompts, courtly smile in full brittle force.

Opal whispers to Dariax in a way that is neither quiet nor subtle. "Stop trying to look up his robe and show him the thing!" Then without waiting for a response, her tall, vibrantly pink heels click impatiently on the pavement as she approaches and sinks her arm into Dariax's satchel herself. After rooting around for a moment she triumphantly produces an object.

It is a banana. Yellow, slightly bruised.

A banana.

Essek has never missed the Mighty Nein so much as he does right now. He doesn't know whether to laugh or cry, he just wishes they were here to witness this.

He clears his throat. "That is - ahem. That is... a fruit?" He should really just teleport out of here, and part of him wants to, but he's transfixed. Caleb will never believe he tolerated this. (Or maybe he will, with that fond, proud look that usually precedes a kiss. Essek hopes he gets a kiss for this story, considering how much of his patience it's undoubtedly going to cost him.)

Opal scoffs. "It's not the banana, dummy, it's this!" And then she casually lifts up a second thing, and instead of a banana it's one of the most powerful and dangerous artifacts in Exandria.

The beginnings of a headache throb at Essek's temple, and he sighs a sigh he feels in his bones. Yes, he deserves a kiss for this. Many kisses. It is going to be an amazing story, and Caleb will be very impressed.

The words still taste reluctant as he speaks.

"...I think you'd better come with me."

The excited cheer from the group does not encourage him at all.

[baroquebucky]

Hi! Can I request a bucky Barnes one shot with the line “I think that you’re not as dark as you want people to believe” please?

a/n: yup yup !! i hope you enjoy <333 I kinda went overboard on this one hehe,, feel free to send in some bucky requests !! pls tell me what u guys think !!

word count: 5.1k ,,, i said it was long,,

minor faws spoilers ?

bucky paints himself as a villain, someone to avoid at all costs. you think he’s too scared to admit how soft he really is.

masterlist

A groan escaped your lips as you mindlessly moved your hand around, trying to find where your phone was in order to turn off your alarm. You sighed as you finally found it quickly shutting it off and closing your eyes again. You lay there with an empty mind, sleep about to over come you again, thoughts of soft sheets and cozy couch- ding! ding! ding!

You jumped up in surprise, heart racing as your second alarm went off. Rubbing your eyes you tumbled out of bed, shuffling to the restroom to change and get your morning started. You headed out the door of your apartment, locking it quickly before going to work, taking notice of the uhaul truck parked outside.

As the day went by you went through the motions of your day, you were itching to get back home, eager to see if you had new neighbors or not. The last time you had neighbors it was a sweet old man, he brought you banana bread when he first moved in, telling you he hoped to be a good neighbor to you.

You had grown close to him, Stan, soon thinking of him like your own grandpa, but he moved away to live with one of her children. He had taught you to be more level headed and less stubborn and always treat other with kindness.

The thought of him warmed your heart, deciding then that if you had a new neighbor you would bake them some banana bread as a welcome gift, you hoped they were around your age since you didn’t have many friends and most of them were too busy half the time to hang out with you.

As you returned home, the door for the apartment next door was wide open and you could hear voices talking while boxes were moved around.

“Steve i can move it on my own youll break your back trying” a deep voice spoke, another one followed, this one lighter and raspier.

“you and i are the same age shut up” the other man spoke. You smiled as the two bickered, probably a son and his dad or grandfather you guessed.

You changed quickly, taking note of missing ingredients for your banana bread and headed to the store, giddy to meet your new neighbors. You had never been outgoing, throughout college you barely made any friends because you were too scared to talk to strangers, but you were trying to turn a new leaf now.

After paying and heading back to your apartment you quickly got to work, mashing bananas and singing along to your music. Finally popping the bread into the over and sitting on your couch, it was already 8 pm so you hoped your new neighbors would still be up, or else you would have to wait until tomorrow and you didn’t want to give them cold bread.

As the oven dinged and you made sure the bread was perfectly cooked you grinned ear to ear, taking it out and placing it on a plate you had bought earlier, the sides were adorned with a simple but cute floral design and you hoped they liked it.

You were about to head out the door when you took note of your outfit, you but your lip and decided to change clothes quickly, putting on some looser jeans, a white t shirt and a thin sweater.

You grabbed the plate and headed out, listening to see if there was any sound coming from the apartment, luckily you could hear the tv, they were watching a soccer game.

“okay okay, just knock say hello, bread then go easy!” You whispered you yourself, heart racing and palms getting sweaty. You backed away from the door slowly, nerves getting the best of you.

“No i can do this i can do this!” You scolded yourself, in one swift motion you knocked on the door before you could think. You face falling as you realized you had actually knocked, what if it was too loud? What if they thought you were rude now and that you were- oh, wow.

The door opened and there stood none other than Bucky Barnes. You recognized him quickly since he was all over your timeline on Twitter, everyone gushing about how hot he was and how he deserved better. Your mind was blank now that he looked down at you.

“can i help you?” He asked, looking at you and then at the bread, and then back at you. Your eyes widened and you nodded.

“oh yes! bread! I mean heres bread! i made it- here is some bread that i made as a welcome gift, like welcome to your apartment” you rambled, your face was burning and you hoped that somehow he couldn’t tell, maybe girls in the 40’s didn’t blush so he didn’t know what was wrong with your face you thought.

“oh?” was all he said, he could hear your heartbeat racing, he thought you were terrified of him, rushing though your words to get away from him as soon as heavenly possible. Bucky heard you rehearsing outside his door, a small smile on his face as you got the courage to knock, he was excited, maybe he could try to be your friend, his therapist said he needed it, maybe you wouldn’t recognize him and he could start new.

All that was thrown out the window when your eyes widened and your heart began to race faster as you saw him, obviously you knew him, he was the talk of the town at the moment.

“oh my god sorry! I’m y/n, i live right next door” you smiled softly, cocking your head in the direction of your apartment, the plate still in your hands and you wanted to cry because why hasn’t he grabbed the bread yet when i made it just for you.

“I didn’t know if you liked chocolate chip in your banana bread or not so i made it half with and half without i hope that okay” you continued, hoping he would take the hint and grab the plate from you. Thankfully he did and you sighed softly, glad that he took it.

“I uh- don’t really have an opinion” he stated, his lips pressed to a thin line for a second before he cracked a small smile at you, happily returning it.

“well let me know which you preferred” you laughed and he nodded.

“I’m James by the way” he said, placing the plate on a box next to him, “I’ll just got put this on a plate and I’ll give you yours back give me a second” he began and you quickly shook your head at him.

“Oh no! The plate is yours too! you can keep it” you grinned and his mouth opened a bit, no one was this nice to him besides steve. You were too kind, too caring and soft and he didn’t want to taint you or weigh you down with his baggage.

“oh uh, thank you” he cleared his throat, his mind racing and telling him to stop talking to you, leave you alone before he ruins your life like he ruins everything else. “It’s late so you should uh probably go” he started and you felt your stomach drop, part of you upset he didn’t try to talk to you more.

“oh yeah, sorry, have a good night! I hope you like the bread haha, if you need anything I’m right next door” you shot him a grin and he simply closed the door, a frown on your face as you walked to your apartment.

You let out a sigh before your eyes watered a bit. You were never gonna try and make friends again you told yourself, heading to your room to get your pjs and going to the restroom to shower.

Bucky could hear the music from your phone through the walls, they were thin enough to begin with but his super soldier hearing didn’t do him any favors. He could hear the rumble of your voice but he couldn’t make out the words as you sang.

Bucky smiled a little bit, you were so pretty and sweet. No one had even made him banana bread before, let alone make him half with chocolate chips and half without.

Bucky munched on the banana bread, deciding he liked the one with chocolate chips better. A smile on his face as he mindlessly watched his tv, thoughts only of the pretty girl next door.

You finished showering and quickly got changed, sitting on your couch and flipping through channels until settling on reruns of your favorite show. You were bored out of your mind and were about to head to sleep when a knock at the door scared you.

You grabbed your pepper spray from your bag and looked through the peep hole, letting out a sigh when you saw it was just bucky. You put the pepper spray back and rushed to open the door.

“hi bucky” you smiled and he pressed his lips into a thin line.

“I liked the chocolate chip one better” he spoke, looking at floor then at you. There was a smile painted on your face and you nodded.

“Guess I’ll have to make you more with chocolate chips huh” you joked and he smiled a bit before stopping himself.

“I’ll uh see you tomorrow” he spoke before heading back to his apartment and you smiled.

It was a little bit, but it was something.

The first week was pretty stagnant, not much conversation and just small waves from your end. The second week was better, he waved back at you and even gave you music recommendations. By the third week he was coming around more, telling you good morning and goodnight if you bumped into each other in the hall.

He helped you bring a pack of water up after seeing you struggle with the first one.

“I can- i can just help you with that if you want” he spoke from behind you, and you looked at him breathless.

“oh my god please” you sighed, he quickly took the waters from you and lifted them with ease, you stared at him in shock before opening the door to your apartment.

“You can just set it on the counter” you spoke, starting to take everything out of the grocery bags. “I’m uh i was gonna actually cook dinner tonight, if you want to come- not that you have to! I mean i can just give some to you and you don’t have to come over” you reasoned, rambling to the super soldier.

“I’m busy tonight actually” he spoke and you flushed red.

“Oh yeah no! Of course you being a hero in all, that’s fine! thanks for the water help” you smiled, he returned it before exiting and closing the door.

You scolded yourself, obviously he didn’t want to hang out with you god you were trying too hard.

By the time it hit a month and a half of bucky moving in you had given up, he seemed to be stuck in a funk, constantly brooding and avoiding you at all costs.

You baked some banana bread, adding extra chocolate chips and deciding to give him it and try to cheer him up, making get him out of his funk.

You knocked on his door and he opened it quickly. You smiled at the man and shoved the banana bread into his chest.

“I noticed you were upset and so i thought this would help, extra chocolate chips” you grinned as his face broke into a smile.

You turned to leave but Bucky grabbed your wrist, turning you around to face him.

“i- uh do you wanna come in?” He spoke, his voice wavering.

“I’d love to” you replied, following him into his apartment, a smile on your face as your eyes wandered.

“i know it’s not the best, your place is a lot more furnished” he spoke, setting the banana bread down on the kitchen counter.

“that’s okay, as long as you feel at home is all that matters” you said, smiling at him while he sliced the bread.

“I shouldn’t be doing this” he mumbled, “maybe you should go” he spoke, setting the knife down and looking at him.

“oh” was all you said, not knowing what to do.

“I’m just- fuck, look it’s not you i just” he cut himself off, sighing and squeezing his eyes shut for a second before opening them again.

“bucky it’s fine i can go” you whispered, setting a reassuring hand on his metal one.

He expected you to flinch, turn away at the cold feeling. But you didn’t. You kept your focus on him.

“I don’t want you to” he spoke softly, eyes locking on yours.

“i don’t want you to but you should, because I’m always ruining things, I’m always messing something up. Everyone i love or care about gets hurt- it’s like I’m some dark force that ruins anything good. I cant do that to you y/n” he finished, pulling away.

You debated on giving him space or wrapping your arms around him, you could tell what he needed more.

“I think you’re not as dark as you want people to believe” you spoke simply. Looking at the super soldier square in the eyes.

“You walk around brooding and acting like you hate everyone but in reality i think you’re too scared to let anyone in. You aren’t evil or dark. Youre insecure and scared, you just need someone to show they care but you don’t let anyone do that.”

Bucky looked at you in shock, not even Sam talked to him like that. Your eyes went wide as you realized everything you said.

“I’m sorry i don’t know where that came from- i can leave I’ll go i just- i just want you to know that I’m here, no matter what time it is I’m here” you mumbled, quickly leaving his apartment and going to yours.

Bucky stood there in shock, you were right. Everything you said was right. He was scared, he was terrified of letting someone in only to have them ripped from him. He didn’t want to run after you immediately, he had to think through his feelings.

He showered and changed into some comfy shorts and sitting on the floor next to his couch and turning on a soccer match.

His heart raced, brows furrowing as scenes as the winter soldier played over and over in his head. The sound of a gunshot in his dream made him shoot up. A thin line of sweat on his forehead had formed and he was panting.

He ran to the restroom, washing his face with cool water and listening to the faucet as his breathing steadied.

He checked the clock, 2:25 am. He threw on a cozy black henley and walked next door, he was scared. Knocking softly twice he waited for a second, his advanced hearing picking up on some shuffling inside.

You opened the door, a bat in hand that quickly fell to your side when you saw the state bucky was in.

“oh buck what happened? are you okay?” You asked, instinct taking over as you wrapped your arms around him, leading him to the couch.

“i had a nightmare” he whispered, eyes not leaving the floor.

“do you want to talk about it?” You asked, he shook his head and you nodded. You grabbed a fluffy blanket and handed it to him, giving him the controller to your tv and excusing yourself into the kitchen.

You made two cups of hot chocolate, adding extra marshmallows to his. You carried them carefully to the living room and set them on the table, pushing the one with more marshmallows towards him.

“maybe this’ll help you relax��� you smiled and he thanked you, taking a sip. The two of you watching tv in silence, drinking hot chocolate and sitting close together.

By the time it was 3 am you were yawning, tired from your busy day. Guilt rushed over bucky, realizing he had woken you up and you had to be at work early.

“I’m sorry i should go it’s late and-” Bucky started, getting up and you stopped him, pulling him down softly.

“it’s okay, tomorrow’s Saturday” you smiled softly, his mouth forming into an ‘o’ shape.

“You don’t have to leave unless you want to, I’ll stay here for as long as you want” you assured him, placing your hand on his one more time and smiled, eyes soft and heart swelling.

You fell asleep watching tv, Bucky was wide awake, but the steady beat of your heart soon caused him to drift off not long after.

Something changed that night, Bucky became more comfortable around you, inviting you to dinner more and texting you when he didn’t see you. He even had made you banana bread, which he vowed never to do again because it turned out horribly.

You had it bad, you were so whipped for him and he was so whipped for you, both of you harboring a crush and neither of you realized.

It had been three months since bucky moved in, the last month and a half had been a blur. You and Bucky hanging out at any and every chance, going on walks together in the afternoon and even grocery shopping together. You had to museums and taken care of him after mission. You gave him hot chocolate after a nightmare and stayed with him until he fell asleep again.

Bucky helped you de stress, getting you away from paper work when you were too tired and getting you out of the house when you were cooped up during the weekends. He helped you become more confident, complimenting you any chance he got and getting shy around you.

Bucky had another nightmare, and as if instinct he got up, a frown on his face as he knocked twice softly on your door.

“‘M sorry doll” he whispered and you shook your head, holding his hand and leaving him into your room.

You were so tired, you had woke up at 6 am to get to work early after they called you in saying it was urgent. You had spent all day running around getting home later than usual. It was 9 pm by the time you were showered and having dinner.

You had called one of your friends, catching up with them since you missed their call earlier, talking until 2 am when you couldn’t keep your eyes open any longer.

By the time your head hit the pillow you were out, you didn’t know how you even heard buckys soft knocking. But sure enough you got up, and let him in, you lead him to your room without second thought.

You gently shoved him on the bed, moving to the other side and snuggling back under your sheets. “gnight” was all you said before passing out again.

Bucky was shocked, did you trust him that much? Did he really mean this much to you? You were exhausted and yet you still took care of him. His heart melted and he quietly took off his shoes, holding them in his hand as he walked to the couch, laying down and covering himself with the blanket you had given him the first time he came.

Morning came and you came out of your room, Bucky sound asleep on your couch, a fond smile on your face. You began to make the two do you breakfast, as quiet as you could so that you didn’t wake him, luckily he slept through it all.

You shook him softly, whispering for him to wake up when you finished, slowly he got up. Rubbing his eyes as you told him to go sit at table to eat his breakfast.

The two of you eating and chatting, both still tired.

“I didn’t sleep in your bed, i know you took me but i don’t know i felt like you were just too tired to think” he told you, your face burned from how hard you were blushing.

“I did what?” You asked, eyes wide. Bucky only laughed and shook his head.

“I figured you were just too tired to think of anything else so i took myself to the couch” he smiled and you giggled.

“did you sleep well at least?” You questioned and he nodded.

“not as well as i do with you by my side” he smirked and you chocked on your water, coughing at his statement.

“oh my god you- it’s 10 am can i please get a warning” you shrieked and he sat there confused.

“I’m sorry?” He said, both amused and confused.

“I’ll wash the plates!” You spoke quickly, getting up and taking his plate and heading towards the sink.

“I have to go, i have a thing with Sam today” he sighed and you nodded, “okay have fun, good luck and be safe buck” you spoke and he smiled, heading out the door, excited to see you again later.

“No sam like i like her” Bucky spoke, walking besides the man as he looked at something on his phone.

“oh you mean like, like like her” Sam teased, keeping a straight face.

“god i hate you” bucky groaned, regretting ever saying anything to the man.

“well if you like her why don’t you cook her some dinner, or take her to a park for a picnic or something” he shrugged.

“woo her with your charming cyborg mind” Sam smirked and Bucky glared at him.

“i cant- i don’t know how to and plus she probably doesn’t even like me” Bucky began and Sam stopped in his tracks.

“she makes you banana bread, hot chocolate with extra marshmallows and sleeps on the couch to keep you company after you have a nightmare” he spoke, looking at Bucky like he was crazy.

“yes” Bucky stated, brows furrowed.

“oh my god you idiot obviously she likes you” was all Sam said before continuing to walk.

Buckys mind kept drifting to you, did you like him too? Maybe he should take you on a date, you talked about ice skating one time maybe he should take you to a rink, or maybe a museum.

You were exhausted by the time you finished washing dishes, you had barely been sleeping this past couple weeks, always trying to stay awake just in case bucky needed you.

You didn’t mind it, you loved that he trusted you enough to seek comfort in you. Watching movies with him at night to help get his mind off things was your favorite thing, sharing popcorn and eventually he would fall asleep. He was finally getting rest and that’s all that mattered to you.

Your phone dinged as you watched some tv, a text from Bucky.

hi y/n

You smiled, heart pounding and stomach doing flips, you replied after a minute. You didn’t want to seem too eager.

hi buck! i hope all is well w you and sam :]

Buckys heart rate sped up at the site of your text, nervous as he typed out the message.

You saw the three bubbles appear, then disappear and then appear again. Was he okay?

“okay read this” Bucky shoved his phone towards Sam, he nodded in approval.

“no no too much right? let me change it” Bucky shook his head, deleting the text before starting a new one.

“Bucky just-” Sam began but was cut off by Bucky shoving his phone in his face once more.

“Yes bucky it’s good now send it” Sam groaned, just wanting his friend to finally go on a (successful) date.

“I’m gonna change th-” Bucky started, but Sam was faster, snatching the phone out of his hand and pressing send.

“there! now please tell me you know what to wear on a date” Sam pleaded, the silence was the only reply Sam needed.

I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me. I think you’re amazing and wonderful, please let me know- i would’ve waited to ask you in person but i can’t stop thinking

Your face flushed and a smile broke onto your face. Quickly typing out a response.

I would love you bucky

to**** i would love to

You groaned as you read over your texts, god he was gonna back out now, surely. This is the same man who took a month to wave back at his own neighbor for fucks sakes, now you just accidentally told him you loved him?

I’ll pick you up at 6:30 doll :-)

You bit your lip, smiling and jumping around in glee, you could hardly wait.

“okay if it’s just a museum date how about you wear this, and that” Sam spoke, smiling at how Bucky looked in his outfit.

“I’m gonna take her ice skating instead i think” Bucky spoke, and Sam nodded, looking in his closet.

“I’m not letting you near any of my sweaters” Sam spoke and Bucky rolled his eyes.

“i have something back home to wear, thank you Sam” he smiled, pulling him in for a hug. Sam smiled, happy that Bucky was finally finding peace.

Bucky quickly got ready, hopping in the shower and putting on a t shirt and pulling his black Henley over it along with some nice pants.

He checked his clock, 5:47. Enough time for flowers, he rushed out, grabbing everything he needed and heading for the florist.

He remembered how two weeks ago you told him your favorite flowers, gushing about them in your 3 am sleepy haze.

By the time he arrived at your doorstep and hesitated.

“okay, okay, i can do this. just knock, flowers and ice skating!” He smiled to himself, remembering how you were just as nervous when you first brought him banana bread.

He knocked twice on the door, you opened it with a smile. Buckys eyes went wide and his words got stuck in his throat.

You looked beautiful.

“I didn’t know where we were going so i kinda just put on something somewhat casual, i hope that’s okay! If not i can change” you rambled and Bucky blinked rapidly.

“You look beautiful doll” was all he said you blushed, smiling and nodding.

“i got you some flowers” he spoke, nervous to see your reaction.

“you remembered?” you whispered and he nodded,

“how could i not?” your face was burning as you took the bouquet from him, placing them in a vase with some water quickly.

The two of you left the apartment, nervous and giddy to see where the night would take you.

The ice rink was packed, something neither of you expected, and 30 minutes into the line YPU were yawning.

“I’m sorry doll i didn’t know it would be packed” he mumbled and you shook your head.

“i don’t mind I’m just a bit tired is all” you smiled, yawning one more time and apologizing to Bucky.

“Cmon i know what we can do instead” he smiled and you looked at him confused, but he quickly took your hand in his and pulled you out of line and back to his car.

The drive was silent, soft 40s music coming from the speaker as you headed to wherever bucky was taking you.

Before you knew it you were back your apartments, you were confused to say the least but decided to stay quiet and let Bucky guide you.

“Wait here” Bucky smiled, running to his apartment before coming back out with a backpack and taking your hand once again.

“I like to come up here when i need some time alone or just to think” he spoke, clicking on the top floor in the elevator.

You followed him out of the elevator, around the corner and up some stairs, and then you were on the roof. Bucky smiled at you as you saw the sunset over the buildings around you.

You were so busy taking in the view you didn’t see Bucky setting up the picnic infront of you, gasping at the small setup he managed to make.

“It’s not much but-” he started and you shook your head.

“It’s just enough” you whispered, sitting across from him.

The two of you talked until nightfall, smiling the whole time and giggling at each other’s anecdotes.

You were laying on Buckys chest, listening to him talk about the constellations as pointing them out with his metal hand, his other hand was softly running through your hair.

“-and that one is Ursa Minor, the little bear” he continued, listening to your heartbeat as it steadied. You had fallen asleep. Bucky smiled, happy that he could finally return the favor you had done for him every night.

He moved as quickly and quietly as he could, packing up everything into his backpack again. As he headed to pick you up you moved, opening your eyes slightly.

“did i fall sleep?” You mumbled and Bucky smiled, picking you up swiftly and you giggled.

“love when you treat me like a princess” Bucky smiled at your words.

“good thing I’m gonna treat you like one for as long as your mine” he replied, you blushed, fully waking up.

“yours huh?” You smirked and he blushed.

“You can put me down in awake” you smiled and he set you down gently.

“will you be my girl? I promise I’ll treat you like a princess, even promise to never bake again” Bucky smiled, stepping closer to you.

“you make a tough bargain barnes, i think it’s a yes” you smiled, pulling him by the hem of his shirt and placing your lips on his.

The two of you smiled into the kiss, breaking into a fit of laughter halfway through.

“why are you laughing?” You smiled, and he put his hand up in defense.

“you started laughing first!” He defended, pulling you in for another kiss before you could argue back.

You walked to your apartment hand in hand and in comfortable silence.

“I had a really good time tonight bucky” you smiled, turning to the super soldier.

“I had a great time too doll” he grinned and you turned around, unlocking your door. Bucky was already walking to his door when you stopped him.

“You arent gonna come in?” You questioned and he smiled, nodding and following you in quickly.

The rest of the night was spent cuddled up on the couch, hot chocolates in hand and watching your favorite movies on tv.

The two of you fell asleep before the first movie could even finish, you had never felt more well rested in your life. Bucky didn’t have a single nightmare and was the most relaxed he’d been in 80 years.

[jar-full-of-pixel-hearts]

The Improv Show

Request by imvibin69

Maybe a Ben x reader where the reader and Ben use to do improv during college but run into eachother at an improv competition a few years later realizing how amazing they worked together and how they missed eachother.

---

Ben Schwartz x Reader

A/N : Thank you for you request ! I know that you ask for a competition but the charity show was a better fit for the idea so I hope you don’t mind. Really sorry for taking so long too, I wasn’t sure if you wanted a romantic situation or a  friendship kind of miss each other so I kind of do both. I hope you will like it and let me know !

* English is not my first language, I tried really hard to correct myself but, I hope you will excuse me if some mistakes are still there. —-

You didn’t know what you were thinking when you had agreed to perform in the charity event of your friend. In fact, yes you know. You hadn’t been able to say no to his begging eyes and the confession he made you of being scared to not be able to bring enough people and at least one celebrity. You had first tried to make him realize that you hadn’t improved since college, that you will probably be too rusty. But, he had brushed it off, replying that it was like riding a bicycle. You never forget how to do it, even if you tried.

It’s then how you had ended up that night, standing on a corner in a warm room with a bunch of people you don't know in a small theater in Los Angeles. Sometimes,in the little river au face, you thought to recognize some minor and more big celebrities . Like this guy with the strawberry blond hair that you swear had seen on a Netflix Billboard on the side of the boulevard. Wait, Is that Tina Fey ?

Closing your eyes, taking some deep breath, you suddenly heard a voice you could easily recognize everywhere.

“ So it’s true, he really succeeded to make you perform again” The familiar voice tells, clearly amused.

Opening your eyes, discovering the tall stature of  Ben in front of you, you couldn't resist at the large smile who suddenly bloomed on your lips.

“ As I can see, you still dress yourself like a teen or a six years old going to a birthday party” You joke, giving a look at his Disney graphic t-shirt, flannel shirt, jeans and sneaker combo.

"Oh come on, you love that look !" He joked, turning on himself, doing one of his little dance.

" On my nephew it looks great yes " You laugh, making the few steps you need to insert yourself between the open arms he was standing open to hug you.

You and Ben had this kind of friendship who could have quickly turned to love, but hadn't happened because of life in general. If you were single, he had a girlfriend, if he turned single, summer was there and you came back home. At your return, you were the one with a boyfriend.

It sometimes leads to some weird and awkward situation. Like that time when during an improvement, you had to kiss and Ben's girlfriend shouted at him after the show because he never smiles like that after he kissed her.

And then, college ended and you both took different ways. Of course, at first you tried to keep contact, but it quickly became difficult to hang out, both busy with your life.

“ You know, you just cost me a  twenty, I had bet that you didn’t come, but here you are “  He said, releasing you of his hug.

“ Yes, here I am. And you deserve to lose that money if you bet against me Schwartz.” You joke smiling.

“ It’s good to see you again. You look stunning. “

“ Thank you, you look good too. L.A fit you mister Big Star. I saw Sonic, I love it. You did such a great job“

“ Oh please, no, don’t call me that...I’m glad that you like the movie. They let me try to do the SEGA, they didn’t take it for the movie but it was awesome !”

“ Please, every performer has to go to the side of the stage where they will be separate in two group, the show will start in ten minutes.Good show” A woman loudly tells, directing people out of the room.

“ Are you ready ? “ Ben asked. “ I think so…” You reply, trying to calm the knock on your stomach.

“ You will be great, come on, I will be there “

“ Oh ! and this is suppose to help me ? “ You laugh, following the group.

“ It always did, no ?” He laughed.

---

As the show was ending, the clapping and cheering of the crowd sending sparks of joy and adrenaline into your veins. You gave a look to Ben, a huge grin on his face, waving. You never realize how much you have missed all this before.

Your brain running to find a quick idea or a funny reply, the incroyable bond you have with Ben and the facility you understand the idea of each other. The laughs filling the room.

“ That was incredible! You didn’t lost your touch ! “ Ben exclaimed as you came back into the small room to take your coat and bag.

“ I agree, I didn’t think I missed that that much. You were so natural and funny ! “ You smile.

“ I miss so much doing improv with you, all these crazy ideas we had ! “

“ I know, I miss it too. But it’s okay, I understand that Thomas and you are made for each other. A bromance that even Mario Kart hadn’t broken, that’s rare ! “ You joke.

Thomas had entered the life of Ben few years before you lost contact, even if you didn’t interact much, you remember him as a eccentric, fun and polite guy.

" True, it almost broke us.” Ben replied, laughing at the memory of that famous game of Mario Kart.

" You had cheated by letting that banana just before the finish line ! “ You shout, laughing, putting on your jacket.

“ It was a brilliant technique, really legit “ He argued, keeping the exit door open.

“ No it’s isn’t”

“ Then take your revenge. “ Ben suddenly proposed.

“ What ? “ You asked, surprise.

“ If you don’t have anything to do, we could go to my house to get your revenge. “ He said.“ If your boyfriend didn’t wait for you of course…”

“ I don’t have a boyfriend right now…” You confessed.

“ Aren’t we going to disturb your girlfriend if we come home to play video games at this hour? “

“ I don’t have a girlfriend,so that should be cool” He replied, an adorable smile on his face.

Butterflies flying now freely in your stomach as the fact that you were, for once, both free at the same times. Opening the many possibilities. You look briefly away, before coming back to your senses.

“ I will take King Boo “ You simply tell, a playful smile on your lips

“ Let me guess, you will take Donkey Kong ?” 

Laughing, Ben's smile becomes even bigger.

“ Yes, like always. It’s good to be back like before you know…” He said.

“ Yes it is...but I hope this time we never let go on each others”

“ I swear. “

“ I swear “ You promise too.

As you were walking to his car, bumping into each other, joking. You thanked your friend to push you to do this and gave you the chance that Ben and you didn’t take in college.  

—

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[callioope]

HEY GUYS! I watched the livestream of Rogue One with writers Gary Whitta and Chris Weitz. I took notes. Because that’s what I DO. I jotted down some of my takeaways. Please note I was watching RO, watching the stream, taking notes, and also doing a few other things so these MAY NOT BE PERFECT. Please feel free to correct me if you see something I misrepresented. That said I tried to be accurate. 

YES they DO TALK ABOUT the romantic chemistry between Jyn & Cassian but that is literally at the end, but feel free to peruse the rest of the points because there’s some pretty interesting insights (some good and some bad O_O like Cassian’s original storyline, yuck)

ANYWAYS let’s go

Inglourious Bastards inspired the Lah’mu scene (Gary Whitta wrote this scene, although he admitted it changed a lot but a lot of the structure and ideas stayed in)

In the original version of the script, Lyra was a Jedi in hiding, but this was one of the first things that got killed

Mads thinks he plays a bad guy, but Gary thinks he played a good guy

They talked about how Galen originally wanted to use kyber crystals for energy, but it got weaponized (which is talked about Catalyst)

stormtrooper doll is a gareth edwards touch

idea was that there’d be good people on the Imperial side and bad people on the rebel side

Cassian’s first scene on the Rings of Kafrene was written by Tony Gilroy (who wasn’t present in the stream) later. In the earlier versions, the DS is something that Jyn goes and finds. It was much more like Zero Dark Thirty where she was putting together the clues, and it was a battle for Jyn to get the rebels to take it seriously, but that was too much of a slow burn. So the Tivik scene was to replace that and introduce the idea that Cassian can be dark. Everyone admired Diego’s beautiful bit of acting as he's just lost a little bit of his soul in the fight for justice, the morality is the first victim. It’s very subtle but it’s one of Gary’s fave pieces of acting in the movie

Chris said for awhile they had Ord Mandell, then shifted to the notion of something more like in Casablanca, so a bit of a flavor of that, a part of the Empire that has been taken over that is under violent oversight

Gary said in the original, Jyn went to Ord Mantell (mentioned in Empire?) to find an arms dealer to help her find Saw, then went to another planet where Saw was living on a moon called Yarid

Budget realities played a part in the decision making to scale this back; they wanted to put so much more but just couldn’t fit it in

Originally we were supposed to see the rebels evacuate Dantooine and move to Yavin 4, but it didn’t really accomplish anything in the story accept to nod to SW fans. It didn’t move the story forward and would have cost too much

It was Tony Gilroy writing with Jyn getting freed on Wobani. Some original ideas had toyed with possibilities that she was a deserter or Rey-like scavenger, but obviously you can’t do that once you learn what the the Empire does (chris)

Only time they didn’t use a title card was Mustafar bc they wanted fans to go OH SHIT IT'S MUSTAFAR, also worked bc Mustafar would have been one of those off-the-map planets

Gary was responsible for getting Mothma in the movie

How much did the Yavin 4 briefing get worked on? A lot. sort of inspired by a scene from Apocalypse Now.

“I think this movie really beautifully bridges the gap between the original and prequel” and one of the ways it does that is JIMMY SMITS

Lots of gushing over Yavin. “Gareth just shot the shit out of this movie.” so much praise for Gareth’s vision. “Gareth can compose a shot unlike anyone I know.”

The Yavin 4 set was fully contiguous; you could walk from the inside all the way outside in one continuous shot.

K-2SO is a great example of how one character can have many fathers. John Knoll originally came up with him and he was originally a rebel logistics droid envisioned to be a “black C-3PO” (whatever that was supposed to mean - Gary wasn’t sure). Gary proposed that he could be an Imperial droid that was captured by the rebellion and reprogrammed. K-2 was really limited with what he could do working for the Empire, but once he was liberated, he was going to speak his mind. Chris and Tony and Alan all gave him more life, everyone has a little piece of K-2′s parentage.

Only ever one casting choice for Saw, which was Forest Whitaker. Gary also knew Ben Mendelsohn would be cast as krennic, but no one else was cast at that point -- he knew it was down to 3 choices for Jyn, but wouldn’t say who

Chris brought Bodhi into the story (Gary said so but Chris wasn’t sure)

For Tarkin, they took shots from the ANH and unused takes. There was also a mold of Peter Cushing that had been sitting in a prop shop for decades (I didn’t get what movie it was, something where he needed a large prosthetic eye or something), and they scanned that.

Binoculars that Jyn and Cassian look through on Jedha were inspired from the scene in ANH (like when luke looks through them on Tatooine)

Chris was responsible for Jedha, Temple of the Whills, and Chirrut’s connection to the Force. And Bor Gullet, I think. They said Bor Gullet delights in traumatic memories (more delicious to him). There was a cut idea/scene: Bor Gullet made Jyn trade her traumatic memories for information she wanted.

They talked about the two dudes Jyn runs into that are also in ANH and how they survived the destruction of jedha only to get killed by a Jedi the next day - they must have needed to get a drink at a cantina after narrowly leaving Jedha. Puts their presence at the cantina in a new light.

Screenwriters would tell you this [Jyn saving the girl on Jedha] is a classic “save the cat moment” so that we like that character that otherwise we might not -- like jyn [RUDE, but I think they were joking]  [also i took beginner screenwriting in college and YES the “save the cat moment” was like lesson 1 lol

They wanted this war to look like a proper war, and [Jedha] really looks like something you might see happen. Wanted people to feel like it wasn’t just about stormtroopers hassling the guy on the street corner but there were real lives at stake

Commentary on Jyn’s Awesome Fight Scene: this is the first moment Cassian really realizes that Jyn is no one to be messed with 

They guessed that Tony came up with the K-2 gag after Jyn’s fight sequence

Lots of good commentary here about how action scenes need to serve a purpose, they can’t just be fighting: they gotta reveal character and story -- don’t write the specifics of the fight, but write what the action is supposed to mean, let choreographers make it look good

Chris said Gareth kind of requested a character like Chirrut, and Chris had been messing around with a Force priest and they became the same guy. Baze was originally a murderer and criminal, and Chirrut was his confessor figure, and they had a weird codependent relationship in which Malbus would commit crimes and Chirrut would forgive him for it. But in this they are both Guardians of Whills. Baze saving Chirrut reminds Gary of Indiana Jones shooting the guy with the sword. Good example of action sequence having a purpose: showing Chirrut & Baze’s dynamic

Coming up with names in SW -- no real formula, you just know it when you hear it

Lots of freedom to come up with new stuff as long as it doesn’t grossly violate canon. Two Tubes was Tony Gilroy or maybe someone just before him

Allegedly Bib Fortuna’s cousin is in scene at catacombs

Someone wanted a Tusken Raider to leave Tatooine to be one of the rebels, but that was vetoed bc they don’t leave Tatooine

“you don’t want every star wars movie to feel like a remix of your greatest hits” - gary [me: LMAOOOO not everyone got that memo!!!]

Guardians of the Whills: Chris said when he came on board, he wanted to go into some deep George Lucas stuff so he looked at the OG screenplay of SW which is pretty “cuckoo bananas” but it’s unfilmable because it’s so gigantic. but there were so many cool things in it. Originally the Force was known as “The Force of Others" by Lucas so he had Chirrut often referring to it as such

There had to be physical tapes because that’s what was mentioned in ANH. Similarly, Tarkin said it was the first time they destroyed a planet in ANH, so they had to do a smaller test that didn’t conflict with canon but we still get to see the DS do it’s thing

Gary said he got sick of everyone on the internet saying “If the empire’s so smart how come--” so he wanted to make it happen for a reason

Chris said - John Knoll, who apparently has some kind of engineering background, said a project the size of the DS, there’d be hundreds of flaws that would bring down the station. Gary responded - it makes sense that there would be a flaw, but it’s more interesting if the flaw would be there deliberately

They went back to the idea that SW was a fairytale and “only one key that the lock fits in in a fairy tale”

They talked a bit about the “nerdy stuff” and technical details, like how fast does a Star Destroyer go, how fast is travel through hyperspace,” but they were pretty insistent that Star Destroyers go at the speed of narrative. Hyperspace moves at the speed of plot. They don’t think about the gritty details. Story always wins. You try to hide those bits. If tech stuff comes into conflict with story, the story has to win. If you can make it work great, but story should win otherwise. [MY TAKE: I think it’s lazy and you might as well try to make it work if you can, BUT I agree that it shouldn’t necessarily hang up the process, per se.]

They talked about Jyn & Co witnessing the test on Jedha and how it’s important that Jyn & Co witnessed the terrifying destructive power of this weapon, so they know better than anyone how important it is to stop this thing

They said Saw always died in the weapon test. Originally it was on a different moon, but always planned for him to die like that.

Gary mentioned in ANH, there’s more than one empty chair in the DS conference room, but Gary wished there had been only one chair so it could have been Krennic’s specifically and he wasn’t in it.

The idea was that Mothma and other Generals were desperately trying to avoid a war and trying to find a political solution to this crisis, but Palpatine is stringing them along long enough for the DS to be ready. So the Rebels have been strung along and played for fools by Palpatine, but once we realize the Empire has built a genocide weapon, the Rebels finally wake up to the idea that the only solution now is war. Empire has forced our hand. the movie is about the idea that tyrannical regimes always fall bc they go too far and they do something so terrible that people are forced to stand up and fight back. If the empire had never built the DS, Gary thinks they could have won the war and ground the Rebellion down. but bc they got greedy they forced the entire galaxy to take the war seriously, so the DS was really the Empire’s undoing

The Rebellion was like the equivalent of the Second Continental Congress, with squabbling factions and not able to get anything done, and the Empire was able to win in the beginning bc they are authoritarian, unified top down

Gary came up with Eadu, but it was originally in the first act. The whole movie got restructured. Originally they went to Eadu very early and discovered they were building the giant dish for the DS. That was the first scene that Jyn had the clue that the Empire was building something terrible. Later it became less a place where the dish was built and more just where they were harvesting and refining the kyber crystals.

It was originally Saw’s X-Wings that attacked Eadu

“rain = mood” idk who said it but that line popped

originally there were local people called Eadui who told story how facility had poisoned rivers and valleys and farmland. Gary wanted to put a face on the crimes the Empire had committed

Mads doesn’t believe that what Galen did absolves him

In Gary’s version, Krennic came to inspect final version of the dish

Cassian was always meant to be compromised in both Gary and Chris’s versions. He was a double agent: for a long time, he was working for the Empire. Chris added: he had lost people who had been killed by Saw Gerrera, and all he wanted from the Empire was the go ahead to kill Saw rather than Galen. That transmogrified along the lines post-Chris and post-Gary into a rebel intelligence officer who had done terrible things. In the original idea, he changes heart after seeing the Death Star bc it wasn’t what he signed up for, and he had to win back Jyn’s heart bc that DS reveal happens after his double agent ness is revealed.

In the original, Jyn actually gets Galen back to the rebel base, but he’s beyond saving, but his whole speech he gives Jyn in his last moments happened in a medbay

They talked about the score instead of the awesome fight scene after Eadu so BOOO on that. I mean yes the score is brilliant but still I wanted insight into this scene.

I blanked out a little because I was mad they didn’t talk about the Eadu fight scene argh

They were talking about Krennic standing his ground against Vader. and then someone said it was probably something among the Imperial officers that “you haven’t really made it until you’ve been choked by Vader.” O_o sorry we could be talking about Jyn and Cassian DAMNIT

the debate scene on Yavin 4 was recontextualized. always this idea that the rebellion is not one monolithic entity, it’s a collection of worlds all of whom have own leaders and own opinions. rebellion historically messier because it’s democratic and harder to get things done. 

briefly toyed with a Leia appearance (chris) at the big conference scene, but best for Jyn to give the most rousing speech here. 

Who wrote the hanger speech? Spirit of it might be Chris’, but Chris thinks it’s Tony Gilroy. Big difference from version Gary wrote: Jyn convinced the rebels. But he thought it was cool now that Jyn goes rogue and it’s only when Mothma finds out she’s committed to that that she makes the decision to back her up. But in the original she convinced Mothma, and everyone got around the table and said here’s the plan. Chris thinks it was in one of his drafts that they went off on their own. 

in Gary’s version Jyn was Rogue Leader. 

Chris had grunts complaining all the flyboys create dramatic names for their squadrons but that got nixed

Gary had idea that K-2 had scraped off his markings but had to have them painted back on to go to Scarif and K-2 hated it

Mothma talking to Bail is one scene that survived word for word form Gary’s original script

They talked a little bit about the decision to have the characters die, but I was drafting a question and missed it

They talked about how they came up with Scarif and decided to make it tropical -- what sort of place hasn’t been seen before? sort of coming from production and gareth. but also building these places to fulfill the needs of the story -- like building a walkway that only one person can get across

a lot of extras in Scarif were real ex-military, and Gary said a couple of the X-Wing pilots were real-life RAF tornado pilots

didn’t have Blue Squadron in the ANH bc it interfered with the blue screen

Gareth said “give me a mon calamari that looks like churchill’ and that’s Raddus

Chris and Tony killed pretty much everybody. Sounds like Gary just killed K-2? Unclear bc I missed the main part of that when they were talkinga bout it.

They commented on how RO is one of the darkest tonally movies but also so colorful, beautiful blue sky

They wanted to pay tribute to Battle of Endor

they couldn’t remember who was responsible for ‘stardust’ but it wasn’t gary or chris

who’s idea was it to cut off the “I’ve got a bad idea about this”? gary had a different version of it, Jyn said “I've got a good feeling about this” (which ultimately got used in Solo) 

Someone asked about the footage in trailer that wasn’t in the movie: Chris heard on good authority that the TIE fighter in front of Jyn was actually never intended to be used, was always a trailer-specific moment. he said he didn’t know how she would have gotten out of that one. k-2 died on the beach. chris wasn’t sure but as the scenes get cut together in production and post, the narrative necessities can change bc of logistical needs. but some shots were so cool they were perfect for trailers. Some talk on how trailers and movies are very different things in general.

Gary said originally there were two separate facilities on Scarif: vault and comm tower were separated by stretch of beach. so needed to liberate plans from vault and get across beach to tower. as they looked at what they had, there were too many moving parts and they wanted to simplify, so they put vault and tower in same complex.

did they ever consider letting Chirrut pull the lever using the force? NOPE. 

“I am one with the Force and the Force is with me” was Chris. it goes on, it’s supposed to be like a psalm for Jedi, but eh wanted a sort of lord’s prayer type of thing. 

HELL YES someone asked about the romance between Cassian and Jyn! Was there any romantic potential in any script? YES!!! they said!! yes!!! And Chris said he wouldn’t be surprised if a kiss was shot either! 

BUT they went on to say they wanted to side-step the trope that every male and female hero have to be involved.

But clear GARY said yes early on, there was definitely romantic chemistry that got scaled back to a mutual respect, but they’ve obviously grown close. Gary doesn’t think there was anything romantic and they said people found that refreshing. ‘what they’ve been through is the meaningful part” and “‘the stuff that is happening around them is too important" and “it speaks to their character that they wouldn’t let that intrude”

someone said it was like they were walking into a sunset but it was a mushroom cloud and THEN someone QUIPPED that it was sorta like the sunset walking into them RUDE

There was more after that but that was pretty exhausting to keep up with!!!! so i’m wiped. anyone else get any fun takeaways that I missed?

[vegetalass]

RDR2 Boys Grocery Shopping

Arthur 

Arthur can do a lot of things quickly, but shopping is not one of them. 

He’s totally happy to do it, but he takes his time looking at everything really carefully and thinking about what to get

Usually just ends up buying the store brand because it’s the most affordable, but if you specify a brand you like he’s willing to get it 

He’s also willing to spend more on things that are better when higher quality, though, like beer and meat

That being said, definitely prefers local stores and small businesses because they aren’t corporate and are usually less busy 

If he gets to choose the snacks, he chooses boring stuff like plain tortilla and potato chips

Always really nice to the cashiers, and has fun talking to them about whatever he’s buying. Good at conversing about simple things like that.

Despite this, will make a comment about how expensive everything is

If you go shopping with him, he’ll buy you guys a snack to share on the way home 

John 

Not awful at shopping… But not fantastic at it, either. 

If you send him in for six items, he’ll most likely come back with five or seven things

Refuses to buy anything other than store brand because “it’s just as good” 

Will absolutely not break this rule unless he’s with someone who forces him to, and even then he complains

Jack has never had Froot Loops because of this, since John always buys the Tooty Frooty O’s instead

Abigail has given up

If he’s buying for himself, his shopping list is like “Juice, jerky, snacks” 

Never remembers where anything is so it’s likely he’s going around in circles trying to find something

Bad at asking for help, but always spends a lot of time talking to the meat and seafood guys… 

Honestly, he’s just a guy being a dude at the grocery store

Charles 

Not a vegan, but likes vegan snacks and always spends a lot of time thinking about what to get and trying new things. 

He’s a pretty quick shopper though, just because he does all this thinking in advance

Arthur’s always like “How do you shop so quickly?” And Charles is like “Internet.” 

Also budgets very well and still manages to buy a lot. 

He comes home and the gang is like, “You got all of that for $50?” And Charles is like “Um, yes?” 

Probably has to buy more than he normally would just because he the gang is always eating his stuff

That being said, they don’t always like it and often complain about what he buys (and it’s literally just Hummus or something)

The girls are happy though because he’s the only one (other than Hosea) who buys vegetables 

He has snacks that you can touch and snacks that you shouldn’t 

Probably shops exclusively at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods tbh 

King of tote bags (Arthur is jealous) 

Micah 

Good luck trying to give this man a shopping list. He walks in with a vague idea of what he needs and walks out with practically none of it. 

Mostly goes shopping for the fun of it and only buys things he likes

Decides on the spot about whether or not he’s getting something and is 100% the type of person to just leave the things he doesn’t want in random places

If you try to put anything in the cart when he’s around, he thinks he gets a deciding vote on whether or not you actually buy it

Just watch him be like “WTF do we need toilet paper for?” 

If he’s buying something for himself, he buys the most expensive one. If he’s buying anything for the gang, he buys the cheapest. 

Also, even if he’s only supposed to do shopping for the gang, he always ends up buying himself a bunch of stuff that he doesn’t plan on sharing. 

It’s like… “And here’s your ground beef, Pearson! Also, I got this ribeye for me.” 

Hosea 

Literally only shops at Costco. You cannot make him shop anywhere else. He buys everything there

Gets everyone’s snacks at Costco, gets everyone’s shampoo and conditioner at Costco, and even probably gets everyone’s winter coat and boots at Costco. 

If you complain about it, he’ll tell you to do the shopping yourself

Being lent his Costco membership card is a PRIVILEGE. Only Charles, Lenny, and Arthur (as well as most of the girls) have ever received it. 

(Pearson and Ms. Grimshaw probably have their own)

You have to beg him to buy you a hot dog combo and yogurt, but he’ll do it if you persist

Puts relish on his because he’s old

Buys a bunch of random old man stuff. Always buying nuts and dried fruit and apple sauce in bulk. 

Always buys off-brand, too. Everyone is disappointed but not surprised when he brings home weird snacks that are all the wrong brand

You have to make special requests for anything else, and even then, he selectively remembers what people want

Dutch 

King of trying to make the employees “check in the back” 

King of having a bunch of random coupons for things no one likes 

King of taking forever, not because he’s shopping, but because he’s making friends with everyone at customer service and distracting people by asking for opinions on what to buy

Always forgets what he came for, even though he swears to Hosea that he’ll remember

Also impulse buys a bunch of stuff… cake mixes, random kitchen tools, avocados, you name it. He always has some weird justification as to why he thinks it will get eaten/used

Don’t let him go shopping with anyone because he’ll buy whatever they ask for

“How much could one banana cost? Seven dollars?” 

Honestly, other than Micah, one of the most likely people to complain about something stupid to staff 

Also, the only one (besides Micah *cough*) who doesn’t use reusable bags 

Still shops at BevMo! cause he’s a freak

Kieran 

He’s a good shopper. Definitely does his best to follow the list 

That being said, isn’t very good at budgeting, but will at least get you everything you need

His only flaw is that he’s also probably not very good at putting things back in the right spots (not for lack of trying, though)

The only person in the gang who buys the on-brand, quality snacks you asked for AND is willing to share

Everyone goes nuts when he brings home REAL Oreos, Cheetos, and Lucky Charms after weeks of healthy versions or knock-offs

Yes, there is probably fighting

But it’s worth it because Jack loves him forever after this

When he does buy food for himself, it’s honestly probably boring stuff like Raisin Bran and veggie chips (Hosea is pleased) 

Pays for everything in cash and is one of those weird people that always asks for $10 in quarters when he’s getting change

Make sure you specify which store he should go to, though, because if you don’t, he’s 100% going to Walmart (and doesn’t know what’s wrong with it)

Javier 

He’s happy to do the shopping, but he isn’t going to follow a list

Even if all of the food is for the gang, he’s like “nah” and just gets what he wants to eat

Example: he buys everyone snacks but it’s just a bunch of random things he thinks sound good

That being said, unlike Micah, he’s not doing it to be mean

Just like Charles buys the veggies, Javier buys the fruit. 

While he mostly shops at ethnic grocery stores, you can still catch him at Costco sometimes because the deals are just too good

And in the spring and summer, he shops at the the farmer’s market (with Charles and Arthur, of course)

Honestly, the fun of shopping for him is the drive there and back

He uses reusable bags but they’re all just old shopping bags Dutch never threw away 

One word: Kombucha

[writersrealmbts]

Joining His Pack: Bonding (Final)

Description: Sanctuary Series: Life goes on for you and Namjoon, no matter the circumstances.

Posted: 05/22/2020

Tags:  Hybrid Namjoon, Wolf Hybrid Namjoon, Wolf Hybrid Reader

Angst/Fluff: 3,656 words

A/N: First day of Fic Dump! Anybody surviving the music video? Because I’m hanging in there but I have about a thousand ideas for Yoongi stories now. Haven’t listened to the full thing yet, but I will after I post this. 

Darkness and the damp smell of rain is what woke you up.

You groaned and rolled onto your feet, shivering at the cold of the floor and shuffling toward where the damp smell was coming from while still trying to open your eyes and getting your wobbly legs to comply.

You grumbled when a cool breeze met your skin, making you shiver again as chills went up your spine.

Then a blanket was draped around your shoulders. “The door broke,” Namjoon whispered, wrapping his arms around your waist from behind.

You sighed and leaned back onto him. “Guess that moved up on our list of things to fix and replace.”

He nodded. “Just a little. Sort of a pretty morning, though.”

You finally managed to peel your eyes open, looking out over the back yard as the rain poured down across your yard—the flowers from your garden bending but staying upright. Predawn light giving the world a hazy look that was actually quite soothing.

“Our gardens will be happy, we were supposed to water them yesterday,” He commented further, head resting on yours.

You yawned, turning and hugging onto him instead. “Why’s it so cold?”

“Because you’re naked, babe,” He chuckled.

You huffed indignantly. “And why am I naked?”

“Because we mated,” He whispered in your ear, fingers grazing over the ultra-sensitive spot where he had marked you.

You shuddered, keening at his touch and pressing closer.

He chucked again. “Come on, back to bed with you. I’ll be there as soon as I prop the door back in the frame. I’m surprised you can walk.”

“Barely, my legs are still wobbly. What happened to the nest?”

“I cannibalized it to make sure you stayed warm.” He guided you back to bed, holding you upright until you could collapse onto it, then covering you up carefully to make sure you wouldn’t get cold.

“Where are you going?” You asked indignantly.

He smiled. “Door? Me, propping it in the frame to keep the house warmer?”

“Oh,” You mumbled, grabbing and pulling the blankets. “Hurry.”

He laughed softly, his “you’re too adorable and I’m dying” laugh which you loved so immensely. He was too adorable for words. He could be all suave and cool but all you had to do was flirt a little and suddenly he turned into your tall, clumsy, adorkable sweetheart who was so cutely shy that sometimes you felt the need to just shower him in affection until he was all dimples and laughter.

Maybe you should have put the door back in place.

You pushed yourself up. “Namjoon, be careful!”

Your warning came a little late, a crashing noise sounding through the house as the words “be careful” left your mouth.

You winced. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just dropped the door. I’ll be there in a second,” He answered, only a slight edge of panic in his tone.

You leaned out of the bed and pulled the basket of extra blankets closer to you. “Is the door okay?”

He didn’t answer for a moment. “Sort of?”

You slipped out of bed again, stumbling out to look. “Oh my.”

He cringed. “What should I do?”

You examined the situation. “Call Jin or Micheal.”

He nodded, following you back into the bedroom and ushering you into bed, making sure you were tucked in while he went to call one of the men for help with the situation.

You were in a sort of doze when he crawled into bed again, arms wrapping around you and hands chilled.

“You asleep?” He asked in a whisper.

“Mmm, not quite.”

“I love you.”

“I love you more.”

“We’re going to last the ages, aren’t we?”

“We are,” You replied happily, wiggling closer. “We’ve made it this far, haven’t we?”

“Still need to work on the house,” He said softly.

“True, but as long as we’re both in one piece everything else is just details,” You told him, shrugging slightly and tilting your head so he could rub his nose along your neck.

“Might have bitten too hard, babe,” He whispered, sounding concerned as he nudged your mark, causing you to hiss slightly.

You hummed, the hum turning to a moan as he flicked his tongue over the mark. “The door?”

“Yoongi is coming over, he picked up Micheal’s phone. Apparently Timothy was running a really high fever again.”

“Poor pup,” You whispered. “Human hospitals suck. They should go to the Sanctuary.”

“I think they are.”

“Wait, does that mean we should be getting dressed?”

“We’ve still got time. He was feeding Eunyeong breakfast and he said he needed to get her dressed after that. So, at least half an hour.”

You nodded. “Tae coming too?”

“If he’s already awake, probably. If not, then no.”

You sighed. “Better let me up, honey.”

He grumbled slightly, but placed another kiss on your shoulder before letting you go. “You start your new job next week, right?”

“Yes,” You answered, letting the blankets slip from your body and walking to the closet to pick your outfit. You didn’t have to go anywhere (you weren’t allowed to go anywhere) but you didn’t want to look like a bum when other members of the pack arrived. Not to mention it was great to tease Namjoon in the mornings.

“You’re still wobbling,” Namjoon said after a moment.

“You’re still staring,” You retorted playfully, tail swishing in happiness as you pulled out your desired clothes. You really did need to get dressed, you were starting to get goosebumps.

“You want your black bra?”

“Please.”

“Preference on—”

“Whichever you grab first,” You answered, catching the bra he tossed you. “Can you go get the muffin mixes from the top cabinet?

“Yeah, when did you want to reorganize the kitchen?”

“Possibly today.” You threw the sweater on and then sat down to put on socks. “Depends on what happens after your brothers get here.”

“Well, Tae usually enjoys spending time here, and we haven’t seen them much since they came down, so Yoongi will probably end up asleep on our couch and you’ll get to cuddle the kitten.”

You grinned, following into the kitchen and pulling out the mixing bowl to make the muffins. “Sounds like a perfect lazy day.”

He pressed a kiss to your cheek, then hopped onto an empty counter while you mixed the muffin mix and poured it into the muffin tin liners. “Yeah, that mark looks pretty bad. Sorry, baby.”

You shrugged. “Only hurts when you press on it, and even then it’s one of those pains that feels somewhat pleasurable.”

“Weird omega,” He whispered teasingly.

“Bashful alpha,” You retorted, closing the oven door and going over to him, leaning against his legs.

He leaned down and kissed you, slowly, a little lethargic.

Both of you jumped as the make-shift blockade for the doorway fell in.

You sighed. “Wouldn’t be so bad if the wind wasn’t coming from that direction, and if it didn’t have rain with it.”

He nodded. “They should be here soon and—”

The doorbell rang before he could finish.

You moved so he could go answer the door, not trusting your legs to get you that far and instead taking his spot on the counter.

Taehyung came in, obviously following his nose, the toddling following while holding onto his tail and looking fairly grumpy herself.

You grinned. “Morning!”

Taehyung grunted, and leaned against the counter next to you.

The kitten grabbed onto your feet.

You reached down and picked her up, setting her on your lap to cuddle her. “That’s quite the grumpy face, little one.”

“She didn’t get back to sleep after Micheal and Becca took Timothy to the doctors, and we gave her some medicine to help boost her immune system in case its contagious,” Yoongi explained, looking his usual level of tired, but staring at the door. “Namjoon…how?”

Namjoon rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. “Um…I”m not sure?”

You smiled as they went to inspect, resting your hand on Tae’s head. “I’ve got some banana nut muffins in the oven.”

“I love you. Namjoon, I love her!”

“She’s mine, Tae, you can only love her platonically.”

“Then I love her platonically.”

You giggled at the exchange. “They’ll be ready in a couple minutes.”

He finally moved, sitting on the counter across from you, then his eyes widened. “What did Joonie-hyung do to your neck?”

You shrugged a little. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

He looked at you like you’d grown a third head.

You blinked. “It’s a mating mark, Taehyung.”

He turned bright red and looked away. “I forgot canines did that.”

“Yup.” You stroked the soft kitten ears. “Eunyeong’s fur is still baby-soft. I’m so jealous.”

“Right?!” He perked up again. “Yoongi-hyung got her some special fur shampoo that’s amazing! Costs way too much for me, but you know how he is with her.”

“He spoils in her ways that won’t spoil her personality, it is beyond adorable.” You pressed a cute kiss to her forehead.

Euny blinked up at you sleepily, huffing grumpily.

The timer went off and Taehyung pulled the muffins out for you, taking one and starting to dig into it.

Euny made a sound and opened her mouth like a little chick.

Taehyung shook his head. “Words, honey.”

“Pleeeeease?” She said, sweetly.

He grinned and got a bowl and put a muffin in it. “Little bites, baby.”

“Okay,” She said, still grumpy but holding the bowl and picking off bites from the muffin. She curled against you as she ate, tail flicking.

“So, you guys going to have kids?”

“Eventually, but I think we want to get a bit more done on this place, and spend a little bit of quiet time together before then. I mean, things are just settling down from the trials, and I’m off house-arrest at the end of the week, and I start my new job after that.” You shrugged. “We both agreed that we wanted to wait a while before having pups. Besides, shouldn’t you be pestering Jimin about kits?”

“Eh, he’s been so stressed between last years incident and moving and the wedding that I figure it’s a miracle he’s in one piece. Maybe next year.”

“You going to join Hoseok in the master-nanny business?”

“I wish. First we’d have to move back home. Besides, Hoseokie-hyung is probably going to be a teacher at the Sanctuary school at some point.” Taehyung’s tail playfully flicked open cabinets to inspect.

“Yoongi set a time frame for your visit?”

He shook his head.

“Want to help me reorganize the kitchen?”

He grinned and nodded.

Namjoon eventually got shooed away from helping when Yoongi almost had a replacement door dropped on his head, and he helped you and Tae—meaning the boys did the work while you supervised and held Euny who was giggling a little when her Uncles made faces at you, and subsequently at her.

When Yoongi was done, he joined you sitting on the counter and eating a muffin and watching the boys do your work for you.

But all of you got quiet when Yoongi got a call from Micheal.

Yoongi was pretty quiet, just replying to him. “Okay. Yeah, I’ll bring Euny in.” He rubbed his forehead looking worried. “Yeah. Okay, thanks.”

You watched him for a moment while he hung up.

“Well?” Tae asked when Yoongi had been quiet for too long. Frozen.

“Timmy has pneumonia,” Yoongi finally said. “They want to test Euny just to be safe.”

Taehyung drooped. “That’s terrible.”

Yoongi nodded. “Yeah. Alright. I can either leave you here or drop you off back home.”

Taehyung looked at Namjoon.

He shrugged. “Pretty sure we were planning on you staying here all day anyway. Whatever you want, Taehyung.”

“I’ll stay here, hyung. It’d be boring being at home with no one around.”

You kissed the kitten’s head, wondering if she did feel a little warm, before handing her over to Yoongi.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine, hyungie. If she does have it, then we know before it’s really set in and we can treat it accordingly.” Taehyung hugged Yoongi, then kissed Euny on the cheek. “I’d go with you—”

“No!” Yoongi and Namjoon shouted simultaneous.

“No, that’s okay, you stay far away from the doctors office,” Yoongi continued.

You giggled, hopping off the counter and falling into Namjoons arms when your legs didn’t work. “Good luck at the office.”

Yoongi glanced you over. “Namjoon, try not to put her back in the hospital.” He went toward the door.

You managed to get your footing again, but stayed in Namjoon’s arms.

Taehyung stretched after hearing the front door close. “So, what else needs to be done?”

“The things we don’t use a lot need to be put in the highest cabinets. But I have to unpack those still, so we’re pretty much done today. Movie time?”

“Movie time!” Taehyung agreed excitedly.

“I’ll make the popcorn.” You wobbled over to the counter and pulled out the popcorn.

“Really, though, Namjoon-hyung, maybe go easy on her next time.”

You laughed as Namjoon gave a flustered response, throwing the popcorn into the microwave. “For the record, I encouraged him to. Nothing like a good romp. And the ones that leave you wobbly the next day are the best.” You kissed Namjoon on the lips, wrapping your arms around his neck and watching him turn red.

“N-noona….” Taehyung objected, completely flustered. “I’m still here.”

“Hmm, true. Alright, I can stand Joonie. You guys go pick a movie.” You smoothed Namjoon’s shirt and turned your attention back to snacks because snacks were very important.

Snacks were very important.

———

“Thank you! Have a great day,” You told the customer, handing over their bag of sweets before going to replenish the cinnamon-sugar banana chips. They were popular with several hybrid species and with the remembrance day of the restriction of hybrids coming up, the shop had been fairly busy. It had become a custom to have a sort of communal meal, everyone bringing something to the table as a bunch of hybrids got together. Last year you’d spent it with a group of singles at a party hosted by some of the security staff.

Anyway, “Otter Perfection Sweets” had a steady stream of customers that were there to prepare for guests or being a guest. And since there was a wide selection of specialty sweets that were aimed toward hybrids, a large portion of your customers were either hybrids, or those buying for hybrids. But it was definitely different from your other job.

One, your boss was way better. She was sensible, yet fun, and very flexible about your schedule. She was very family oriented and so friendly that before you knew it she had memorized all of the names of your pack members and how they were related to your mate, and would frequently follow up on things that she heard about.

Not that you didn’t also know way more about her family than you expected to.

You’d been working there for a few weeks now, and already had dinner with her family—all of which, from her grandparents, siblings, and parents, lived in one house. Except her. She lived above the shop because,

“My sister is moving back in with them with her man and her eight pups. I love them to bits, but I also love having a full night’s rest. Besides, they’re going to come here all the time anyway.”

And you didn’t blame her one bit for moving out. Because her family did drop in all the time and depending on who it was it could get very lively in the small shop.

You helped a couple more customers, happy to see product being sold. You liked her. You liked her products. You liked this job.

“Y/n, can you refill the ice-cream freezer?”

“Yup,” You called back, hurrying to the back to get the tray of cartons out of the freezer and then bring it out.

You were so focused on straightening the shelf after filling it that you didn’t hear the person sneaking in until they spoke from directly behind you.

“You know, I’ve been in here a couple times, but you’re the most delicious looking thing I think I’ve seen so far.”

You flinched in surprise, turning to smack him down.

Namjoon grinned at you. “You were about to tell me off, weren’t you?”

Deja vu.

“Hi,” You whispered, grinning.

He leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to your lips. “Hi. Why are you whispering?”

“Because I wanted two more seconds with you and if I said it louder she’d come out to say hello.” You giggled and wrapped your arms around his neck.

“Oh, she already saw me. Headed into the back so I could surprise you,” He replied at a normal volume. “Ready to go, baby?”

“Just need to do a few more things and clock out. While you’re waiting you should pick out those treats. Some for Jungkook since he’s spending his first summer away from home, some for Yoongi, Tae, and Eunyeong, and then the watermelon chips for the triplets birthday next week.”

“Aren’t they all coming for the triplets’ birthday?” Namjoon asked, frowning in thought.

“Yoongi has to work, Tae said he might come but he also found out that the art gala he’s supposed to go to is the night after and you know the trip takes several hours. And Jungkook got that job, so he doesn’t know if he’s going to be there or not. Either way, if we send the package tomorrow he should get it by the next day and the sentiment is still the same no matter when he gets it. Spit spot.” You waved him off and went to check out a customer.

Your boss came out to refill the truffle tray. “I give you December of next year before the two of you have pups, and that’s being pessimistic.”

You just laughed and closed out your drawer, taking it back to the office and locking it while bringing out her drawer. “I give you to August of next year before you have a serious relationship. And that’s being pessimistic.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sure, you just go find me someone who likes kids and knows how to balance work and fun and I’ll help you win that bet.”

“Don’t tempt me,” You replied in a sing-song voice and then skipped toward Namjoon. “No, baby, not the watermelon leather. The watermelon chips.”

“What’s the difference?” He looked confused as you changed out the bags.

“Texture.” You checked what else he had gotten, then led him up to the counter. “Anyway, how was work?”

“Eh, it was work. I’m not a fan of our current project, but what can you do? But I’m definitely ready to be home,” He answered, kissing your cheek. He slipped his arm around your waist, just handing you his wallet so you could take care of paying instead. He was breathing in your scent, trying to detox from a stressful day.

You smiled up at him, then took the bag of sweets, said goodnight to your boss and led the way out of the shop. “Last time we left my work together was the second time we’d met.”

He blinked a couple times and then smiled a dimple smile. “Wow. That was so long ago…and yet also a really short time ago.”

“We haven’t even been together a year,” You said, wrapping your arms around his waist as you walked.

“And what a year it’s been,” He said, huffing a laugh as he did. “But I knew when I smelled you that day…when you flirted so shamelessly with me, that you were the one for me. There was no one else.”

“I was shameless, wasn’t I!” You puffed up proudly. “I should get back to being shameless.”

“Only with me, baby,” He whispered smoothly. “Speaking of shameless….”

“When we get home you don’t want to wear clothes for the rest of the night?”

“Um…not what I was going to say…but I can roll with that as long as we’re in our room. Being active.”

“Deal, but I have to finish the care packages first. Then we can have fun.”

“Right. Care packages.” He got the car door for you. “Do I get one for work? And not being with you?”

“Hmm, you get to come home to your care package every day,” You reasoned, kissing him above the door and then climbing into the seat.

“What if that’s not enough to sustain me,” He asked, still holding the door open.

You hummed, pretending to think. “Then I suppose I better start working harder.”

He grinned and closed the door.

You watched him as he waited for a few cars to pass by so he could get to his side of the vehicle without getting hurt. He was wearing a suit, and loosening the tie in such an attractive manner that you wished the drive home was shorter.

Namjoon got in, adjusting his seat again and the mirrors.

So suave. So enchanting and romantic. The perfect, attractive man that you’d see as the male lead in a movie.

“How did I get such a perfect partner?” You asked softly.

He glanced at you, suddenly shy and bashful. “How did I get a lovely little wolf to join my pack as my mate?”

You thought about it. “Well, if I remember correctly, you were chasing after a pup. Something I hope to see again someday.”

He nodded, taking your hand. “Eventually, you will.”

“When we’re ready.”

“Exactly. Whenever we’re ready,” He agreed, looking at you for a moment before turning his gaze back to the road.

You settled into the seat, gazing at the road ahead, excitement bursting in your heart.

——

Previous Part.   

Masterlist.  Series Masterpost.

Taglist: @alex--awesome--22​  @missmoxxiesworld​ @bryvada​  @knjhe​  @i-dont-even-know-fck​  @ephemeral-mindset​ @young-yellkie​

[softboywriting]

A Perfect Fall

Summary: You and Shawn have been best friends for most of your lives and since you were a teenager you’ve had a crush on him. He has no idea, or so you think. Things are about to change, and all it takes is a trip to the best pumpkin patch around for true feelings to surface. [fluff] [best friends to lovers] [fall/autumn theme]

Word Count: 4k

|Masterlist In Bio|

If someone were to ask you your favorite color you would say gold. Gold like the leaves on the trees in the middle of October. Gold like the letters of Shawn’s last name gilded across the back of the letter man jacket that sits over your desk chair at home that he left there a year ago. Gold like the sun going down over the river on a cool autumn night. But most of all, gold, like the color Shawn's eyes are when he sits across from you in a barn an hour from your house and stares out at horses in the nearby corral. He's beautiful. Breathtaking. Outstanding in every way. He's your best friend in the entire world and he has no idea that you're completely gone for him, or does he? Let's go back to how this day started.

Beeping, incessant, droning beeping. The sound of your alarm clock going off at its regular time, seven in the morning. Right now you should be getting up and making yourself appear to be somewhat human before heading to class, praying you remembered all of your homework. You should be scrambling through your kitchen, grabbing a banana for breakfast as you head out to meet Shawn in his Jeep. Not this week though. It's the first day of Thanksgiving break and you're so happy to be able to smash that snooze button and bury your face into a pillow.

Your phone goes off, a low buzz buzz against the pillow your head is on. You've almost fallen back to sleep, nearly reached that floaty state of perfect warmth under the blankets that gives you an express ticket to dreamland. Almost.

Buzz buzz.

"For the love of everything holy, can you go away?" You groan angrily into the pillow. As if the phone might switch itself into silent mode out of pure fear. That would be that day wouldn't it?

Buzz buzz.

You slide your hand under the pillow and extract your phone, turn your head just enough to see the screen and lay it against the pillow next to you. Three missed messages.

Shawn: you awake?

Shawn: get up loser i have coffee

Shawn: I'll come in there

You drop the phone on its face and tug your blanket up over your head. If he wants you to get up on your first day of this mini vacation from the hell that is your second year of college, he can come get you his damn self. He may be your best friend, and yes, you may be head over heels for him, but getting up early on vacation happens for no man.

The sound of rattling outside your window followed by a dull thump is a dead giveaway that Shawn has scaled your mother's new trellis and tripped on the old shingles of the back patio roof. Clumsy and dumb. That's Shawn for you.

"Get up, hey," he talks against the glass as if you'll hear him better by doing so but ends up only muffling his voice further. "I know you're up."

"Go away!"

"No!"

The latch on the window wiggles, you can hear a familiar scrape of his student ID card from his wallet against the wood of the window frame. You watch as the ancient lock flips 180 degrees and the window slides up, sending a cold gust of morning air into your bedroom.

"You're a dick." Shawn grumbles, squeezing through the narrow window frame. He's had trouble getting through it since freshman year of high school. Really the only reason he's climbing through it now is to avoid making too much noise coming in the front door and enduring the wrath of your dad who is surely still asleep because he works nights at the packing plant in town. Shawn woke him up once by just walking too loudly and that was enough.

"You're a dick for waking me up on my vacation." You roll over and face the wall.

Shawn flops on the bed, leaning over across your legs and waving something in your face. "I am not, I'm the best person ever."

"Nope."

"Come on! Look at the tickets!"

You slip your hand out of the blankets and snatch the papers from Shawn's hand. Two all access passes to the Friendly Farms Pumpkin Patch. You narrow your eyes at him and he raises his eyebrows. This is such an unfair move. He knows how much you love pumpkin patches and he knows that you've never been to the Friendly Farms Pumpkin Patch because it's so far away and it usually costs an arm and a leg if you don't buy preseason passes.

"Eh? Whatdya say? Me, you, old J-Bone and the open road to the best place to get your pumpkins this side of the river?"

You groan and drop the tickets on the pillow. "Okay! Okay fine I'll get up." You shove the blanket back and it covers his lap. "But stop calling the Jeep "J-Bone" it's so weird."

"She has a name okay, and I'm gonna call her by it."

You sit up and shove him down on the bed. "Freak."

"Only for you." He smirks, sticking his tongue out and making lewd licking motions.

"Oh God please stop." You throw your pillow at his face and get up to get dressed in whatever was semi clean. Laundry had taken a backseat to classwork these days, you’re planning on catching up during the break.

One big hoodie, Shawn's that he left at your house a few days ago, a pair of leggings under some fitted sweatpants and a lopsided ponytail later and you're ready to go. As promised Shawn has a coffee in the Jeep for you as well as a croissant breakfast sandwich.

"How long is this drive again?" You ask over a mouth full of buttery sausage and egg goodness. "An hour?"

"An hour and a half."

"I'm gonna go to sleep then."

Shawn chuckles. He pulls the Jeep out of your driveway and heads for the highway. "I have a feeling you'll stay awake."

"Why's that?"

"The drive is too beautiful to miss."

_________________________________

Shawn is absolutely correct. The drive down the highway is way too incredible to miss for just a few more minutes of sleep. Of course you've seen the trees around your town turn shades of red, orange and yellow before but driving through open roads where trees grow in massive forests completely unbridled by man, is an experience you won't soon forget. Never in your life have you seen so many different hues of fall colors at one time.

"Shawn, pull over, I need to get out and do something."

Shawn looks over and quickly turns off the highway onto the shoulder where the gravel meets the grass. "Everything okay?"

"More than okay." You grin and unbuckle your seatbelt. You open the passenger door and slide out, leaving the door open as you tromp across the grass to the edge of the forested area. Behind you Shawn kills the engine and you can hear his door open then close followed by your door being closed.

"What are you doing?" He laughs, following you into the trees. "We're not even at the pumpkin patch and you're going crazy."

"I've been crazy. You know that, come on, we've been friends for how long?"

"Twelve years and counting."

You stop before a tree that has bring pinkish red leaves on it. They're like no others around it and you pick up a few of the ones that have fallen. "Pink leaves." You hold them out and Shawn takes one.

"These are pretty. I've never seen them this color."

"Take my picture? I wanna remember this tree forever."

Shawn takes your phone and types in your pass code to unlock it. He's the only person on the planet who knows it beside you and you know his as well. "Alright, do you wanna pose or something?"

"I'm gonna throw a bunch of leaves up in the air and if you can, try to snap the picture as they fall around me?"

"I'll do my best." He chuckles and kneels down a bit to get you in full frame for a better angle.

"Okay on three? One, two, three!" You fling an arm full of leaves up into the air and laugh as they rain down over you.

"Nailed it."

"Really?!" You rush over and Shawn hands you the phone. Sure enough it's you standing and grinning at the leaves as they fall around you with the pink tree in the background. "Oh my God it's perfect."

Shawn puts his arm around you and starts walking back to the Jeep. "I've been messing around with my friend Josiah's camera a bit. He showed me a few tricks for everyday stuff."

"Oh wow, fancy boy."

"Shut up, I am not fancy."

"Fancy pants Mendes learning all the tips and tricks on photography to pick up chicks."

He scoffs. "Yeah, as if. I just wanted to try it out. Josiah takes some awesome photos and it looks so easy, I was curious how he did it."

"I'm just teasing you Shawn." You pat his chest as you reach the Jeep and he pulls his arm away from you. "I think it's cool that you're interested in photography. It's definitely something that could be useful one day."

"Like taking photos of you today."

You smile and let out a little laugh. "Yeah, definitely like today."

Shawn gets in the Jeep and you haul yourself up into the passenger's seat. "You ready for the real fun to begin?"

"Hell yeah. How many pumpkins do you think we can fit in the back of this thing?"

"I dunno," he says, looking into the back where the seats are down and then looks at you. "But we're not going to find out."

"Buzz kill."

"Sorry, but I'm not having my Jeep chock full of pumpkins."

"Psh, it's for science."

Shawn's rolls his eyes and signals as he pulls out onto the highway. The two of you have at least another forty minutes before you reach the farm. Shawn turns up the radio and you decide to lean the seat back and just enjoy the rest of the ride.

_________________________________

The entryway to the Friendly Farms Pumpkin Patch is huge. There are wrought iron gates with metal pumpkin cutouts all along the bars of the fencing with ivy like casts on the top. Shawn drives down the bumpy dirt road to the designated parking area and stops to park near the ticket windows and actual gates inside. There are maybe a dozen cars already parked as well, which considering the popularity of the place isn't hardly anyone. It's still early though, they have just opened for business at nine and it's only about a quarter till ten.

Shawn opens the back of the Jeep while you grab your backpack purse off the floor of the backseat. "Do you need a water bottle?"

"Yeah." You walk around to meet him. "I thought you were going eco friendly?"

"I am." He hands you a reusable metal bottle. "I promise I washed it this morning."

You slip the bottle into your side pocket and chuckle. "Like we haven't been sharing germs forever."

"True." He closes the door and pulls the tickets out of his back pocket. "Ready?"

"I was born ready."

Shawn wraps his arm around your shoulders and heads to the ticket windows. You're excited beyond belief to see what is in store for you beyond the corn stalk covered gates before you. It's going to be perfect.

_________________________________

To say the pumpkin patch is beyond expectations would be about right. You and Shawn walk past the ticket booths and through the gates into a whole town built up around the fall theme. There are shopping booths, food booths, a sign for a corn maze, a hay rack ride, and the pumpkin patch. There is a whole slew of games and places to take photos as well and all that is just what you can see when you walk inside. There's a whole path along the shops that just keeps going and you are floored.

Shawn grins at you, beaming, because you're beaming right back at him. He knew this place was going to be great. Photos online just didn't do it justice. "What do you wanna do first?"

"Just...take it all in." You walk forward toward the center of the town like set up where there is a huge wooden windmill, hay bales and benches all sitting in a circle around it.

Shawn walks along beside you and chuckles. "It's pretty awesome."

"Awesome isn't the word." You laugh and plop down on a hay bale next to a smiley homemade scarecrow. "It's a dream, Shawn."

"I'm glad." He thumbs toward a nearby caramel apple stand. "Let's get a snack and start this day right huh?"

"You read my mind."

_________________________________

You and Shawn spend the whole late morning into the early afternoon wandering around, checking out the entire lay out of the pumpkin patch. You grab cider around eleven and then cocoa at noon. A late lunch consists of a shared smoked turkey leg, a funnel cake and some tomato salad that was being made fresh by some little old ladies at a booth near the center of the patch. The food is incredible and you and Shawn take turns feeding each other bites of this and that, giggling when one of you ends up with powdered sugar on your face from the funnel cake.

Spending time like this with Shawn is the best and worst thing to ever happen to you. It's a glimpse at what life with him would be like if you were together. Your heart swells every time he leans in to say something about the scenery that he’s noticed because you think he's going to kiss you.

Lunch wraps up and Shawn goes to toss your trash in a nearby oak barrel that's set up as a trashcan. He dusts his hands off on his jeans and pulls his sweater off over his head. "Here," he holds it out to you and you raise your eyebrows.

"Why do I want it?"

"Because you're going to get cold on the hayrack ride."

"Psh no I won't."

"Yeah you will." Shawn bunches up the sweater from the bottom up and holds it out for you to put your arms in. "Come on, I know you wanna."

You stick your arms out and he helps you get the sleeves over them and tugs the sweater down so your head pops through the neck hole. "It's so warm." You look down and pull out the soft knit fabric that's far too large on you. "You must be like a thousand degrees."

Shawn shrugs. "I'm always hot. You've slept with me, you know that."

"I-I-" You freeze, brain definitely going down a very different road from what Shawn means.

"Yes?" He chuckles.

"I have not slept with you."

"Well, not like that but... y'know." He shrugs and you knit your brows together.

What does that mean? Y'know what? What do you know? Does he want to sleep with you like that? What...just what?

Shawn waves his hand in your face. "Hey, earth to space cadet. The hayrack ride is gonna be boarding soon."

"Oh! Yeah!" You shake your head and start walking toward the signs pointing to the line for it. Shawn follows close behind, throwing his arm around your shoulders and leaning his head on yours.

You and Shawn take a seat at the back of the ride on a hay bale covered with a red plaid blanket. He's completely right about you needing his sweater. It is a lot colder up off the ground with the breeze from the moving ride blowing around you.

"Look, there's the pumpkins!" Shawn says, pointing to the left.

You look over through the slats of the walls of the ride. Sure enough there is a sea of orange pumpkins and deep green leaves that are yellowing with age as the plants are ready to be picked. There are a couple of very big ones and you definitely need one of those. You don't care how you get it to the car, you need it.

"Check those out," you say, pointing out the massive pumpkins.

"Holy cow those gotta be like fifty pounds."

"I want one."

"Okay."

You sit back and stare at him with your eyes wide. "Okay? You're not gonna convince me to get a few small ones instead?"

"Nope." He grins. "I'll buy you that pumpkin there."

"What's the catch?"

"No catch."

You narrow your eyes but don't argue the deal any further. He must have some motive. There has to be some catch. Maybe he'll say you have to move it or something. Seems fishy.

The ride stops at the entrance to the pumpkin picking area and you and Shawn get off with a few other visitors. There are tons of great pumpkins all around but you waste no time heading for the giant ones.

"How are you going to lift that?" Shawn pipes up as you reach them.

"Well, that's why I've got you."

"Oh? I'm gonna lift that?"

"Please?" You pout your lip out. "You said you'd buy it for me."

"I did." He chuckles, circling the giant orange mass. "I sure did."

"Regretting that?"

"Absolutely not."

You put your hands into the sleeves of Shawn's sweater and put them over your ears. They're cold and you wish you'd brought a hat or even some earmuffs. "Can I get it? For real?"

"Yes." Shawn kneels down and lifts the pumpkin up with ease. "Let's go."

"Isn't that heavy?"

"Not that heavy." He smirks and you walk next to him out of the patch to the line of employees waiting with ATVs that have little trailers attached for carrying visitors pumpkins to their cars or to the front entrance to drop them off until they leave.

"Name and car description?" The woman at the ATV asks as Shawn loads up the pumpkin.

"Ah-"

"Mendes with an s. Black four door Jeep Wrangler." Shawn says, dusting his hands off. "We'll pick it up at the gates."

"Alrighty." The woman scribbles down Shawn's information and peels a sticker of her clipboard to put on the pumpkin. "You got a big one eh?"

"Yes." Shawn wraps his arms around you and lays his chin on top of your head. "Biggest one for my best friend."

"That's so sweet. Would you like to pay here or at the gate?"

"Here." Shawn pulls his wallet out and hands over a ten dollar bill, the rate for extra large pumpkins from the yard. "Thank you ma'am."

"It's what we do," she says with a smile and a tip of her floppy straw hat. "I'll see this baby up to the gates. Have a friendly fun time!"

You and Shawn wave her off as she drives away with your pumpkin.

Shawn pulls away from you and grabs your sweater covered hands. "Wanna go over to the barn and feed the horses?"

You glance over at the big red barn where they show the horses and cattle throughout the day. "Sure. It doesn't look took busy."

Shawn turns around and squats down. "Get on my back, I'll carry you over there."

"What? Why? I can walk!" You laugh and he pats his back.

"Come on!"

"Okay okay, don't have to tell me twice." You climb on his back and he hoists you up so he can hook his arms under your legs. It reminds you of when you were nine and you first met. Shawn was big then too, tall for his age and athletic as ever being in hockey almost year round. He would always give you piggy back rides around the yard to catch lightning bugs on hot summer nights.

Shawn drops you off on a haybale near the first stall inside the barn. There is literally no one in there at the moment and you have the place all to yourselves. "I'm going to get a couple of drinks. Any preference?"

"Cider is fine. Hot please."

He disappears and you lean back against the old wooden wall. Today has been one of the best days of your life hands down. It's everything you love all wrapped into one, a pumpkin patch, oversized sweaters, hot cider, pumpkin picking...Shawn. You sigh and chuckle to yourself. Did Shawn realize how romantic this is? Did he have any clue how it must seem to any stranger passing by? The two of you would be the cutest couple. The dynamic is there, but what you lack is a pair of balls to say or do anything.

"Hot cider." Shawn says, handing you your brown paper cup and sitting down on the hay bale opposite you. "Fresh too."

"Thanks." You smile as you sip the warm spicy sweet liquid.

Shawn stares out at the corral nearby, eyes catching and sparkling in the late afternoon sun. He's gorgeous. Everything about him makes your heart soar. From his soft eyes to his slightly rough hands curled delicately around his paper cup, he is truly the only person you've cared so deeply for.

"Can I ask you something?" You say softly, barely realizing you've spoken. Too late to take it back now.

"Anything."

"Why haven't we ever gone out?"

He chuckles, a wide smile spreading across his face like wildfire. "Haven't we though?"

"No?"

"Can I tell you something?"

You lean forward, setting your cup beside your folded legs on the hay bale. "Of course, anything."

"This was supposed to be a date." He bites his lip and looks down, thumb circling the spout of his lid. "I was going to ask you out, like, for real."

"W-what?"

"Yeah." He laughs, looking up, anywhere but at you. "I chickened out though. I didn't ask you, I just sort of handed you the tickets and said let's go. Which in retrospect was fine, but it's definitely not what I had planned on doing."

"You wanted to take me on a date?"

"Yeah?"

"You...you want to be more than friends?"

Shawn rubs the back of his neck. "Shit, I guess? It's weird. You make me happier than literally anyone I've ever dated. You get my jokes and you sass me right back when I get smart with you. You're really beautiful and sexy in this crazy everyday way without even trying. And you're so smart and- how could I not want to date you? I've literally been so stupid for my entire life because I-"

You lean across the hay bale and press your lips to his. It's a moment you've been waiting for since you were thirteen years old and first realized you had feelings for him. You didn't expect to be the one initiating the kiss but here you are and there Shawn is. You pull back and Shawn just gawks at you.

"That was...you...you taste like apple cider."

You giggle. "You do too, dork."

"Can we do it again?" He asks, putting his cup aside and leaning toward you. "I think I need another taste."

"Mmhmm."

Shawn cups your cheeks and brings you in, kissing you lovingly like this is his way of making up for the last twelve years of your lives. He tugs you forward gently and you crawl over onto his lap, straddling his thighs as you grip his hair. It's been forever since he's had a haircut and it's a bit long, soft as can be, curly and absolutely grabable.

"Hey," he mutters, pulling back just enough to break the kiss. He bumps his nose to yours and you open your eyes to see his beautiful green and gold flecked hazel ones staring back at you. "Do you wanna go out with me?"

You smile and nudge his nose with yours once more. "I thought you'd never ask."

End.

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

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[mhdiaries]

Wave 2 Frankie Stein Diary

The 15th day of September

Watzit got into big trouble today while I was at school. Somehow, he got into dad’s lab and snuck out with apart from one of dad’s projects. Good thing mom was looking out the window and saw Watzit trying to bury it. Dad was still pretty amped up by the time I got home. “That animal is too smart for its own good – I’ve got a good mind to replace its brain with a sheep’s or one from a soft sciences professor.” I think Watzit just misses me when I’m at school so I’m going to start getting up extra early to take him for a longer walk before I leave. Hopefully that will help – otherwise I’m going to have to kennel him during the day = (.

The 24th day of September

I used to think that being the “new girl” was the hardest thing about going to school but now I’m thinking that being the “not so new girl” is kinda hard too. When I was the new girl and I did something dumb everybody said, “You’re new – don’t be so hard on yourself – you’ll get the hang of it.” My friends have also done a lot of things for me, which is good and bad. Good because it kept me from embarrassing myself, and bad because there are some things I didn’t learn to do on my own and now everybody expects me to know those things and when I mess something up that I should know it’s like really, really embarrassing. Like I never really paid much attention to where my classrooms were when I started at MH – total brain short on my part I know – but it was just easier to follow Draculaura or Clawdeen and because they always insisted on showing me around I didn’t really learn they layout of the school. So yesterday we were on our way to class when I totally got caught up in a zombie flash mob and when I finally got away, I was in a part of the school I didn’t recognize and totally lost. I thought if I peeked into one of the classrooms that maybe a teacher could help me. I saw this big iron door and was about to open it when somebody behind me said, “That wouldn’t be a good idea.” I nearly jumped out of my stitches. It was Spectra Vondergeist. She said, “Oh, it looks like I frightened you… good.” Then she pointed to a sign above the door that read, Basement Levels, “Now unless you have a ball of twine or a Minotaur in your pocket you probably don’t want to go down there – follow me.” I followed her down the hallways listening to her stories about MH. They were all interesting but they kind of all were starring her. She did get me back to class though which was really nice of her. Of course, I was really late, and the teacher wanted to know where I had been – I said I got lost, the whole class laughed, and I got detention because the teacher thought I was giving her attitude. After class Ghoulia showed me how to GPS all my classes with my iCoffin so it wouldn’t happen again – oh well, just another lesson for the “not so new girl anymore.”

The 25th day of September

I went to breakfast with my dad this morning, which was scary fun although I didn’t think it was going to be at first. See, he goes to the same die-ner every Saturday morning and has breakfast with the same group of monsters and mad scientists. Mom said he’s been doing it for years. I asked her if she ever went and she just laughed. “I don’t take your father with me to shop for shoes and he doesn’t take me when he gets together with his friends to solve all of the world’s problems.” “Why not?” I asked. Mom gave me a hug and said, “Because my love, there are times when practical advice can just take all the fun out of life.” Then from behind us I heard dad say, “Unless it comes from your parents and then it is to be heeded at all costs.” Then Dad rushed us out the door because he wanted to make sure we got there before the banana scary pancakes ran out. I said, “I’m not a little girl dad, I can eat grown up food you know.” “Of course, you can my dear, but who said I was thinking about you?” Dad’s friends turned out to be really nice and pretty funny for a bunch of monster geeks especially when they started telling stories about dad ;). I could see that they all really like him though and since my dad has a very self-decapitating sense of humor it made the time totally fun. I don’t think I’d want to get up early every Saturday morning but I’m glad I got to see that my dad can be a regular monster too. Hey, who knew? Oh, and the banana scary pancakes? Definitely worth getting there early for.

The 1st day of October

My stitches are still coming loose at exactly the wrong time. Dad ordered some special monstertanium thread that he said was stronger than dragon’s breath and would totally fix the problem. Yeah – not so much. I was standing on a ladder in the gym helping Draculaura hang up a banner for this week’s pep rally when Clawd and some of the football team walked through wearing their game day jerseys. One of the guys on the team is a gargoyle from Scotland who has the dreamiest accent and the most scary handsome crystal grey eyes. I said hi to everybody by name but when I got to him, I totally blanked. I just stood there absolutely mortalfied and finally called him by her jersey number… “7” … lame I know… but then the rest of the guys started teasing him and I got so anxious that my arm fell and then the rest of me fell too. I don’t know how he did it but somehow “7” caught both my arm and me. All the guys started clapping and Clawd said, “How come you don’t catch like that at practice?” “7” was talking to Clawd but looking at me when he said, “If the passes ye threw were as pretty as this lass, I’d nay drop another.” At least that’s what Draculaura said he said. I don’t remember anything after I feel off the ladder except strong arms and crystal grey eyes.

The 7th day of October

Fear Squad practice was terrible today. Cleo was totally impossible to please, and we started and stopped several times before she finally just cancelled practice altogether. Then at lunch Purrsephone, Meowlody and Toralei were all saying that it was because of the blowup that Clawd had with Spectra and the rumor was that Cleo was going to break up with Deuce, Deuce was going to start dating Operetta and Clawd was definitely back in the picture with Cleo. I was really bummed cause they’re all my friends and I didn’t want to have to take sides. I saw Lagoona later and asked her what she thought about the rumors. She asked me who was spreading them and when I told her she just laughed and said, “Not every seagull that yabbers has found a fish.” Coming from Lagoona that somehow made me feel better, confused but better.

The 12th day of October

Monster Heritage Essay by Frankie Stein

That’s all I’ve written so far but I’m really excited about the assignment cause I’m going to get to learn so much scary cool stuff about my classmates. I thought that for part of my heritage research I would read that book that was written about my parents, but I couldn’t find a copy of it in the house. I asked mom why and she said the author had taken, “certain liberties with the truth” but if I wanted to check out a copy from the library, she would be happy to answer any questions I had. When I asked dad about the book, he used an expression I’d never heard before, but I guess mom had because she made that noise in the back of her throat that means some monster is in trouble. Dad hung his head and looked kind of creepish for a bit until mom stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. I don’t need to read a book to find out about my monster heritage. I get to see it every day – how scary cool is that?

The 16th day of October

I had the strangest dream last night. I dreamed we were planning to have the scary best dance ever until an evil teacher cancelled it and we had to have the dance in a secret location under the school. Everything was going as planned when this strange monster in a shiny suit with lots of hair appeared and started yelling that this was his dream and we were going to start over. I totally jumped into another dream but the only think I remember from that one was the intense feeling of being a stranger. It must have been stressful though cause when I woke up, I was upside down and one of my arms had fallen off. No more ghost chili pizza for me before bed.

The 24th day of October

I met a new ghoul today! At least new to me = ) Her name is Abbey Bominable and I think she’s really sweet even if she does take a bit to warm up to. Anyway we were waiting in line together at the creepateria and she was asking the lunch ladies to explain what was in the food. The line started to back up and some monsters were yelling at her to hurry up. I think she was starting to get frustrated so I told her to go with the screechza since it was pretty easy to recognize most of the stuff they put on it. She gave me a look so serious that I thought I had said something I shouldn’t have but then she smiled and thanked me. We sat together and I learned that she lives in the mountains about the school, loves to snowboard and that her first language is Yetish. She said she could understand what was being said most of the time but that the slang kept tripping her up because it was hard not to take everything literally. I told her that sometimes I still did the same thing. Then I told her that I would help her with her slang if she would teach me how to snowboard. She thought for a moment and then said, “I think that would be the cool that is scary.” Hehe I bet she learns slang faster than I learn to snowboard = ).

[chiaki-translation]

TWILIGHT GUNMAN: Event Translation Ch1-5

Something happened, I think I have to take a short break from translating for a while, but I finished the whole event story for this one... Epilogue might need to wait a bit though... I hope that I can get back soon. I think it’s not a good idea to put everything in 1 post so I divide it into 2 for now, will be uploading the other half as soon as I’m done with proofreading.

TWILIGHT GUNMAN Ch1-5 / / Ch6-10 / / Epilogue

Disclaimer:

A3! is owned by Liber Entertainment

Translator’s Note: Location Bus refers to the bus they use to go to the shooting location.

Amabi Student A:

Ha~, today’s lecture’s so tiring…

Amabi Student B:

Should we get lunch in the meantime?

Amabi Student A:

Right. Banri, you’re coming too right.

Banri:

Yeah

Professor:

Settsu, can I have a bit of your time?

Banri:

Me?

Professor:

Sorry, but come with me for a bit.

Amabi Student A:

What what? Banri did you do anything?

Amabi Student B:

As expected of our course’s proud yankee.

Banri:

I’m not a yankee.

Anyway, I didn’t know anything too.

(…But, seriously, what is it about?)

<Shifts to Dorm>

Director:

I’m home.

Citron:

Bang! Dayo!

Director:

!?

Citron:

Oh, Director, it’s no good, you have to fall down properly!

Your reaction’s weak~

A person from Kansai should have been beaten with one shot you know…

Tsuzuru:

No, if you’re that abrupt of course you won’t be able to react properly.

Director:

Eh, umm, what do you mean?

Tsuzuru:

Citron-san seems to be getting into those Western Movies nowadays.

Previously, he was into Shinsengumi, and he even said he’s going to reform the government’s order…

Kazunari:

And after that, he was into role-playing Onmyouji right!

Director:

I see… That’s why the pistol huh.

Citron:

The game that I played with Itaru was so interesting!

Ha! Bang bang!

Tsumugi:

Ugh…!

Da, damn it…

Citron:

Bang!

Kazunari:

Ugh, you got me~!

Citron:

It’s no use hiding in the kitchen!

Bang bang bang!

Omi:

Arrghh!

Da, damn it…!

Citron:

Bang!

Tsuzuru:

I’m already tired of that.

Citron:

Oh, Tsuzuru you’re spoiling the mood~

Tsuzuru:

How many times have I played along with you since yesterday!

Director:

(Ahaha, everyone seems to be playing along with Citron-kun’s Western role-play…)

Citron:

It’s decided, I will be the lead in a Western setting for the next performance!

Tsuzuru, let’s start biting now!

Tsuzuru:

Don’t be impossible!

Anyway, it’s not biting, it’s writing right.

Banri:

Everyone’s lively as usual.

Director:

Banri-kun, welcome back.

Citron:

Banri, welcome back!

Ha! Bang bang!

Banri:

Ah? What’s that?

Citron:

You’ll know just by looking! It’s a gunman.

I’m playing as a Western gunman!

Banri:

Gunman? What a coincidence.

Director:

? What do you mean?

<End of Chapter 1>

Banri:

Anyway, I was thinking of telling this to Director-chan first, but—

A professor from my university was asking if members from MANKAI company theatre troupe want to appear in a movie as extras.

The recruitment of the movie extra seems to focus on Amabi’s student, but they need more people…

They also seem to want people with non-student feels, I heard that from a professor who knows that I belong to a theatre troupe.

Omi:

I see.

Banri:

It seems that the popularity of that Onmyouji performance from that time plays a part within the school too.

The shooting will include staying overnight, other than the general offer, there’s a special compensation too and my university load will be reduced.

Kazunari:

I might have seen that recruitment too!

It’s the title that they’ve been broadcasting on that big cinema complex right.

Director:

That sounds interesting!

I’ve thought so during the Onmyouji performance too, but we don’t really have the chance to touch any normal movies, so it might be a good opportunity.

Tsumugi:

If the cost is covered by them, it seems that we would be able to get approval from Sakyo-san too.

Tsuzuru:

You’re right.

Banri:

Then, I’ll tell that to the professor.

Citron:

Of course, I want to perform the gunman role~!

Bang! Bang!

Tsumugi:

In the meantime, Citron-kun’s participation has been decided I guess.

Banri:

…I guess.

<Time Skip>

Banri:

Thanks for the meal.

Omi:

Yeah.

Banri, you’re going off already?

Banri:

Yeah, I have first period today.

Honestly, I don’t feel like it, but…

Kazunari:

Ah, Settzer wait a bit!

I also have the first period, let’s go together!

Banri:

Yeah.

Kazunari:

Then, we’re going off!

Omi:

Yeah, be careful.

<Shifts to Road>

Kazunari:

Such a good weather today~

I’ve only gotten until third period today, I guess I’ll drop by somewhere on the way back after class later!

Banri:

Seriously… I’m packed until fifth period today.

Kazunari:

Ah, is your second period today perhaps a lecture by Professor Suzucchi?

Banri:

Yeah.

Kazunari:

Professor Suzucchi sometimes gives you a report assignment.

I recommend you to choose the materials that you can find the related data from the books in the library!

Banri:

He-, really.

Kazunari:

I will recommend you some books that I have read later!

Banri:

Thank you. If it’s Kazunari’s recommendation, it cannot go wrong.

Kazunari:

Anyway, about the movie’s extra!

It looks super fun~!

Banri:

I guess. It might become something interesting on top of saving my honour.

Kazunari:

Right!

That will be another vibe point for you!

<End of Chapter 2>

Director:

Then, we will participate as the movie extra with these members this time.

Sakuya:

Pleased to work with you!

Citron:

Fighting!

Tsumugi:

I’m glad that Citron-kun can participate without any problem.

Banri:

They seem to need a foreigner extra this time.

But rather than the gunman role, it seems that they want him to appear as the native people instead.

Kazunari:

Really!?

Tsumugi:

Even though he wanted the gunman role so much…

Citron:

I have no problem with it! I’m now in the middle of studying the role of the natives!

Awowowowwowo~!

Yuki:

You sure change your mind fast.

Director:

Yuki-kun won’t be extra, you’ll participate as the costume personnel right.

Yuki:

Yeah. I was contacted again by Kazunari’s acquaintance from Amabi University.

He was asking if I want to come and help with the costume arrangement.

It’s like a substitute for a part time job and it seems that I can pile up more experience.

Kazunari:

To participate as movie extra with these members, it’s so lit!

Everyone, let’s do our best!

Sakuya:

Yes!

Tsumugi:

Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it.

Banri:

Then, I’ll inform the professor about the member line up.

Director:

I’ll leave it to you!

<Shifts to University>

Kazunari:

Then, my classroom’s on the second floor! See you later!

Settzer too, good luck on your lesson~

Banri:

Yeah, see you later.

Alright then…

Amabi Student A:

Oh, it’s Banri. Morning-.

Banri:

Morning.

Amabi Student A:

I think we’re together for the first period.

…Ah, anyway, have you heard?

Banri:

Hah? What is it.

Amabi Student A:

There’s going to be a change in the production work in Amabi, that Western movie.

The supporting role’s actor has dropped out for various reasons I heard.

<Shifts to Dorm>

Kazunari:

--Yeah yeah.

Ahaha, right~!

Yeah, then I’ll call you again some other time!

Later~

Alright, let’s go back to the room and…

Eh?

(There’s someone in the balcony?

I wonder who. Aririn’s tea session?

Maybe I should go and join~!)

<Shifts to Balcony>

Sakyo:

…Ah, right.

Banri:

I see.

Kazunari:

Eh!? It’s such a rare pair here!?

Good work today~!

Hey hey, what are you guys talking about?

Banri:

Nah… It’s nothing.

I have to get back to my room soon.

Then, later.

Kazunari:

…Eh, did I disturb anything perhaps?

Sakyo:

…Nah, it’s nothing particular.

I’m going back too.

It’s getting colder outside, you should get back to your room soon.

Kazunari:

Ah, yeah…

…

<End of Chapter 3>

Citron:

Location bus is so exciting!

I somehow managed to get snacks under 300yen!

Sakuya, I’ll give this to you.

Sakuya:

Woah, Citron-san, thank you so much!

Director:

No no, it’s 300yen, but it’s not like we’re on a trip or anything.

Tsumugi:

But as I thought, I’m feeling excited just by heading to the shooting location using this kind of bus.

Yuki:

Well, it’s not like I don’t understand their feeling.

Banri:

…

Kazunari:

Settzer~

Banri:

Hmm?

Kazunari:

Alright, here! It’s the new stock of snacks I found in the convenience store!

I’ll give one to Settzer too!

Banri:

Oh, thank you.

Kazunari:

Hey hey, Setzzer, about yesterday--

Citron:

I’ll give a banana to Banri!

Let’s add banana on our snack break!?

Banri:

No, I told you this is not a trip!

Citron:

Don’t be reserved, I received those from the aunties in the shopping district!

There’s a lot~!

Banri:

How much do you even get.

There are too many bananas here.

Extra A:

Ahaha, you’re such a good friend!

Extra B:

But Citron-san, you seriously have such a deep character~

Extra C:

Too interesting! It seems that even the journey will be fun.

Director:

(Citron-kun has become really popular among the extras it seems.)

Banri:

My bad, did you say anything just now?

Kazunari:

…Uh, it’s nothing!

<Shifts to Location>

Tsumugi:

Amazing… It really feels like I’m lost in the Western World.

Kazunari:

Seriously, it’s so lit~!

Staff A:

Camera’s over here!

Staff B:

Please check the lighting!

Banri:

It seems like they’re not settling down.

Sakuya:

Seems bad…

Director:

Ah, everyone’s finished changing it seems!

They really fit you well!

Tsumugi:

Thank you so much.

Staff C:

Oh~! You over there, your image fits the role so well!

Staff D:

Amazing! It’s perfect!

Citron:

It’s not bad!

Awowowo~

Kazunari:

Settzer’s gunman’s super cool too!

Banri:

Oh, thank you.

Kazunari too, it looks pretty great on you.

Kazunari;

Seriously!? Thanks~

Tsumugi:

Eh, Yuki-chan will participate too?

Sakuya:

Is it a bar’s waitress costume?

I can really feel the atmosphere!

Yuki:

I heard that they don’t have enough people.

Well, I look cute like this, so I think it’s fine.

Staff A:

Everyone playing extra, you’ll be waiting for your turn so please go to the location bus at once!

Citron:

Understand~

Director:

Then, let’s go.

Yuki:

Yeah.

Sakuya:

I’m really looking forward to the shooting, I’m a bit nervous though…!

Banri:

…

It’s about time huh…

Sakuya:

? Banri-kun, what happened?

Banri:

My bad, Sakuya, I’ll be away for a while.

Sakuya:

Ah, Banri-kun…!

<End of Chapter 4>

Kazunari:

But Ronron’s costume, the quality’s really high!?

Yuki:

They were particular about the fabrics too, but I might like this kind of access actually.

Director:

The feather decoration has a really beautiful colour too.

Citron:

It fits perfectly with my oriental feels!

I like it!

Kazunari:

Eh? By the way where’s Settzer?

I don’t see him anywhere…

Sakuya:

About that, he went away somewhere earlier…

Citron:

He’s running away by himself!?

That’s not fair!

Sakuya:

Umm, I think that’s not the situation…

Tsumugi:

Well well, maybe he has something else to do.

Kazunari:

Right! If it’s Settzer, it should be fine!

Director:

You’re right.

Kazunari:

…

<Shifts to Bar>

Staff:

Good work everyone!

We managed to end today’s shooting without any problem.

We have prepared the food as well, please enjoy yourself!

Let’s stay in the costume as it is, we’ll still be using it from tomorrow onwards, so it’s a good chance to build your role, we seek your cooperation for that matter!

Extra A:

Ahaha, well, it’s true that the shop’s atmosphere feels very Western, it might end up becoming a good role study it seems.

Yuki:

It’s fine, but don’t you dare dirty the costume now.

Sakuya:

I, I’ll be careful!

Citron:

Without further ado, let’s eat!

Kazunari:

Woah! This meat’s super delish~!

Furthermore, your eyes are wild! Let’s take some pictures for Insta!

Director:

Even the food feels so Western!

The potato is delicious too.

Citron:

It’s delicious~! I want to dance a happy dance!

Awowowowo!

Sakuya:

The Western vibes are getting higher and higher!

Tsumugi:

By the way, there’s the lead actor too, but I’m glad that the movie’s by Director Uesugi, the aura’s really different…

Yuki:

I think that I’ve heard the story from him, if I’m not wrong, our useless actor has starred in that director’s work too.

Kazunari:

Seriously!? So lit!

Sakuya:

As expected of Tenma-kun…!

Banri:

Good work.

Director:

Ah, Banri-kun! You’re late.

Yuki:

Anyway, where did you go.

Citron:

Alright, Banri, did you run away to get signatures from the actors!?

Banri:

I wasn’t doing that obviously.

The theatrical and dance department from Amabi University was summoned to a different place.

I was just shooting in another location.

Yuki:

Then, isn’t it fine if you just explain from the beginning.

Sakuya:

Woah, what kind of scene was it?

Banri:

…Well, that, just look forward to it.

Yuki:

What’s that, don’t act like you’re so important.

Kazunari:

…

<End of Chapter 5>

[likeshipsonthesea]

post script poetry

okay i’m going to preface this with a lot of rambling so buckle up my dudes

i started this i don’t know how long ago when i saw a post about how fun it would be if dex ended up being the one to wax poetic about nursey and i saw it and thought the only way that would happen would be by accident, like if he was complaining and started getting mushy

so i wrote this. like, half of this. and then tonight i found it and i liked it and finished it. so here you go. and yes, i did this instead of fulfilling the hozier prompts. sorry not sorry?

Hey Lardo,

I attached my schedule for the week of the 15th. Depending on how long you need me, I can also work this week. I know the sculpture doesn’t have to be done until the end of the month, but I also know how you get close to a deadline. Let me know if any of the free times work for you-- if not, we’ll figure something out.

Dex

P.S. I was going to text this, but since I’m typing I might as well tell you that there’s a horrifying new regular at the café. Every time he comes in he orders something so convoluted and complicated that he has to be fucking with me, and the drinks are so damn sweet he must need to see a dentist every weekend. He walks in with this stupid fucking smirk on his face too, like he derives joy from ruining a perfectly nice--okay well not nice but I’m perfectly civil to customers at least-- barista’s day.

He’s come in consistently for three weeks now. Pray for me.

P.P.S. Did I mention that he’s taken to sitting at a table with nothing but his stupid sweet drinks and a journal for hours on end? Sometimes he’ll buy a muffin and try to talk to me, like I’m not fucking working. Asshole.

*~*~*

Hey Lardo,

5 on Wednesday works for me. Should I bring anything aside from the regular tools?

Dex

P.S. It doesn’t matter if he’s attractive but since you asked, yes, but only in the way that statues are attractive. They’re carved and perfected and gorgeous, yeah, but when you look at them you’re admiring it, idolizing it-- your own inferiority is entangled in the attraction.

P.P.S. And no, I’m not telling you his name.

*~*~*

Hey Lardo,

Sorry to hear about the issues with the sculpture. The earliest I can come for emergency repairs would be tomorrow after work. Hope it holds together until then.

Sorry,

Dex

P.S. This seems to be a theme in our emails, but I’m mentioning this only because it literally just happened. The horrible regular was just here in a sweater and jeans. A sweater and jeans. It’s fucking snowing. Below freezing, high teens, stupid kind of cold, and the guy left his jacket home for what? To show the world how pretty he looks in that sweater? The asshole probably looked in the mirror and thought that people noticing how the green in the sweater enhanced the fucking tree top, sea-glass shiny green of his own eyes was more important than not getting frost bite. And he looked so fucking proud of himself too, smiling all big and wide and stupid like his lips weren’t chattering! And then he stayed in the shop forever, obviously, because he can’t go out in the cold wearing nothing and he just sat there and wrote in his stupid journal and looked over at me with his fucking budding-leaves-at-the-beginning-of-spring eyes like he knew how infuriating he was. That kind of stupidity just pisses me off.

*~*~*

Hey Lardo,

Was going through my messages and saw the last thread. How are the repairs holding up?

Dex

P.S. Shut up.

*~*~*

Lardo,

Glad the emergency repairs are holding. The piece looks great so far, I can’t wait to see the finished product at the end of term.

Dex

P.S. I’m not going to fuck an asshole just because he’s pretty.

P.P.S. Don’t bring up the LAX bro.

*~*~*

Hey Lardo,

My phone crapped out in the middle of a shift so I’ll be communicating via email for the next few days. I’ve got a bunch of leftover muffins from work. Want me to drop by the studio on the way home?

Dex

*~*~*

Lardo,

I’ll grab all the banana nut and any double chocolates that look good. See you soon.

Dex

P.S. Just because we’re on email doesn’t mean you have to ask about my horrible regular. But yes, to answer your question, he is still a regular and maybe a little less horrible, thank God.

*~*~*

Lardo,

Okay, I’ll get some blueberry ones for Shitty too.

Dex

P.S. Well, he’s less horrible because his orders-- while still stupidly complicated and overly fucking sweet-- have narrowed down to one of two options, so I know what they are now. When he lists off all of the stupid steps, I can just ignore him and stare at nothing, or how he gestures with his hands when he speaks and barely avoids knocking over the tip jar. I guess it’s nice that he talks with his hands, though, because sometimes when he’s sitting at a table and writing his hands start shaking and I much prefer the gesturing to that.

Also he seems to have decided to wear a coat for the foreseeable future, and even if it’s this deep green pea coat that probably cost more than what I make in a month, it looks good on him-- aesthetics and functionality, at least he’s compromising. It’s like cut or whatever, so you can still see the line of his waist, tight to his chest and everything. And he has a matching beanie that doesn’t seem that warm, but he tugs it down just over the tips of his ears and a few of his curls above his forehead poke out of it, all soft looking and stuff. He still needs gloves though.

But, I guess, overall he’s less horrible.

*~*~*

Lardo,

The sculpture looks great! And with the deadline still a week away you have a bunch of time to do all your last little nit-picky things.

Dex

P.S. Okay reading over that last post-script I do sound a little mushy, but in my defense I was coming off a double shift and I’d had a big deadline for CS the night before and I definitely wasn’t all there. This cannot be held against me.

*~*~*

Lardo,

Just because you put it in the P.S. doesn’t make it okay. I am not In Love with anyone, especially not the guy who writes poetry on the twenties he leaves in the tip jar.

Dex

*~*~*

Lardo,

Why does that matter?

Dex

*~*~*

FINE some of it was other people’s stuff-- I googled it and some were Emily Dickinson I think? Some of the lines didn’t return anything, so I guess they were original? Anyway it doesn’t matter-- he’s defacing money.

Dex

*~*~*

Your idea of romantic is weird.

*~*~*

Hey Lardo,

I can’t get my phone fixed until Sunday, but I wanted to double check that your show is on Saturday at 7:00PM?

Thanks,

Dex

*~*~*

Lardo,

Thanks for clarifying.

Dex

P.S. Actually yeah, I guess there was an update, or whatever.

So he came in with a book last night, late. Not a lot of people come by the cafe at night, obviously, so it was just me and him, and he was there for a while but then we were closing. I went over to tell him we were closing in a few minutes and he asked if I’d sit with him for a few minutes and, well, he’s a nice tipper, so whatever. I did.

And then-- I shit you not-- he started reading me poetry. Actually. Just started reading poetry to me out of nowhere. He’d gesture with his notebook as he did it, his eyes were all lit up like treetops at sunrise or something and his voice just filled up the whole shop, like it was bouncing off the walls and going through me and shit, like he was trying to make me listen in my soul or something. And, like, I’m shit at poetry and I didn’t really get what it was supposed to be, but you know when you hear a song and even without really hearing the lyrics it makes you feel some kind of way? That’s what it did.

Then he stopped reading and asked me what I thought and I couldn’t just say that it made me feel things so I said that the guy in the poem sounded kind of obsessed, and then the guy-- the regular-- laughed, like a full bodied laugh, his eyes crinkled and his shoulders shook and he tucked the notebook against his chest, against his heart, and laughed in public, in front of a stranger, like it wasn’t weird. And you know when something good happens? Something unexpectedly good? Your favorite song comes on the radio or you find a random twenty in your pocket or you catch the sunset on your walk home and its pretty and warm and just makes you smile and think, huh, I’m glad I get to be here for that.

That’s what his laugh felt like. I know it’s fucking sappy but it’s the only way I can come up with to describe it.

Anyway. See you Saturday.

*~*~*

Lardo,

Yeah.

I’m fucked.

Dex

*~*~*

Hey, fuck, I’m so sorry about last night. My phone is still fucked up otherwise I’d call you but your friend-- the one in your painting, Nursey-- he’s my horrible regular.

Small campus, huh?

He was a little drunk-- he kept drinking the champagne for some reason, I think it was to stop his hands shaking, I don’t know-- but I didn’t want to just send him off alone so I helped him back to his dorm and as I was taking off his shoes he kept reciting poetry or whatever and he was drunk, yeah, but he said it so nicely and he kept looking at me with his ridiculous eyes and then he touched my cheek-- like actually fucking caressed my cheek-- and I kissed him.

And I know he was drunk, I tasted the champagne when I kissed him, and I felt horrible and I ran out of his dorm and-- then I fell asleep and woke up and wrote this email.

So, I probably fucked up beyond repair and if you need me I will be kicking myself for the next fifty years. Thanks, goodbye.

Dex

P.S. I forgot to say-- the show looked great. The sculpture, the art, everything. You’re amazing, dude.

*~*~*

Thanks for his number, but I can’t just call the guy out of the blue and say, “Hey, sorry for kissing you when you were all drunk, won’t happen again, please keep tipping me?”

Also, I still don’t have a working phone.

*~*~*

That’ss the problem with falling in love with a stranger, youknow? Like, I never mett the guy really, I just made his stupid sweet coffee drinks and listened to his poetry that one time and stared too much when he talked with his hands and at his stupid eyebrows-- how do eyebrows look soft?? It makes no sense

And he’s beautiful, you know, like can’t stare too long or you’ll go blind, and I felt like he was a good person youknow, an asshole but good, the kind you want. And I could feel it he would probably argue with me over everything but I think I could likee that, like arguing, at least with him, because I know it wouldn’t be out of anger or whatever, he would be coming from a place of understanding or shared values or whatever

and i fucking KNOW that I can’t know all this frm looking at him, but he had his stupidd fucking g journal that he scrippled in all the time and his hadsn were covered in ink with notes to himself and I want to be the person who egts to listen to his poetry at 2 in the morning and watch him ramble about things he loves and tell him how fucking good his writing is because it IS lardo it’s so good, he’s so good, i never spent any of those twenties witb his writing on it i hung them in my dorm isnt’ that fucking stupid god i love him, i love him and I don’t even know him

Love scuks.

P..S yeah, if you couldnt tell, i’m a little drunk. oops

*~*~*

Dear Lardo,

It’s very rude to forward drunken, rambling emails about someone to that someone without the consent of the drunken rambler.

Dex

P.S. Thank you.

[scoopsgf]

IRONDAD BINGO: Halloween (pt. 1)

“We’re lost.”

“We are not lost.”

“Sure, sure… except, y’know, we are.”

Tony sighs long and hard as he turns around. He glares but it’s a moot effort seeing as Peter isn’t even looking; his eyes are directed upward and he squints, face scrunched up. “I know the way back to my own home, thank you.”

Peter hums. “Hey, remind me: which direction does the sun rise in?”

“I’m sorry, did you skip fourth grade science?”

“Just humor me.”

“The east.”

“Yeah,” Peter nods, “so that’s west, there, and I mean, I guess my eidetic memory could be failing me, but I’m pretty sure that when you’re standing on the front porch of your cabin, you can see the sun setting—but we’ve been walking away from the sun—ergo, the wrong direction.”

Tony blinks. “What?”

“Oh my god, your IQ is like a thousand and you can’t figure this out?”

“Excuse me if I don’t speak teenage idiot.”

Peter puts his hands on his hips and god, it’s sort of terrifying. He looks the way Pepper does when she’s had it up to here—it’s an expression that has no right to be plastered across the face of a seventeen year old kid, but here they are.

“You might as well just call me foolhardy upstart and admit you’re a hundred years old.”

Tony pinches his brow. His head is throbbing from being slammed against the windshield so hard the glass had cracked. Odds are he has a concussion, and unlike his travelling companion, he doesn’t have super healing. Peter’s cuts and bruises are already fading, but he’s still limping from the ankle Tony figures is either twisted or broken—it’s hard to tell, seeing as Peter’s an expert at downplaying how badly things hurt.

Still, it hasn’t stopped either of them from bitching up a storm for the last half hour.

“When we get home, you’re putting fifty bucks in the Sass Jar.”

“It’s really cool that you assume I actually carry more than ten whole dollars on me.”

Tony looks up at that. “You don’t carry more than ten?”

“Not all of us are billionaires!”

“But what if you need food?!”

“‘It’s a banana Michael, what could it cost, ten dollars?!’” Peter quotes, brushing past Tony; “How expensive do you think things are?”

“Okay, what about gas?”

“Oh, you mean for my car that you just totalled?”

Tony scoffs. “I did not total the car—you totalled it when you jerked the wheel to avoid the deer.”

“Would you rather we had hit it? Because a) we totally would have messed up the car anyway, and b) a deer could be dead.”

“What are you asking me here?”

“Well I guess…” Peter narrows his eyes, “are you a cold hearted bitch?”

Tony stops in his tracks, hands at his waistline, and scans the trees like he’s waiting for someone to pop out and tell him it was all a funny joke, ha ha, you can go home now!

No one comes: no magical elves or gnomes or goblins or whatever the fuck else lives in these woods. To say he’s disappointed is an understatement.

“No, I am not a cold hearted bitch. Yes, I am glad the deer is not dead; do I think you should have screamed ‘brake’ instead of driving the car into a ditch? Yes. Do I think your car insurance policy will cover this accident? Probably not. Will I be buying you a new car? Maybe. Any more questions?”

Peter sniffs. “None at the moment.”

They continue on in silence as the sun sets. Neither of them speak again until the sky is painted black. There are no stars, there’s no moon to see by. Both of their phones had been completely decimated in the crash and, despite Peter’s claims, Tony isn’t a one-hundred year old man carrying around a compass and a monocle.

So they’re pretty much walking without direction.

“Ow,” is what finally breaks their petty, mutual silence treatment. Tony whips around at the sound of twigs snapping and sees Peter with one hand braced against the trunk of a tree. It’s hard to tell, but he thinks the kid might be grimacing with pain.

“Pete?”

“I’m good.”

Yeah, no. Tony won’t buy that for a second.

“Have you been impaled? Bitten? Shanked by a woodland creature?”

Peter’s head jerks up. “I’m sorry?”

“Good, you should be. Now fess up, what hurts?”

“Nothing, I just stepped on my ankle wrong again.”

“So: your ankle hurts.”

Peter shoots him a look and this time Tony can see it, given how close he’s hovering. Tony just shrugs before kneeling down to feel at Peter’s leg and—yeah, that’s swollen.

“It needs cold compress,” he says.

Peter sighs. “You wouldn’t happen to have an ice pack on you, would you?”

“Don’t get smart.”

“Are you implying that I’m not already?”

Tony snorts as he brushes the mulch off of his knees. The air is cold and sharp around them and he’s pretty sure—

A fat drop of rain hits his shoulder. As usual, he’s always right.

“Gross,” Peter grunts. “Now we have to walk in pitch black through the woods, during a storm, and we’re both dying.”

“Hey, no one is dying—”

“It feels like I am—”

“It’s a bum ankle, it’s fine, we’ll get home and we’ll fix it—”

“No, I’m gonna keel over—”

Tony resists the urge to just fall onto his back and let the ground swallow him whole, but he’s pretty sure it would just vomit him back up again. Instead, he offers his side for Peter to lean against and they continue their joyous jaunt through the woods—in the pouring rain.

“You know what this is?” Peter asks rhetorically. “This is the part of the movie where we die.”

“Uh, no, the sluts always die first.”

“So just you.”

Tony rolls his eyes. “Anyone who’s not a virgin,” he says, and then after a lengthy pause between them, “You’re being suspiciously quiet.”

“Oh, was I?”

Tony is keeping his head down to avoid the rain, and also in a vain attempt to spy any roots before they trip over them and break all of their fucking ankles. “So you and MJ?”

“I’m not about to have this conversation.”

“Uh, I beg to differ.”

“Since when is this the sort of thing we discuss?”

“Since now, I guess.”

“Well I’m not comfortable with the topic.”

Tony sighs. “Okay, fine, I’ll leave it be.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

“Fine.”

“Except—”

“Oh my god—”

“Except, okay, except: remember to always always use protection—”

“Tony, I’ve already had this conversation with May—”

“Never try to coerce anyone into having sex with you, never keep going after they say no, always read their body language—”

“Tony,” Peter stops, “shut up.”

“No, Peter, this is important—”

“Seriously, read my body language and shut up.”

Tony frowns. Peter is standing bolt upright, ears perked, soaking wet. Tony can just see his profile. “What is it?”

“You don’t hear that?”

Tony listens, and then he listens some more, and then finally his mere mortal ears pick up the faintest rustling sound. It’s growing gradually closer, and louder, and Tony’s heart rate is definitely starting to pick up when—

“Tony?”

“Jesus God!”

Tony throws his hand up in the face of Pepper’s flashlight. He looks to his right and sees that Peter has wrapped his arms around the nearest tree and is resting his forehead against the bark, breathing hard.

“Hey, Pep,” he says, trying for a light tone. “How’d you find us?”

“Your trackers,” she says. “We tried calling, but—” Tony pulls out his crushed up phone. “Ah.”

At her waist is Morgan, wearing a plastic pink jacket and holding a flashlight of her own. She points it right in Peter’s face and he hisses. “God, you gremlin.

Morgan giggles. “I thought you got eaten by a bear.”

“Unfortunately, no.”

Tony snaps his fingers. “Hey, hi, focus up: how far are we from the cabin?”

“Fifty feet?” Pepper guesses.

“Are you serious,” Peter deadpans. “Fifty feet. Really. Oh my god.”

“See?” Tony smiles. “I told you we were walking in the right direction.”

“Only after I corrected us!”

[larryfanficwriter98]

Chapter Twenty

Harry woke up slowly, his body was curled around Louis' back and he stared at Louis as he slept on. He leaned over and place a gentle on his cheek before he rolled over and grabbed his phone from his pants and called his management as he watched his boyfriend.

"Hey Harry, did you need something?"

"Release the album."

"What now? You've only made one conspicuous tweet about it two days ago. Why-"

"Just release it. It's finalized isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's completely finalized. Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright. We'll release it within the next few hours." Harry ended the call and made to cuddle Louis again, but his stomach alerted him he and Louis had yet to have breakfast, so he kissed his boyfriend then climbed out of bed and pulled out some joggers before he left his room. Harry made a quick breakfast then headed upstairs and set it on Louis' bedside seeing he had moved to lay on his stomach spread out on the bed. Harry knew that Louis would hog the entire bed if ever given the option which was why Harry always went to bed together, so Harry had a spot on the bed to sleep in.

"There better be enough for me on that tray." Louis mumbled eyes still closed

"Obviously. Have I ever made myself food without making for you?" Harry said climbing on the bed on his knees, "want me to feed you?"

"Is there tea?"

"Of course." Louis put his hand up making Harry raise an eyebrow, "don't you want to sit up first?"

"Harold. Tea. Now." Harry looked at his plain navy-blue bed sheets before handing the mug over watching as Louis carefully got on his elbows and took a sip, "you make the best tea."

"That's because I'm not impatient." Harry said as he laid Louis' plate down on the mattress upfront of him, "so since we've established, I'm better at pool than you-"

"Unfair advantages." Louis dismissed quickly, "we'll have a rematch in a public setting next time."

"Probably smart. So, if we eat our lunch breakfast and bathe, we will have time to kill before dinner. Wanna go out?"

"Or we can stay in bed all day."

"Or we can go out. Come on it'll only be for a few hours. I bought us matching outfits."

"That we can wear together when I can walk and since I can't walk might as well lay in bed and make sure I'm sure I can't walk tomorrow as well."

"Fine." Harry said pouting lightly as he kissed Louis' cheek, Louis leaned over and pressed his lips against Harry's before they finished their breakfast and Harry took their plates down to the kitchen.

*****

The next morning Harry woke up slowly in an empty bed, but he could see Louis outside on the balcony with his feet propped up on the railing as he smoked a cigarette.

"Baby." Harry called out watching as Louis turned and grinned at him, "morning." Louis stubbed his cigarette out and came into the bedroom dressed in a pair of tight joggers.

"Good morning handsome." Louis said as he crawled over him and straddled his waist, "so what do you want to do on this fine Sunday?"

"I need to eat and workout then I'm free for the rest of the day."

"Well after you're done, I want to talk to you about something."

"About what?" Harry asked

"After. It doesn't need an answer right away."

"Then tell me now so I can think about it while I work out."

"Okay just know that it doesn't have to be a Yes right away it can be a maybe or a let me think about it or even-"

"The fact that you think I'm capable of saying no to you is adorable." Harry said making Louis blush and roll his eyes as he reached for his laptop, "Oooh I've been wondering what you've been working on. Am I finally seeing it?"

"A little bit of it at least." Louis said, "As you know in about six months Elizabeth is retiring and will be selling the daycare building since none of her kids or grandkids wants it. Well, the building itself is pretty old and needs redone in many places and the plot beside it is going up for sale around the same time. So...what do you think of this." Louis turned the laptop around and Harry eyes widen before he sat up because this clearly needed his full attention.

"This is the daycare." Harry said

"Yes but press play." Louis said moving to sit beside him. Harry pressed play on the 3d sketch video of the current daycare being torn down and as another lot was added to make the yard bigger. The first thing done was a tall white palisade fence around the double yard then a gate that led to a modest car park that had more than enough spots. Then a beautiful white brick one story building was built with a soft blue double door with white panels beside it and picture windows with white paneling to match. Harry was grinning as he watched the camera move inside where the reception was, Harry watched the whole thirty-minute video going room to room and grinning when they entered the nursery area. Then he grinned wider when he saw the exterior was not being worked on some more adding a play area in the yard that once help the current daycare.

"Louis this is amazing. It's – I – I don't know what to say. It's beautiful and it looks amazing and what? Did you just want my opinion?"

"Well yeah, a little, but no not completely. I wanted to ask what your thought was about me quitting my job and going to the bank for a loan and talking to people about this."

"Yes, to quitting your job, yes to talking to people, and absolutely not for the bank. Lou a loan this size will take decades to pay off not to mention interest rates and you may need more later on if there's complications. Baby I have money and if we need a loan later on then yes, but for now, for down payments and lawyers and anything else we may need that I can pay upfront for let me do it. I promise you I won't go over a limit you set me and if we reach that limit, we'll go to a bank together, but Louis I have money. I have savings and I have an excellent credit score and I have millions in my accounts. I have money I haven't even touched yet. This project won't cost as much as you think it will."

"Harry I'm not going to ask you to spend who knows how much on this."

"You're not asking I'm offering."

"No."

Yes."

"No Harry I'm going to the bank and-"

"And be in debt for the rest of your life? Louis I have the means to help so let me help."

"But-"

"End goal is to get married isn't it? What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine. Therefore, my money is practically yours anyway and this Daycare will be half mine so the way I see it I am investing in your future kid's daycare. See? I'm not giving my boyfriend money for his daycare I'm giving my future kids a wonderful daycare that happens to be owned by their parents."

"Your logic is stupid." Louis said though he was grinning as he thought about future kids, their future kids. Which was a scary and fast concept considering it hasn't even been a year together yet.

"My logic is brilliant. You're brilliant. This is layout is brilliant. You are a genius. A beautiful, lovely genius." Harry said as he cupped Louis' face and kissed him, "Beautiful. Lovely. Brilliant. Gorgeous. Genius." Harry emphasized each word with a kiss as he rolled over, so he was straddling Louis' waist still naked from yesterday.

"Pretty sure our positions need to be switched darling." Louis said with a grin as he kissed Harry

"I need to eat so maybe later. For now, you start calling architects and contractors and the city for meetings and steps. Oh, and call your boss and the landowner and-"

"Haz I do know what to do. It's not like I haven't been researching and designing this 3D model in one day it's been months of thinking about it." Louis said watching as Harry pulled on a pair of Louis' joggers that hugged everything on Harry considering they were a size or two too small.

"Right. Have fun. I'm going for my run first then I'll be in the home gym. Come get me if you need me. Most people do not require a payment just for a meeting however if they do my wallet is in my bedside drawer. Have fun." Harry was out of the room before Louis could tell him to put on some briefs at least, Louis grinned laying back in the bed thinking about how much Harry has changed since March. Since their first sexual experience together. Harry was free balling more often than not these days, not that Louis complained mind you. Harry often had to snap his fingers in Louis' face if Harry Jr was more visible than usual which usually ended up in Louis blowing Harry in random spots of the house. Louis was determined to have Harry fuck him on the cuddle chair in the living room right upfront of the picture window one of these days.

Louis rolled out of bed and grabbed his charger, phone, and wallet then headed downstairs to sit at the kitchen counter. He made sure to count the apples and bananas finding out Harry took a banana before his run. Harry didn't eat a big breakfast before his workout despite everyone telling him he should, he instead ate some fruit on the run then worked out then made a large breakfast good enough for Louis to save his appetite for. Despite how hungry he was this morning. It was an hour later when Harry came in sweat dripping down his body and his cut off shirt soaked. Louis was on the phone with the owner of the land beside the daycare listening to them talk about the plans they had for it, but life got in the way and Louis was politely nodding along and letting them know he was listening every few seconds. Honestly, he just wanted the price.

"Honestly, I'd be willing to give it away but not sure how the city would feel about it. Tell you what you said you were building a daycare to replace the other one? I'll do twenty-five hundred. Good?"

"Are you sure? It's a good bit of land and-"

"Trust me I don't want it anymore. You want it's yours for 2.5k."

"Great. Cash?"

"You got that much in cash? Really? Sure, thing let's meet next weekend at the coffee shop around the corner of the daycare."

"Sounds good. Thank you." Louis ended the call and turned to Harry who was leaning against the wall waiting patiently

"Oh, good I can kiss you now." Harry said before he was pressing his lips against Louis', "What was that about?"

"The owner of the land decided to tell me his life story and plans before life got in the way. We're meeting next weekend."

"Sounds good. How much for the land?"

"Twenty-five hundred. I think he's just desperate to get it out of his hands. I have that in my savings, so I don't need you-"

"Your savings is for you to decorate the daycare interior. I'm sure Elizabeth will be more than glad to give you the things she has, but I know you'll want new things as well and I was sort of hoping I could convince you to have a bigger kitchen in the daycare and...hear me out before you reject it right away. This is still your idea and if you don't like it then that's fine."

"What is it?" Louis asked looking at him

"Well, there's a lot of young single moms...a lot of young parents who may not be able to afford much. Make the building two stories and have small flats up there for struggling parents. While I was on my run, I remember some of things you told me about growing up with so many siblings and only one income. Obviously, we can't make the apartments too big, but two or three small bedroom flats is manageable. It'd be strict tenancy only allowing certain people since it's above a daycare, but I think it'd be a good idea. What do you think?" Louis grinned nodding

"Yeah, I'll have to redo my model, but yeah I like the idea. Maybe in the back of the building have a separate car park for tenants. Have their own entrance area too obviously."

"The daycare would be closed off from them except the main entrance, but maybe offer free childcare or something. Only pay rent? I don't know it'd be something to discuss, but I think it would really help some people out."

"I love you." Louis said cupping his face and pulling him into a kiss, "You're so sweet."

"I love you too. Now let me go so I can lift weights that weigh more than you so I can throw you over my shoulder and have my wicked way without later." Louis laughed as he watched Harry head to the home gym before he turned and went back to making calls while he played with a copy of his model.

********

Later that day while Louis finally realized why there had been so many Larry Stylinson related things today. He had stumbled upon a post of videos of him and Harry over the last few months to songs from his 0219 album. Louis grinned and watched every video for every song, the Drag Me Down had photos of Harry and his family, friends, Louis, and others and the History fan made video had pictures of fans and concerts and the XFactor days. The last slide was a collection of snippets turned into a video of fans telling Harry they love him and how thankful they were. It made Louis proud as he looked over at Harry who was making dinner. After only a few seconds Louis made a post. The first picture was of them at the Battle of the Bands, it was grainy and dark, but it was clear they had definitely made out right before the picture and they were red faced as well. The next photo was a picture they took recently of their old script concert tickets laying on the kitchen counter. The third photo was of Louis on his trip with his family with Harry in the background that they discovered they had during their trip at his mother’s. The fourth was of them at the XFactor auditions. The fifth photo was of Louis' first gift box, the sixth being a screenshot of their first facetime together, the seventh was their selfie together at SeaWorld Orlando on Valentine's Day. The eighth was of Louis and Harry kissing in Orlando Airport and the last photo was one taken today inside the home gym. Louis had his arm around Harry's waist and Harry had his hand on Louis' hip. Harry was visibly sweaty his soaked shirt was in the background in the mirror picture, but Louis loved a sweaty Harry. After writing small dates on the photos, he went to the caption and started typing,

When we first met, I wasn't out of the closet, I took your number, but never actually saved it. It was one of my many regrets back then. Then we saw each other again at The Script concert and I tried to explain, but we were both in a hurry to get back, so I never did. Then we were at the same trip during the summer and I still wasn't out to my family so I ignored you as best as I could but somehow you still ended up, I'm the background of one of the photos. We saw each other again at the XFactor auditions, I was out, and I ran into you and I always knew you'd be famous. I got your first autograph, and you got my favorite cardigan. I had to leave before my audition, but I always knew you'd make it. I wasn't there for the beginning of your journey, but I am here for your new adventure down a different path and I could never be more proud to call you mine. I can't wait to be there with you when the world hears what you've been working so hard on and I can't wait for them to see you the way I get to. I hope one day you are able to walk out of this house in any outfit you want without worry. I hope you're the man that breakfast gender roles and stereotypes and puts on your best either it be in a suit and tie or a dress. I love you and I am proud of you and your journey thus far. I know I'll continue being proud of you in years to come.

[cinaed]

Season One Rewatch

I discovered that I own the first eight seasons of Red vs Blue, so I’m going a slow rewatch! One season each weekend, of course starting with the first one, and also watching any bonus features. It should be fun!

The theme song playing "Living like this, we're already dead" over Church's image sure is a hell of a thing.

Look, I am a simple soul. I will always love that first "Do you ever wonder why we're here?" and "...Wanna talk about it?" and all the others that follow it, and I love how it sets up Grif and Simmons' dynamic instantly. 

"I'm no stranger to sarcasm, sir." 

Ah, shotgun. One of the most important laws of society, at least according to the Reds. 

Love the Puma versus Warthog debate and Church and Grif being on the same wavelength. 

Simmons: "Hey, that's not exactly what happened." Grif: "Yes it is. You said, 'I'm not going to the Vegas Quadrant!' and then the next thing I know you're in an escape pod headed for--" And thus a bunch of conspiracy theories were born.

Love Simmons' terrible attempt at imitating Sarge.

Season 1 Caboose and Donut are so weird. Definitely the two whose personalities have changed the most over the series.  

"You know what? I could blow up the whole goddamn world with this thing." I love Church so much.

Aww, forgot that Simmons was worried about sending Donut on the wild goose chase. 

Ah, that first enraged Church screech. Also iconic. Other iconic things in season one: Church being a terrible shot, the automatic conclusion to anything weird being time travel, the six pedal problem, Tucker never getting the sniper rifle, Church possessing people and being terrible at impressions, the "Hrk!!!" sound, the Tucker did it excuse, Donut being from Iowa.

Both Tucker and Church being clueless about driving the tank.

"He's sneaking around the side of the base." "He must be one smart son of a bitch." "Aw, man, I am SO lost." The whole Donut with the flag and the Blue Team teleporter stuff continues to be hilarious.

SHEILA! SHEILA, I MISS YOU. :(

"I just want you to know...I always hated you, I always hated you the most."

Sarge leaves for like five minutes and everything gets weird.

TEX. I MISS YOU. 

I love ghost!Church and his ridiculous dramatics. And everyone just rolling with it. 

Grif guessing that the Warthog cost twenty-five dollars has the opposite energy of Lucille Bluth asking how much a banana could cost.

Forgot about Tex using Caboose as target practice. Or Tucker trying to bond with Tex. 

Simmons immediately trying to get Donut medevaced.

"I like me." I love Caboose so much. 

Love the half-truths Church remembers about Tex. And Caboose's understanding of it. Sadly I am not wearing my 'gay robot' shirt today, but I was wearing it yesterday.

Grif and Simmons bickering over pronunciation. And laughing at each other's jokes. 

In retrospect, Tex just going "Sure, okay" when Church tells her he's a ghost is both hilarious and sad. 

Church trying to scam Sarge out of money and pretending to be an angel is always going to be one of my favorite scenes of the whole show. Church laughing at his own jokes. Also apparently Sheila and Church hang out in the weird space when they're not possessing people. Who's written that fanfic?

The Red Team doing their "we hate each other-- oh no, don't die, that's not cool, come on, stay with us" stuff already in season one. They're a dysfunctional family already!

Donut's pink armor! I missed it for the first half of the season. 

Grif thinking Lopez was just a very sullen and quiet guy the entire time. 

Church's outrage that the Blues just left his body on the cliff and Tucker's "All we've got are rifles and pistols! What do you want me to do, shoot you a grave?" 

...I really forgot that Church went to snitch on Tex and totally betrayed the Blues to try and keep her in Blood Gulch a while longer. 

Simmons manning the gun on the Warthog is pretty badass, or would be if Tex didn't immediately blow them up.

Dexter "I understand the need to safeguard your masculinity" Grif. Dude. Buddy. Pal. Please...safeguard it a little less. 

Donut's amazing grenade throw is still impressive. He definitely played football in high school. Or at least had the football coach begging him to join. One or the other.

The ending of the season on O'Malley. Aw, there's another villain I miss. 

From the outtakes, I don't know who this guy Sarge was describing is, but wow the whole thing is very gay. Maybe it's Master Chief. Did Sarge hook up with Master Chief? (I don't play Halo, I don't know.)

"Back at Fort Huachuca we were preparing to lead an invasion against the forces of the Plutons, I spied him across the way and I could tell he was a commanding figure. Oh, he stood nearly seven foot, six feet tall. He had dark brown skin and, uh, chocolaty flowy hair that was the kind of thing that would make a man giggle to himself in the night. I can't say everything I learned from him, but I can tell you this: I'm glad I learned it. Even if it does give me nightmares."  

Favorite season one PSA definitely goes to the Tattoos one where Grif has a Blade tattoo.   

[animebw]

Binge-Watching: Banana Fish, Episodes 10-12

In which Ash’s despair drives him down dark paths, but Eiji keeps him tethered to humanity, and a gorgeous moment of catharsis officially puts this show over the top.

Broken Pieces

In the aftermath of Shorter’s death, Ash is not in a good place. And really, can you blame him? Not only did he lose his closest, most trusted friend after just starting to open up, he was forced to deliver the killing blow with his own hands. He’s so wracked with despair that he begs his tormentors to just kill him already and spare him the pain. He’s faced countless assaults on his body, his mind and his very being, and he’s weathered them all with a defiant smirk. But as Yut Lung recognizes, no matter how strong he against attacks on himself, he’s painfully weak against attacks on his loved ones. When the people he cares about are the ones in the crossfire, all his bravado and snark crumbles like sandcastles on a stormy beach. And it doesn’t help that even Griffin, the person Ash loved more than anyone, instilled a “boy’s don’t cry” mentality in him that kept him from processing his emotions. Every ingrained instinct in Ash’s body is a roadblock to letting himself be vulnerable; the survival skills that help him escape his nightmare of a childhood are now preventing him from growing up into a healthy adult. Only his relentless desire for justice keeps him from completely losing his grip on himself at times. And it’s clear from his battered fury that this alone isn’t going to be enough anymore. His brutal execution of Abraham had me sucking in pained breaths. Yes, Abraham was the bastard responsible for this whole mess, and he deserved the bloody, ignoble end he got. But the pain on Ash’s face and in his voice as he delivers that vengeance... god, I know I say this a lot, but you just feel so fucking sorry for the kid. He’s just seventeen goddamn years old. No teenager should have to carry this much weight on his shoulders.

And yet, Ash isn’t so quick to surrender his principles. In fact, the push and pull between his desire for vengeance and his desire for pacifism is only growing more and more compelling as time goes on. He has no illusions about the bloody work he’s doing, but every life he takes still hangs heavy on his head, and if he has a chance to spare a life, he tends to take it. He doesn’t kill the new leader of the Chinese gang who comes seeking revenge for Shorter, even though he knows this guy will be a threat if left alive. He purposefully favors old hand-loaded pistols over automatics because with automatics, it’s too easy to start firing and never stop without thinking of the bloody cost of each bullet. For all his brutality, he wields mercy just as fervently as justice (another way he and Yut Lung are eerily similar, now that I think about it). But the closer he comes to taking Dino down, the more willing he becomes to execute everyone who poses a threat. His hands have never been more stained with blood than they are now, and he doesn’t know how long he can hold onto himself before the violence washes him away. It’s not like he’s ever had a normal life; he’s been wallowing in death and suffering for far too long. Every chance he had to escape and start fresh has long since passed him by. But with the conspiracy only thickening, he’s come to define himself in those terms more and more. “One murderer is enough,” he says to Eiji at one point. Only I need to take these burdens on, to bear the weight of the slaughter we enact. He’s becoming less of a human and more of an avatar of vengeance itself, someone only capable of pursuing this dark path however much it scars him. And even as he recognizes how scared he is of losing himself, he can’t stop from letting his mission drag him down, down, down.

Peas in a Pod

But in the midst of all this despair, despite everything he’s suffering, there’s still something tethering Ash to his humanity, refusing to let him drop down into darkness. And that something, of course, is Eiji. Every time Ash threatens to lose himself in sorrowful brooding, Eiji shows up to drag him back to normalcy like the nagging boyfriend he is. And my god, these two are fucking amazing together. I know I praised their chemistry in the past, but now that their relationship is really developing, it is insane how instantly lovable they are. Everyone else in Ash’s gang is terrified of him on principle, but Eiji just fucking slaps him awake like they’re already a married couple. He cracks casual jokes with the dangerous lynx without any fear of his head being bitten off (”Down under too. Wanna see?” “Can I?!”) I swear to god, this kid’s sass game is so on point it’s terrifying. He even gets the rest of the gang to get in on clowning Ash when he throws a goddamn Halloween party following Ash telling him he’s scared of pumpkins. Jesus Christ, that left me cackling for a good long spell. And in the face of such unapologetic cheer, Ash is genuinely able to let his guard down. He’s able to share stories of his past to make goofy faces in reaction to being so thoroughly trounced by a mild-mannered dope, to appreciate just being able to talk with someone who’s company you enjoy. For the first time in god knows how long, Ash is able to drop his act and just be a seventeen year old boy agains. He’s able to be normal. He’s able to be... human.

It cannot be overstated how important this relationship is. Ash has suffered so much trauma and loss that he’s become shut off from his own emotions, and he’s so scared of being hurt more that he can barely bring himself to keep interacting with people. But with Eiji, he doesn’t have to pretend. He doesn’t have to be the badass, all-powerful leader with all the answers and an eternally blazing inner flame. He can be honest with himself, in a space with someone who’s perfectly willing to let Ash open up to him on his own time. He can crack jokes and be on the receiving end of friendly torture with no expectation that he somehow be above it all (”Sorry, I’m a sloppy Japanese who can’t do any better!”) And most importantly, Eiji’s willingness to challenge Ash on his increasing acceptance of murder prevents him from sweeping his own conflicted feelings under the rug. He can’t quash his doubts like he’s quashed so many other feelings when he’s got someone he trusts constantly echoing his conscience back to him in actual speech. Sure, Eiji definitely goes too far when he knocks Ash for not understanding him because he has a gift- Ash never asked to be so damn good at such rotten work- but they’re both able to apologize almost immediately afterward because they know they have each other’s best interests at heart. At the end of the day, they’re there for each other. They help each other. They give each other a shoulder to lean on when times get rough. And in the grief of losing Shorter, Ash realizes this is a connection he doesn’t want to push away. This is a bond he doesn’t want to risk losing.

This is a person he can finally think about letting himself love.

Stay With Me

Which brings me to the best moment in Banana Fish thus far, the climactic moment of episode 11 where Ash finally opens up to Eiji. There’s nothing that really spurs it; just some unknown nightmare, likely one among many that have haunted Ash his entire life. There was nothing stopping him from shaking it off and going back to sleep like nothing was wrong. But this time, he chooses to talk about it. This time, he chooses to tell Eiji about his suffering. This time, he chooses to be vulnerable, to let his emotions out instead of bottling them in. And in frank terms, he tells Eiji what happened to him. How he was raped as a child. How killing his rapist was the first life he ever took. How he cried not because he hurt, but because even then, the trauma was so numbing that he could barely feel anything. How he’s lived his life divorced from his emotions and terrified of what that makes him capable of. How he’s scared of himself for what he’s become through no fault of his own. How he doesn’t know if he can ever find his way back to being human again. It’s a raw, utterly gut-wrenching outpouring of repressed fear and agony, and by the time Ash started breaking down, I was right there with him. Fucking hell, this show is so damn good. It has such an empathetic understanding of what trauma does to people, how it hurts them in a million ways both visible and invisible. And watching Ash finally admit how much he’s been hurting, how much he’s scared of what that hurt is doing to him, absolutely left me sobbing in my seat.

And Eiji’s right there to hear his pain, to comfort him, to promise him that his hurt is real, that he is no less human for the things he’s suffered, that one day, he will recover what this trauma took from him. And all Ash can do is let himself come totally unguarded, bury his face in Eiji’s lap, admit how much he needs Eiji’s companionship, answering his promise that he’ll wait for Ash forever by saying even just staying with him for now would be enough, and no, that’s fine, I didn’t need my heart today, why do you ask? Banana Fish has always been excellent, but this is the moment it officially became amazing. This is a fantastic show from start to finish, with compelling characters, a gripping story, and a beautiful central core around with is built an endlessly entertaining, often heartbreaking tale. It really is the whole package, and if it keeps this level of quality up through its second half, I’ll have no qualms calling it a modern classic. Thank you for twelve amazing episodes. Here’s to twelve more!

Odds and Ends

-”My shoulder still hurts every now and then. Same as your fingers.” Oh damn, did Ash fight back against Dino before?

-”I’ll protect you. Never leave my side for a moment.” ship ship ship ship ship

-”If I ever lost you too, I’d go crazy.” SHIP SHIP SHIP SHIP SHIP

-”And give me two hours of sleep.” ksdhakdjasda relatable

-”I’m also taking orders for coffins.” “Get lost before I stuff you in one.” pfft

-”Stay with me. It doesn’t have to be forever. Even just for now.” Guys, this show is incredible.

-”Well, forgive me, big brother.” The fucking SASS, man.

-Oh my god, that’s a costume? Ash, I swear to god.

-Okay, the Dick of the Goblins is just a baller codename.

-”You and Ash are somewhat alike.” See, even he knows it!

-”An American natto dog.” Welp, I can never eat baked beans again.

Goddamn, this is a good show. See you in the second half next time!