#adding a read more cut because this turned out relatively long! lol

[painfulstretch]

idea/fantasy: i’m your overdue trans guy roommate. i share everything with you not knowing about your kink. i’ve started complaining about how sick I am of being pregnant, eventually you give into temptation and offer your help. you use teas and herbs and massages to jumpstart my labor. i comply happily, appreciating the help, and am even excited when i feel the first light contractions, i even have you time them to figure out when i should head to the hospital. i have no idea what i’m in for. 12 hours later im still in our apartment, totally at your mercy. i realized far too late why you’d been so eager to assist, and now i’m stuck on the bathroom floor trying to bring a 12lb baby to crown. i’m shouting and crying hysterically as each push wrenches me open, and there’s still a massive bulge sitting just inside. i’ve long given up on begging, the only help you’ll give is to hold my thighs wide apart so you can enjoy the show.

fuckkk anon, that sounds like the dream. getting the chance to see your huge belly everyday would already be great - i'd always be watching you, seeing how your struggle grows everyday, how you're constantly rubbing circles into your aching back and strained bump, hurting all over even before the contractions first started.

i have to bite my tongue when you say you're sick of being pregnant. i would love to see you like this a little longer, just to see how much more weight you'd be able to carry on your slim hips. but i also can't deny i'm excited for your labor. the desire to see you scream out your baby is far stronger than the wish to see you pregnant. so i help you kickstart your labor, and fuck the sight of you doubling over, moaning and panting in pain, every time a contraction hits, is just exquisite.

you're too busy riding out the waves of pain to notice my grin as i time your contractions and announce how short the pauses become, getting closer and closer to the real deal. i reach over to touch your massive belly every now and then, you lean into my hand not yet realising that it's not the touch of a friend trying to be supportive but more akin to a predator toying with its prey. i can't get enough of feeling your bump contracting harshly, and hearing you moan and grunt.

i keep up the act for so long, i start to internally laugh at your naive nature. only when you say it's time to go to the hospital and i flatly deny it, do you become suspicious. suspicion turns to nervousness when you insist and i still don't comply, and then slowly morphs into panic, the clearer it becomes i'm serious and not just playing a mean joke. you become frantic, your words become pleading. i find i enjoy it massively. you've sunken to your knees, the contractions too strong to stay standing, and you're clutching your distended, rippling belly, tears forming in your eyes. you're begging, you're begging for quite some time. you cry, panicked, when i force my fingers inside you to check your dilation - you're dilating fast.

it takes hours until you give up and surrender to your fate of being my own personal entertainment. by now you're too deep into labor to try and argue anymore anyway. your panting and moaning has turned to screaming and sobbing. transition was definitely one of my favorite things to witness - the most painful part of labor. the way you shrieked and thrashed, big fat tears rolling down your cheeks. it lasted almost two hours, and i was thrilled the entire time, couldn't take my eyes off you for a single moment. i was kind of disappointed when it was over and you calmed down a little to take a breather. i decided you needed a proper birthing place - if you kept doing it here, our fine carpet might get dirty with your fluids. i dragged you to your feet, forcing you to walk to the bathroom despite the unbearable pressure in your pelvis. gravity brought the baby down faster.

and now we're here, on the bathroom floor. we have been for several hours now. the head is truly enormous, that bulge is probably the most beautiful thing i've ever seen. your skin stretched taut, an angry bruised red, and your lips fluttering around the top of the baby's head, trying to open up enough to let it pass. you've been trying for so long and still can barely get it crowning. i'm surprised you even got it all the way to your lips through your narrow hips if i'm honest.

your shouting and crying is music to my ears. your trembling, sweating body and your face scrunched up in agony are what my dreams are made of. i've watched you for twelve hours already, i'll gladly watch you for another twelve, or even more. i don't want it to end. i'll wait until you've got the head to a crown - i want to see how you react to the famous ring of fire, i want to see you writhe and wail as the burning stretch reaches its widest, most agonizing point -, i'll let you have that feeling of success for a few minutes because i'm not a monster, despite what you may think right now, you know? you can feel happy about your accomplishment. and when you've had your share, i'll place my hand on your bulging pussy.

didn’t i say i'd love to see you pregnant a bit longer but prefer seeing you suffer through labor? well, i realised... why choose when i can have both? i'll place my hand on the baby's head and give it a nice gentle shove. oh, the scream you let out as that white hot pain sears through your nether region up into your entire body will be glorious

[stephofromcabin12]

I didn’t know that canonically Dionysus sometimes gets loose and presumably that’s when he has his kids. I always read it as his exile to camp was relatively “recent” in terms of him probably having been grounded in the like. Last few years before the story picks up. I had always assumed his current kids were born before that and so that also helps account for their low numbers (before Rick specified his stance on two being the best number of children or whatever that quote was from TOA)

Well, like most things we learn about Mr D in the books, it’s pretty subtle and mentioned like twice (bc Rick loves to torture me by adding lore and then not developing it further)

Before we look at that, we have to establish that, yes, his punishment seems to be recent. He’s given 100 years to be at camp, and in TLO he explains to Percy that Zeus cut his probation in half, leaving him with 50 years. Which would mean he had just begun his sentence in The Lightning Thief.

“[…] Zeus has cut my probation at that miserable camp in half. I now have only fifty years left instead of one hundred.” (The Last Olympian, p. 343)

But even so, there are a couple of ways he could have snuck out and had some kids.

Firstly, there’s the fact that the gods can be in multiple places at once, as explained by the wine dude himself in The Last Olympian:

“Your concern is touching. I did crash-land. Very painfully. {note: The gods feel pain…Interesting} In fact, part of me is still buried under a hundred feet of rubble in an abandoned coal mine. It will be several more hours before I have the strength to mend. But in the meantime, part of my conciousness is here […] Wherever there is a party, my prescence is invoked. Because of this, I can exist in many different places at once […]”

(The last Olympian, p. 266)

If we assume that gods at their full strength can exist more physically in multiple places, by dividing their “essence” or whatever, we can assume Dionysus would be able to sneak out by being present— seemingly automatically— wherever a party is happening.

It’s pretty much assumed (by me, I don’t think anyone else thinks about his exact whereabouts as much as I do lol) that he does this, or something else, because he is not gone very long in BOTL and TLO, and yet, in The Blood of Olympus, Dakota is seen talking to multiple Dionysus kids, which shouldn’t be possible, since yk. Pollux is the only camper (and should be in college by now but whatever, maybe he came back anyway or took a gap year, who knows) and even if he did take advantage of being away from camp in BOTL and TLO, his kids would be like, 2-3 at most and therefore not old enough to fight (I would certainly hope, although toddlers turning their enemies frantic and crazed is kinda metal ngl) So he must have had more kids before that….Or Rick forgot he killed Castor, which is hilariously possible.

“[…] Dakota shared Kool-Aid with the kids from the Dionysus cabin […]” (The Blood Of Olympus, p. 474)

(Stephanie Olive Overbaum canon confirmed. Its the only possible explanation lmao. If you have a Dio kid OC, you can’t prove they weren’t there. Huge win for the cabin 12 kids lmao)

So, he probably didn’t take advantage of his time away, if he did we wouldn’t know for another couple books, and Rick seems to have lost interest in ever elaborating on his character so we’ll probably never know.

Besides the splitting himself up theory, we have the possibility of him simply leaving lol.

He’s stuck at camp, yes, but the interesting thing is that he seems to be barred from entering Olympus, not so much that he’s barred from going anywhere else. He does leave camp in The Titan’s curse, seemingly without issues. Again, he could have split himself up, but since he’s able to make vines grow and all that, I’m assuming he was physically present. And he mentions paperwork in The Lightning Thief, if I remember correctly, so we can assume he has to file a report everytime he leaves his station to make sure he had a good enough reason to leave (Like a camper sneaking out, for example)

I don’t know how he would get around that one, but he’s sneaky, so I wouldn’t put it past him to sneak out and pretend to be doing something more important.

Of course, there are lines here and there suggesting he does leave every so often.

Ahem:

“As for Seymour, Mr D liberated him from a long island garage sale […]” (The Lost Hero, p. 88)

He couldn’t really have gone to a garage sale without leaving, again, yes he could have split himself up but that’s so easy and boring so I prefer to think he just fucks off and takes a day off here and there. It is a Long Island garage sale, so it’s not like he went far. Even funnier, we can imagine the camp went on another field trip and he came along, finding the garage sale along the way.

“[…] Our camp director, Dionysus, was recalled […]” (The Lost Hero, p. 20)

Ah yes, the recalled era. In HOO Mr D is not present, having been recalled to Olympus.

Technically, we don’t know where Mr D went in the time he was recalled, since we don’t know how exactly that period of time worked for the gods. We know they had no means of communicating, and that Zeus forbid the gods from seeking out their kids.

Even so, Aphrodite sneaks out and meets up with Piper. Athena/Minerva is out and about. Lots of the gods don’t hang around on Olympus the entire time. We’ve established Mr D is A. Sneaky (sneaks up on Percy more than once) and B. Doesn’t give any fucks that Zeus has told him to stay at camp (Garage sale) so I don’t think it’s unfair to assume he dipped and shrugged to Zeus like “I can’t help that I go where parties to🤷🏻‍♂️”

“Yeah but the gods had the headache thing going on, so he probably didn’t want to go anywhere”

I hear you say and you’re right BUT!

In between The Blood Of Olympus and The Tower Of Nero, we have zero clue where Dionysus is, and what he’s up to. Like nothing. We don’t even talk about it. He’s just GONE.

“After the fight with Gaea, I thought Mr. D might return to camp, but he never did. I hope he’s alright.” (The Hidden Oracle, p. 129)

And then in The Tower Of Nero he shows up and nobody discusses where he went.

Can you tell I’m peeved? I’m peeved. Where the fuck was he, Rick?

I don’t even have a quote to show you because no one mentions it.

Hmpf. Anyway. Then we have the interesting tidbit that Dionysus thinks two is the perfect number of children, although it’s important to keep in mind that he thinks this after staying with the twins, which would’ve had to have happened before The Lightning Thief, when he’s already at camp.

So, perhaps in the time of him staying at camp, he simply doesn’t have any more kids, since he doesn’t want to be further outnumbered. (*In canon, in fanfiction anything is possible)

I can imagine a lot of the gods deciding to cut down on their amount of kids if they had to help raise them for a bit lol so that’s actually fair.

Anywho….I forget what we were talking about.

He probably just sneaks out or splits himself up lol

[good--merits-accumulated]

OK, SEVERELY rambly post incoming but - Anderperry Stardust (2007)/ The Little White Horse AU, anyone?

Rundown: I think many of us are familiar with Stardust, originally a Neil Gaiman book but also a great film, starring Claire Danes as a falling star and That Guy Who Plays Daredevil as the lad who promises to bring her to the girl he's infatuated with. The Little White Horse is, to the best of my knowledge, more unknown, but equally very good (for sentimental reasons, I think of it much more highly than Stardust). Published in 1946 by Elizabeth Goudge, it tells the story of thirteen-year-old orphan Maria Merryweather, who moves to her cousin Sir Benjamin's Moonacre Manor in the West Country, where she finds a) a thriving cosy community and a long family history, b) the little white horse of the title, c) a longstanding family feud cutting off Moonacre from the sea, d) her imaginary best friend Robin, real and in the flesh, and e) some of the most deliciously-described food that has ever been or will be. It's a great book even past the rose-tinted glasses of my childhood. Go read it. (The one (1) marring is that you can't find a bloody edition that doesn't have a JK Terfling quote pasted onto the cover, because apparently it was one of her favourite books, but fuck OFF, I'm reclaiming it now. Thou shalt not keep the cosy low fantasy from me.)

Anyway even though I mention Stardust this isn't really part of the AU I have in my mind, except for the bit with the Star, because Todd as a main character who thinks he's a very forgettable bland boy-in-the-corner until he finds out he's a star is a great thought to me. Particulars on /how/ he's a star to be fleshed out later! (I only thought of this AU about two hours ago, lol.)

In my mind this is how it goes - nebulously Olden Times setting (TLWH is set in 1842, so perhaps then). Todd is around seventeen/eighteen and Geoff has just graduated from university, and gone off around Europe, accompanied by their parents. Months go by. Something happens - he's never given the liberty of knowing, but Geoff and their parents stay in Europe, and the townhouse in London is sold, and Todd is packed off to stay at a distant relative's - Keating, as it turns out. It's a blessing in disguise, because Todd is finally away from his family for the first time in his life and around people that appreciate him. He begins to bloom under this new care - but there are strange family secrets only now being revealed to him, and dark forces beyond the valley which threaten to disrupt the haven he's found...

The rest is very cosy fantasy, featuring Mr Perry as the local uptight vicar locking horns with Keating at every opportunity, Neil as his withdrawn but friendly son just longing for a rebellion, and more! (Read: Charlie is here and he is Outrageous as usual. Read also: Pitts as a sailor because I think he'd like it.) Right now I'm thinking of adding an equivalent of Monsieur Cocq de Noir for a villain (Mr Perry is NOT the villain), and Cameron can play a part there so I can give him a good redeeming! Here are a couple of extracts from TLWH to show the kind of mood/tone we're working with:

Thematically, I REALLY like the idea of Todd as a star because it allows me to work in a very fun trope, of "not of the rose but near the rose" - when a character perhaps is shy and a little quiet and reclusive, but inspires other people around them to brilliance and greatness. (Honestly I do think this kind of goes in with the film, where it's not just Keating's teaching but Todd's reaction to it and his presence that galvanise Neil to continue.) This ties in really well if Todd's a star and adds to the overall self-confidence journey - plus I was really thinking about the sun/moon motifs! They're very prominent in TLWH (Maria is a "moon" Merryweather and Robin is a very sunny boy), and I really want to implement them here with slight twists. I think of Todd as a sunny moon; yes he's warm and caring and cheerful but once you go a little closer it's more of a luminosity rather than a blaze, there's a coolness and quietness to him I like. You know, a quiet character doesn't always have to be quiet because there's something "wrong" with them, sometimes they're just like that. For Neil it's the opposite, he's a moony sun; under the thumb of his father he's polite and decorous and demure but somewhere under all of that there's a very loud and booming laugh and a healthy sort of ruddiness. I don't know, I just like sun/moon motifs!!!!!!!!!!

(On a more personal note: this AU, which I already love very much despite not having known very long, would be above all a careful love letter to the West Country. It's been lovely living around here almost all my life and by this time in September I'll be hopefully up very far north at uni, so I'm pre-emptively kind of :') about it. Mutuals who are at uni/college how on earth did you cope?)

[fenristheorem]

Lance Romantic Headcanons

(Technically part 2)

I’ve had a few of general / romantic headcanons running through my mind for a while now regarding Lance, so as part of my weeks away I decided I wanted to write about this. This isn’t to be confused with my two request writings (part 1 and 2) asking for headcanons of Lance in Guardienne in a relationship, although, the subject is very closely related so it’s probably a bit of a sister series lol.

~ Under the cut ~

I'm going to jump right into this: I think Lance has a dirty secret (many secrets actually, but I’m only sharing this one for now 😉). I theorize he secretly likes sensual dancing; soft yet intimate or intense music playing, and either watching his partner dance around or dancing with her. Being able to grasp her hips gently and sway with her, nuzzling his face into her neck, and pressing her body against his could definitely bewitch him into falling in love with is partner all over again. For this reason, he'd also like when his partner gives him lap dances - if that's something she's interested in doing - especially if she’s being subtly dominant about it. However, this isn't anything that's necessary, more like something that he enjoys when offered due to the intimacy of it. He'd never admit his interest in this, though - except maybe to his partner - and he'd certainly never do any of this in public.

He’s probably into massages - both giving and receiving - as this includes a lot of physical touch, too. Being a warrior and the Chief of Obsidian, Lance probably has a lot of stress on himself and undoubtedly works himself until he bleeds, which means he’s probably tense all the time. Provided his partner can get him to sit or lay down for long enough to give him a good back or shoulder massage, he’ll eventually melt into it until it’s hard to get him back up and moving. Massages can literally make this guy melt. He’ll enjoy giving his partner massages for reasons different than why he enjoys receiving them, though. Being able to lay his partner down and use his strength to sooth her ignites something deep within him, a sort of feral protective instinct, possibly because the act of massaging someone is similar in motion to kneading (like a cat) and providing comfort to your partner is usually pretty nice anyways. This can actually influence him into turning the simplest of massages into a long night of gentle touches where his partner doesn’t need to worry about doing anything except laying beneath him and letting him do all the work. Frankly, saying that he likes massages is an understatement, he probably loves them due to the simplistic intimacy of it.

Lance is definitely into aggressive cuddling as well. He likely has aggressive moments through out the year, almost like how a woman's temperament may change based on her menstrual cycle (yes, I did just say that lol), and it can make him crave his partner's touch more or less in certain moments. Based on his internal time clock, he'll have days where he'll come back to their shared room at night, strip off his armor until he's wearing only his pants, grab his partner - gently - and throw her - gently - onto the bed, and cuddle with her. He'll wrap his arms tightly around her, may possibly lay on top of her - as long as he's sure she's not suffocating under his weight - and he'll refuse to let her up for anything. She can argue him all she wants; he'll either argue back or shut her up with a kiss, which could probably lead off to another type of aggressive cuddling 😉. 

He can also be somewhat aggressive during these moments... but not exactly in a distasteful way.

“Hey Lance, can I get up?”

A grunt.

...

“Please?”

Another grunt, and a shifting of his grip to hold her tighter.

“Oh come on! I need to see Karenn about something!”

“You’ve seen her enough this week.”

She can start to struggle against his arms and chest, but he’ll pull her into a death grip and wrap his legs around hers so it’s harder to move.

A frustrated sigh as she relaxes.

...

More struggling. He’ll growl and lightly nip her neck or shoulder, following up with a few gentle kisses if he’s feeling kind. This gets her to stop.

“I promise I’ll come back and then we can continue!”

He’ll raise his head and look at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Is it urgent?”

“...Yes?...”

“No.”

“Why!?”

“That ‘yes’ had ‘no’ written all over it.”

His hand will press her head against his chest again as Lance nuzzles into her hair.

“Is there any way, in any possible world, that I could possibly leave for just a few seconds to tell her something?”

“No.”

Better luck next time, maybe. Once Lance is set on something, it’ll take the sky falling to change his mind... and even then his stubbornness may still prevail.

While we’re on the topic of close contact with Lance; he probably has a very specific scent to him that isn’t even remotely similar to any one else in the guard.

His profession requires heavy manual labor, and although he probably isn’t fighting most of the time - maybe not even training depending on the day - he still has to lug around heavy armor and weaponry, and he probably has a somewhat routine schedule of walking around the guard to check in on how his sentries are doing (was it ever confirmed that there are watchmen stationed on the walls of the guard? Anyways, I headcanon that if it wasn’t already confirmed). Lance probably does a lot of moving around each day; be it training, fighting, working out a bit to keep in shape, embarking on missions, or just patrolling the guard to assure everything is alright. This means he probably does sweat a bit, and of course that hightlights anyone’s natural scent. It’s hard to say exactly what his natural scent may be like, but I image it’s a bit musky with a hint of a lighter chill to it.

Of course, he probably deals with the forge a lot, too, so the scent of the oil, leather, and smoldering steel he works with likely rubs off on him quite a bit. At nearly any time of the day - but especially later in the day - his partner is likely to find him smelling like the heavy musk of leather and heat, mixed with his own faint musk, and a tinge of nipping cold from the soap he showers with.

I’ve noticed that people rarely ever mention Lance’s neck injury... but I think his injury may actually have some impact in his relationship. There’s very little detail known on his injury, but regardless, it’s still a major weak point for him and was probably life-threatening at some point, so I don’t think he takes people being around this injury - or his neck in general - very lightly.

He’s likely very sensitive about his neck, even with his romantic partner. It’s less of a trust thing and more of an instinctual, self-preservation thing. There was a point in time where his life was threatened because someone was inflicting an injury to his neck, and it is known that it’s a weak point for Lance, so it would make sense that he would be very defensive about his neck.

It would take a while for him to open up to his partner about the details, and he may lean away from any touch on his neck for a long time until he learns how to feel comfortable with it, so in that time his partner would need to be understanding and accepting. She can hug him, kiss him, lean against him, anything... but avoid touching his neck.

Lance would likely be startled if she did this without warning, possibly to the point of clearly jumping or immediately backing away from shock. As it is, other’s don’t really touch him in a kind manner, so to have someone - even if it is his partner - touch him without warning, gently, on his neck, will usually come as a surprise. However, this is really only in the beginning of their relationship, and he’ll calm down in time the more he adjusts to physical touch around that area.

In the mean time, his partner would need to get used to his skittishness, but if it’s really a problem for his partner and he agrees, they can start to rehabilitate him to physical touch around his neck, starting by getting him used to touch around his neck and his partner eventually moving her hands closer and closer to his neck until he’s calm enough to let her touch his neck. It would be a slow process, but - provided he trusts her and feels safe when they try it - he’ll slowly relax in time.

This would be unlikely to cause major issues in their relationship unless his partner obviously doesn’t seem to care about his uncomfortable feelings, so as long as she gives him the time he needs to adapt and trust, he’ll calm down. In time he’ll fully enjoy her touch on his neck.

This is relatively short in comparison to the rants I usually go on but I’m glad to have finally written these out. Technically, I had more headcanons I could have added to this, but since they’re a bit more specifically about Lance’s dragon genetics I decided to split those off onto their own post. Fortunately I think these are fine as they are!

Thanks for reading!

Have a request? Ask them here!

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[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #165

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re taking a break from the Sakurafaces to build Suzuka Gozen, funloving JK gal and world-renowned Tamamo provoker. Suzie G is a Kensei Monk for some ungodly sword skills as well as a Fey Wanderer Ranger for her beguiling ways and eventually, her noble phantasm. Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: Hey senpai~!

Race and Background

Suzie is a fox right now, but she isn’t one naturally; she just couldn’t resist the urge to ruin Casko’s day. That’ll make her a Swiftstride Shifter, giving her +2 Dexterity and +1 Charisma. She also has Darkvision to dunk on normal humans, Keen Senses to bump up her perception, Graceful to boost her Acrobatics, and a Swift Stride for an extra 5 feet of movement. She can also Shift as a bonus action to become a bit foxier, giving her temporary hp, even more walking speed, and the ability to move away from enemies as a reaction if they end their turn near you without provoking attacks.

As a humble shrine maiden, Suzie’s an Acolyte, giving her proficiency with Insight and Performance (or deception, whichever one you think the JK girl act should be under). We’ll be getting religion later, but you can’t get either of the latter two from monk levels, so we’re starting with them here.

Ability Scores

First up, make Suzie’s Wisdom as high as possible. Divine servants tend to have solid saves, and you have to read people to fool them with that gimmick. Second is Dexterity, because you’re a saber, you’ve gotta be good with a sword. Your Charisma is also pretty solid, because you can’t fool people without, y’know, fooling them. Your Constitution isn’t bad, you can take a hit with the best of them. You don’t really need Strength, but we’re dumping Intelligence. You’re not actually stupid, but you’re actively pretending to be dumb, so it’s not much of a difference.

Class Levels

1. Monk 1: Starting off as a monk gets you that Religion proficiency we skipped on in your background, as well as History. You also get proficiency with Strength and Dexterity saves. You also get Unarmored Defense to kick ass in a schoolgirl outfit or dress by adding your wisdom modifier to your AC while not wearing armor. You also get Martial Arts while unarmored, using your dexterity instead of strength to attack with monk weapons, attack as a bonus action with your fists, and you deal a minimum of a d4 in damage while using monk weapons that grows as you level up.

2. Monk 2: Second level monks get Ki points Monk Levels per short rest that you can spend to dash, disengage, dodge, or attack twice as a bonus action. Your Unarmored Movement as helps you get a little bit faster to show up that Cat as well. You also get a Dedicated Weapon, letting you spend a short rest with a non-monk weapon you’re proficient in to turn it into a monk weapon. That’s a tool for next level though.

3. Ranger 1: Bouncing over to ranger gives you proficiency with martial weapons, so now you can dedicate your Longsword into a monk weapon no problem. You can also focus on a Favored Foe after hitting it once, letting you deal an extra 1d4 damage to it once per turn for up to a minute or until you lose concentration. You can mark enemies Proficiency times per long rest, and the damage grows as you level up. You’re also a Deft Explorer, making you Canny in performance, doubling your proficiency bonus on performance checks. (Or again, deception, depends on you.)

You also get Perception proficiency. It takes hard work to make your outfits look just right!

4. Ranger 2: Second level rangers get the Thrown Weapon fighting style, adding +2 to damage damage caused by chucking weapons at people. Most people prefer to not throw their swords, but you make it work, somehow. You can also cast Spells using your Wisdom to cast it. Zephyr Strike is another concentration spell that lets you deal extra damage and speed yourself up once per casting, and you can avoid opportunity attacks for the duration. You can also cast Hail of Thorns to turn one thrown sword into several, dealing extra piercing damage to creatures within 5′ of the original who fail a dexterity save.

5. Ranger 3: At third level, rangers pick their conclave, and the Fey Wanderers get a bunch of neat goodies that make you more charming. Not like you actually need it tho lol. Your Dreadful Strikes add a bit of psychic damage to your attacks once per turn, you get Fey Wanderer Magic, which means you know Charm Person now to act as your mystic eyes, and your Otherworldly Glamor adds your wisdom modifier to your charisma checks. You also get proficiency wit a social skill, so I’d suggest whichever one of the deception/performance duo you didn’t get level one.

On top of all that, your Primeval Awareness helps you sense otherworldly creatures nearby, and you also learn Searing Smite to make your blades a little hotter.

6. Ranger 4: Your first Ability Score Improvement is going towards the Resilient feat to bump up your Wisdom score by 1 and to make you proficient with wisdom saves. You have pretty strong Divinity, so you shouldn’t be getting jerked around by illusions that much.

7. Ranger 5: Fifth level rangers get an Extra Attack each attack action. You can also cast Misty Step to move even faster than usual, and your can Enhance Ability to make you or a friend better in any one kind of ability check for the duration.

8. Monk 3: Bouncing back to monk now for the Way of the Kensei, which gives you the Path of the Kensei, which is totally not confusing. This gives you Kensei Weapons so you can use all long swords as monk weapons instead of just one dedicated weapon. You also get a ranged weapon, and you get a couple more at higher levels, as long as they aren’t two-handed.

You can also make Agile Parries by making unarmed attacks while wielding your kensei sword in your other hand. This gives you a +2 bonus to your AC for each unarmed attack you make that lasts until your next turn.

You can also use a bonus action to make Kensei’s Shots, adding another 1d4 to your ranged kensei attacks. Notably, it doesn’t have to be a ranged weapon, so now your thrown swords are even scarier.

You also get proficiency with calligraphy thanks to the Way of the Brush. Writing’s a class in school, it’s justified.

You can also use your sword to Deflect Missiles as a reaction, reducing incoming damage. If it’s reduced to 0, you can even throw it back with a ki point.

9. Monk 4: Use this ASI to bump up your Dexterity for a better AC and better swordsmanship. You can also Slow Fall as a reaction, reducing falling damage by five times your monk level. I’ve heard foxes are just dog software running on cat hardware, so I guess you can land on your feet?

10. Ranger 6: Bouncing back to ranger bumps your favored foe damage up to a new die size, and you become a Roving ranger, increasing your walking speed further, as well as giving you a climbing and swimming speed.

11. Ranger 7: Fey Wanderers can put a Beguiling Twist on your charms and the charms of others. You have advantage on saves against being charmed or frightened, and when a creature near you succeeds on a save against being charmed or frightened you can force another creature to make a wisdom save against your spell DC. If it fails, the target is charmed or frightened by you for a minute or by making another save. High schoolers generally don’t have good taste, as long as you’re charming somebody it’s probably fine.

You can also cast Magic Weapon to make your swords a little stronger a pierce through nonmagical weapon resistances. You’ll be able to do this for free later, but you’re probably running into enemies with those kinds of resistances by this point, so why wait?

12. Monk 5: Fifth level monks get an extra attack that doesn’t stack, but they also gain a Stunning Strike on their melee attacks, spending 1 ki point to force a constitution save on whatever you hit. If it fails, it’s stunned until the end of your next turn.

Your Focused Aim also lets you turn ki points directly into accuracy, adding 2 to your attack roll for each ki point spent, up to a maximum of three.

Also, your martial arts dice are d6s now. Rejoice!

13. Monk 6: Sixth level monks get Ki-Empowered Strikes, and kensei also become One with the Blade.  The former, plus your Magic Kensei Weapons, make your unarmed strikes and kensei weapons magical against resistances.

You also learn to deal Deft Strikes, adding your martial arts die to a kensei weapon damage roll once per turn by using a ki point.

14. Monk 7: Seventh level monks get Evasion, supercharging your dexterity saves. Failures reduce damage as much as most peoples’ successes, and your successes negate damage entirely. You also get get a Stillness of Mind that lets you end effects of charming or frightening on yourself as an action, in the rare event one of those actually sticks to you.

15. Monk 8: Use this ASI to bump up your Wisdom, making it harder to charm you and easier for you to charm others. Also, you get a better AC! Win win!

16. Monk 9: Your Unarmored Movement Improvement lets you run up walls and over water. Just make sure you end your turn on solid ground, otherwise it won’t be pretty.

17. Monk 10: Tenth level monks have a Purity of Body that makes you immune to diseases and poison. When was the last time you saw a relative of a demon king come down with the sniffles?

18. Ranger 8: Hopping back to ranger gives you another ASI, which will max out your Wisdom for super powerful charms. You also have the Land’s Stride, letting you ignore nonmagical plants while traveling through them, and you get advantage on saves against them.

19. Monk 11: Our last level of kensei lets you Sharpen the Blade with your ki points, spending 1-3 points to add that much to the weapon’s attack and damage rolls for 1 minute. Like, why bother spending all that gold on fancy weapons when you can just do it yourself?

On top of that, all your weapons now do at least 1d8 damage thanks to martial arts!

20. Ranger 9: Your capstone level unlocks third level spells, like Dispel Magic from your Fey Wanderer Magic feature, or the real reason we’re here, Conjure Barrage. Now you can literally turn that sword into a thousand and yeet them all at your foes!

Pros:

You’re mobile as hell, with 60 feet of movement speed normally, climbing and swimming speeds baked in, and the ability to go even faster by shifting or using spells, you can dart around the battlefield real heccing quick.

You’re also really good in social situations, with a difficult to save against Charm Person plus a more than maxed out charisma modifier for skill checks. If you don’t like doing math, you get +7 for most charisma checks, +13 for Deception, and +19 for Performance. Pretty freaking good

On top of that, you’re also super difficult to charm with a maxed out wisdom save with proficiency and advantage. On top of that, your defenses then get turned into more charms against your enemies. In effect, you’re making your foes able to be affected by their own charms.

Cons:

A lot of your spells use Concentration, which is always an issue, especially since they’ll be butting heads with Favored Foe. (Also your concentration save isn’t that great...)

You also have a lot of limits on your offensive options. Most of them are tied to spell slots or ki points which are few, or they only add damage to one attack per turn. Sword+Thrown Weapon Fighting+ Dreadful Strikes+Deft Strike+Zephyr Strike is a lot of dice packed into one blow, and you’ll almost certainly hit, but it would be nice to be able to add your damage after getting a crit like paladins do.

Thrown Weapons just aren’t good. Again you have a lot of bonuses that make them scarier, but you still have to deal with either picking up all your weapons to throw them again, or deal with unsheathing a dozen swords each fight.

[musings-from-mars]

I don't remember what the prompts were so I am picking a random one! Whiterose for Number 36

((Y’all mind if I uhhhh...project onto Ruby a little bit?

This got really long so I added a read more lol

You know what, heck it, this is it’s own AU now. Rosebloom AU!))

One accidentally runs into the other(s) while… 36. At a party

Ruby was not a party girl. She had never actually been to a party, but she didn’t need to to be sure of that. The idea of just milling about a crowded space while loud music played did not appeal to her at all, not to mention the potential sensory issues such an environment might cause (or definitely would cause). But she tried anyway, because she was in high school now, and high school kids party, right? And she desperately wanted to fit in at her new school and not be the same weirdo she had been in junior high. Yang had told her that she didn’t have to come if she didn’t want to, but Ruby insisted both to Yang and to herself that she could handle it.

Twenty minutes after arriving at the party, she was scrambling out the back door to escape the loud music and constant droning of conversation, finally starting to get overloaded despite her efforts to carry on. Inadvertently getting separated from Yang didn’t help matters as she stepped onto the back porch and held her fists to her forehead, clenching and unclenching her hands rapidly as she pressed the bases of her wrists against her eyes, focusing on the darkness and listening to the relative calm.

Once she began to calm down a bit, she sighed and sat down on the wicker chair on the back porch, her back to the wall. She took a deep breath, then let out a groan. “Damn it...”

“Are you okay?”

Ruby flinched, gripping the arm rests of her seat as she turned toward who had just spoken. “H-HUh?!”

The girl who had spoken stepped back, standing at the bottom on the steps to the porch. She had long white hair that seemed to shine despite the low light of the crescent moon and the light that escaped the windows behind Ruby, and her blue eyes seemed to take whatever light hit them and reflected it back twice as bright. She clutched a small light blue purse to her chest, making it easy to notice how the purse matched her sweater and pleated skirt. “Sorry for startling you,” the girl said, not looking directly at Ruby as she walked up the steps.

“It’s...fine,” Ruby said, relaxing a bit, letting her arms rest at her sides again as she watched the girl climb the stairs, noticing her black leggings and red hightops. “I thought it was just me back here.”

“So did I,” the girl admitted, now standing awkwardly by the front railing of the porch, facing Ruby. “I’m...not much for parties.”

Ruby chuckled, nodding as she looked away from Weiss, getting nervous being under her gaze. “Me neither.”

“Are your eyes okay?” She asked. “They look really red. I saw you rubbing them.”

“Huh?” Ruby asked, but then felt her face get hot and her heart leap into her throat. “That was...I just...I do that when I’m...” She shut herself up, knowing not to let herself stammer.

Weiss blinked at her, then nodded. “Just...nervous?”

Ruby nodded. “Yeah, nervous,” she agreed. Not exactly accurate, but not completely incorrect either. She let out a sigh after involuntarily holding her breath for a spell.

She hadn’t realized how cold it was, and her jacket was still in the locked cargo box in Yang’s motorcycle, leaving Ruby in just her red t-shirt and black jeans. She gripped her elbows, trying to stifle a shiver. “What’s...your name?” She asked. Totally normal thing to ask, right? Especially if this girl was going to keep looking at her, awkwardly, beautifully...

“Weiss,” the girl answered. “And yours?”

“Ruby,” Ruby said. “Uhm...what’re you doing out here?”

Weiss shrugged, lowering her purse from her chest to in front of her, relaxing her shoulders at last. “I came to this party hoping to meet new people. I just moved here so I don’t know anybody.”

Ruby chuckled, glancing at the empty backyard. “Not going well, huh?” She immediately regretted saying that. Am I seriously teasing her? That was so mean! What the fuck is wrong with me?

To Ruby’s surprise, however, Weiss chuckled, smiling as she glanced toward the grassy yard as well. “Not at all. I feel so out of place.”

That was something Ruby could relate to. “Same,” she admitted. “I don’t like parties.”

“Neither do I.” Weiss shrugged, leaning her elbow against the porch railing behind her. “People don’t really talk to people outside their little groups, do they?”

Ruby hadn’t noticed, she was more worried about the idea of someone actually talking to her, and having to come up with something to say that wasn’t awkward or weird, and then trying to carry a conversation with someone she didn’t know and probably shared zero interests with. Ruby sucked at talking to people, unless she was talking to friends over voicechat while playing Minecraft at home, or...to Yang or her dad. That was it, pretty much.

“I’ve actually said more to you than I have to anyone else tonight,” Weiss continued, chuckling again. “So...thank you for that.”

“Hm?” Ruby hadn’t done anything really. Oh, wait. I have actually been talking to her. Weird. “Oh, yeah! Thanks to you, too.”

Weiss smiled at her. Weiss smiled at her. “Do you go to Beacon High as well?”

Ruby nodded, feeling her face warm again, but not so much that it was distracting or unbearable. “Yeah, it’s my first year. I...kinda came here for the same reason as you, to meet people, but...yeah, I’m not good at...meeting...people.”

“I mean,” Weiss shrugged. “You met me.”

Ruby opened her mouth, but struggled to put her response together at first. “I...guess you’re right. Huh.”

“I’m a junior, but I was homeschooled up until this year, so I guess I’m sort of in the same boat as you,” Weiss said, fidgeting with the handle of her purse. “Not knowing anyone despite there being literally hundreds of other people at school feels...alienating.”

Ruby nodded. “Yeah, it kinda d-does.�� She stuttered as she shivered a bit, having tried her best to hide how cold she was but beginning to fail at that.

Weiss tilted her head a bit. “Need a jacket?” She asked.

“I’m okay, mine’s in my sister’s bike, and she has the key, and...I don’t know where she went.”

“Oh, that was your sister,” Weiss remarked. “She seems...pretty popular.”

“She is.” Ruby nodded.

Weiss looked to the side, then set her purse on the railing. “Here.” She began to tug her light blue sweater off.

Ruby’s face felt like she was nose-deep in a toaster oven by this point. Is she taking her top off?! “What are you...?”

Alas, only a bit of Weiss’ midriff actually ended up exposed. She pulled off her sweater, leaving her in a white v-neck t-shirt. “I don’t want you to freeze,” she said with a chuckle, extending the sweater towards her.

Ruby stared at the sweater and shook her head. “No no, I’m fine, really.”

“I don’t get cold that easy, no worries,” Weiss insisted, nodding towards her sweater. “Go on.”

Ruby sighed, face still burning as she reached out and took the garment from Weiss. “Thank you.” She gingerly began to slip it on, and as she pulled it over her head, she faintly smelled lavender laundry detergent and...perfume? It kind of smelled like chamomile, like the kind of tea her dad would make when she or Yang got a sore throat. Ruby tugged the sweater down, her head poking out the top, and she immediately felt more comfortable, and much warmer.

Weiss giggled. “Not too small, is it?”

Ruby shook her head, tugging the sleeves down over her wrists. “It’s, like, the perfect size, actually.”

“Okay, good,” Weiss said with a nod, smiling.

Ruby looked up at her, making eye contact, and a lump formed in her throat inexplicably. Then she started to panic a little, trying to find something to say, but not coming up with anything, but she had to say something so she just started talking. “It’s really warm and it smells like—”

She was cut off when the back door opened and Yang stepped outside. “There you are, sis!” She said when she spotted Ruby. She was wearing a yellow and white stripped halter top and light blue jeans, her hair in a ponytail. “I’ve been looking all over the place.” Then she noticed Ruby’s newfound sweater, then turned and looked at Weiss for the first time. Then she pointed at Weiss, then at Ruby. “Do you know each other?” She asked.

“N-No!” Ruby said, then blushed when she realized how rude that might have been. “I mean, we just met and we’ve been talking about how much we don’t like parties and stuff. And...she gave me her sweater. Because I was cold.” She put that last sentence out in a pointed rush, trying to quell any ideas from forming in Yang’s head. “And, uh...her name is Weiss.”

Yang glanced back at Weiss, a faint smirk on her face. “Weiss, huh? Are you new?”

Weiss nodded, face red for more than just the cold, probably. “Yeah, I am. I just moved to Beacon.”

“Cool! I’m Yang!” She reached a hand out, which Weiss took and shook. “I’m Ruby’s sister.”

“I’m Weiss,” Weiss said, then stammered a bit. “You...already knew that.”

Yang giggled. “No worries.” She pointed at Ruby. “I just wanted to check on you. You doing okay?”

Now? Yes, she was just fine. Earlier, not so much, but there was no point in telling Yang that now. “Yeah, I’m good,” Ruby said.

Yang nodded. “Cool. Just text me if you need anything, okay?” She then waved to her and Weiss. “I’ll leave you two alone,” she teased before disappearing into the house again.

She just had to add on that bit at the end, huh?

“Your sister...seems nice,” Weiss said, her face still red.

“She is,” Ruby rattled off, not looking at Weiss now, fidgeting with the cuffs of Weiss’ sweater instead. Wait...Oh shit, Yang got the wrong idea from seeing me in her sweater, she must think me and Weiss are... She tapped both feet on the floor in quick succession over and over, doing her fist clenching thing again but keeping her hands on the armrests.

“Are you okay, Ruby?” Weiss asked, noticing her stimming.

“I’m good,” Ruby said, not meaning it so much as that was just a rehearsed answer to that type of question.

“Am I making you nervous?” Weiss asked, holding her purse to her chest again. “You can be honest.”

“No!” Ruby shouted. Why did I shout?! That came out WAY too quick.

Weiss flinched a bit at Ruby’s sudden response. “I...if you need me to leave you alone for a moment, I can.”

Ruby gritted her teeth. I’m acting so weird, fuck. She wanted to run away right at that moment, but she had nowhere to go. Home was miles away.

Weiss gripped her purse, pressing her lips together. “I’m sorry, I’ll...” She reached for the door.

“Wait!” Ruby reached out suddenly, grabbing Weiss’ wrist just before she reached the door handle.

Weiss gasped, looking between Ruby’s hand and her face, appearing worried.

Ruby blinked, then inhaled sharply and drew her hand away, tucking it against her chest. “I’m sorry, I...I don’t mean to...do that. I...” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry...”

“Hey,” Weiss said, sounding restrained, putting a hand on Ruby’s shoulder. “It’s okay.

“I’m just being weird and I’m sorry, I’m sor—”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

Ruby stopped, opening her eyes, freezing for a moment. She felt a small wave of relief. Okay...okay, she’s not actually that weirded out...is she?

“I...” Weiss began to say, then her voice trailed off. She took her hand off of Ruby’s shoulder, then reached into her purse, pulling out her phone. “What’s your phone number?”

My phone number?!

“Uh...” Ruby struggled to respond for a moment. “Uhh...right, my number, it’s...” She told Weiss her cell number, and Weiss entered it into her contacts. “Why...do you ask?”

“I just...” Weiss put her phone away in her purse. “I can tell you...aren’t really comfortable here, so I figured I could text you sometime so we can talk that way, and...I don’t know, we could hang out sometime, somewhere a bit more...our style,” she shrugged, smiling awkwardly.

Ruby stared at her for a moment, then nodded. “Oh, yeah, totally.” She took a moment to listen to the music playing inside the house, then got an idea. “Or we could...go somewhere else right now?”

Weiss’ mouth hung open for a moment, glancing toward the house as well, then smiled, giggling. “I guess you’re right. Uhm...where did you have in mind.”

Ruby perked up a bit, but then deflated just as quickly. “Well, my sister is my ride so I can’t exactly take you anywhere.”

“I could hail an Uber,” Weiss said.

Ruby blinked at her. “Ohh...I’ve never been to oovoo javer.”

Weiss chuckled, then snorted, then laughed even louder. “Oh wow, that was attractive of me.”

Ruby giggled, holding a hand to her mouth as she did. “It was cute!”

Weiss sighed, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, her laughter fading. “So yeah, I’ll...” she took her phone back out, face red all the way down her neck. “I’ll call that Uber.” She turned away from Ruby, obviously embarrassed, as she tapped away at her phone screen.

Ruby kept giggling softly, mentally patting herself on the back. She made her laugh! Without even meaning to. Her brain had just played a split-second game of Word Association: Vine Edition and spit out a response. The planets must have been aligned in a certain way, because Ruby was sure she would never pull off something like that again.

Hold up...why am I so happy about making her laugh?

“Wait, where are we going?” Weiss asked. “Kinda need a destination if we’re calling an Uber...”

“Uhm...are you hungry?”

“A bit,” Weiss admitted.

“DQ?”

“DQ?” Weiss asked. “I’ve...never been.”

“You’ve never been to see the Queen of Dairy?” Ruby asked, astonished.

“I’m afraid not,” she chuckled, but input the location of the nearest Dairy Queen. “But I’ll give it a try. The driver should be here soon.” There was still a faint red tinge to her cheeks. Actually, she was beginning to look cold being without her sweater.

“Would you like your sweater back?” Ruby offered.

Weiss shook her head, waving a hand. “I insist.”

Ruby nodded, biting her lip. “Okay. Oh, I should probably text Yang and tell her I’m leaving.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and started to type a message to Yang.

“You...” Weiss muttered. “Do you listen to Red Hallow Manor?”

Ruby froze. Weiss had probably seen the logo for the Red Hallow Manor podcast on her phone case, but the only reason she had that case was because she was so certain no one would recognize it, it was such a niche thing. But somehow Weiss had? “Yeah?”

Weiss chuckled. “I literally just binged the first two seasons a couple days ago.”

“Really?” Ruby asked, sitting up straight in her seat. “No way! We could listen to the next season together! I mean, I’ve listened to the entire thing at least three times, but I’d totally want to listen with you and hear what you think!”

Weiss smiled, laughing. “Sure! That sounds like fun.”

“Awesome!” Ruby said excitedly, hopping to her feet. “Sorry, I just...I’m, like, obsessed with RHM. Like, really obsessed. I never thought I’d ever meet someone in-person who listened to it.”

Weiss giggled at Ruby’s enthusiasm. “Yeah, I had just heard about it and I was curious, so I listened to a couple episodes, and then I listened to more, and...” She shrugged. “I ended up staying up way too late. I had to force myself to go to bed after listening to two seasons.”

“That’s awesome!” Ruby said, eyes wide, shining in the moonlight. “Do you like it? Who’s your favorite character? What season one or two better?”

Weiss held a hand up to steady her. “How about...you interview me while we’re at DQ, huh?”

“Okay!” Ruby nodded, stimming but for a positive reason now, doing a side-to-side dance in her seat.

Weiss smiled at her. “You’re cute,” she remarked.

Ruby’s face heated up, halting her movements. “Oh, thanks,” she said, voice wavering.

Weiss blushed. “But like...just, yeah, I...” She hurried to pull her phone back out. “The Uber is just around the corner, we should go out front.”

Ruby stood from her seat. “Okay, uh...” she glanced at the back door to the house. “Could we...go around? I don’t want to go back inside.”

Weiss nodded. “Sure,” she said, heading down the patio steps with Ruby behind her.

They walked around to the side of the house only to find that there was no gate, just more fence. “Uh...” Weiss shrugged. “I guess we have to go through the house.”

“Why not just climb over?” Ruby asked.

Weiss looking at the fence with an uncertain glance. “Climb?”

“As one does,” Ruby chuckled, taking a couple steps back, then running and leaping at the fence, using the horizontal beams to climb up, then sat down on the top (the fence was flat on the top, so thankfully no pickets in the butt). “Like that!”

Weiss stared up at her, dumbfounded for a moment, then shook her head. “I don’t think I can do that.”

“What, have you never climbed a fence before?” Ruby asked.

“I’ve never had to?” Weiss shrugged.

“Okay, I’ll help you,” Ruby said, hoping back down.

“Uhh,” Weiss glanced at the fence uncertainly, but then looked back at Ruby’s goofy smile and sighed. “Alright, I’ll try.”

“Cool, I’ll boost you,” Ruby said, taking a knee and holding her hands out. “Just step up and I’ll lift you.”

Weiss took one more uncertain look at the fence, then nodded and gingerly ran forward, planting a foot one Ruby’s hands and stepping up, just as Ruby lifted her with a grunt. Weiss yelped, completely missing the highest horizontal beam and ending up stomach-first on the top of the fence, top half on the other side with her legs kicking on Ruby’s end. “Gah, that didn’t work!” Weiss yelped.

Ruby stopped herself from giggling, instead scrambling back up the fence. “I got you!” She said, leaping over with ease to the other side. She made eye contact with a very concerned looking Weiss and smiled at her. “Just flip over to this side and I’ll catch you.”

“Flip over?” Weiss asked incredulously.

Ruby extended her arms. “I got you!”

“I’m slipping!”

“Now or never then!” Ruby said.

Weiss held her breath, then leaned forward, doing a half front flip. “AHH!” She screamed, but landed in Ruby’s arms, bridal style.

“Gotcha!” Ruby said with a proud grin. She allowed herself to enjoy holding her for just a moment, then set Weiss upright, her feet securely on the ground. “Not so bad, huh?”

Weiss regained her bearings, then straightened her skirt, face flushed. “Yeah, I guess not,” she said, obviously flustered.

Ruby rubbed her back of her neck. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” Weiss said, chuckling. “I’ve done something new already.”

“There you go.” Ruby nodded, but was interrupted by a familiar Beep! Beep! nearby. She turned and spotted Yang leaning on her yellow motorcycle. “Yang?”

“Hey, sis!” She waved, then raised Ruby’s red jacket in the air. “You might want to take this with you.”

“Oh, right, thanks,” Ruby murmured, suddenly conscious of what Yang might have been thinking about her being with Weiss. She came over to Yang and took the jacket. “Uh, me and Weiss are going to DQ.”

“Sweet,” Yang nodded, giving Weiss a look, then a smile. “Don’t be out too late, but have fun!”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “Yeah yeah, I’ll be home by curfew. Just like you will be, right?”

Yang shrugged. “Mayyybe.”

A black sedan pulled up behind Yang, an Uber light on the front windshield. “This is it,” Weiss said, walking toward the car, glancing one more time at Yang as she walked past.

Yang smiled at Ruby, giving her hair a ruffle. “Maybe give her your jacket? Fair trade, right? Would be a smooth move.”

“Smooth move?” Ruby asked, glancing around her as Weiss climbed into the backseat of the Uber. Then she realized what Yang was insinuating and took this opportunity to put whatever ideas Yang was getting to bed. “We aren’t...dating or anything, okay?”

“Who said anything about that?” Yang asked, smiling.

Ruby sighed. “Okay, fine, but...don’t get any ideas.”

“You’re the one feeding me ideas,” Yang teased.

“Just...” Ruby sighed. “I feel like I’m making a friend. Please don’t make me feel weird about it.”

Yang blinked, smile disappearing. “How would I?”

Ruby glanced toward Weiss, seeing her with a leg still outside the car, waiting for Ruby to follow. “I gotta go,” she said, stepping past Yang.

Yang watched her walk past. “Be safe,” she called to her halfheartedly, then remained leaned against her bike, in thought.

[jgvfhl]

Number Lads! AKA me taking a hammer to canon :)

Well now we see some actual plot being affected by the character choices in this here little ol' story I'm writing. Damn this list is getting long... wonderful! (Read Part 1 - Part 2- Part 3)

Some gentle warnings for injury descriptions--specifically burns

ARC-0000 = Zero = d0nut man

CT-2222 = Do-si-do = Double Trouble

CT-3333 = Trees = Leafs

CT-4444 = Fours = Submarine

ARC-5555 = Fives = high fives

ARC-1409 = Echo = BetterDomino

CC-6666 = Sixes/Death = DEATH

ARC-7777 = Sevenset = RedBoiiiii

CT-8888 = Loops = Loopy

high fives: GUYS guys guys i think echo and i can get our hands on nines soon

d0nut man: “get our hands on nines”

d0nut man: well. I’ve heard stranger things out of one of our medics

BetterDomino: lol yeah us too

Leafs: nines? 212th yeah?

high fives: yeah echo and i just got the rundown for a mission with cmdr cody and gen kenobi and there was definitely a CT-9999 on the list

Double Trouble: oo what kinda mission??

BetterDomino: the kind you’re not allowed to know about

high fives: yeah :3

BetterDomino: and technically he shouldn’t even have mentioned it >_>

Double Trouble: oh ho ho

Leafs: do si do, gossip is not worth breaking classified information

high fives: but nines!!

RedBoiiiii: WE’RE GETTING A NEW NUMBER????

high fives: MAYBE

BetterDomino: very strong maybe

DEATH: classified missions = death trap

DEATH: the new guy might not even make it out, don’t get too excited

RedBoiiiii: life of the party, as usual

Leafs: well he is the more experienced of us in these things… so…

high fives: we’re not gonna die guys

Loopy: you better not :(

DEATH: you want some advice? if the seps point a gun at something, they’re going to shoot

DEATH: doesn’t matter how important it is to them or their cause. they will shoot it.

high fives: … noted sir

BetterDomino: thank you

RedBoiiiii: OYA DOMINO I LOVE YOUUUUUUU blease come back safe *bonk*

high fives: *bonk*

BetterDomino: *bonk*

____

Had Nines not been a member of the 212th for nearly two years, he’d probably be wondering if all of his general’s missions went this muja-shaped so fast. Well. Actually, he’d probably be dead. He rather liked not being dead, and hoped to keep it that way, despite the absolute and utter chaos happening around the Citadel’s lower airfield at the moment. The air was a haze of colors as blue, red, and green blaster bolts zipped through the air, combined with the five lightsabers whirling about the generals and commander. But right now, Nines was really trying not to die while pinned down behind this cargo crate.

The noise of a door drew his attention--ever so briefly--as yet more clankers emerged from the hellish prison. He could only take a glance before he had to duck back behind the large cargo crate he and two ARCs were using for cover. He looked over at the pair, watching one--Echo or Fives, he couldn’t quite recall at the moment--launch a charge at the new droids. Nines felt the detonation, and twisted back around to send some bolts towards the scattered droids. Kriffing hells, commando droids? Again? Stars, he really hated those buggers.

“General Skywalker!” Nines barely caught the tail end of the ARC’s warning as he returned to cover. “A droid is manning one of those turrets. They’re gonna blow up the shuttle, sir.”

Oh, hells no. Nines looked up, locating General Skywalker and General Peill on the little flying craft they’d commandeered from incoming assailants. It looked like they were heading towards the turret, then they disappeared over the edge of the cargo crate.

“This is our only chance!” Nines heard behind him from the same ARC. “We have to stop him.” He looked over just as one of the pair disappeared around the side of the crate, the other close on his heels.

“Echo no!”

Nines jogged over, hoping to cover the pair. Echo was running towards the shuttle’s ramp with a shield dropped by one of the commandos. Nines looked and saw at the same time as Fives--if that was Echo, the one still standing here was Fives--the commando droid at the turret’s controls turning the blaster barrels towards the shuttle.

Nines felt a horribly familiar cold lump sink into his gut as the seconds seemed to slow, green turret rounds creeping closer and closer to Echo and their only way out of this Maker-abandoned pit. But it seemed time hadn’t slowed for Fives, who was suddenly reaching to the ascension cable at the back of his utility belt.

He attached it to his blaster, aimed at his brother, and fired.

There was the distinct sound of the cable striking plastoid. A huge noise followed, managing to drown out the whizz of blaster fire. A wave of light and heat washed over the immediate area as the shuttle exploded. Nines’ eyes followed a chunk of the ship as it flew over the landing pad and destroyed the turret and the droid manning it, but then his attention was back on Fives. Fives, who was drawing in his ascension cable desperately as the rest of the strike team collected by the last way out of the landing pad.

“We need to go,” General Kenobi said, and no one was going to argue. “Now.”

“Fives,” Captain Rex stood next to his ARCs.

Fives was kneeling on one knee over Echo’s unmoving, singed, and smoking form, hastily detaching the cable from his brother’s chestplate. “I got him,” he said, and even for all the training he had, anyone would hear the distress underlining the urgency of his actions.

Nines cast his eyes over the fallen ARC. The plastoid of Echo’s boot had melted in the intense heat of the shuttle’s explosion. It wasn’t coming off until a medic was there to cut it off. Nines was grateful now for the filters in his bucket, keeping the smell of burning blacks and probably flesh out of his nose. Taking another look, he saw Echo’s right arm had suffered similar injuries--the side unprotected by the shield. But, judging by Fives’ concerted efforts, he was still alive.

As the team retreated, Fives finally stowed his cable and his blaster on his belt, hefting his brother across his shoulders and hauling them both up. Nines lagged between the two parties, waiting until Fives had caught up before picking up his pace.

“No man left behind, right?” Nines said, low enough to keep it between them.

“Not a kriffing chance,” Fives huffed.

_____

In a whirlwind of sulfurous stench, near misses, anoobas, crawling over lethal lava lakes, and the unfortunate death of General Peill, the greatly reduced strike team was finally aboard General Koon’s gunship. Fives carefully lowered his brother to the floor, leaning him against the wall. Captain Rex maneuvered over to them, standing between them and the other occupants like a human privacy screen as the gunship flew far, far away from the stinking hell that was The Citadel.

It was another hour or so before Nines had the chance to find them again. Echo’s injuries were the worst to come out of the mission, mostly because of the sheer number of casualties. Nines himself only suffered some relatively superficial bumps and bruises, so he was cleared from medical quickly.

“Where are you off to, Nines?”

The commander, too, had been quickly cleared, it seemed. Nines turned and waited for Commander Cody before starting for the other medbay rooms again. “Sir, I thought I’d check on the two ARCs. Fives and Echo?”

The commander nodded, switching his helmet to under his other arm. “I was gonna check on Rex, and he’s probably with them. I’ll come with.”

“The captain’s pretty fond of them, then?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” the commander smiled, though there was something bittersweet in the expression.

As he’d predicted, they found the captain and Fives outside one of the medbay rooms. Rex was seated on the bench between doorways, his bucket on the floor between his feet, a water bottle in one hand. Fives was on his feet, pacing back and forth in front of the room, his eyes only leaving the windows briefly at every pass. His bucket was resting on the ground near the captain’s.

When the two caught sight of Nines and Cody approaching, Rex made to stand, but the commander gave him a sharp look. “Sit down, Rex.” The captain slumped back down on the bench, where the commander soon joined him. “What’s the word?”

“There hasn’t been any kriffing word,” Fives growled, still pacing.

The commander’s brows scrunched. “It’s been over an hour.”

“I know,” Fives shot back with far more force than Nines would ever use towards a commander.

But Cody took it in stride, barely reacting to the added bite in the ARC’s words. He just nodded and leaned back against the wall like Captain Rex, whom he asked, “Have you both been looked over?”

The captain nodded. “Yeah, we’ve been cleared.”

Nines watched Fives pacing back and forth. He hadn’t gotten much of a chance to talk to Echo or Fives before the whole strike team went into carbonite. But, clearly, Fives needed a distraction. Nines had been around long enough, battle after battle, to recognize that.

He took a step forward, clearing his throat. “Hey, uh… Fives. What was it you were telling me about before we left? That… number group?”

Fives paused in his pacing, and some of the stress on his face replaced by slight confusion, then recognition. “Right. Yeah.”

The captain raised an eyebrow at them both. “Number group? Fives, how many people are you gonna tell about those guys?”

“Well,” Nines began, “he had a good reason. I’m CT-9999. Nines, sir.”

The captain chuckled. “I see.”

“Yeah, he didn’t get much out before we had to go under. Anything else I should know about these guys?”

Fives finally stopped pacing and sighed quietly, looking over through the medbay windows. “Yeah, okay.” He rubbed his eyes, his shoulders lowering as some of the fight left his system. It appeared he’d realized Nines was only trying to take his mind off his injured brother, and was giving in to the plan.

“Why don’t you get cleaned up while you’re at it, Fives,” Captain Rex told him, and despite the wording, it wasn’t a question.

“But--”

“Echo’s not going anywhere,” the captain said, cutting off Fives’ protests. “I’ll stay here, and I’ll comm you the second I hear anything.”

Fives sighed again. The captain had won, Nines knew. The ARC trudged over to collect his helmet from the floor by his captain’s boots. As he straighted up, the captain caught the back of his neck and pressed their foreheads together long enough to murmur something inaudible. Nines knew it wasn’t for him to hear anyway. But Fives nodded when he was released, and even Cody reached up to pat his chestplate. Huh.

“Food first or shower first?” Nines asked when he walked over to him. “‘Cause I’m starving.”

“Yeah, me too,” Fives admitted. “But, I think I wanna get the stink of that place out of my armor before I try eating anything.”

_____

After a fast shower, even by GAR standards, Nines found Fives sitting on the floor outside the ‘freshers in just his blacks and boots with his kit and a wet cloth, in the middle of wiping off the worst of the grime from the mission. He had paused, however, and was now fiddling with his wrist comm. Nines sat down next to him with his own kit to do the same.

“Any news?”

“No, I just remembered something…” Fives replied, clearly occupied. Finally, his comm blinked green as it connected with someone else’s. “Loops?”

There was a hesitant answer. “Fives…? Why can you comm me while I’m in hyperspace?”

Fives smiled triumphantly. “Don’t worry about it. Are you busy right now?”

“I mean… it can wait an hour or so. Why?”

“You wanna pop down to the mess hall for a bit?”

There was a pause. “Are you onboard?”

“Maybe.”

Loops stuttered out a few indignant syllables before demanding, “Did we just haul ass across hyperspace to pull you out of The Citadel?”

“Well, not just me, but yeah. Thanks, by the way, for whatever small part you played in getting us the hell out of there.”

“What in the nine hells were you doing in The Citadel, Fives?”

Fives rolled his eyes. “Can you just meet me in the mess and I’ll tell you?”

Another pause. “Fine, but I’m not happy about it.”

Even if Fives hadn’t filled Nines in on who Loops was on their way to the mess hall, it would have been fairly obvious by the large eight tattooed on his cheek, much the way Fives’ tattoo was obvious. Loops was CT-8888, and his face only dropped its suspicious scowl at Fives when Nines introduced himself.

“Nines? Really?”

“Hey, I said we could get our hands on him,” Fives said around a mouthful of rations. He and Nines had gotten their food and found a table before Loops had shown up.

“Yeah, and the commander said he’d be dead by the end of the mission,” Loops shot back across the table.

Nines raised an eyebrow. “Well, I’m not dead…”

“Which is wonderful,” Loops assured him.

“And… which commander?”

Loops looked at Fives, who took the opportunity to take a long drink. “You didn’t tell him about the commander?”

When he finished, Fives shrugged, wiping his mouth and smiling. “I think it’s better when you find out organically.”

“Maker, you and Sevenset are two of a kind,” Loops said, shaking his head. “Hey, where’s Echo?”

“Medbay.”

“Is he okay?”

Nines watched the shadow of worry fall across Fives’ face, but he seemed to shake it off. “I don’t know yet.”

Loops dipped his chin, looking sympathetic. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

Fives tried to give an assuring smile, but it didn’t quite land. “Yeah, well… it’s not gonna kill him. So.” He poked the remaining cubes of food on his tray with his fork.

His friend nodded, understanding that, sometimes, injuries weren’t so straightforward to fix. Clones had been decommissioned for some pretty mundane reasons, and everyone knew it. “Well, hey,” he said, “you’re both alive, and so is Nines. You can prove the commander wrong if nothing else.”

“Well, you’ve got a point there.”

“Do you wanna do that now, or…?” Loops asked, slowly raising his wrist comm and opening a text channel.

“We’re in hyperspace,” Nines reminded him.

He frowned, putting his arm back on the table and resting his chin on it. “I hate hyperspace.”

Nines could understand. Usually, he was too busy to complain, but now he was a bit at odd ends. But before he could voice his commiseration, Fives’ comm pinged, and a second later, Fives sprang up from the table, food and tray almost forgotten.

“That was Rex, I gotta go,” he said, already hurrying away to deposit his tray before dashing out the door.

Loops had made no move to follow him, and Nines knew there would be no room in the medbay for them regardless. “Hope it’s good news,” Loops said. Nines nodded.

_____

Fives skidded to a stop, narrowly avoiding crashing directly into Rex in front of Echo’s room in the medbay. Rex grabbed his upper arms to help him stop.

“What is it? What happened?” Fives demanded, only just noticing the Wolfpack medic standing by. He looked regulation except for a large geometric tattoo on the left side of his neck.

“Take a breath, Fives,” Rex told him. “This is Bolt, he was just about to tell us.”

Bolt gestured them into the room, allowing Fives to move past him to stand next to his twin. Echo was still unconscious, although Fives didn’t know if that was because of the extent of his injuries or because of something the medics had done. A blanket was drawn up to his chest, his arms laid out at his sides. His right arm was swathed in bandages almost to the shoulder joint, and Fives could see by the outline of his right leg that it was wrapped up similarly. He reached over to put a hand on his brother’s head, feeling some of the tension he’d still been carrying fade as he ran gentle fingers through his brother’s hair.

“So, how is he?” Rex asked.

“Why is he still unconscious?” Fives added.

Bolt folded his arms, tucking his datapad under one arm. “He’s medically sedated. The burns on his leg are extensive and severe, and it’s better for him to be unconscious for the pain. Most of the time we spent today was getting his leg out of his boots and blacks. They’d melted on in some places. There are some third-degree burns around his knees and ankles where his armor didn’t protect him, but for the most part, they’re all second- and first-degree.”

“But his--it’ll all heal, right?” Fives wanted to know. Batchmate aside, Echo was his partner on the field. He needed to know Echo could still be that, or else Jesse might be getting a bit of informal ARC training to make up for it.

The medic nodded. “It should heal. There might be some nerve damage that will take longer than the rest, but it should be a functional result. Whatever surgeries or grafts will be minor, which is good. As soon as we come out of hyperspace, I will contact your medics, Captain, and let them know to have a bacta tank ready for him when you arrive.”

Rex nodded back, and Fives could see a similar shedding of worries from his shoulders. “Thank you.”

“It’ll still be a couple months until he’s ready for action, but he should be able to return to full duties eventually.” He unfolded his arms and moved towards the door. “You can stay as long as you want.”

Fives nodded, his focus back on Echo now the medic was done. He didn’t notice the captain moving until Rex’s hand landed on his shoulder, and he looked over. “Have a seat. I know you’re gonna be here a while.”

An empty supply crate had appeared behind him. He sat, his hand moving to grasp his brother’s. “I thought I was gonna be the one getting hurt doing something stupid like that.”

Rex breathed a short laugh. “Yeah. Well. Good on you for pulling him out like that. Ascension cable--don’t think I would have thought of that one.”

A tiny smile appeared on Fives’ face. “Guess the ARC training was good for something.”

“Mm… I think that was more Domino training than ARC training.” Rex ruffled Fives’ curls. “Maybe get some sleep while you’re keeping him company, okay?”

He didn’t have any arguments for that. Once Rex was gone, however, he stood up so he could lean over Echo to put their foreheads together, resting his left hand on the side of his brother’s face. He remained like that for a short moment, where he could feel his brother’s slow, even breaths across his face, and to finally let it sink in that Echo was okay. That explosion had been terrifying to watch, and the sight of Echo’s body landing limply on the ground on the end of the cable would have debilitated Fives before ARC training. Then again, they wouldn’t be ARCs if they didn’t have the potential to be better than themselves.

Echo was okay. That was the important thing.

“You’re gonna be right as rain in a few,” he murmured before moving to kiss the spot where their heads had touched. “And I’ll be there the whole time, okay?”

He pulled the crate a bit closer to the bed before he sat back down so he could lay his arms down and rest his head on top of them. He took Echo’s hand in his own, tucked their clasped hands against his cheek, and closed his eyes. Sleep wasn’t far behind.

_____

high fives: guess who’s not dead commander

RedBoiiiii: FIVES!!!! YOU’RE OKAY!!!

DEATH: what do you want, a medal?

high fives: already have one, thanks

Leafs: is everyone else alive too, or just you

Double Trouble: YOU LIVE!!! Now do we get all the goss about the mission??

Leafs: do si do you are a hazard to the gar

Double Trouble: why thank you trees <3

high fives: anyway nines is *also* alive

RedBoiiiii: NINES??

Loopy: and so is echo

d0nut man: oh good nox and pixel were worried about their “handprint buddy”

high fives: that’s adorable he’ll be glad to hear it

DEATH: Where is your plus one?

high fives: … medbay

high fives: also sevenset, i sent you nines’ comm code? didn’t you get it?

RedBoiiiii: oh whoops hang on

d0nut man: what happened to echo???

Leafs: is he okay?

high fives: he got caught in an explosion, got some nasty burns. he’s still in bacta for another half-day, but the medics seem pleased with the progress so… yay?

Double Trouble: damn i’m sorry that sounds awful

RedBoiiiii: nu ;-; fives that sucks but i’m glad the medics are keeping an eye on him

Loopy: yeah that’s good to hear

Loopy: sevens did you get nines in here yet i wanna say hi to my number neighbor

Orangio: hello i’m nines

Orangio: please tell me i can change my own name here

Loopy: nines! hiiii, yeah you can change it

high fives: hey nines

Leafs: welcome to the madness

Double Trouble: we’re not *that* bad :)

d0nut man: … arguable, but welcome anyway

Double Trouble: >:(

DressedtotheNines: thanks guys

Submarine: sorry to hear about your batcher, fives. hi nines

RedBoiiiii: IS THAT FOURS???

Loopy: fours!!

Submarine: yeah sorry i’m not here a lot, but i read all of it

RedBoiiiii: no apologies!! only love!!

Double Trouble: yeah there’s no pressure to use the chat, don’t worry about it

DressedtotheNines: so if i happen to get good footage of cmdr cody like spin kicking grievous or smth, you guys want to see that, yeah?

RedBoiiiii: YES

high fives: pleeeaassseee rex hoards his footage the bastard >:(

d0nut man: i would like to see it

Submarine: yeah me too. general mundi is… he doesn’t do that

DEATH: i’ll bet i could get cadet pictures of cody from some of the alphas

DressedtotheNines: commander death sir i would be honored to help blackmail him for you if you ever need it

DEATH: noted

RedBoiiiii: wait

Double Trouble: anyone else see that

RedBoiiiii: DID WE FINALLY FIND A NUMBER SIXES LIKES????

DEATH: no and while you’re at it kriff off

RedBoiiiii: nines you are magical

DressedtotheNines: ………… cool

I love these lads so much :) @darth-void @23-bears @theultimatesandwich @nintendolover13 @peacefulwizardfox @glubtheflyingfish (lmk if you don't want to be tagged anymore 👍 or if you'd like to be tagged in the future!)

[charmspoint]

Mars Red: Anime vs Manga pt 1

Alright so I promised myself that I would do my best not to compare the anime and the manga too much because the anime isnt the adaptation of the manga but the adaptation of the stage play and since I haven't watched the stage play I don't know which one is staying more loyal to the original and which one is adding stuff in/cutting stuff out. That being said if anyone did watch the stage play and can answer these questions please come talk to me I'm very curious. So that being said I'll do my best not to mention too much manga only scenes like Suwa's backstory, Takeuchi, Yamagami and Suwa doing slice of life lab stuff, or the conflict between Suwa and Kurusu. The anime may get to this stuff later, it might not I wont judge it for not including it rn even if I feel that the conflict between Suwa and Kurusu should be developed more consistently what did we have maybe one scene? That being said while I can't compare it on different scenes I sure as hell can compare it on scenes they share with each other. I may not know which one is more loyal to the source material but I sure as hell can say which one is more effective tl;dr: It's the manga, read the manga its more effective and it only has 9 chapters so far, please join me in hell under the cut

That being said I'll be comparing the execution of two scenes

1. Conversation between Suwa and Akesato

So the conversation between these two is mostly fine honestly, though the reason Suwa even went to see her (that she reminded him of someone he knew as a human and which turned out to be his little sister) is missing, which kinda gives the whole scene a slightly different tone. The manga has a much slower, softer pace to it, Suwa really comes across as more somber instead of coming in here to sleep in some girls lap, in the manga he keeps his distance for the most of the conversation before sitting next to her when he starts opening up about his past.

Like I don't think it's bad for anime Suwa to have sought out some human contact but it does leave quite a different impression about him. Manga Suwa leaves a much more thoughtful, mature impressions, he never once asks to touch Akesato in anyway and mostly refers to her as a child, but doesn't patronize her. It very much comes across as a tone of a dotting older relative because you know, she reminds him of a family member he had forgotten. Idk I just like the image the manga paints of him better, he comes across as this distant person but also a kind and mature one, which isn't the Suwa we often get to see on the field. I just don't think anime brought across the same feeling. To me it just made it feel like his very goal was to come in here and lay in someone's lap whereas Suwa in the manga is v much there to scout and meeting Akesato is a sheer coincidence based on his hazy memories and so a long lost feeling of attachment.

Anyway, lets talk about uh

In the manga Suwa has yet to be unmasked. And for a good reason. The anime doesn't set it up very well I think that 'I'll lose control' line is the only set up we get and far too late considering it's happening now. In the manga we have a whole lil slice of life chapter in which multiple different things are introduced, one of which is the fact that Suwa constantly wears his mask because he spent a long time as a feral vampire and if he smells human blood he will go feral. It's kind of...very disappointing to see this moment that I felt would be rather monumental in the manga (cuz feral vampires are way scarier in the manga I'll talk about that later) just kinda...pass here. Suwa unbuckles his own mask too??? And then at the end of the episode he takes it off willingly??? In a district very much swarming with humans??? Some of which are people he works with??? I think the screen writers forgot that the idea of 'a character takes off his mask to show his true emotions' doesn't really work if said character will go on a murder frenzy if he has his mask off. This is what I mean when I say that the manga takes its characters more seriously and is more impactful. The manga simply thinks more about how its characters would act and react to things. In the manga Akesato doesn't even take off his mask, she just hugs him and that gets her close enough to him that he freaks out, because his mask isn't as thick as usual. Just to that much he reacts somewhat violently in pushing her away and it leaves you wondering what would it be like if it was completely off. It really makes the anime Suwa just plopping on her lap out of his own free will even more meh :/

dw he immediately apologizes after this cuz he seriously didn't mean to hurt her he just lost control.

But that's what I mean, the manga makes this scene feel so much more serious, it puts so much bigger threat behind Suwa taking off his mask. It leaves you with a feeling of 'fuck, he lost a bit of control just by a human being close, if he was to take it completely off he would really lose all reason' While the anime just makes you feel 'oh he can control himself for a few moments after the mask is gone? That's good lol' It just minimizes the threat Suwa could pose when unmasked n seeps out so much tension out of that situation. Double especially when he just fucking takes it off at the end of the episode.

WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT LOSING CONTROL YOU STUPID FUCK (tho I did like him asking Takeuchi to teach him some songs, that was a nice addition.)

Anyway my last and least complaint cuz it was just kinda...funny

WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH AKESATO FALLING ASLEEP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CONVERSATION??? THAT WAS SO FUNNY WHAT WAS THAT??? SHE JUST FALLS ASLEEP LIKE THAT SITTING UP, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CONVERSATION, EXACTLY AS HER PATRON IS STARTING TO YELL AT HER JKBBHJ???

Its so weird cuz in the manga we get this soft ass moment

Like jhbhjkbhj that's just a completely different vibe. I think this ending scene actually best shows off the vibe Suwa has in the manga. Gentle, caring, distant but affectionate. Compared to the anime where the similar scene almost ended up looking like a gag jnjkbkj idk man like the anime mostly has the same dialog, aside Suwa dunking on western influences which i enjoy, but the atmosphere is all over the place and it kinda feels too fast, idk. I dunno if I explained this well but here we are.

Part 2: Kurusu vs the vampire mob

[butterflymar]

DAY 2: FAVORITE BL DRAMA

I have quite a few... I can’t choose just one so bare with me lol

Life Senjou No Bokura

Synopsis According to MyDramaList: One day after school, the serious Ito and the child-like Nishi meet by chance, as each endeavors to remain walking  on the sidewalk`s white line. As time goes by, Ito recognizes he is drawn to Nishi in a way that is new to him. Nishi, for his part, is frustrated that they only get to meet on the sidewalk. Ito decides to act upon his feelings and kisses a surprised Nishi, who agrees they need to walk side by side for a change. The sparks between them are undeniable as their relationship blossoms in high school, survives the college years, and matures into adulthood. A deeply moving work that bears witness to loving partners, whose unchanging feelings must co-exist within a world of changing realities.

My Personal Thoughts: I already wrote a review for this so I am going to re-share some of those thoughts here. This is one that I have watched countless times already. They went by the manga for mostly all of the episodes and I appreciated seeing that. They gave more context for certain details that may have been lost while reading the manga and translated it to screen. I think they depicted the age gaps well too. For 4 episodes only, I feel that they did a great job including the most important aspects. Actually now that I think of it, I would have loved to see more of them in their early 20s depicted on screen because that was like one of there honeymoon phases and I’m a hopeless romantic lol but that’s just a personal preference not complaining. Also, the show stopped at age 40 and they could have gone on throughout there entire lives but I understand why they chose not too. The manga is great as well!!! I think that the main actors depicted beautiful true love very well. They had amazing chemistry. Japanese BL’s have that special spark about them that I love. I also loved that it showed there relationship from high school till there later years. I don’t see that a lot with BL’s. They usually just stick to one time period. The aspect about them being connected by a line in relation to there love was a nice touch as well. I am glad that it has a happy ending as well. This is a pretty quick one to watch and a great one at that!!! If you haven’t watched it yet, I would highly recommend it!!!

I Told Sunset About You 

Synopsis According to MyDramaList: Teh and Oh-aew were best friends until a boyhood line of reasoning turned them into rivals. Years later as they're preparing for university admissions, both pursuing interests in the field of Communication Arts, the two meet in a Chinese language class. Their reunion awakens complicated and unstable feelings.

My Personal Thoughts: Same as above, I already wrote a review for this so I am going to re-share some of those thoughts here. This is DEFINITELY one of my top BL shows of the year 2020. This is such a beautiful masterpiece of a show!!! I remember when the preview trailer first came out… I was already hooked!!! I was on the lookout for it and it did not disappoint me one bit when it finally started. I looked forward to seeing it every week. It made me feel all of the emotions. I was up here sitting in my room crying over everything. I don’t think any other BL has made me this emotional before in my life. The two lead actors really DELIVERED!!! I could feel every single stare, every single body movement, and every single touch. You could cut the TENSION with a knife!!! No one couldn’t tell me that there wasn’t a magnetic true love between these two. I know this sounds cliche but it's like they were destined to be together from when they were childhood friends. Also, I would love to see them in future projects!!! The cinematography in this show is TOP FREAKIN NOTCH!!! Every single scene is just so beautifully shot. The cinematography alone makes me want to cry lol I saw somewhere that someone said the filming of the show reminded them of an indie film and I totally agree!!! The writing and directing on this show was impeccable to me!!! No cringy dialogue and every single line served its purpose well. This is movie grade writing. I also wanted to quickly just say that I loved the attention and callback to details throughout like with the tutoring book that Teh made for Oh-aew that was left empty by the end of episode 4, the flower that was supposed to be colored the same as Tan’s garment but Teh colored it red because he was thinking of Oh-aew, the rubbing of Oh-aew’s back when he sniffles, the references to Teh’s favorite actor, and the use of Chinese phrases to get meaning across. I could go on and on but wow I just loved how they really connected all of the details throughout. I can’t wait for Season 2!!!

Theory of Love

Synopsis According to MyDramaList: Third is a filmology major and a member of the Savage Team along with his best friends Two, Bone, and Khai, but he has a secret. Third has been secretly in love with Khai for years. For three years, he has kept his secret love in his heart, silently supporting and loving Khai while knowing there is absolutely no future between them since Khai is as straight as a streetlight pole and also an absolute player. To make matters worse, Khai has a "no dating friends" policy. How long can Third love Khai silently while watching Khai bring a different girl home every night? Third has tried to see Khai as just a friend. But has failed time and time again. Because as easy as it is to fall in love, to stop is just as hard.  Maybe even harder. That is until Third learns a secret that breaks his heart completely. But when Third decides to stop, Khai decides to start.

My Personal Thoughts: As sad as this show can make me feel at times, I love rewatching it. I still to this day think that it is one of the most well written BL’s that I have seen. Everything flows nicely and everything connects. Your not left wondering how you got from point A to point B. I thought the show had great character development especially when it came to Khai’s character towards the end of series. I know a lot of people had mixed feelings about his character due to how careless and dare I say stupid he acted at times but if he can make the audience hate him that much as a character... I would say he is doing something right!!! Gun’s acting never fails to amaze me!!! He really is one of the best actors I have seen. I know he had to be drained from all of that crying that he did throughout the show though lol It just goes to show that when you truly love someone you can’t just stop what you are feeling inside that easily no matter how the other person feels about you or treats you. As the old saying goes, love is blind. I also loved the friend group as well and Two and Bones side stories with the teacher and crush from school. They added to the shows greatness and didn’t take away from it. The friendship dynamics throughout the show was I feel something that really kept me engaged. The cast acted well together. There was no awkwardness or hesitation. I feel everyone bought there best for this drama. They incorporated the movie references so cleverly and I love how the title of each episode was the title of a real romance film. Just the overall theme of film was very intriguing to me. This drama left me filled with heartache and a rollercoaster of emotions but the ending is worth it!!!

HIStory3: Make Our Days Count

Synopsis According to MyDramaList: At first glance, high schoolers Xiang Hao Ting and Yu Xi Gu appear to be polar opposites: While Xiang Hao Ting is an outgoing, hot-headed extravert and some-time bully, Yu Xi Gu prefers to keep a low profile and focus on his schoolwork. They seem bound for totally different futures – the bookish Yu Xi Gu looks destined for academic success, while life is just a long popularity contest for Xiang Hao Ting. But a quirk of fate – and a crucial intervention by a female schoolmate – results in the two young men’s paths crossing. But there is more to both young men than first meets the eye. Xiang Hao Ting was not always this way. He started out as a perfect student until he discovered the joys of going off the rails. And Yu Xi Gu has a reason for being so aloof and studious: His parents died in a traffic accident while he was younger, and he is being fostered by his aunt. As such, he works hard to get good grades in an effort to win a scholarship and ease the financial burden on his relatives. Yu Xi Gu also works part-time at a convenience store, where his manager Liu Zhi Gang has developed a crush on a man he has met at the gym. Back at school, meanwhile, Yu Xi Gu and Xiang Hao Ting find themselves drawn together, and passions ignite. The former notices that he has the unique ability to bring Yu Xi Gu out of his shell – and becomes intent on melting his cold-as-ice exterior. What will happen when their two worlds collide? And can love be the catalyst that helps bring these two unlikely students together – as their high school days draw to a close?

My Personal Thoughts: I will stand by this notion for all of my days but this show is one of the best shows I have seen PERIOD!!! Not even best BL shows I have seen but just in general. It highkey saddens me that it is rated at an 8.1 right now on MyDramaList due to how it ended when other than that... it’s a top notch show. This was one that I watched as it was airing and I would get excited to see it every week. My clown self should have known by the title “Make Our Days Count” that some mess was about to occur but I didn’t pick up on it. Now, I just disregard the last episode (WE DON’T KNOW HER!!!). You can just tell that they had a great budget for this series. The production was on point. It had great cinematography, great storylines, and it felt realistic too. The main couples acting was OFF THE CHARTS AMAZING. I loved the whole opposites attract thing going on. Although the show was set in high school... it almost didn’t feel like it nor did it have those typical clichés going on. I liked how it dealt with topic of LGBTQ+ acceptance as well. I wasn’t so sure about the side couples relationship at first but I grew to love them as time went on. One last thing I wanted to point out was that even though I am always looking for a happy ending... I learned from this show that not everyone can get a happy ending. That’s not how life works sadly. In real life, there have been a lot of people who were truly in love and lost there partners tragically. Although it may be hard to accept the outcome, it is something that happens in real life. This is a drama that you appreciate even more as time goes on. It truly is a gem of a series!!!

TharnType

Synopsis According to MyDramaList: Type Thiwat is a handsome freshman with a passion for football and spicy food. Although he’s a friendly boy, he hates gay people because, in his childhood, he was molested by a man. His life turns upside down when the new academic year of college brings along a charismatic roommate, Tharn Kirigun. Tharn is a gorgeous, compassionate music major, who is also openly gay. When Type learns this, he is determined to make Tharn leave the dorm, as he won't live with a gay person. Tharn is equally determined not to give into Type's homophobic tantrums. With a gay guy and a homophobic guy that have to share a small space together for the rest of the year — what can possibly be the outcome of their story? Hatred? Or maybe love?

My Personal Thoughts: *Goes to hide in a corner* I know this drama is problematic and controversial as hell but it’s like a train wreck that you can’t turn  away from. What truly carries the show I feel is the chemistry between MewGulf. I don’t think I would have enjoyed the series as much if other actors were cast in those roles. They just exude confidence, passion, love, and lust. In terms of the storyline, I found it to be a chaotic occurrence of situations where I just had to know what was going to go on next. Everything that occurred had me intrigued for the next episode and so on and so forth. I loved Type’s character development. One quick thing I want to touch on was I know there were a lot of problematic things that happened which I will touch on at a later date but one thing I wish people were more understanding of was Type’s outbursts, thoughts, and feelings in certain situations. He was a victim of sexual assault so I felt the way he handled certain things was in response to what he had gone through as child and I think some viewers kind of missed that and were almost too harsh on him. Everyone processes and deals with trauma differently. This show went through so many twists and turns and I honestly lived for it especially the shocker towards the end of the series. I didn’t see that one coming at all!!! Despite all of its flaws, this show still holds a special place in my heart.

Honorable Mention:

Cherry Magic: As of today, this show has 4 episodes left and I think I am just going to come out and say that THIS IS MY FAVORITE BL OF THE YEAR!!! It’s a beautiful Japanese BL and I rewatch the old episodes while I wait for new ones to come out alot. It’s such a fluffy, heartwarming, and precious Bl series!!! I love it to pieces!!!

[kuiinncedes]

show me the places where the others gave you scars 

shadowhunter!klaine oneshot

author’s note i guess lmao: so i saw a prompt list that had something like “i’d hurt anyone who’s given you a scar” and i ran with some shadowhunters!klaine 😋 idk if i need to explain the shadowhunter things... i think i’ll leave it out for now tho so if anyone has any questions about it please feel free to ask :)

might need warnings for minor descriptions/discussion of violence and injury? nothing too graphic, nothing that you wouldn’t see in a young adult novel (which is what the shadowhunter chronicles is so yeah) -- it’s slightly angsty i guess, i was going for hurt/comfort, did i achieve it who knows

i’m scared of ao3 so i’m just posting here lol 😗✌️ and it’s completely under the cut because idk where else to put the cut 😂 (sooo pls click keep reading if u want :3)

***

“Blaine, I’m okay, by the Angel,” Kurt huffs as Blaine pulls him into the infirmary and calls out a quick response to someone asking where they’re going.

“You’re not, really, but humor me.” 

Kurt kisses his cheek. “Fine.” Blaine smiles at him from the side as he takes out some supplies. Kurt smiles back and swings his feet from where he’s sat on the infirmary cot, humming lightly and smiling wider when he sees Blaine holding back a giggle. 

“Okay, let me see,” Blaine says, stepping up to the injured arm’s side. He gently holds Kurt’s arm and starts cleaning the wound near his shoulder. 

The work is interrupted when Blaine’s hands slow and stop as they near Kurt’s elbow. Blaine inhales and Kurt’s eyes snap to that spot, seeing immediately what Blaine’s attention has been caught by. His heart starts beating a little faster, more out of instinct than actual tension or fear, which he knows is unnecessary right now. He takes a breath and looks up at Blaine expectantly.

“You haven’t seen this one before?” Kurt asks softly. It’s probably one of his most prominent scars -- definitely the one he’s most insecure about, so honestly, it’s not that big of a shock that he’s managed to hide it for so long, even from Blaine. But he’s still a little surprised.

“No,” Blaine murmurs, his golden eyes warm, close, safe. “Can I… how’d you get it?”

Kurt shrugs. “A training accident my first year at the Shadowhunter Academy.” He pauses, then continues with a grumble, “Although, if you ask me, maybe not that much of an accident.” Also if you asked anyone else in the room -- other than the person who was the cause of the incident, or the incompetent weapons training master who would rather fight and be destroyed by a Greater Demon than run a single effective, useful class, and especially rather than treating his only half-faerie student with any kind of respect. (Kurt had had to teach himself most of the weapons, finding ways to sneak into the training room after class or in the middle of the night, fighting twice as hard as anyone else for his proficiency in fighting skills as well as for acceptance among his classmates. He had done pretty well, if he could say so himself, especially for the former. And if the midnight training might have given him the opportunity to set fire to some of Scarsbury’s things… that was an added bonus.)

Blaine gently runs his fingers over the imperfect skin, sending shivers down Kurt’s body. “I want to hurt anyone who’s ever left a scar on you,” Blaine whispers vehemently, and it makes Kurt think, anyone who believes that Blaine Anderson, one of the best Shadowhunters Kurt knows, is only gentle and soft -- Kurt’s even heard weak, hissed in a demeaning, cruel tone, and that one almost sent him running with seraph blades blazing for the speaker -- is in for a surprise if they ever face him.

“Well, it might be hard to track down all those demons, but I appreciate the thought.” He smiles as Blaine rolls his eyes at him. 

“I’d do it,” Blaine says. Blaine’s eyes hold steady contact, and the insistence almost brings tears to Kurt’s eyes. He swallows the feeling down. 

“As if you could,” he teases. 

Blaine scoffs. “Is that a challenge?” He goes back to washing off the dirt and demon ichor on Kurt’s upper arm. “I’ll have you know, I am Blaine Anderson, most promising Shadowhunter of a generation, blah blah blah blah…”

Kurt just grins and shakes his head. “You are, though,” he says quietly, and kisses Blaine when he leans closer to reach the clean bandages behind him. 

Blaine sighs, shrugging, but he smiles a little as he pulls back despite the resentment in his eyes. 

Kurt knows how much Blaine hates the reputation, the whispers, the jealousy, the attention, but most, if not all of it is well-deserved -- it doesn’t take much time spent with Blaine to see that. And fighting against it will be for another time; right now, it’s acceptance (and some teasing).

And it’s Blaine’s gentle, calloused fingers brushing against his skin, quickly and perfectly wrapping Kurt’s arm again, so careful not to hurt him and Kurt’s heart aches with how much he loves him, having had so much thrown on him from a young age but still the most compassionate soul Kurt’s ever met. Gentle -- but in a different way than what others see and make fun of.

Not to mention an incredible Shadowhunter… in many different ways. 

“I think you should be able to use an iratze soon,” Blaine muses as he works. “You look a lot better.”

“Oh, so I looked bad before?” Kurt knocks Blaine’s shoulder gently with his.

“Next time don’t take a poisonous demon tentacle to the arm, okay? It wasn’t pretty.” Blaine grimaces a little.

“I’d do it again.” Kurt’s voice is hushed, bare and honest as their eyes meet.

Blaine swallows, looking down and then leaning his forehead against Kurt’s lightly. “I don’t want you to,” he whispers.

Kurt cups his cheek. “I know, honey.”

The demon tentacle had lashed out for Blaine, who had been distracted by a different demon,  and Kurt managed to cut it in time, just not before it hit his own arm. It wasn’t fun to deal with it for the rest of the patrol, while relatively short. And it definitely wasn’t fun to know that Blaine was worrying about him, or to almost pass out before Mike could warlock-magic away the poison from the injury, or to have Blaine see that.

For you, a thousand times over, Kurt thinks, watching as Blaine finishes with his arm.

“Okay, your turn,” Kurt says, trying to lighten the mood. He hops up from the small bed and moves to the side. 

“Don’t worry about me, I wasn’t hurt that badly -- ”

“You still need an iratze, honey, sit down.” Blaine laughs softly and obeys, watches as Kurt carefully draws the rune on his upper arm and the cuts on his cheek and collarbone disappear. Leaning in, Kurt gently brushes his lips over both spots, now with barely even a scar. “There,” he murmurs, “all better.”

Blaine looks up at him, the light in his smile blinding but Kurt doesn’t mind. “I love you,” he whispers.

“Love you, too. So much.” Blaine squeezes his hand, kisses him again, deeply, sweetly.

Kurt starts to deepen the kiss, pulling Blaine up and closing the space between them, but they are startled apart from each other when someone bangs on the infirmary doors. 

Rachel’s voice rings out from the other side. “I don’t know what you guys are doing in here and it’s been a while of you ‘cleaning up,’ so I’m not coming in, just telling you we’re doing game night in 5 minutes! Don’t be late!” Her footsteps echo away loudly.

Kurt laughs softly. “Ready?” he asks, extending a hand to Blaine. They lightly swing their hands between them on the way out. 

***

other notes for after :P 

“for you, a thousand times over” is a line from the kite runner by khaled hosseini!!! i used it because it makes me lose my shit every time i think about it <3

mike’s a warlock for fun reasons 🤪

title from “willow” by taylor swift :)))

again please let me know if you want/need to know anything about the shadowhunter part of this!! idk how understandable it might be to everyone else because i’m absolutely obsessed with the books and just kinda wrote this very (VERY) self-indulgently hehe 

thank u for reading 💕💕

[ghstandpucks]

Cutting Edge ~ Nathan MacKinnon Ch. 4

Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing well and having a nice Friday! Thank you so much for all your kind, supportive words! I’m so glad you are liking this series! Disclaimer for this chapter: I’m sorry if you like Ashley Wagner as a figure skater. To be honest she bothers me which is why I picked her for a little conflict that may or may not happen during the season lol 

Anyways, enjoy and let me know what you think! Also, let me know if you would like to be tagged in the upcoming chapters! Thanks!

Prologue  Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3

“Nope. Try again,” you said as Andre tripped over his feet and missed the net. It was Monday morning at practice and you had just shown your group the three-turn move that Nate suggested you teach them. Andre groaned and looked over at you.

           “What is the point of this?” he asked.

           “The point is to be more fluid. You guys do this already, you just need to follow through with it and not be choppy,” you responded.

           “Maybe we are choppy because we have to keep the puck with us,” Andre grumbled and tried again, still not entirely succeeding. To be fair, not many had been successful that morning.

“You guys just need to keep your momentum,” you tried to explain. They looked at you like you were crazy. You quickly skated over to the side and grabbed a stick, becoming exasperated that they seemed not to believe you that it would work. Taking one of the pucks, you quickly did the move and shot the puck straight into the net. You turned back to your group and laughed at their dumbstruck faces. Honestly, you were even shocked that you made, but you couldn’t show them that. “So that’s how you do it. Any questions?” They all shook their heads no. “Okay then, line up,” you said, deciding to keep the stick with you. Though it still seemed foreign to you, you felt more comfortable with it. As the group you had started to get it, you smiled and looked down the ice to find Nate already looking at you. He was at center ice in another group, and when you grabbed the hockey stick a few of the players and coaches stopped to see what you were doing. He didn’t bother to look away when you met his gaze, but instead nodded at you with an impressed face. You shrugged and laughed, turning your attention back to your group.  

           The groups rotated about 30 minutes later, and Nate skated right up to your side. “Look who’s becoming a hockey player,” he teased you quietly. You giggled and elbowed him.

           “I told you it wasn’t that hard,” you said, adding “and you owe me two laps.” Nate looked at you unimpressed.

           “Are you serious?” he asked.

           “Can’t have people thinking I’m a pushover, right?” you laughed. Nate rolled his eyes, but smiled at you as he took off.

~ ~ ~

           The following day you stayed after practice, seeing as the team had Wednesday off. You were in the middle of your billman spin when you caught the outline of a blurred figure every rotation you made. You finished the spin, letting go of your right leg and checking out. Glancing toward the side, you found Nate standing there. He smiled as you skated over to him, shifting his weight from one foot to another slightly. That’s when you realized he had his skates on. “Mind if I join you?” Nate asked. You shook your head and smiled up at him.

           “You aren’t mad at me for making you skate laps?” you joked. He chuckled as he stepped out onto the ice.

           “Completely. Those two laps were the worst thing I had to do yesterday,” he answered with a wink. You laughed and skated around the perimeter of the rink with him. The two of you spent about two more hours on the ice, talking and doing different things, but always ending up back next to each other. You sat next to Nate on a bench off the ice to take your skates off while continuing your conversation. “So how did you get into skating? In Canada hockey is huge. I can’t imagine it’s the same in Southern California,” Nate asked after he had told you how he started playing hockey, and you smiled.

           “So I was actually a dancer when I was younger. My parents put me in ballet when I was about 2 in a half because I was that hyper child that needed something to do,” Nate chuckled at that. “Anyways, I had an older cousin who was taking skating lessons and had her like 10th birthday party at the rink. I was 4 and one of my other older cousins offered to skate with me. And I fell in love the second I stepped onto the ice. I asked my parents after the party if I could start skating and they signed me up for classes. And you should know as of last week with Z that I am a competitive, stubborn little shit of a person so I jumped at the idea of having a coach and competing. And I never looked back. The rink is my happy place, it’s where I feel most myself, and everything that has come along with it is just a perk,” You smiled, drying off your blades and putting your soakers on them.

           “Oh yes, an Olympic gold medal is just a perk,” Nate dead panned, but you could see he had a smirk on his face.  

           “I mean I worked hard for it. But it never felt like work because I love to skate,” you replied simply. Nate smiled softly at you, and you thought you would never get used to the way it made your stomach flutter.

           “That is beautiful Coach,” he teased you, and you knocked your shoulder into his arm. He laughed as you barely even moved him, more just bounced off of him. “I’m being serious Y/N. Obviously you are an amazing skater, and we are lucky to have you.” Nate said sincerely. You looked away as you started to blush.

           “Well you aren’t so bad yourself mister,” you tried to joke back to cover up how much his words were actually affecting you. Nate chuckled and shook his head.

           “I just try my best. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like enough, but I try,” he admitted.

           “But that’s all you can do, try. And you have a whole team behind you to support you,” you said, feeling that he was just like you; extremely tough on himself. “Plus, from what I’ve seen you’re a pretty good skater,” you smiled as he met your eyes after putting his skates away.

           “Only pretty good?” he teased, and you laughed.

           “Well there’s always room for improvement,” you said, teasing him back. Nate let out a chuckle and followed you out of the rink, walking with you over to your jeep.  

           “So, we have tomorrow off…” Nate started, rubbing the back of his neck. You smiled and nodded, encouraging him to continue. Nate wanted to just ask you out, but he wasn’t positive where you stood. You were nice to him, but you were nice to everyone. He decided to go with what he had already offered before to be safe. “Do you still need to get a bookshelf?” As he asked, you couldn’t help as your smile became brighter at the thought of hanging out with him away from the rink again.

           “I do actually. I was planning on doing that tomorrow,” you hoped you weren’t blushing too much, but Nate could see it and it only gave him more confidence.

           “I can come over around noon. We could get some lunch then get your book case,” he suggested, trying to gauge your reaction. You smiled shyly, knowing your blush had to be evident at this point. Nate thought it looked adorable. Here you were, this Olympic gold medalist becoming shy when he was asking you to hang out.

           “That would be great, as long as you don’t mind helping me,” you said. Nate beamed at you.

           “Not at all.” You smiled back at him and said your goodbyes with the promise of seeing each other tomorrow. You drove home, nervous and excited for being able to hang out with him more one on one.

           The next morning you woke up and busied yourself trying to clean up a bit. Not that you were messy, but you needed to move some boxes out of the way to make space for your book shelf. Getting dressed in some simple jeans and a black tank with a long, velvet deep yellow cardigan over it, you were just putting on your converse when Nate showed up at your door. You insisted on driving, sure that you would buy more than just a bookshelf and didn’t want to cram it all into his car. Nate directed you to a cute sandwich shop downtown for lunch, and the two of you talked the whole time about everything and anything. It felt so natural to be around him; the two of got along very well. Both of you being extremely competitive athletes, you also understood each other on a different level. Getting through lunch relatively unnoticed, Nate was amused when you were the one approached for a picture and not him. He couldn’t help but smile at the way you talked to the young girl and encouraged her to keep working on a jump she said she was having a problem with. After lunch, you and Nate went to Target and picked out a simple bookshelf. You also grabbed a few more things you could not leave the store without and Nate pushed the cart along, teasing you when you couldn’t pass up buying a few new books as well. Traveling from competition to competition always provided reading time, so you figured road trips with the team would provide the same.

           Once back at your apartment Nate took over constructing the book shelf while you unloaded your boxes for it. The day carried on with playful banter and you could feel your crush growing even stronger. Nate was feeling the same. It was nice for him to be around someone who didn’t seem to care that he was a professional hockey player. He felt that he could really be himself around you. Between the laughing, lunch, shopping, and setting up, it was 7pm before you even knew it. “Do you want some pizza?” you asked him as you placed a candle on one of the shelves.  

           “Don’t tell my coaches,” he winked and you laughed.

           “Never,” you said, asking him what a good pizza place to order from would be. “I’ll order a veggie one. That will make it a healthy meal.” Nate laughed and offered to pay, but you insisted being that he spent his whole day helping you, plus bought lunch. When the pizza arrived, you made your plates and sat at the table. “Do you ever miss being home with your family?” you asked after he told you all about them.

           “I do yeah. I love them and being able to spend time with them. But I’ve made Denver my home also and this team is like family. I’m happy being here with them,” Nate answered sincerely.

           “I think it’s really great you guys all have each other. I’ve never been much of a team player so I’ve never experienced that kind of bond,” you admitted.

           “You have to have friends through skating though, right?” he asked.

           “Yes and no,” you shrugged. Nate gave you a questioning look. “Girls are mean.” Nate broke out laughing. You laughed too and continued. “Once you get to a certain level, like you support one another but if someone your competing against falls you don’t feel bad. And I know that sounds horrible, but when there are only usually 3 spots on the Olympic team every four years, and the competitive span of a female figure skater is only like six years at senior level depending on how fast you learn, it’s a super competitive atmosphere. You tend to become better friends with people you won’t compete against. So like for me, my best friend is Jeremy Abbott. He’s kind of like an older brother to me. And I’m close to a few ice dancers. But any female single skater friend either tends to have gone through the ranks before you, or you start mentoring someone younger as they hop onto the circuit and you phase out. I think I’m better friends with girls I have competed against now that none of us are competing anymore. That’s just kind of how it goes,” you tried your best not to make it sound like you were a horrible person. Nate nodded thoughtfully, then grinned at you.

           “Does this mean you have an arch enemy that we all have to look out for?” You couldn’t help but laugh at his question.

           “Unfortunately, kind of. Playing the Stars should be interesting this year.”

           “Playing the Stars is interesting every year,” Nate muttered. “Who is it?” he asked curiously.

           “Don’t say anything ok. I have a reputation to uphold. I can’t be talking bad about another skater in this program,” you pleaded. “Plus the press already thinks we don’t like each other. I don’t need to be the one to add fire to that flame.”

           “Yeah I’d rather not talk to the press so your secret is safe with me Y/N,” Nate said, leaning in closer as to convey confidence.

           “Her name is Ashley Wagner. She was annoyed that in my first competition I bet her and knocked her off the podium completely. And every competition since I had beat her,” you explained and Nate nodded along. “Also, if you meet her, don’t let her fool you. She seems nice, but she’s not that great. She purposefully tripped me during warm ups once. That’s when all the rumors started flying around.” Nate looked at you surprised.

           “You didn’t do anything back to her?”

           “No,” you laughed lightly. “That’s not what you do in my sport. I kept smiling and brushed it off best I could.”

           “Alright. So we’ll have to protect you around her. You’re too nice,” Nate grinned at you. You smiled back and cleared both of your plates as you had finished eating.

           “Shut up. She’s a coach too. It should be fine…I hope.” Nate shrugged at your reply, taking a seat on the coach and making himself comfortable.

           “I don’t know. Hockey might just bring out the worst in both of you.”

           “Gee, thanks Nate. Glad to know you’d have my back if it came to blows,” you plopped down next to him. Not too close, but close enough the you could knock your knee into his. Curling your feet up on the couch, you both smiled lazily at each other.

           “Don’t worry Coach, I’ll be your back up. Tyson will probably be your hype-man,” Nate teased, reaching to shove your shoulder slightly. When his hand came down though, it rested slightly touching yours, and neither of you moved.

           “Sounds about right,” you tried to laugh your nerves off. Nate decided to take a leap, and placed his hand over yours. He smiled when he felt you intertwine your fingers with his. The both of you sat in comfortable silence for a minute. Nate was about to speak when your phone started to ring, ruining the moment.

           “I’m sorry,” you said, looking at your phone and seeing that it was Jeremy calling. You denied the call, but your screen just lit up again. “Speak of the devil. I can call him back later. I’m sure it’s not important.”

           “It’s fine. It’s getting late, and we have practice tomorrow so I should probably go,” Nate said, letting go of your hand and standing up. You were going to kill Jeremy.

           “Well thank you for coming over and helping me,” you said as you walked Nate over to the door.    

           “Anytime,” Nate responded, stopping just outside and turning back to you. “We should do it again sometime.”

           “Put together a book shelf?” you raised your eyebrow, hoping you weren’t over analyzing the moment the two of you just had. Nate chuckled and reached out for your hand again.

           “No. Lunch, dinner, this,” he squeezed your hand for emphasis. You blushed and nodded. “A book shelf if you really need another one,” Nate added, making you giggle.

           “That would be nice,” you responded. Nate grinned at you, and with one more squeeze of your hand he dropped it.

           “See you tomorrow Y/N,” he said, backing away from you.

           “Get home safely Nate,” you said, smiling at him till he turned around and walked down the hallway. You shut the door and locked up, walking back to the couch and the now 6 missed calls from your best friend. You called him back with a sigh. You didn’t give Jeremy a second to talk when he answered. “You better be dying to have called me this many times.”

           “Calm down, I just wanted to talk to you. Why weren’t you answering?” he laughed.

           “Nate was over. I think we were having a moment and you ruined it,” you complained.

           “Shit…sorry!” Jeremy responded. There was a pause, then he spoke again with excitement. “Now tell me all about it.” You laughed and launched into the story about your day, all the meanwhile looking forward for the season to begin, and to be able to see where things were headed with Nate.  

tags: @bqstqnbruin​ @avsfans95​ @andreiaafaria​

[maxattack-powell]

How do you think Chris and MC handle being quarantined?

MC snuggles into her favorite reading chair, flipping to her last read page of a classic favorite, looking forward to knocking out a few chapters before she has to get back to work around the house. Scanning the pages at rapid speed, she doesn't really seem to notice the first time Chris passes through the room.

She turns a page.

Her legs are curled under her, and at least two, if not three soft blankets are draped across and around her as she nestles further into the chair. It’s not cold, in fact, it's relatively warm outside this time of year, but when she becomes sedentary for a while as she reads, the air-conditioning can create a fairly strong artificial chill.

She turns a page.

She hears some activity in the kitchen for a few minutes before Chris passes back through the open living space. Her eyes lift briefly as she watches him return to wherever he came from just a short time before at a somewhat hurried pace. As he goes out of view and into another part of the house, her eyes fall back to the printed words in her hand, leaving her in relative silence once again.

She turns a page.

The silence doesn't last long though as the dogs come racing into the room. They cut towards the kitchen and breakfast area as they chase one another before they make a big loop and take off with lightning speed towards the last place she saw Chris. She shakes her head and turns her attention back towards the story.

She turns a page.

A muffled scolding breaks her concentration once more, the distinct sound pricking her ears as she realizes the dogs have now interrupted whatever Chris was doing as well. A small smile appears on her lips as she focuses back onto the written events in her hand, noting that this is where things start getting good.

She turns a page.

Chris enters the living space once again, this time heading towards the laundry room, possibly the garage. She can't tell, mostly because she doesn't really look up this time because the book's plot has taken a dramatic turn.

She turns a page.

He crosses the space again, this time mumbling something to himself as he goes into their office. She can't help but be curious this time, lifting her gaze from the pages as she wonders what he’s up to now. When he doesn't emerge immediately, she shrugs and dives back into her book.

She turns a page.

MC almost forgets he's in the office as she reads the last of a chapter. Almost. When Chris appears in the doorway, she can't help but look up and appreciate the view. Well, most of it. The frustrated look on his face almost takes away from his striking form, making her take mental note of the shorts he's wearing and how they are now a new favorite. His lip curls in an annoyed pout and she does her best to not smile. Before their eyes have a chance to meet, she turns hers back to the worn book in her hand.

She turns a page.

Chris is gone before she gets two sentences into the next chapter, making her even more curious about his activity. He stays gone for a while this time, letting her get through many pages before she has to look up again. It’s the way he sits on the couch nearby with a huff that permanently breaks her focus. When she does look up, she finds him staring up at the ceiling, a blank look on his face as his long body melts into the furniture.

She closes the book.

“Chris.”

He doesn't respond at first, and she shifts, about to speak again when he sighs. “...ayuh?”

Her eyebrow arches as she waits for him to look at her, and she does wait. After a longer than necessary pause he finally rolls his head up, turning his attention to her. She presses her lips together, forcing her amusement at his annoyed expression to vanish.

“You okay?”

He looks at her for a moment, then sniffs a little as he rubs the ball of his foot on the floor. “I’m fine.”

MC can't help but smile then, his frustration evident. “Feeling cooped up?”

His nose scrunches up and he scoffs. “No. I enjoy our home.”

“You liar.” She laughs softly and sets her book down on the side table.

Chris shakes his head. “No, I really do. Especially when you're in it... I love that.” A small, cocky smirk appears on his lips and she chews on the inside of her cheek, very aware of what he was referring to.

“Uh huh…” Her eyebrow arches again and he shrugs, so she lets out a breath. “Okay, you're fine.”

He nods once and taps the balls of both feet on the ground. “Yeeeep.”

She pushes the blankets aside and stands, holding his gaze as she moves towards their bedroom. “So you wouldn't want to go for a hike or anything then… because you're fi-”

He bolts up and out of the chair before she can finish, making her squeal as he scoops her up and rushes to their room with a huge grin on his face. “I was thinking we could drive over to the Blue Hills Res… the dogs always like the Skyline Trail and most people don't go on that one.”

MC laughs as she wraps her arms around his neck. “The dogs huh?”

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

I have fun answering questions about my OTP in story form if possible lol... so I hope you enjoyed it. 

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[self-proclaimed-chaotic-good]

Thank U, Next | Poe Dameron x Reader (1/2)

Prompt: High School AU

Fandom: Star Wars (Sequel Trilogy)

Words: 2791

Warning: Mentions past Armitage Hux x Reader, Ben Solo x Reader, Finn x Reader, and current background Finn x Rey.

A/N: I’m super late with the last three Writer’s Month prompts, but I ended up making this one longer than intended, like many of my fics, lol. Inspiration from the song Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande.

-

How long has it been since you’ve moved away from your hometown? Too long, apparently. There were some stores that closed down with new ones taking their place, buildings renovated and even a new road was added to cut travel time. Everything felt familiar to you, but also distant. You were born and raised here, but this was no longer your home.

When that invite for your high school reunion arrived at your apartment in the city, you debated whether you should go back. You had a lot of bittersweet memories there, but you were curious of what happened to your classmates. You’ve changed a lot since you graduated from high school and you hoped that certain people had changed for the better as well.

You went a week before the reunion, staying in a spare room of your mother’s new house. It was spacious and homely, filled with everything that your mother had always wanted, including a garden and a greenhouse in the backyard. Your parents had divorced a year after you graduated, something that had been a long time coming and they still remain friends. You could sense a heavyweight leaving your mother’s shoulders when the paperwork went through and you had helped her move out.

Throughout the week, you got situated in the spare room, making it your own for the times that you plan on visiting, as well as helping out with the garden. You always wanted one growing up, but your father was against the idea, claiming that it was too much maintenance that he didn’t want to do. It was peaceful in the backyard with fairy lights hanging around the patio. Oftentimes, you and your mother would drink a warm beverage and talk on the patio, catching up with each other and reminiscing. She had heard that some of your classmates stayed, some went to the military, and some even she hadn’t heard about in a while.

-

You were lounging in the backyard, reading an old book that you had in high school when an orange tabby hopped the fence and meowed. You bookmarked your page and sat up, seeing the orange tabby sit a few feet ahead of you, licking their paw.

“Hey, there, little one,” you said, reaching a hand out.

The tabby paused their cleaning, tentatively leaning forward to sniff your hand. When they realized you were good people, they rubbed against your palm and stepped towards you. Once they got closer, you realized the cat was female, her name tag reading Millicent Hux. Huh, you knew a Hux in high school. You had a crush on him for a year, and you remembered the whole school found out and he never spoke to you again because of all the teasing.

“Excuse me!” someone called out.

You turned away from Millicent and saw a tall and pale ginger man waving from the other side of the fence. He paused his waving when it registered just who he was waving to. You stood up with Millicent in your arms and made your way towards the fence.

“Armitage?” you asked in disbelief.

He smiled. “Yeah, that’s me. Lanky Armi,” he said with a shrug, “I didn’t know you were in town. Here for the reunion?”

“Yeah. I assume this is your cat,” you said, raising Millicent up.

“Yeah, I was about to take her out to the vet when she ran out of her carrier. Thank god she ended up here instead of hanging out by the road.” He grabbed Millicent from you, carrying her like a baby. “You look good.”

“You, too.”

He scoffed, shrugging off the compliment. “Still lanky and pale.”

“Are you going, too?”

He nodded. “I’ve seen a few of our classmates that had arrived earlier this week,” he said, hesitating to continue, “I, uh, saw Ben, too.”

“Oh,” you said, surprised.

From the way that Armitage said that, it meant that he knew or at least had an idea of what happened between you and Ben. They were close friends, after all. You never painted Ben as someone that cared for such gatherings. Sentimentality wasn’t his best trait. You weren’t sure how to feel about his presence in town.

Armitage cleared his throat, regretting about saying anything. “Well, I’ll see you around, then. Would love to stay and catch up, but this one needs her shots.”

“Alright, it was nice seeing you again, Armi,” you said, smiling, “And nice to meet you, too, Millicent.”

You walked back to your reading spot and sighed. Given the size of this town, you were surprised you hadn’t ran into anyone from school before now, and it was a pleasant surprise. Armitage was always tall and lanky, but he looked more mature and had a more lean build. He had always been a good kid, he was just easily influenced by others around him and you were disappointed that he had succumbed to it. He seemed to have gotten over that and you were glad that you could talk like friends, possibly making up for lost time. There was a classmate or two that you had ran into as adults that still maintained their immature personalities from school. You wondered how everyone else turned out.

-

Your mother had gone on a cooking spree on the first two days you were there and needed to restock the fridge. You volunteered to go grocery shopping but had to use google maps to find the address that the store had relocated to. Once there, the layout was relatively the same, just in a slightly bigger space.

While looking for a specific cereal brand that your mother insisted on eating, you heard someone clear his throat nearby. You wordless moved to the side, thinking you were in the way of something. You heard a soft chuckle before he spoke.

“(Y/n),” he said.

Your head shot up and you were met with a grinning Finn. “Oh, my god! Hi, how are you?” you asked excitedly.

“I’m good. Real good,” he said, pulling you into a hug. It was then you noticed a young woman around your age standing next to him with a sweet smile that showed off her dimples. “Rey, this is my old friend (Y/n). (Y/n), this is my fiancee, Rey.”

“Nice to meet you,” you said, turning to Rey.

She pulled you into another hug. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Finn told me a lot about his time at high school. He only has good things to say about you.”

“Well, that’s nice of him,” you said, raising an eyebrow at Finn.

He shrugged, wrapping an arm around Rey. “What can I say? I’m a nice guy.”

“I expect to hear all the embarrassing stories of him,” Rey whispered to you.

You smiled and said, “Oh, I have an arsonal full of those. Maybe we can meet up later. I’ve gotta get these groceries back to my mom first.”

Finn looks down at your cart, seeing beef, tomato sauce, vegetables, and other miscellaneous items. His eyes widened in excitement. “Is your mom making her famous beef stew?”

“Hell yeah!”

He groaned, thinking back to those times he used to come over your house for dinner and that first time he tried your mother’s beef stew. Ever since then, he always requested that she make it, or at least pack a container that he could take home and share with his family who loved it as well. His father would joke that two of you should get married once you two graduate, but marriage had never been a priority for you, and Finn knew that. You had different ideas of the future and respected the other’s decision for it, which was why your breakup was amicable and the two of you remained friendly and supportive of each other. 

“I’ll see if my mom can pack some for you and Rey,” you said as you walked towards your cart.

Finn grinned, patting you on the shoulder. “I knew I could count on you. Rey, you gotta try it! It’s so good.”

“Alright, I look forward to it,” Rey said, “It was nice meeting you.”

“You, too,” you said, then asked Finn, “Are you staying over at your parent’s house?”

“Yeah, same house, too. I’ll be showing Rey around for the rest of the week, but you can stop by anytime to see my folks. I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you,” Finn said.

“Alright. I’ll see you when I see you, then,” you said before walking away.

You smiled to yourself as you left, having seen the way that they spoke and looked at each other. Their happiness was infectious and you couldn’t help but be happy for them. Your worries that you had before coming back slowly seeped away after pleasantly running into Armitage and Finn. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. You’re all adults now, surely it won’t be like that Romi and Michelle movie, though flying away in a helicopter looked pretty cool.

-

The park that you used to frequent seemed to have an upgrade with an added baseball field, more restroom facilities, an area with exercise equipment, and even a water fountain near the clearing away from the fields. You sat near the water fountain where there were painted picnic tables shaded by trees, a new journal and fountain pen sat in front of you as you brushed off the leaves from the table.

With your headphones on, you tried to get back into the writing zone that you’ve been hoping that your trip back to your hometown would help you with. When you left town, you went off to pursue your writing career, entering writing contests and having short stories published. Your new goal was to finish a novel. You would always start a story, but always got stuck on something and never finished it. Writing contests and published short stories could only get you so far and unless you wanted to keep churning out new short stories at a time, hoping that they’ll get through and be published, just to pay your bills, you needed to finish that novel.

You started small, writing down ideas, hoping that visually having them on the page instead of floating in your mind would help. Then, you took some of those ideas and jotted down plot points that the story could have. You continued this until you got into the flow of writing a rough draft for one of them.

Your timer went off, reminding you to head back home before it got dark. You finished your last thought before capping your pen and packing your things away. The sun hung low in the sky, a cool breeze rustling the trees, making you wish you brought a light jacket.

You got to your old car, you tried to open the backseat door that wouldn’t budge. It had always caused you problems like this, but you kept it because it at least got you where you needed to go. You sighed, yanking the door handle again before giving up. After years of forcing that door open, the handle looked like it was going to fall off.

“Still haven’t fixed that door, I see,” a voice said with amusement.

You turned to face the source of the voice and froze. Poe freaking Dameron stood in front of you, dressed in gray sweats with his military camp printed on the front and the side, dark spots stained near his armpits and his neck from sweat. He became impossibly more handsome since the last time you’ve seen him. He gave you a wide smile, one that made many of your fellow classmates swoon in infatuation at him and glare in envy at you, showing you the Poe you knew from school.

He briefly turned to open the backseat of his truck, taking out a hand towel to wipe himself down. “Back in town for the reunion?” he asked.

“Yeah. You, too?”

He nodded. “Everyone’s happy that I’m finally taking time off that’s more than two to three days. Apparently I’m a workaholic? Don’t know why,” he said with a shrug.

You raised an eyebrow. He definitely knew why. For as long as you’ve known him, once he got into something, he put his all into it. Joining a sports team? He’d practice during any free time that he had and become an mvp or team captain. Getting into music? He’d started a band that played during homecoming week and at school events. He even composed and wrote his own songs. It was his strongest and weakest trait. You loved his passion, but that passion would sometimes make him forget everything else.

“Huh, what’s your new obsession now?” you asked, leaning against your car.

Poe mirrored you with his truck as he wiped excess sweat from his hair. “Flying… it’s something that I picked up when I was in the military,” he said.

“Oh,” you said, looking down before clearing your throat to try and appear unphased, “What kind of flying?”

“After I left the military, I missed flying and travelling, so I got into doing helicopter tours in a few countries. Just a couple of years ago, I started to fly commercial airplanes. There’s a whole process with that one, but it was worth it.”

“That sounds cool. I know you’ve always wanted to fly those airplanes,” you said.

He nodded. “Yeah, funny how life works, right? You plan something, you end up doing something else, but if it was meant to be, you somehow end up where you had always wanted to go.”

“Yeah, I’m still waiting for that to happen to me,” you muttered.

“You got published, though,” he pointed out, “They’re short stories, but it’s a start. Your writing is amazing, (Y/n). I know you’ll get there.”

The corner of your lips turned up. There goes his award winning pep talks again. You didn’t know that he was even aware of the work that you’ve done. It didn’t do much for you personally, but you were glad that he hadn’t changed too much,

“Thanks, Poe,” you said, opening your driver’s seat door.

“Hey, can I say something before you go?” he asked before you could climb into your car. You paused, turning to face him. “Look, I know I should have told you that I enlisted, but I don’t regret going. I only wished that we had the chance to work it out, maybe take you with me if I could, if you wanted to. Or at the very least, parted on better terms.”

You avoided his eyes as you tried to find the right words to say. There were so many things you wished you had said on the day he told you about his enlistment. It was all too late to bring them up now. It wasn’t going to change the fact that you two broke up over it. You should at least clear the air, so there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings, though, but you were stubborn. You never wanted to admit it, but while your break up with Finn had been easy and painless, breaking up with Poe was one of the hardest things you had to go through.

“I… I understood why you did it,” you said, “And I should have stopped to think about your perspective instead of getting angry and I’m sorry. It’s my fault that we ended things like that.”

Poe sighed, knowing that there was more that you wanted to say. Another thing that you loved and hated about him was his ability to read you. When there was no reply from him, you climbed in your car, shutting the door harder than you intended. While you were turning the engine on and fiddling with the radio, Poe stepped closer, leaning a hand on the roof of your car.

“Could we meet somewhere?” he asked softly, “You know, just to catch up?”

You leaned back in your seat, drumming your fingers on the steering wheel. “I’m running some errands tomorrow. Does lunch at the usual diner work for you?”

Poe smiled. “Sure, yeah. I’ll meet you there tomorrow, then.”

That night, you sat on your bed, wondering why your heart was racing while thinking about tomorrow. It had been so long since you and Poe sat down and talked. Meeting him tomorrow meant that you would have to eventually address all the things that were left unsaid, all the questions that were left unanswered, and all the things that had happened after going your separate ways. You doubt that the two of you could start over, given your different career paths, but maybe you could at least be on speaking terms.

[joon-ipersgirl]

O2 - the bloody build-up

genre: mafia!au, angst, fluff, slow burn, mystery-thriller

pairing: namjoon x reader

summary: charismatic. beautiful. fearless without question. the ambitious team of seven young men in charge of spiral, downtown district’s hottest new club, go above and beyond to provide 100% satisfaction to their clients.

after an eventful night out, you have no choice but to join the team for property damages greater than your intern salary. challenging a series of events that can no longer be left to coincidence, secrets threaten to burst at the seams as your professional and private life collide, and another - more sinister - debt is added to your total. 

how far are you willing to go to pay back your pound of flesh? remember, nothing is ever as it seems...

word count: 4.6k

warnings: cursing, some mentions of blood, mentions of guns (someone does get shot, but nothing super crazy), some violence, mentions of alcohol consumption 

a/n: thank you guys so much for the love on the first part! i really appreciate it. i hope y’all aren’t confused about their nicknames and stuff, like which member is which, but let me know and i’ll clarify 😭 this part might be a little far-fetched towards the end, but stay with me lol. i’m still working on my masterlist, but please check out my updates page which includes my works-in-progress. i’m actually pretty excited about what’s coming up next. as always, feedback is always appreciated and encouraged. thank you again to @alversia​ for reading this and supporting my writing. pls enjoy! 

full masterlist // series masterlist // previous // next 

“You expect me to head to Spiral tonight? Dressed like this?” You look down at your white button-up and black pencil skirt. Laura was out of her damn mind.

“Oh come on! It’ll be fun. Just some coworkers getting together after a hard week’s work. You haven’t been out with us in forever!” she exclaims, standing up from her desk.

“You know Amani doesn’t like us like that, Laura.” Paul does have a point. It wasn’t that you didn’t like them as people - well, that would be a lie. You didn’t. It’s just, who would want to spend their Friday night drinking with their coworkers when you could be at home, curled up with your cat, and tucking into whatever delicious dinner your roommate had prepared?

“I never said that I didn’t like you guys -”

“Out loud,” Paul says, interrupting you.

“- I just wasn’t planning on going out tonight. I’m not even dressed for the occasion,” you continue.

“It doesn’t matter. It’ll be dark anyway,” Laura tries again. “You said you had a good time the last time you went,” she reminds you.

You remember your brief run-in with Suga and the sleazy man at the bar. It’s been three weeks since then and the bruises on your arm have faded. Aside from that minor incident, you did have fun. The music was good, the bartender was attractive, and the drinks weren’t too pricey. In fact, Suga did say that the next time you came, drinks were on the house.

“Plus, you missed James’ birthday celebration 2 weeks ago.” You resist the urge to roll your eyes.

“Alright, alright. Fine, I’ll come,” You tell them.

“Great! Let’s go!” Laura squeals and grabs your coats.

It was going to be a long night.

The small group of you huddle together in front of the door to Spiral like penguins in the dead of winter. The wind is harsh but expected on a cold December night. You pull up the collar of your wool coat to shield your face as you wait in line and wish you had remembered to bring your scarf. Spiral was fairly new and you assume that more and more people were coming to experience the place with its modern goth vibe. Your feet hurt from the 4-inch heels that your manager, Mrs. Kim, insisted on young women wearing to “keep the spirit of professionalism going”. Honestly, you just thought she wanted to see you suffer the way she did all those eons ago. A rite of passage, if you will. After fifteen minutes, you’re finally at the door where the bouncer and two other men stand talking.

“Is everyone here ridiculously attractive?” Laura whispers to you. You glance up to look at her.

“Who are you talking about?” She points at the three men by the door.

“Ah,” you say, acknowledging them. It was on second glance that you realize Min is one of the men in the group. You groan as you remember your brief conversation the last time you were here.

“You okay there?” Paul turns to ask you over his shoulder. You nod. “Just making sure you weren’t thinking about bailing on us,” he says with a grin. You roll your eyes and punch his shoulder as you wait to get your IDs checked. It seemed as though security had increased.

“Well if it isn’t my little snack?” You groan again as Min grins at you. His silver hair stands out among his dark-haired companions, though he’s shorter than the other two.

“Your who?” the man next to him asks, confused.

“My snack,” Min emphasizes. “Suga wouldn’t let me have her though,” he says with a pout as he turns to you again.

“I wouldn’t let you have me,” you mumble and shift closer to Laura who’s watching the scene unfold with wide eyes.

“What was that?” Min asks, his grin growing again as he steps closer to you.

“Min, leave her alone,” the bouncer says as he waves through the first half of your coworkers after checking their IDs.

“You guys really never let me have any fun.” Min’s laugh rings through the air as he steps back next to his friends.

“Do you know him?” Laura asks you. You shake your head. She doesn’t need to know that story.

“I’ve only seen him once and very briefly at that. Come on,” you say nodding towards the entrance after taking back your ID.

You brush past her and the three men and head down the stairs ignoring the eyes that follow you. The heat from the club hits you like a brick wall and you immediately pull off your coat. You follow Paul’s tall figure through the mass of people on the edge of the dance floor. The music is just as loud as you remember and you welcome the thumping bass music as it pounds through your veins and echoes in your chest. You slide into the booth next to Paul and Laura follows closely behind you.

“This place is so cool! We have to come back!” Laura yells over the music into your ear. You wince at the sound.

“Laura, we just got here,” you tell her while putting some distance between you though there isn’t much room as seven of you have squished into a booth probably meant to seat five.

“I know, but this place is awesome!” she yells back with more enthusiasm. This was going to be a very long night and you could not do it sober.

“I’m going to get a drink from the bar,” you say, excusing yourself and squeezing past Laura to exit the semi-circle shaped booth.

“Why don’t you just wait for the server?” Paul asks while holding up a menu from the stack placed on the table.

“Because I need something strong before I can sit down and socialize with you guys,” you reply with a sourly sweet smile.

Paul shakes his head and you head off to the bar ignoring his judgemental stares. You take the long way, bypassing the dancefloor to avoid any prolonged standing on your already aching feet trying to shuffle through the thick crowd. Though there are more people here tonight than the first time you came, you’re able to squeeze through relatively unscathed. Sometimes being small did have its perks. You find an empty barstool close to the spiral stairs that led to the second level and sit down.

“What can I get for you?” the bartender asks. You narrow your eyes at him. This was not Jin.

“Where’s Jin?” you ask him.

“He’ll be here later. Do you -”

“And Suga?” you ask, cutting him off. How were you supposed to get your free drinks when this guy didn’t know who you were?

“Who’s asking for him?” he retorts, his eyes narrowing at you. His tall frame takes up most of the room in front of you as he leans across the bar, inches away from your face.

You try your best not to cower as you stare each other down, but his presence is powerful. His platinum blonde hair shines purple under the fluorescent colored lighting and his brown eyes are dark. His lean muscles sprawl taut under his skin and his black t-shirt stretches across his broad shoulders. Your hypothesis was right: everyone who works here is fucking beautiful.

“A valued customer,” you tell him. “He told me the next time I came in, drinks were on the house.”

“Suga said that?” the blonde asks incredulously. He lets out a boisterous laugh. “Now I know you bumped into me pretty hard a few weeks ago, but I didn’t think my chest was that hard,” he says while slapping it.

“Bumping into you? I don’t know what you’re talking about. If you don’t believe me, why don’t you ask him?” You cross your arms. “While you’re at it, you can make me an Old Fashioned.”

“Bossy, aren’t we? Honcho!” He waves his arm to someone. You turn and see the other man from outside walk over with a tray in his hand. Of course, he works here too. The all-black uniform should have given it away. Apparently, all the attractive men who live in this city did.

“What’s up?” he asks while passing him a ticket most likely filled with drink orders. He isn’t as tall, but his build is athletic and you can tell he works out.

“This young woman says that Suga told her next time she came in, drinks were on the house,” the bartender tells him, a teasing tone in his voice. The second man turns to look you up and down.

“Suga told her that? Babe, I think you’re thinking about the wrong man. Maybe it was Min? I know we all kind of look alike in the dark,” he suggests.

“That’ll be $10.50, sweetheart. Definitely seems more like Min’s type,” the bartender agrees, giving you a once over. He sets the Old Fashioned down in front of you. You scowl at both of them.

“Are you fucking kidding me right now? You think I’m making this up? Fine,” you say, hopping off the stool. “I’ll prove it to you. I’ll go get him myself.”

You hate most people and you hate most clubs, but one of the things you despise the most is being called a liar. You pride yourself on being a woman of integrity and you would not let these assholes paint you to be something you’re not. As you turn to head up the stairs, you feel someone grab your wrist and you whip your head around.

“Where are you going?” Honcho asks, his dark eyes sizing you up.

“Let go of me,” you tell him and yank your arm from his grip. You weren’t doing this again, not tonight.

“It’s okay, Honcho. Let her go,” you hear the bartender say as you walk away.

You climb the stairs and strut across the walkway. Below you, the blonde bartender and Honcho, arms crossed, watch you as you make your way to the office. Motivated by their doubt, you walk a little more confidently towards the office door. You stop short, take a deep breath, and then bang on the door. There’s no answer. You knock again. Nothing. Just as you go to knock for the third time, the door flies open.

“Who the fuck is -?! Kid? What are you doing here? You can’t just walk up here!” Suga yells at you.

“Your employees are being assholes and don’t believe that you said I could have free drinks for some reason,” you tell him, ignoring his outburst.

“You came all the way up here to tell me that?” he asks, eyes wide. “Do you even know - You know what? It doesn’t matter,” he finishes.

“I don’t like being called a liar,” you state.

“You’re bold, kid. I’ll give you that.” He shakes his head and shuts the door behind him, locking it.

He walks past you and heads down the stairs. You turn and follow him back to the bar. Though Suga is short and you are in heels, he moves much quicker than you expect. By the time you make it downstairs, he’s already leaning against the bar and signaling for the bartender to come over. Your Old Fashioned is sitting right where you’d left it. The bartender walks over and grins at you.

“I see you found him,” he says with a smile.

“Moon, why are you patronizing our customers?” Suga sighs. The bartender laughs.

“Always gotta check orders, boss,” Moon chuckles. Suga narrows his eyes at him.

“Look, just give her what she wants okay? You know I have other things to look at right now and I can’t have you fucking around.” You grin smugly behind Suga’s back, your short stature barely visible over his mint-green head. You didn’t like to think of yourself as cocky, but most times, when you were right, you were right. You saunter towards the bar and climb back onto the barstool you’d previously vacated. Moon’s eyes narrow and he glances over at you.

“Alright, Suga. I’ll stop fucking around and get the job done like you asked,” Moon spits. You survey Suga’s face as it falls and you feel the mood shift drastically as unspoken words pass between the two men.

“Can I have a new one? You never know what crazy people will do around here, you know?” You ask and add the please at the end, smiling sweetly at Moon, drawing the attention back to you.

“Y/N!” You barely hear Laura yelling your name over the music. “Y/N, are you okay?!” she screams over the music. You watch her hobble over to the bar with her drink in her hand. You know her feet hurt just as much as yours do and it shows in the way she walks.

“Paul and I saw you go up the stairs and I wanted to make sure everything was okay,” she continues when she gets closer.

“Everything’s great. Hey, do you want another one of those? Moon was it? Could you make her a strawberry daiquiri along with that Old Fashioned?” You ask. You shouldn’t enjoy this as much as you are.

“She’s real bold,” Moon says, turning to Suga, the mood seeming to return to its previous vibe though you can sense the tension between the two of them.

“That’s what I said.” You grin at Suga.

Moon sets your drinks down and you take a small sip, savoring the taste of the brown liquor. Observing Moon and Suga over the rim of your glass, the two of them have hushed words in a corner. Though Suga supposedly owns the club, it seems as though Moon is calling the shots based on their body language. Laura sits next to you and interrupts your examination as she starts talking about work-related issues. Laura is a sweet girl and as much as you want to be an active listener, paying attention to her drone on and on about Paul asking Melissa to lunch every day instead of her can only be so interesting after 20 minutes of the same story.

“Look Laura, I’m gonna go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back, okay?” She nods and you leave her at the bar after finishing the last bit of your drink.

It wasn’t a surprise to see the line to the ladies’ room outside the door, soft chatter filling the hallway as you wait. This was one of those times when being a woman wasn’t fun. At the rate this line was going, you would have permanent blisters on your feet. The heat isn’t as stifling and you’re grateful you remembered a hair tie as you scrape your curls into a low messy bun. You shuffle forward with the rest of the women as the line advances and you thank the sweet gods when you can finally see the stalls. A few more minutes pass and then it‘s finally your turn. You practically run into the stall, slamming it behind you. Once you’ve finished and flushed, you exit the stall and hear screaming.

You rinse your hands quickly and peer around the propped open door. The line had disappeared and the small hallway and rest of the restroom was empty. This was not regular partygoer screams of fun. No, this is something much more gruesome. You peek quickly down the hallway again from your hiding spot. The music is still blaring, but now it sounds eerily quiet for a Friday night at one of the most talked about clubs in the city. Something is wrong.

You slip off your heels and tuck them under your arms. You sigh softly as the blood rushes back to your toes. If it came down to it, they could be used as a weapon, but only if you had the element of surprise. Sneaking a look around the corner, you immediately draw back. A gun. Fuck. You turn back and quickly hide in one of the stalls on the left hand side of the restroom and crouch over the toilet, holding onto your heels with one hand and using the other to stay in place. You shut your eyes and try to even out your breathing. How the fuck were you supposed to get out of this?

The sound of a walkie talkie alerts you to the second presence in the room. Their steps are even as the person systematically checks the stalls. There are five stalls between yourself and the first door and you need to figure out something fast. The person had checked the second door and was moving onto the third. Taking a chance, you balance your shoes on your lap and shift your weight gently so you’re holding one foot in your dominant hand. Just as whoever is pushing open the third stall, you throw your shoe diagonally across the room under the stall next to you and hear it skid across the floor.

“What the fuck?” A man. Fuck. You pray that he hadn’t been looking too closely to see the initial direction the shoe had come from and was only focused on its destination.

Peeping through the small crack between the stall wall and the door, you see that his back is towards you. You take your second shoe and slide it in the direction of the main door of the bathroom. Through the small crack, you watch as he turns toward it again.

“Where the fuck are these shoes coming from?” You knew you only had a few seconds before he would forget about the shoes and resume his search. You take your chance.

As quietly as you can, you hop off the toilet seat and bolt out of the stall. Before he could fully turn after hearing the banging of the stall door against the wall, you jump on his back and wrap your arms around his throat as tight as you possibly can. He lets out a strangled cry as he drops his gun where it clatters to the floor. You press on his throat harder using the muscles in your forearm to apply more pressure. His hands are desperately clawing at your own as he stumbles around the room. Your grip around his waist falters when he slams you back into the glass mirror mounted on the wall. You hope the music is still blaring as the shattered pieces fall to the floor. The force of the blow has you slipping to the ground and you feel lightheaded. You know you can’t give up if you want to live.

“You fucking bitch!” he yells out hoarsely while clutching his throat. He turns to retrieve his gun from across the room and you grab the longest shard of glass from the ground that you can find before you launch yourself at him again.

You stab him in between the joint of his right shoulder, praying you’ve shoved it deep enough to sever the muscles and ligaments holding it together, leaving him unable to use his arm. Blood pools in your palm and you bite my lip to stop yourself from crying out. His shout is loud and you dive past him to grab the gun while he tries to remove the glass. You flip over onto your back and aim at his left knee as he charges towards you, right arm hanging down at his side, limp. Missing, you hit him in the thigh as he falls on top of you, groaning in pain. You scramble from beneath him and stand as he clutches his bleeding leg wound. Your breathing is heavy as you realize you had just shot a man, the cut on the back of your hand evidence as the gun had kicked back and cut you. Granted you have every right as he was trying to kill you first, but you’ve never fired a gun before yet here you were standing over the body of a potentially dead man.

“Don’t move,” you tell him as he writhes around on the floor. “And shut the fuck up before I give you something else to scream about.”

You look down at your stained clothing and ripped stockings. Blood is splattered around the room and the stinging in your palm intensifies. You can’t have him calling for help. Tucking the gun into the back of your skirt, you remove your stockings and shove them into his mouth, creating a makeshift gag. His breathing is shallow and you roll him onto his side so the glass is no longer pressing into his shoulder. You grab the walkie talkie and realize your hands are shaking as drops of blood hit the floor. Your skirt is ripped and your hair has fallen out of its bun. Your adrenaline rush is starting to fade and you can feel the pain radiate from the back of your skull outward. The faint splattering of blood against your fingers makes your stomach churns slightly at the sight. Fuck. You were probably concussed.

Glancing back down at the man who now seemed to be unconscious, you walk quietly back to the main door of the bathroom and poke your head around. No one is in the hallway. You realize that the music is off but the strobe lights are still going. You assume that you shot the man while the music was still playing and that’s why no one had come running. Both hands on the gun and held at your side, you inch your way closer to the end of the short hallway. You’re trying to stay alert and keep your breathing even, but it’s becoming more difficult as time passes.

Crouching down by the entryway to the main floor, you try to scout the location of everyone. You can no longer see Laura, but Paul is across the room hiding under the table with some of your other coworkers. The rest of the partygoers are all laying down on the floor as the lights continue to pulse and flash. Min is by the door leading to the stairs to exit with the bouncer, a man pointing a gun to both of their heads. Honcho and the DJ are on their knees in front of the small stage below the DJ booth with another man holding guns to their heads too. The strange thing is neither Min, the bouncer, Honcho or the DJ look scared. In fact, they were staring at Jin, Moon, and Suga behind the bar, as if they were waiting for something.

“You guys mean to tell me that you know nothing about our loss of business?” the man in the center of the room asks. “Nothing at all?” You count three men pointing guns at the three men behind the bar, but know there are probably more upstairs.

“Nothing man. We’ve never seen you guys before,” Moon answers.

“Bullshit! That’s not what they told me,” he replies. He waves his pistol around aimlessly.

“Whoever gave you that information was wrong. We have no idea what you’re talking about. Just let the people leave and we can talk this out,” Moon says again.

The man in the center looks like he’s growing visibly agitated as he paces in the small open area of the dance floor. You can hear the soft whimpers from some of the people on the ground. You breathe out softly and try to keep your eyes focused on the man in the center. He’s tall and skinny with deep lines etched into his forehead as if he’s never experienced peace. His coat is thick and looks just as expensive as the suit he wears underneath it. You know there’s no point in taking any aim anywhere the coat covers because it would never make it past the first layer of fur.

“You little shits think you’re so smart, huh? As if I could let any of these people go after they’ve seen my face.” He chuckles. A horrified shriek echoes in the room.

“Shut up!” he screams and points his gun in the direction he thinks the sound comes from. Though he’s fairly young, you can tell he can’t hear very well as the shriek comes from the left side of the room and he was facing right.

“You fuckers moved to a big city and think no one would think to check you out and figure out what you’re really up to, huh?” You also realize he can’t see very well. Anyone looking at him would think he’s glowering at the three men behind the bar, but you can tell he’s squinting to try and see them better through the bright lighting; he’s nearsighted.

“Listen you crazy fuck, if you wanted to talk business, you could have walked in here nicely and asked about us instead of terrorizing our customers,” Suga spits. This was not going to end well.

“And who the fuck do you think you are?” The man roars, walking closer to the bar.

You watch as Moon’s jaw visibly clenches and unclenches as he tries to deescalate the situation almost in rhythm to the strobe lights. You know you’re running out of time before things potentially become bloody. There’s no way in hell you’d be able to hit a moving target; you’d figured that much out when the gunman charged at you and you shot him in his thigh instead of his knee. You try to stay calm and think of the best possible solution, but the lights are bothering your eyes. The fucking lights! If he could barely see with all the bright flashing lights, his range of vision should reduce with less light in the room. You have to shoot out the lights.

“Suga, shut the fuck up,” Moon grits out through clenched teeth. You squint and try to count the number of lights hanging from the ceiling.

“You gonna let him talk to you like that, sweetheart?” The well-dressed man cackles while holding his belly, his head thrown back. “Are you his bitch?” He sneers. Suga lunges forward and you hear guns cock. It didn’t matter how many lights there were, you just need to hit as many as you can.

“You think you’re tough kid? We’ll see how tough you are with a bullet in your brain,” the man says coldly, taking another step forward.

Just as he’s taking aim at Suga, you fire the first shot and miss the lights closest to Min. Your coordination is off. You feel seven pairs of eyes snap towards you and you make eye contact with Min from across the room.

“Fucking shoot her!” someone yells. You duck down as a rain of bullets fired toward your direction.

Screams echo around you as people try their best to get away from the danger. You ignore the guns pointing at you, firing, and stand up to take better aim at your target. You pray there are enough bullets in the chamber to get the job done as you squeeze the trigger repeatedly, aiming as best as you can. Your ears are ringing from the shots which are wild and you’re surprised as you manage to hit three sets of lights before you run out of bullets.

“Get down!” You focused back on the scene in front of me. You hear the shots fire and start to duck, but you weren't fast enough. With your arms still outstretched holding the gun, a bullet grazes across your upper arm. The skin burns and you cry out in pain. You drop the gun as Jin grabs you and pushes you closer towards the restroom, shielding you with his large body. Fuck, it was going to be a really long night.  

full masterlist // series masterlist // previous // next

ⓒ joon-ipersgirl, 2020

[writing-prompts-for-friends]

Notes on Robert McKee’s “Story” 28: How to Express Progression in Your Story

☝ A very literal progression lol. I still have yet to find a single-take fight scene as impressive, though some of John Wick’s come close.

Expressing Progression

“When a story genuinely progresses it calls upon greater and greater human capacity, demands greater and greater willpower, generates greater and greater change in characters’ lives, and places them all at greater and greater jeopardy. How are we to express this? How will the audience sense the progressions?”

How can we get it across to the audience that things are getting serious? Well, McKee shows us four different ways.

1. Social Progression

“Widen the impact of character actions into society.”

Have your story start intimately, with only a few principal characters. But as the telling moves forward, allow their actions to ramify outward into the world around them, touching and changing the lives of more and more people. Not all at once. Rather, spread the effect gradually through the progressions.

A good example of this would be ANY of the first films for each of the Marvel Heroes. In particular, the first Iron Man movie springs to my mind. It starts off as being all about Tony Stark and Pepper, but very quickly he learns that his family business and his decisions to run it and develop weapons have impacts on others, gradually increasing as the story unfolds.

2. Personal Progression

“Drive actions deeply into the intimate relationships and inner lives of our characters.”

If the logic of your setting doesn’t allow you to go wide, then you must go deep. Start with a personal or inner conflict that demands balancing, yet seems relatively solvable. Then, as the work progresses, hammer the story downward--emotionally, psychologically, physically, morally--to the dark secrets, the unspoken truths that hide behind a public mask.

I suppose the Iron Man films could also show a Personal Progression for Tony Stark, though certainly Social Progression takes the front seat. A better example would be...hmm. Perhaps A Telltale Heart by Poe? It’s been quite a while since I read it, but I feel like because it mainly focuses on the narrator and the old man, it could be classified as personal progression. If I’m wrong or if you have other examples, please let me know in a comment! 

3. Symbolic Ascension

“Build the symbolic charge of the story’s imagery from the particular to the universal, the specific to the archetypal.”

A good story well told fosters a good film. But a good story well told with the added power of subliminal symbolism lifts the telling to the next level of expressivity, and the payoff may be a great film. Symbolism is very compelling. Like images in our dreams, it invades the unconscious mind and touches us deeply--as long as we’re unaware of its presence. If, in a heavy-handed way, we label images as “symbolic,” their effect is destroyed. But if they are slipped quietly, gradually, and unassumingly into the telling, they move us profoundly.

Symbolic progression works in this way: start with actions, locations, and roles that represent only themselves. But as the story progresses, choose images that gather greater and greater meaning, until by the end of the telling characters, settings, and events stand for universal ideas.

Man am I struggling to come up with a good example of a film or book that does this. McKee uses the films THE DEER HUNTER and THE TERMINATOR as examples. I’m not cultured enough to have seen The Deer Hunter, so let’s talk about The Terminator. I know, at first glance it might not seem deep enough to qualify for symbolic ascension, but hear McKee out.

“Opening with step-down imagery of commonplace people in commonplace settings, it tells the story of Sarah Connor, a fast-food waitress in Los Angeles. Suddenly, the Terminator and Reese explode into the present from the year 2029, and pursue Sarah through the streets of L.A., one trying to kill her, the other to save her. 

We learn that in the future robots become self-aware and try to stamp out the human race that created them. They nearly succeed when the remnants of humanity are led in a revolt by the charismatic John Connor. He turns the tide against hte robots and all but stamps them out, when the robots invent a time machine and send into the past an assassin to kill Connor’s mother before he’s born, thus eliminating Connor from existence and winning the war for the robots. Connor captures the time machine, discovers the plan, and sends back his lieutenant, Reese, to kill this monster before it kills his mother.

The streets of Los Angeles conspire into the ancient archetype of the labyrinth. Freeways, alleyways, cul-de-sacs, and corridors of buildings twist and turn the characters until they work their way down to its tangled heart. There Sarah, like Theseus at the center of the Minoan maze battling the Minotaur, confronts the half-man/half-robot Terminator. If she vanquishes the demon, she will, like the Virgin Mary, give birth to the savior of humanity, John Connor (JC), and raise him to lead humanity to deliverance in the coming holocaust. Sarah progresses from waitress to goddess, and the film’s symbolic progression lifts it above almost all others in its genre.”

Gotta say, I never thought I would consider TERMINATOR to be a deep film, but here we are. I’m sold.

4. Ironic Ascension

“Turn progression on irony.”

Irony is the subtlest manifestation of story pleasure, that delicious sense of “Ah, life is just like that.” It sees life in duality; it plays with our paradoxical existence, aware of the bottomless chasm between what seems and what is. In story, irony plays between actions and results--the primary source of story energy, between appearance and reality--the primary source of truth and emotion.

An ironic sensibility is a precious asset, a razor to cut to the truth, but it can’t be used directly. It does us no good to have a character wander the story saying, “How ironic!” Like symbolism, to point at irony is to destroy it. 

McKee defines six ironic story patterns:

He gets at last what he’s always wanted...but too late to have it.

He’s pushed further and further from his goal...only to discover that in fact he’s been led right to it.

He throws away what he later finds is indispensable to his happiness

To reach a goal he unwittingly takes the precise steps necessary to lead him away.

The actions he takes to destroy something becomes exactly what are needed to be destroyed by it.

He comes into possession of something he’s certain will make him miserable, does everything possible to get rid of it...only to discover it’s the gift of happiness.

The key to ironic progression, McKee states, is certainty and precision. These are stories of protagonists who feel they know for certain what they must do and have a precise plan how to do it. They think life is A, B, C, D, E. That’s just when life likes to turn you around, kick you in the butt, and grin: “Not today, my friend. Today it’s E, D, C, B, A. Sorry.”

In Summary

I think most all of my stories have taken the Social Progression route, which makes sense since they’re fantasy action/adventure for the most part. But I’m very interested in attempting more Personal Progression, and even more interested in Ironic Ascension, which sounds like a truly difficult thing to pull off well. What style of progression do your stories follow? I hope this post helped you frame your stories and perhaps help you find direction with them.

Source: McKee, Robert. Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting. York: Methuen, 1998. Print

[dinomight]

all the stars in all the skies: a playlist for Home and a Half by @echodrops

the chain - fleetwood mac // sorrow - the national // nothing’s gonna hurt you baby - cigarettes after sex // child i will hurt you - crystal castles // constant craving - the cat and owl // run boy run - woodkid // female robbery - the neighbourhood // sleepsong - bastille // small things - ben howard // iron - woodkid // greens of june - neko case // mars - sleeping at last // iscariot - walk the moon // human - daughter // body - mother mother // i come with knives - iamx // all these things that i’ve done - the killers // an angry blade - iron & wine // all the stars - the wailin’ jennys // i’ll be good - jaymes young // slow wake up sunday morning - mountain man // someone to stay - vancouver sleep clinic // it’s alright - mother mother // this is home - cavetown

Song explanations under the cut!

First I’d like to clarify: I’m not insane. I’m just a huge ass dork for this fic. (For a lot of things, really, but irrelevant.) HaaH is one of my favorite written works ever, fanfiction or not, so I really, truly should not have been surprised that this playlist ended up being so much longer than I meant for it to be, and it probably could’ve been even longer if I’d let myself keep going. In my defense, I can’t art, so this is one of my only ways to show my appreciation.

Anyways, I’m not gonna wax poetics about how much I love this story because we would be here all day and this post is too long as it is, so down to business: this playlist is very loosely structured. It’s hard to give the songs a significant order when only a few correspond to specific moments or lines; most of them I chose to focus more on bigger picture themes and concepts from the story. So the order isn’t that important, I just organized them so they’d transition relatively smoothly sound-wise and tried to keep similar concepts together. Additionally, I did use both quotes from the fic and the songs in some of my explanations, so fic quotes are bolded and song lyrics are in italics. Some of these are short, some are a bit longer, some are just the quotes because I didn’t feel the need to explain further, but hopefully all of them give a good idea of why I chose the song. I thought about just posting the playlist by itself, but I felt weird not explaining the thinking behind it, so uh, here it is I guess? 

1) The Chain - Fleetwood Mac: The best song in existence. Objectively speaking, of course. The first time I heard this while thinking of HaaH though, it just fit so well, and I haven’t really been able to un-associate the two since. (Not that I want to lol) It just has such a desert vibe to it that matches with the story, and I think it represents Keith’s desperation to avoid rejection from the team so well. It’s like...if I were to picture a trailer for HaaH, this is the song I would hear in the background, y’know? 

2) Sorrow - The National: This one’s a bit of a weird one because I can’t quite put into words why this is on here. Like, I added it back when I was just throwing some songs together for background atmosphere while reading HaaH, but when I was working to make this into something more thought out, I couldn’t bring myself to take this song off. So here it is, I guess. 

3) Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby - Cigarettes After Sex: This one is here more for its sound and atmosphere, not really the lyrics. It just sounds like...nostalgia, I guess. Like it’s supposed to be reminiscing about something comforting, but it’s not quite there because the pain of the present is keeping you rooted. The way I hear it, it’s like Keith is thinking about his mom and her love and comfort, but it’s tainted by the loss of all of that. (I might be slightly insane. I’ve come to terms with that.) 

4) Child I Will Hurt You - Crystal Castles: I don’t know how else to phrase this so I’m just gonna say it: this song gives me the heebie jeebies, just like Keith’s flashbacks to his earlier times with the Garrison. I swear, every time he says replacement mother or father it gives me chills. Or makes me want to cry a bit. It just feels so wrong, and that’s why I picked this song, ‘cause it gives me the same feeling. The music is so soft, like it was supposed to be a lullaby, but the lyrics and the feeling underneath is...disturbing. Plus, “Hide all that you could / Done for the greater good / It’s later understood” reminds me all too well of the Garrison scientists and what they did to Keith. 

5) Constant Craving - The Cat and Owl: So while I was searching for songs to add, it suddenly occurred to me that despite the fact that one of Keith’s major problems is that he can’t put his thoughts and feelings into words properly, every single song I’d added did exactly that. And so began my search for some instrumental songs that unfortunately only turned up this one, mostly because I realized this playlist was getting far too long lol. Though now that I’ve thought about it, an all instrumental HaaH playlist would be an interesting challenge. Hm. I already knew I wanted to add Constant Craving as a sort of representation for Keith’s own craving for love, acceptance, and family, but when I heard this version I knew it was right. Keith knows he desperately needs all these things, but he can’t put it into words, can’t communicate it right. It’s made even better by how well known the original song is, because you can feel the familiarity in it, feel what’s missing and what should be there, but it’s different at the same time, like that absence has created something strange, something off-kilter from what it should have been. Plus it’s sorta a lullaby version, which I like since Keith’s childhood is an often reoccurring topic. 

6) Run Boy Run - Woodkid: Seems to me like there’s a lot of shit Keith’s been running from. (also...running makes me think of “escaped from the Garrison”. Escaped. Escaped. ESCAPED.)

7) Female Robbery - The Neighbourhood: There’s some really fucked up stuff in Keith’s past in addition to the whole Galra thing, and he really does not want the team to find out any of it. This song makes me think a lot about that. 

8) Sleepsong - Bastille: “You go to sleep on your own / And you wake each day with your thoughts / And it scares you being alone, it's a last resort” & “All you want is someone onto whom you can cling / Your mother warned of strangers and the dangers they may bring / Your dreams and memories are blurring into one / The scenes which hold the waking world slowly come undone.” ...yeah.

9) Small Things - Ben Howard: Another song that’s on here more for the sound than the lyrics, though the lyrics could possibly fit. I just love the dreamy, suspended feeling that this song exudes and how well it fits with the feeling that Keith’s flashbacks and memories give me. 

10) Iron - Woodkid: “But Keith was gone—every reflex retuned for battle, every nerve sparking under his skin, and all there was fight, win, refuse to be killed.“ - “I'm waiting for the call, the hand on the chest / I'm ready for the fight, and fate” So the lyrics don’t *exactly* match up, but the underlying themes are there, I think, and the atmosphere of this one was more important to me anyways. The intensity of it just screams fighting and death and red to me. 

11) Greens of June - Neko Case, k.d. lang, Laura Veirs: “Just in the moment / Everything's changed / My dark disposition / Has been rearranged” The arrival of the kids is certainly not a very happy time considering the circumstances, but it brought a change that Keith desperately needed, one that will hopefully help him actually be happy. (My other reason for choosing this song is, for whatever reason, it also gives me desert vibes.) 

12) Mars - Sleeping at Last: “We let the end goal blind us to the means. We’ll have to re-evaluate before we take on any more missions. If violence is our go-to method of beating the enemy, we’re no better than the empire ourselves.” -  "Lay your weapons down! / They're calling off the war / On account of losing track / Of what we're fighting for." The team has taken up an immense and necessary duty to protect the universe, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get caught up in the grey areas of war, and it doesn’t mean they get to come home without scars. 

13) Iscariot - WALK THE MOON: Broganes, anyone? For real though, this song is about betrayal between two people who are essentially brothers (specifically Jesus and Judas but I didn’t pick it for the religious references). While I don’t think Shiro is gonna see Keith being Galra and hiding it as a personal betrayal, Keith clearly does. “How long did he have left before…Before Lance said he’d known all along there was something wrong with Keith, before Pidge threw his hypocrisy back in his face: no secrets between paladins, huh? Before Allura turned her back on him. Before Shiro couldn’t, and Keith had to meet his eyes, watch betrayal dawn white-star bright and burning.” Ah. That sweet, terrible angst.

14) Human - Daughter: “Underneath the skin there's a human / Buried deep within there's a human / And despite everything I'm still human / But I think I'm dying here.” I think this song works on two levels. One, you can take “human” to be quite literal and interpret it as Keith’s desperation to hide his Galra heritage and keep pretending that he’s entirely human, even though it clearly has awful emotional repercussions for him. Two, you can look at “human” with a metaphorical lens to talk about how even though Keith seems like a cold tough guy on the surface, underneath that is a complicated mess of emotions and trauma, and not being able to properly deal with all of that is killing him. 

15) Body - Mother Mother: One of the things about HaaH that I find most interesting is Keith’s relationship with his body. Between the whole Galra form vs human form, the fact that his human form is not how he was born, and everything that the Garrison did to him...it’s a goddamn mess. Hence, this song. can I please give this boy a hug 

16) I Come With Knives - IAMX: First and foremost, I had to include this song for the irony, because Keith did, in fact, come with a knife. However, I also included it because I really like how on the surface, it can be written off as just another angsty emo song, but if you take the time to really listen to it, it’s filled with genuine emotion and hurt. (Almost like a certain knife-wielding alien boy I know...)

17) All These Things That I’ve Done - The Killers: I have a few different reasons for why this song is here, but the main one is pretty much “I got soul, but I’m not a soldier”. I mean...yeah. That screams Keith to me. He’s driven and angry and passionate and willing to fight so hard to protect the people he loves, but...that doesn’t mean he’s emotionally okay with being a soldier, even if the rest of the team seems to think otherwise.

18) An Angry Blade - Iron & Wine: Another one that immediately earned points for Keith irony in the title. Seriously though, I love the tone of this song for Keith. It’s got desert vibes to it, and maybe it’s just because my hearing isn’t fantastic, but I like that the lyrics are a bit hard to make out. You really have to listen. (Again, almost like...hmm...) Plus: “You’re an angry blade and you’re brave / But you’re all alone”

19) All the Stars - The Wailin’ Jennys: I swear I didn’t just pick this for the title. It was a little bit for the title though, sue me. Nope, it was more for “So open wide your wounded heart / Feel yourself be blown apart” because for the love of god, Keith, please open up a bit more to the people around you. On a more serious note, I was also struck by “You don’t know me / You know one side of a story” because it’s true for both Keith and his mother. The Keith part is obvious--the team, with the exception of Shiro, only really sees the Keith that’s on the surface. But it’s kinda true for Keith and his mom too, right? He’s missing so much information because of his spotty memories. Up until the kids arrived, it seems like he didn’t even consider the idea that she might be, y’know, not evil. So...yeah. Also “All the stars in the sky / Say goodbye say goodbye” because I didn’t need my heart, it’s fine, it’s okay, I’m not crying over a fictional character and the death of his alien mother, there’s just dirt in my eyes--

20) I’ll Be Good - Jaymes Young: “But if there was a way to stop the blood flowing down his glove, the sound a sword made when it struck bone, the way her breath came in pieces between the shocks her sobs, then he definitely would have... “ - “I've been cold, I've been merciless / But the blood on my hands scares me to death / Maybe I'm waking up today”

21) Slow Wake Up Sunday Morning - Mountain Man: “It's lucid dreaming; he knew it wasn't real, not anymore, but still he couldn't focus his eyes, couldn't see past the fall of her hair in the pale morning light...” - “The light / It moves / Across this room / Like it could reach us, honey” & “We are already there, it seems / (I know I can't stay in this place)” I don’t quite know how to explain why I connected this song with this moment beyond the whole early morning thing but...this moment was an especially emotional one for me. It felt like something Keith wanted to hold on to, wanted to go back to, but just like the sun continues rising, the world keeps moving, regardless of whether we want it to or not. 

22) Someone to Stay - Vancouver Sleep Clinic: “You were alone left out in the cold / Clinging to the ruin of your broken home / Too lost and hurting to carry your load / We all need someone to hold” I just...yeah. There’s not much I need to say about this one. Just Keith and the kids, man. 

23) It’s Alright - Mother Mother: Whenever I listen to this song, I feel like I’m getting a hug. Since I cannot project myself into fictional stories and hug the characters myself, I instead gift this song to Keith. Please, someone give this boy more hugs. Please.

24) This is Home - Cavetown: “Get a load of this monster / He doesn't know how to communicate / His mind is in a different place / Will everybody please give him a little bit of space / Get a load of this trainwreck / His hair's a mess and he doesn't know who he is yet / But little do we know the stars welcome him with open arms / Oh / Time is / Slowly / Tracing his face / But strangely he feels at home in this place.” <3

This got way too long, so to anyone who actually made it through all of that, I sincerely apologize. >.<