#also i added a trivia page

[skeletalheartattack]

Im soooooo hungry i neeed.... gaming trivia. tO live 😺

i mostly just have TF2 trivia, as its history has always been something ive always been fascinated with, so i hope these suffice:

The Pyro's Beta Head: While 8 of the 9 classes had their heads redone throughout development (to better show off Valve's new facial flex system), only the Pyro was left untouched, leaving them as the only class to still have their beta head.

Reference Posing Medics: In "Trailer 2", there are two Medics who are in their reference pose, during the first-person sequence of the Scout running through RED's base. While their role isn't clear, one likely theory is that they were meant to be camera positions for shots that were ultimately removed, in favour of the Scouts perspective, and Valve just forgot to remove or hide them. The second Medic even turns to look at the Scout as he runs by, maybe further proving their original purpose.

The Teaser Corkboard: While we don't have a clear idea as to what Valve had been planning with the "Teaser Corkboard", one likely theory is that it was created for the proposed update that would've included both Asteroid and Cactus Canyon, due to the few mentions of "Future", the blueprint of the rocket engine from Half Life 2 Episode 2, and Poopy Joe. Also worth noting, the two posters that were added with the corkboard share similar styles Asteroid and Cactus Canyon.

The Balls of Steel Taunt: Originally, The Love & War update was meant to include a lot more taunts than what ultimately shipped. One of the few to get scrapped is a taunt called "Balls of Steel", where the initiator would dare other players to kick them in the groin. While we don't have footage of this taunt, we do have voiceline files that reference the taunt's intention, as well as the name. The few files that remain were reused for other contexts, such as the Soldiers Conga taunt, where his "Ooh!" and "Ahh!" lines were originally his pain sounds for the taunt.

[sunbedo]

Hey guys. gay rights

[leoizkool]

So I began watching 2003 TMNT, guess who my favorite is…(click for better quality ^_^)

I read some the trivia section on his TMNTpedia page..EXCUSE ME..HE LIKES ROLLERBLADING…?? AND HE IS A LITTLE GENTLEMAN TO WOMEN AND THE ELDERLY?? AND HE HAS A SOFT SPOT FOR KIDS?? He’s growing on me way too fast, he’s genuinely so sweet (sometimes..when he wants to be-) ^_^

why is he so silly?! (Also tried using a more detailed style for the 2003 version >_<!!)

(update : imagine having to change the image many times cuz you keep adding stuff onto them and think it looks better than the original image..)

[tinytowns]

* ( ❀ ˆ꒳ˆ˵ ) ♡ Ꮺ 𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗬𝗧𝗢𝗪𝗡𝗦 — 𝟩𝖯𝖬 ੭

— introducing 7pm , the latest original google doc from tinytowns ! this document is designed to display the basics of a single - muse in one page &. captures a fun & youthful vibe with the inclusion of simplistic yet busy design , bright colours &. doodles ! features statistics , a playlist , basic info section along with character trivia & personality info ❀ the contacts section can be used as an exclusives section if desired ! space is left at the end of the doc so you can adjust easily & not have any of those annoying blank pages but it would be wise to take note of image positions as they are prone to moving. this doc can be considered moderate to difficult to edit due to the amount of edits that you will need to make in photoshop or photopea - but if you don't mind that then the document should be relatively simple to edit ❀ you can find the document link in the source code or under the cut , along with a known position issue + how to fix it , psd temps provided for this document , a video tutorial for adding your gif into a circle &. icon credits ! ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈ ♡) ~

❀    PSD DOWNLOADS ( REQUIRED ! )

GIF CIRCLE - HERE

PHONE TEMPLATE - HERE

TOP IMAGES - HERE

♡ note : you will need to download the title cards to change the color , but if you don't mind the color then you don't need to - also , for full transparency on my end , i did need to touch up a few of the pngs after saving because the top text overlapped with the bottom text. be aware of that ! fonts used are poppins &. sant joan despi !

NAME TITLE - HERE

TRIVIA TITLE - HERE

INTRO TITLE - HERE

PLAYLIST TITLE - HERE

PERSONALITY TITLE - HERE

♡ note : you must change the color via layer style -> stroke for the title cards &. then save as png after deleting the background layer .

❀    KNOWN ISSUES

01. as a gdocs creator i use an external add-on called page resizer which is helpful for customizing the sizing of my canvas , as docs limits us with pre - set sizes. while this is nice to use , i'm aware that it can specifically cause an issue when you change the color of your background page. to fix this you must actually download the page resizer add-on through extensions -> add-ons -> get add-ons &. you should search for page sizer & download the one by nat burns. then you can access the sizer through extensions -> page sizer -> set page size &. what should be set for this document is a width of 9 &. a height of 12 !

this should fix the document , but i also know that sometimes , for what ever reason , the height &. width will flip. if that happens just make the height &. width opposite; so instead of a width of 9 , put 12 & for height , put 9 instead of 12.

02. i cropped the title cards in the document so that you wouldn't be trying to click something &. accidentally click on the titles ! however this means that when you replace image on the title cards they might go off center &. crop halfway through the word. just double click the title card that's bugging out & drag it to about the center of the black box. then it's fixed !

❀    DOCUMENT DOWNLOAD

7PM - HERE !

do not remove the credit , redistribute or profit off of my work.

❀    TUTORIAL

#01.    go  to  file   ->   make  a  copy ,  in  order to edit .

#02.    to change the top two images double click on them &. a window should appear - in there you're going to click on it once &. hit replace image. the psd for this has been provided so it should be sized correctly !

#03.    to change the title cards ( ex. boo seungkwan , my playlist , introducing me etc. ) you just need to click on them once &. hit replace image - please refer to #2 in the known issues section above this if you're going to do this though !! many thanks.

#04.    to change the phone you're going to download the psd provided above &. when you've finished editing it you will click on the phone in the doc one time &. hit replace image !

#05.    to change the thin color lines around seungkwan's name card you will press them once &. click edit - from there a window should open up &. you will click on it again & find the bucket tool which has a small yellow ( or blue if you clicked the long one ) line under it. that is where you change the color !

#06.    the statistics represent intelligence , empathy , friendliness &. fighting skill ; to adjust the levels or colour you're going to double click &. a window will appear. from there you can either change colors with the bucket &. pencil tool ( pencil = outline color ) or you can shift the bars by clicking on the coloured parts of them and literally just dragging them.

#07.    to change the playlist cover &. title you'll double click &. adjust inside the window by replacing image &. renaming things. the actual songs on the playlist can be typed normally !

#08.    to change the gif circle , personality , &. contact images you again just double click &. replace image inside those windows. for the gif circle you must use the psd.

#09.    to change the little bulletpoints beside the gif circle you will double click &. edit the text inside the window.

❀    VIDEO TUTORIAL 4 GIF CIRCLE

watch the tutorial right HERE !

make sure your timeline is checked ( the first thing i showed )

ignore the mistake i made while trying to show you where to end your gif LMFAOOO . . . im clumsy &lt;3

to highlight all of your layers / frames click on the first one , then press shift + click on the last layer.

to bring up the list of options ( when i click convert into smart object ) you just right click.

❀    CREDITS

brain icon - Brain icons created by Vitaly Gorbachev - Flaticon

heart icon - Heart icons created by Chanut - Flaticon

support icon - Sport team icons created by Freepik - Flaticon

boxing icon - Boxing icons created by Freepik - Flaticon

plant png - josh ca.la.brese on unsplash

battery icon - Battery icons created by Stockio - Flaticon

wifi icon - Wifi icons created by Uniconlabs - Flaticon

signal icon - Signal icons created by Freepik - Flaticon

speech icon - Comment icons created by Freepik - Flaticon

close icon - Close icons created by ariefstudio - Flaticon

instagram icon - Instagram icons created by Prosymbols Premium - Flaticon

camera icon - Photo camera icons created by Kiranshastry - Flaticon

torch icon - Ui icons created by yaicon - Flaticon

[wtfgaylittlezooid]

BIG Stickbug Wiki Update!

THE FIRST OF THE CHARACTERS HAVE BEEN COMPLETE!

Victim has the first completed character page, with information about his species, residence, and etc! This also goes into detail about his appearance, personality, some random trivia about him, and HIS ENTIRE HISTORY!

Not just whats been told in the Story section, but everything starting from the start to whats gonna happen wayyyyy later in the story! Although it is more of a synopsis, its a clearer look into how things get later into the story that I've neglected to menton here.

ALSO FEATURING TATO ART! This page also has a Gallery of the various artworks with Victim, EVEN TWO TATO COMICS!

NOTE: I do not know how to code for mobile viewers, this site is best viewed through a computer

Various other updates under the cut

Gave Reuben a thumbnail icon

Added Green Screen to characters, gave it a thumbnail

Linked Victim's page both on the Characters page and on his first mention on the Story page

[zutaranation]

Talking about The Search with some moots on twitter, got me thinking some really interesting potentials.

It’s in character that Zuko would forgive Ursa for forgetting him and want what’s best for her and intellectually understand why she did what she did, but I think emotionally, beneath the surface, he would feel deep pain at that.

Ikem and Kiyi’s existence clog up the plot. It’s too many cooks in the kitchen. Dont get me wrong, Ikem is a fine dude, he seems chill, and I love the dadko moments that come from Kiyi, but it’s too much going on directly linked to the main cast’s lives. That’s why it’ll never be addressed, which feels cheap and makes the reader feel cheated. Like Zuko has a STEPDAD now?! That should be a huge plot and discussion, but it’s not. It’s glossed over. There’s too many characters.

The whole gaang could’ve looked at Zuko, remembered what Ozai looked like, and laughed at him for thinking Ikem was his bio dad. That made no fucking sense. Sadly for Zuko, he’s the spitting image of Ozai. I could see Zuko being in denial, but Aang should’ve laughed at him tbfh.

Like Kiyi and Ikem wouldn’t come up in a gaang adult movie they’d be forgotten and that’s why they shouldn’t have existed.

Kiyi also just feels like some weird bandaid consolation prize for Zuko to toss Azula aside ??? It’s weird idk.

Like why are Ursa’s parents presumably dead? They easily could’ve been alive 💀 Ursa should’ve been vibing with them and zuko meets normal grandparents that were hidden from him for years … it feels less cluttering of a story than making up Ikem and Kiyi and then you would just presume the grandparents are old and rickety and have to hang back in Hira’a most of the time so it’s not like bugging your mind with questions and adding more unaddressed storylines!

I’m okay with the Ursa forgetting her kids plot. I do think it makes her shitty, but I’m okay with the tragedy of it and her being kinda a shitty mom.

Ikem is low key a freak for helping Ursa forget her memories then settling down with her like NOTHING HAPPENED

I wish that Ozai and Ursa once had feelings for each other and he slipped into “madness” in an “absolute power corrupts absolutely” kinda way. It’s more interesting than “he’s always an evil big bad gonna tie you to the train tracks” vibe and eliminates the need for stupid ass Ikem. I remember Bryke mentioning this once too in some old ass trivia bit or something for “Zuko Alone”.

The worst part about The Search is the glossing over the emotional scenes. What readers had wanted for years so badly was the emotional payoff of either Zuko facing his mother was dead, or actually seeing them reunite. Also— the most emotional— Ursa reacting to Zuko’s scar is entirely skipped. It sucks.

Not letting Zuko and Katara have a single conversation when Sokka and Zuko do and Aang and Zuko do is insane. Katara had so much to feel and bond and hurt over Zuko with (yes platonically in this case I’m not that in denial @ antis). It sucks so bad they cut this entirely for shipping bs hatred because BRYKE are 6 years old emotionally.

This would’ve been a much better and emotionally charged story on screen. It was really cheated by being done on a limited page comic. It needed more time, voice acting and music.

It’s implied heavily, as many of us always assumed, that Ursa was SA’d.

If zutara was canon, I think Katara would be furious at Ursa and it would be an interesting conversation and story. Maybe I’ll write that fic

Regardless of these many flaws, the story is much more in character than The Promise or Smoke & Shadow. I hate those comics so bad for making the theme let’s all kill Zuko and be nonchalant if he dies! And making it so that it’s like he never had a found family and still no one loved him and also the weird submissiveness they gave to Katara and the retconning of everything and the repetition and recycling of plots and it all is so bad… 💀😭

What thoughts do yall have? Happy to discuss 👀

[pastafossa]

Happy Birthday and a merry 6 years to TRT! 🎂 🎁 🎈 🎉 🍰

🕯 🕯 🕯 🕯 🕯 🕯

Some FUN TRIVIA FACTS:

TRT's sun sign is VIRGO and its moon sign is LEO!

After 6 years, its current wordcount is 932k words. If you put that in size 12 arial font, single-spaced, this would come to about 2000 pages, and even more if the pages were the usual mass market paperback size!

TRT is now 40 in cat years!

The Man in the White Coat is my tribute to the Mad Scientist trope common in scifi, which is one of my favorite genres!

It is old enough developmentally to tie its shoes! Keep going, TRT!

Ciro is partially inspired by John Marcone from The Dresden Files!

TRT shares a birthday with literary great Agatha Christie! Maybe I'll introduce poison-based murder into the fic in her honor...

The idea of seeing threads came to me after seeing a meme about red threads tying soul mates together. Everything that came after - the other threads, the thread world, how it works, is unique to TRT!

TRT is now longer than War and Peace, and Crime and Punishment combined! So if you've read all of TRT so far, then you have the perfect middle finger to anyone who tries to say you can't focus on longer stories!

The inciting penguin documentary that Foggy drunkenly watched (which led to him declaring Matt and Jane 'penguins') was about Adelie penguins specifically!

Jane has a leather jacket because I love leather jackets and think all badass characters should have a leather jacket! And so you should you! EVERYONE DESERVES A COOL LEATHER JACKET.

The long hiatus between Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 was because I had life things pop up. During that hiatus, I realized the plotline/ending needed some work, so I spent those two years outlining, and I also wound up doing a bunch of additional novel writing classes just because I wanted to learn. A lot of this wound up influencing TRT!

The grey threads are one of the only threads that no one has solved yet!

There are absolutely some bad people working for Cyrus James. There is also a guy named Kyle. He is there not for Evil Purposes (tm) but instead because this was the only place he could work that would allow him to pay off his student loans.

When I started TRT, I thought maybe 5 people total would read it. I was told five people total would read it by some shitty people. So I wrote it expecting five total people would read it, and told myself at least I'd enjoy it, and I could use it to learn. In other words: I had ZERO idea TRT would take off like this. None. Nada. Zip. AND LOOK AT US NOW, BABY. FUCK THE HATERS, 6 YEARS AND GOIN' STRONG.

Based on my outline, we're a bit over halfway to the end!

I hope you enjoyed these TRT funfacts. And I hope you know: this fic isn't just me. It's you, too. This fic has become so much larger than just me. It's the TRT playlist you've sent songs in for that keeps me inspired when writing. It's the fanart I look at to give me a boost. It's your sweet comments and likes and kudos and messages that encourage me when I'm sick or depressed. It's the people who've made friends over this fic, or who've been inspired to write fic themselves, adding beautiful works to the community that we all use to keep going. It's all of this love for both TRT and Matt, and I'm so happy that I've been able to contribute in at least a small way in keeping Charlie!Daredevil love alive even after the show's been gone for years now. I love you all so, so goddamn much. I love this fandom. I love TRT with all my heart. Thank you so much for being a part of these past six years through cancelations, through your high school and college years and beyond, through my ups and downs of moving and sickness and fiberglass and pandemic craziness, through late night chapter drops and wild twists and turns.

And I hope the next few years as we enter the second half of this story are just as amazing!

[ideasarestuckinmyhead]

Trichotillomania Reader HC's

Charlie, Finn and Auron with a reader with trichotillomania (urge to pull out body hair)

TW(?): Is pulling hair a trigger warning? Idk but ima just pit that for just incase type beat.

Also if I do ever mess up on topics like these please tell me!

Charlie

He knew you had it when younger, when it was stronger. So he knows a few of your triggers and how to help you stop pulling hair

Charlie makes sure to have some type of de-stress toy to help you not pull your hair.

Charlie tries and look up different things that could help you.

Like not trying to bring too much attention that your pulling your hair.

He'll just ask if something happened, then help you figure out or fix anything that happened.

Charlie makes a bracelet for you to pull on if you have the urge to yank on any hair.

Finn

Gently taking your hand if he sees you slowly going to pull hair, starts talking about something to distract you from pulling hair.

If something happened Finn is there for you to rant and try giving solutions to them.

Finn tries giving you more trivia about flowers to keep you from being hyper focused on your hair

If you need to do things w ur hands Finn teaches you how to make bouquets with him

I feel like Finn would give you a necklace to fight with if he's not around to help you with your trichotillomania

Finn kinda is winging it with helping you bc he's trying to absorb information but also making sure not to be overbearing

Auron

Will make change the subject of whatever topic that will make you pull hair. Adding it to ur trigger list

Keeps a page of all triggers that will cause your trichotillomania kick in, even going far lengths to make the triggers go away.

Very observant so if he sees you even thinking about pulling your hair Auron is asking about your current favorite interests.

Will always reassure you that he will always help with triggers, Auron will also be very vocal if someone says something to you

If you want anything in particular to help de-stress Auron is already buying it or getting it to you

Auron is really good at giving you solutions if that's what's causing your trichotillomania to act out. He's sitting there going through everything to make it look less stressful

[tf-animated-out-of-context]

One last round of trivia:

"The Stunti-Con Job" exists as both a comic and a BotCon script reading; the plots are the same, but the script reading added a subplot featuring Minerva, a medibot determined to meet Ratchet at all costs, who's somehow dragged Warpath along on her quest. (She does also appear in the comic version - see below.)

The script reading also featured a musical interlude - a duet sung by G1 and Animated Grimlocks. I don't think it went according to plan.

Like the story's title, the comic's original cover pays homage to the classic British comedy film "The Italian Job". (As do the picture captions on the relevant TFWiki page.)

Sideswipe and Breakdown share a body-type (first seen on Rodimus Prime) - possibly a callback to the G1 episode "Masquerade", in which that iteration of Sideswipe was disguised as Breakdown. (The same applies to Jazz and Dead End, and, more or less, to Optimus and the Motor Master.) In-universe, all the Stunticons underwent spark transplants into Autobot frames - except Toxitron, who's a clone of Optimus. Not a very successful one.

Cheetor, meanwhile, is a retool of Blurr - a fact Sideswipe remarks on four BotCons later, in "The Return of Blurr". which takes place at about the same time as "The Stunti-Con Job". Hence Blurr's appearance in the latter, in the High Council box alongside Cliffjumper - still cubified, and no doubt still talking twenty-four to the dozen.

Strika's Team Chaar, seen at the very end of this story, has undergone a reshuffle since "Transwarped" - Oil Slick is still there, unfortunately, but Cyclonus, Blackout and Spittor have been replaced by Mindwipe, Sky-Byte, Scalpel and Blot.

As for Autobot cameos, there are too many to list, but most of them are here:

(Botanica is also in this frame, but further up in the High Council box. TFWiki claims that Tap-Out is somewhere in the crowd; I can't see him, though.)

[happyunbday2u]

So I've seen some Hazbin Hotel role swap things like when the pilot first came out they were switching Charlie and Alastor, Vaggie and Angel Dust, Niffty and Husk and Cherri Bomb and Sir Pentious, one on where Charlie and Vaggie switch, one with a Statichusk, once the season came out I saw like one for RadioStatic and somebody even give out a full list on who is who which I loved BUT have ya'll considered this? And work with me here okay

Also I didn’t get a chance to finish the art since I did it on a school computer cause I don’t have my own and my phone isn’t good with digital artwork but I finished the designs

Angel Dust as Charlie: When his family died they were basiclly considered royalty since their family of mafia had gone on for centuries that when they went to Hell they were already covered, living in a goddamn palace with deseasd family members and others from the same mafia. Angel Dust while he really didn't care at first but then started hate whenever the extermination happened due to how many died, he was covered since his family had already had so much secirity and such but it began to seem like something everyone should have. That's when the hotel idea came to place. He tried telling his family about it but it didn't really work too well so he left to try and make it work and save everyone in Hell. His main weapon choice is guns but he really doesn't like resorting to violence, he removed his gold tooth as a way to symbolize how he left his family and the family business.

Husk as Vaggie: In Heaven there were two ways you could become an Exersit, one is by ending up in the Purgatory and having no choice in it, the second way is by being approched by one to ask for your help in secret and choose to become one yourself which was rare but some did choose to that path and Husk was one of them. Skilled with throwing knives and any small sharp object he was one of the best ones on the field, Lute was kinda jelous, and never EVER showed mercy... except for one time. He cornered a small child but found himself not being able to kill him so he let him run off and make it seem like he had managed to run away fast enough. Lute ended up seeing and saw him as a disgrace as she took out his eye and halo, she almost took off his wings but he fought back so she only ended up damaging them so he couldn't fly anymore. That's when he met Angel who showed him better kindness then his own people, he ended up helping him with his idea and is dating him. He doesn't trust most people but more speficlly woman, okay so I added that because you know how Vaggie doesn't trust men? My thought was because of Adam’s personality and holding a grudge for letting Lute remove her eye and wings so for Husk I made it because of Lute doing those things. His main weapon of choice is small knives but he works with cards and exploding dice. Also Fun Fact on the Fandom page, Trivia, it says that Vizzipop was saying that she wanted to make him Russian ended up deciding not to do it soooooooooooooooooo- To me he's canonlly Russian, oh and another fun fact he knows like 6 languages including Italian so now I can have the mental imagine of Husk and Angel talking to each other sweetly in Italian.

Niffty as Alastor: Okay yes this sounds weird but WORK WITH ME HERE! At first glance you'd think oh look at this lil woman but NOPE she is an bug eating Overlord, she's known as The Bug Demon for two different reasons. 1. Her obesstion/appitie for bugs and 2. In the 1940's a word to describe someone as insane was bug which is around the time she was born. She works on the radio. She's feared by all of Hell and anyone who hasn't met her will probobly know really fast why she is. She is absolute besties with and I'm thinking about replacing Mimzy with Baxter but I'm not sure, if you don't know who that is he's one of the characters made but hasn't been used yet. And like Alastor was a mama's boy she was a daddy's girl and is respectful to men UNLESS they are absolute bitches to people. Another reason I gave her Alastor's spot was so that they can still be crazy together and I can keep the mental imagine of them laughing mainaclly together.

Cherri Bomb as Angel Dust: Cherri Bomb sold her soul to Valentino (Or someone else? Give me ideas people, pls) thinking it'll be as simple as she seen others do, it was not, it was even worse since he ended up having her as a 'favorite'. She acts like she doesn't care but it really hit her deep and her escape, besides ya know all the drinking and such, is blowing things up. She came to the hotel simply so she wouldn't have to live in the studio but overtime ended up liking the people there.

Sir Pentious as Husk: He used to be known for winning any turf war until one day there was one he was fighing that was too powerful to defeat so he made a deal with The Bug Demon for help but it didn't end well. Yeah he won but at the cost of having to work for Niffty, he learned how to bartend over time and grew an alchohal addiction, he was forced to work at the Hotel by Niffty and while he did at first dislike Cherri he ended up liking her in the end.

Alastor as Niffty: A hyperactive always smiling through everything, you know Niffty stays smiling almost as much as Alastor, deer demon he's basiclly the world's best cook and basiclly butler of the hotel. He's just a chaotic tall little shit which is basiclly like before but less out there.

Charlie as Sir Pentious: The Princess of Hell hated her title and how she had to live as royalty so she tried to become her own person, key word: tried. She tried become an Overlord but she wasn't good at making deals, then she tried living like any other demon but they reconized her too easily, then she tried to join the Vees but even with her reputation they didn't let her become one of them so to get their attention she tried winning turf wars, one of her biggest rivals was Vaggie. And the Egg Boiz are replaced by the Goat Bois which are just Razzle and Dazzle look a likes In the final battle she did die and get redeemed. I don’t think people realize that Charlie does have a soul since her mom was literally the first woman and when she made the deal with Alastor it was confirmed, plus I want her to still meet Emily and be besties with her.

Vaggie as Cherri Bomb: A young fighter skilled with throwing exploding spears, literally just bombs strapped to her spears, and a turf winning champion. She used to be an angel but she was kicked out Heaven for being rebellious so when one of the exterminations happened they took her down with them but she put up a fight and ended up getting her eye cut out. She's besties with Cherri.

Molly as Lucifer: She was close with Angel the most when they were alive even though she was never in their “family business”. When she died she went to Heaven and knew that her family wasn't so to reunite with them she brought up ideas like visiting hours and such so that loved ones could reunite in dislocated places so that Angels were never at risk in Hell and Sinners didn't plan to raid Heaven. Dispite the court denying and denying she kept trying until she was casted out in Heaven for her ideas and came down to Hell as a fallen angel. She was happy tho, because she was going to be with her family until she saw how distant they all had become with eachother, nevertheless she tried rebonding with her brother. But when Angel Dust came to her with the idea of rehabilitating sinners she just simply believe that it couldn't be done, not that she didn't want to support him, it was just hard to believe that Heaven would accept them after all her ideas were thrown to the gutter and not long after they became distant and she blamed herself. When Angel called her for her help she was so estatic for her brother to actually WANT to see her. "My brother wants to see me! Take that depression!" "Molly, this is Husk! My boyfriend." "You like boys! Oh mio Dio we have so much in common, put it there Tusk!"

I haven’t decided should be in Lilith’s place but I’m debating on Angel’s dad or brother

Thank you for listening to my rant have a cookie

[sage-nebula]

I'm trying to decode some of the cryptograms on the website (I never really cracked any of the codes before, so I am very slow + relying on help from others in the hunt for some of them, haha), and here is what I have so far (each answer is to be typed into the computer):

The Candle (rune cipher): "CURSED"

Blind Eye Poster (color cipher): "EUCLYDIAN DEPT OF VISION SUPERVISION"

Someone on Reddit said that the letters translated to "THEY'LL ALL SEE" but I haven't confirmed that myself. Also, you get the poster by typing "Blind Eye" into the computer.

Soul Contract (theraprism cipher): "YOU ARE NOW TWENTY ONE GRAMS LIGHTER"

This one is a bit complicated. First you have to type "FAUSTIAN" backwards into the computer, which brings up a flyer from Bill. If you decide to go through what he wants, on the final page you'll find the theraprism cipher (translated above), and then a huuuuge paragraph of Bill's code that I haven't tried to translate yet. On the first page, by the way, is the name of his lawyer, which is the answer to a huge string of questions in the computer. So jot that down, too.

Bros Doodle (bros secret code): "WANNA KEEP NOTES FROM PARENTS AND COPS? HERE'S A HINT: KINGS OF NEW JERSEY!"

You can get the bros doodle by typing "love ya bro" into the computer.

Jheselbraum Photo (theraprism cipher): "SET COORDS TO DIMENSION: R34LITY"

Really, Alex? R34 in that code? You're not slick, pal. You get her photo by typing "SEVENEYES" into the computer.

There are two things that I'm still stuck on. One is a sort of trivia hunt that is on the website that starts with the book and continues through the website. Essentially, it starts with asking you one question that you can find the answer for in the book. You put that into the computer, and are presented with another question. Find that answer in the book, get a new question, so on and so forth. It was going fine until I got to the question about Bill's lawyer (referenced above). The only mention of him having a lawyer was one of his henchmaniacs in the book . . . but that failed no matter how I entered it in, because the answer wasn't in the book. (At least, not the standard edition; not sure about the B&N edition.) It was on the website. So I found the answer finally and put it in, but now the question is, "What defeated Silas Birchtree?" I know that Silas Birchtree's page is in the B&N edition, but none of the answers from that page have worked in the computer so far, and as far as I can tell no one else has figured out the answer, either. I'm stumped.

The second thing is the code on the bottom of Ford's page to Dipper in the book on the website. It looks very similar to the author's code / Bill's code, but several of the characters are backwards or missing, meaning that neither of those ciphers work. Again, I haven't found anyone else who has cracked those, either. And I feel like this is a code that will reveal something big. (Or it won't and I'm just a fool in a man's shoes.) Solved! Turns out the code was just flipped and it's: "AD ASTRA PER ASPERA." Very cool but not the earth-shaking revelation I was hoping for, haha. (But I did still love it so much.)

I've discovered a lot of other things, too, but these are the main puzzles so far. All the other stuff is just delicious material to hoard / others have already shared, haha. I'll keep working on any ciphers I find. Good luck, fellow mystery hunters!

[onepiece-oc-archives]

Oda-approved questions to help build your OC

If you head to the One Piece Wiki page of the Straw Hats and take a look at the Miscellaneous section, you'll find a lot of trivia questions about the Straw Hats that Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, has answered in the Q&A portion attached to some manga chapters, called an SBS. I like to call those answers "Straw Hat Fun Facts" and I love them, because they work really well if you want to flesh out your OC and give them a bit more life and depth.

So, even if you're not planning on making your OC a Straw Hat, these questions might still be helpful for you to think about.

The way I'm gonna structure this post for the sake of avoiding spoilers is I'm gonna list all current LA Straw Hats with their facts and all future confirmed Straw Hats will have their facts mentioned without their name, if it makes sense to mention them. That way you can avoid duplicates within the crew if you want to do that and still have no clue about who's gonna join. I'm also gonna comment on how the various fun facts apply to the live action adaptation wherever applicable.

If you're looking for people's birthdays, I'm gonna make another post about them, don't you worry. But you won't find them here.

Animal Resemblances

Luffy: Monkey

Zoro: Shark/Tiger

Nami: Cat

Usopp: Armadillo/Chameleon

Sanji: Duck/Bighorn Sheep

Others: Reindeer, Red Panda, Crane, Falcon, Bull, Rhinoceros, Horse, Giraffe, Whale Shark, Bear

I don't think any of them were mentioned or referenced just yet in the live action, aside from Luffy's name having the word Monkey in it, but that doesn't count. I'm pretty sure we'll get some hints in the future though since these just have such great potential for easter eggs.

Specific Numbers

Now, this is a category that's a bit more complicated because each Straw Hat has at least two signature numbers, for very different reasons. Everyone has a main number based on when they joined, with Luffy being number 1. The second number is the same but it skips Luffy, making Zoro number 1, but this version is rarely used, if ever at all. Then there's the possibility of a Straw Hat getting a number assigned to them based on a pun, whether that be based on their name, their devil fruit, or something entirely different. I'll explain pun numbers in a bracket.

Luffy: 01, 56 (go-mu)

Zoro: 02/01

Nami: 03/02, 73 (na-mi)

Usopp: 04/03

Sani: 05/04, 32 (san-ji), 59 (ko-kku = cook)

Others: 06/05 - 10/09, 110, 87, 26, 43

Now, you may ask: "Evie, I wanna have a pun number for my OC, how do they work?" I got you, buddy. You can make your own pun numbers using a technique called goroawase, using this handy chart I made based on a Wikipedia chart. Everything I added is in (brackets) and consists of variants that would technically be possible due to my own understanding of goroawase, but might not be commonly used.

On a very basic level, all you have to do to create your pun number is to grab the readings from this table and glue them together. I took some work off your shoulders by adding the phonetic changes you can use, indicated by the arrows. You can also only use the first syllable of a reading or add or remove an n at the end of readings that end in vowels or n's. As you can see whith Sanji's ko-kku, you can duplicate consonants, and you can also turn short vowels into long vowels (tsu -> tsū, for example), both for spelling reasons. If you need to transcribe a c, either use an s or a k (or whatever else fits), depending on the pronunciation.

Here are some examples with my OCs:

Cora: 96 (ko-ra) or 25510 (a-ka-i-to - would be very unusual due to its number of digits, but I think I'll use this as a plot device in a future fic!)

Luna: 67 (lu-na/ru-na)

Inari: 576 (i-na-ri) or 53 (ka-mi)

Create away!

Specific Colors

This was in the live action! And I think we'll definitely see something similar again later.

You can't really see it that well but here are Luffy, Nami and Zoro lit up in their respective colors - red, orange and green respectively! I tried to take a better screenshot but, alas, Netflix will not let me.

Luffy: red (aka)

Zoro: green (midori)

Nami: orange (orenjī)

Usopp: yellow (kiiro)

Sanji: blue (ao)

Others: pink (pinku), purple (murasaki), light blue (mizuiro), white (shiro), black (kuro), ochre (ōdoiro)

As you can see, we pretty much have the whole rainbow here, which makes picking a unique color for your OC pretty hard, BUT it's completely allowed to use different shades of the same color (see: blue vs light blue), which is why I listed the Japanese color names for you. I did some digging and it turns out that these are the names of some of Japan's traditional colors. Those traditional colors don’t always match up with what my impression of the character's color is, BUT I made this handy little graphic for you:

In case there are any animal-related characters around and for those of you who like describing smells in their fanfic (me too, me too), this might be very useful!

These are all of the Straw Hats' specific colors (top row) according to the overview of Japanese traditional colors I linked for you above, their color names underlined with my perception of what color Oda might actually have been referring to, in modern terms. As for the grey names beneath orange and pink, those are the traditional colors from the overview that I used to replace the romanized English colors, based on what the first translation that popped up was. The columns directly underneath are a selection of different shades of the same color, also with their names. It just goes to show that you have a huge variety of colors to choose from for your OC - Japan's traditional colors alone are about 1,000 different colors and you can definitely play with hex codes some more. So, go wild!

Specific Smells

Luffy: meat

Zoro: steel (and probably blood, let’s be honest)

Nami: mikan (tangerines, essentially) and money

Usopp: gunpowder

I'd say everyone smells of the sea at least a little bit, realistically speaking, since they are pirates.

Sanji: cigarettes and seafood (and I'm willing to bet he wears some type of cologne or aftershave or something)

Favourite Type of Island and Season

Luffy: summer but he also loves snow, basically everywhere with meat

Zoro: autumn on an autumn island

Nami: summer on a spring island

Usopp: summer on an autumn island

Favourite Food

Sanji: a spoilery gag, so get creative!

We either directly see some of these in the live action or can easily guess.

Luffy: any kind of meat

Zoro: white rice (specifically in the shape of onigiri aka rice balls), sea beast meat, any food that compliments sake (though he's also pretty fond of beer, at least in the live action)

Nami: mikans (tangerines) and most other fruits

Usopp: pike from an autumn island and other fish of the season

Sanji: spicy sea food pasta, food that compliments black tea

Others: not really relevant but maybe interesting; cotton candy, chocolate, sweet stuff in general, sandwiches, not-too-sweet cakes, food that compliments coffee, basically anything that you can find at McDonald's, curry, mozoku seaweed with vinegar and fruits

Basically, Sanji gets to juggle around a whole lot of different flavours and cultural influences - and he does it really well and finds a way to make everything special, by the way! He generally favors the ladies in his cooking though.

Least Favourite Food

Even Sanji can't make them like everything. Their reasons for not liking something are very different, so they probably still eat it, especially if it's used in something Sanji prepared because he's their cook

Luffy: Cherry pie

Zoro: Chocolate (yes, chocolate! Adds a lot more depth to the scene of him eating Rika's rice balls, doesn't it?) - it's too sweet

Nami: orangette (candied orange peels) - she prefers actual fruit

Usopp: mushrooms - he got sick once

Sanji: konjac (Japanese konjac gel is usually made by mixing flour from the konjac plant with seaweed; it pretty much tastes like nothing and is used mainly for its texture) - it's not nutritious

Others: anything spicy, chewing gum, marshmallows, lemons, parfait

As a Family

This is part of the reason why Oda said there would be no romances within the crew in canon - but this is fandom, he has no power here. Feel free to ignore any of these roles and substitute canon with your own

Luffy: fourth son

Zoro: first son

Nami: daughter

Usopp: third son

Sanji: second son

Others: another child, parents and grandparents

Real-world Nationalities

Now, this is interesting, because these played a part in how the Straw Hats were cast for the live action!

Luffy: Brazilian (Mexican in the live action)

Zoro: Japanese

Nami: Swedish (her actress is American, but she was kept as white)

Usopp: unspecified African (his actor is Jamaican-American, so it sort of checks out)

Sanji: French (Sanji's actor is very international, but he's not French - I do believe Sanji is still supposed to be at least part French in the live action though, at least he still has an affinity for the language and he may very well have grown up multilingual)

Others: Canadian, Russian, American, Austrian, Indian

Inner Brain

Basically: What are the five words their brain/subconscious circles around?

Luffy: meat, meat, meat, meat, pirate king

Zoro: sword, sword, strength, train, sleep

Nami: money, money, money, money, beauty

Usopp: warrior, lies, lies, run, run

Suited Flower

Sanji: You guessed it, it's a spoiler-y gag. But, to summarize, he thinks about cooking and women

These were actually answered by one of the voice actresses for the anime (except for Luffy and Zoro's alternates) but they're Oda-approved! I know fanfic writers love flower language, so rejoice!

Luffy: cosmos, sunflower

Zoro: thistle, wisteria

Nami: sunflower

Usopp: daisy

Sanji: delphinium

Others: tulip, casablanca, anemone, rose, peony

Blood Type

-> this is a topic for another post since it's more of a life fact than a fun fact, isn't it? Maybe, I'll put the blood types in with the birthdays and make a sort of Straw Hat info post?

How often do they bathe?

Bathe, not shower, I would assume. Zoro showers after training... right?

Luffy: once a week

Zoro: once a week

Nami: every day

Usopp: once every three days

Sanji: every day

Typical Hours of Sleep

The only reference to this we have in the live action is Zoro's habit of napping. An interesting thing to note is that the Straw Hats' sleep schedules largely coincide in just such a way that someone is always awake - except for during one hour. Maybe this really is a coincidence or maybe this is a habit they built while travelling together. They do still have night watches though, I believe. But that means there's usually always someone to keep the night watch company :)

Luffy: no set time, but usually sleeps around 5 hours

Zoro: 4am to 7am (3 hours) + naps

Nami: 11pm to 7am (8 hours)

Usopp: 1am to 8am (7 hours)

Sanji: 12am to 5am (5 hours)

In conclusion, more than half of the crew has no idea what a healthy sleep schedule is. This is a pattern that's gonna continue, by the way...

Suitable Careers

Basically what careers they would have if they weren't pirates. Their actual careers in-universe also don't count.

Luffy: firefighter

Zoro: police officer (I will not accept this slander)

Nami: childcare worker

Usopp: graphic designer

Sanji: beauty salon worker

Others: elementary school teacher, cabin attendant, pilot, detective, train station attendant

Cooking Specialities

What are they best at cooking? According to Usopp in the live action, none of the guys besides Sanji can even boil water, so I'm willing to assume Sanji may have taught them a little. A lot. Not Luffy though. He's still a disaster.

Luffy: raw meat on a plate

Zoro: sashimi - a dish consisting of variously cut raw fish and meat

Nami: roasted duck with mikan sauce

Usopp: fish and chips

Sanji: literally anything, but he prefers seafood

Who would win a 50m sprint?

Only the current Straw Hats count here.

Fifth: Nami

Fourth: Usopp (he's already fairly fast, mind you)

Third: Zoro, slowed down because he got lost (but I still don’t think he could beat the people ranked higher than him, I'm sorry, Oda)

Second: Luffy

First: Sanji

Alcohol Tolerance

Another very useful one for fanfics! Tolerance doesn't equal how much they like drinking, by the way. I'd be willing to bet that the Straw Hats' alcohol tolerances got toned down in the live action, or at least Zoro's, judging by him stating how he woke up under a table once. With his manga-level tolerance, he would have had to drink gallons worth of alcoholic beverages before that happened. Still, I think the ranking holds up.

Fifth: Luffy

Fourth: Usopp

Third: Sanji

Second: Nami

First: Zoro

And finally one last bit that doesn't really fit anywhere else:

Sanji is currently the most qualified to give the crew a haircut. This makes sense if you read about his alternative career choice earlier and due to him generally putting a lot of thought into appearances.

So, that's it! Hope these help you!

[darkpoisonouslove]

I already mentioned that the final iteration of my latest video is actually version 3.8. Here's the (unfinished, raw and not-colored) ending of the original version inspired by this post, followed by trivia on the final version:

The idea was that Griffin knew the Trix were descendants of the Ancestral Witches and for some reason they were the only ones who could free Valtor. Once they stopped listening to her, she did everything she could to steer events in such a way that they would end up in Omega and free Valtor. However, the Trix, sensing that there's something Valtor is hiding from them, spy on his conversation with Griffin and attempt to gain control of him the same way that their ancestors were pulling his strings. Griffin ends up imprisoning them before they can despite Valtor's refusal to believe that they could pull it off since they're clearly unaware of who he is and what that entails for the power balance between them.

The reasons why I ultimately gave up on this were because a) it was overly convoluted and hard to convey, b) it actually doesn't make sense when you start examining the events and character motivations and c) it moves the focus away from the emotional mess between Griffin and Valtor. I am instead filing this idea away for potential future projects.

Version 2.0 was just an oversight on my end. I somehow forgot that in this AU Griffin only "betrayed" Valtor because the Ancestral Witches threatened her with harm coming to him. I had built this emotional arc about him refusing to trust her after her betrayal which just... doesn't make sense considering the reason why she left.

Thankfully, I did write notes on the story arc I had in mind and reading through them once I'd taken a step away from the project and my brain wasn't running in circles helped me notice my mistake. Which is how the latest direction for the storyline emerged from the clusterfuck of thoughts I had on this. After that I had to tweak certain moments here and there to make the story more coherent.

Now I'll share some thoughts and insights about the final video, this time using gifs instead of stills.

I decided that Griffin can see in Omega, yeah. She can take a page out of Faragonda's book and place a tracking spell on the Trix right before they were taken to Omega so she can see what they're up to in there. I originally hadn't thought of adding the effect to make it look as if the viewers are also looking through her seeing orb but then the revelation hit and here we are.

Idk, I just like how this works considering that it's just the same footage only played in reverse to make it look like she disappears and then reappears in a very quick succession. I used that trick towards the end of the video again when Valtor loses control of himself and starts slipping into his demon form.

I really have no idea what she expected. He has remained with the impression that she betrayed him and, furthermore, she wasn't the one to free him. She just chilled for 17 years while he was literally chilled in Omega. The fact is that she couldn't really free him because the Ancestral Witches took precautions when they forced her to leave by making sure that he will be as trapped as them if she tries something but the Trix being their descendants was enough to free him. However, she's not using her words (for concerns that end up being substantial and completely founded later on) so this was only ever going to go one way.

Sneak Faragonda attack! He did not expect her and Griffin didn't call her either. This part I feel doesn't come through clearly in the video (mainly because I still had no idea what I was doing here and then I had already blocked everything and I couldn't really change it). Valtor basically caught Griffin off guard but Faragonda showed up, having her back as always. Griffin's friendship with the Company was real but she was also very much using their resources to look for a way to free Valtor from the Ancestral Witches. Frankly, she hasn't figured out how she's supposed to balance her relationship with Valtor and her friendship with Faragonda and Saladin yet but she can do it! She will do it! Even Valtor won't manage to fuck this up for her, you'll see!

I am proud of managing this effect, simply. It's been a while since then (this really took forever to make) but I'm sure I tried at least 5 different things here and, believe it or not, this was actually kind of an accident. A lucky one, for certain! Also, Griffin finally figured out she might need to actually clue him in on the truth behind her actions.

Possibly my most favorite moment of the video? Top 3 at least! I would have loved to see some kind of interaction between Griffin and the Ancestral Witches (which is highly unrealistic but they also had the perfect chance for it in Magical Adventure since light magic was extinct and she's a witch, who used to be part of the Company? She should have been there along with Saladin and Hagen at least). Also, I colored the part where Belladonna threatens Valtor separately once before then coloring it along with the rest of the video in order to convey that it's a vision that they showed Griffin. Love the way he reacts to it as well!

He instantly decided that he now has to go and imprison her because she knows his weakness and is too dangerous to be left to her own devices. He's equally repulsed and tempted by the idea that she knows about his demon form. If she can accept him like that and still love him, well... Then he'd have no reason to doubt her ever again. But it's also humiliating that someone else would know about his... situation.

This time she takes a page out of Valtor's book and does his walking-through-walls trick. He really didn't expect that but he has to update his idea of her abilities. It has been 17 years, after all (not to mention that he's on her terf). I just love how he traps her and she escapes right under his nose only to proceed to attack him. She's sick of his bullshit.

My initial vision for this was different as I was considering showing Griffin falling (using the footage from 1x19 where she jumps off a ledge (completely needlessly, might I add) to save her students) but that wasn't going to work so eventually I settled on this. It works super well as a Valtor PoV sequence since he wouldn't see exactly what she's doing and I am quite proud of it!

Griffin is well and truly done with his shit here. She didn't go through all the trouble that dealing with his outbursts is only for him to not believe her feelings just because of his own hang-ups (about his demon form) rather than for any rational reason (she admits she's given him justification to doubt her). And she holds her ground when she catches a glimpse of his demon form, which she hadn't seen until now, but she is done trying to convince him if he will undermine them both on every step of the way.

This doesn't need much elaboration per se. Admittedly, he seems to be having mood swings in this part of the video but the truth is that he's decided to take her at her word that she wants to be with him again. If she steers off path once more, he has all the tools in his disposal to course-correct her. It'd be a waste to ignore how powerful she's grown, not to mention that she truly didn't bat an eye at the sight of his demon form. He's eager to explore the opportunities this situation has to offer so he admits he's willing to believe her if she's willing to prove her words by quitting her (completely deserved) attacks on him. (Who started this, Valtor???)

[vikenticomeshome]

Cyberchase Character Discussion (for your local Cyberchase trivia quiz) - #3: Jackie

Here we go again. I've made this style of post about Inez and Matt, and now it's Jackie's turn.

#3: Jackie

Let's start with her bio from "Meet the Cybersquad". Again, this almost 25 years old now, so who knows how much of it is still canon.

So, we get our introduction to Jackie. She's smart, funny, has a plan, and is over-the-top. Yeah, that's accurate so far.

For some reason, this page was not in her original bio when they released it in 2001. They went back and added this page later in 2002. This is the only bio that I have seen that had content added like this. This page lets us know that her favorite color is yellow, and she loves tofu burgers. I don't know if the show has confirmed that she is a vegetarian or vegan. She is shown to care about animals, so I wouldn't be surprised if she was canonically a vegetarian.

Her favorite book is one that I hadn't heard about until now: "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech. In this story, the 13 year old protagonist, Salamanca (Sal) Hiddle, goes on a cross-country road-trip to visit her mother. There are themes of coming to term with loss and building new relationships. It makes me wonder if, at some point in development, the show-runners might have been interested in giving Jackie a tragic loss similar loss to Sal. I haven't seen the later seasons where they bring in the kid's families, but I don't believe they have gone that route so far.

For her favorite music, we get two bands: Destiny's Child and NSYNC. These are very much a product of the time. Destiny's Child actually disbanded in 2006, as the members went off to do solo work. NSYNC disbanded in 2002, and then reunited in 2023. Well, we know that Jackie loves her R&B and Pop music, so I'm sure she found other bands to follow since then.

Her favorite movie is Shrek, which only came out in 2001. Matt and Inez have definitely sent her all the memes that have come out about that movie since then. Her pet peeves are bugs and anything messy. Yeah, that still tracks. She has a "Wheaton Terrier" named Brandy. I don't know if the spelling has changed over the years, or if they just made a spelling mistake in her bio, but I have only seen it spelled as "Wheaten".

Jackie also gets a bio from Nelvana, which is pretty cool. I've only been able to find surviving archives of bios for her and Matt. They have sections for Inez, Dr. Marbles, Motherboard, The Hacker, Buzz, and Delete. However, all of those are left empty in the surviving archives of the pages. I don't know if bios were completed for those other characters.

We get emphasis on the point of Jackie being organized. We also get more insight into how she solves problems. She uses diagrams, charts, and graphs among other things. She also touched on her tendency to use initials as shorthand for things. I remember the Blue Bunny Place (B.B.P) from "Of All The Luck". Was she hip in 2002? Is she still hip now? I'm not qualified to say.

We also get an introduction to Jackie through the official prequel web comic, "How It All Started: Episode 3". We see Jackie making her own skirt out of strips of fabric. I assume it is for cheer-leading.

Narration: Meanwhile, on Earth, three kids who don't know each other are about to have the adventure of their lives.

Jackie: I gotta organize this stuff

Narration: meet Jackie, who has her own sense of style...

Narration: And her own way of doing things!

Here's Jackie's Official Cyberchase Trading Card.

When they picked her favorite line as "Make room! I gotta pace!", they probably picked her most iconic line. She loves video games, piano, and foreign languages, which is great. We do get to see her play an unnamed videogame during Season 1 Episode 25 "A Battle of Equals". The hero "San Man" is trying to save the environment by stopping the villains that are trying to pollute it. One villain is called Johnny Grime. There are number riddles, and they are the same sort of riddles that the kids solve during the episode.

I don't think we ever see her playing piano or speaking a second language on the show. Quick question: What are those shoes that she wears? Inez has a pair or blue boots. Matt has a pair of red and white sneakers. Jackie's shoes are a little harder to place. They are purple, and they have considerable heels. Were these meant to be high-tops? I don't know that I've seen high-tops with heels in that size before.

The big thing that people remember Jackie for are her dramatic outbursts. And her most iconic one is probably from Season 3 Episode 4 "A Piece of the Action". You can tell that someone in the animation department had fun with this one.

Here's a transcript.

Jackie: Great! Now we'll never get into Hacker's control center. And if we can't get in there we can't stop Hacker. And if we can't stop Hacker, he'll erase Motherboard's memory with the magnetite! Cyberspace is doomed! Doomed I tell you! Doo-hoo-hoo-hoomed!

Matt: And the award for best dramatic outburst of today goes to Jackie!

Jackie: Matt!

What else can I say about Jackie. Well, she has an amazing tolerance for cold weather. Even in Arctic Cybersites, she still made do with the same short skirt.

Anyway, here's the prototype for Jackie. She had a completely different hairstyle and outfit. She was also called Julie. Again, I consider her current design an upgrade from the prototype.

And here's the Who's Who document on her.

We get more discussion on Jackie being a gymnast and artist. She loves Instant Messaging. I guess that would have been AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) at the time.

[something-tofightfor]

Competing For Christmas 3: Jingle Bell Rock

Pairing: Modern Din Djarin x Female Reader

Word Count: 12,097

Rating: M. Language, consumption of alcohol, brief allusions to prior relationships.

Summary: With three events to play during trivia night, you and Din are going to find out whether or not you make a good team very quickly. 

Author’s notes:

Listen, I am SO THRILLED you’re all enjoying this as much as I am. I’m having a blast writing this, and I really hope that even though this one’s a little longer, it doesn’t lose anyone in the middle. Christmas Din is fantastic ... and even though Grogu’s not in this chapter, please know he’s happily snoozing under the tree at home while Din goes to trivia night. 

Questions, concerns, comments? My inbox is open! You should all know the drill by now.

To get alerted when I post new chapters/stories, follow @somethingtofightfor-shares​ and turn on post notifications - you can also ask to be added to my tag list (link in bio or at the top of my taglist reblog)

... Check out the masterlist page for three links to the events of the chapter - you don’t have to play along, but they’re fun interactive visual aids! 

Masterlist  / Part 1 / Part 2

You got to the bar fifteen minutes earlier than you’d told Din to be there - not because you wanted to be waiting for him, but because in an attempt to make sure you weren’t going to be late, you’d started getting ready much earlier than necessary. 

It wasn’t a date, and the only place the two of you would be that night was inside of a building with the other teams and random stragglers that were just there to watch - but you’d still taken extra time on your appearance. 

A nice pair of boots went well with a newer pair of jeans, and to combat the temperature - which had dropped significantly overnight, you were wearing a thick cable knit sweater in a dark slate gray. It’s just a winter outfit. It’s nothing special. With one final look in your rearview mirror, you closed your eyes and reached for the door handle, stepping out and onto the concrete of the parking lot. 

There were other people walking in, but none of them paid any attention to you - until you heard your name called out in a deep, rumbling voice. “Hey, wait up!” Stopping in your tracks, you spun around and saw Din hurrying across the parking lot, the man wearing the same coat from the previous night, though it was unzipped. And there’s no hat today. 

As he approached, you stared at him, eyes wandering over his face and hair, the chestnut brown locks in a disarray that would have looked unkempt on anyone else. On Din, though, they looked fashionable, almost like he’d done it on purpose. Maybe he did. Maybe - “Sorry, I got here a little early…. Looks like you did, too.” 

“Yeah, I didn’t know how busy the parking lot would be.” It rolled off of your tongue smoothly and you congratulated yourself on how nonchalant you sounded as he took his place next to you, the two of you heading for the doorway. “Guess I didn’t have to worry, but…”

“Well now we can order a drink before we start.” He pulled the door open and gestured with one hand for you to step in front of him, and even though it wasn’t necessary, Din placed his hand on your lower back as you passed, the pressure of his fingers light but still there. 

You shivered and then swore under your breath at the contact, gritting your teeth. Get it together. “We can.” Heading for the main open space, where a few extra tables were set up, you pointed at a bulletin board hanging on the wall. “Our assigned table number is on there. Why don’t you find it, and I’ll go grab the first round?” 

“I can do that.” He frowned briefly. “If you want -”

“No. This one’s on me.” Pointing at the bar, you grinned. “I’ll order us something to eat, too. Anything you don’t like?” 

“I’m not picky. But…” He smiled at you, tilting his head to one side. “I love the wings here, if you wanted to share?” 

“Got you. But I meant beer-wise.” He thought for a few seconds and then cleared his throat. 

“No IPAs. I like dark beer, but if there’s something you think I should try, I’ll do it.” You didn’t think he was trying to impress you, instead it seemed like Din was legitimately giving you a chance to order him something that you thought he would enjoy. And I appreciate that. 

“Alright. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He nodded once and turned away from you and toward the board, letting you head for the bar. Sliding in between two of the empty stools, you waved down the bartender - a young girl that you’d never seen before - and then leaned forward to answer her greeting. “Hey. I’m here for the trivia, is it possible to put in a food order here and have it brought to our table?’ 

“Of course.” She grinned, reaching for a tablet. “Open tab or closed, and do you need to see a menu?” 

“Keep it open.” You paused, thinking. “And no. I’m ready to order.” She nodded and you tapped your fingers on the wooden bar top, nodding back. “Can I get an order of the buffalo wings with extra blue cheese and ranch, and then an order of the loaded baked potato dip?” The girl typed quickly, her eyes moving over the screen, and when she looked back up at you, you continued, making a split second decision about the beer you wanted Din to try. “And then two tall Christmas stouts, please.” 

“Sugar rims?” She cocked an eyebrow at you and your affirmative reply was almost immediate. “Ok, let me have your card so I can run it.” You handed it over and then glanced around the bar, trying to see if you could find Din. It didn’t take you long - your eyes landed on the man, seated and without his coat, balancing his chin on one hand as he scrolled through his phone. “OK, great. Give me a minute to get your drinks, and -”

“We’re at table …” You squinted. “Eight.” The girl thanked you, adding that to the tablet. She set the device down and then turned away from you, busy with grabbing glasses. It gave you a few seconds to take a deep breath and attempt to relax, but the reprieve was short-lived when you heard someone else say your name. What are you doing here? “Hi, James.” 

Turning your head toward the sound, you forced a small smile, the man sitting three seats away with one other person between you. “Didn’t know if you’d found someone else to partner up with, so I wasn’t sure you’d be here.” 

“I am.” Trying not to scoff - or roll your eyes - you stared at him. “I’ve done this competition every single year since I turned 18, James. I’m not going to change that this year just because I had to switch partners last minute.” 

He stared at you, eyes moving over your face, and for a brief moment, you wondered if you were being too short with him - too rude - and then you remembered the way he’d just assumed that you’d be the one to leave your life behind at the drop of a hat when and if he landed his dream job. No, I’m giving him exactly what he deserves. 

“You know, I’ve wanted to call you.” He leaned forward, frowning. “I thought maybe we could talk about what happened. It’s been a few weeks, so -”

He was interrupted when the bartender brought your drinks back, the woman sliding them across the surface toward you. “Here ya go. Your food order’s in, shouldn’t be too long. You’ll have it before the first round of trivia starts.” Thank you. 

“That sounds great.” Nodding as you wrapped your fingers around the cool glass, you lifted both beers from the counter and then returned your attention to James, deciding to keep things civil. “I’m going to head to my table now.” Swallowing hard, you nodded once. “Have a good night.” 

“It was good to see you.” James blinked, shifting in his seat. “So can we -”

“Goodbye, James.” Cutting him off, you headed back toward your table heart pounding as you moved away from the bar and toward Din. He didn’t stand when you approached, but he did move two coasters from the short stack at the center of the table, setting one down in front of the seat across from his. “So I got you a Christmas stout, Din.” Setting both of them down, took your seat. “They’re really good, and -”

“Hey.” It was only one word, but you heard authority in it, though it wasn’t the kind you were used to. Instead of using it to command your attention, Din’s tone simply reminded you that he was there and aware - and there was definitely a difference. “I saw you talking to your ex up there. You alright?” 

You met the man’s eyes again, lips parted slightly as you thought about making an excuse - and then decided not to. “I’m OK, Din. Thanks for asking. I just…” Sitting down, you shook your head. “I wasn’t expecting to see him, and … it was a shock.” 

“He didn’t throw you off your game, right?” Din nudged you with the tow of one boot as he reached for his beer, pulling the glass and the coaster toward himself. “Because we’re about to spend the next couple hours deep in obscure Christmas trivia, and I need you. If we’re going to win, you’ve got to be good at this.” 

He was trying to distract you and it worked, your mouth snapping shut as you pressed your lips together, picking up your drink, too. “No, I’ve got this, Djarin. A couple sips of this and some food, and it’ll be like he wasn’t even here.” 

“Good.” The man murmured the word, nodding. “I’m gonna taste this now.” And he did - lifting the rim of the glass to his lips and tilting it up. You watched as he swallowed a healthy gulp, pulling the glass away and then licking his lips to clear the remainder of the sugar crystals from them. It took a few seconds but then his eyes widened, the man taking another drink before he set the rest down, grinning at you. “That’s fucking great.” 

With a relieved laugh, you finally tried yours, eyes closing at the familiar combination of cinnamon, sugar and toffee, the flavor just as crisp as you remembered from previous years. “It is, isn’t it?” You went quiet for a few seconds and then said Din’s name, waiting until he was looking back at you to continue. “Thank you. Really.”

“Don’t mention it.” He lifted a hand and ran it through his hair, shrugging. “I just don’t want him to ruin your night.”

“He won’t.” With a wry smile, you linked your fingers together atop the table. “He doesn’t get to do that anymore.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Din didn’t say anything else, though, instead spending the next few seconds just watching you, his expression relaxed and the corners of his mouth curved up in a small smile. He looked warm and cozy in the confines of the bar - the inside of it already decorated in strands of multicolored Christmas lights and garlands, a large tree set up in the corner near where the service station for the outdoor seating area was usually positioned. And that makes me… feel better, too.

The man had dressed just as casually as you - another Henley, that one in a deep red that contrasted with the tanned skin of his forearms and upper chest - which is was visible due to the fact that he had three of the buttons undone. It was distracting, because he was distracting, but you could tell that he hadn’t done it to draw attention to himself. No, he’s just comfortable. “What are you looking at, Din?”

Frowning, you narrowed your eyes, the man’s expression changing to one of shock. Why? It’s just a question. “You.” His answer was just as shocking, though, and at the single word, you sat straight up, knocking into the chairback with the movement. “You’re really done with him, hmm?” 

“I am.” Averting your eyes in an attempt to keep it together, you picked your beer up again, distracting yourself with another drink. “We were together for three years, and even when he explained to me that he thought I needed to be ready to up and leave Mistletoe with him if and when he got his promotion, he couldn’t… wouldn’t say that he’d ever thought about marrying me.” 

“So you don’t want to leave here?” He was frowning again, head tilted to one side. “You’re planning on staying here indefinitely?”

“No. It’s not the leaving that bothered me, and it’s not even that I need to be married, either. I guess I just didn’t want to risk uprooting everything for someone that wasn’t… that didn’t want to think about a future with me.” Setting your glass down, you relaxed again, shoulders slumping briefly. “I don’t care if it’s a couple hours away, I wouldn’t want to move somewhere, get dumped and then have to figure out everything on my own.” 

“You could do it.” He tapped his fingertips on top of the table. “It wouldn’t be fun, but if anyone could handle something like that, it’d be you.” 

“You don’t even know me, Din.” But the compliment from him made you smile, heat rushing to your cheeks even as you dismissed what he was saying. “All you know is that I sometimes lock myself out of the fingerprint reader at the office, and I get overwhelmed by emails and alerts, and -”

“I don’t know you yet.” Holding up one finger, Din raised an eyebrow. “But after this competition, I will.” There were a ton of things that you wanted to say - countless ways that you could have reacted to his words, but instead of saying anything, you were interrupted again by one of the competition organizers, the woman stopping next to your table with a sealed envelope and a few loose sheets of paper - one of them with a lot of text on it, along with a small basket that had pens and pencils along with bingo daubers in it. “Hi.” 

Seamlessly, he turned his attention to the woman, his smile growing. “Hello to you two.” She held the items up, grinning. “I have these to deliver to you. The envelope contains the stuff for the different rounds tonight, and the extra paper’s got instructions on it, plus some empty sheets for notes.” Din took the envelope from her while you grabbed for the loose papers, eyes scanning the detailed instructions, though you quickly returned your attention to the woman. “Keep that sealed until we tell you to open it, and you’ll be good. Any questions?” 

“No.” Smiling at her, you shook your head. “It’s pretty straightforward, right?”

“It is.” The woman backed away a few steps, still watching the two of you. “We’ll be starting in about fifteen minutes, so if you need to get a refill on your drinks, or use the bathroom, or -”

“That’s where I come in.” The bartender was behind her, that woman smiling, too. “Got an order of buffalo wings and some loaded potato dip?” The organizer stepped even further away, telling the two of you to have fun, and then the bartender set the food down, following it with small plates. “Did you want to order another beer? Get it in and make sure you’re set for the first round?” 

“Sure.” Din nodded, his eyes moving from the plates to the woman, and though she was pretty, you were surprised to see that he looked at her with nothing more than friendly interest, his eyes not lingering in one place for too long. “Another one of these sounds good. How about you?”

“Yeah.” You agreed, figuring that you could have a second drink and then let yourself sober up for the rest of the night. “Yeah, that sounds good.” 

“Alright, on the same tab?” The bartender looked to you, waiting. 

“Yea-”

“No, close hers and put this on mine.” Din shifted and reached for his wallet, the man pulling out a credit card and handing it over. “Thank you.” She nodded and took the card, heading back for the bar. “You paid for food, it’s fine.” 

“Thanks.” Taking a deep breath, you reached for your class and lifted it, holding it out and across the table toward the man. “We should make a toast.” Thinking, you wrinkled your nose as you looked around the room. “To beating all of these other teams at trivia and getting a head start on winning this competition.” 

“Alright, sounds good.” He nodded, fingers closing around his drink. “Can we also add a toast for you teaching me about the way you celebrate the holidays?” We can, but that’s not a traditional toast. “Or maybe to new friends? To a great Christmas?”

“All of the above.” Tilting your glass, you clinked the edge of it with his and grinned, raising it to your lips and taking a drink. To a new friend at Christmas. “Do you want to read these rules?” 

“I do, but those wings look great so I’d like to start there.” Laughing, you set your beer down and reached for the smaller plates, handing him one. “You can have some if you want.” Thanking him, and telling him that the same was true for him and your dip, the two of you spent the next few minutes eating in silence, the noise around you growing louder and more and more people showed up and your replacement beers were delivered. “So do people come in and watch this event?” 

He wiped at his face with a napkin, gesturing with that hand when he was done. “They do. And they can play along, too, but it’s not like normal trivia where they get to turn their answers in for points, because that would be too confusing.” 

“So it only counts for us?” Nodding in agreement, you shifted in your chair to look around the bar and were surprised to catch James’ eye again, the man still sitting where he had been. He didn’t look away and you stiffened, hand pausing mid-reach for your mostly empty beer glass. Din caught the pause immediately, saying your name. “Do you want to switch seats? I have no problem with him staring at me all night if it means you’re more comfortable.” 

“I…” You didn’t want to say yes, but part of you knew that if you didn’t, you would be distracted - and you didn’t want that to happen, either. “Sure, Din. Thank you.” 

He stood while you were still speaking, moving to your side of the table and waiting, and when you stood, too, your purse in one hand, Din reached out and squeezed your elbow. “No problem.” 

It didn’t take you long to get situated in his seat, and with some surprise, you realized that he’d left his jacket hanging over the back, which meant that as you settled, you could smell his cologne, the scent faint but present. “He’s going to stare at you all night.” You reached for another waffle fry, dipping it into the remaining mixture in the bowl between you. “Probably -”

“Let him.” Din bit into his last wing, shrugging. “I don’t care. I don’t know him, so it doesn’t bother me.” You felt a wave of gratitude for the man and told him as much, but Din waved you off, his smile in place. “Like I said, as long as you’re comfortable, I’m alright.” 

You didn’t know if he was flirting or just being a decent person, but either way, you appreciated it, Din beginning to tell you a story about something that had happened at work. He only got halfway through it when the event organizer - Tina - began to speak into the microphone. 

“Alright, we’re going to get started in about five minutes, so if you’re competing in the trivia contest tonight, make sure you get any last minute food or drink orders in and use the bathroom.” 

There was a flurry of movement, but neither of you stood up, instead choosing to stay in your seats. I’ll go between rounds. 

As the minutes ticked by, you felt your nerves getting more frayed - though it was just competition jitters and had nothing to do with Din sitting across from you. “She’s coming back to the microphone.” He sighed, stacking his fork and napkin atop the plate of wing bones. “And everyone’s sitting down, and -”

“Alright, everyone, we’re about to start.” Tina took the stage again and the room went quiet, everyone’s attention shifting to her. “I’m going to explain the rules to you, and then ask each team to open their envelope.” Din held yours up, grinning, and you didn’t try to stop your answering expression, teeth digging into your lower lip as you nodded. “Inside your envelope are three additional envelopes marked 1, 2 and 3, to correspond with each round.” 

The woman continued explaining things, and even though you were familiar with the progression of the event, you listened closely. The night started out with general Christmas trivia, and Tina informed you that she would read each question out loud, and teams would have 30 seconds to write out answers before someone would have to deliver the slips of paper to the front table. “How will they know it’s ours?” Din frowned, glancing at you. “That’s a lot of -”

“The table number is on the back of the answer slips, usually.” Speaking quietly, you looked away from the front of the room. “But this way people can’t change their answers, and the points will be tallied by someone as the round goes on, not all at the end.” 

The second round was Christmas Music Bingo, and there were individual bingo boards in the enveloped marked “2”. “We’ll play five rounds of that, and each round lasts until we get three bingos.” She scanned the room as she explained the rules. “The team that has the most combined bingo wins between them at the end wins that round.” 

“I’m horrible with Christmas music,” Din muttered, rubbing at his forehead. “I -”

“Don’t worry.” You reached over, laying your hand atop the one that he had on the table. “I’m great at it.” And you were - you could identify most of the songs in only a few seconds, and were quick with the dauber. “It’s slower than regular bingo, too, because they play five seconds of each song, so you have plenty of time.” 

He looked worried but didn’t say anything else, and as Tina continued on, explaining the third portion of the event - a general word scramble - he looked much more relaxed. “I’m good with puzzles.” Din wet his lips, his eyes locked on your face. “That’s a relief.” 

I hope so. 

“We’re going to get started so go ahead and open envelope number 1.” Tina spoke again, and you made a split second decision, saying Din’s name. 

“Come sit next to me, that way we can share answers without having to yell across the table.” Your heart was pounding - not only because of excitement but in response to your suggestion. Keep it together, this is just .. it’s strategy, it - 

“Good idea.” Din swiftly moved and dragged one of the chairs to the corner of the table so that he was sitting much closer, his knee brushing yours as he scooted in. “Now we can whisper, and no one will hear us.” Yeah. We can. 

“Alright. Phones and tablets away, and please remember - if you’re just an observer, you cannot help the teams competing. If we see anyone attempting to cheat, you’ll be eliminated from the event and from the competition. Tina cleared her throat. “Just a few more seconds while everyone gets situated…” She trailed off and you and Din began arranging things in front of you - the stack of answer cards, the question sheet, the scratch paper and an extra pen - he methodically lined everything up before handing you the second pen. 

“You take it. I’m sure your handwriting is better than mine, so you should write the answers down.” 

“Alright.” Taking a deep breath, you closed your fingers around the pen. “Let’s look at the questions, and -”

“No.” He laid his hand over the sheet, shaking his head. “If we look, we’ll be thinking ahead and trying to answer too many things at once. Let’s just go with her as she asks. One question at a time.” 

It was a different strategy than the one you’d used before, but you agreed - wanting Din to feel like you were listening to him and including him, and so you pulled one of the blank sheets in front of you, pen poised. “You’ve got it, Din.” 

A few seconds later, Tina read the first question, and you were thrilled when Din spoke up right away, his tone confident. “A star. I’ve seen enough of them around to know that.” 

Writing the answer down, you folded the paper in half and held it out to him, Din grinning as he jumped up to carry it to the front table. He was still smiling as he made his way back to you, and you hoped that his good mood would last throughout the rest of the night, too. “They won’t all be that easy.” He sipped his beer, getting comfortable in the seat. “Some will be really hard.”

“That’s fine.” He said your name, turning his head to look at you. “We’ve got this.” 

And things went smoothly until question 7, which was a math question. “There’s not enough time to add everything.” You were panicked, frantically writing numbers on the sheet of paper. “I -” 

“Each day is the same number of gifts as the number, right?” 

“Right.” Your heart was beating quickly. “But we -”

“Give me a second.” He closed his eyes, thinking. “Wait, the song says that the gifts are repeated every day, though, so it’s not the same number of things over and over, it’s new…” He trailed off and reached for his pen, scribbling down a few things, his brow furrowed. “Alright, it’s… Maker, I hope this is…” He looked at you, letting out a breath. “It’s 364.” 

“What?” Your eyes flicked to the timer - down to five seconds. “Din?” 

“That’s it. I promise.” 

You had  nothing to lose and so you wrote down the number, folding the paper over before you carried it up to the front, the rest of the teams following. If he got that right, I’ll be really impressed.

When you took your seat again, Din was beaming, the pen still in  his hand as he pointed at the paper with it. “What?” 

“I’m right. I did the long math while you were up there.” You glanced at the equations, and even though you didn’t have time to work them out in your head, they looked correct, and you told him as much. I would have been wrong. “Everyone’s going to say 78. And that would be right if they were only counting the last day, but…” 

“I would have said 78.” Covering your mouth, you sighed. “So I would have been wrong.” 

“That’s what I’m here for.” He elbowed you, but didn’t have a chance to continue before the next question was read, both of you putting your heads back together. 

There were a few tough ones, but you worked through them - guessing on a few that involved making fudge and Santa ads, going against your own habits when it came to deciding if more people used real or artificial trees, and very quickly giving Din an explanation of why a pink bunny suit was a gift that a young boy got from his aunt in a movie that he’d never seen. 

But you were having fun - and even though you tried hard not to think about it, you were focused on the fact that you and Din worked well as a team, the man listening to your ideas and answers, and not outright making you feel stupid when you gave answers that he didn’t agree with. I could get used to this, you admitted as you delivered the answer to question 17, nodding at the man that took your paper before you turned back toward your table. I could get used to being like this with him. 

And that was dangerous, but you couldn’t help it, settling back into your seat as Din pointed at the question sheet. “I looked at the next question while you were up there. I haven’t seen this movie, so I don’t know.” 

“It’s three.” Chewing on your lip as Tina began reading the question. “Past, present, and future. It’s supposed to help Scrooge understand what he did wrong and how he’s still got time to change, and …” You wrote the number down as you spoke, looking up at the clock. “And it all starts when his dead business partner tells him that he’s going to -”

“Isn’t it four then?” Din leaned in, tapping his index finger on the table. “The three you mentioned and then the business partner?” Oh, shit, he’s right. Quickly scribbling the “3” out, you wrote “4” just as the time ran out, dropping the pen on the table and turning your head toward Din. 

“I could kiss you right now. You just saved us a point, Din. I’m an idiot, and -”

“Let me go turn it in.” He raised an eyebrow. “Otherwise it won’t matter if I was right or not.” He plucked the paper from your fingers and stood. “Be right back.” You watched him go - and let yourself think about what you’d just said, one hand rising to cover your mouth in horror. Oh, no. I just… 

He hadn’t seemed upset, though, and even though your heart was pounding at your admission, you tried not to let it bother you, the comment an offhand one that anyone could have made. People say that all the time, right? People talk about … 

Kissing him for knowing the answer to a trivia question was one thing - but the fact was, the more time you spent with him, the more you thought that you wanted to kiss him for real, even though you knew it was a bad idea. Not a good idea at all, so stop thinking about it. “Lots of threes on those papers.” He sat back down. “Either everyone else is wrong, or we’re the only ones that didn’t get it.

“No, you’re right.” Biting your lower lip, you forced yourself to speak. “The business partner was definitely a ghost, too.” I should have thought of that. I should have realized it was four, and not three and … “We’ll know soon enough.” 

Question 19 was simple, too, and as you wrote the answer down, Din told you quickly about how he’d been to the ballet as a child and had actually seen The Nutcracker, and when you sat back down and finished your beer, you handed him the pen you’d been holding, watching as the man’s eyes narrowed. “What’s this?”

“You write the last one.” He took it from you, not breaking eye contact. “They can read your writing for one question.”

“Alright, then what’s the answer?” He scratched the back of his neck with one hand, shrugging. “Because I have no idea. Is it somewhere in Europe? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Poinsettia in anything but a bucket, and …” Din trailed off. 

“No, I don’t think so.” Frowning, you covered your face with your hands. “It’s not America. It’s not Canada. I don’t think it’s Europe. I remember someone saying that they came from somewhere warm, so South America, maybe? Chile? Peru? Brazil?” 

“Colombia? Ecuador? Venezuela?” Din tapped the pen on the paper, leaving tiny black dots in its wake. “Anything sounding familiar?” 

“No.” You groaned. “Nothing is popping out, I don’t… I don’t have any idea.” He lifted the pen and let it hover, staring at the blank sheet. “Just put something, Din. We have no time. We have to turn in an answer, and -” Eyes on the sheet, you watched as he scribbled down Panama and then stood up, uncertainty in his eyes. “It’s fine, Din. We can miss one.” We probably missed more than one, anyway. “Just turn it in.” 

He moved slowly that time, pausing before he dropped the paper into the waiting basket and then turned to come back. You didn’t like the look on his face - disappointment didn’t suit him - and so you opened your mouth to tell him again that it was fine, but he didn’t let you, holding up a hand. “I’m going to go use the bathroom while they’re tallying everything up. Be right back.” 

He turned away before you could reply, and once he was out of sight, you reached for your purse, pulling your phone out and typing the question in. Shit, it was Mexico. You groaned, flipping the phone over and letting the screen rest against the tabletop. We were close, I guess… 

That meant that there was at least one out of 20 that you’d missed, but you hoped that getting one of the harder ones would make up for it. That’s all I can do now. “Can I take anything off your table?” 

The bartender was back, standing next to where you were sitting, and with a nod, you gave her permission to clear the dirty dishes and finished food, along with your empty glasses. “And I’ll take a Coke, please. I don’t know if he’s going to have another drink, but -”

“I’ll have a Coke, too.” Din reappeared, a tiny smile on his face. “That sounds good.” She assured you that she’d be back in a few, and then Din sat back down next to you, leaning in. “We were wrong.” 

‘I know.” You sighed, closing your eyes. “It was Mexico.”

“That’s alright, though. I think we got enough of the other ones to keep us in the top portion of that section.” He scratched at his cheek, sniffing. “And there’s still two more games to go.” 

“Well the next one is more luck than anything.” You pointed at the envelope. “Just depends on how quick you are and what’s on the board.” 

“Speaking of luck,” Din continued, his attention on the stage in front of you. “Your ex, James? He was in the bathroom. He walked in as I was walking out, and I’m pretty sure if looks could kill, I’d be about 12 feet under right now.” 

“Well he’s going to have to get used to seeing me with other guys if he’s planning on staying in Mistletoe.” You scowled, doodling on the question sheet in front of you, the black ink swirling over the page. “Dating or not. That’s what happens when you break up with someone - they move on with their life, even if you don’t like it.” 

“Well he definitely doesn’t like me.” Din’s smile was bright, the dimple on his cheek deep, and you were overcome with the desire to reach out and press your thumb over it, cupping his cheek with your palm. But I’m not going to. I can’t. “I didn’t say anything to him, though. Just nodded and walked out.” 

“Two Cokes.” The bartender came back, plastic cups in her hands. “And it looks like I’m just in time, too. Good luck.” 

She was - Tina was heading back to the stage, microphone in hand. You and Din thanked the young woman before she stepped away, and soon after, your attention was fully on the stage in front of you, the heat and heft of Din’s body noticeable to your left. He could have moved back. There’s no reason for us to be next to each other here. 

“Round two is about to begin.” Tina tapped the mic, staring out at the crowd. “But before we start that, we’ll announce the winners of the trivia round.” She paused and you looked over at Din, the man’s attention straight ahead. He’s more competitive than I thought he was. “It was close, and we actually had a three-team tie for third place.” I hope that’s not us. “Team Holi-daze, Danny Quizito and Threepeat all had 16 points.” 

“That’s a good score.” Your frown deepened. “I’m not sure we could have beat that, and -”

“We don’t have a team name.” Din leaned closer, the man’s breath warm on the skin of your cheek. “There wasn’t anywhere to write it, and -” Shit, no we don’t. 

“We had  to fill it in on the website, but I never did. I -” You swore, swiping at your face with one hand. “Shit, I completely forgot.” 

“Smarty Pints, you’re in second place with 17 points.” Tina continued, turning her attention to the table immediately to your right, the two people sitting there cheering. One more shot. “And to our first place winners, we’re going to need a team name from you, because right now, all we’ve got is a table number.” She spin toward you, holding one hand out and pointing. “Table eight, congratulations, you had a score of 20, thanks to getting one of the bonus questions right.” 

You moved without thinking, leaning over and hugging Din, the man’s arms going around you briefly before he pulled away, his smile broad. “Can’t believe we did it!” He was excited but then caught himself, head shaking back and forth. “But we need a team name. What should we tell them?”

“I don’t care. You pick.” You were thrilled with the win - but even more thrilled at the fact that Din had returned your hug, the man’s hold firm as he pulled you to his chest and held you there, even though it was only for a few seconds. I liked how that felt too much. Way too much. 

“Anything?” You nodded, agreeing. “Ok. Um…” Cleaning his throat, Din held up one finger. “Our team name will be …” After thinking through it, you saw the moment Din came to a decision, another smile lighting up his face. “How about Clan Mudhorn?” It made no sense to you - though the phrase sounded slightly familiar, but you had no objection. It’s different, that’s for sure. 

“Alright then.” Tina wrote the name down on the paper she held before picking it back up. “Clan Mudhorn is in the lead as of right now, but the unpredictability of the next two rounds mean that it’s still anyone’s game… and with that, we should get started on the musical bingo portion of the night.” 

She instructed you to open the second envelope, which contained ten bingo cards. The letters and numbers were replaced with titles of Christmas songs, and as you scanned the sheets, you decided that there was no real way to predict which would be the right choice for the rounds. “How does this work?” 

“She’ll explain it in a second,” you murmured as you counted out five sheets and handed them to Din. “But basically, you just listen to the song played and then mark it down on the sheet.” Pointing at your own stack, you glanced over at him. “Each team uses two sheets per round, so we’ll use all of them, but you’re only allowed to have one per player per round to make it a little more fair.” 

“Got it.” He was frowning as his eyes scanned the boxes. “I don’t… I don’t know half of these.” 

“It’s fine, Din,” Reaching over, you squeezed his hand. Just do what you can, alright? There are three winners per round, so we have a three in sixteen chance every time.” Pulling your hand back, you went quiet, eyes going back to the sheet of paper on the top of the stack. We just need to win one each round, and that will be enough to keep us out of the bottom of the ranking. 

And you believed that - but your thoughts were much more focused on the way it had felt to touch Din’s hand, the way his skin was soft and warm, the slight flex of his muscles as he moved his fingers. I want to hold his hand for real. It wasn’t the time, but it was the truth, and as the two of you listened to Tina go over the rules one final time, you looked over at Din again, finding that he was watching her with intensity, his dark eyes focused on where she stood. “Can you do me a favor?” 

He said your name, finally breaking his gaze away from her and looking back at you. “Yeah?” 

“Will you whisper the name of the song under your breath when you figure it out?” He looked - and sounded - worried, but you agreed immediately, telling him that you’d already planned on it. “Thank you. That’s the only way I’ll even have a chance … what he hell is a ‘Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays’?” 

“The best Christmas song from the 90’s that isn’t Mariah Carey, and it’s not even close.” You shrugged, deadpanning your answer. “Din, it’s not Christmas until you hear that song, and Justin Timberlake’s -”

“Oh, so it’s a boyband.” He raised an eyebrow. “That the kind of music you like?”

“Not so much now, no.” Wrinkling your nose, you continued. “All of the new stuff is … meh.” You sipped your drink, shrugging. “But back then? Those were the good old days. Britney and Nsync and Backstreet Boys and even -”

“You might as well be speaking in a different language.” Din grinned. “But I’ll take your word for it.” 

“I’ll play you a couple whole songs sometime. You’ll only hear a few seconds of them tonight, and it’s not enough.” He rolled his eyes playfully, and you gestured to the two bingo daubers in front of you. “What color? Green or red?” 

“Red. It’ll match my shirt.” He reached for it at the same time you did, and before you could stop it from happening, his fingers closed over yours, his palm warm against the back of your hand. You sucked in a breath, attempting to pull back, but Din’s fingers flexed again, keeping yours in place. 

Turning your head to the side, you met his eyes, Din’s gaze warm and his mouth set in a tiny smile. “Din, I -” You closed your fingers around the dauber and Din’s hold also tightened. Well I got what I wanted, kind of. “What are -”

“Alright we’re going to get started.” Tina’s voice cut in, the woman tapping on the mic twice. “Five seconds of each song in each round, and we’ll continue until we get three bingos. The music will pause as soon as someone claims a win, and start again after it’s confirmed.” 

At the sound of her voice, Din released your hand and you dropped the dauber, switching to the green one and uncapping it as you looked away, chewing on your lower lip. Ok, that was awkward. “Good luck, Din.” 

Out of the corner of one eye, you watched as he reached for the remaining marker, his other hand straightening the sheet of paper on the table in front of him. “You too.” 

It was the second time that night that you’d questioned yourself for the things you’d said or done - and even though Din hadn’t reacted negatively to either case, you could feel that your heart was pounding, nerves getting the better of you - and it had nothing to do with the competition. I like him, you admitted to yourself as the music started, Jingle Bells blaring out over the speakers. “Jingle Bells.” 

He thanked you, marking the song off on his sheet while you did the same, and then the song changed to one that wasn’t on your card, though you used the opportunity to mark off the center square. I think I really like him. 

It wasn’t the right time to think about it, and so you tried not to, pushing your unease to the side and focusing on the songs that played, muttering titles under your breath for Din. He scooted closer every few switches, the man’s thigh pressed against yours, and even though you wanted to read more into it, you knew that it was only so that he could hear you more easily - but you weren’t about to complain. 

The first bingo came from a different table, and it was quickly confirmed, but Din’s was the second, the man jumping to his feet and waving the paper in the air. With a smile on your face, you watched as it was confirmed and marked down before he returned to your table, the smile still on his face. “One down, five to go.”

“Hopefully it’s more than that.” Your reply was quiet as you focused back on your own card, but it was pointless - the third winner called two songs later. “I needed one more and I would have had a triple bingo.” Frowning as you folded your board in half and set it aside, you reached for another sheet. “So close.” 

“Next time.” He settled into his seat, pushing his sleeves up past his elbows. “Four more rounds to go. Maybe we’ll both win one.” You hoped he was right - but it didn’t happen during the second round, three winners coming in quick succession before either of you had even marked down more than a handful of squares on your sheets. “Hey, it’s fine. We won the trivia,” Din cleared his throat before the third round started, saying your name. “That counts for something.” 

“It does. I’m just … I don’t like losing.” He leaned in, mouth set in a firm line. 

“I don’t either.” Tapping the table with one fingertip, Din shook his head back and forth. “And we won’t. So stop worrying.” 

“Alright.” Music began playing and your eyes widened - your attention going back to the sheet in front of you. “Last Christmas, Din.” It was a cover, but it still only took a few seconds for the entire bar to start singing along, and you were delighted when it continued for longer than the five seconds all the others had played for. 

When you looked back over at Din, grinning as you sung along, too, he looked confused but intrigued, his lips slightly parted as everyone hit the chorus, but at the sight of his laughter, you stopped singing and laughed, too, shoulders shaking. Oh, I really like this. 

The song tapered off, and Tina gave everyone a chance to settle down, the sound of clapping and cheers filling the bar for a few seconds while you and Din continued to laugh together. “So everyone likes that one, hmm?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of a joke around here. There’s a game and everything, and it involves trying to avoid hearing the original between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, so that’s why they played a cover.” You took a deep breath. “No one lost that game, we marked off a couple squares, and -” 

The music starting again interrupted you, but it was Din that told you the name of the song, the man bent low over the table and moving his dauber into place as you stared on in shock. He knows some of them, then. 

Two songs later, it was you that rose from your chair, paper in hand as you shouted ‘bingo’ and headed for the front of the room, still smiling as the music ended. It was quickly confirmed, Tina’s assistant making off a “3 - #1” on the corner of your sheet and congratulating you. 

Din did the same when you sat back down, though his attention very quickly went back to his own bingo card. Watching intently as he continued to mark off the songs as you told him the titles, you cheered out loud when he marked off a final square and got a double bingo. Din’s voice carried over the sounds of Michael Buble singing ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’, the man hurrying to the front of the room with his card in his hand. So it’s like we’ve won once each round. This is good. This is enough. 

When he sat back down, Din was giddy, the man getting his 4th card situated before he turned his head to look at you, wetting his lips. “We make a good team.”

“We do.” You answered without hesitation, smile wide. “This is really fun, Din.” He agreed, and then the fourth round started, both of you turning your attention back to the sheets in front of you. It was tough - you got nothing for four songs in a row and then your luck changed, green circles appearing on your sheet one after the other until you got a bingo - at the same time someone else did, both of you making your way to the front of the room to wait your turn. 

It was confirmed, too, and you could see the look of concentration on Din’s face as he waited for the music to play again, fingers holding the dauber tightly. Your anxiety grew as more songs played, but the room stayed quiet, and before you knew it, Din was on his feet again, the man claiming bingo as he rushed to the front of the room, pushing through tables of people. Seriously? 

He had a smug look on his face when he sat back down as Tina told everyone to switch to the final round’s sheets, and you couldn’t help laughing, your elbow shooting out to nudge against his ribs. “C’mon Din. Don’t be a sore winner. It’s still not over yet.” 

“No, it isn’t. But five seems like a really good number to have right about now.” You agreed, but there was no time to talk further because the music started playing, and unlike the previous round, you were marking squares off from the beginning - though Din wasn’t. 

That all changed though, when you heard the next song start, Din marking the space on his board before you’d even opened your mouth and then turning to you and holding a hand out while he mouthed the words. “Are you actually ….” 

He wasn’t alone - there was another round of cheers as the rest of the bar joined in, laughter and clapping almost drowning out the sound of Mariah Carey, but what really surprised you was hearing Din actually sing the words, the man’s eyes full of laughter as he shimmied his shoulders in time with the music, never missing a beat. 

You joined in quickly, closing your eyes and shaking your head as you laughed through the lyrics, your voices mingling with everyone else’s as the song continued to play. Oh, this is perfect. 

When you opened your eyes again, you saw that Din was still singing, and when he saw that  you were watching, he reached out again, palm up. You reacted immediately, placing your hand in his, and when he squeezed you didn’t feel the need to pull back. Instead, you curled your fingertips against his palm while he pressed his free hand against his chest, voice getting louder as he promised he wouldn’t even wish for snow. 

It was somewhat impressive that he knew all of the lyrics - especially after he’d warned you that he wasn’t great with Christmas music, and despite the fact that you didn’t want to think about him, you had a brief flash of the previous year and James sitting rigidly in his chair while the rest of the bar erupted into song, the man ignoring all of your attempts to pull him into the fun. But Din’s not … he’s … he’s enjoying this, and … it’s not fake. 

Din didn’t, however, attempt to hit the high note at the end, instead trailing off as he gave your hand one final squeeze and then let go, burying his face in his hands and resting his elbows on the table, both of you laughing while the song wound down. “That was something else, Din.” Leaning closer you briefly rested your cheek against his shoulder before straightening up. ‘Didn’t know you could sing.”

“Oh, I can’t.” He lifted his head and looked at you. “My … friend back home always complains about my singing. He says that I sound like a yowling Loth cat  …”  Din’s eyes widened as he trailed off, shaking his head quickly. “He’s just joking, so…” What’s a Loth cat? 

But you didn’t ask, and instead, you rolled your eyes again. “You sound fine, Din. This isn’t a singing competition, and you should be really thankful for that, because I’m not great, and we’d definitely lose.” 

“I’m sure you’re fine.” He was smiling again, the song ending as the bar erupted into another round of applause. “Alright, I guess we’ve gotta get serious again.” He cleared his throat and squared his shoulders, picking up the dauber again. “Get it together, Djarin.” Yeah, I need to get it  together, too. 

You didn’t know if Din was going to bring up the fact that you’d held hands for an extended period of time, but until he did, you decided that you wouldn’t. Either. I don’t want to put him on the spot. Marking off a few squares, you froze at the sound of someone calling out bingo - only to relax a few seconds later when she yelled out that she’d been wrong. That’s a relief. 

Din was close again - there were four songs that would give him a single bingo, and you were almost positive that he’d get it before you did, but then you went on a three-in-a-row streak, your card almost entirely filled with green dots. “We’re so close.” You groaned as a song neither of you had played, your eyes darting to the bar around you. “We just need -” 

And then the familiar lyrics of ‘Frosty The Snowman’ started playing and you and Din both jumped to your feet, waving your papers - but so did three others, the five of you rushing to the front of the room. Shit. I don’t know how they settle a tie.

Tina took a step back, though she asked for everyone’s sheets, and as the woman eyed all of you - Din standing slightly behind you with his chest pressed against the back of your shoulder - she nodded twice. “Alright, so since you all called it at once, if these are legitimate bingo wins, we’ll let you five claim for this round.” 

It was a change in the rules but it was fair, since there was no surefire way to know who’d marked and claimed a win first. “This happen often?” Din whispered the words in your ear, his tone low and the man’s warm breath sending a shiver down your spine. “Changing the rules like this?”

“Sometimes.” You swallowed hard and fought the urge to lean back and into him, instead turning around so that you were facing each other. “This just makes it fair. There’s no advantage, and since everyone won on the same song, it just means the round is over fast.” He nodded, eyes on you, but before he could say anything else, Tina, returned to the microphone, the woman’s smile wide. 

“Arlight, all five are confirmed wins. Take your seats while we tally up the numbers, and we’ll announce the winners in fifteen minutes - just before the final round starts.” Din’s fingers brushed your hip as he turned away from you, heading back toward the table - and you followed closely, still stunned with the fact that out of seventeen possible bingo wins, you and Din had seven of them. That has to be enough. It has to. 

He took a seat while you bypassed the table, heading for the bathroom, and while in there, you gave yourself a few moments to catch your breath. The night was overwhelming you in the best ways - it was fantastic to spend time with Din, it was amazing that you were winning, and it seemed like he was having a great time, too…but there was still a part of your brain that was telling you to be careful. Don’t overthink this. Don’t … get ahead of yourself. 

You didn’t think you were - Din was sending out the classic signals, and even though you were trying hard not to outright react to them, you knew that you hadn’t been entirely successful. But that’s ok, because like Cara and Stacy said, I’m single. He’s single, and this can … this can happen. If it… if we want it to. “Get it together.” You spoke into the mirror, shoulders set. “Get it the fuck together.” 

“Talking to yourself?” One of the other competitors - Meagan - was in the bathroom, too, the woman washing her hands at the sink next to you. “It seems a lot more intense this year, and this is only the first night.” 

“Right?” Turning your head to the side, you smiled. “It’s hard not to get competitive, even when it’s just over trivia.” The woman laughed, drying her hands off before she turned to face you, arms crossed over your chest.   

“So, your partner.” She licked her lips, arching a brow. “Are you together, or -”

“No, we’re not. We just work together. James and I broke up, so I needed a backup, and … Din agreed.” 

“He’s hot.” She ran one hand through her hair. “Really hot. Is he single?” It hit you like a knife to the chest, and though you managed to keep your reaction hidden, the question - and subsequent answer - almost hurt. 

“He is, I think, We haven’t really talked about it, but he’s never mentioned a girlfriend, so…” 

“Hmm.” Meagan winked at you. “You gonna go for it?”

“Go for it? With Din?” You laughed, but the knot in your chest began to loosen - the simple fact that she hadn’t asked if he was single for herself comforting you more than it had any right to. “We’re just teammates and coworkers.” 

“If you say so.” She wiped her hands and then crossed her arms. “Couldn’t help watching him sing to you, and you would have to be blind to have missed the way he was looking at you.” What? He was just … it was just a song. “That man being single is a miracle, and I doubt it stays that way for long, especially if he starts coming out more.” She uncrossed her arms and moved toward the door. “This is a small town. There’s only so many places to hide, and I can promise you that putting him in this competition is going to make people want to get to know him. He seems fun.” 

You followed her out of the bathroom and back into the bar. “He is fun. We don’t know each other well, but …” Frowning, you looked down. “Thanks, Meagan.” 

“Hey, for once, I’m glad Stacy was right about a guy.” She laughed as you reached her table, the woman sinking down into a seat next to her sister. “She told me he was eye candy and wasn’t lying.” Of course she did. The woman winked at you before you turned away and closed the distance to where Din was sitting, the man scrolling through his phone with one hand. 

“Ordered you a refill. Figured you’d want one more drink for the last round.” He glanced up, the tip of his tongue poking out between his lips. “Hope that was alright.” 

“Yeah.” You sat, scooting your chair slightly to the right and putting some distance between you. “This last round’s a little less hectic, but …” 

“I hope I didn’t overstep when I grabbed your hand earlier.” Din said your name quietly, “I know you’re just getting over a breakup, and I don’t want you to think that I … want, or … that I’m…” He was stumbling over his words - and because you could hear the sincerity in his tone, you decided to cut in, reaching over to settle your hand atop his again. 

“Don’t apologize. I didn’t mind. I don’t… I don’t mind.” Being honest was important to you, and you didn’t want to jeopardize things with Din by lying - even about something small. “I liked it. I like you, Din. And I’m not sure what that means right now, but … it’s the truth.” 

He sat in silence for long moments, eyes on you, and then the man smiled, the expression overtaking his face with a slow grace, his lips parting to expose straight, white teeth, the dimple appearing on his cheek again - and a slight flush creeping up his neck. “I like you too.” He closed his eyes, blowing out a breath. “Good to know I’m not alone in that.” 

“You’re not.” You rubbed a thumb over his knuckles. “Not at all.” 

There was more that you wanted to say, but before either of you could, Tina was back on the stage, the woman clearing her throat to quiet everyone down. “Alright we’ve got the results here from the previous round, and it looks like yet again, Clan Mudhorn came in first with 7 total bingos!” 

“Hey, we won!” Din pulled his hand out from under yours and then hugged you again, holding on for a little longer that time than he had the first. “Does that mean we -”

“Congratulations to the two of you, but, remember - the third portion of tonight, each correct answer is worth one point… so if someone gets all of them and you miss a few, they can still catch up.” She continued and listed the teams that had come in second and third place - one of them Smarty Pints, which meant that they were right on your tail. But we can still win this. He said that he’s good at puzzles, so… “You’ll have five minutes to complete as many of the answers on the page that you can, and at the end of the time, we’ll collect the sheets from you, and then count compare them to the answer sheet.” 

“Sounds simple enough.” Din murmured the words, fingers inching closer to the envelope. “You can write again.” Laughing, you picked up the pen and twisted it between your fingers, waiting for the go-ahead. 

And then Tina gave it, the woman telling you to open your envelopes and pull the sheet out. Your eyes widened at the sight of the print on the page. “Sixty? How the hell are we -” 

“Hey, this is easy, come on.” He ran his finger along the margin of the paper. “Just do the ones we know right away, and then work through the harder ones.” I’m glad one of us is calm. There hadn’t ever been that many questions to answer before, but you took a deep breath and pulled the sheet closer to you, turning it so that you could write out the answers. 

The two of you were able to guess just under half of the words at first glance - things like tape and ribbon, sled and cards. He got just as many words as you did, and while you completed your first pass on the sheet, Din went back to the beginning, the man muttering things under his breath and using the spare pencil to scribble on one of the spare sheets. “Remember,” Tina’s voice cut in. “Things have to be spelled correctly to be counted as right answers.” Shit. 

You made it a point to go back and check what you’d already written, and when you were satisfied that everything was right, you looked over at the man, waiting. “Any others you want to share with me?”

“Actually, yeah.” He grinned, pushing his sheet over to you. “Here.” 

He’d written down twelve more answers for you, along with the numbers on the page, and you hastily filled them in, being sure to check the spelling - and make sure that you were using all of the provided letters. “That’s… you weren’t lying.” He’s fast at this. 

“I know.” He reached for the paper and slid it toward him, eyes scanning the empty spaces. “We only have about 20 left. We should…” Trailing off, he pointed. “Angels.” You filled it in, and by the time you were done, he had another one for you. “Secret Santa.” 

You were smiling as the time wound down, and even though you felt rushed as you entered in a few more - Prancer and Scrooge and Decorations - you weren’t upset when time ran out and you had empty lines - and neither was Din. 

He took the sheet to the front, laughing with Tina as he handed it over, and when he sat back down next to you, he settled his hand on your shoulder. “That was a hell of a lot of fun.” 

“It was.” You felt his grip on you tighten, and you turned your head toward the man, wetting your lips. “I think that this was … a good idea, Din.” 

“Yeah?” You nodded, unwilling to look away. “I think so too.”

“So you don’t want to drop out? Switch partners? You’d be at a disadvantage, but I’m sure Omera would -”

“No way.” Din’s smile grew. “She’s got nothing on you.” I agree, but I’m not going to say that out loud. “Tonight’s proof that we work well together like this.” He was still touching you, the man’s thumb arcing slowly over the front of your shoulder. You could feel it - even through your sweater, and again you were struck with how casual things were between you - his touch simple but meaningful - unable to be ignored but not too forward. He’s holding back, I think. He has to be, otherwise - 

“Good job tonight.” You saw Din’s eyes flash briefly, the man pulling his hand away - but not hastily, giving your shoulder one final squeeze before he returned it to the table and picked up his glass. Of course. 

“Yeah, we did a good job, didn’t we.” Fighting the urge to roll your eyes, you tore your attention away from Din and looked up at the man standing behind you. “This is my coworker, Din. Din, this is my ex, James.” 

“Hey.” Din shifted in his chair, his eyes passing over your face as he reached up with one hand to shake James’, the other still holding onto his glass. “Guess I should thank you for me even being here, hmm?” 

“I…” James frowned, slowly extending his hand and taking Din’s, the seated man’s fingers engulfing the other man’s. “I guess so?” 

“She told me you were supposed to be her partner, and then when you broke up a couple weeks ago, she needed someone to take your place.” He was choosing his words carefully - you knew it, and if the glint in his eyes was any indication, Din knew that you knew it, too. “And I mean, we don’t know who won yet, but I’ve got a good feeling about our chances, so…” He let go of James’ hand, hooking his elbow casually over the back of the chair. “Feel pretty good going into the next event.” 

James’ jaw twitched - you saw the motion of it but he stayed quiet and just looked at Din - and then at you. It was somewhat satisfying to know that he was uncomfortable. Even though Din hadn’t outright been rude or overstepped, making your friendship out to be more than it was, you were thrilled to see that he wasn’t backing down under James’ stare - and that he hadn’t gone out of his way to confirm that the two of you were nothing more than coworkers. Because even though it’s true, it shouldn’t matter. 

“I do, too.” You looked away from James and grabbed your cup, taking a drink. “I met Din at work. He started what, 8 months ago?”

“About that, long, yeah.” Din’s lips twitched at your addition to the conversation, the man nodding in agreement. “Can’t believe you remember.” 

“Well the last IT guy was absolutely useless. Remember I used to complain about him?” Rolling your eyes, you turned back to Din. “It’s been different at the office with you around.” It wasn’t a lie - but it also wasn’t the entire truth; the differences weren’t only limited to his on the job capabilities. It’s been nice having him around for a lot of reasons. “Anyway. Thanks for coming over to congratulate us, though.” I’m done with this. 

“I…” James spluttered over his words, scoffing. “I also … we never finished our conversation from earlier, at the bar? I wanted to talk to you about -” 

“We did finish it, though.” Giving him a tight smile, you blinked twice. “I have nothing else to say to you about what happened between us.” 

“I thought we -” 

“You thought wrong.” At the last second, you changed your tone, the words coming out in a firm - but not angry - tone. “It’s over, James. We want and expect different things, and I hope you find what you’re looking for.” 

There was nothing more that he could say to that, and so he gave you a final look and then turned away, your eyes following his back as he retreated through the crowd. Shit, that was… 

“You alright?” Din’s question surprised you, though when you looked over at him again, there was genuine concern in his eyes. “I hope I didn’t … say anything you didn’t want me to.” 

“You didn’t.” Laying your hand on his forearm, you looked down at the placement of your fingers, noticing a thin, silvery scar that curved over the space just beneath his elbow. I’ve never seen that before. “I appreciate you speaking up. I don’t want to give him any sort of false hope that I’m going to get back with him, and if he knows that I’m… moving forward and not just ignoring the place he used to be in my life, it… it’ll do that.”

“Well I’m happy to take his place.” Din paused. “That sounded… I meant here, for this competition.” The words were rushed, Din ducking his head again. “Not that I think anything else is -”

“I know what you meant, Din. And I’m happy you’re here, too.” You trailed a fingertip over the scar for a second and then pulled your hand back. “In whatever capacity this is.” 

His head shot back up, eyes wide as they found yours,  but there was no time for explanation because Tina took the stage again, a piece of paper in her hand. The bar went quiet as she smiled down at the crowd, holding up one finger. “I told you that this round could change everything.” 

“Oh, no.” Din groaned, lowering his chin. “Shit, we…”

“In third place overall, we have Team Caffeine, who got 34 of the word scramble answers correct.” The two of them stood as Tina continued. “They’ve won a $25 gift certificate to the coffee shop downtown, and take 15 points into the second event.” People clapped politely as the two of them collected their prize and sat back down. “Second place goes to Smarty Pints, who edged out Team Caffeine by five points overall thanks to their second place finish earlier.” She paused to let people clap. “They win a $25 gift card and a guaranteed order slot to Jenelle’s Bakery for two dozen Christmas cookies or cupcakes and twenty points going event number two.” 

“That’s a good prize,” you mumbled, wrinkling your nose. “I wouldn’t have been mad about that, those cupcakes are amazing.” Din laughed from next to you, but it was short lived as Tina raised the mic again and looked around the room before her gaze landed directly on your table. 

“And I think we all know who the big winners are. Clan Mudhorn got 47 of the words unscrambled correctly, which only added to their lead, and they’ll be taking 25 points into the next event, along with winning a night out - dinner here along with a pair of movie tickets.” 

You were frozen in your seat, but Din urged you to your feet, the two of you heading up to collect your prize. Tina handed him the envelope but he immediately passed it to you, thanking the woman before you made your way back to your table. “We won!” It finally sunk in when you sat back down, the bright red envelope held tightly in your hands. “Din, thank you. I couldn’t… wouldn’t have won without you, and -”

“Nah, don’t mention it.” He was excited too, though, and you wanted to memorize the sight of his grin and the sparkle in his eyes. “Team effort, right? You carried us through the bingo, and -” He cut himself off, running one hand through his hair. “And listen, if you want to use that with your friend Stacy or Cara, or -”

“No way.” You slid the envelope across  the tabletop so that it sat in front of him. “We won it, so we should use it together.” Oh, shit. I… “Only if you want to, though.” 

It took him a few seconds to look back up at you, but when he did, you saw that he was holding back a smile, the man trying to keep his tone even even though you saw the happiness in his eyes. “Are you asking me out?”  

“Yeah. I guess I am, Din.” 

—

Tag list reblog coming soon! 

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Stickbug Wiki Update!

Purple's page has been added to the Stickbug Wiki!

I also remembered to add Aliases and Afilliations to the characters floaties, so I went back and added it to Victim's too. Like with Victim, the page features an appearance, gallery, personality, history, and trivia section. I might tamper with Purple's more in the future, as I was in a rush writing it

NOTE: I do not know how to code mobile accessibility, so the site only really functions on a computer!

Other Additions under the cut:

Added some art of myself in the Credits section

adjusted the subscript under the character floaties to where theyre aligned at the center and not the bottom of the line

ajdusted the relationship in the floaties to add some subscript to better match the theme