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kingstylesdaily · 4 years ago

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Stevie Nicks Answers All Our Questions About Harry Styles

Of all the disciples to worship at the altar of Stevie Nicks, none have managed to capture the attention of rock’s reigning priestess quite like Harry Styles.

The 26-year-old rocker (who this week received three Grammy nominations) is the Gucci-clad poster boy carrying the torch for a bygone era of music history that the Fleetwood Mac frontwoman helped crystallize. Styles recently cited the group’s 1977 (and still charting) classic “Dreams” as one of the first songs he learned the words to growing up. Their friendship began in 2015 after the former One Direction member presented his idol with a hand-piped birthday cake after a Fleetwood Mac gig in London. (“Glad she liked carrot cake,” he later said.) The years since have seen the duo’s mutual affection blossom into one of pop culture’s most cherished bondings.

Last year, when Styles inducted Nicks into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, he proclaimed the 72-year-old “everything you’ve ever wanted in a lady, a lover, in a friend.” Nicks has gushed about him in interviews as everything from “the son she never had” to her “love child” with bandmate Mick Fleetwood. Styles earned her official seal of approval after covering “The Chain” every night of his first solo tour in support of a record that sounds closer to Crosby, Stills & Nash than anything he released under his prior band.

“Harry could’ve lost a lot of fans, but he didn’t,” Nicks recently told Vogue over the phone. “I’m so proud of him because he took a risk and didn’t go the One Direction route. He loves One Direction, I love One Direction, and a gazillion other people do too, but Harry didn’t wanna go the pop route. He wanted straight-up rock and roll circa 1975.”

Nicks has been embracing some of the busiest years of her dual careers as both Fleetwood Mac frontwoman and solo sorceress—and doing so amid a global pandemic. Since she last performed with Styles at the Forum for his Fine Line release show in December, she’s released a 24 Karat Gold concert film and “Show Them the Way,” her politically minded single and first piece of original music in six years. After Miley Cyrus asked for Nicks’s blessing before releasing her “Edge of Seventeen”–tinged “Midnight Sky,” the two joined forces for an exhilarating new mash-up titled “Edge of Midnight.”

In honor of Styles making history as the magazine’s first solo cover boy, Nicks caught up with Vogue to answer all our questions about their cosmic connection. Currently beachside with her quarantine bubble in Hawaii, she’s been doing what one would expect Stevie Nicks to be up to during a pandemic: writing new music, dancing around her house to “Watermelon Sugar,” and “casting little spells.” As befitting rock’s foremost storyteller, our intended 30-minute chat turned into a two-hour confessional about her love of Styles, working with Cyrus for the first time, joining Fleetwood Mac, the president-elect Joe Biden, the Met Gala, betta fish funerals, and much more.

ksd note: edited to only include Q&A about Stevie and Harry!

Did you get a chance to look through Harry’s cover story yet?

Right before I called you, I sat here and looked at all the pictures on my new iPad. What can I say? That’s my Harry. I think the thing that’s most wonderful about him—and I’ve told him this, and sometimes I think he takes it the wrong way—is that he’s such a kooky guy. He’s the type of person you’d wanna live next door to. He’d look out the window, see you having a hard time planting flowers, and rush out asking, “Can I help you with those roses?” “Sure, but you are Harry Styles, right?” That’s who he is.

I really only know him to a certain extent, but I have gotten to experience some big moments in his life, like when he released his first solo record at the Troubadour. I always think of Tom Petty saying, “So, you wanna be a rock star or you wanna be a pop star?” It’s two completely different things, and he really could have gone pop like his friend Zayn [Malik]. I was sorry that Zayn didn’t keep going more because I thought he was really good. But he took the pop route, which I think was right for him. Harry could’ve lost a lot of fans doing rock and roll, but he didn’t. Harry did a long tour with that first record and said, “I’m a different person now. I have a full-on rock band, and this is what I’m gonna do.” With many of my records, I’ll stuff down peoples’ throats until they like it, and that’s exactly what he did. Then he went away and wrote Fine Line, one of my favorite records.

What were your immediate thoughts listening to Fine Line for the first time?

Me and four of my friends sat with Harry in his living room in London and listened to it a few times before it came out. But it wasn’t really Fine Line yet. The first time we listened to it, nobody really said anything. The second time everyone started to go, “I think this song is great, but it should be second in the sequence.” By the third listen, it was five girls screaming, “Well, Harry really now, I think you need to take these four that are called Harry Songs and do this and that—” while he’s sinking in his reclining chair thinking, Are these women ever gonna leave? Thanks for your opinions, but oh, my God, stop already.

What changed when you heard the record in it’s finished form?

This record means a lot to me. When it was all put together, I listened and said, “Oh, my god, the Beatles live.” A whole lot of people live in these songs. Fleetwood Mac lives there. I live there. When I listen to “Fine Line,” I hear melodies that would’ve worked on “A Day in the Life. “It has that same kind of complexity. I think the Beatles would’ve thought, Here we’ve influenced a young man who took some incredible things from us and made them his own years and years later.

Earlier this year you posted a message saying that Fine Line is Harry’s Rumours. Can you elaborate on what you meant by that?

When Harry asked me to do “Landslide” with him at the Forum, I asked why, and he said, “Because I want you to be there. You were there for my first night at the Troubadour for the first record.” That night I wrote him a letter that said, “This is your Rumours so you have to really respect it and adore it because these kinds of records sometimes don’t ever come again.” Fleetwood Mac went on to make many great records, but people would bet their life on the fact that Rumours was the one. And this might just be the one for Harry. We were all kind of the same age when we made Rumours. I was 28, and Lindsey [Buckingham] was 27. I actually don’t even know how old Harry is—he’s that timeless to me.

Do you have a personal favorite of his songs?

Every one represents a different thing to me. “Sunflower” is such a great little song. He loves to do crazy videos, and one time I called him and said, “I have an idea. You’re gonna be a bee, and the sunflower would be your girlfriend, and you guys would get married and live in a beehive with your little bee children. You’d sing the lyrics ‘kiss in the kitchen like it’s a dance floor duh duh duh’ and show this entire bee relationship.”

What did he think of that pitch?

When I finished, the other end of the phone was silent. I said, “No, really, think about it. It’ll be fantastical like a Francis Ford Coppola movie.” He’s like, “Yeah, okay...” [laughs]. I also love the “Adore You” video with the little fish because I have my own special relationships with fish.

In what sense?

I always have two beta fish, but they have to be separated otherwise they’ll kill each other. I stick my finger into their aquarium, and the blue one will swim around my hand like a little dolphin. When my fish get old and suddenly die, I have funerals for them in my backyard where I play Celine Dion. I have them filmed, and everything [laughs]. It’s too much, but I thankfully haven’t had any recent fish deaths. I haven’t even been able to sit down and show Harry the videos of my little fish, so when I saw the “Adore You” video, I couldn’t believe it.

Why is it important for you to foster these relationships with younger artists like Harry who’ve been so openly influenced by you?

I’m inspired by them. I’m inspired that Miley wants to make music with me. I’m inspired that the Haim girls are my biggest fans—and I theirs. A lot of these kids are making the amazing records I’ve been waiting for them to make. I’m not like other 72-year-olds. I listen to current music because I want to be current. When people find out how old I am versus the music I’m listening to, they think it doesn’t gel at all. I’ve been collecting musical knowledge since I was in the fourth grade listening to the singles my grandfather used to bring home. I listened to Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers until the sixth grade when R&B radio became Top 40. I said goodbye country and hello R&B, so it’s not like I’m ever stuck on one thing. What I love about Harry is that he’s very old school but still modern. And that’s kinda like me.

You both also transitioned from massive groups to equally massive solo careers rather seamlessly.

When I decided I wanted to be a solo artist, I’d only been in Fleetwood Mac for a few years. I tried to figure out a way to do it gracefully because I didn’t wanna break up the band. I just wanted to sit at my piano and write poetry. After we did a record and a really long tour, the band scurried off to different parts of the world while I’d just be home writing songs for a year and a half. What did they care what I did while they were all on vacation? I’ve always said all the way through these two careers I’ve had: If you’re in a band first, never break it up.

Do you think One Direction would ever reunite?

I think it’s a good idea. For all we know, One Direction is completely broken up forever. But I think those guys are friends, and five or ten years down the road, they could all go, “You know what, wouldn’t it be really fun to do a One Direction tour?” Because that’s what people do. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did reunite at some point just because they can. And because it would just be fun. Harry is the kind of person who would never stomp on that idea. He would never say, [imitates posh English accent] “Never! I would never do that again!” Because why not just keep the door open?

Was there any particular detail or passage in Harry’s cover story that stuck out to you?

According to this article, he can get in a car with his friend to drive all over Europe then drive back by himself. I stopped driving in 1978 because my driver’s license expired and I’d already made a lot of money. I very smartly thought, “You know what, if someone even hits you and it’s not even your fault but you’re a little drunk, you are done. You’re finished, and the fortune that you’ve made is gone, so why should you drive anyway?” By then me and Christine were very cloistered, but Harry’s able to live a freer life because he’s a guy. He’s like Mick. He has a free life.

Would you say that you don’t?

I’m only comparing us in the way that Harry goes off to the Bahamas to work on songs, then flies back to L.A., then London, then Italy—I can’t do that. I can’t do that by myself. He’s able to do whatever he wants by himself, and it’s a whole different way of life. Being that Harry is a guy, he’s able to be a loner more than I am. As a woman, I’m not free to do all that. Even when I was his age, I couldn’t just get off anywhere I wanted. When we were on the road, Christine and I didn’t have a clue in the world what the boys did. We went to our rooms with security guys standing outside. It’s not like we ever escaped to go club-hopping in downtown Manhattan. We never got to live that life, so freedom as Harry knows it is very different than it’s been for me.

Did you ever have any figure in your life who provided some sense of mentorship the way you have to artists like Harry?

I didn’t really have anyone. If I had any guiding force at all, it probably would’ve been Christine McVie because she was five years older than me. And five years is five years, you know? Chris was friends with Eric Clapton and knew all the famous musicians in London. She’d married John [McVie] and done a bunch of records with Fleetwood Mac before I came along, so she’d been in the music business for a long time. I was breaking up with Lindsey when she was breaking up with John. She was my therapist and my go-to person for just about everything. We had each other to get through that really difficult situation where no one was gonna quit the band. Christine and I kept the whole thing together by telling the three men, “You quit because we’re not stopping” Thank God I had her, but on the other side of that, thank God she had me. We really were a force of nature.

** I’m curious to what extent fashion plays a role in your and Harry’s relationship. Have you** gifted him any accessories that were significant to you?

I actually gave him a ring at the Forum thing. It’s very masculine and has a pink stone in it. I told him it was a pink diamond, but it really isn’t. It would’ve cost $5 million. It was mine, and I really loved it, but I thought, This should be for Harry. You can see it on his hands in the “Falling” video where he’s playing the piano. If Harry and I were in a band together, we’d be trading all kinds of crazy stuff.

What are your thoughts on him being the first solo male cover in Vogue’s history?

It makes me feel so inspired. I’m extremely jealous he’s on the cover of Vogue because I’m 72 years old and have wanted to be on the cover my whole life. I’m such a magazine hag, so I’m incredibly jealous of Harry, but I’ll get over it. As far as all the crazy things he’s wearing, you do whatever you have to do to be on the cover of Vogue. I’m very proud of him, and I think it’s great that there’s a man on the cover…but I should’ve been in the corner off in the distance [laughs]. Did you know I’ve never been to the Met Gala?

We would be honored to have you at the next gala and every one after that. I’m putting this in the article to make sure it’s in the public record.

As Mick Jagger says, “We still have our freedom, but we don’t have much time.” I would like to be not much older than I am now so I can wear a fantastic outfit and entertain everybody. It’s a dream of mine, and most of my dreams have come true, but I need to not be 90 when it happens.

Harry and you could perform together.

We wouldn’t even have to rehearse. We’ve got a couple of duets that are really great. We do “Landslide” and “Two Ghosts” together really well. We actually have five or six terrific acoustic numbers that we could do at the drop of a hat.

You hinted earlier this year that there might be a role for Harry in the miniseries based on the stories of Rhiannon. Is there any update there?

This is probably the third-biggest thing I’ve ever done in my life after Fleetwood Mac and my solo career. There’s a lot to be done in the movie business before I can start riding my horses across the mountains of Wales. I’ve signed with a movie company—I’m not gonna tell you who—and we just signed a writer. I’m not gonna tell you who that is either, but there’s an amazing part for Harry. My favorite character in the series is the only man who goes through all four books. He’s a magician who doesn’t wanna be king, and I think Harry would just be so perfect.

Have you and Harry discussed collaborating on any future music together?

We’re open to making music together because we’ve been very successful when we go onstage just to do one song. I would love to be in a band with Harry, but even if I never saw him in person again, he’s made a record that breaks my heart in a million places like Fine Line. As far as music goes, there’s plenty of fun things that he and I could do. We can just reach out to each other and do it. I’m always ready to slip back into those high-heel black suede boots and become my alter ego.

via Vogue.com

#kingstylesdaily #Harry Styles #hs: mention #Stevie Nicks #november 2020

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hlupdate · 4 years ago

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Of all the disciples to worship at the altar of Stevie Nicks, none have managed to capture the attention of rock's reigning priestess quite like Harry Styles.

The 26-year old rocker (who this week received three Grammy nominations) is the Gucci-clad poster-boy carrying the torch for a bygone era of music history that the Fleetwood Mac front-woman helped crystallize. Styles recently cited the group's 1977 (and still charting) classic “Dreams” as one of the first songs he learned the words to growing up. Their friendship began in 2015 after the former One Direction member presented his idol with a hand-piped birthday cake after a Fleetwood Mac gig in London. (“Glad she liked carrot cake,” he later said.) The years since have seen the duo's mutual affection blossom into one of pop culture‘s most cherished bondings.

Last year, when Styles inducted Nicks into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he proclaimed the 72-year old “everything you’ve ever wanted in a lady, a lover, in a friend.” Nicks has gushed about him in interviews as everything from “the son she never had” to the “love child” of her and bandmate Mick Fleetwood. Styles earned her official seal of approval after covering “The Chain” every night of his first solo tour in support of a record that sounds closer to Crosby, Stills & Nash than anything he released under his prior band.

“Harry could've lost a lot of fans but he didn't. I’m so proud of him because he took a risk and didn’t go the One Direction route," Nicks recently told Vogue over the phone. "He loves One Direction, I love One Direction, and a gazillion other people do too, but Harry didn't wanna go the pop route. He wanted straight-up rock-and-roll circa 1975.”

Nicks has been embracing some of the busiest years of her dual careers as both Fleetwood Mac front-woman and solo sorceress—and doing so in the midst of a global pandemic. Since she last performed with Styles at the Forum for his Fine Line release show in December, she’s released a 24 Karat Gold concert film and “Show Them the Way,” her politically-minded single and first piece of original music in six years. After Miley Cyrus asked for Nicks's blessing before releasing her “Edge of Seventeen”-tinged “Midnight Sky,” the two joined forces for an exhilarating new mash-up titled “Edge of Midnight."

In honor of Styles making history as the magazine’s first solo cover-boy, Nicks caught up with Vogue to answer all our questions about their cosmic connection. Currently beachside with her quarantine bubble in Hawaii, she’s been doing what one would expect Stevie Nicks to be up to during a pandemic: writing new music, dancing around her house to “Watermelon Sugar“ and “casting little spells.” As befitting rock’s foremost storyteller, our intended 30-minute chat turned into a two-hour confessional about her love of Styles, working with Cyrus for the first time, joining Fleetwood Mac, the president-elect Joe Biden, the Met Gala, betta fish funerals, and much more.

Did you get a chance to look through Harry's cover story yet?

Right before I called you I sat here and looked at all the pictures on my new iPad. What can I say? That's my Harry. I think the thing that’s most wonderful about him—and I've told him this and sometimes I think he takes it the wrong way—is that he’s such a kooky guy. He’s the type of person you'd wanna live next door to. He’d look out the window, see you having a hard time planting flowers and rush out asking "Can I help you with those roses?" "Sure but you are Harry Styles, right?" That's who he is.

I really only know him to a certain extent but I have gotten to experience some big moments in his life like when he released his first solo record at the Troubadour. I always think of Tom Petty saying "So you wanna be a rock star or you wanna be a pop star?" It's two completely different things and he really could have gone pop like his friend Zayn [Malik]. I was sorry that Zayn didn't keep going more because I thought he was really good. But he took the pop route, which I think was right for him. Harry could've lost a lot of fans doing rock-and-roll but he didn't. Harry did a long tour with that first record and said “I'm a different person now. I have a full-on rock band and this is what I'm gonna do.” With many of my records I’ll stuff down peoples' throats until they like it and that's exactly what he did. Then he went away and wrote Fine Line, one of my favorite records.

What were your immediate thoughts listening to Fine Line for the first time?

Me and four of my friends sat with Harry in his living room in London and listened to it a few times before it came out. But it wasn't really Fine Line yet. The first time we listened to it nobody really said anything. The second time everyone started to go "I think this song is great but it should be second in the sequence." By the third listen it was five girls screaming "Well Harry really now, I think you need to take these four that are called "Harry Songs" and do this and that—” while he’s sinking in his reclining chair thinking "Are these women ever gonna leave? Thanks for your opinions but oh my god stop already."

What changed when you heard the record in it’s finished form?

This record means a lot to me. When it was all put together I listened and said "Oh my god, The Beatles live." A whole lot of people live in these songs. Fleetwood Mac lives there. I live there. When I listen to "Fine Line” I hear melodies that would've worked on “A Day in the Life.“ It has that same kind of complexity. I think the Beatles would've thought “Here we’ve influenced a young man who took some incredible things from us and made them his own years and years later.”

Earlier this year you posted a message saying that Fine Line is Harry’s Rumours. Can you elaborate on what you meant by that?

When Harry asked me to do "Landslide" with him at the Forum I asked why and he said "Because I want you to be there. You were there for my first night at the Troubadour for the first record.” That night I wrote him a letter that said “This is your Rumours so you have to really respect it and adore it because these kinds of records sometimes don't ever come again.” Fleetwood Mac went on to make many great records but people would bet their life on the fact that Rumours was the one. And this might just be the one for Harry. We were all kind of the same age when we made Rumours. I was 28 and Lindsey was 27. I actually don't even know how old Harry is—he's that timeless to me.

Do you have a personal favorite of his songs?

Every one represents a different thing to me. “Sunflower” is such a great little song. He loves to do crazy videos and one time I called him and said “I have an idea. You're gonna be a bee and the sunflower would be your girlfriend, and you guys would get married and live in a beehive with your little bee children. You’d sing the lyrics “kiss in the kitchen like it's a dance floor duh duh duh” and show this entire bee relationship.”

What did he think of that pitch?

When I finished the other end of the phone was silent. I said "No really, think about it. It’ll be fantastical like a Francis Ford Coppola movie.” He’s like “Yeah, okay...” (laughs). I also love the "Adore You” video with the little fish because I have my own special relationships with fish.

In what sense?

I always have two betta fish but they have to be separated otherwise they'll kill each other. I stick my finger into their aquarium and the blue one will swim around my hand like a little dolphin. When my fish get old and suddenly die I have funerals for them in my backyard where I play Celine Dion. I have them filmed and everything (laughs). It’s too much but I thankfully haven’t had any recent fish deaths. I haven't even been able to sit down and show Harry the videos of my little fish so when I saw the “Adore You” video I couldn’t believe it.

Why is it important for you to foster these relationships with younger artists like Harry who’ve been so openly influenced by you?

I'm inspired by them. I'm inspired that Miley wants to make music with me. I’m inspired that the Haim girls are my biggest fans—and I theirs. A lot of these kids are making the amazing records I’ve been waiting for them to make. I’m not like other 72-year olds. I listen to current music because I want to be current. When people find out how old I am versus the music I'm listening to they think it doesn't gel at all. I’ve been collecting musical knowledge since I was in the fourth grade listening to the singles my grandfather used to bring home. I listened to Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers until the sixth grade when R&B radio became Top 40. I said goodbye country and hello R&B, so it’s not like I'm ever stuck on one thing. What I love about Harry is that he's very old-school but still modern. And that's kinda like me.

You both also transitioned from massive groups to equally massive solo careers rather seamlessly.

When I decided I wanted to be a solo artist I'd only been in Fleetwood Mac for a few years. I tried to figure out a way to do it gracefully because I didn’t wanna break up the band. I just wanted to sit at my piano and write poetry. After we did a record and a really long tour the band scurried off to different parts of the world while I’d just be home writing songs for a year and a half. What did they care what I did while they were all on vacation? I’ve always said all the way through these two careers I've had: if you're in a band first, never break it up.

I know Beyoncé because I spent a day with Destiny’s Child making the “Bootylicious” video. I owe them a debt of gratitude because that’s the one time I ever got to pretend I played rock-and-roll guitar! But when Beyoncé made the decision to be a solo artist she did not see herself going back to Destiny's Child every couple of years. And that's a perfectly acceptable decision because sometimes that's what people wanna do. I, on the other hand, said why not have the ability to go back to Fleetwood Mac whenever I want? Being a Gemini I get bored really easily, so being able to have those two careers was great.

Do you think One Direction would ever reunite?

I think it's a good idea. For all we know, One Direction is completely broken up forever. But I think those guys are friends and five or ten years down the road they could all go "You know what, wouldn't it be really fun to do a One Direction tour?" Because that's what people do. I wouldn't be surprised if they did reunite at some point just because they can. And because it would just be fun. Harry is the kind of person who would never stomp on that idea. He would never say (imitates posh English accent) "Never! I would never do that again!" Because why not just keep the door open?

Was there any particular detail or passage in Harry’s cover story that stuck out to you?

According to this article he can get in a car with his friend to drive all over Europe then drive back by himself. I stopped driving in 1978 because my driver's license expired and I'd already made a lot of money. I very smartly thought "You know what, if someone even hits you and it's not even your fault but you're a little drunk, you are done. You're finished and the fortune that you've made is gone, so why should you drive anyway?” By then me and Christine were very cloistered, but Harry's able to live a freer life because he's a guy. He's like Mick. He has a free life.

Would you say that you don’t?

I'm only comparing us in the way that Harry goes off to the Bahamas to work on songs then flies back to LA then London then Italy—I can't do that. I can't do that by myself. He's able to do whatever he wants by himself and it's a whole different way of life. Being that Harry is a guy, he's able to be a loner more than I am. As a woman I'm not free to do all that. Even when I was his age I couldn't just get off anywhere I wanted. When we were on the road Christine and I didn't have a clue in the world what the boys did. We went to our rooms with security guys standing outside. It's not like we ever escaped to go club-hopping in downtown Manhattan. We never got to live that life so freedom as Harry knows it is very different than it’s been for me.

Did you ever have any figure in your life who provided some sense of mentorship the way you have to artists like Harry?

I didn't really have anyone. If I had any guiding force at all it probably would've been Christine McVie because she was five years older than me. And five years is five years, you know? Chris was friends with Eric Clapton and knew all the famous musicians in London. She’d married John [McVie] and done a bunch of records with Fleetwood Mac before I came along so she'd been in the music business for a long time. I was breaking up with Lindsey when she was breaking up with John. She was my therapist and my go-to person for just about everything. We had each other to get through that really difficult situation where no one was gonna quit the band. Christine and I kept the whole thing together by telling the three men "You quit because we're not stopping” Thank god I had her, but I think on the other side of that thank god she had me. We really were a force of nature.

I’m curious to what extent fashion plays a role in your and Harry’s relationship. Have you gifted him any accessories that were significant to you?

I actually gave him a ring at the Forum thing. It’s very masculine and has a pink stone in it. I told him it was a pink diamond but it really isn't, it would've cost $5 million. It was mine and I really loved it but I thought "This should be for Harry.” You can see it on his hands in the "Falling" video where he’s playing the piano. If Harry and I were in a band together we’d be trading all kinds of crazy stuff.

How did you come to decide on your all-black stage uniform?

I started getting paid when I joined Fleetwood Mac but up until then I didn't have any money to buy food. All of a sudden we were going on tour so I just packed up my normal clothes. We started eating because there was room service and there I was gaining ten pounds in the middle of the tour. I didn't fit in any of the clothes and I didn't have time to shop so when I got home I said “I can never do this again.” I knew a friend who knew a designer and I told her I needed a uniform because I can't be thinking about what I wanna wear every night. It makes it so much easier since everybody that's in Pittsburgh isn't necessarily gonna be in Philadelphia. Harry's done the same thing with his white pants and pink shirt.

What are your thoughts on him being the first solo male cover in Vogue’s history?

It makes me feel so inspired. I'm extremely jealous he's on the cover of Vogue because I'm seventy-two years old and have wanted to be on the cover my whole life. I’m such a magazine hag, so I’m incredibly jealous of Harry but I'll get over it. As far as all the crazy things he's wearing, you do whatever you have to do to be on the cover of Vogue. I'm very proud of him and I think it's great that there's a man on the cover… but I should've been in the corner off in the distance (laughs). Did you know I've never been to the Met Gala?

We would be honored to have you at the next gala and every one after that. I’m putting this in the article to make sure it’s in the public record.

As Mick Jagger says, "We still have our freedom, but we don't have much time." I would like to be not much older than I am now so I can wear a fantastic outfit and entertain everybody. It's a dream of mine and most of my dreams have come true, but I need to not be ninety when it happens.

Harry and you could perform together.

We wouldn't even have to rehearse. We've got a couple of duets that are really great. We do "Landslide" and “Two Ghosts” together really well. We actually have five or six terrific acoustic numbers that we could do at the drop of a hat.

You hinted earlier this year that there might be a role for Harry in the miniseries based on the stories of Rhiannon. Is there any update there?

This is probably the third-biggest thing I've ever done in my life after Fleetwood Mac and my solo career. There’s a lot to be done in the movie business before I can start riding my horses across the mountains of Wales. I've signed with a movie company—I'm not gonna tell you who—and we just signed a writer. I'm not gonna tell you who that is either but there’s an amazing part for Harry. My favorite character in the series is the only man who goes through all four books. He's a magician who doesn't wanna be king and I think Harry would just be so perfect.

Have you and Harry discussed collaborating on any future music together?

We're open to making music together because we've been very successful when we go onstage just to do one song. I would love to be in a band with Harry but even if I never saw him in person again he’s made a record that breaks my heart in a million places like Fine Line. As far as music goes there's plenty of fun things that he and I could do. We can just reach out to each other and do it. I’m always ready to slip back into those high-heel black suede boots and become my alter ego.

This interview has been edited for clarity and space.

#harry styles #stevie nicks #vogue magazine #251120

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pastelbatfandoms · 4 years ago

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ABCs of your OCs

A list of oc questions in alphabetical categories - i made each category based on the first word I could think of in alphabetical order, so enjoy!

Decided to try and answer these using Gifs and Images of My characters (aka who or what reminds me of My character)

.Doing this for My OC Michelle Riley in My Riverdale Fic.

Michelle is “played by” Ksenia Solo (Teen) & Kaya Scodelario (Young Adult)

A: Aptitude 1. what are your oc’s natural abilities, things they’ve been doing since young? Writing,solving Mysteries,has always had an interest in the occult and anything different and unusual.

2. what activities have they participated in? Michelle is a bit of a Loner but she has done Cheer and writes Poetry in her spare time as well as mysteries. She also was a camp counselor & Lifeguard with Betty and Cheryl over the summer.

3. what abilities do they have? She’s human but Michelle knows a bit of Karate and was taught how to fight by FP.

4. what things are they bad at? Being Honest,Indecisive,

5. what is their most impressive talent? Writing and Dancing

B: Basics 1. what is their hair color? Dark brown. Dies Black or wears Blond wigs.

2. what is their eye color? Brown but wears Light green or blue contacts

3. how tall are they? A little shorter than Jughead

4. how old are they? 15 (Story start) 19 (Story end) October 7 2000

5. how much do they weigh?

C: Comfort 1. how do they sit in a chair? Usually leaning forward.

2. in what position do they sleep?

3. what is their ideal comfort day? Reading or watching TV,eating,doing something creative,learning new things (especially about the occult or conspiracy theories),writing poetry,mainly being by herself on her down time.Although she’s an ambivert so she does like hanging out with her BF or Friends after her alone time.

4. what is their major comfort food? um Anything lol She’s literally a female Jughead in more ways than one. Burgers and fries,Milkshakes,Pancakes,Chips and salsa...

5. who is the best at comforting them when down? Betty or Mom. Most of the time Jughead. (unless it’s about him)

D: Decoration 1. how would they decorate a house if they had one under their name? Minimalistic with plants,charming and attractive yet simple and comfortable. Small neighborhood.

2. how would they decorate their child’s room? Michelle doesn’t want kids

3. how do they decorate their own room? Shabby Chic,Girly mixed with rustic. With of course darker undertones.

4. what type of clothes and accessories do they wear? Goth,Grunge,Edgy,had a preppy phase. (Casual Artsy in Middle school)

5. do they like makeup/nail/beauty trends? Yes.

E: External Personality 1. does the way they do things portray their internal personality? Sometimes. She’s not as tough as she portrays.

2. do they do things that conform to the norm? Sometimes. If on her own.

3. do they follow trends or do their own thing? No

4. are they up-to-date on the internet fads? Only E-Girl and Mod Goth.

5. do they portray their personality intentionally or let people figure it out on their own? Is shy at first.

F: Fun 1. what do they do for fun? Shopping,Dancing,hanging out at Pop Tates Malt Shop,Drive in movies,Art,watching Horror movies,writing poetry,Solving Mysteries,going out to a club or the biker bar The White Wyrm.

2. what is their ideal party? See Above. Dancing,Strobe lights,Band,Underage Drinking/Sex. Unless she’s 18 or 19 then. Decorating for parties and liked having Clue inspired Sleepovers in middle school.

3. who would they have the most fun with? Her girls. B,V & C.

4. can they have fun while conforming to rules? When alone yes.

5. do they go out a lot? Yes.

G: Gorgeous 1. what is their most attractive external feature? Her eyes and smile.

2. what is the most attractive part of their personality?

3. what benefits come with being their friend?

4. what parts of them do they like and dislike?

5. what parts of others do they envy? IDK if I’m going to finish this.

H: Heat 1. do they rather a hot or cold room?

2. do they prefer summer or winter? Spring and Fall

3. do they like the snow? Not really.

4. do they have a favorite summer activity? Thrift Shopping and Sleuthing

5. do they have a favorite winter activity? Reading inside or Sleuthing.

I: In-the-closet

1. what is their sexuality? Pan Sexual

2. have they ever questioned their sexuality? yes

3. have they ever questioned their gender? No

4. would/was their family be okay with them being LGBT? Yes they are very open minded.

5. how long would/did it take for them to come out? High School

J: Joy 1. what makes them happy? Art,writing,shopping,mysteries,love,music.

2. who makes them happy? Her Family (Blood and none)

3. are there any songs that bring them joy? Wow I have a whole playlist...

4. are they happy often? More or less

5. what brings them the most joy in the world?

K: Kill 1. have they ever thought about suicide? I don’t write that. They may have dark thoughts but never act on them,this is not 13 reasons why.

2. have they ever thought about homicide? No

3. if they could kill anyone without punishment, would they? who? No

4. who would miss them if they died? Um all her Friends and Family

5. who would be happy they died, anyone? Penny Peabody lbr

L: Lemons 1. what is their favorite fruit? 2. what is their least favorite fruit?

3. are there any foods they hate?

4. do they have any food intolerances?

5. what is their favorite food? Already said. She also really likes Chicken with chips and salsa.

M: Maternal

1. would they want a daughter or a son?

2. how many children do they want?

3. would they be a good parent?

4. what would they name a son?

what would they name a daughter?

5. would they adopt? Possibly

N: Never Have I Ever

1. what would they never do? Kill Innocents.

2. what have they never done that they want to do?

3. is there anything they absolutely can’t believe people do? People do alot of shitty things. Killing Kids and animals would be one of them.

4. what is the most embarrassing thing they’ve done?

5. have they done anything they thought they’d never do? Um get drunk and sleep with her boyfriends Dad??...Or cheat on Jug with Veronica. SPOILERS! But I probably won’t finish this story lbh.

O: Optimism 1. are they optimistic or pessimistic? Both

2. are they openly optimistic?

3. are they good at giving advice? Yes

4. is there anyone in their life that throws optimism on them? Throws lol I suppose her Mom or Betty.

5. were they always optimistic?

>>>P: Personality 1. what is their best personality trait?

2. what is their worst personality trait?

3. what of their personality do others love?

4. what of their personality do others envy?

5. do they hate anything about their personality/about other’s personalities?

<<<Will do this later

Q: Questions 1. do they ask for help? Sometimes

2. do they ask questions in class? She did yes,when she was trying to be a straight A student.

3. do they answer questions that make them a little uncomfortable? Yes

4. do they ask weird questions? Yes

5. are they curious? Yes

R: Rules 1. do they follow rules? Sometimes.

2. would they be a strict or laid-back parent? A good balance.

3. have they ever been consequences for breaking a rule?

4. have they broken any rules they now regret breaking?

5. do they find any rules they/others follow absolutely ridiculous? Nope

S: Streets 1. are they street-smart? Yes

2. would they give money to someone on the streets? Probably

3. have they ever gotten in a fight on the streets? Yes

4. has anything happened to them on the streets? Other then Fights,no.

5. are they cautious when out? Now yes,but she can take care of herself.

T: Truth 1. are they honest? More so now yes.

2. can they tell if someone is lying? Yes

3. is it obvious when they’re lying? Yes

4. have they lied about anything they regret lying about? Sleeping with FP

5. have they ever been talked about behind their back? I’m sure.

U: Underdog 1. have they been bullied? A couple times but they stopped once she stood her ground,same with standing up for others (like Jughead)

2. have they bullied anyone? No

3. have they been physically attacked? Yes

4. have they ever been doubted? Yes.

5. have they surprised people with being good at something? Yes,alot of Guys (and girls) underestimate her.

V: Vomit 1. do they vomit often? 2. do they get lots of stomach aches? 3. are they good at comforting someone ill? 4. what do they like as far as comfort goes? 5. do they burp, cough, or hiccup most when nauseous? when vomiting?

W: Water 1. do they drink enough water? 2. have they learned to swim? 3. do they like to swim? 4. can they dive? 5. can they swim without holding their nose?

X: Xylophone 1. what is their favorite genre of music? Oldies,Indie & Goth Rock

2. do they have a favorite song? Prince-Die 4 U

3. do they have a favorite band/artist/singer? The Cure,Prince & The Neighborhood.

4. can they sing well? Sure

5. can they rap? No

Y: You 1. how old were you when you created them? It was in 2017.

2. what inspired you to create them? Watching Riverdale for the first time

3. were they different when they were first created? No

4. do you enjoy writing them more than other characters? No

5. what’s your favorite thing about them? Her style and sarcasm.

Z: Zebra 1. what’s their favorite animal? Cats and Dogs

2. do they like animals? Yes

3. cats or dogs? Both

4. what’s their dream pet? Panther or Dragon

5. do they have any pets at the moment? Shares a Sheepdog/Mutt with The Serpents,named Hot Dog.

#riverdale fanfiction #mughead #My OC #gif survey #oc survey

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keepcalm-andbopon · 6 years ago

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Introducing us!!

Isabelle: @swiftie-isabelle

I’m Isabelle and I’m turning 14th in June 27! I would die for Taylor swift. I started listening to her when I was 3 and her music had comforted me ever since! She has had such a impact in my life and I’ve gotten so many amazing memories from her!

Victoria: @sinkanddroundswift

im victoria & i do nothing w my life except cry over taylor swift and not having a boyfriend . I do nothing ever except lay in bed and cry over every little detail. I eat too much food for my body. I like boys alot but they don’t like me. taylor swift claims she loves me multiple times but idk if I believe her yet. I love my cat shes a scottish fold. Beverly Hills, 90210 is my favorite tv show & High School Musical is my favorite movie. I also love grayson dolan more than I can comprehend. I have 0 friends so its me, myself, and I all the time.

Lily: @lilyadorestay

im lily and i do nothing with my life except cry over taylor swift, have people tell me to stop crying about taylor swift, and waste money on bucket hats :)

Sasha: @dropsmynamesasha

I’m sasha and I have a large obsession with food, cats and Taylor Swift

Katelyn: @redheadnamedkatelyn

I’m Katelyn and I’m 13! I don’t do anything in my life except for lacrosse and cheer and love Taylor swift. I have red hair, & Taylor Swift is my absolute best friend and my life wouldn’t be the same without her. And I owe so much to her. And basically I’m known as “the Taylor swift girl” at school so that’s kinda cool. Anyways The moral of this is I love Taylor swift!

Lexie: @drunkonswiftxo

I’m lexie, 18 years old. I have a very busy life actually, I compete in many different karate and martial arts competitions and was British Champion in 2016 with my sword and in October of this year I am competing in the World Martial Arts Games! Before any competition I usually get very nervous but listening to Taylor’s music calms me down (cringe ikr) but I wouldn’t be doing all of these if I didnt have a calming mechanism!

Natalia: @natalialovestaylor

hi! i’m natalia, i’m 15 and from the bay area. taylor has been in my life since i was 8 and i’ve been supporting her ever sense:) she makes me so happy, she’s like the sunlight in my life. i want her to know that i love her so much and i want to hug her and tell her thank you more than anything. 💗

Katie: @shapeofyouswift

hi i’m katie and i’m 16! i’m from ny and i went to all 3 metlife shows!! i’ve been seeing taylor in concert since the fearless era and i’ve seen her 11 times! i’m fortune to have met her 5 years ago at GMA and i was able to get a picture with her outside time 100 gala! taylor makes me so happy and has helped me through many rough times in my life as well as all of the happiest! i’m so thankful to have such a positive role model in my life!!

Meredith:

I’m Meredith and I love Taylor Swift more than words can describe:) I’ve been listening to Taylor since I was four and she has always been a big part of my life since then !! She inspires me everyday and makes my life so much brighter. I am so so proud of her and all that she has done!! Also, I love going to the beach and petting dogs🤩💓

Memphis: @taysmidnights

hi i’m memphis!! i play tennis and obsess over taylor swift! i’m from the beautiful state of california, and i love to surf! i first heard a ts song (You Belong With Me) in 2009, and i’ve loved taylor ever since. i am also a proud supporter of the LGBTQ+ community and have a passion for changing our world. oh, and i’m known as “that taylor swift fan” at my school, but i’m not complaining! 🧚🏼‍♀️

Brooke: @brookewhatyoumademedo

i’m brooke and i’m 14!! i live in cleveland, ohio along with some of my best friends i met through taylor!! i look a lot older than i am and it’s a good and bad thing haha. i used to play a lot of sports but i have decided to just stick with lacrosse!! i love music so much because it helps me with everything. taylor has been like my big sister since i was a baby and i’ve always looked up to her!! my stan song is stay stay stay because it always puts me in the best mood!! i love grey’s anatomy a little too much but i can’t help it. the show actually made me very interested in the medical field and as of now i want to be a pediatric neurosurgeon!! i also love volunteering and helping out my community as much as possible! and i like school which is kind of not something freshman say a lot haha. and that’s me!☀️🌸🦋💘💋

Paige: @taylorswift-paige

Hey! I’m Paige & I’m 21 (soon to be 22 😍). I live in Australia and I’ve been listening to Taylor since I was 9. The first time I saw Taylor perform live was at Speak Now and I was completely blown away, since then I’ve been lucky enough to see her perform 6 times. I’m so grateful that little me decided to listen to Taylor as I don’t know where I would be without her lyrics, music, and advice to guide me through life. Thankyou for everything Taylor, I love you so much and I’m so excited for the Lover era 💗😘

Skylar: @skylarswiftie13

Hey I’m Skylar and I’m 15!! I have been loving Taylor ever since I was 5 and I have (obviously) not stopped since. Other than obsessing over Taylor I loveee to run and watch friends and greys !! I have seen Taylor at the 1989 tour Detroit and Rep Detroit and they were hands down the BEST nights of my life and I def cried a TON hahah. I plan on going to Nash and either Chicago or Detroit for next tour! I absolutely cannot wait until the day that I get to wrap my arms around Taylor and thank her for everything she has done for me ahhh. I love you forever and always Taylor!! 🥰❤️🌈🦋✨☀️

@singitswiftie

Hi Taylor I’m ella and I’m turning 17 in August 12th! IM SO EXCITED FOR THE NEW ALBUM! I just can wait to sing along to all of the songs🥰🥰 you are my absolute favorite human and you helped me with your songs! clean means THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD to me and I just relate to it on a personal level. Thank you for supporting lgbtqia+ always! YOU DESERVE THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD

Makayla @comebackbbehere

Hey T I’m Makayla!! I’m 13 and I’ve loved you since 2009!! My stan song is Come Back... Be Here not only because it’s amazing but because it has helped me through so so so SO much. It’s amazing how you can, with just a song, literally save someone’s life from spiraling downhill. So thank you. Thank you also, for inspiring so many people. Including me! You have inspired me to sing and write songs and songwriting is now a way I have learned to express myself and a way to help me get through the hard times. You have also inspired me to be more of an activist and speak up for what I believe in. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be a proud feminist or be as educated about the LGBTQ+ community!! In conclusion, thank you SO SO SO much for everything you do and just being the beautiful, amazing, inspiring person you are. I love you more than words can express and I can’t wait for August 23rd!!! ps: I really hope we can hug someday 💗

Bessie: @flyawayswift

Hey !! I’m Bessie, I’m 17 and I’m from the UK 🇬🇧!! I love to do Ballet and Tap dancing, but when it comes to Taylor’s music it’s generally just me doing crazy dad-dancing because I cannot stay calm during her songs. There’s aren’t many words which can sum up accurately how much I love Taylor or how grateful I am to have her in my life, but I love her to the moon and back 💛 I’ve been a swiftie for nearly 5 years, and have loved her music since I was 11. I’ve grown up with her as the big sister I never had, and my biggest dream EVER is to give her the biggest hug hehehe 💛💛

ana: @taysfavourite

hey!! i’m ana and i’m 14, i’m from the uk!! i love taylor (ofc) and i do gymnastics, i also love dance and stuff like that!! i am so thankful for taylor bringing me to some of my best friends!! (i’m always open for new friends btw) and yeah i love taylor!so!much! 💋💋💋

alex: @delicateswiftiez137

hi guys! i’m alex and i’m 14 years old. I live in illinois, and i’ve been a fan of taylor ever since I first heard love story and yblwm on the radio as a kid! my stan song is fearless because I love the message it portrays, but recently i’ve been OBESSED with the whole 1989 album because it’s a literal masterpiece! besides taylor related things, one hobby of mine is swimming! i’ve been a swimmer since I was about 2 years old! anyways, I hope you all have the best day! 🧁🌸🦋💗💋

Edith: @twinfiresignsswift

Hi, my name is Edith and I’m a 15 yr old from California! Anything related to cats is my ideal thing. I’m currently the mother of a tabby cat named Jagger who is very shy, grumpy, and introverted just like me, so the two of us get along very well 🥳 both of us are def party poopers. Anyway I enjoy art, especially watercolor! Initially I wanted to become an artist when I grew up, but I realized I would be poor asf, so now I want to major in biology and become some type of zoologist because animals are the best. In 2014, 5th grader me became obsessed with Blank Space and my life immediately changed from that day on. My favorite album is Speak Now because of how magical and well written it is. My 1 brain cell could never manage to write a whole masterpiece like that all by myself. And my stan song is You Are in Love!! It makes my heart go 💕💗💓 I am so incredibly grateful that I got to see Taylor for the first time ever on rep Pasadena night 1. It was the best day of my life :,) I know so many others do not have the same opportunities; I know how they feel, so I try to stay as humble as I can. I would be such a boring and sad person without Taylor and her amazing lyrics. She is such an amazing role model. Thank you for always being there for me, I will love you forever and always, and I am so excited to see what you have in stock❤️

Jess: @jessheartstaylor

hey!! I’m Jess and I’m 14, from the UK!! My stan song is begin again, I love it so much!! IM SO EXCITED FOR LOVER! I can’t wait to see what Taylor has in store for us!! I’m so thankful for Taylor as she’s such an incredible role model and idol to me, her music always cheers me up and she never fails to make me smile!! I love her so much- forever and always!! 💕💞💓💗💖💝

jordan: @fairytaleswift

hey taylor!! the thought of you scrolling all the way down and reading this right now is insane... all of us girls love you with everything inside of us. I have been supporting you for lucky number 13 years!!! I’ve been with you since 2006! I have been to Speak Now, Red, 1989 and Rep! I am so excited for Lover! It has been an honor watching you grow and become the amazing and strong woman you are today. I love you so much taylor... I hope we get to hug soon! 💗🌥🍭🦄🌩🌸🌈💐🦋💗💓🥰💅🏻🌥

Ravae: @vaelovestaytayswift

Hey I’m Ravae!! I’ve loved Taylor for as long as I can remember my sister has listened to her forever so I grew up listening to her!! Taylor inspires me everyday to be a better person and she’s a great role model. Her music helps me through the really rough times but also puts me in a better mood through the good times! I hope to meet you one day! Love you Tay🦋💞🌈💘🥺

Gracie: @inredlipsticks

Hey, Taylor! I’m Gracie and I’m 20 as of June 22nd. I’ve loved you since debut and my favorite album of all time is Fearless. I’ve been fortunate enough to see you four times and hopefully more on the lover tour 💗 along with Taylor, I also love Selena Gomez, Disney, and dogs!! 💗🦋🌸 The four most important things in my life.

Ella: @ellalovesswift

Hey! My name is Ella and I’m 17 years old. I’ve loved Taylor ever since the day my dad thought I needed my own music instead of just listening to his, this was when I was just seven years old and my dad bought me the fearless album and I fell in love with Love Story!! Ever since then I’ve never stopped loving Taylor! Other than her music, I’ve grown up with Taylor and every day she has inspired me to be a better person! My favourite songs are enchanted, better than revenge and dress! I’ve been to the red and reputation tours in Melbourne! Other than Taylor I am a swimmer. I swim a lot and it’s been a part of my life since before Taylor! I hope one day I can hug her and tell her how much she’s impacted my life! I will always stay, love you Tay 💗🦋💓🌸

bri: @briadorestay

hi t! my name is bri and i am 13 (turning 14 on august 19th) i have loved you since i was 5 years old and my stan songs are the archer, ciwyw, and you are in love. the soft songs🥺🥺 i love you so much and i hope you never stop doing what you’re doing because you are so inspiring!! i love u so much buddy! see you one day?🧚‍♀️☁️🌸💘🥺💗⭐️🕊

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maatryoshkaa · 5 years ago

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tagged by @bhubblemilk (weaver of emotions and beautiful words, her blog literally overflows with aesthetics go check it out!! love you bub ^^) and also the lovely @kim-seungmine (cute and insanely talented bub who is also wholly whipped for seungmin, the whole package tbh)

1. are you named after someone?

not that i know of! ryu is my chinese nickname heh :p

2. last time you cried?

...yesterday? 💀💀i think it was just general stress about life and uncertainty about the future. i’m a very emotional person and cry wayy too much LOLL

3. any kids?

pretty sure my parents would disown me if i had kids right now BAHAH but i want kids really bad in the future! i love kids but i’m not too great with them, which is pretty tragic. my friends say i scare them LOL

4. do you use sarcasm?

i use it a lot! i tend to deadpan it, too, which leads to people taking me seriously and it becomes a mess oops

5. first thing you notice about a person?

appearances + how they carry themselves? (i.e. with confidence, nervously, standoffish, etc.) i think that makes a big impact on how i interact with them.

6. eye colour?

probably the most boring shade of brown in the universe 😔

7. scary movies or happy endings?

both! isn’t it super satisfying when the characters go through hell, you’re brought onto the terrifying rollercoaster of a ride, and in the end it’s all worth it? (i’m a sucker for soft, happy endings). Ambiguous or angsty endings are definitely enrapturing in a whole different way, though! TL:DR, depends on the mood 🤠

8. special talent?

if i want to, i can memorize a lot of things -- strings of numbers, weird word spellings, the order of something. it works weirdly though -- i can read you my 3-page essay from the top of my head, but i can’t remember what i ate for breakfast yesterday for the life of me 🤡

9. birthplace?

canada! 🇨🇦

10. hobbies?

i love writing (of course); i just find stories (reading them, writing them, etc.) so much fun. i also love drawing, listening to music, and dancing.

11. do you/have you ever played any sports?

i did karate and swimming when i was younger, but i only dance now (don’t know if that counts🤸🏻‍♂️)

12. pets?

three turtles (used to be four...one died, rip), and a bunny hehe 🐢🐢🐢🐰

13. height?

i definitely tower over my peers at the enormous height of 159cm. 🙃

14. favourite subject in school?

english!

15. dream job?

author? i used to want to be an actress too, haha. anyways, writing stories, travelling and learning sounds like quite a dream.

tagging: @svnflowery @violethhj @okayau @fairyskz (only if you want hehe <3 have a nice day y’all~)

#tagged #thank you eiko (can i call you that? :o) and kim-seungmine (I JUST REALISED THAT'S WHAT I CALL YOU IN MY HEAD SJSKLDHA) for tagging me <3

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supergirlmelbenoist · 5 years ago

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How Melissa Benoist got ripped for Supergirl

She's not a bird or a plane, and she's definitely not Superman! In 2015, Krypton refugee Kara Zor-El — aka Kara Danvers — threw aside her glasses and donned her family's S-shaped crest to follow in her cousin's footsteps and give National City its very own superhero on the CW's Supergirl. Back then, Melissa Benoist — the actress playing both Supergirl the superpowered alien and Kara the shy personal assistant — was best known to TV fans for her role as sweet newcomer Marley Rose on two seasons of Glee, and she also had a small role in Best Picture-nominated Whiplash.

Taking the lead of a show — especially one with such a strong legacy on-screen and off — was a big step up for Benoist, both performance-wise and also physically. So how did she get ripped for the role? Well, Benoist said that landing the part meant stepping up her workouts, not just because we tend to take our superheroes with six-pack abs and toned biceps, but so that she could keep up with the action. The self-described pacifist and musical theater nerd suddenly found herself learning how to throw a punch and how to fly. So here's how Melissa Benoist toughened up to play Supergirl, at the gym, in her fight scenes, and high up on the wires.

She made it through a full-on audition process

Obviously the CW couldn't cast just anyone as Supergirl, which meant that Melissa Benoist had to go through a rigorous audition process before she got anywhere close to landing the role. The wait was made even more excruciating because, according to Benoist, "I believe I was the first girl they saw." That first audition was in October 2014, and it was just the start. In 2015, she told Entertainment Weekly, "It was a long, drawn-out, three-month process. I auditioned around Halloween 2014 and then didn't land the part until February 2015. I went through multiple screen-tests, multiple auditions with the producing team. There was a lot."

During that extensive audition process, Variety reported that Benoist found a champion in producer Greg Berlanti. "Greg championed me the whole time and was in my corner," Benoist remembered. "Even when I didn't think the part was mine, he was always rooting for me. That support goes a long way, especially when I'm fighting for something I want so badly. His belief in me really touched me." Berlanti echoed the sentiment, saying, "If we had not found her, I would have said, 'I don't want to make this.'"

The first episode aired almost a year after that first audition, on October 26, 2015, and since then, Benoist has seen hundreds of kids in their own versions of her costume. "Every Halloween there are quite a bit of Supergirls," she told Jimmy Kimmel, so it was worth the wait.

Melissa Benoist worked on her core strength

While comic book titans DC and Marvel have both made noise about introducing more diversity to their products, one thing that all superheroes have in common are incredible abs. Benoist's Supergirl is no exception. She told Entertainment Weekly that to prepare for the role, she did "some boxing, strength training, and a lot of core work." At Comic-Con, she said that her workouts included Pilates, boxing, and plyometrics.

If you've never had cause to get into superhero shape, you might be wondering what fresh hell plyometrics are. As Healthine explains, plyometrics involve exerting your body to its maximum ability for a short period of time — for example, by jumping — to improve strength, speed, and power. They're a pretty advanced form of exercise, as Benoist found out! On CBS's This Morning, she explained, "I did quite a bit of training. We did this stuff called plyometrics, which is like jump training. And all of it was really hard — just hard things!"

And the core work isn't just to look good. As Benoist added, the core work comes in handy when you're doing the flying stunts. "I'm up on a wire," she said, "and you have to hold your entire body weight so there's a lot of training involved."

Work is a workout on Supergirl

Melissa Benoist wasn't the only cast member who had to up her workout intensity to give the action sequences the effort they deserved. Chyler Leigh, who plays Kara's adoptive sister Alex, said that the actors work really hard with the stunt coordinators to get the fight scenes just right. And those action-packed days are full-on workouts in their own right. "When we do fight scenes, we're working out for six hours, just doing the same thing," she told CBS. "We are burnt for the next few days. I think that's really where I get my caloric burn count."

Even when they aren't shooting, Leigh and Benoist try to use those periods of waiting around that happen on the set of a TV show to stay in shape. "Melissa and I try to do as much as we possibly can," Leigh said. "In my trailer, I've got resistance bands and medicine balls and things like that. I try to do it in between, but we have very little downtime." The two on-screen sisters also have a shared interest in the same workout. "I love Pilates," Leigh told CBS. "It gives such a good core foundation. When I can go, it's awesome." And you thought TV sets were all craft services and hanging out in trailers.

Melissa Benoist learned to fight from the best

Thos Robinson/Getty Images Another crucial element of being a superhero is being able to kick butt convincingly. This didn't come naturally to Benoist, who confessed to the Chicago Tribune, "I had never punched anyone! I maybe slapped my sisters when I was a kid, but I'm not an aggressive, violent person, and I had no idea how to throw a punch." To help her find her inner fighter, Benoist took up boxing. "I definitely had to learn technique. Like how to actually punch someone and not hurt yourself more than you're hurting the person you're punching. And so boxing was part of it," she told InStyle.

Fortunately for Benoist, she had access to excellent tutors. In addition to the stunt team, former karate and kickboxing world champion Lexi Alexander (pictured above) directed an episode in the first season. Having worked on Supergirl's fellow Arrowverse show Arrow, Alexander said she was excited to work on a story about a female superhero. "I realized that this is the first time I'm choreographing and directing a fight scene for a female lead. I did some fight directing for a woman here and there … but for a female lead? I've never directed a female lead in an action," she told Den of Geek.

Her directing stint was short, but Alexander said that she pushed her star "to the next level of fight choreography," and that "they've now changed [Benoist's] fight style from [Alexander's] episode onward." Benoist might still be more lover than fighter at heart, but we wouldn't challenge her.

She does (some of) her own stunts on Supergirl

Believe it or not, it really is Benoist doing some of those hair-raising stunts on the show. The actress told Variety that she likes to get involved with the action when she can, saying, "I have been doing a lot [of stunts], and I want to keep doing them. Already I've fought a male on the show. Supergirl's fight moves are boxing. She's really heavy-handed. There's some flying that involves kicking and punching mid-flight that's kind of awesome."

However, not everyone was thrilled with Benoist's hands-on approach to fights. Her mom, Julie, told her that she found it difficult to watch her daughter's fight scenes, especially against men. But Julie Benoist needn't have worried. Benoist knows her limits, and she's heaped praise on her stunt doubles. In 2015, she said of stunts, "I think they're so fun. There are some that I just can't — I really could get injured. … My stunt double is amazing. She was Jen Garner's on Alias and Buffy's. She's all over the place, and she's so cool. I wish people could see what they go through. It's insane."

Benoist's stunt double in 2015 was Shauna Duggins, whose resume includes Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the recent Star Trek movies, and 2000's Charlie's Angels (as well as many other movies and shows.) After doing 20 episodes of Supergirl, Duggins went on to work as stunt coordinator for shows including Ray Donovan, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and GLOW. She's a real-life superwoman.

She likes to get out of the gym

Although Benoist diligently puts in her hours in the gym, the Colorado-raised actress is happier getting her exercise in the great outdoors. Her Instagram shows photos of her hiking with her husband (and Supergirl co-star), Chris Wood, and their dogs, Farley and Drift. She also recalled being jealous when she found out what her co-star and Supergirl predecessor, Helen Slater, was doing to get in shape.

After Benoist recounted the boxing and core work she was doing to Slater, "She gave me this look, and I was like, 'Why, what did they have you do?'" Benoist told Entertainment Weekly. "'Oh, I went horseback riding, and fencing and doing some archery, and I was swimming.' She went through this whole gamut of awesome outdoor activities that I would love to do to train." Speaking to E! Online, Benoist said of Slater's exercise regime, "She was on trampolines a lot and dancing and prancing and doing all these cool activities for training. I wish I had that much fun."

The conflicting training schedules aren't coming between the two actresses. Benoist added to EW, "Also, she's just so kind and such a sweet, sweet woman. That's really what I've learned from her. She really is a super girl. I'm so honored that I'm following in her footsteps." She'll just have to wait for a filming break to take a hike.

Melissa Benoist has a dance background

Glee was not Benoist's first experience with musical theater. She told Jimmy Kimmel that she did "tap, ballet, and jazz class at four years old" and children's theater, even performing at Disneyland. "In front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle, we sang a Stephen Sondheim medley where my solo was 'Send in the Clowns,'" she recalled. She also studied ballet, although she wasn't a perfect student. "All the years I took ballet class … I was the one kid in class who the teacher was always like, 'Urgh, her turn-out,' and, 'She is not standing up straight,'" Benoist told Kimmel. She did better with another form of dance. In a video for Glamour, she said, "I have a secret superpower — that I can tap dance," and she demonstrated to prove her point.

That dance training comes in handy on the set of Supergirl — and not just for Benoist's part in the musical crossover episode of The Flash. Benoist said that her dance background helps her with the wire work and even the fight sequences. "With the wire work and flying, even the choreography, I grew up dancing, so that kind of came like it would if I were learning a dance routine," she told the Chicago Tribune. Plus, it keeps her and the crew entertained between takes.

She learned how to fly (well, on wires)

Melissa Benoist's favorite thing about her superhero role is exactly what you'd expect: the chance to fly. When Jimmy Kimmel asked about the best part of playing Supergirl, Benoist said, "I mean, I get to fly!" Upon further questioning, she acknowledged, "I mean it's hard work, I'm essentially attached to a fork in the air." She also told Variety just how hard it was and how she prepared, saying, "The wire work for training is mostly core work. It's mostly ab-centric — the whole area of the body that nobody wants to work out. You have to get strong. You have to carry your whole body weight when you're up in the air."

However, it's worth all the working out. "The wire work is really difficult, but so fun. And when you get it right, watching the result is exhilarating," Benoist told People. "It's a really, really cool feeling to know what it felt like, the energy I had to exert to create those flying scenes. And then the way they look is really rewarding."

Benoist got some help perfecting her flying technique. When Kimmel asked how she figured out Supergirl's flying style, she said, "There's this sort of superhero physicality school that you kind of have to go to — at least we did on the DC shows — where the stunt team will teach you to walk like a superhero. … They're awesome and they've really helped me." And that's how to look fly in spandex.

Benoist eats healthy, but she's not a dieter

All of that working out and on-set action builds up an appetite. But as a female superhero who's expected to squeeze into a spandex suit every day and have the muscles to beat up bad guys without actually looking bulked up, Benoist can't go to town on craft services. Fortunately, she's pretty into fruits and vegetables anyway. "I love supermarkets, I love grocery shopping, I love the produce aisle, because to be super you have to be healthy," she told Glamour. "And I would probably stock up on all the fruits. I love fruit."

However, she isn't about to totally deprive herself of comfort foods. In the same Glamour interview, she said, "If I could supersize any food it would be [an] ice cream Drumstick, vanilla caramel. They're so good." In 2016, she told the Chicago Tribune that she was excited to attend that year's Chicago Comic-Con and Entertainment Expo (aka C2E2) because she wanted to check out the city's restaurants. As she explained, "I've heard the food scene is incredible, and I'm a foodie, so I can't wait to go out and eat."

Benoist also said that her own partiality to the occasional junk food splurge inspired the writers to add it into her character's personality. "I love junk food, I love doughnuts, and they put that in there quite a bit," she said, laughing. "There are these doughnuts all the time." This diet sounds super.

She got ripped to show women being tough

Kevin Winter/Getty Images One reason Melissa Benoist was so invested in making sure her character could be physically impressive was because she wanted to inspire other women to feel strong and powerful. In an essay for Time, she wrote, "I think the more the show goes on, the more you see this fierceness and what women are really capable of. It puts [Supergirl] on this equal playing field. … That's so meaningful to me to help children understand that girls can have just as much fun as their male counterparts in the superhero world. It's about confidence and hope, and Supergirl really embodies all of that."

Even though Benoist also wrote that she grew up in "this really strong, feminine family," she told the Chicago Tribune, "I didn't really believe that I could be that character or play a superhero. It's something I never thought of myself as doing, but I just knew I had to go for it because there's so few female superheroes and just strong females that fight back and do it with grace and do it with love." She's also said that she didn't want the character to be a female version of male superheroes, saying, "What I think is cool is to try to bring kind of a femininity to her strength. … I do like the idea of bringing in like a grace to it. And a fluidity and kind of this femininity to flying. It's fun." In other words, Melissa Benoist is out here bringing new meaning to (Super)girl power.

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szappan · 6 years ago

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tag time, thank you!

Hello, I hope you’re all having a nice day. The things I was tagged in have clumped up so I thought I could just do them all now. Thank you to everyone who tagged me!!!

1. Diana @britneyshakespeare (thank you so much!!)

Rules: tag people you’d like to get to know better! (reading this i felt like one of those crying cats, im so honoured seriously thank you)

Top 10 songs I can’t stop listening to: this is actually very well-timed because i can actually name these and also @sastrugie tagged me in a similar one, thank you:

You Ain’t Going Nowhere - Bob Dylan

Atlantis - Donovan

All La Glory - The Band

Moondance - Van Morrison

Šlechtici - Golden Kids

Not Enough - FUR

Leave Her, Johnny - George Sneez

Be Bop A Lula - Gene Vincent

Series Of Dreams - Bob Dylan

Márti Dala - Pásztor Anna & Kiss Tibi

Favorite color(s): all but orange on its own. orange paired with something else is fine. it’s amazing if it’s obnoxious.

Favorite ships: two white cats they’re husband and wife, the coconut lorikeets in denver zoo and merthur

Lipstick or chapstick: neh

Last Movie: my brother and i watched Thor: Ragnarök again last week, I think that was it. I’ve been really trying to watch more movies lately, especially considering how it’s the primary art source of the era (not really but it is kinda.. what)

Currently Reading: Winnie the Pooh

i’ll tag everyone at the end of this, thank you!

2. thank you @smittyjaws and @savoy-brown-shoe for this tag from ages ago!

the point is that i shuffle my music library and list the first ten that come up

A 67-es Út - Republic

Death Of A Clowd - The Kinks (look at this babie)

Feel A Whole Lot Better - Tom Petty

Somebody To Love - Queen

Paintbox - Pink Floyd

Piano Concerto No. 1 - Tchaikovsky

No Time To Think - Bob Dylan

The Diary Of Horace Wimp - ELO

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - The Band

Oh! Darling - The Beatles

thank u!

3. thank you @thenesmith for this here very 7 questions tag! i love the format you did this in by the way and also @britneyshakespeare too!!

Relationship status: i’m not in a romantic relationship with anyone

Favourite colour: see above but i also realized that i really like that blue that my corduroy shirt is, it’s like light but strong and muted at the same time

Lipstick or chapstick?: no thank you

Top three ships: yuh

Last song I listened to: I’m listening to Help! by the Beatles, thank you youtube autoplay

Spell out your name with song titles: W - Wonderboy - The Kinks I - I Love My Shirt - Donovan L - Lod’ Do Neznáma - Tublatanka E - Everyday - Buddy Holly S - Summer ‘68- Pink Floyd

4. Thank you, Diana @britneyshakespeare yet again!

15 questions, 15 mutuals

Are you named after someone? I am not.

When was the last time you cried? Two days ago on the way home on the bus because I was thinking of a song that made me cry

Do you have kids? no thankfully

Do you use sarcasm a lot? I try not to

What’s the first thing you notice about people? Well, I guess at first glance I see how they look, but behaviour-vise I tend to notice how aware they are of their surroundings

What’s your eye colour? You know that post telling hazel-eyed people to shut up? Brownish-green. Totally green if the lights are right. Totally brown when the lights are not right etc

Scary movie or happy ending? Both can be good, especially combined

Any special talents? I can bend my left thumb in a way that it looks like my hand is broken

Where were you born? Right in the middle of Budapest in a hospital

What are your hobbies? Reading, drawing whatever i can, i guess music, ruining various pieces of clothing with various techniques, putting whatever spices i see in whatever dish i’m making, being gentle with my cat

Do you have any pets? cat

What sport do you/have you played? I used to swim a lot, even tried synchronized swimming for a year or two, then gymnastics when I was littol, then I took up karate and broke my arm three months in so I quit, I tried ballet too this year but that’s over now and I also did yoga for a few months so yeah these are the official ones

How tall are you? 5′4″? 164 cm?

Favourite subject in school? I don’t dislike any of them. I like English a lot tho

Dream job? shepherd. but a lot of people told me that i have potential to better the world and i want to do that too somehow but also if i could just focus on getting through each day not by making money but by making bread or yes, herding sheep, i would do that too.

thank you!!

5. thank you @thenesmith again! this is to post gifs of my top 5 favourite movies. (currently)

1. Spider-man: Homecoming

2. The Road To El Dorado

3. Labyrinth

4. The Rutles - All You Need Is Cash

5. idk Back to the Future

wuh

6. thank you, @siliconpine!

20 songs tag game

A song you like with a color in the title || Crimson and Clover - Tommy James & The Shondells

A song you like with a number in the title || Fourth Time Around - Bob Dylan

A song that reminds you of summertime || Mary Jane’s Last Dance - Tom Petty (obvi)

A song that reminds you of someone you’d rather forget || i dont think theres a song such as this because i dont like forgetting people

A song that needs to be played LOUD || Birthday - The Beatles

A song that makes you wanna dance || anything pink floyd because i came to the conclusion that you cant dance to pink floyd so i always want to prove myself wrong

A song that makes you happy || Happiness Runs - Donovan

A song that you never get tired of || Ophelia - The Band

A song that you would love played at your wedding || Light A Roman Candle With Me - fun.

A song that is a cover by another artist || Dream A Little Dream Of Me - The Mamas & the Papas

A song that you have sung as a duet at karaoke || none sadly

A song that makes you think about life || It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) - Bob Dylan

A favorite song with a person’s name in the title || Maxine - Traveling Wilburys

A song that you think everybody should listen to || It’s Nice To Be Nice - Pugwash

A song by a band you wish were still together || See My Friends - The Kinks

A song by an artist no longer living || Rock & Roll Suicide - David Bowie

A song that makes you want to fall in love || I Got You Babe - Sonny and Cher

A song that breaks your heart || You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go - Bob Dylan

A song that you remember from your childhood || Egy bogár - Cseh Tamás

A song that reminds you of yourself || Friends To Go - Paul McCartney

thank you so much!

7. again by @siliconpine!! thank you so much

A This or That Tag Game

Honey and lemon or milk and sugar // musicals or plays // lemonade or iced tea // strawberries or raspberries // winter or summer // beaches or forests // diners or cafés // unicorns or dragons // gemstones or crystals // hummingbirds or owls // fireworks or sparklers // brunch or happy hour what // sweet or sour no // Rome or Amsterdam // classic or modern art // sushi or ramen// sun or moon // polka dots or stripes // macaroons or croissants// glitter or matte // Degas or Seurat // aquariums or planetariums // road trip or camping trip not a fan of either // coloring books or watercolor // fairy lights or candles

thank you!! i think this is it!

thank YOU if you got this far in, and I’ll tag @vanillatumbleweedscoffee @stars-in-my-damn-eyes @sneez @fancybasementfestival @kipland00 @dreameramongwildflowers @punkslap @rhapsody-under-pressure and everyone who i tagged before and anyone who wants to to do any of these tags as they see fit and if they’re in the mood or have enought time or are just looking for something to do

#tags #long post #i hope the break works

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kindabraveandlittlestupid · 6 years ago

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Couples Costumes

So Halloween snuck up on me this year because it’s fucking tomorrow and I kinda forgot about it with all the things on the news. I had a handful of Halloween related posts that I wanted to post and while I managed to get a few done, the ones that require some photoshop work are still on my ‘To Do List’. Clearly, I went a little overboard with my post here posting 45 Halloween Costumes above (I am counting the classic Batman Costumes and the Wayne/Garth pics as just two costumes, so yes my math is sound).

I WAS planning to do a Velma/Shaggy or Salt/Snail costume with my S.O. but I am remarkably alone yet again, woe is me and my pity party. ^_^ Not being a downer, I promise. *Slaps Cheeks* Back on topic, Michael! You're rambling again. Yeah so here is a list of costumes. I might make another list next year but let's be honest the best couples costumes will be on this post. If you have your ideas/suggests I love to hear/see them in the notes.

Cartoons

Ash & Misty (Pokemon) - Kind of a classic costume these days as they are both iconic. Who wouldn't want to see their girlfriend in some jean shorts tiny yellow tank top? Misty can be switched out for sexy Pikachu.

Bob & Louise (Bob’s Burgers) - Lots of great characters in the show but none better than Bob and Louise (sorry Tina fans). This would be a fun outfit to host a party and cook burgers. Just a thought.

Birdman & Birdgirl (Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law) - Fun costume for Adult Swim lovers. I love for my girlfriend to do that inner monologue out in the open the way Birdgirl does. I could also switch Harvey out for Phil because “Ha Ha Naughty”.

Max & Roxanne (Goofy Movie) - Simple costume with some paint on the nose and select clothes. I suspect only the 80′s thru 90′s kids would make the connection but the Z Generation has proved me wrong before.

Wanda & Cosmo (Fairly Oddparents) - Not my favorite costume set but one that would be fun if we had a kid who we were fairy godparents too.

Curious Georgia & Man in the Yellow Hat (Curious George) - This is all the excuse you need to jump on my back or my front or my bed.

Alice & The White Rabbit (Alice in Wonderland) - Alice in Wonderland has lots of males to dress up as between the March Hare, White Rabbit, Mad Hatter and more. I am sure you girls like options.

Lilo & Stitch (Lilo & Stitch) - If I had four arms the sexy stuff we would do in bed but I don't sadly. However, I can make a great stitch voice not that a cartoon voice does much for you.

Jack Skellington & Sally (Nightmare Before Christmas) - I might be too broad shouldered for this sort of couples costume but if my partner is willing I am game.

Mavis & Jonathan (Hotel Transylvania) - Mavis is perhaps a little to cute. I mean kind of a strange crush on a little vampire girl, so yeah I am not against someone cosplaying her for me.

Nick Wilde & Judy Hopps (Zootopia) - A little bit anthropomorphizing of Nick and Judy but they got good chemistry and so do we.

Spinelli & T.J. (Recess) - Not to take an innocent toon in a wrong direction but you know they probably smoked weed in high school together and T.J. convinces her to wear a dress for prom but no doubt still has her boots on. They make a cute couple to say the least.

Finn & Fionna (Adventure Time) - Heroes of Adventure Time! Sadly (not really sad about that) I am not blonde but we can always up on some

Velma & Shaggy (Scooby Doo) - Yet another cartoon crush. I like a nerd and a little thick Velma.

Fred & Wilma (The Flintstones) - Costumes are epic enough being basically caveman tunics. I can get behind this costume more if we had a Pebbles or Bam Bam to take out trick or treating.

Movies

Black Widow & Captain America (Avengers) - If I could afford it I would be Stark. If my hair was longer I would be Thor. Perhaps Hawkeye would be a better pairing. Regardless Black Widow is a woman among many men. This means you get your pick of which hero I dress up as.

Sam & Suzy (Sunrise Kingdom) - Kind of a hipster approach towards Halloween but sometimes being a nitch audience is ok.

Max & Furiosa (Mad Max) - If my girlfriend had a buzzed head, (for whatever reason that was) Mad Max would be an awesome costume to do together.

Mask & Tina Carlyle (The Mask) - I am a big Jim Carry fan so any excuse to dress up as his characters is a win. Camren Diaz was also smoking hot in this film.

Ash & Sheila (Army of Darkness) - Ash is pretty badass and the number 1 reason to dress as him is to have a chainsaw on your hand and double barrel shotgun on your back.

Dorthy & Scarecrow (Wizard of Oz) - I can also be a Tinman or Lion for your pleasure. That and you can be a green witch... no, I think prefer Dorthy.

Mary Poppins & Bert (Mary Poppins) - This costume would be so much better if I could sing or dance but I can't so I won't.

Aragorn & Arwen (Lord of the Rings) - If I find a woman into the Lord of the Rings (and Game of Thrones) she might be a keeper.

Harry Potter & Hermione Granger (Harry Potter) - Am I the only one who is upset Harry didn't hook up with Hermione? Am I the only one upset Emma Watson didn't hook up with me? Am I rambling? Should I shut up now?

Peter & Gamora (Guardians of the Galaxy) - Might easily be my favorite couple in the MCU. Gonna be a long night painting my girlfriend green.

Beetlejuice & Miss Argentina (Beetlejuice) - Again painting the girlfriend green and myself white! I suppose you could be Lydia and I can actually do a great impression of Michael Keaton's Beetlejuice.

Morticia & Gomez Addams (The Addams Family) - I would pay Thing if I could but sadly I can not disembody may hand and have it run around. I will have to settle for Gomez but your free to pick between Morticia or Wednesday.

Wayne & Garth (Waynes World) - Playing to males? Meh sure. I loved this movie and I don't mind some cross-dressing for my partner. Just gonna be weird when Wayne makes out with Garth.

Shows

Burt Macklin & Janet Snakehole (Parks and Rec) - I am a special agent on a mission and your a wealthy widow with a secret. Only Parks and Recs fans will get this and that's just fucking great. Two rules though we don't break character and if I find a Johnny Karate, I must fight him.

Dexter Morgan & Hannah McKay (Dexter) - Might have been one of the hottest love scenes in a TV show ever. This costume works well with the plastic wrap and doubly fun to take it off you later.

Eleven & Mike (Stranger Things) - Pretty adorable couple on screen. Not sure about Season 2′s ‘rebel’ storyline in the city but still awesome all the same. I can't wait for season 3.

Batgirl/Catwoman & Batman (Batman Show) - I’m Batman. *Coughs* I mean I am dressed as Batman. The 1960′s Batman costume were simple but fun. Woman didnt look bad at all in their costumes either.

Daredevil & Electra (Daredevil) - I may keep it simple with the black mask and black shirt combo over the body armor. The good thing about those Marvel shows is the outfits are basic as hell.

William Riker & Deanna Troi (Star Trek) - Loved the TNG. Loved Star Trek. Can't go wrong with simple clothes and the Starfleet badge.

Comics/Video Games

Wonder Woman & Superman (DC Comics) - Open to interpretation about which Superman or Wonderwoman we are dressing up as. I have to admit the Wonder Woman movie costume was awesome.

Batman & Catwoman (DC Comics) - Few romances have ever been so ‘Cat and Mouse’ or rather ‘Bat and Cat’ than that of Batman and Catwoman. The skin-tight body suit and whip make Catwoman all that much alluring. You can decide if you want to go TV show, Cartoon, Comics, Video Game or Movie versions of Selena Kyle.

Rogue & Gambit (Marvel Comics) - A man with deep love and a woman who can never be touched by him (at least skin to skin). This is some Shakespeare level tragedy for this lovely duo.

Spiderman & Black Cat (Marvel Comics) - What can I say its the costume on Black Cat...

Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda) - I am totally open to also as playing as Ganon if you want me to capture you and tie you down to the bed.

Misc

Mimes - A whole day of not talking to one another and miming shit out?! Sounds horrible lets just talk in private when no one is looking.

Fireman & Dalmation Girl - Who’s a good girl? Who’s a good girl? You are! Yes you are!

Little Red & Big Bad Wolf - I won't lie 90% of the reason this costume works is that it leads to sexy time in the bedroom.

Waldo & Wanda - We go to Good Will, buy a bunch of random junk. Write Property of Waldo on it and leave it around the neighborhood all night long. We can set up a Waldo themed house so people can bring items back to us.

Snail & Salt Shaker - Oh ho ho am I clever? Probably not someone has been bound to make a costume like this before. I think it be fun for you to avoid me the whole part as I walk around as a Salt Shaker.

Frankenstein & Bride of Frankenstein - Classic movie costume and its really all about the hair for the bride. I can imagine this being a big hit with the kids and fun for a monster movie night.

Regards Michael California

#Halloween #Happy Halloween #All Hallows Eve #Couples Costumes #Relationships #Couples #Costumes

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doctorshufflepuff · 6 years ago

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15 Questions 15 Mutuals

Tagged by @commander-corvus, thanks friend!!

1. are you named after anyone?

Nope

2. when was the last time you cried?

Misty eyed / choked up? Tonight, like an hour ago. "Real" crying? When I told my parents I didn't actually graduate this semester

3. do you have/want kids?

Nope! I mean, I reserve Future Shuffle's right to change her mind on that, but as of right now it's not something I want out of life

4. do you use sarcasm a lot?

Not really, no

5. what’s the first thing you notice about people?

//TODO

(No clue. Not awake enough for this. Maybe whether they'd give a good hug? But not always?)

6. what’s your eye color?

Brown

7. scary movie or happy ending?

Happy ending. All. The. Way. I'm not super into scary stuff, but I'm always down for a gooshy, cheesy, cliche ending

8. any special talents?

I've been vaguely interested in calligraphy for a long while, so while my lettering might not be even I can definitely make it Extra

9. where were you born?

Virginia, U.S.

10. what are your hobbies?

Reading, specifically reading (and recently, writing) fanfic, skiing + snowboarding, swing dancing, lil bit of piano

11. do you have any pets?

Nope, but dammit I want a cat

12. what sports do you play/have you played?

Haven't really had time/money for skiing or boarding recently, but hey, tis the season. I also was on swim team on and off growing up, did a tiny bit of both karate and soccer, and a dash of kindergarten gymnastics

13. how tall are you?

5' 1" on a good day

14. favorite subject in school?

English-type classes where you read stuff then talk about it. I've been doing mostly cosci for a while, and then I took Writing for the Web last semester and it was back to the class discussion model, which kind of sucks as a format but can actually get into interesting topics - I didn't realize I missed doing that kind of analysis

15. dream job?

Hmm. Ski bum would be a good time, but maybe not permanently. Or a sign language interpreter specializing in tech

I tag (if you want)

@paint-on-my-tongue @supernerdgirl3 @auniverseforgotten @sariahs-song @ozdizz @velocifoxy @serendipitydope @i-am-me-i-am-sam @thehappiestpumpkin @just-a-slytherin-with-salt @hydrawolfy @100floorpocky @inalandofmythandtimeofmagic @coffeecloudy

And @ask-40-fingered-fish, I tag you and all your cuttlefish

#shufflepuff speaks #ask games #tagged for me #i really was gonna sleep tonight #i swear

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wondroussimmer-blog · 6 years ago

Photo

GET TO KNOW ME-

Basically, no one actually tagged me in this, but I thought i’d give it a go anyway seeing as this is a new blog and you guys can get to now me a bit, so I tag anyone who sees this and also wants to have a go...

________________________________________________________________

1. What is your full name? I’m not putting my last name on here, but my first name is Maja (Miya) 2. What is your nickname? I don’t really have one 3. Birthday? January 1st 4. What is your favourite book series? I don’t really read book series’ 5. Do you believe in aliens or ghosts? Not 100% sure, I don’t believe in the sort of ghosts you see in films, but I think I believe our loved ones stay with us in some way. As for aliens, idk, we can’t be the only life but idk. 6. Who is your favourite author? I find the fault in our stars quite overrated, but i’d say John Green because some of his others are my favourites! 7. What is your favourite radio station? BBC Radio 1 8. What is your favourite flavour of anything? this is such a weird question, how can you have a favourite flavour for everything? but if it’s sweet, definitely strawberry! 9. What word would you use often to describe something great or wonderful? Again, weird question, but i use so many words for this, my most used are probably lovely and amazing 10. What is your current favourite song? this changes alll the time, but right this minute it’s probably sunflower by post malone and swae lee 11. What is your favourite word? is this a thing? 12. What was the last song you listened to? vacation by hippo campus 13. What TV show would you recommend for everybody to watch? big mouth, orphan black, queer eye, dexter 14. What is your favourite movie to watch when you’re feeling down? the breakfast club or mean girls probably 15. Do you play video games? only the sims 16. What is your biggest fear? probably the death of people close to me, and in the future not being able to have children 17. What is your best quality, in your opinion? probably that i’m a friendly person 18. What is your worst quality, in your opinion? i’m v insecure 19. Do you like cats or dogs better? DOGS... always dogs! 20. What is your favourite season? autumn/winter 21. Are you in a relationship? yes 22. What is something you miss from your childhood? having way more friends and barely any responsibilities 23. Who is your best friend? my boyfriend 24. What is your eye colour? blue 25. What is your hair colour? brown 26. Who is someone you love? my boyfriend and family 27. Who is someone you trust? my boyfriend and closest family 28. Who is someone you think about often? okay wow, so much variety in these answers but the same as the previous two answers 29. Are you currently excited about/for something? christmas and my birthday 30. What is your biggest obsession? probably sims 31. What was your favourite TV show as a child? Probably Tracy beaker or that’s so raven 32. Who of the opposite gender can you tell anything to, if anyone? my boyfriend 33. Are you superstitious? only slightly 34. Do you have any unusual phobias? cracking knuckles, moths (but only indoors), realistic looking mannequins and gas masks... so not much 35. Do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it? behind, every single time 36. What is your favourite hobby? playing sims, graphic designing, video editing 37. What was the last book you read? The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks 38. What was the last movie you watched? Muppet’s Christmas Carol 39. What musical instruments do you play, if any? I play a bit of guitar and can play the mr bean theme song on piano if that counts 40. What is your favourite animal? dogs 41. What are your top 5 favourite Tumblr blogs that you follow? I definitely have more than 5 42. What superpower do you wish you had? be able to teleport and go invisible 43. When and where do you feel most at peace? probably at home with my boyfriend 44. What makes you smile? sorry if this is becoming a boring answer... but my boyfriend! also my dog :) 45. What sports do you play, if any? I don’t at the moment, but I have done tennis, dance (ballet, tap and modern), swimming, karate, speed skating and netball 46. What is your favourite drink? water... how boring ik 47. When was the last time you wrote a hand-written letter or note to somebody? Last month, I made my boyfriend a scrap book as one of my boyfriend’s presents for our anniversary and wrote some letters as part of it 48. Are you afraid of heights? not if it’s a secure height 49. What is your biggest pet peeve? I have wayyy too many and so many grammatical ones, I absolutely hate when people incorrectly use was and were, so if someone said ‘we was going’, I think it’s quite an essex thing but I hateeee it, I can’t stand bad grammar, but also slow walkers, people who walk through the door without looking behind them to hold the door open for people behind, other drivers not indicating, people that have to be louder than everyone else, people that chew with their mouths open... basically I have a lot and this list could go on and on and on 50. Have you ever been to a concert? I’ve seen all time low, the 1975, imagine dragons, sunset sons, ed sheeran and paramore in concert so far and i’m seeing panic! at the disco in march which i’m MEGA excited about!!! 51. Are you vegan/vegetarian? vegetarian 52. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? This would change all the time, it went from radio dj, to dancer, to teacher when I was really young, then architect when I was a teenager, and now it’s clinical psychologist which i’m slowly working towards 53. What fictional world would you like to live in? I’ve not got a clue 54. What is something you worry about? EVERYTHING! I get a lot of social anxiety, so basically whenever i’m out of the house i’m worrying about absolutely everything and it’s the worst and gets me super down, so yeah, love that 55. Are you scared of the dark? okay so I don’t like leaving the dark, i’m fine being in the dark but I hate when i’m home alone and have to turn the lights off in the living room, kitchen and hall to go to bed... if that makes sense 56. Do you like to sing? i’m someone that, at home, is constantly singing, and when it’s only my boyfriend around, if one of us says a sentence that can in some way relate to a song, i’ll immediately sing it, but I suck so I won’t ever sing in public 57. Have you ever skipped school? in school I faked being ill a few times to get off of school, but in uni i’ve skipped way too many lectures over the past 3 years 58. What is your favourite place on the planet? I absolutely adore Spain, but also Belgrade (i’m half Serbian) 59. Where would you like to live? If not my current home town, i’d love to one day live somewhere like Norway or Sweden 60. Do you have any pets? yep, i’ve got a french bulldog 61. Are you more of an early bird or a night owl? I wake up pretty early, but I hate to start the day early 62. Do you like sunrises or sunsets better? sunsets. 63. Do you know how to drive? Yep 64. Do you prefer earbuds or headphones? the sound of headphones but I normally use earbuds 65. Have you ever had braces? nope, thank god 66. What is your favourite genre of music? this really ranges from charts, to indie rock, to ‘former emo kid’, to early 2000s r&b, to musical theatre 67. Who is your hero? probably my boyfriend 68. Do you read comic books? no 69. What makes you the most angry? as we’ve already gathered, I have a lot of pet peeves, so a lot! 70. Do you prefer to read on an electronic device or with a real book?a real book! 71. What is your favourite subject in school? I currently study psychology which has been my favourite subject since A levels, but during GCSEs I enjoyed maths 72. Do you have any siblings? 1 younger brother 73. What was the last thing you bought? some christmas presents for my boyfriend’s cousins 74. How tall are you? 5ft4 75. Can you cook? yes 76. What are three things that you love? spending time with people I love, travelling, collecting photos 77. What are three things that you hate? busy places, cheats, confrontation 78. Do you have more female friends or more male friends? I actually barely have any so this is kind of hard to answer 79. What is your sexual orientation? straight 80. Where do you currently live? England 81. Who was the last person you texted? my mum 82. When was the last time you cried? I’m not actually sure, which is funny because I cry all the time and super easily 83. Who is your favourite YouTuber? I have so many: in terms of sims: lilsimsie, urbansims, sophsims, simkim, plumbella, in terms of lifestyle: louise pentland, in terms of fashion and beauty: samantha maria, tati westbrook, busybee carys, patricia bright, antonio garza, and others: shane dawson, sarah baska, kendall rae, jaackmaate, and loads more! basically, if i’m not on tumblr, i’m on youtube, if i’m not on youtube i’m playing sims, and if i’m not on sims i’m on tumblr... 84. Do you like to take selfies? rarely 85. What is your favourite app? any social media 86. What is your relationship with your parent(s) like? fab 87. What is your favourite foreign accent? Australian and Scottish 88. What is a place that you’ve never been to, but you want to visit? I have so many but I won’t bore you with another long list, so just a few: Sweden, South Africa, Iceland and Canada 89. What is your favourite number? 1 90. Can you juggle? no 91. Are you religious? I was baptised but don’t really consider myself religious 92. Do you find outer space or the deep ocean to be more interesting? both as interesting as the other 93. Do you consider yourself to be a daredevil? not really 94. Are you allergic to anything? no 95. Can you curl your tongue? yep, one of my weird ‘party tricks’ is I can actually curl it 180 degrees 96. Can you wiggle your ears? no 97. How often do you admit that you were wrong about something? not as often as I should 98. Do you prefer the forest or the beach? probably the forest 99. What is your favourite piece of advice that anyone has ever given you?my dad probably gives the best life advice but there’s too much to put here 100. Are you a good liar? It depends 101. What is your Hogwarts House? Hufflepuff 102. Do you talk to yourself? All the time 103. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? I N T R O V E R T, i’m so introverted to the point I hate it but seriously struggle to change it 104. Do you keep a journal/diary? no but I have in the past 105. Do you believe in second chances? it depends 106. If you found a wallet full of money on the ground, what would you do? Hand it in 107. Do you believe that people are capable of change? It depends 108. Are you ticklish? VERY 109. Have you ever been on a plane? manyyyy times 110. Do you have any piercings? nope, I have but not anymore 111. What fictional character do you wish was real? no idea 112. Do you have any tattoos? nope 113. What is the best decision that you’ve made in your life so far? I’m really not sure 114. Do you believe in karma? to an extent, but at the same time bad things seem to happen to good people, sooooo 115. Do you wear glasses or contacts? neither 116. Do you want children? yes 117. Who is the smartest person you know? my cousin 118. What is your most embarrassing memory? omg my whole life is filled with embarrassing memories that I seem to always remember at the most inconvenient times or when i’m about to go to sleep that just haunt me out of nowhere...fun 119. Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? yes 120. What colour are most of you clothes? black or white 121. Do you like adventures? yep 122. Have you ever been on TV? no 123. How old are you? 20 - nearly 21 124. What is your favourite quote? not really sure. 125. Do you prefer sweet or savoury foods? sweet

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lifeafterthewake · 6 years ago

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11.12.2018

I wasn’t and I’m still not sure what to do with this account. I’ve started it as an attempt at blogging and it’s clearly not working. Then again it usually is quite a challange for me to write as I live with a person who talks a lot and I seek their presence. Oftentimes I talk and all the content inside my mind gets spilled and discharged. But right now I’m in a bit of a pickle, staying at a friend’s house while they’re away so naturally more thoughts come to my mind and the need to express them is more apparent.

I wanted to write a little bit about self-control or self-control issues. I’ve never been good with self-control. Whether it’s money, food, learning for important exams, managing my time, speaking to other people or managing the power I have in relation to them - there were always issues.

My weight is an issue of great concern to me as my whole childhood and adolescence I was bombarded with contradicting communicates: that I eat too much, that I don’t eat enough, that I’m too fat, that my weight is fine, that I should do more physical activities while I was going to extracurricular classes almost all the time (karate, dancing, swimming, horse riding for a short period of time). My parents are obese and they eat too much and so I was overweight ever since I went to elementary school. The most I ever weighed was 102kg I think. I was 15 years old then. It was a turning point for me as when I crossed the 100kg line I thought to myself ‘this is too much, this is dangerous, I have to do something about it’. And so I did.

Before going into highschool, so 15/16 years old I’ve imposed a set of strict dietary rules upon myself. I ate every 3 hours 5-6 meals a day, I chewed every bite 30 times or until it was practically dissolved in my mouth, I’ve only eaten one meal at a time, so no multiple dish dinners. I avoided sweets and juice, drank mostly water. As a result I’ve lost... I’m not sure really. The least I weighed was 76 or 78 I think. Let’s go with 76. So I’ve lost 26 kilograms. In 6 months time. I looked like a different person. I wouldn’t say I was mentally happy with myself but physically I felt so much better. I still had to deal with comments from my family about how I don’t eat anything and how I look ‘so thin’ but it was managable.

I’ve stopped sticking to my ‘no sweets’ rule about a year into high school. It was hard to keep it up. Generally my eating habits have loosened since then but I still feel like it was much needed, even though it wasn’t a safe thing to do, for me to feel that I can achieve something if I try hard enough. You see, I never really had to try to do anything in school. I’m an intelligent person and I’ve never had problems with grades during my time in lower education. It is a bit of an issue now that I’m studying but it’s still mostly managable.

When I moved out of my parents house I got drunk on the money. I still can’t responsibly spend my money although I have taught myself to spend less on food. My father rented me a flat and sent in about 330$ a month for me to live on. I don’t live in US or UK so it’s actually quite a lot of money for a student’s needs (for measure: a loaf of bread in a chainstore costs about 0,68$; 1,5L bottle of water 0,39$; 1kg of chicken breast +/-4,74$) . In the beginning I was spending it like crazy, mostly on food that I was eventually throwing away. I was cooking a lot back then too. You see, I say I’m bad with money but if I am bad then my parents are horrible with it. They probably spend about 530$ a month on food itself, and probably throw away about a 1/5 of it. Every time I visit their house the fridge is brimming with food (and it’s usually cold cuts or cooked meat that I don’t eat often anymore). So you can imagine what kind of an environment I was subconsciously trying to recreate and why it was so costly.

Food apart I don’t manage my money well unless I absolutely have to. My father usually sends me extra cash whenever I need it so I got lazy about controlling my spendings, I splurge on material items and then run out of money for food or I irresponsibly spend money on food in the city center because I don’t have time to cook and I hate planning meals ahead so I run out of cash very quickly (a dinner in the downtown area costs me about 5,26$ per main course; for the same amount I can cook a meal for 3 days). This semester I got super lazy with my diet as well, preciesly because I had so classes at uni. I usually try to avoid grains and wheat because my body doesn’t deal well with gluten in excess. Lately I’ve let myself completely loose (because of personal reasons as well) and I feel horrible.

I feel horrible to the point where I’ve made myself vomit my food twice during the last two weeks. The first time was when I came back from my grandparents’ (02.12). I ate a lot during the small party they threw and I was feeling very sick. ‘I ate a lot’ doesn’t cut it. I stuffed myself. Partially because seeing my family is always very stressful for me, it’s emotionally difficult, I can’t seem to find a way to deal with them and I think it’s getting worse the longer I ignore the issues that I should address. But it’s exactly the lack of self-control that is keeping me from doing it. My parents are very manipulative and the slightest chance they get to change the topic or steer the discussion in a different direction than the issues that I’m trying to discuss they take it and I fall for it. I get emotionally torn apart and die inside and after some time I realise that nothing has really been discussed and I feel like shit. And it keeps repeating itself so I get discouraged even more and it’s even harder to touch upon anything relevant to me.

The second time was today (11.12). I came back to my friend’s flat after spending crazy amount of money on home appliances in Ikea. I went to a shop and bought ingredients for a cake and food to eat for the next few days. I bought a loaf of bread because I can’t control my goddamn self. And a bar of chocolate. Went back to the flat. Ate 5 pieces of bread with generous amount of butter and a cheese slice on each piece. Ate the whole bar of peanutbutter chocolate. May I add I was alterating: I ate 4 sandwiches, I ate a bar of chocolate, I ate 1 more sandwich. Plus I’ve drank half a cup of tea. So then I felt sick. There are a few types of sick in my world. There is drunk-sick, there is stretched stomach pressing on intestines-sick, there is stressed-sick, there is acidic food-sick and there is wheat-sick. We’re going with both wheat and stomach pressing on intestines sick this time.

I don’t really vomit involuntarily unless I’m really drunk and I haven’t been really drunk for at least 2 years I believe. It’s always a decision just as much as spending money is a decision, just as much as stuffing myself with food that makes me feel sick is a decision. So I’ve decided to make myself vomit. In a way it’s cathactic, in another it feels like my mental health is in a really bad state right now.

There is a point I want to make here. I feel like overating isn’t a purely physical act just as eating disorders are mental health disorders. For me overeating is a way of dealing with emotions. I externalise my emotions, put them into food. I then put the food in my self. In a way we always do that but we’re also animals that have to survive so eating and hunger are totally normal and natural. When we analyse something we put a point of focus where we see fit. So I put in my self. I chew it, swallow it, stomach it, it goes through my intestines. All the time my body is breaking this food apart into simpler substances and redistributing them throughout my body. Perhaps the emotions I put into food come back into my body with these simpler substances going straight into the cells. I put bread inside of me, a product that I don’t deal well with - a testimony of hatred. Bread gets broken apart, emotions get inside of me - I get fatter, my nose gets stuffed, I get atopic eczema. Vomitting is an act of desperation. It’s not as much about getting the food out of my system - it’s about getting rid of the discomfort I’m experiencing because of the food I put into myself. But this discomfort is an effect of my actions.

I’ve been feeling like a puddle of pure terrible for about a month now. No, for exactly a month. I’ve done something very stupid and hurtful to people I’ve felt sympathy for and to myself and I can’t get over it. I can’t get over many feelings from my past as well. They haunt me. It’s easier to vomit and for a split second feel like I - this bag of flesh - am not anything much more than a bag of flesh feeling all these sensations that you get when you throw up. But then your thinking and feeling kick in. I still feel like trash and I still haven’t dealt with those feelings that are inside. I’ve tried to push them out and eat them in a different way but in the end I couldn’t deal with them. I hope that I can teach myself how to be in control of my life to the point where I am able to deal with my feelings before I hurt myself or someone else. I want to do it step by step. Right now I’ll stick to avoiding wheat and eating more consciously. It’s the little things that make up the base of our existence. It’s the little things that will pull us apart rolling away if we lose control over them.

---

Laser hair removal update: had my third appointment on monday (10.11). Sometime after my first post the lymph nodes on my neck got infected and it hurt like a mofo. So for the second treatment we went with lower power. Not much inflammation afterwards but also not much effect. My beard is thinning out but not many bald patches so far. For this appointment we went up with power. Very painful especially down the middle of my face and neck (mustache, under the lips, chin, under the chin). A lot of inflammation after the treatment. Today is a little better, a lot of zits, I hope the hair strands will come out easily. Spraying myself with Octanisept and trying to avoid face-skin contact. Doesn’t hurt, feels slightly hot and I’m still puffy.

#blog #stream of consciousness #winter #body image #emotions #mental health #eating #food #dysfunctional family #weight #self-control

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isakthedragon · 7 years ago

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Super Sonic Thieves Chapter 1

Chapter 1- Sly of Sand

Intro cutscene:

*The Cooper Van is flying through the “time tube”. The camera zooms into the van to show everyone inside the van: the Cooper Gang themselves and their new allies, Sonic and Co. Murray is driving the van while Panda King sits next to him in the passenger seat, with everyone else in the back of the van; Dimitri dancing in one spot, Carmelita shining her Shock Pistol, and Sonic and Co all bunched up together facing Bentley. *

Bentley, narrating: “After we had gathered Sonic and his friends from their world and got into the van, I explained to them about Sly Cooper, my best friend growing up and the true leader of this gang.”

*Flashback of Sly’s ancestor and his backstory plays*

“I told them about Sly’s history, how he comes from a family of “master thieves” that have been around since the dawn of civilization *A quick timeline of past Coopers are shown*, his parents being killed while he was a child *A remembrance shot of the Fiendish 5 fighting Sly’s dad*, and then was sent to an orphanage *Remembrance shot of the orphanage*, where me and Murray had met him and became a family ever since.”

*Back to the present, with Sonic and Co having shocked expressions and Cream visibly angry*

“The group were shocked to find out that we’re criminals, so to speak, and the rabbit girl immediately tried to leave upon this revelation, but I was quick to inform them that we’re not the bad kind of thieves that steal from innocents but rather steal from other, more serious criminals. This, as well as learning of the tragic event that happened to Sly, seemed to have put them at ease but I could tell they were still wary of our true profession.”

*Another flashback showing a brief montage of the past games and then shows the ending of Thieves in Time and the aftermath*

“I then told our new allies all about Sly’s personality and the adventures we had in the past with him, thwarting numerous crime lords and even saving the entire world twice! In particular I explained to them of our last adventure, where we traveled through time to save Sly’s ancestors from Le Paradox, who sought to erase the Cooper family from history and become king of Paris in the present. But in the final confrontation against that smelly skunk, Sly went to fight him alone and Le Paradox’s blimp exploded soon after, Le Paradox having fallen into a river but Sly was nowhere to be found. We were all devastated with this turn of events and hoped to at least find evidence of Sly’s survival.”

*A new shot appears of Eggman, which is then covered up by The Thievius Raccoonus, much to Eggman’s dismayed face. The book shows Sly’s message to Bentley.*

“Fortunately right when that egg-shaped creature, who we now know of to be “Dr. Eggman”, arrived in our world from Sonic’s, I had managed to not only find evidence of Sly’s survival but his whereabouts... While I was reading the Thievius Raccoonus, the Cooper family’s ancestral book, I found a piece of writing in Slytunkhaman’s section that was never there before: a message that read “Bentley, Murray, and Carmelita! This is Sly! I hope this message remains intact when any of you find it, but Paradox’s blimp had warped me to Ancient Egypt! I’m in the same era as Slytunkhamen II, so try to find an artifact from around then and get me out of here! I have faith in you all!””

*We return the shot to the van, of Sonic and Co’s worried faces, but changes to smiles*

“And so I informed Sonic and his friends that that’s exactly where we’re headed. They all seemed not too fond of having to time travel, for reasons they don’t wish to tell me, but they agreed all the same to help us rescue Sly and then put a stop to their enemy.”

*The van lands in Ancient Egypt, but the place doesn’t look right. Smoke takes the sky and Eggman’s face and body take the various things in the city.*

“Right on schedule, we had arrived to Ancient Egypt, but something was off. WAY off. The air smelled of industrial smoke and the faces of sculptures and paintings all had an ugly face in place of what was originally there: a face Sonic tells me is that of Dr. Eggman. At that instant, it became clear to us that our rescue mission had just gotten a lot harder than expected…”

Sly Cooper and the Gang in…

*An empty part of a tomb wall appears, devoid of any markings, until a hammer and chisel held by raccoon hands come in and chisel out the words ‘Sly of Sand’ on it.*

-----

HUB Layout:

The gang take refuge in an abandoned Egyptian hovel, somehow large enough to house them all and the van. The city which provides the hub looks like your average Ancient Egyptian city, with hovels, shops, a dock, and a river on the edge. In a corner of the HUB is a large mansion, where Fang resides and is thus more guarded than the rest of the HUB, and in another corner is a pyramid that is still being constructed. Around the middle of the HUB is a tomb, which is where certain jobs will take place.

Enemies:

Egyptian Cats: Dark grey black cats with black spots and a gold necklace that jump among the roofs and ground, in search of thieves. Quickly defeat these guys before they get back up, or they will counterattack with a claw-filled uppercut. Carries 3-5 coins to pickpocket and 10% for treasure to be grabbed.

Falcons: An orange bird that flies and walks on the rooftops, ready to attack anyone that walks past its steely glare. Carries 5-7 coins to pickpocket and has 25% chance for treasure to be grabbed.

Nile Crocodiles: Big, scary crocs that could tear you apart in one bite if it sees you. Thankfully, their eyesight is poor, so they use flashlight to find you. Don’t even attempt to force these guys into the water or taking a dip with a croc nearby, as they can swim and can easily get you if you’re not careful. Carries 5-10 coins to pickpocket has 50% chance of treasure to be grabbed.

Spirits: Ghostly versions of the guards that have been forced to haunt for their eternity, since they are stuck down below. Attacking them will scare them away for a bit, but they’ll return until their soul container is destroyed.

Skorps: Scorpion-like badnik that will throw their spike balled tail at you. It’s best to stay back until they retract the spike ball again to attack it. Drops 4 rings when smashed.

Buzzbombers: Wasp-looking badniks that fly around until they spot their target, which they then fire a shot to shoot down. They’re pretty slow and predictable, so they should be easy to shoot down. Drops 2 rings that are automatically collected.

Mummy Pawns: They shamble around in the tombs and will try to strong hug you to death if they spot you. It’s best to destroy them on the head. This is one mummy you don’t want. Drops 6 rings when smashed

Anubis Pawns: Jackal-headed pawns that will spin their canes they hold about to prevent you from attacking them. It’s best to sneak up from behind and break them apart from there. Drops 8 rings when destroyed.

Hyudoro: Strange little ghost that hover about in the darkness. Eggman has brought them in agitated and now they attack anyone nearby.

Treasures:

From Guards:

Bronze Ring: Worth 30 coins and 15 rings.

Silver Ring: Worth 50 coins and 25 rings.

Gold Ring: Worth 70 coins and 35 rings.

On Pedestals:

Silver Jar: Not booby-trapped. Worth 150 coins and 75 rings. Found near the tomb.

Sapphire Necklace: Not bobby-trapped. Worth 200 coins and 100 rings. Found near the docks.

Gold Headdress: Booby-trapped with 2:00 timer. Worth 350 coins and 175 rings. Found near the mansion.

24-Karat Sand Castle: Booby-trapped with damage sensor, meaning don’t take fall damage. Worth 400 coins and 200 rings. Found on the highest portion of the pyramid.

The coins here have an ankh on both sides.

Secret Sighting of Clockwerk: Made as part of a sphinx just outside of town.

-----Jobs----

A Speedy Tutorial

Take Sonic through his paces.

Bentley: “Before we have you go and rescue Sly, it might be a good idea to refresh yourself on what you can do.”

Sonic: “But I’ve been me for as long as I can remember! I know what I can and can’t do!”

Bentley: “Well, it still is nice to have a refresher course; you can never be too prepared. Besides, the way we do things is a LOT different from what you normally do, right?”

Sonic: “You got me there. So what’s first then?”

Bentley: “I suppose I should start off with what odds you’re up against. You see the people patrolling around this area, maybe holding a weapon or two? Those are guards, the hired help of master criminals for anything of worth in a given operation but their main job is to look out for intruders and “take care” of them.”

Sonic: S”o pretty much like Badniks and Egg Pawns. I can handle that.”

Bentley: “While I’m not exactly sure of how these “Badniks” and “Egg Pawns” work, don’t underestimate the guards. If one of them spots you, the rest of them in the area will be alerted to your presence and rush to attack you. If you can’t get away and hide, they will overwhelm you sooner or later.”

Sonic: “Okay, that’s a bit more different and dangerous. What else should I know about these guys?”

Bentley: “There are two types of guards. The first are “Rooftop Guards”, which are common and able to jump up to rooftops. Wouldn’t you believe it, there are also two types of rooftop guards! The first type can’t take many hits but they can dish it out back and they will do a “counter attack” when getting up after being knocked down, so you wanna keep your distance. The second type are comparatively durable but don’t do as much damage. However, they’re equipped with megaphones, so they’ll alert even more guards should they spot you.”

Sonic: “Alright, so these guys know parkour, one’s a “glass cannon” and the other a “stone wall” that attracts even more attention. What’s the other type of guard?”

Bentley: “See those big guys holding light? Those are “Flashlight Guards”. They have poor vision and rely on their light to see, but if they see you or are alerted, you BETTER run. They take lots of damage to be defeated, they move fast, they have range weapons that do tons of damage, and getting up close and personal isn’t advised either. The only escape from these guys is the rooftops since they can’t jump but they’ll still try to shoot at you.”

Sonic: “So definitely avoid those guys. Anything else?”

Bentley: “That’s it for the guards. Although I should also warn you about searchlights and lasers, which will respectively shoot at you and fry you should you get in their way. Um, do you know how to get around areas like this?“

Sonic: “Of course I do! Run, jump, roll into a ball. The usual stuff.”

Bentley: “Roll into a ball? Oh right, you’re a hedgehog! Hehe, well, that’s certainly a useful technique. But do you also know how to climb, crawl under tight spaces, and sneak around buildings?”

Sonic: “Um… Well, I guess I can crawl under stuff, but climbing isn’t my style and sneaking around buildings?”

Bentley: “Okay, we can rule out those two things. Let’s test out your crawling ability! Venture around and try to find a table to crawl under. To make searching easier, I’ve managed to locate all the tables in this village and marked them with a waypoint. Feel free to try out some other abilities you’re able to pull off while doing so. You know them better than I do.”

(When Sonic comes across a rail to grind on)

Sonic: “Ah, a good ol’ rail to grind on.”

Bentley: “Ah, good, so you know how to ‘ride the rails’, so to speak. Sly does as well by jumping and pressing the circle button to ride them.”

Sonic: “I have no clue what this ‘O button’ is, but I just jump on one to rail grind.”

*The player does so and we move on.*

Bentley: “Alright then. Hmmm, what else? Your frame doesn’t suggest you can really balance on spires or anything else.”

Sonic, sarcastically: “Well, sorry for eating one too many chili-dogs!”

Bentley: “That’s not what I meant.”

Murray comes in over Bentley’s comm. “Why not find out what attacks you can do? Can you do a punch or something?”

Sonic: “Well, punchings more Knucklehead's department, but I can do this!”

*The player has Sonic jump, roll, and home attack some nearby Skorps and Mummy Pawns and Anubis Pawns.*

Murray: “Wow! You made quick work of them without breaking a sweat!”

Sonic: “Heh, well, speed is my game. Although, from looking at those guards, I don’t think my attacks are strong enough to deal with them.”

Murray: “No worries. We’ll handle them for you guys.”

Sonic: “Thanks.”

JOB COMPLETE

-----

Sonic Snap

Take photos of

The Tomb

The half-built pyramid

The docks

Eggman’s factory

Of the 3 badniks roaming about

Take Photo of Mansion then enter it.

Take Photo of Fang and follow him

Free Sly

Escape the Mansion

Bentley: “Now that the tutorial for you is out of the way, it’s time to get to brass tacks.”

Sonic: “Alright then. What do you want me to do?”

Bentley: “I want you to go around the city and take photos of anything that looks suspicious.”

Sonic: “I think I can see a few places already, and I see some badniks to take a photo of too.”

Bentley: “Once that’s done, head on off to the Mansion, and I’ll let you know what to do next.”

*The player has Sonic go on a photo taking spree, taking pics of the tomb, the docks, the pyramid, the factory and some badniks before heading to the mansion.*

Bentley: “Alright. Now I want you to take a recon photo of the mansion and then find a way inside.”

Sonic: “That shouldn’t be tough.”

*The player has Sonic take a pic of the mansion and then jump onto the roof of the mansion from the other roofs and jump in an open window.*

Bentley: “Alright, what are you seeing, Sonic?”

Sonic: “Mostly a gaudy mansion, something I’d expect from Eggman. Wait, who’s that?”

*The player has to take a clear pic of Fang.*

Bentley: “Who is it?”

Sonic: “I believe it is an old criminal bounty-hunter from our world, his name is Nack the Weasel otherwise known as-”

*The camera moves towards Nack as he is distracted by making a video call on a ‘iPad’.

Fang: “Fang the Sniper to Dr. Eggman. Come in, Dr. Eggman.”

Dr. Eggman: “Yes? What is it?”

Fang: “I got some good news! I was able to steal Slytunkhamen’s canes and get some footage of the idiot raccoon before he went and disappeared on me.”

Eggman: “I would have preferred that you had captured the raccoon as well.”

Fang: “Well, by some lucky chance, I was able to find that other idiot raccoon that Le Paradox sent off. Sly was his name, right? Heh, he wasn’t so sly when he met the badniks.”

Eggman: “Excellent. That means that his friends should be coming to save him soon.”

Bentley: “WHAT?! Did he mention Sly?! Follow that weasel!”

Sonic says this as the player regains movement: “I think he’s part wolf too.”

*The player has Sonic follow Fang as he talks to Eggman.*

Fang: “Sly was so weak when we found him, must have been in the desert for days. And he didn’t seem to know how to fight a Pawn either.”

Eggman: “Well, we are the strangers in this world. But that means it was easy for us to get him.”

Fang: “Of course, boss. So what shall we do to him? Kill him?”

Eggman: “No, not yet. We need to find out as much as we can from him. Especially his cane and his moves.”

Fang: “Right, shouldn’t be too hard.” *He shuts off the ipad as he arrives at Sly’s room and bangs on the door before opening it.* “Wake up, you fool! I got a proposition for you!”

*He enters and Sonic follows.*

Fang: “So, here’s my offer for you. You give up your cane and what moves you know, and perhaps I’ll give you to Eggman to let him decide your fate.”

Bentley sounded scared. “SLY!! Oh, what do they have planned for you?!”

Sly, despite being tied up, is still cool and comfortable. “No dice. I usually don’t give information to capturers like you.”

Fang: “Figured. No matter. You brought Slytunkhamen to me, and I stole his canes, so you’re still getting that trip.”

Sly, worried: “No!”

Fang laughs: “Such a fool you are!”

Bentley: “AH! How do we save Sly?! I can’t think of what to do!!”

Sonic: “Looks like I’m on my own, should be quick.”

Bentley: “Wait, what?!”

*Sonic decides to come out of hiding and use his speed to rescue Sly as fast as possible, leaving Fang wondering what’s happening as all he can see is a blue blur quickly untangling the ropes that were holding up Sly.*

Fang: “Ay, what’s happening here?!”

*All too quickly, Sly felt himself being lifted by the blur and being carried across the room before the blue creature stopped so he could see his rescuer.*

Sly: “Who are you?”

Fang sees who it is. “SONIC?! What the hell are you doing here?”

Sonic: “Oh, just helping out a green friend save his captured friend. Now if you don’t mind. We’re leaving now!”

Sly knew what he was talking about and just shrugged. “What are you gonna do?”

Fang: “Well, I’ll tell you what I’ll do!” *He pulled out his cork guns and started firing.*

Sonic: “I’d love to stay and play, but we gotta go!”

*The player has Sonic run with Sly on his shoulder throughout the mansion, avoiding Fang’s corks as they try to escape. Unfortunately, Sonic runs out of space as he finds himself in a dead end hall.*

Fang: “Hah, end of the line for you, fools!” *He readies his guns for an attack barrage.*

*Sly takes a second to look around the hall and sees a chandelier with something to hook on to with his cane.*

Sly: “Well, we’d love to stay and chat, but we gotta go.”

Fang: “HUH?!”

*As soon as he starts firing, Sly hooks onto the chandelier and pulls him and Sonic just in time to miss the corks. Sly does some more fancy moves, and Sonic follows as they smash out the nearest window and escape.*

Fang can be heard shouting as they head back to the safehouse: “YOU CAN RUN, BUT I CONTROL THIS CITY FOOLS! I’LL GET YOU SOON!!!”

JOB COMPLETE

-----

*Animated cutscene plays of Sly reuniting with the gang*

Sly, narrating: Well this is the most odd week I’m having. First I got stranded in Ancient Egypt, then I get captured by some goofy robots commanded by a weasel with a cork gun, who also takes orders from some egg-shaped creature, and now I just got rescued by some blue animal that runs faster than a vehicle. Not that I’m not thankful for his help, I’m grateful for “Sonic’s” intervention, but just what the heck is going on? I soon got my answer when the blue “hedgehog” took me to his hideout and I was immediately greeted by my friends. After our reunion, Bentley explained to me all the things that are going on; how this “Dr. Eggman” came to our world and is now doing something with our history, and Bentley not only recruited Panda King and Dimitri to help us out but also Sonic and his friends. This was a lot to take in, needless to say, and I was hoping to have some relaxation after our time traveling adventure. But I’m more than happy to be reunited with my gang and start causing some trouble for some guys looking to cause damage to innocents. Now that I’m back, our next objective is to find my ancestor, the one who started the Cooper Clan’s thieving legacy, Slytunkhamen. Dr. Eggman is looking for him for some reason and has managed to take his cane, so we need to get to him first. That’s going to be a challenge though, since Slytunkhamen has the ability to turn invisible. But we’re always up for a challenge!

-----

The Search for Slytunkhamen

Search for Slytunkhamen

Bentley: “It’s so good to have you back with us Sly! I’m just so sorry we couldn’t come get you sooner. I had to reconfigure the van’s time machine, work out how to get past Le Paradox’s time machine messing with landing here-”

Sly chuckles: “Don’t sweat it Bentley, I’ve only been in here for a week. It’s good to be back too!”

Bentley recomposes himself: “Are you sure you want to go out in the field though? I’m happy to let someone else search for Slytunkhamen and let you relax.”

Sly: “Of course I’m sure! I can’t relax with all this going on and I’m the best bet at finding Slytunkhamen. Besides, I could use the time to refresh on my skills.”

Bentley: “Are you actually saying that you want to get a tutorial from me?”

Sly: “You say that as if I’ve never appreciated your reminders.”

Bentley: “Aw Sly, you’re making me blush and- *Ahem* Okay then! While we search for your ancestor, we’ll practice your many techniques. I guess to start off is your sneaking moves as they’re the most important. You remember stealth auras?“

Sly: “Those blue sparkles? How could I forget them?”

Bentley: “Well, if you see any against a wall or under tight spaces, then you can press the circle button to sneak along the wall and crawl respectively. Go ahead and give those a try.”

(Sly does either or both moves)

Bentley: “Excellent work!”

Sly: “Bentley, I just crawled under a table, that’s hardly excellent work.”

Bentley: “Glad to see you also haven’t lost your sense of humor. Alright then, let’s move onto your more “fun” moves that help with moving around.”

Sly: “Aw yeah, the Ninja Spire Jump and Rail Walk!”

Bentley: “Yep! But also climbing and hook swinging! They all simply require the perfect combo: jump, and hit the circle button.”

Sly smirks: “Hearing those words never gets old.”

Bentley: “You’ll actually need to use all those techniques to get to the next location where Slytunkhamen is potentially hidden, so let’s get started!”

(Sly pulls off the mentioned moves and makes it to the designated location)

Bentley: “Still acrobatic as ever, even after being stuck in a desert for who knows how long!”

Sly: “It hasn’t been that long, actually. Hm, so how am I going to find someone who’s invisible?”

Bentley: “I gotcha covered there, Sly! I’ve equipped your binocucom with thermal infrared imaging, so you should be able to see Slytunkhamen even when he’s transparent. Just search around and hopefully he’s in this area.”

(After Sly searches waypointed areas with his binocucom)

Sly: “I’ve looked everywhere and didn’t see any sign of him.”

Bentley: “Darn. So it’s back to square one.”

(Espio speaks up from off-screen)

Espio: “If I may intervene, I have a suggestion that may be of use.”

Bentley: “Oh! Sure, go ahead! I’ll put you on the screen.”

(Bentley’s screen on the binocucom turns to static and Espio appears in his place)

Espio: “Greetings, Sly Cooper.”

Sly: “Um, hello! You can just call me Sly.”

Espio: “Very well. So, as a detective, I know a thing about searching for hidden people. Usually it is recommended to look for clues, like tracks or hair. But I suspect your ancestor, being the master thief who started your family’s criminal activities, knows to eliminate such things.”

Sly: “Without a doubt.”

Espio: “In that case, it would be advised to interrogate the guards around here. They have managed to see him before, so they should know of a hint to his current whereabouts.”

Sly: “I getcha! These thugs know this area more than we do. We’re not exactly the interrogating types, but I bet they have a message or something as a clue. Something that won’t be a problem for me to grab without their notice. I’m able to pick the pockets of guards with my cane. I just have to trail behind them and press the circle button, so long they don’t see me.”

Espio: “Interesting! But in the event you do get spotted, how do you plan to escape with your life?”

Sly: “Simple! I hold down the R1 button and sprint away. I’m more than fast enough to get away from those guys.”

Espio: “Good! But what about the event in which you have to take out a guard in order to accomplish the task?”

Sly: “Then I use my “Sneak Attack”. I sneak up behind a guard and press the triangle button to juggle them in the air. Then, before they hit the ground, I press the square button to grab them with my cane and slam them to the ground. So long I’m not spotted, I’ll be safe.”

Espio: “Truly, your name suits your skills. Just like in our world.”

Sly: “I guess you could say bright worlds work alike.”

(Sly picks off guards protecting a flashlight guard carrying a charter, which Sly then pickpockets and a cutscene of him reading it plays)

Sly: “Okay, I got a charter here. I think it says that Slytunkhamen was last seen at the docks. If I hurry, I might just find him there!”

(Cue timed mission where Sly must run to the docks before time runs out. Once at the docks, another cutscene plays where Sly looks around with his binocucom)

Bentley: “Is he there Sly?! I hope we’re not too late!”

Sly: “Relax Bentley, give me a few more seconds to look around…”

(Just then, a raccoon in Egyptian clothing appears behind Sly with a wary look. The raccoon sneaks up behind Sly, grabs him, and pulls him back into the shadows)

Sly: “Hey! What the-?!”

???: “Quiet your voice, if you value your life. I know that you’ve been searching for me very urgently and I must say, I’m not amused. First you fiends take my canes, what else do you want to take from me?”

Sly: “Whoa, whoa, hold on! I didn’t take your canes! I want to help you get it back!”

Slytunkhamen: “Is that so? *Studies Sly while keeping a firm grip on him* Hm, I suppose you’re not one of them. So then, who are you?”

Sly: “My name is Sly! Sly Cooper! I know this will be hard to believe, but I’m your descendent far in the future.”

Slytunkhamen: “My descendant? A Cooper?! *Releases Sly, turns him around, and hugs him* Ah, I should’ve known you were family the moment I saw you were a raccoon! And don’t worry, given the situation occurring right now, I’m aware that time travel both exists and is involved. Sorry about the hostility.”

Sly: *Urk* “It’s fine. I’d be on edge too with everything going on. Well, let me take you back to my gang’s safehouse and we’ll come up with a plan to help you out.”

JOB COMPLETE

-----

*A picture of Slytunkhamen is shown on screen.*

Bentley: “Alright, here’s what I got from what Slytunkhamen told me. *The picture changes to an Anubis Pawn.* He told me that ever since the Egg Pawns have come around, thieving for him has become quite difficult.”

Tails draws some light arrows coming from the eyes. “That makes sense, the pawns have infrared sensors that make going invisible useless.”

Bentley: “Right. And thanks to that, he lost his canes trying to escape and doesn’t know what to do now.”

Sonic: “So what, do we go and stop Fang now?”

*The slide changes to a map of the city.*

Bentley: “No, not yet. This city looks like it has been abandoned for some reason, and we better find out the reason why. It might give us an idea what Fang and Dr. Eggman are up to. *The factory gets circled in and a fox and turtle drawing are shown next to it.* Tails and I will be heading to the factory churning out the Egg Pawns and see what’s happening inside.”

*He draws another circle over the pyramid, with a hippo and echidna drawing next to it.*

“Murray, you and Knuckles will be searching the Pyramid that is half built, see what they are doing inside there.”

Murray: “Alright!”

*Another circle is drawn over the tombs, with a drawing of a panda and cat.*

Bentley: “Panda King and Blaze will be heading into the tombs, cause I am sensing a lot of strange energy down there. Everyone knows what they’re doing, so let’s hurry on.”

-----

The Factory

Head to and Enter the Factory

Take photos of the factory machinery.

Hack the computers for information

Escape the Factory

*Bentley and Tails are outside the factory.*

Bentley: “Alright, Tails, let’s see what’s happening in here.”

*Tails and Bentley enter through the door. Inside, they find numerous machines and conveyor belts carrying robot parts and assembling robots one by one. Upon assembly, the robots are carried by crane to a specific area where they are kept on standby*

Bentley: “Wow! I knew this Dr. Eggman is a robotics mastermind, but this is overkill! How has he not taken over your world with all of these?”

Tails: “Despite his huge IQ, Eggman isn’t exactly bright. His plans and strategies always have some flaw that Sonic and I like to exploit. That and, while he makes huge amounts of robots, they’re not actually tough at all. It normally just takes one hit from us to destroy these things.”

Bentley: “Ah, so he’s all about quantity over quality! And if he’s that bad at planning, then this whole thing should be cake! Okay, so where do you think the main terminal to this factory is? If we’re gonna learn more about what Eggman is planning here, I’ll need to hack into that.”

Tails: “I’d bet one of my two tails that Eggman would place such a thing at the highest level of this factory, hidden behind many obstacles and enemies to prevent anyone like us from accessing it.”

Bentley: “I see! That may be impossible for some, but Eggman’s never met me! This will be simple.”

Tails: “What should I do while you do that?”

Bentley: “Hm… Oh! How are you with RC technology?”

Tails: “I’ve kind of started it, but I think I’ve gotten the hang of them.”

Bentley: “Good! There’s sure to be numerous obstacles on the way up there that can only be overcome with an RC car or helicopter.”

Tails: “Understood! Though I’m afraid I only have an RC plane, not a helicopter.”

Bentley: “That’s fine! So long it can fly and shoot at things, we’re all good.”

Tails: “Okay, I’m all set to help you out when you need it!”

(The player then navigates Bentley through the factory, avoiding all sorts of hazards and enemies. Along the way, as in-level dialogue)

Bentley: “You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you something, um, Tails.”

Tails: “What is it, Bentley?”

Bentley: “Euhm… Nevermind. It’s an insensitive question.”

Tails: “It’s about my tails, isn’t it? Don’t worry, I get that a lot, hehe. If you’re wondering, I was born with them. I’ve yet to figure out the reason.”

Bentley: “Oh! Um, thanks for the answer. I’m sorry for bringing it up.”

Tails: “Hey, it’s fine. I’ll admit, I’ve been curious about something about you but haven’t asked since…”

Bentley: “You mean my legs, eh? Haha, well, it’s a bit of a long story, but I ended up going inside something dangerous to get an important item but didn’t get out in time.”

Tails: “Oh man… I’m so sorry that happened.”

Bentley: “Yeah, Murray was so distraught by that he ended up quitting the gang out of self-blame. But it’s all good. I’ve come to terms with what happened and this wheelchair more than makes up for everything.”

Tails: “I see! I’m glad that you’ve managed to see the bright side of this situation. Likewise, this extra tail brought me a lot of grief by attracting bullies, but now I value it for allowing me to catch up with Sonic and fly!”

Bentley: “Truly, any supposed hinderance can be overcome if you put your mind to it!”

(Once Bentley makes it to a closed, steel door)

Bentley: “Drat! The terminal is just behind this door but I can’t see any way to get past it.”

Tails: “Hang in there Bentley! I’ll try and find a way to open it!”

(Tails looks into the factory’s mainframe with his Miles Electric)

Tails: “Hm, it appears Eggman has built a bunch of power conduits to keep that door secure, keeping out anyone except himself and high-ranking personnel. Fang, in this case. Fortunately, Eggman left these power conduits hanging around this factory, which I can easily shoot down with my RC Tornado!”

Bentley: “Sweet! Be careful though. If past experience can be applied, Eggman is sure to have installed some sort of security to counteract this.”

(The first RC Plane segment begins, playing exactly like the plane from Sly 3 but to a miniature level and not needing to replenish ammo. Tails must fly the RC Tornado around the factory and shoot down the power conduits, of which there are 6 of them. After destroying the first one, Buzzbombers will be alerted and fly around to destroy the RC Tornado. After all 6 Power Conduits have been destroyed…)

Tails: “All conduits have been destroyed! Is the door open Bentley?”

Bentley: “Affirmative! Accessing the terminal now!”

(Bentley hacks into the terminal and the hacking games from Sly 2, 3, and 4 begins. As usual, Bentley needs to navigate his avatar through a cyberspace, battling all sorts of anti-virus systems to get to main objective. Once complete...)

Bentley: “Ha! Easy as ever! Now to just download Eggman’s plans and-“

(Alarms start up and most of the robots in stand-by are activated)

Bentley: “What the-?! Oh, why does this always seem to happen…”

Tails: “Whoa! I wasn’t expecting this! Try and download as much as you can and get out of there before these robots overwhelm us!”

Bentley: “Don’t need to tell me! *Stares intently at the screen as the data loads* Come on baby, hurry up! *The bar doesn’t load fast at all, managing only 20%* Gah! 20% will have to do! Let’s get out of here!”

*The player must now have Tails and Bentley escape before the pawns overwhelm them before the mission is complete.*

JOB COMPLETE

-----

Pyramid Scheme

Take recon photos of the machinery in the pyramid

Escape the Pyramid

*Murray and Knuckles reach the entrance point into the pyramid.*

Murray: “Okay, Sly, we’re at the pyramid. Remind me what we do again?”

Sly: “Bentley wants you two to go down in there and find out what’s happening. He thinks the badniks and guards are doing something more than just creating a burial for a pharaoh.”

Knuckles: “So then let’s stop yapping and start looking then!”

*They head down into the pyramid. They are surprised to find that the depths of the pyramid look quite modern-like, compared to the outside structure.*

Knuckles: “Wow…”

Murray: “This place looks quite modern, Sly. Lots of monitors and computers are around.”

Sly: “That sounds odd…”

Sonic: “Not for someone like Eggman. I think your friend would want recon of those machines.”

Sly: “Yep. Murray, you remember to punch by pressing the square button and that if you press it during a jump, you can belly slam to knock out anything nearby right?”

Murray: “Of course, Sly! I’d be a terrible ‘muscle’ if I didn’t.”

Knuckles: “Hey, don’t count me out either. I can punch just as well.”

Sonic: “Knuckle-head’s right.”

Knuckles: “Hey!”

Sonic: “Now go on, guys, find out what’s going on.”

*The player has the two sneak around for a bit until they find a large gap.*

Murray: “How are we going to get across this gap? It’s too wide to jump over, and they’re spikes below!”

Knuckles: “I can see a switch on the other side. I’ll get it.”

Murray: “How?”

Knuckles: “Using my glide.”

*The player has Knuckles glide across the gap and then hit a lever that expands a bridge over the gap.*

Murray: “Wow!”

*The player has them continue on for a bit, taking recon photos of machines building something, until they find a strange shaped thing too hard to make out in the darkness.*

Murray: “What is it?”

Knuckles: “I’m not sure… but the shape looks familiar…”

*For some reason, the spotlights in the pyramid come on, showing what the thing is.*

Murray: “Oh, now it’s clear enough.” *He takes a recon photo of it.*

Knuckles sounds scared “Oh god…”

Murray: “What is it?”

Knuckles: “It’s the Egg Golem. We’ve broken it before, but this one is more huge than the last one.”

*For probably security reasons, alarms start getting tripped, noting the unauthorized access of Murray and Knuckles.*

Knuckles sees the guards coming for them. “We better get out of here!”

Murray: “Right!”

*The player must have the 2 fight their way out of the pyramid, taking out guards and avoiding lasers along the way. The mission ends once they escape.*

JOB COMPLETE

-----

The Tombs

Free the Ghosts and Spirits in the tombs

*The Panda King and Blaze arrive at the entrance to the tombs.*

Panda King: “We have arrived at the entrance to the tombs, Sly.”

Sly: “Good. Bentley says he wants you guys to go in there and see what they are storing down there. He said it seemed very energetic compared to the vacant town.”

Blaze: “Got it.”

*The two enter the tombs and they quickly find the rooms below are pitch black.*

Blaze: “Hang on...” *She uses her fire powers to make her illuminative, lighting the nearest walls.* “I have pyrokinesis, control over fire.” *She smiled warmly.*

Panda King: “The art of controlling flame, just as graceful as the power of fireworks. I wonder if we can combine the two to make them even more powerful.”

*The player has Panda King shoot some fireworks at a cracked wall through Blaze’s flames to break it down. Unfortunately, spirits and ghosts start attacking them.*

Blaze: “Ah, ghosts!”

Panda King shoots some fireworks to scare them off. “I wonder why they are here? Could they be why the city is empty?”

Sonic: “It seems to be so. Bentley’s computers seem to show show that the tombs go under all the buildings.”

Slytunkhamen: “Ah, yes! I’ve seen those spirits scaring the people away.”

Blaze: “I think I can see where they are coming from.” *The camera looks at a spirit and follow a blue trail that leads to other blue trails coming out of a machine.*

Panda King: “Those machines seem to be tethering the ghosts here! I wonder if getting rid of them will move them on.”

*The player has to go on through the sandy tombs, scaring spirits and destroying the 5 machines holding them down. Each one is accompanied with the spirits and ghosts going down into the ground, disappearing for good. Once the last one is destroyed, the mission ends.*

JOB COMPLETE

-----

*The slideshow starts with outside of the factory, then changes to a pic of the canes and the Thievius Raccoonus.*

Bentley: “Well, our mission to the factory could have gone better, but I see we shouldn’t underestimate Dr Eggman. The data we got seems to suggest his plan is to steal the canes from other Coopers and examine the Thievius Raccoonus.”

Sly: “He wants WHAT? Why the hell does he need our history for?”

Tails: “No clue, we didn’t get to capture that much. But we need to get back to the task at hand.”

*The slide changes to the tombs, then the pyramid, then the mansion.*

Bentley: “Right. Thanks to Panda King and Blaze sending the spirits to the grave, it might attract the city folk into returning, but it’s obvious the place is to dangerous right now. We need to go and destroy the Egg Golem hiding in the pyramid and figure out some way to defeat Fang and find Slytunkhamen’s canes.”

*The slide changes to the Egg Golem with then gets X’d out.*

Amy: “Oh! Carmelita and I could handle fighting the Egg Golem! It should be simple!”

Carmelita: “My gun has been itching for a target to shoot and this sounds interesting enough.”

*The slide changes to the interior of the mansion.*

Slytunkhamen: “I’ll go to the mansion. You said it was pretty well lit in there, and my shadow powers should make it easier to get around. But I don’t know what to do if I find an Egg Pawn…”

Espio: “I’ll go with you. I can handle smashing them to bits. And having 2 people find your cane should make it faster in searching.”

Bentley: “Alright then. You guys know what to do, now go!”

-----

The EGG GOLEM

Defeat the Egg Golem

*Amy and Carmelita arrive at the pyramid top*

Carmelita: “Okay Bentley, me and Amy here are at the pyramid ready to take down this ‘EGG Golem’.”

Bentley: “Good! Now Sonic tells me that the last time he fought this thing, it had a weak spot on its head, so try and aim for that.”

Carmelita: “Understood! Preparing to attack now.”

(Carmelita ends her call with Bentley and arms her Shock Pistol)

Amy: “Oh my gosh, my weapon has that exact same color!”

Carmelita: “Oh! Really now? You don’t seem like the kind of girl to use a gun.”

Amy: “I don’t, heehee! I use this!”

(Amy takes out her Piko-Piko Hammer)

Carmelita: “What the-?! Where were you storing that?!”

Amy: “Hm... You know, I don’t really know. I just reach to grab it and it appears.”

Carmelita: “I see… Sorry, no offense, but are you sure you can handle yourself in a fight? That hammer doesn’t look combat capable at all and you sure aren’t dressed for this.”

Amy: “Trust me, this hammer is WAY stronger than it looks and I’ve been in many fights before! But what do you mean about my dress?”

Carmelita: “You’re in an open skirt, not even wearing shorts. Unless you panty shot your enemies into defeat, I don’t see how practical it is to fight wearing that.”

Amy: “Oh… Well, it’s never been a problem for me. Besides, who are you to talk about one's clothing? All you have are a bra, shorts, and jacket.”

Carmelita: “Fair point. Now, let’s take care of this thing!”

Amy: “Right on!”

(The girls go through a short tutorial on how their respective abilities work on the way to the Egg Golem. Upon making it to the Egg Golem, a short cutscene appears of the Egg Golem rising up to the circular platform the girls are on)

Carmelita: “So this is the thing? Heh, I’ve fought bigger!”

Amy: “Yeah, this thing is a bit of a piece of cake! Don’t let your guard down though.”

Carmelita: “Wasn’t planning on it.”

(And so the boss fight against the Egg Golem begins, behaving similarly to the fight against it in Sonic Adventure 2 but the platform is bigger and the Egg Golem now has laser eyes. The Egg Golem is fought exclusively by Carmelita, who simply has to shoot at the power core on top of the golem’s head while evading its attacks and the summoned guards. Once the golem’s health bar is empty, it bends down in defeat)

Carmelita: “Ha! That was almost too easy! *Turns around and calls to Bentley over the radio* Took care of the golem Bentley. Won’t be a problem for us once we begin our attack.”

(As Carmelita said that, the Egg Golem raises back up and raises its right hand)

Amy: “Carmelita! LOOK OUT!”

Carmelita: “Huh?!”

(Carmelita turns around to see the job isn’t finished yet, but before she could do anything, the Egg Golem grabs her and holds the fox in a tight grip)

Carmelita: “Argh! Dammit!”

Amy: “I told you not to let your guard down!”

Carmelita: “It put up a very convincing fake death! Think you can take it down?”

Amy: “I don’t “think” I can take it down, I KNOW I can!”

(And so the surprise Phase 2 begins, where Amy has to destroy the power core on the Egg Golem’s back by using her hammer to knock boulders into its face and using the platforms on its back to reach the core. Once the golem’s health bar goes empty, it writhes with electricity surging everywhere and then collapses forward, releasing Carmelita once its arm hits the platform)

Amy: “You okay?”

Carmelita: “Yeah, I’m fine. Last time I turn my back to a seemingly defeated foe. Can we not mention this to the others?”

Amy: “Your secret is safe with me! So long you don’t judge my capabilities again.”

Carmelita: “After that, you have definitely proven yourself to me! Sorry for that initial judgement.”

Bentley: “Carmelita! What just happened? You stopped talking all of a sudden and cursed and screamed for minutes!”

Carmelita: “Oh, um! A sandstorm started up suddenly and sand got in my mouth! Took too long for the storm to end and get the sand out.”

Bentley: “Ew! Sorry that happened. Well, if the Egg Golem is taken care of then return to the Safe house.”

JOB COMPLETE

-----

Hiding in Plain Sight

Take recon photos of the inside of the mansion

Listen in on Fang’s conversation

Steal the canes back.

*Slytunkhamen and Espio arrives at the front doors of the mansion.*

Bentley: “Alright, Slytunkhamen and Espio. From what Sonic saw the last time, the mansion is very well lit and is almost impossible to sneak around in, especially since guards and pawns are now patrolling all over the place.”

Slytunkhamen: “Leave it to us, it shouldn’t be difficult at all for two stealthy folk!”

*They enter the mansion through the front door in their invisible state. Inside, they find the mansion full of spotlights and lasers and guards and pawns everywhere.*

Espio sneers “Geez, paranoid much?”

Slytunkhamen smirks. “He should be, since he’s got us to handle.” *He then remembers something. “I do admit, my skills aren’t perfected yet as I still need to find some shadows to recharge my Focus to continue my invisibility.”

Espio: “Remind me to help you with that.”

*The player then controls the two as they sneak their way through the mansion, taking pictures of things that can attract Fang’s attention to move him around the mansion. Soon they find themselves in the basement where Fang is busy talking to Eggman again, distracted.*

Fang is playing with Slytunkhamen’s canes. “Good news, Eggman! I’ve been able to download as much as I can from Slytunkhamen’s canes and his abilities from the robots that spotted him and am ready to download the info to you.”

Eggman: “Excellent! Hurry up and send it to me!”

*He sets down the canes on some holders and starts typing on his computer.*

Espio: “Hmm, how do we steal your canes back from him?”

*Slytunkhamen sees a generator producing electricity and gets an idea. He goes and switches it off and returns before Fang gets up to check on it.*

Fang: “What the? Grr, stupid generator...” * Gets up to turn it back on and returns to his seat and types on.*

Slytunkhamen: “Seems you got just enough time to swipe them away before he gets up to turn on the generator and then return.”

Espio: “I got it.”

*The player has Espio get into position and when he does, Slytunkhamen goes to switch off the generator. Fang gets up and the player has Espio grab the canes in the short amount of time. *

*The two then move to the exit to the room as Fang returns to the computer to type.*

Slytunkhamen takes his canes from Espio and looks at Fang. “Seems like Fang hasn’t noticed.”

Espio: “I don’t believe he pays attention to anything that isn’t a target.”

Slytunkhamen: “Hmmm…” *The two leave as the mission ends.*

JOB COMPLETE

-----

Bentley: “Alright, gang, it’s time we unleash our operation to capture Fang and save this town.”

*He brings up a slide of the inside of the factory and near the end, will draw an X over it.*

Bentley: “Tails and I will go with Blaze and Panda King to destroy the factory. Tails and I will make the machines go haywire so they cause quite a large amount of destruction and the Panda King and Blaze will finish it off. This should save us from having to fight a huge amount of pawns, leaving him without an army.”

*The slide changes to the mansion exterior*

Bentley: “Meanwhile, Slytunkhamen and Espio will be luring Fang out of his mansion, so we can hopefully have a fair fight.”

*The slide changes to Fang, who gets x’s over his eyes near the end.*

Bentley: “Once outside, it’s up to Sly and Sonic to fight Fang and defeat him as Murray and Knuckles provide support. With luck, Fang should go down and this time will be saved from Eggman.”

-----

Operation: Desert Storm

Destroy the factory

Lure Fang out of his mansion

Defeat Fang

Bentley: “Alright guys, are you in position?”

*The others come in with various forms of yes.*

Bentley: “Good, then let’s roll out!”

*The player has Bentley, Tails, Panda King and Blaze enter the factory, where Bentley hacks the machines on, Tails shoots down conduits and other electric lines with his RC planes to make the machines go haywire, and Panda King and Blaze combine their strength to blast the machines apart.*

Bentley: “Alright! The factory is ruined! We’re leaving now, so it’s your turn, Slytunkhamen and Espio.”

*We move on over to the basements of the mansion with Slytunkhamen and Espio.*

Slytunkhamen: “Got it.”

*The player has Espio and Slytunkhamen stay invisible as they ring various bells and other noisy objects to lure Fang out of the mansion.*

Slytunkhamen, once the two make it outside first.* “Alright, it’s your guy’s turn.”

Sonic: “You got it!”

*Fang comes outside the mansion and comes face to face with Sly, Sonic, Knuckles and Murray.*

Fang: “Ah, you fools decided to play it smart and turn yourself in, eh?”

Sly: “Hah, you wish.”

Fang: “No matter, let me just-” *He looks over towards the factory, to see it in ruins.* “You… you destroyed my factory…”

Knuckles: “Not so tough now that you don’t have an army to do your dirty work.”

Fang, instead of looking scared, gives a smirk. “Hmph, I don’t need an army to get what I want.” *He whistles and in less than a second, a strange yellow and blue machine with boosters on the side comes flying by his side.* “All I need is my girl, the Marvelous Queen, and my trusty cork guns.” *He gets on the Marvelous Queen.* “See if you can catch me, fools, and so you don’t feel lonely…” *He shoots an alarm with his cork guns to call guard to their position before speeding away.*

Sonic shakes his head. “Has he forgotten that I can go the speed of sound already?”

Murray: “I think you and Sly should chase after him. Knuckles and I can handle the guards.”

Sly: “Sounds like a good plan, Murray.” *He piggybacks onto Sonic and they race off after Fang.*

*The player now has to go on a chase after Fang, avoiding the various objects scattered about that will slow Sonic down. Also, watch out for Fang shooting corks at you to hurt you as well. Once Sonic is close enough, he has to jump to hit the Marvelous Queen to make it crash into the ground. Once that happens, Fang will be knocked off into the intersection of a street nearby.*

Fang: “Damn you, Sonic! How dare you hurt my girl!” *He starts shooting at Sonic, ignoring Sly.*

Sonic: “Now’s your chance, Sly! Get him while he’s distracted.”

Sly: “Right.”

*The player has to sneak Sly around behind Fang without alerting him, and once close enough, smack away at Fang with his cane. Once Fang takes enough damage, he’ll hurry over to his Marvelous Queen to set it up again and fly off once more.*

Fang: “DAMN YOU FOOLS!”

*Sly returns to Sonic’s back to repeat this process 3 more times until Fang gets knocked out.*

Fang: “You fools… you don’t even know what Eggman is up to…”

JOB COMPLETE

----

Outro Cutscene:

Sly, narrating: “It took a bit more effort than expected, but we’ve managed to defeat Fang and destroy Eggman’s factory, freeing Ancient Egypt from his influence. We tossed Fang back into Sonic’s world, being sure the authorities there would take care of him, and went to plan out our next move. This Dr. Eggman though… How does he know about my family. And what does he have in mind for us? Can’t have anything to do with wanting to wipe us out like Clockwerk and Le Paradox since there’s no way he has a personal agenda against us. Well, whatever is going on, at least we got the rest of the gang and some new allies to fight against him!”

Next Time: Hope you remembered to put on your kilts for a Scotland trip! (And some underwear for decency.)

#Isakthedragon's fanfiction #Super Sonic Thieves #SST #Super Sonic Thieves Chapter 1 #SST: Chapter 1 #Once again a big thanks to Kaotickanine for the help here.#I hope level style fits how it would be for Sly Cooper #And I hope Egypt and Slytunkhamen I are what Sly fans would imagine him to be.#EDIT: Decided at this point... I'm going to need 'Read More' breaks. Sorry for the longness here everyone...

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jaded-envy · 7 years ago

Text

hit the ground running

Soul's crush on the girl he sees jogging in the park is the one thing that makes his crappy barista job tolerable. Learning how to run in order to keep up with her might just kill him though. Also featuring Black*Star as a Total Bro.

READ HERE: [ao3] [ff.net]

Welcome to my first fic for the Soul Eater fandom and the culmination of my July 2017 Camp Nanowrimo goals! This is an entirely self-indulgent fic, as I started running with C25K this summer, but I do hope you enjoy!

A thousand thanks to my beta and writing sister, @redphlox - she is the best and the most awesome and please go read her SoMa fics if you haven't already! And I couldn't have finished this without the help from my husband, who provided much of the crazy Black*Star punishments.

“my heart could take a chance, but my two feet can’t find a way”

-I Don’t Feel Like Dancing by Scissor Sisters

“my girl’s a switchblade, bright lights on a cityscape,

wherever she goes, I’m gonna chase”

-Celeste by Ezra Vine

“so you say one day you’ll be my life, my love, my guiding light,

my pillar of strength; I’ll call you home, my rock, my stone”

- Testify by Hifi Sean and Crystal Waters

The windows of the café are smudged, and Soul resolves to make sure Hiro catches hell for screwing up the one thing that makes this job enjoyable. At least it's not too hard to see out into the park beyond - he can see yellow and orange tinges on the leaves on the trees, and the ducks by the pond waddling around pulling at the grass. It's beautiful by most people's accounts, but Soul is looking for something that he thinks is much prettier.

"Whatcha looking at?"

Soul jumps a half a foot in the air and whirls around to see his least favorite customer and best friend lounging at the counter, looking bored.

"Is Jogging Chick passing by or something?" Black*Star raises up on his tiptoes, trying to look over Soul's shoulder. Soul uses his height to his advantage for once, drawing himself up completely and blocking him from the view of the window.

"No," Soul says, scowling. "Go away Black*Star, I'm busy working."

Black*Star makes a show of looking around the almost completely abandoned café. "Obviously."

He sighs. "What do you want?"

Black*Star shakes a finger in Soul's face, prompting him to bare his teeth in response. "Now Soul, is that any way to talk to a customer?"

Soul rolls his eyes. "Customers pay. You're here because you want to bum an espresso off me."

Black*Star gasps dramatically. "How could you suggest that I'm here for any other reason than to see how my best bro was doing and coincidentally buy a coffee with my own legally tendered currency, though now that I think about it I may have left my wallet at home…"

Soul tunes him out, subtly trying to keep the park in sight as he nods along to Black*Star's increasing loud excuses. Soul is contemplating giving in and just making him the damn coffee when he sees her.

"Shut up, shut up," Soul says absently, cutting him off and pushing Black*Star's face away as he cranes his neck around.

And there she is - the one thing that makes his crappy barista job worthwhile. With her blonde hair in pigtails, long toned legs, bright pink tank top, black shorts, Soul couldn't imagine a cuter sight. Her hands gesture animatedly, never breaking stride as she relates some story to her friend. When she laughs, he imagines her voice to be bright and cheerful; when she chances a glance at the street, he imagines her eyes to be lively and kind. Watching her run is like watching seals swim, or hawks glide - it's watching something so graceful, so in its element, and so far off from what he's capable of.

She's absolutely beautiful, and completely unobtainable.

Black*Star squints at Soul's object of affection. "That's her?" he asks, incredulous. "The skinny flat-chested one?" He side-eyes Soul. "That's the one?"

"Mmhm," Soul almost sighs.

Black*Star makes an indecipherable noise. The girl's pigtails bounce in time with the cadence of her gait.

"One time, some creep tried to grope her as she was drinking from the water fountain," Soul says dreamily, watching her. "She turned around and karate-kicked him in the head."

Black*Star raises an eyebrow. "And…you thought that was hot?"

Soul buries his face in his hands. "Yes," he mumbles from between his fingers. What he doesn't say is that he's pretty sure she could kick his ass three ways to Friday and he would enjoy every minute of it.

Black*Star shakes his head. "I mean, whatever floats your boat dude, but if I were you I'd be after that one." He points to the other girl, a taller, dark-haired woman. "Actually no," Black*Star revises, "you can keep your interest in the skinny one. The other one is more my style."

The two of them admire the girls as they run past. As they disappear from view, Soul resigns himself to another long, boring day with nothing else to look forward to. He tries not to dwell on the fact that the most exciting part of his day is over in about seven minutes.

"Tell you what, my best bro," Black*Star says, leaning on the counter. "I'm gonna do you a huge favor."

"Black*Star, the last time you told me that, I ended up crawling out of Mrs. Kearn's window after accidentally discovering her bondage porn collection."

He rolls his eyes. "You still got your cassette tape back before she chucked it."

"I couldn't look her in the eye for the rest of the semester," Soul hisses, fingers tightening on the edge of the counter.

Black*Star waves his protests away. "Listen. You have a morning shift again tomorrow right?"

"Yes," Soul says reluctantly.

"Good. Meet me in the park at four." Black*Star starts to move away, hollering, "And don't you dare try to skip, remember, I know where you live!"

"We're roommates you asshole!" Soul yells after him. He glances apologetically at the few customers in the shop, then blows out a heavy sigh, running his fingers through his hair.

Fuck. Maybe it wasn't too late to move back to Connecticut.

The next day, Soul kicks at the leaves littering the asphalt of the park trail. There's a chill in the air heralding the onset of fall, and the few passersby wear scarves and hats. He shrinks into himself as much as possible, feeling like a complete dolt in the thin gym clothes Black*Star insisted he wear.

"All right!" Black*Star's voice rings out, entirely too cheerful. "Glad you could make it!" He hands a coffee cup to Soul.

Soul glares at him over the rim. "You dragged me out of here after kicking down my door and waking me up from my nap with a water balloon to the face."

"You weren't getting up!"

"That doesn't mean - ugh, whatever." He takes a sip of his coffee and grimaces. "This is horrible, where did you get this from?"

"Your coffee shop."

Soul sighs. Looks like Kid was going to have to be trained again on how to make a proper cup of coffee. Hopefully he wouldn't insist on counting out how many coffee beans went into the grinder like he did last time. "Why are we out here again?"

"Listen broski." Black*Star cracks his neck and starts doing lunges. "You wanna get together with your Jogging Chick, I wanna meet her bodacious friend. Now, we both know that there's a snowball's chance in hell of you just going up and asking the girl out because you're a total pansy."

"Hey!"

Black*Star raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, fair," Soul mutters.

"Anyway, I figure the only way to get both of us what we want is to meet them on their own turf, doing their thing."

"Wait," Soul says, heart sinking, "wait, you don't mean-"

"And that means running!"

Soul groans. "Black*Star, you know how I feel about physical activity."

"Well that's why we're out here late, so we can get started without running into them. Heh. Oh, by the way, think fast!"

Soul barely catches the object thrown at him, fumbling with what he identifies as his own phone.

"Took the liberty of loading your new exercise program on it."

"It's password protected, how the fuck did you get in?"

Black*Star holds a finger to his lips. "Gods don't reveal their secrets."

Soul groans, resolving to change his password for the third time this week. He scrolls through his apps, locates a new, obnoxiously bright orange one, taps it. "C25K?"

"I have all my clients use it if they want to try running, so I figured it'd work on you too. Load it up, we're gonna do the first week together. Week two, we'll run when the girls do and introduce ourselves that way."

Soul's tempted to turn on his heel and go spend the rest of his day off doing preferably anything else, but he recognizes the look in Black*Star's eyes - one that almost dares him to try wriggling his way out of this one. Last time he challenged that look, he ended up finding out exactly how many mousetraps could fit into his bedroom at once.

So he sighs instead and digs out his headphones. Black*Star bounces eagerly from foot to foot, leads him through some basic stretches, and falls in step with Soul when he starts his warm up walk.

Thirty minutes later, Soul is bracing himself against a tree, trying to catch his breath. Meanwhile, Black*Star has hardly broken a sweat and is currently doing one handed pushups. Soul kind of hates him.

Black*Star flips into a hand stand, then pushes off to stand normally as Soul slouches his way down the pathway towards their apartment. Black*Star shoves ahead of him and begins jogging backwards.

"Good job today buddy." He flashes Soul two thumbs up.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Soul grumbles.

"First day is always the hardest! You'll get the hang of it soon." His index fingers stick out to join his thumbs as he gives Soul two finger guns. "Then we'll get you hooked up with your crush -" he turns his fingers onto himself, "- and me with her lady friend."

Yeah right, Soul thinks to himself. Black*Star's always been a little deluded about Soul's motivation and dedication, being the complete opposite of him in both areas. If Soul had a shred of the drive Black*Star possessed, he'd be…well, he probably wouldn't be working at a coffee shop full time, with no real prospects on the horizon, and staring longingly out the window at a girl he knows he'll never work up the courage to meet.

By the third day of running, Soul's body seems to be adjusting to the increased activity it's being subjected to. Black*Star declares that three days from now, on Soul's next day off, they'll be meeting at one, the same time the girls usually run.

Soul almost bails three times before Black*Star forcibly drags him to the park. When he realizes there's no getting out of it, Soul insists that they get there at least a half hour early, partly in hopes that they'll be done with their session before his crush shows up. He doesn't think he could handle the first time she looks at him be a look of disgust, or worse, pity.

He almost gets his wish - they're on their fourth walking interval when through the trees he spots the two girls on the opposite side of the park. Soul's heart stutters in his chest and he almost slows to a stop, staring at her like a fucking moron. He can't help it though; without the windowpane separating them, she seems so much more vivid and within reach.

Then Soul remembers that he's currently incredibly sweaty and red-faced from running and not at all attractive. He picks up the pace, jogs faster when the program tells him to run, keeping one ear free of earbuds to listen for them.

It's in vain though - he can hear their footsteps behind him and their rapid fire speech over the sound of his music and the trudging of his feet. He keeps his eyes trained ahead, and doesn't look at them as they pull up next to him. His heart is pounding in his chest, and he doesn't think he can blame it just on exertion.

They pass him without even a glance his way, and he's just about to breathe a sigh of relief and settle back into familiar longing when Black*Star starts to pull ahead. One glance into his eyes and Soul's hissing his name, trying desperately to get him to not embarrass them or get them arrested.

Predictably, Black*Star ignores him, and Soul is forced to watch as his running partner/coach begins to catch up with the two. Instead of overtaking them, though, he falls into pace on the other side of the taller girl. Soul's crush shoots Black*Star a glare, and he can hear the fierceness in her tone as she addresses Black*Star, even though he's too far away to hear the actual words. They disappear around the bend, and Soul gives up on catching up to them, focusing instead on finishing his session. Worse comes to worse he'll just pretend not to know Black*Star and take his punishment for that later.

About ten minutes later, Soul spies the three standing near the water fountain. The girl is leaning forward, arms crossed, arguing with Black*Star, who is mirroring her pose - her friend stands between them, looking amused. Soul slows his pace, debating on whether to approach them or turn around and leave, when Black*Star sees him and makes an over-exaggerated gesture of "get over here!". Soul finds himself on the receiving end of three gazes, one curious, one suspicious and one sly, and reluctantly makes his way over.

"Here he is!" Black*Star crows, and Soul suppresses the urge to punch him. He hovers next to his loud-mouth friend, giving only a grunt and a nod in acknowledgement. Up close the girl is cuter than ever, with freckles and bright green eyes that are currently narrowed at him and Black*Star.

"We were just saying to your friend that we haven't seen you guys around the park before." Even her voice is attractive, and he feels completely tongue tied as she continues to scrutinize him. "Do you run here often?" she asks.

"He's just starting," Black*Star says, and Soul feels his face heat up.

The girl gives him an appraising look, then breaks out into a smile. "Good for you!" she says, sincere, and he flushes further. "I'm Maka." She sticks out her hand to shake. Soul goes to shake it, hoping he doesn't get her hand too sweaty.

"Tsubaki," the other girl says, giving him a small wave and a gentle smile.

Black*Star winks at her. "Black*Star. This sad lump here is Soul."

"Hey," Soul mutters.

"Turns out we go to the same dojo! Who would have thought huh? Maka here takes the morning classes though, so that's why we've never met."

"A true shame," Maka deadpans. Soul falls further. "Anyway, Tsubaki and I have to get going, but it was nice meeting you Soul." She gives him another brilliant smile that makes him duck his head.

"You too," he manages, studying his shoes.

"I'll see you at yoga class tomorrow Tsubaki!" Black*Star hollers. "Eight am!" Tsubaki gives him a thumbs up before jogging after Maka.

"Eight am?" Soul asks him slyly as they walk towards their apartment. "You never get up before noon. You passed up on a promotion at the gym because it would mean you start your shift at ten!"

"Got the promotion anyway because I'm so awesome," Black*Star responds. "Also, shut your piehole. Shouldn't you be mooning over the fact that you now know Jogging Chick's name? Don't think for a second that I didn't see you making eyes at her."

"Wasn't making eyes," Soul grumbles - then, at Black*Star's incredulous stare, "What about you, huh, I think if you flexed for her friend any more, your biceps would fall off."

"A body this good needs proper appreciation," he replies airily. "Don't be jealous, I flex for you plenty."

Soul shudders. "Please stop. In fact, just save it all for Tsubaki, she'll appreciate it more."

"That's the plan!" Black*Star sings as they cross the street.

They fall into a companionable silence for the rest of the way back, and it gives him time to think about the new developments in his love life (if he could even call it that). If he had been secretly hoping, just a little, that actually meeting her would make any potential feelings he had for her wither, well, that had been thrown out the window completely.

Maka. Soul mulls over the name, turning it over in his mind. He thinks of her sharp green eyes - her sarcastic, take-no-shit tone - her open, friendly smile. Maka.

The weekend after, Soul is rudely awakened, once again, by his asshole of a roommate, who bursts into his room and loudly announces that they're going to the basketball courts in twenty minutes so "get up and get dressed before I start to see how well your records act as frisbees."

Truthfully, basketball is one of the few forms of physical activity Soul can get behind, so it's with a minimal amount of grumbling that he gets ready. In fact, Soul is feeling pretty good up until Black*Star casually mentions that Tsu and his potential snugglebunny would be there too.

His only consolation is that Maka, apparently, did not seem to know that this was happening either.

"Soul!" Maka greets him enthusiastically, and Soul does his best to give her a cool nod in response. "I'm glad you're here. Did you know that this was going on?"

He shakes his head. They watch as Black*Star zooms over to Tsubaki, saying something that makes her giggle.

"I think she's really taken with him," Maka confesses quietly. She huffs. "Honestly, I'm not sure why…"

"Black*Star is a good guy," Soul protests, feeling weirdly protective. "He's loud and obnoxious and brash, yeah, but he's really loyal, and he's uh, helped me out a lot."

Maka hums. "I guess I can see that," she concedes. "Still, if he hurts Tsubaki I'll kick his ass."

"I'm sure you will," he says, and if it comes out a lot more admiringly than he meant it to, Maka doesn't seem to notice.

"Yo scrubs, get over here!" Black*Star calls.

Soul and Maka exchange a wordless glance of resignation.

"There's four of us, so we're gonna be on two teams. Soul, my bro, you take Maka here, and I'm gonna take Tsubaki."

"What exactly are we doing?" Maka asks.

"Basketball, duh."

"What? I don't know how to play basketball."

"What, didn't your boyfriend or girlfriend ever teach you?" Wow, subtle, Soul thinks, glaring daggers at Black*Star and trying not to cringe. Black*Star gives him a wink in response

"Don't have one," Maka responds briskly. "Ugh, fine, I'll play, but I need to look up the rules."

Black*Star looks at Soul like "seriously? You have a crush on her?" and Soul scowls at him in response. "Whatever," Black*Star says. "We're gonna warm up then."

They run a lap or two around the court, then move to the other end for lay-ups. "Did you hear that?!" Black*Star whispers at a volume roughly equivalent to an airhorn as he passes the ball to Soul. "She's single!"

"Shut up!" Soul hisses, frantically checking to see if Maka heard. Luckily she seems too preoccupied with reading the rules of basketball on her phone (what a nerd, he thinks far too fondly) to have heard Black*Star. "That doesn't even mean anything," he says. "She could not be into guys for all we know."

Black*Star takes a deep breath and Soul just about falls over in stuffing his hands over Black*Star's mouth before he could do something stupid like ask her about her gender preferences. Black*Star grimaces and struggles, but Soul keeps an iron grip on him until he finally stops moving and rolls his eyes instead. Soul carefully removes his hands, and relaxes slightly when all Black*Star does is sigh. "She's into guys, trust me," he says. "She was totally checking you out when you were running."

Soul scowls. "No she wasn't," he says, but still turns his head to look at Maka, still staring intently at her phone, as if he could catch her in the act.

Black*Star shrugs. "If you say so dude. Hey dorkzilla!" he yells across the court. "We gonna play or what?"

Maka looks up and the fire in her eyes does weird things to Soul's stomach. "What did you just call me?" she growls as she stuffs her phone in her pocket.

"We can do a practice game first, since I'm a gracious god," Black*Star says magnanimously.

Maka favors Black*Star with a wicked smile. "Bring it on, Smurf."

Maka's really, really terrible at basketball.

"You really suck at this," Soul says when the ball bounces off the court for the fifth time after she fumbled with dribbling.

"Thanks, tell me something I didn't know," she grumbles. "Can't I just hold the ball and dribble occasionally?"

"No, that's called double dribbling and is against the rules," he says again patiently.

"Ugh!" She throws her hands up in the air. "This is so confusing and makes no sense!"

"It makes perfect sense," he insists. He casts around for something for her to do that doesn't involve touching the ball. "Look," he says, "how about you guard Black*Star while I try to get the ball."

She looks a little cheered at that, and eagerly jogs to get in front of Black*Star. Soul takes Tsubaki as she comes back from retrieving the ball. He keeps his eyes trained on hers, and when she moves to toss it, he easily reaches up and knocks it off course with the tips of his fingers. Quick as lightening, he regains control of the ball and dashes down the court, sinking the ball into the net.

"Yes!" he cheers, only to become aware of the squabbling happening off to the side.

"SOUL!" Black*Star bellows, sounding a little strangled. Soul turns to see him struggling in a chokehold, face a slight tinge of red. "GET YOUR GIRL-"

"MAKA!" Soul interrupts loudly. "You're not supposed to touch him! Just block him from getting the ball."

"Well how was I supposed to know that?" Maka drops her grip to cross her arms.

Black*Star takes a deep overdramatic gasp of air and glares at her. "Overpowered pipsqueak," he says with a begrudging tone of respect.

"Hyperactive buffoon," Maka replies easily.

Tsubaki claps her hands together. "Should we start playing for score now?"

Soul hesitates, glancing at Maka. She catches his eye. "I think I understand it now," she insists. "No double dribbling, can't touch the other person, put the ball into the net." She flashes him a smile and a thumbs up that does nothing to reassure him but has his face heating anyway.

They're losing terribly. Soul stopped keeping track of the score fifteen points ago.

It doesn't help that Black*Star seems to be hellbent on winning. Normally, Soul can hold his own against Black*Star. Actually, Soul would wager he's slightly better at basketball - he's got the reach and the precision that Black*Star, for all of his superior speed, strength and stamina, doesn't have. When they play one on one, they usually come out pretty evenly, maybe even slightly in Soul's favor.

But for whatever reason, Black*Star seems to be pulling out all the stops this game, including parkouring up the basketball pole for a dunk.

"I thought you were supposed to be helping me!" Soul growls as he attempts to slap the ball away from his so called friend.

"I am!" Black*Star retorts, easily dodging. "She's pathetic at this game, making you look bad will give you a chance to bond!"

"That is not helping," he grits out as Black*Star backs off, before running straight at him and literally sliding between Soul's legs. He then proceeds to take a shot, which bounces off the rim, then springs into the air with the help of Tsubaki's laced fingers to catch the ball and dunk it. "Yahoo!" he shouts, pumping his fist in the air.

An hour later, they declare the game over. Tsubaki and Black*Star win by 35 points.

"Well that was a disaster," Soul says, sitting next to Maka on the bench, watching Black*Star chat up Tsubaki across the court.

Maka flicks her hair out of her face. "Sorry," she huffs, crossing her arms.

"'S okay." He shrugs. "I still had fun. Playing with you I mean."

Out the corner of his eye he can see her scrutinizing him, probably judging whether he's sincere or not. He keeps his face carefully blank, looking away from her.

"I had fun too," she admits finally. "Thanks for helping me out."

He shrugs again, but can't help the smile that pulls at the corner of his mouth. "We'll beat them next time," he assures her.

Her eyes brighten. "Yeah!" she says, jumping up. "I'm sure the library has some books on basketball. Next time I'll definitely know the rules."

He chuckles, shaking his head. "What?" she asks, defensive.

"Nothing," Soul says, standing up. She narrows his eyes at him. "You know," he begins, trying to adopt a casual tone, "if you uh, wanted to practice, we could play. Together. Sometime. Whenever." He bites his tongue to stop more inane words from spilling out.

"Sure," she says. Soul does an internal fist pump as they exchange phone numbers.

The edges of the sky are just starting to turn dusky when Maka and Tsubaki decide to call it a day.

"See you around?" Soul says, hopeful, as they gather their jackets.

"See you around!" Maka confirms, waving goodbye.

Black*Star flashes Soul a thumbs up that is about as subtle as a brick to the face. He can only hope that she didn't see that, though a burst of quiet giggles from Tsubaki lets him know that at least one other person witnessed it.

"Well that went well," Black*Star says. "Want to have a rematch? Try to scrape together some of your pride after we kicked your ass so thoroughly?"

Soul shakes his head. "I'm good." He begins to walk away in the direction of their apartment, but pauses when he realizes Black*Star isn't following him. "You comin'?" he asks.

Black*Star stretches. "You go on ahead. And don't wait up, I have a date tonight."

Soul's mouth drops open. "What? Tonight?"

Black*Star rolls his shoulders. "Yu-p! Tsubaki and I are gonna go out to that pho shop on 6th Ave."

"Already? You already asked her out? What did you even say?"

He gives him a strange look. "I told her that I thought she was attractive and if she was interested, I'd give her the opportunity to go on best date she's ever been on."

"H - how," Soul manages, "how are you good at this."

"Well I can't blame her for wanting to get it on with a god," Black*Star says, preening, "but ladies love confidence, man."

Soul chews on his lip. "Really?"

"Yeah dude! You gotta show them that you're worth their time! Why would they want to date you if you don't think you're worthy of it?"

Soul mulls this over. Black*Star catches his expression, and quickly amends, "Obviously you don't want to be an asshole, she doesn't owe anything to you, but confidence is sexy!"

He has a point, Soul is forced to agree. He thinks about Maka's smirk, the challenge in her eyes when Black*Star goads her into racing him, the assuredness in her stance when she tells off some guy for catcalling her or Tsubaki.

"Maybe you're right," he concedes.

"Of course I'm right," Black*Star scoffs. "Now off with you peon, I've got to warm up for my date."

He settles into a routine. Three times a week, Soul pulls on his gym clothes and pulls up a playlist before trudging over to the park, where he spends a half hour cursing out the little voice telling him when to walk and run. Sometimes Black*Star joins him, sharing entirely too much detail about his relationship with Tsubaki. Sometimes Tsubaki joins the both of them, which is always worse because of the extra details she adds to Black*Star's lewd stories.

Maka isn't always there at first - he still stops to watch her run past the coffee shop whenever he's on a morning shift - but when he mentions the times he's been running at, she starts to show up more often. She'll lap him with a cheerful shout and a wave, and he can't find it in himself to berate his slow pace when it means he's watching her from behind. Sometimes she'll loop back around after she's finished running around the park, joining him for his intervals.

His five minute cooldown walk begins to turn into a half hour walk around the block with Maka, and soon enough he's meeting her for long wandering journeys on the days he's not running. They explore the city together, sometimes chatting or arguing as they thread through back alleys and narrow side streets, sometimes not saying anything at all, just admiring the trees and buildings in a comfortable quiet. He never realized before how little he's seen of the city he's called home for the past three years. And seeing it through Maka's eyes is refreshing - where he notices litter on the ground, she calls his attention to an intricate, gothic design on the side of a building. He wrinkles his nose at squashed restaurants that look like the last time they were mopped was when the place was built; she orders Mexican food at a suspicious looking food truck and it ends up being the best taco he'd ever had.

They're walking down one of the areas a little outside of the old district. Maka's balancing on a short wall, teasing him that she's taller than he is as he looks up at her. Every once and a while, she gets a little wobbly and reaches out for his shoulder to steady herself. He grumbles half-heartedly, pretending to be annoyed to hide his pleasure at her brushing against him.

"Hey uh, Maka," he starts.

"Hmm?"

"I uh…" Crap, this was so much easier when he was practicing in his mirror, Black*Star's obnoxious remarks notwithstanding. He squares his shoulders. "I made you a playlist."

"You did?" she exclaims, hopping down in front of him.

Soul nods, and pulls out his phone and a pair of earbuds. "Here," he says, unlocking the phone and handing it to her. "You can listen. If you want. Or later, if you didn't want to now…"

She's already popped the headphones in her ears and is bopping along to the music. "Hey this is pretty good!" she says too loudly.

"Thanks," he mutters, pleased.

"What?"

"Thanks," he says louder as she takes an earbud out to hear him better.

"You should listen to my stuff too!" Maka shoves her phone at him. His heart skips a beat when he realizes her background photo is the selfie they took in front of a random statue of some short beaked thing with a cane and top hat. The two of them are smiling widely as they mimic the statues ridiculous pose, and his stomach does flip-flops as he loads up her music program.

"Wow," he says about halfway through a song. "This is…this is what you listen to?"

"Yeah! I love Owl City!" She hums a few bars for him, off-key. "Are you a fan too?"

"No way in hell," he says, wincing at the synthesized warble in the singer's voice.

As she punches him in the shoulder, he realizes suddenly how easy this all is - how he doesn't feel like clamming up around her, how he doesn't worry about saying the wrong thing or upsetting her. How he's slowly stopped thinking that she'll eventually realize that he's not that interesting, or bold, or as quick as she is, and will drop out of his life.

He pauses in the middle of the sidewalk. Maka walks on, but stops and turns back when she sees he isn't following. She pulls the earbuds out of her ear. "Soul?"

"Maka," he says, swallowing hard.

She tilts her head.

Ladies love confidence, he reminds himself as he opens his mouth. "I…" He clears his throat. "I…uh…" His hands tremble, and he stuffs them in his pocket as he opens his mouth to try again. "You…I mean, I…like…"

"Soul?" She's looking at him in concern now, and he feels the last of his nerve die as she takes a tentative step closer. "Are you okay? What do you like?"

"I really like this song!" he blurts out, shying away from her.

Her face brightens. "You do?"

"Yeah, uh -" he checks the screen, “- Waving Out The Window? It's um, good."

"I have the whole album!" she exclaims. "I can lend it to you if you want!"

"That would be great," he lies, sending a mental apology to his eardrums.

The long, lonely walk home is spent in loud, berating contemplation. His internal dialogue, which sounds suspiciously like the voices of his parents and teachers, presents irrefutable evidence of his cowardice and utter incompetence. Soul has no choice but to agree that he is a disappointing waste of space, like he always does.

But something must be changing in Soul, because when he gets back to his apartment building and looks up to see the flashing light of the TV spilling outside of the living room window, he suddenly knows what he has to do.

Soul knows in about thirty seconds, he's going to regret what he's about to do. No - regret is too soft a word for what his future self is going to feel towards the present him. Loathe? Abhor? Detest? Maka would be proud of him with the number of synonyms he can conjure for his future emotional state.

Well, future him could suck it. Bastard is always taking advantage of the suffering present Soul is going through. Case in point - this whole ridiculous running plan.

"Black*Star, I need your help."

"Anything for you best bro," he replies, not even bothering to glance up from the video game he's playing.

"I like Maka."

Black*Star rolls his eyes. "Tell the world something it didn't know."

Soul ignores him. "But I don't want to say anything because…"

"You're chickenshit."

"Basically," Soul says, not even bothering to deny it this time. "I need you to keep me honest."

"Oh?" Black*Star pauses his game and turns around, finally invested in the conversation.

"When I can complete a full circuit around the park without stopping or dying, I'm going to ask her out." Soul had picked the goal very carefully - it was equally likely that he would give up completely, in which case he didn't have to suffer the embarrassment of her saying no to him, or that he would actually complete it, in which case he could play asking her if she'd go out with him as a celebration of his achievement.

Black*Star squints at him. "Still don't get why you can't do it now, but you do you bro. What do I get out of this?"

Here came the hard part. Soul takes a deep breath. "If I don't ask her out, you can pick my punishment."

"Really?" It's like Soul told Black*Star that Christmas was coming early this year, and the sudden gleam in his eyes has shivers running down his spine. "You're letting me decide."

"Yes."

"You remember what happened last time I passed judgement onto you."

"Yes," Soul grinds out, "how could I forget." He still wasn't welcome back at his favorite Italian restaurant.

Black*Star's ever widening grin is distinctly unreassuring. "Oh man. I can't decide now if I want you to succeed or not."

Soul scowls, and Black*Star cackles, throwing an arm around him. "I'm just joking, of course I'm pro-Soulie boy getting with his lady. Still though…"

"Well I'm going to do it, so don't think too hard," Soul snaps. Black*Star just raises an eyebrow at him, which makes Soul insist, "I am, I can already run for fifteen minutes without dying." Maybe just five minutes at a time, but whatever, technicalities.

"And I am proud of you for that, broseph. You and Maka are gonna be the sappiest, mushiest, cutest couple - after Tsubaki and me of course." He smacks Soul's back a couple of times, making him stumble and wince. "Don't worry bro. I got your back."

That's what Soul's afraid of, and exactly what he's banking on to get him to go through with something for once in his life.

"Yeah what can I get you?" Soul asks, squinting down at the filter he's cleaning.

"Hi Soul!"

His head whips up. Maka stands in front of him, dressed in a black trench coat that hides her workout clothes. Her elbows rest against the counter, gloved hands cradling her face as she gives him a smile that makes his face hot and his hands shaky.

"M-Maka!" He almost drops the filter, and tries to pass it off as him smoothly putting it down on the counter. "H-how did you know I worked here?"

Maka blinks. "Black*Star told me."

Like so many other moments over the past month, Soul wavers between wanting to strangle and wanting to high five his best friend.

"Oh!" Maka says, peering behind his shoulder. "You've got a great view of the park from here." She smiles at him, and he feels his heart thump painfully in his chest. "You must see Tsubaki and I run by pretty often huh?"

"No," he blurts out. "No, I uh, am usually too busy working to look outside." Fuck, why did he say that? It wouldn't have been that weird to just say he sees them, but would she have thought it was creepy? It was kind of creepy, honestly…

Maka hums noncommittally. "I see."

"Uh, did you want to order something?"

She orders a mocha. When Maka goes to pay, he shakes his head, pushing away her credit card. "On the house," he insists, ignoring her protests.

He takes his time to make the best damn mocha the shop's ever seen, and finishes it off by creating a little flower of steamed milk in the drink. He presents it to her with a flourish, and basks in her praise.

Unfortunately, she came at one of the busier times at the café and can't linger at the counter. She moves to one of the tables nearest to him and pulls out a book, and he sneaks glances at her while his hands are on autopilot making drinks for the customers.

That is, until -

"What's up Soul," Black*Star greets him. "The girls run by yet?" He fiddles with his phone, completely oblivious to the frantic aborting motions that Soul is making.

Maka looks up at the sound of Black*Star's voice, and Soul drops his arms, giving her a weak smile. "I wouldn't know Black*Star," he squeaks.

Black*Star snorts. "Yeah right, you stare out that window watching for Maka so much that someone could hold up the store and you wouldn't even notice."

"ANYWAY, what can I get you," Soul rushes to say, as Maka cocks her head curiously. "I'll pay," he says desperately, feeling a deep flush work its way down his neck.

Black*Star immediately brightens. "Awesome! Well in that case…"

After Black*Star leaves with his six dollar caffè macchiato, Maka sidles up to him. "You're awfully generous to your friends Soul," she says, corner of her mouth twitching.

"Not really," he mutters, busying himself with wiping down the counter. "Just…just special ones."

"And Black*Star is one of them?"

"No," he spits out, "he's just really good at being annoying."

A pause, and then, "And me?"

Soul's heart hammers in his chest so loudly that he doesn't even hear himself when he mumbles, very quietly, "Special case." It only beats harder at the slow smile that spreads across her face.

The next day, Maka waves at him through the window as she runs past the store. Soul's hands dance between his face and his pockets before they compromise, one of them giving her a shy wave, the other one coming up to rub away a goofy grin.

Fall is winding down, and Soul can feel himself getting stronger, gaining stamina with every workout. He can't believe it's already been a month and a half since Black*Star dragged him into this fiasco. A month and a half of way too much sweat and exercise.

A month and a half since he was properly introduced to Maka - Maka, who he now knows uses books as both entertainment and as weapons - Maka, who hates raw fish and loves white chocolate - Maka, who texts him every night with a different grumpy cat gif, claiming they look exactly like him, who somehow always has some place new for them to explore, something new for them to look at. She's so much more than the attractive jogger he would stare at through the window, dreaming up scenarios where she would suddenly notice him and ask him out. So different from what he imagined her to be like - quieter and nerdier and more uncertain, but just as bold and strong and kind. Whatever happens - if he finishes, if he confesses - it doesn't matter as much as the fact that she's part of his life in some way.

His phone vibrates and dings as the automated voice announces that his workout is complete. He stops, breathing hard, and sits down on a bench, throwing his arms around the back and looking up to the deepening sky.

A crush. A workout. And at the beginning of all of it, a friend.

"Hey Black*Star."

"Hmm?" Black*Star pauses his one handed pull ups to look at Soul.

"I uh." Soul clears his throat awkwardly. "Wanted to uh, say…thanks for helping me out with Maka. I wouldn't, you know, have met her or anything if you hadn't…"

Black*Star flicks away his words. "Say no more dude. You know I've always got your back."

"Yeah," Soul confirms, "yeah I know. Still." He brings out an envelope from behind his back and offers it to Black*Star, who lets go of the bar to take it.

Black*Star pulls out two pieces of paper from the envelope. "What's this?"

"Uh, tickets. To the symphony. The one that you had wanted to take Tsubaki to for your one month anniversary and waited in line for tickets for five hours before being told they had just sold out?"

"No shit!" Black*Star's mouth drops open as he stares at the tickets. His eyes dart up to Soul and he squints, suspicious. "Wait, how did you get them?"

"Well I…kinda pulled a couple of strings…?"

"You…" Realization dawns in his eyes, and Soul shuffles his feet uncomfortably.

"Yeah," Soul confirms. "Yeah I uh, talked to Wes -”

"Wes, like, your brother Wes?"

"What other Wes would there be Black*Star."

"Wes, like, your perfect brother that you haven't talked to in a decade?"

"It's only been three years," Soul mutters. His ears still hurt from Wes' squealing when he answered the phone.

"What did he say when you called?"

Soul shrugs. "Not much," he lies, choosing not to tell him about how Wes alternated between crying and yelling and lecturing all while prying out every detail of his little brother's mundane life for two hours.

Black*Star hesitates. "And…your parents? Now that Wes knows where you are, are they gonna…?"

Soul blows out a sigh. "…They were gonna find out eventually." He stares at his hands - his precise, long fingers. Perfect for playing piano, his parents told him, over and over until he felt like that's all like they were good for, all he was good for. "…They can't really do much to me now anyway. And…it's like you said. I can't keep hiding forever."

Black*Star stares at the tickets in his hand before putting them back into the envelope as carefully as Soul's ever seen him handle something.

The scent of Axe body spray washes over Soul as Black*Star engulfs him in a hug, one that's made all the more awkward by the height difference between them. "You're the best bro a bro could have Soul," Black*Star sniffs.

"Yeah," Soul says, smiling as he pats his best friend's back. "You too Black*Star. You too."

"One minute left," the tinny voice encourages him. He clings to that as he rounds the bend. Just one minute. Before the end of this song is done it'll be over. Just keep going. Don't stop. Don't stop -

Ding! "Your workout is complete."

Soul slows to a stop, mind replaying the words.

"I did it," he says, disbelieving.

"I did it," he says again, and feels like shouting it, maybe even channeling Black*Star and adding a "yahoo!" at the end.

Black*Star and Tsubaki wave wildly from a bench halfway across the park as he looks over to them. Black*Star stands up on the bench, cups his hands around his mouth and bellows, "I TOLD YOU!"

Soul grins, shaking his head. Black*Star stabs a finger in the direction that Soul just came from. Soul turns around and -

There she is. She hasn't noticed him yet, looking at her phone, and Soul had specifically gotten here before her workout time so that he could bail out if he needed to but -

Maybe this is what they call runner's high, or maybe it's just Soul actually achieving something he never thought he'd even try doing for once, but he doesn't even need Black*Star's nod or shooing motion to send him off - he's already running towards Maka, calling her name.

She stops and waits for him, smiling. He pushes his muscles to run faster, and a tiny part of him marvels when his body obeys without complaint as he flies towards her.

He skids to a stop in front of her, only panting a little bit. The sun is filtering through the leaves and casting dappled shadows on her face, glinting gold off of her hair, and her eyes are bright and fond as she looks at him expectantly, and in that moment he wants to tell her - wants to tell her that he started this for her but finished it for him, wants to thank her for encouraging and supporting him and never making fun. He wants to tell her that he loves their early morning walks and late night texts, that he thinks she's amazing and smart and strong, that he probably never would have finished if she didn't make it more fun than torture, that he wants - that he loves -

"I like you please go out with me." Soul says in a rush.

Maka's face changes from fondness to confusion. "Sorry?"

"You heard me," he mumbles, resisting the urge to use his new stamina to run the fuck away.

"I…no? Sorry, you said it so fast, could you say it again?"

"Uh." Where was Black*Star and his menacing "you won't believe the things I have in store for you" grin when he needed it? Maka's looking at him curiously and god dammit past Soul was the absolute worst -

But he wasn't about to give up now. Soul takes a deep breath, squares his shoulders, tries to look Maka in the eye but ends up sticking his gaze somewhere in the vicinity of her shoulder instead. "I like you," he says again. "And I've really enjoyed getting to know you. And I would like to take you out to dinner." Did he just say that? He just said that. "As a date," he clarifies. He's on a roll. "Though uh, you don't have to if you don't want to." Wait, wasn't he on a roll? "We could uh, just celebrate me actually being able to keep up with you." Apparently it was more of a slow tumble. "Or uh, not." Off of a cliff. "You know what, just ignore me -”

"I would love to go out on a date with you."

Soul looks up from his shoes. "R-really?" he stammers.

She nods, smiling. He takes a hesitant step forward, and she meets him halfway, drawing closer until their running shoes are almost touching. "I was actually thinking of asking you out tomorrow," she says, peering up at him shyly through her bangs. "But you beat me to it."

"I…I did?"

She's close enough now to bump him gently with her shoulder, sending a tingling buzz through his body. "I like you, dummy," she says, and that combined with the way she's grinning at him, looking a little shy and embarrassed herself, makes him feel like he's as light as air.

"So where do you want to go for dinner?" she asks, entwining her fingers in his.

"Well uh, I was thinking maybe that Lebanese place we found last week, you know, by the shoemaker?"

Her eyes light up, and then take on a mischievous look. "Race you there."

He smirks back, heart racing forward for once instead of shrinking back. "You're on."

She takes off, and he follows, knowing she'll outstrip him in a heartbeat, but that she'll be waiting patiently for him to catch up at the end. He lets her peel ahead and focuses instead on making the world turn beneath his feet, setting his own pace.

He'll get there eventually.

Thank you for reading! Comments and criticisms much appreciated!

#soul eater #my writing #my fanfiction #fanfiction #soma #soul evans #maka albarn #black*star #tsubaki #coffee shop au #jogger au

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