#and i feel like im forgetting something important but that's not new lmao

[jez-bez]

Another unpopular opinion: Korn does not want to sleep with Fasai

Korn is a lot of things, but a cheater he is not.

In a fit of 'Jez analyses things because she sees things differently' here's my take on the KornFasai situation.

It's starts with Korn arriving at this place, entering the room where the director (his uncle? I think?) is waiting for him with Fasai sitting there too, sipping from her wine, wiggling her toes, all in what i feel is like expectance.

First of all, what is she even doing there? Who is she? Why is she important?

Korn, as shown above, is hella nervous. His whole demeanour is off, tapping his fingers, waiting, waiting, waiting. And then his uncle tells him off immediately, saying 'first day on the job and you've already tanked the shares'

The shot changes to show Fasai, and lemme tell you smth, I can recognize a bitch when I see one. (sorry not sorry, she just screams main character syndrome to me) She doesn't do anything but swirl her wine a little, sizing Korn up. She's putting him on the spot, is what's she's doing. Keeping him there, locked in her gaze. Korn cannot hide.

The conversation goes on to discuss what Korn can do to fix shit, and Fasai only takes her eyes off of Korn for just a second when the uncle says 'i know what to do about the issue'

but then after, her gaze is right back on Korn, intimidating, nailing him to the chair he's sitting on. Now lemme tell you, it could ofc be something they're into. Fasai being in control and Korn being her puppet, but I don't think that's the case.

"You have a lot to learn, Korn."

The whole conversation is clearly a means to get under Korn's skin. Sure, they make it seem like they want to help him, but body language tells me they're attempting to knead him into submission.

"You've got a lot to learn, Korn."

And then Uncle looks straight over to Fasai with the dirtiest smirk known to mankind. That, to me, speaks VOLUMES.

And the way Fasai is still looking at Korn makes me think that she never took her eyes off of him. Swirling her wine, sizing him up. She's ready. She's waiting for the right moment to strike.

And Korn, poor baby Korn, is so uncomfortable. Eyes twitching, not knowing where to look, taking a sip from his wine because he just doesn't know what to do. With this new position, he's been thrown into a pit full of starving lions.

Drinking the wine as liquid courage. In later eps we see Korn absolutely abusing alcohol to forget what happened. Why would he do so if he enjoys sleeping with Fasai?

The scene then changes to Korn and Fasai alone, she has two wine glasses, one for her one for Korn. Saying that 'Korn doesn't need to worry anymore.' She's looking down at him. You can play this off of 'yes, but Korn is seated and she's still standing' and you'd be correct!

But this series is at this point, (we're already at ep4 im just slow in making posts lmao sorry) at this point we know how 4minutes uses camera angles to tell a story. Fasai is looking down at him.

"Fah, do you know how your father took care of that shareholder?"

She knows, even if she says she doesn't. That smile says it all.

"If there's any other problems, you can call me."

Aka I'll take care of it for you, because Fasai has power. Korn's face is so uncomfortable right now. This scene shows they've known each other for very long, but that doesn't mean he likes her.

More symbolism. She's towering over him. She's the boss.

Must I say it again? Power. Authority. Expectance.

Walking over and sitting down onto the bed wordlessly, demanding Korn to understand.

When she reveals her naked legs, Korn looks over and knows what time it is.

He then turns away with this look on his face that I can only describe as 'I don't want to.' but knowing he has no choice.

More liquid courage.

Korn strips bare naked all in front of the watchful gaze of Fasai.

Vulnerable. That's what he is right now. Completely at Fasai's mercy. (tho, goddamn Bas, your ass please.)

Korn's face when Fasai touches him. The camera position here is important too. It's just above him, pointed and tilted down, so that we too, are looking down at him.

And can we just quickly jump back to his face when he was with Ton Kla? Because the difference is HUGE.

That's a smile on his face right there after Ton Kla patted his crotch.

The differences, y'all. I'm telling you.

Woman, a beautiful man is about to go down on you, please pay him some respect and look at him.

But also! Camera angles! We're looking up to her. Again, she's the boss.

During the whole 10 seconds that we are to assume Korn is going down on her, she camera is only trained on her. From below. We're looking up at her.

This, to me, is more of a business transaction than a 'hey we like each other, we hook up' kind of thing.

Is it cheating? I mean, Korn does sleep with her (i assume) and I would consider going down on someone absolutely cheating, but I don't think he wants to.

He has to, whether he wants it or not. This is his life.

[mayabruhbruh]

What do you think of the possibility of Will and Chance happening? I feel like it would be really poor writing tbh but I feel like they will give Will a different love interest because they’ll try to make all of the audience „happy“ But that would just truly not align with the writing so far I feel like.

Love your analyses btw<3

THANK YOUU! That's so kind :) And great ask! This is definitely a topic that the ST fandom needs to discuss.

The default question when people have little to no hope in Byler is, well, who the hell is Will going to end up with? Because it’s become increasingly evident that they’re trying to set him up for a romance. The “im not gonna fall in love”, the “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls”, even the gif shown above. It all can be interpreted to mean that Will is going to find his person soon.

So... to be completely honest, I had no idea who Chance was until this ask popped up and I had to look him up💀. It’s been a while since I’ve been on here, so I’m a little rusty on the deep lore lmao. So, in the off chance that others might also be confused, here’s a (rare) gif of him I found.

I think that’s him with the Hawkins cap on the right. Correct me if I’m wrong.

I’m not sure where the rumors that this guy was going to become a bigger part of the show came from, but that seems highly unlikely to me. I feel like they would have either hinted at it in the fourth season (like how they’re giving Patrick here quite a sizeable role so that he’ll be memorable to us later when he gets vecnafied) or they would have announced him as a more prominent character already like how they did for s5 with Holly, that one new kid character, and also how they did Amybeth for s4. Idk, maybe it’s unreasonable to think they would have to do that, but it feels quite too out-of-the-blue. Especially for a character that would take on the role of becoming our central character’s love interest, which is a BIG DEAL. Especially if it’s queer lol.

Secondly, I firmly believe that it would be a disservice to Will’s own desires to meet someone new.

Will said this explicitly in the van scene, and as of now, we’re still under the impression that Mike is his person. Forget about Mike’s issues and feelings for a second, and think about what Will is saying here. He feels like a mistake for being different, but Mike makes him feel like he’s not a mistake at all, that he’s better for being different. Mike gives him courage to fight on. Fuck. Tbh, it makes me wonder how long he’d felt this way. As a byler, you might be inclined to think his feelings have been on for forever, but narratively, he could have easily just realized his own feelings very recently, most likely sometime between season 3 and 4. It doesn’t mean the feelings weren’t there before, but realistically neither Will nor the general audience were aware of it before now.

Moving on.

Has anyone heard of the rule of Chekhov’s gun? It’s an incredibly clever and widely-used tool in screenwriting and storytelling in general that helps to clue the watchers in for what’s to come next.

Think of Lucas’ wrist rocket in season 1. When they introduced it as a flimsy-looking, no-good weapon that he’d put too much pride in at first, it gives us a good laugh and we move on. But really, it very meticulously set us up to subconsciously anticipate to see it again later. That’s what Chekhov’s gun is all about. Set-ups, foreshadowing, hidden treasures.

Another great example would be the painting reveal of s4. Obviously, after finding out that Will was painting something, bylers immediately figured it was for Mike and BEGGED and HOPED and PLEADED that we’d be able to finally see it, but to the general audience it was just another something that they’d have to pick apart and realize was actually of importance as the season progressed. (It’s also a good way of showing that the writers are fully capable of engrossing the entire fan base and general audience in his and Mike’s story. Just knowing Will had painted something and that it was for Mike created this sense of PLEASE TELL ME WHAT IT IS AND WJATS GOING ON and whatnot that watchers are simply so susceptible to it’s insane.)

Okay, back to the van scene. Will’s confession.

Now, I’m not saying that the writers intentionally used this foreshadowing tool for us to find and understand immediately. There are plenty, plenty of instances where writers use Chekhov’s gun principle and it flies over peoples heads purposefully. What I’m trying to say is that, thematically and narratively, they would never have introduced Wills feelings for Mike if not for it to have importance to the story, or for nothing to happen with it at all. It’s a set up. And a maddeningly good one, at that. Because queer stories already do tend to fly over people’s heads, and also because there’s the added drama between Mike and Eleven that makes it seem quite impossible for any of these feelings to be addressed in the midst of such emotional chaos. But whatever. I think I’m rambling.

Basically, whether they end up together or not, whether Mike reciprocates these feelings, Will is forever established to be in love with Mike. The confession was simply too grand and emotional and earnest for him to just switch up abruptly next season when he meets someone new that he might have a better chance with. Even if there were to be a whole new arc for him where he learns to let go of Mike or something crappy like that, it would be terrible writing on their end and poor use of a well-set-up Chekhov’s gun reference. It would be like introducing the gun in the display case in scene one, then two scenes later just tucking it away into a storage closet for the remainder of the story. Like… what?

And plus, it’s HIGHLY unlikely that Will would end up with that sort of storyline next season when he’s literally WITH Mike for presumably a majority of the time (based on the set pics so far).

So that’s my debunking of the Chance rumors :) and I didn’t even get to mention how incompatible they’d be just naturally as characters. Chance, a Jason-following jock that hates Dungeons and Dragons, fantasy and nerdy things, and willingly assisted in beating up the Hellfire Club when they were trying to find Eddie. What about that at all screams Will’s type? And if you’re thinking “unconventional couple enemies to lovers”, just don’t. This isn’t a rom-com, especially for a queer plot line lol. I think it’s safe to say there’s no “chance”😉 that they will ever happen. And either way, it’d be a bummer if they did. Cus it would just be Will defeatedly settling for someone that isn’t Mike.

UGH! It makes me sad that the one thing that is firmly being teased by the writers (Will’s love playing a major role in the plot to come) is constantly being questioned and framed as different questions. “Will Mike reciprocate?” “Does this mean Mike and Eleven break up?” “Who will end up with who?” SHHH Frankly, to me this is already a win. It’s become obvious that Will having feelings for him will come up again soon, and the rest of the evidence that accounts for Mike’s end already speaks for itself, so I prefer to just sit back and watch it all unfold.

Again, thanks so much for the ask!! This was so fun to dissect and feel free to keep sending questions into my inbox. It might take me a second to post my response but I’m determined to get through all of them. Love you guys!! <3

[smoshyourheadin]

spencer agnew enemies to lovers one bed trope

The Start Of Something

pairing: spencer agnew x f!reader

a/n: GUYS IM SO SORRY I KEEP POSTING SO SLOW I HAVE NO MOTIVATION MY BAD THIS IS LIKE RLLY BAD AND RUSHED LMAO I DONT LIKE IT i have better stuff otw i promise (also anon ily for this!!) requests are open <3

working at smosh is pretty great. you’ve been working there about two years now as a producer on smosh games, and you’ve made some darn good videos. the people are amazing, it’s so fun working with literal comedians all day. damien is so kind, shayne is so smart, courtney is so witty, ian is so… morbid? either way, everyone there is family to you. the one thing you don’t like however? spencer.

it all started during your first big project at smosh. you and spencer were both assigned to lead a new series of board af. excited to prove yourself, you put in countless hours to make sure everything was perfect. however, spencer, being spencer, dismissed your detailed plans, opting instead for a spontaneous approach, leading the episodes to be messy, and all around bad quality.

every day at the office is a battlefield. Spencer’s snide comments about your meticulousness clash with your jabs about his unpredictability.

“nice color-coded schedule you got there,” spencer says with a smirk as he passes your desk. “did you plan your bathroom breaks too?”

you roll your eyes, not missing a beat. “at least i won’t forget to show up to work on time, unlike some people.”

he scoffs and walks away, and you smirk to yourself because of how annoyed he gets.

you grew up in a structured environment, where planning and precision were key to success. your parents, both engineers, drilled into you the importance of preparation and hard work. spencer, on the other hand, thrived in chaos. raised in a floridian household with artists for parents, he learned to ‘embrace’ spontaneity and creativity, when in reality he’s just a lazy piece of shit, and this fundamental difference in your upbringings is your reasoning for the friction.

the entire smosh crew is buzzing with excitement for the upcoming vid con. however, ian and anthony made a slight mistake: not enough rooms. as luck would have it, you’ve been assigned to share a room with spencer, and, of course, there’s only one bed.

“great,” you mutter, staring at the single bed. “this is just perfect.”

spencer shrugs. “we’re adults. we can handle this. or are you upset this’ ruined your plans?”

you shove him off, tongue in cheek, and put your bags down.

“yeah, well, i guess we’ll just have to make do,” you reply, mustering a half-hearted smile as you unpack.

that night, as you both lie awkwardly side by side, you can’t help but talk. the conversation starts stilted but gradually, you begin to share your perspectives. you explain how his disregard for plans made you feel undervalued. spencer admits he never realized how much effort you put into your work and how his actions might have come across.

after that night, some subtle changes begin to occur between you both. one day, you catch spencer glancing your way with what seems like concern when you’re stressed. you find yourself defending his unconventional methods when others criticize him.

one day, you witness spencer dealing with a personal crisis - a call from his dad that leaves him visibly shaken. as you’re the only person who saw him, you offer him a shoulder to lean on. that day, you see a side of him that’s vulnerable and human, softening your attitude further, almost affectionate toward him.

as you start getting along better, both of you struggle with your growing feelings. you’re plagued by internal conflict, denying what’s becoming increasingly obvious. spencer starts bringing you coffee in the mornings, and you find yourself lingering in conversations with him to try and stay in his company.

a crisis at smosh forces you both to confront your true feelings. a huge chunk of footage from shayne’s turn on tntl is accidentally deleted, and the blame game begins. in the heat of the argument, spencer snaps, “why do you hate me so much?”

the words hang in the air, and you both freeze. finally, you confess, “i don’t hate you. i don’t think i ever hated you. i think i was just scared that my efforts would never be enough.”

spencer steps closer, his eyes softening. “i didn’t realize. i thought you just… hated me.”

you break. hot tears sting your face, and you bring your hoodie sleeves to your eyes to prevent your mascara from running. he wraps you in a hug, and you sob into his shoulder.

in the end, you and spencer are inseparable. the crew notices the change, teasing you both about your newfound closeness, especially angela who you used to complain to about him. you’re all lovey dovey now, finding joy in each other’s company and embracing the weird balance you bring to each other’s lives.

[bonefall]

Now this had me thinking... Would Willowpelt die in the same way as canon (although to another creature im assuming since bb!badgers aren't as dangerous as they are in canon)? If she's getting kept around longer, maybe Cricketclaw is the one who sacrifices herself instead? That sounds like a fitting way for her to go, considering she couldn't protect her own siblings?

I feel like I should add a TM to anything that I'm working on in my drafts that has significant progress and is blog-plot-relevant, that will explain something exactly like this LMAO

Forgive me I am, at heart, a bear that eats half a salmon and then forgets I had a fish at all

Willowpelt's brush with death is staying, and is actually a bit plot relevant in Firestar's Quietus! I have a very specific scene which is actually totally written out-- actually fuck it, I'll just post it here

Context and narrative purpose of this scene:

Firestar is informed of a boar on the territory, and gathers a little scouting patrol to try and figure out what sort of hog it is.

VERY IMPORTANT SEGWAY. Because of how Willowpelt gets bitten here and Firestar loses a life saving Sorrelpaw, they all end up in the Cleric's den where Ferncloud is telling a story both to practice her new job as upcoming Educator and to comfort everyone.

The fact Willowpelt is not dead is how I get Littlecloud away from Runningnose and Firestar

Runningnose has a hunch, in this moment, that goody two-shoes little Firestar might be the perfect person to help Brokenstar, and teases the visions and revelations he's about to have

Establishes that boars are the new Big Bad Beastie of BB

Presents Sorrelpaw's epilepsy and demonstrates how it is a danger to her safety

(this is a lot of buildup but this is actually pretty short lmao)

So anyway before I let you go on to the readmore and a preview of Firestar's Quietus, no one takes Willowpelt's death here, and Willow is going to hang on for longer. I wanted to make sure I have a good amount of cats to kill off in the carnage of the White Hart's destruction.

Wherever Cricketclaw dies, it will be for a purpose. Either to show how bloody the TNP conflicts are, or in a greencough epidemic because I'm trying to make sure those aren't just "Kill a bunch of randos offscreen" disease anymore.

WILLOWPELT'S BOAR

The patrol is Sandstorm and Sorrelpaw, Willowpelt, Longtail and Sootpaw, and himself. It's just supposed to be for scouting, hence why the apprentices are coming along.

Unfortunately the hog has other plans, lunging out of a bush and going for Sootpaw

Willowpelt jumps in the way and gets bitten instead

Sorrelpaw acts quick, slashing its sensitive nose, drawing its attention and bolting as fast as she can

RIGHT as she crosses the Thunderpath, her body goes limp and she falls to the ground

She is having an absence seizure, and fallen flat on the road

The hog is hot on her heels, bowling after her, when a monster screeches to a halt out of nowhere

The hog is frozen in the headlights, Firestar bursts into action to pull Sorrelpaw out of the road

(i hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums) BUMP BUMP

The boar and Firestar have been hit by, have been struck by, an automobile

When he sees StarClan, they're about to greet him with love. But their faces turn to shock and fear, the scenery becoming sinister and trees falling down.

A fifth oak tree is crashing down towards them. Firestar stares at it, dumbstruck.

Just before it strikes him, his eyes snap open

Firestar resurrects with a burst of energy, dragging Sorrelpaw off the road and into the safety of a fern on the ShadowClan side

The humans are coming out of the car to examine the boar they struck, but Firestar doesn't have time to consider that or his vision.

Littlecloud's head pokes out of the foliage and he springs into action, checking them both for injury. Breathless, Firestar points behind him and rasps, "Willowpelt!"

Littlecloud nods and bolts across the road.

Runningnose saunters out from a different angle-- one where he would have been able to see the road. Everything that happened.

His gaze is unsettling as ever, pausing, eyeing the leader up and down.

He starts tending to Sorrelpaw, then mumbles,

"Brave of you."

"It's what any leader would have done."

"No. It's what you always do."

Firestar doesn't know how to respond to that, but he's glad Runningnose isn't staring at him anymore.

But continues, "You will learn terrible things in the days to come, Firestar, and StarClan will not answer the questions that find you. If you seek the truth, meet me by the mothermouth on the night after the next gathering."

Sorrelpaw is leaning up now, her eyes dazed and confused, as if she's trying to figure out what happened.

[socksandbuttons]

THE EARTH AND KC COMIC I WILL SOB

i cant imagine how hurt he feels, even if its not Earth’s fault, it must suck to just. be blatantly unseen and ignored by someone you care for. here i was thinking she was being mean for not directly acknowledging Kc Lmao

also, love lunar doing weird flips in the background. bros having the time of his life

is there gonna be any continuation to this whole au type thing? i am LOVING the concept and i love how uou executed the oppurtunity. i will now go feral around my room thank you

OH KC IS upset earth no longer sees him. but his anger is more directed at the creator. It did not take him long to piece that together. Moon also came to the conclusion as well in the show. It just sucks knowing you were actively getting along better, and then ripped away. AND YAY!! im glad people noticed that. Her not acknowledging KC right off the bat. Altho in my original end script she forgets the entire altercation. YEAH IM GLAD PEOPLE LIKED LUNARS FLIPS AND STUF GBDJKSD i saw hose reblogs. he is being silly its okay. i did consider not having him there when my comic went on longer than expected but he Silly <333 AND- i did wanna get my concept down first, cause i too go wild about how they really couldve given us this sort of plot. It was RIGHT there. within reach. But i'll just continue in short bursts cause i have other aus and always always rotating other things. But I do wanna get to Earth acknowlegding she IS forgetting someone and its obviously something important. Cause they do touch on that in this show of ANY mention of the creator, its a hard jolt to a new place and conversation with someone (while everyone is seeing her panic and cry) Imagine a whole loop of trying to recall the thing youre forgetting only to forget and try again only getting more upset each time. Esp when you have some knowledge of it. But you cant stop it you just keep trying. Someone would need to step in, altho earth herself is good at recognizing patterns but if she forgets eachtime its a terrible loop scaring her more.

[apolsup]

There's plenty of time

characters: Fionna Campbell, Simon Petrikov, Betty Grof (mentioned)

Pairing(s): Simon Petrikov/Fionna Campbell

a/n: this was supposed to be shorter lmao, I added a few words, changed some. Its still mostly the same ت

I have no idea how to make a good title...

The dark haired man sat in the grass, somewhere close by his new house, having moved from the previous one only a few weeks ago. It didn't really bother him that much, he never got too attached to it anyways. His gaze was lost on the moon, almost feeling like it was looking back at him. The music in the back of his mind present as multiple memories and different thoughts threatened to overwhelm him.

"Hey, dude?" ah, right. When he was about to forget where he was completely lost in his thoughts, Fionna's voice brought him out of them, suddenly grounding him. The blonde leaned towards him, looking up at the taller man with concern and something that resembled determination, because even with her nerves on edge and her skin as red as possible, making her freckles dissapear from foreign eyes, she felt the courage to tell him all those feelings that she had been harboring for months.

"I have something. Something really really important, that I seriously need to tell you" she began, and there was no turning back since his attention was fully on her now, making her feel even more nervous under his curious gaze.

"this may sound a bit weird, or even crazy... But I think that, during all these months I have realized that... That I feel something for you, something different. Something that you could not like, but I really need to tell you this, man. It has been eating me alive for so long and so im tired of hiding how much I like you. Because I do, I- I think I love you, Simon" the tone in her voice demonstrated the seriousness of her words. A tone that the man with the silver streak of hair was not used to hear from the shorter woman.

Simon frowned, his white snowy eyes escaping the baby blue gaze that reflected the dark sky.

"you... I-" he looked for the correct words, visibly shocked by her sudden confesion "this is more complicated than you think, Fionna" he sighed

"My heart has been closed for so long... I don't know if I'm even capable of this anymore. To open myself to someone in that way" his words always being so carefully picked. Fionna then took her companion's hand with determination, sending an electric sensation to the depths of his heart

"give me a chance. Just one chance, man. Let me take care of your heart, let me take care of you, I... I really want to do it" she said, leaning dangerously again over Simon, who, because of his nerves was leaning back, bringing his hands to the wet grass and squeezing it there, searching for the answers to his problems.

Love was a strange thing, wasn't it? It always appears when you least expect it, before you can even realize what it is. To Simon it was like that, in the blink of an eye the woman he saw as a close friend, who he shared a deep bond with became the person his heart and mind ached to be with, to care for, that plead to make happy and in response to be happy with her... To him, the time didn't matter, it wasn't of use, because even with the passing of the months he still couldn't forget about her.

The abysmal distance between them did nothing to appease the growing fire in his soul as well. Even the difference in their ages, that at first made him reconsider his own feelings, was not able to hold him long enough from seeing her in that way, because in the end of the day they were both grown adults, mature enough to make their own choices, adults that met eachother only a few months ago yet they felt like they knew the other from even longer.

And the temptation of those lips was becoming too much for the taller man to handle, with the woman who tormented him every night in his dreams practically on top of his lap, looking for his acceptance and his love. The woman's voice hypnotized him, her gaze made him lose himself in space, and her gentle hands on his own made him shiver.

All of it was too much, so in the midst of the darkness that enveloped them, their lips met in an awkward kiss.

Despite the scratchy wounds on Simon's lips, constantly bitten by the anxiety and stress caused by his life in Ooo, Fionna loved them tenderly, wanting to hold his face and kiss it, wanting to heal his wounded lips with all the love overflowing in her chest, wanting to fill the man with hope in the middle of the emotional desert he had inside of his heavy heart.

As they separated, Simon felt a mix of emotions. Doubt and fear still loomed, along with a bit of guilt for feeling like he was betraying the red-haired woman he had loved for years. But he knew that Betty would never come back, and he knew that even she would agree with him doing this, after all she was the one who gave him the chance to rebuild his life and maybe... Just maybe, this was what he needed. Feeling that his long gone lover was giving him this opportunity with Fionna gave him a glimmer of hope. And when the blonde left his lips she gently caressed his face, looking into his eyes.

"you don't have to accept right away" she told him in a tone he couldn't describe

"I'm willing to wait for you, no matter how long it takes" she intertwined her fingers with his and looked at him, smiling sincerely.

Those words filled the short haired man with gratitude and something he had missed feeling, joy. He realized that, perhaps, this was the right thing, during his weakest moments it was thanks to her that he truly smiled, and maybe with her he could seek a path where he finds himself feeling better, feeling happy.

All of the emotions were too much for him to handle, and his eyes started to let thick tears run freely, letting out a silent sob. It had been so long since he had been able to cry and now he was doing it in front of the woman he wanted to love and take care of, the one that had an understanding smile for him.

So Fionna wrapped her arms around him, letting him let his emotions out as much as he wanted and in turn she felt a pair of arms wrap her waist, a shy and weak grip on her side at first but it became strong as he gained confidence. For hours they held each other in their arms, and in the light of the all knowing moon, they felt that maybe. Just maybe. Things would turn out ok for the both of them.

[cinnamon-bunni]

omg not me finally getting around to posting this. I was just about done with this for a while now but kept forgetting to finish the last paragraph and post so. here i am now. finally posting it lmao

once again this is made for @a-scary-lack-of-common-sense's job switcheroo au!! i really hope i did your characters justice, i just absolutely love them, they're so fun to write <33 please enjoy!!!

Louise found himself standing outside of the medic’s lab. The doors had been closed since early morning, with Germinoma being the only one who ever came in and out of the place. Though, Lyse wasn’t sure how much that actually happened. He didn’t think he had heard the doors open since breakfast.

He leaned against the wall, right across from the doors. He stared at the doors as his internal clock ticked the seconds that passed, with him at some point wondering if he could perhaps bore a hole through the doors with how much he stared. He made no move to open it, or knock, or anything to gain the doctor’s attention from the other side.

In truth, Louise had been waiting for a few minutes. He had news for Germinoma, but was unsure if it was the right time to tell him. It had been silent, for the most part, inside of the lab-slash-medical station, with only faint murmurs being heard by the ex-spy. What the medic was doing, he had no idea.

He clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth together. Germinoma had important work, something he emphasized to the whole team last they saw him, just after breakfast. It didn’t seem like any other “important” work, not like before. It seemed…serious. It gave Louise a bad feeling in his gut, one that he didn’t like. Things were happening in the background, bad things, and without him or his team knowing. Germinoma knew something about it. Louise wasn’t sure if he wanted to know himself.

Footsteps down the hall caught Louise’s attention, as well as…dragging? Scraping against the smooth, concrete floor made him turn his attention off the door. He grimaced at the sight of Monday, just down the hall, coming towards him with a very much broken leg that was leaving a bloody trail as he walked.

“Hey,” he greeted, once he had gotten closer. Too close, in Louise’s opinion, as he could smell the reek of blood and dirt and whatever else he may have gotten in contact with. Louise cringed at the sight of the other man’s hair, all crusted and matted with both dried and fresh blood, along with saliva from the soldier’s chewing habits. God knows when the last time the man had showered. Louise scowled when the other planted himself just a few feet away from him and had mimicked the same way he was leaning against the wall.

“What do you want?” he asked, tone clear that he would rather have that man be anywhere else on the base than there. Monday shot him a sloppy grin, fixing his hair by brushing the disgusting strands off and over his shoulder. He did nothing though, to fix those crooked, yellow-tinted glasses that were cracked in one lens, and completely missing another.

“What, can’t a guy wait for the doc to heal ‘im up?”

Louise scoffed, and reached for his cigarettes and lighter. “I doubt the doctor would see you even if you had a knife stuck in your head.”

“Wrong, Goldilocks,” Monday responded with the same shit-eating grin, “considering that happened last week, I have to say I might just be his favorite patient yet.”

Louise thinks about the incident when Germinoma stabbed Monday with a needle, seemingly out of the blue, because the latter had apparently gotten on the medic’s nerves one too many times that week.

“Right. I’m sure you are.”

“If anything, I should be askin’ why you’re here, mate.” Monday titled his head a bit, and Louise noticed blood started to come down his face, the injury hidden underneath somewhere in his hair. “So. What’re you doin’ here?”

Louise lit up a cigarette, the movement being muscle-memory to him. “I have important news for the doctor, but he has more important work that has to be done. So, I am waiting.”

Silence filled the hallway, and if Louise listened hard enough, he could hear the voice of the doctor inside the room. The man had always been fond of voice recordings; a better way to take notes of his work and thoughts, without having to stop everything to write it down. And he hid them, hid them very well in his chaotic-tidiness of that room, so that no one could find them.

Not that Louise had searched for them or anything.

“Well Louie, I’m afraid that my very broken leg and other injuries take priority,” Monday argued. “So, if you excuse me mate-” As Monday moved, Louise outstretched his arm to stop him.

“No.”

Monday paused, a scoff leaving him.

“No?”

“The doctor is busy,” Louise explained once more, “and neither of us are going to interrupt him. We both know how he gets, and he won’t do a single thing to help you if you put him in a mood.” A deep drag of his cigarette calmed the demo’s nerves. “His work is bigger than either of us. Bigger than him.” He took out his cigarette, using it as a pointer as he tilted it towards the closed doors. “He’s got a dead BLU in there–why? What sort of work involves a dead enemy?”

Monday did not respond. The masked demolition man sighed, and leaned back again against the wall. “We both know that something is afoot, whether you want to admit it or not. Things we don’t understand, the doctor doesn’t understand; you can pretend, but then you’ll just be even more of a sad man than I took you for.” Another drag from his cigarette. “So no, you will not bother him. Go get a first-aid kit somewhere else and fuck off.”

Silence filled the air, as Louise glared at the soldier, who just gave him a blank stare behind his broken glasses. “Not going to lie mate,” Monday finally started, voice low, “I’ve been bleedin’ out for a while now, and haven’t heard a word you said for the past minute now. So if you excuse me Goully, I am going to get myself some medical attention before I pass out again.”

When Monday took another step, Louise was quick to light another cigarette and flick it towards his feet. This one though, not quite a normal cigarette, explodes on impact, making a moderate boom. 

Monday leapt back when the boomstick hit a few inches away from his feet. “The hell mate?!” he yelled. “The fuck’s wrong with you?”

If Louise was as attentive as he said he was, then he would have noticed how the noises had ceased in the medical lab; no more sounds of equipment, no doctor talking to himself. Alas, he was not, and so he answered the soldier’s question.

“Germinoma has made it clear to everyone on the base what happens when we disturb him,” Louise repeated. “And more than that, I won’t lie by saying I’m not interested in what he’s investigating. You disturbing his work is ruining what chance he has of investigating something that goes just beyond a fucking broken bone or duties done on the base; we will wait patiently because if that’s what it takes for him to learn about something that could potentially affect us all on a unfathomable scale, then I will gladly stand out here.” Louise paused his long rant, letting a smile creep onto his face. “Besides, throwing my sticks at you is quite entertaining.”

Just as Louise reached into his pocket for another boomstick, the loud door of the lab slid open. The two outside froze as the noise filled the area, as they found themselves facing a rather furious looking medic.

“Oh, hey Germy,” Monday said with a wave of his hand. He smiled and said, “leg’s a bit broken, if you’re up to fixin’ that.”

Germinoma’s eyes glanced down the hall, forcing him to do a double-take; he leaned out of the doorway to look at the long trail of blood that led to the pair, with a large puddle of it at the soldier’s feet–not even mentioning the dark spot of soot from the explosion.

“The fuck is wrong both of ya?” he asked. “Is today fucking ‘Piss Off Medic Day?’ Or are you two asshats just so fuckin’ in love with me that you can’t just fathom leavin’ me alone for a whole day?”

Neither answer for a few beats. Monday then spoke up, pointing at the demo to say, “he got something important to tell ya, and I am about to pass out from blood loss from a botched landmine-jump.” He shrugged. “Still workin’ on it, but it’s coming along nicely.”

Germinoma gave him a blank stare, leaving Louise quiet in understanding of how the man surely felt.

“Get your ass in here,” he eventually groaned. “Not like I was doin’ anything important. I should really get you a helmet or something, Jesus.”

Monday gave a sloppy salute, answering with a “sir, yes sir” before marching on in. The medic’s attention snapped over to Louise.

“And what the hell is it that you want? You got more important things to bother me with than what I was doin’?”

A smile appeared on Louise’s face. “Just hear to tell you that you’re assigned dinner duty tonight,” he said, and took his leave. 

“Wha–are you fucking kiddin’ me!? Yeah, let me just drop everything on my plate to cook up some soup. Thank God my entire plate was empty, or else I wouldn’t have time to stir a big pot full of lentils and meat and shit in it! I was almost worried that I wouldn’t be able to do that, and instead would be forced to work all day on something totally fucking not important or anything! Jesus fucking shit!” 

Louise was unable to keep the grin off his face as he walked down the hall, the shouts slowly turning into a faint and muted noise as he headed off to his own room. No answers from the medic about what he had been doing, not that Louise had even asked. Only sarcastic remarks from the man, and nothing more. Not unusual, not for the secretive doctor, but Louise still needed answers; for what Germinoma was working on, for what the hell was even happening to the BLUs.  He wouldn’t get them, not now, and he accepted that. But nonetheless, he knew something was afoot, and he'd be damned if he didn’t try, at least a little bit, to see what Germinoma was investigating.

[marukrawler]

Thoughts on Marucho's partner Bakugan throughout the show? Like, Preyas, Elfin, etc

preyas

the OG!!!! so goofy and silly but also surprisingly wise. i'll never forget those important moments he had with marucho where he told him he admired marucho's kindness and how he also helped marucho accept his past self. their bond is so great and it pains me that they were torn apart, that they never made the best takoyaki in the world!!!! 11/10 best partner for marucho.

elfin

who needs sailor moon when you have elfin!!! i lover her design and her funny antics sm very kawaii desu ヾ(≧ ▽ ≦)ゝ i will have to say tho. . .i don't like her dynamic with preyas because whenever they're together they either argue or elfin gets reduced to a weakling that preyas has to save. maybe the eng dub did something right by cutting their screen time lol. but elfin by herself is pretty dope!!!

akwimos

another aquos funny man with a kansai dialect, something that has become the recipe for which marucho's partner bakugan are made by lol but i still like him! he has a cool design and a couple of moments where he gets deep. being the hopeless maruren shipper that i am, how will i ever forget when he tried to get linehalt to stop fighting him so marucho and ren wouldn't have to suffer. akwimos for new ship captain i feel like akwimos doesn't get enough love as marucho's partner and that needs to change frfr.

tristar

tristar is okay. another aquos funny man with a kansai dialect lmao how long until that shtick gets old (spoiler: ms2) im sorry but his design is really fuckin boring. something i do appreciate is how he's the only solid partner bakugan this season for pulling marucho back when he was about to leave the brawlers. drago and taylean were just sorta going along with whatever dan and shun were doing but tristar was the only one who put his foot down and said his piece to marucho, eventually convincing him to keep doing what he loved. tristar also sorta tricked everyone into thinking he was dead for a minute or two which was????? kinda funny tbh lmao.

radizen

he's also okay. seems like the show caught onto how the kansai dialect thing was overdone so they had him speak in keigo (formal) like marucho lolol. the combination of formal language + goofy behavior is kinda funny but overall there's nothing really exciting about him. him arguing with roxtor all the time can get old pretty quick lol. i did, however, like how when radizen became depressed about not being able to use the same moves as everyone else (jumping attack and combination), marucho took him to his family's marine plant to explain to radizen the power and beauty of his attribute. i thought that was pretty neat 😊

[ryker-writes]

ok i’ve decided to send in my ask because the curiousity is EATING ME i wanna know who you’d ship me with.. ahem!! (PLS don’t feel pressured to ship me with rook or idia or vil or anything just because i’m biased!!! i wanna hear YOUR thoughts, ok ? ♡)

let’s start with my likes / hobbies ! i’m a big fan of movies — i could literally spend my entire week at a theater and never get bored, the atmosphere is just so thrilling to me. i love love love fashion and shopping, too. it helps me express myself without really having to talk (which is great because i hate people ^_^). obviously, i love to make art and writing, and if i ever get the time to sit and learn, i’d love to crochet.

ermm did u ask for dislikes ? i forgot. i dont like bugs too much, but i’m not deadly afraid or anything. peanuts. i hate peanuts sm. aaanddd i have a BIG FAT FEAR of deep water and i’m a trypophobe .

my personality is pretty simple — i’m a sensitive person lmao. i’m a big crybaby on the inside, but i try not to show it too much yk? i’m always anxious, always doubting myself, etc. i’m very quiet — usually people don’t notice me too much. personally, i don’t think i’m too interesting, but i’m veryyy talkative about the things i like ^_^

i forgot (again) if u asked for preferences or not. i like taller people, but if they’re shorter than me it’s not like i’d complain (COUGH CHUUYA COUGH HACK). hrrmmm… physical preferences ?? hair and eye color don’t really matter to me, but if i had to pick, dark hair. idk i’m simple lmaooo

OK I THINK THATS IT RYKER PLS DONT FEEL LIKE U HAVE TO DO THIS TY FOR LETTING ME SEND IT IN BUT PLS DONT PUSH YOURSELF TOO HARD OK ?? <333

YESS IM HAPPY TO DO YOURS!! Don't worry! I'm taking my time to get through these requests!

"Hehehe welcome in! Take a seat and get comfy because you're one of my friends, so I take extra consideration with your matchup. First of all, I'd like to lightly bonk you for saying that you don't think you're too interesting. You are very interesting in your own way! But alas, I shouldn't bonk friends or customers.

So, I'll leave it to your match, Vil."

okay so I know it seems like I leaned into the bias but really Vil would be so good for you

you're into theater, fashion, AND love art and writing?? He loves that

Vil is big on quality time because of how busy he is, so he loves to spend time with you between activities

don't worry, the time he spends with you is almost always away from the public eye so you don't have to worry about people

he'll even practice his lines or talk to you about his new role or photoshoot coming up, and he'll always ask for your thoughts on it all

your opinion always the most important to him

of course you also get tickets and front row seats to all his shows

Vil knows anxiety well, so he's always there to comfort you when it gets bad and reassure you that you are amazing and perfect just the way you are

people say he's perfect, and he'll say off hand that if they think he's perfect then they should see you (and then he'll carry on like he didn't just say that line)

if you don't want to be in the public eye, he's perfectly fine with that

most of your relationship is private anyway

honestly, he kinda loves how people don't notice you too much because of how quiet you are

it feels more special to him that he always notices you and it means that when he's with you, he doesn't have to worry as much about people noticing you two

basically: he gets more time with you without being followed by paparazzi

he loves to hear you talk about things you like so much

Vil even tries to bring into into his routine and have you tell him about something you like while he's doing something (makeup, skincare, etc.)

he's very observant and can usually tell when something is wrong and will always switch into a supportive role immediately

I know you have his heart because he would drop roles for you and let you see him at his worst

If you see the peacock lurking around Pomefiore, don't forget to give it some pets, okay?

[tigers1o1]

Hi there I absolutely loved your Demonkicks fic, do you have plans to write any more? And regardless of that do you have any particular headcanons for the ship?

Hi! Thank you sm!! :3

I would LOVE to write more for them because they are so dear to me, but for some reason PD just doesn’t get my little writer brain going the way Riptide does. That just means I don’t have a ton of ideas lmao. But I LOOOOVE them and if/when I do have more ideas for them I so absolutely would want to write them :3

As for headcanons, I don’t have a tooon but but but I love talking about them so I’ll blabber anyway (I use any pronouns for Ashe btw sorry if that gets confusing)

They like chasing each other around the city. Im pretty sure it’s canon that Dakota can run as fast as Ashe’s demon heelys can so they like to be silly and chase each other

I think Ashe probably fell in love first (maybe in part due to the fact that he just isn’t really used to being close with people) but they were definitely very shy about it. Ashe is definitely the type of person to be like “I’m not going to talk about it unless he does” but

Dakota is probably oblivious to his feelings for a while. I don’t think Dakota has a solid grasp on which emotions he’s feeling 90% of the time (I’m not projecting wdym) and so he probably had like a brief moment of “wait do I like Ashe or just really wanna be his friend?” And he just shrugged and thought it was the friend thing until all of the sudden something clicks and he goes “OH SHI-“. Dakota is also absolutely the type to fall REALLY hard and fast as soon as he realizes. So to me, demonkicks is very much the “_ falls first, _ falls harder” thing

They introduced each other to a lot of new music and sometimes they just sit together in Ashes room and listen to music. They don’t really need to be talking or anything, they just like hanging out in each other’s presence. It’s calming for Dakota, and it makes Ashe feel important (and those things are exactly what the two of them need). I think maybe sometimes Ashe plays video games while Dakota just lays on the bed and fiddles with something or pets the dog. (He’d join the game, but then he’d get super competitive about it and loud and high energy and Ashe would get tired bc of it so Dakota is content to just chill)

When they DO play videos games it goes one of two ways: most often, Ashe feeds off Dakota’s energy and they both get fairly competitive (Ashe less so) and it’s a very high energy time (and then when they’re done, Ashe crashes hard bc he’s not used to that much energy) OR Dakota’s energy ends up making Ashe feel tired and so it’s less fun but definitely a lot more calm and Ashe ends up letting Dakota win 80% of the time bc she just likes seeing him excited. Regardless of which way it goes, they cuddle after and you can rip that from my cold dead hands

Ashe is the one to initiates affection, but only bc she is TOUCH STARVED but they’re shy about it too. So he’ll come up and like- face plants into Dakota’s shoulder and it makes him go “oh yeah, physical affection” bc he forgets thats a thing half the time (again, I’m not projecting idk what you mean).

Dakota is just completely enamored by Ashe. Thinks she’s the coolest ever.

[not-poignant]

im finally sick of my brain being shitty enough to make an appointment with a psychiatrist, but in the meantime i thought i might ask you this: in your wonderful answer to my ask re writer's block you mentioned burnout, which im pretty sure is whats happening to me. i dont want to ask you to give me a long answer if you dont have the energy for it, but i would like to know your thoughts on the matter. its been head empty hours over here 24/7 for months, lol, i miss creating

Helloooo,

I actually have written about burnout quite a bit because I've gone through burnout er, quite a bit... In fact I'm going through it again right now.

I have written a fairly long post about it in the past, so that's there if you want to read it.

I've had different kinds of burnout. I've had 'I couldn't write for years' burnout (literally, after university I just couldn't write anything for years and just assumed it was dead and gone because I didn't want to do it either), I've had burnout that's lasted months (even while like...writing as I am now), and so on.

A lot of dealing with burnout is just...resting more. Taking the pressure off yourself more. Grieving that you can't create right now without guilt-tripping yourself for it, a sort of 'I mourn that I can't do it, but there's nothing wrong with me and I am not failing because I can't do it. I need rest and care.' You can try little writer's block tricks here and there when you want to prod again. You can try other kinds of creativity. I can't write like I used to write, so I tried fanfiction. I can't write like I used to write fanfiction, which is why I've never written another Game Theory, because I just...don't want to write another story like that right now (I mean specifically all the sex every chapter, not the politics lmao). I've been feeling an urge to write poetry lately.

For you, through burnout, low-stakes creativity may help. Stuff that can be automatic (cross-stitch kits, where you're just doing someone else's pattern and don't need to really think about it beyond the stitching), colouring books. Or stuff that's low-stakes for you. For me that's often poetry. For you it might be something else.

I also think of getting through burnout where I can't create anything as needing to 'refill the well.' I catch up on shows I've been missing (writing as much as I do actually gives me no time for reading / watching media), I read books, I watch movies, I listen to new music and comfort music, etc. If my well is empty, rest will partially fill it, but so will inspiration. Watching Studio Ghibli for example almost always makes me think 'I want to write the way this makes me feel' - even if I don't write it, that little urge is like, a pulse or spark of alive-ness that gives the well a drop more inspiration for when I'm ready to write again.

It's very different for everyone though. It's important to address the basics - sleep, medications, quality of life, hydration, being well-fed, health (as much as health is possible) etc. If you're anxious and have insomnia and skip meals and forget to drink water etc. then it's back to square one with just...doing your best there. If that's mostly covered, then burnout is often just about meaningfully resting your mind.

I'd also add that there's different kinds of rest. Physical rest (sleeping / stretching), sensory rest (unplugging from screens and social media and overstimulation), emotional rest (time and space to express your feelings), spiritual rest (connecting with something greater than yourself - going into nature, community, giving, meditation etc.), mental rest (breaks, journalling), creative rest (like the cross-stitch and stuff I mentioned above) and social rest (spending relaxing time with people who love you as you are now).

So it's also worth looking at maybe... you're only focusing on one or two kinds of rest right now. Sometimes burnout requires that you address more of them. <333

There's no easy way through, because rest is the easiest way through, and rest is very hard (and not always possible to the degree we need it) for all of us in this day and age. Be gentle with yourself. I wasn't going to write a post as long as this but actually as someone who needs to hear these things myself right now, maybe you might need to hear some of them as well.

The main thing is burnout doesn't last forever, it's cyclical, it's not like chronic fatigue, or other chronic illnesses. Even people with chronic fatigue (like me!) can experience burnout cycles. So this will pass! You may not feel like writing again in the same way, and that's okay, whatever new version of you evolves out of your current exhaustion, I hope you enjoy that version of yourself, and learn to care for and show compassion to the current version of your tired self as well <3

[omi-nor]

Rules and brief about!

Welcome! This is a rp blog for ygo characters. Probably going to just stick with mostly Yami Bakura right now. But I might add others later.

Here are some general things you should know:

- I am very new to rp still. And still not super familiar with Tumblr. Still a lot of things I don't know or have never done before, so please keep this in mind

- It almost feels like my first time ever encountering ygo.

I've just picked up the manga for the 1st time about three days ago too.

- I am an adult and would prefer characters and muns to be 18+. No nsfw stuff with minors

- I really do try to read and remember everyone's rules, but sometimes I forget my own rules, so please forgive me if I forget something

- On that note, I am pretty forgetful, in general. I try to jot down notes to help with this, but there is a chance I may forget an ic interaction

- Try to give me about a week before giving me a reminder, though.

- I am VEEERY slow a lot of the time. Like, many days, maybe a week, slow. Sometimes more than a week. Not always, but just giving you a heads up.

- I try not to spam notifs or dash, but, it might happen, occasionally. I will always reblog from the source, unless the mun has made it explicitly clear that they actually prefer it be from them or don't care either way or, for some reason, I can't get to the source.

- I am kind of the exact opposite of most people, it seems. I actually would LOVE it if you went on a like spree. And I actually prefer it if you reblogged memes from me (as long as we have spoken at least once). And dash spam almost never bothers me. You can also come into my ims, that doesn't really bother me either.

- I'm not the best at # tagging stuff. I haven't really got a system going yet

- I follow #omi-nor and #ominor, but I don't look at tags very often

- Please don't be afraid to @ me for dash games, lmao. I usually love those. May not always do them, but yeah.

- I am a very heavy cell phone user, but, so far, I don't think I've run into trouble because of this. Trimming is the only big thing I have doubts about still right now.

- Rules could change. I tried my best to give some solid info here, but it could change. I'll probably make a post if there is a change?

(I really hope I'm not forgetting something because I am writing this from memory.)

- I am pretty anxious about stuff. I'm trying not to be, but it's hard.

Like, sometimes I look at a meme and there's a part of me that wants to do it, but there's also a little pang of anxiety a lot of the time. Lol, I dunno, man..

- I may not answer every ask or do everything thing. And I'm trying to get better at sometimes saying no to things. But I don't want people to get discouraged about interacting, either, lol.

I also try not to pressure other people and a lot of stuff coming from me doesn't have a whole lot of expectation attached to it. (Like, if I @ you in a dash game, for example)

- One important thing about communication: I always feel like I'm in a tug of war of trying not to talk too much to people because I'm worried I'm bothering them just a bit and then realizing I may not be talking enough, so I'm basically a stranger to them.

- "Plot something out" kinda scares me a bit, cause all the rp I've ever done - I think - was just off the cuff. Maybe it's not as scary as it sounds and maybe I've technically already plotted without knowing it. But yeah.

- I might need to take 2 or 3 weeks off from time to time. Just giving you a heads up. I'll try to say something.

- Going by Rainy for mun name. It just kinda stuck, lol.

- It's very easy for me to feel a bit overwhelmed. A part of me hates to do this, but I may need to temporarily shut down my ask box and not accept @s or #s for a bit if I feel like I have too much to do. I may need to make a very short ooc post just to let people know?

- I'm going to say, yes, all my memes have no expiration date, though.

- On a similar note, I think it's very possible I will go through your posts and send in stuff from a very long while back, in some cases. I usually assume there is no expiration date for other people's memes, but I usually try to ask first. But if there is, please feel free to ignore.

- I may or may not use icons

- If I see a reply to a thread and I am super tired, I won't read it until I've slept long enough for me to feel better (which could be a long time). I feel like being tired while reading really distorts things, so I like to only read it after I've gotten some sleep.

Honestly, the same is usually true for even ooc conversation. I just don't do well when I'm sleep deprived and sometimes I will just pass out for, like, 12 hours. (I LOVE it when this happens, though. I feel great afterwards.)

***ABOUT YAMI BAKURA***

My Yami Bakura is, right now, based off of anime English dub canon, for the most part. But now that I have the manga, it might slowly start to change a bit. Not sure.

I kinda wanted to try Ryo, but I haven't found Ryo in the English dub to be very inspiring, so far. A lot of his screen time was him just kinda flatly explaining the duels. Poor Ryo. You see glimpses of an actual character, at times, but it's rough, man.

I was debating keeping Ryo or not, but just to avoid confusion, I'm gonna wait to see what the manga has to offer.

Can I lastly just say? I really like the ygo rpc so far.

[whatthebodygraspsnot]

Hey how do you keep the little kiddies attentions when you actively try to teach them something? I know kids love to learn so I wanna know if you've got any secrets

I'm teaching skiing to 3 and 4yr olds atm and they're awesome and I love it but it's so hard to keep them focused when we're learning something new

skiing what 🥺 i can't believe. okay im not sure the transferability to your specific material, but here's some tactics i use daily.

Big Group

changing voice inflection/facial expressions to keep things exciting. im sure you already do this because it's instinctual when working with kids this young, but specifically if they're talking over you, crouching down a little and dropping into a whisper (still making sure they can hear you tho obv.) it's weird to them and many times they'll wanna hear what you're saying so they'll pay attention lol

"okay ready? let's turn on our listening ears" *pantomiming twisting a knob by each ear* / "lemme see your eyeballs" *pantomiming binoculars in front of your eyes* <- the wording of this one is weird but my kids know im weird and respond to it lmao. not sure if they're returning for are multiple classes or just one, but when they hear these phrases recurring, they recognize it's time to listen to something extra important.

lots of verbal repetition. especially if it's a specific word they need to remember. after repeating it a bunch, using it in a open ended sentence that they all answer. (ex. "and then we use our sticks, which are called ouuuuur ___?" *they answer* "nice! yes.")

One on One

obviously differs with each kid's learning style, but again lots of repetition. i assume theres a lot of physical movement going on with you, so not only repeating the motion, but using the same voice inflection with the motion each time. (ex. "we snap our boots onto the ski - snap! snap! - and we STAAAAAND UP)(<-everyone catching me in 4k for not knowing how to ski.) if it's the same noises/inflection and they're repeating it with you when they do it, you'll find it's easier for them to compartmentalize the motion. it'll also earworm back into their brain as reference when they're doing it on their own. it's kinda like a lil mantra they can follow.

a touch of what i like to call The Dumbass Method. personal favorite. it's not used a lot, but every once in a while, you pretend to forget what the next step is. if they know it and offer it freely, hit em with a "OH yeah - you're right thank you for reminding me." they'll feel awesome and powerful and their confidence will be boosted.

"it's okay to mess up!" obviously your material has more dire consequences to them messing up, so you'd have to narrow that down to whatever you think applies. but like.....just letting them fuck up. ya know? letting them fuck up and then reassuring them that it's okay and then helping them correct it with a smile. if they know it's okay to fuck up then they're usually more willing to try/do great shit!

through the course of writing this i have become absolutely obsessed with the concept of teaching 3s/4s how to ski, so if you ever have stories PLEASE i beg you share them lol. hope some of this is helpful

[underscore-jude]

can you go more in depth on how you would’ve changed kourt’s anxiety storyline and her storyline with jet I would love to hear more about that!

yes yes yes ofc i was just getting sooo angry while writing my last post that i decided to leave it where it was lololol

(also the more I wrote this the more i realized I either literally am Kourtney or I just project onto her a lot. lol. lmao. sorry about that but this is MY version of hsmtmts after all. and i added a keep reading cause this got fucking long goddamn)

so we've been told but not really shown that Kourtney, Ricky, Nini, and Big Red have been friends since grade school and then Ricky and Nini's dating and subsequent breakup split them apart, and im a sucker for childhood friendships, so i really want to lean into that

in addition to the inherent heart rate increase of anyone with anxiety (or at least, in my experience with GAD), Kourtney has a lot to be worried about over the summer. My childhood best friend and I clung to each other in anxiety-related situations a LOT, so I can really relate to Kourtney and Nini from that standpoint. So first of all, she's without Nini and Michelle, the two most important people in her life, and also the two people who have dealt with her Kourtney-ism the most in the past year. Big Red and Ricky used to be good at all that, but then the Big Bad Summer of 2019 happened and she just hasn't been as close to them, y'know?

She's never been one for romance. Nini was always the desirable one, she was fine to be the one in the background, the funny best friend who gave all of Nini's suitors the shovel talk, and now she's got Howie and they call each other boyfriend and girlfriend- they're not gonna see each other for two weeks. In my version, Howie isn't just randomly a senior even tho he was a junior in s2- he's away doing a residency at a professional theatre. She doesn't get to talk to him a lot, because he's super busy, but she's sure that things between them are just fine. Right? He'd never forget about her like that. Right? A song can mean everything. Isn't that what Ricky always said? But she knows all too well how that ended for him and Nini...

And then she learns that the performance is going to be filmed and put on Disney+, something that millions of people watch every day! She's going to be everywhere- and then she learns that she's going to be everywhere as ELSA! The first black Elsa on TV! She, Kourtney Greene, the Ultimate Best Friend, is going to be front and center in the iconic sparkly blue dress and singing one of the most legendary Disney songs ever...

So yeah, Kourtney has a lot to be nervous about this summer.

Ashlyn and Gina offer their support, but it's notoriously hard for someone with anxiety to open up and allow someone new to be their support system after feeling like they've burdened others for so long with it. So early in rehearsals, she sings the song "Monster". It comes across as a little too real. She leaves.

After letting her have some time by herself, who comes to check up on Kourtney? Ricky! He makes his case. It's been a year. A lot has changed. He knows that things will never be the same but you can't take away eleven years of friendship, and Ricky knows Kourtney well enough to know that something's up. For as long as the group had been together, they'd really just referred to it as her Kourtney-ism and whatnot, but it really doesn't feel right to talk about it that way anymore. RECONCILIATION TIME!!! GIVE ME THESE TWO AS BESTIES, T*M!!!! AAAAAAAA

So, slowly, Kourtney learns to open up to those around her- not just Ricky, but Carlos, and Gina, and Ashlyn, and all of her friends who make it clear that she's not alone. When she gets her Color War phone call, she calls her mom. Tells her that she wants to start seeing a proper therapist. She has a lot of tics, like picking at her nails, so she and Carlos take to repainting their nails together almost nightly- she's not gonna get over it immediately, but her friends do what they can to make her as comfortable as possible. Thus explaining why Carlos and Kourtney had different nails almost every single day at camp lol

So the elephant in the room would be Jet. He's playing Kristoff this time around, remember- just something you might want to keep in mind for later, lol.

So, as a massive massive lesbian, I fell in love with Kourtney pretty much the moment she appeared on my television screen, and Jet, getting to meet her in person, would probably fall even harder. Now, Jet is just... so very unaware of what to do when he actually has a crush, and he'd probably do something like what my autistic ass does whenever I have a crush- MAKE THINGS WEIRD AND SAD

So Jet purposefully avoids most of the people because he does not want to be there. However, he does have a habit of agreeing with Kourtney, hanging around Kourtney, being so so very awkward around Kourtney, like in the Real Campers of Shallow Lake episode but dialed up to eleven.

Ricky, being Kourtney's closest friend at camp and Jet's only friend at camp, notices something is up pretty much right away and considers playing matchy matchy matchmaker before deciding to be an annoying "good friend" instead and slyly mentioning to Jet that he should be open if he has a crush, but also mentioning that if anyone were to ever break Kourtney's heart he'd kill them. This, obviously, does not make Jet feel any better, so while he's trying to get Maddox to trust him again, he starts talking about little sibling things, such as the fact that he has a crush and his big sister might be just the person to help him figure all that out, etc. As their relationship improves over the season, the amount of gentle ribbing about each other's crushes also grows. To the extent where Maddox almost straight up says something about Jet and Kourtney in front of the whole group and Jet nearly dies on the spot.

As he continues to come out of his shell, Kourtney does start to really like Jet- as a friend, at first. Romance just doesn't come first to her mind, really (kourtney is an ace icon wbk, and she's not necessarily aro but somewhere on that spectrum. it's canon cause i say so) and she is more focused on releasing herself from the burdens of her own brain as best she can because she doesn't exactly have access to a therapist or medication yet. But soon, feelings start to arise. The other girls will tease her, and the boys urge Jet to ask Kourtney for a dance at the camp prom, and when he ultimately can't do it, Carlos is the one to say it's okay- he knows you shouldn't push yourself to do things you're not ready for (such as some traditions. it all connects you see, i'm a genius)

It's really easy to just say "if you like them, just go ask them out" to someone who is not dealing with the constant barrage of thoughts that every second you're not asking them out you're wasting your life away but you also can't face the possible embarrassment of being rejected, so you resign yourself to a life of pining from the wings (literally).

So this time around, it's Jet singing Kristoff's Lullaby during the Frozen performance and giving Kourtney meaningful looks, rather than the tired old dragged out love triangle we got in the original season!

So when the doc premiere happens, and everyone is left with the wreckage of what they've been edited to look like, Kourtney has to ask Jet what that meant. His confession couldn't have been edited that much- he said what he said. And Jet owns up to it- he's had a dumb little schoolboy crush on Kourtney since he first laid eyes on her and has only come to fall even harder after learning that she's compassionate, funny, kind, and talented in addition to pretty. And that all he wants is to know if she could ever consider feeling the same.

And Kourtney... doesn't know. She's not used to opening up her heart. She's not used to being desirable- people actually having feelings for her is something she's still having a hard time accepting as possible. Everything has been such a whirlwind since first arriving at camp. And that's exactly what she tells Jet. That she doesn't want to jump headfirst into something despite the fact that there's definitely a part of her that wants to. Jet wants to be mad. He wants to be so angry. But he's also managed to grow up a little bit. So he says that he'll always respect Kourtney, no matter what. But he'll also always love her.

When Kourtney gets home, confusion abounds. She's got enough "real" problems to talk about her therapist with that she doesn't exactly feel like boy problems are the right thing to be taking to them. She heads into work and waiting at the staff door to give her a kiss on the cheek and welcome her home is Howie. Her heart stops. Her brain is full of fog again.

And vine boom kourtney's s3 arc ends ;)

[kirkwall]

🦴💞👃

🦴 : Does your OC have much sexual experience? What are they like?

yeah he's a slut. they started singing at small taverns in their late teens and after a while noticed ppl coming on to them and after the first time he was like "alright this is fun im doing this forever now" lmao. he loves trying new things and especially in relationships he needs to keep things spicy

💞 : Do they treat sex casually or do they view it as something with a lot of emotional weight?

it's absolutely casual to them as an act itself but at the same time extremely important to them. if he has feelings for someone he basically treats good sex as an equivalent to a romantic dinner or fancy jewellery or any other way of saying "i love you" thru actions

👃 : Does your OC smell good? Do they have a signature scent?

when he still spent most of his time at home in gridania he used to smell of the woods but ever since becoming the warrior of light it's mostly just leather and sweat lmao. tataru gifted them a perfume once that smells mostly of patchouli but they often forget to use it

[cinnamon-bunni]

UHH NOT ME COMPLETELY FORGETTING TO POST MY NEW FIC ONTO TUMBLR OOPS HA HA

Anyways! here it is! i am really excited for this fic!! i have a lot of plans for this fic, and hopefully i'll actually finish it; i have a bad track record of abandoning multi chap fics, and im hoping this wont end like that ^^; i have high hopes for this fic, and really want it to be my best work, so im gonna be putting my 110% into this lmao

anyways! the first chapter is under the cut, but please feel free to read it on ao3 as well! i have my own skin for this fic, and imo its better to read it that way (i mean, doesnt add anything important, but just more fun, i think). i also wont be putting the future chapters onto tumblr, only on ao3

pairing: luigi/peasley genre: fluff (first chapter) word count: 4.9k first chapter under the cut!

The Goodwill Ambassador Lady Lima is commanded by

The Prince to invite

the Mario Brothers            

to the Beanbean Kingdom’s Woven Hearts Festival

on the twenty-fifth of December,

at the Beanbean Castle.

Your presence would be greatly appreciated. The Festival shall be a great celebration, and I would love for you two to join!

Until then,

Prince Peasley

The letter was short and efficient, and it wasn’t anything Luigi didn’t expect as a formal invitation. Luigi had to say, he had never heard of the Woven Hearts Festival, but it wasn’t like he was too familiar with Beanish tradition in the first place. But he was excited to find out, especially since it was a chance to visit Peasley again.

In a different, more personal letter, Peasley had talked about how thrilled he was for the festival. Apparently the kingdom only celebrated it every ten years, so it was a pretty big deal. And with that, it was the first time that Peasley was hosting, instead of the queen. He sounded pretty excited about having that responsibility, and Luigi himself couldn’t wait. While the festival itself was only a week away, Peasley had requested for them to arrive as early as possible, and Luigi wasn’t one to disappoint. Besides, more time to catch up and be in the prince’s presence was something Luigi would enjoy, and if he could be of use to help with preparations, then it would be even greater.

Sadly, Mario couldn’t leave as early. Toadsworth had requested that the cheap cheap problem be dealt with sooner rather than later–which meant that Mario was going to be down in the sewers to deal with the fish that had made a home there. It wouldn’t be more than a few days of work though–maybe even only a few hours if Mario was lucky enough that the problem wasn’t that big, as Toadsworth made it seem.

But he insisted that Luigi go ahead to go down to Beanbean Kingdom. Just because he had to work didn’t mean that Luigi had to wait to see his boyfriend. “I’m sure you’re just dying to have some alone time with him!” Mario had reasoned, and while Luigi did indeed look forward to the idea of seeing Peasley again, it didn’t stop him from his face turning a bright red for Mario to laugh at.

So Luigi, with his packed suitcase, headed off for Beanbean Kingdom. Nervousness as well as excitement swirled in his gut, as the thought of seeing Peasley again, as well as celebrating an obviously important festival, brought a jumbled bunch of emotions into him. It was clear that it was very important to Peasley–and as an extension, the kingdom as a whole–and Luigi wanted it to be sure it was as special of a moment as Peasley seemed to want it to be. But nothing was going to ruin it, of course not; Luigi was determined and confident that it was going to be a completely normal vacation with many exciting moments with the prince. It was going to be fun, and Luigi was going to relax.

The Beanbean International Airport had been bustling with life when Luigi landed. Beanish people and many others flew in, more than likely for the same reason Luigi had. He would’ve been worried about finding a place to stay–with so many visiting, he was sure that hotels everywhere in the kingdom were booked up to the brim–had it not been for his confidence that Peasley would insist that he stays at the castle. The prince would rather be transformed back to Dragohoho than be a less than stellar host. Luigi had doubted that, but Peasley always insisted that it was true.

“I want nothing but the best for you, my love! It is the least you deserve, for everything you have done for me and my kingdom. And if the way I pay you back is through lavish staying conditions, then so be it! Nothing less than best for you, Greenie.”

It still made Luigi’s face burn up when he thought about it.

By the time he had left his terminal, Luigi’s nerves only increased tenfold. Not in an anxiety-inducing way, no, but in an excitement mixed with a healthy amount of restlessness. A whole week and weekend to spend on a vacation sounded wonderful, and Luigi was quite excited for it to start. He hadn’t even left the baggage claim area before he heard shouts over the bustling people.

“Luigi! Over here!” Luigi’s eyes searched through the sea of people, only to land on the prince of the Beanish Kingdom. His smile was bright and lit up the whole building, and his beauty was just as radiant as Luigi remembered. The prince’s outfit was the same as ever, sans his characteristic cape. In its stead was a thick, cream-colored scarf tied around his neck.The smile that grew on Luigi’s face was wide as he waved over the prince.

“Peasley!” he greeted, and was instantly met with a hug. Luigi let out a low chortle as his arms instinctively returned the action, and gave a tight hug back. The prince pressed a kiss onto his cheek.

“I’ve been waiting for so long for your arrival! I have so many things planned for us, and I’m sure you’ll love it.” He pushed himself off of the plumber, but kept steady hands on his shoulders. He looked around the terminal. “And where is your brother?”

“Oh, about that; Mario ended up being dragged into some work before the flight left. But he promised to arrive no later than tomorrow afternoon!”

Peasley tsked. “Well then! I’m afraid we’ll just have to get started without him, won’t we?” A hand trailed down his arm, down into his hand, which Peasley held onto. Luigi responded with his own squeeze of the hand. “I was thinking we first head for some coffee–we have so much to catch up on, don’t we? And what better to do on a cold day than have a warm beverage and some exchanges of stories?”

Peasley took the lead, through the crowds that parted way for the pair like an ocean. The second they stepped out of the airport and into the fresh air, Luigi’s body began to shiver. He knew it would be cold–it was in the middle of winter, after all–but he hadn’t considered wearing any of his warm clothes that he had packed. How Peasley was able to wear his normal, out-of-season clothing and not even flinch when a harsh wind blew against them, Luigi would never know.

On the way, Peasley spoke about the different kinds of festivities he had planned, how excited he was to be planning the whole thing. The Hearts Woven Festival was a big deal in the kingdom, and he wanted it to be the best for his subjects. He talked about all the different plans he had for the festival, all sorts of decorations and games and stalls, all sorts of plans that made Luigi think about the carnivals that the Mushroom Kingdom had on special occasions. The only difference he found was that the whole celebration was over two days; one day was filled with the festivities that Peasley rambled on about, with the next day holding a gala-like party in the castle. They reveal the Harmony Heart, as a symbol of the kingdom’s unity. Determination bled into Peasley’s words, and no doubt was the prince set on creating the best festival that he could. And Luigi didn’t doubt his partner’s abilities—Peasley could do just about anything he set his mind on, and if he wanted this to be the best festival that the kingdom has ever thrown, then Luigi was confident that Peasley could pull it off.

When they entered Castle Town, it only hit Luigi then just how thrilled the rest of the kingdom was over the festival as well. He supposed it made sense–it only came around only every ten years, and was the biggest event, according to Peasley. The Beanish around them all wore grins on their faces, with laughter and cheerfully chatter filling the air. There were ones who were setting up different food stalls, games, and things of the like around, and others who were putting beautiful decorations of pennant flags tied from pole to pole, balloons and streamers everywhere, and artwork being done on the freshly built wooden stalls. None of it was close to being done, no, but Luigi could tell with ease just how much care and work was being put into this. 

“We should deal with your luggage first,” Peasley said absentmindedly, more to himself than to Luigi. “We’ll drop it off real quick, and have someone bring it to your room. There’s just so much I want to talk to you about and show you!”

“We have a whole week, Peasley,” Luigi reassured with a smile, “it’s fine if we take it slow.”

“Oh, but so many things to do in only a week, my love! And I don’t want to waste a single second with you.” Peasley continued to lead Luigi, a clear goal and plan in his head. Luigi didn’t mind too much–he enjoyed getting to see how the town was getting ready for the festivities.

The castle matched the town in its decorations almost perfectly. The color scheme was the same–a pattern of gold, white, and red adorned the castle and its town–and lines of pennant flags were tied across from wall to wall. The guards on duty seemed to be in a jollier mood too, even when Peasley requested them to take hold of Luigi’s luggage and find a handmaid to go and put his suitcase into the guest room he’d be staying in.

The pair finally got inside somewhere warm when they entered the Starbeans Café. The warmth of the heaters blasting throughout the building was extremely appreciated by the plumber, and Peasley hummed in glee as he rubbed his hands together. 

“It doesn’t seem to be that busy, luckily for us,” Peasley commented. “Do you mind finding us a place to sit while I order our drinks?”

“Alright. Could you get me-”

“A chuckoccino?” Peasley offered a playful smile. “You’re a man of habit, you know.” Luigi couldn’t help the chuckle that slipped through his lips, or the heat that consumed his face. No matter how much he tried to pull his hat down, he couldn’t hide how flustered he was. Why did Peasley always do this to him during the most mundane of situations?

Peasley only laughed again before he walked off.  Luigi found a quiet table against one of the walls, with a large-scale window right against it with a great view of the town. The clouds that blanketed the sky blocked out a good deal of the sun’s light, and the dark hue made him wonder if it were ever going to rain. Or would it snow, based on how cold it was? Luigi would’ve definitely preferred the latter.

It didn’t take long for Peasley to return with their drinks. He placed down the mugs gently on the table, and Luigi dragged his own over. The two beverages steamed, ready to burn any mouths that attempted to gulp it down. Luigi blew on the drink, and took the tiniest of sips. He hummed in delight, the warmth of the small amount of liquid already making him content.

“You know, you’ve never told me what the festival is about,” Luigi mentioned. Peasley, who was mid-sip of his drink, gave a small nod.

“Oh yes,” he said, putting down the drink. “I can’t believe I completely forgot to explain it to you! Do you truly not know anything about it?”

“I never heard of it until yesterday, honestly,” he admitted. Luigi felt a bit bad for not being aware of customs and traditions of the Beanish as he should, but he was met with a smile from Peasley.

“Well, I’ll do my best to keep the story short. But, it started a long time ago–a few generations after the kingdom was created with the Beanstar. I told you about that story, didn’t I? How a lonely king wished to create his own kingdom, but everything always went wrong? And then a star came down and blessed his good heart, and his wife with the most beautiful voice in the land?”

“Well…no. But I think maybe we should stick to one story at a time.”

Peasley chuckled. “Yes yes, of course.” He started to trace the rim of the mug with his index finger. “Well, the Beanbean Kingdom was flourishing for a while, and all was well for everyone. But, it was said that outside of the kingdom walls, out in the sea and the fields and mountains, that evil and darkness incarnate existed. They wanted to have the Beanstar for themselves. But they never could get in the kingdom, for the walls were too strong. And so, instead of trying to destroy it with brute strength, the darkness and evil decided to instead slip through the cracks of the walls, and sneak in.

“While the darkness couldn’t be there physically, it started to slowly affect the citizens of the kingdom. It started to take over the kingdom’s people, and took over their souls, infecting them with darkness and evil. The kingdom started to fall apart because of it. The king lost many of his people to it–he even lost one of his sons, and only daughter to it, too. The kingdom was collapsing, but the king stayed true to himself. He did everything in his power that he could to save everyone, and refused to let himself succumb to evil.”

Peasley gave a sad smile as he continued. “And then his wife ended up falling into it. The loving queen, who had always been by his side, was starting to get taken over by it. And the king just couldn’t accept this reality. And from his strong emotions–his need to save her, his grief and determination that came from it, and the goodness and purity of his heart, the Harmony Heart was born.” Peasley paused, for a few seconds, and then hummed as he moved his hand down to drum on the table. “None of the texts that we can find talks explicitly of how though, only that it just…appeared. Odd, but I guess we’ve never really questioned it. It was a miracle afterall, one that saved the Beanbean Kingdom.

“But I suppose that fact doesn’t matter,” Peasley sighed, not letting a single thing get in the way of his story-telling. He then gave a triumphant smile as he continued on. “As I said, the Harmony Heart was created. And with that, the king was able to use that power and rid all of the evil and darkness within the kingdom, and bring light to all! He was able to not only save his wife from it, but all of his subjects as well. The Heart took the king’s heroicness and purity, and was able to spread it all across the land.

“And so every ten years we throw a festival and feast to celebrate not only how we’re still here today, but also that the Heart is what keeps us united and is what keeps that kingdom-falling evil at bay.” Peasley, as though on a final note, took a sip of his drink. “That’s about it, really. I’m sure I’m missing a few details though–the story got a bit…muddled throughout the years, but that’s the gist of it.”

“Wowie…” Luigi hadn’t even known what to say. A long–but apparently short by Peasley’s standards–story, but one of triumph and success. The Mushroom Kingdom had many like it, but the Beanbean's were quite unlike stories he had heard before.

“The festival sounds fun,” Luigi decided on. “A-and, I can’t wait to see what you have planned for it.” Peasley’s smile grew more by those words, and Luigi couldn’t help but reciprocate that grin. Peasley’s eyes shone a brilliant yellow, bright with excitement, and Luigi felt like he could get lost in them for hours on end.

“Oh!” Somehow, Peasley’s excitement grew even more, his voice light with giddiness. “I should show you around Castle Town so you can see how much we’ve gotten done!” 

Luigi was sure that he had seen quite a bit just from traveling to the coffee shop. But if it made Peasley happy, then he wouldn’t mind a stroll through the cold, but cheerful, town. Who was Luigi, to dampen his boyfriend’s clear excitement?

He barely got in a nod as an answer before Peasley quickly downed the rest of his drink and got up from this seat. He then stuttered a bit with his actions, and  sat back down as Luigi took a slower sip of his own beverage.

“Ah–perhaps I got a little bit too excited,” the prince admitted bashfully. Luigi offered a comforting smile. He could tell how restless Peasley was, but that was understandable. It was obvious how much Peasley cared for this event, and just wanted to show Luigi everything he was working on, and how he was proud of it, and Luigi couldn’t fault him for that.

Peasley, while Luigi worked on his drink, continued to talk about the festivities. He spoke about how the Hearts Woven festival was in fact celebrated over two days–one entirely of a fun festival in Castle Town with music, food, games, anything that could be imagined–and then a ball on the next day, held within the castle–more of an esteemed event, Peasley explained, with it being focused more on the royal family and how they watch over and protect the Harmony Heart. Luigi froze a bit at the mention of a formal ball; he had been to plenty in the Mushroom Kingdom and Sarasaland that he was familiar with the customs of a ball, but any sort of thought of a social affair could make his stomach drop.

But, it would be fine. Luigi knew that it would be fine. Peasley would be there, and Mario had said he would arrive no later by the next day. Besides, Luigi knew how to handle himself in a crowd–he had gotten a lot better at it when compared to the first ball he had to attend, back when Mario saved Princess Peach for the first time from the demonous claws of Bowser. That had been a disaster. But now it would be different, because, even though at times it didn’t seem like it, Luigi had gotten more confident in himself. He could handle himself just fine.

By the time Luigi was finally done with the drink and warming up inside of the shop, he had to brave out into the cold air once more. Once again, Peasley didn’t seem that affected by the freezing air. Just a small adjustment of his scarf, and he continued on, and dragged Luigi further into the depths of Castle Town. Luigi understood how excited Peasley was, he really did, but why couldn’t they go on a tour around the growing festival another day? Preferably when it was warmer?

Luigi suddenly caught on as to why, though. The whole town was hard at work–many of the wooden stalls were still being put together, along with many other mechanics for other, more complicated and bigger pieces of the festival. There were many Beanish who were up on high ladders, all still putting up decorations on the buildings. Heads started to turn, more and more of them, as murmurs grew in the crowd. 

“Your Highness!” one squeaked out, rushing over. “Thank goodness you’re here! Tell me: which colors would look best? I want to paint our sign a lovely shade of green, but my husband insists that we go with red. I tell him time and time again that red does not suit the colors of the festival, but of course he thinks he’s the artistic one out of the both of us.”

Ah, that’s right. As a prince, one who was fully in-charge of the event, of course Peasley had to watch over everything, and make sure that every little detail was right. The citizens needed his approval on just about everything, and would need his help, as well. It would also explain why Peasley was so quick to rush into the coffee shop–the second he would be spotted, he would have to start up again with his princely duties, and he was just so excited to spend time with Luigi. 

But, Peasley didn’t seem to mind at all. Which didn’t surprise Luigi; Peasley had always been one who was always so happy to help out others around him. And seeing as how it was his subjects who were requesting for his opinions and help, how could he say no?

Luigi got distracted from Peasley and the Beanish’s conversation. There was a shaky ladder in the corner of his eye, and Luigi rushed over to help. He was, afterall, nothing if not helpful. Getting people out of pickles, whether it be others, himself, or his brother, was just something that was second nature to Luigi. Second nature to Mario too, he knew. They just loved to help people out, and whether this was what Peasley had planned to happen or not, Luigi would never oppose helping someone out. The ladder steadied when Luigi was able to get a firm grip on the base of it, keeping it still from any more shaking. The Beanish on top, who was in the middle of tying a pretty bow in golden ribbon, looked down and gave a “hey, thanks!” before focusing back on their work.

As Peasley slowly started to get surrounded by work, trying to advise how the festival should not only function, but look (“no, yellow roses! Not lilies, those are meant strictly for funerals. Why would we want white lilies in the first place? Roses are a much better choice!”). Turned out, he had quite a bit to do. Luckily, Luigi’s presence was just as appreciated; as it turned out, having an extra set of hands was something that many of the townspeople needed (“oh, how lucky we are to have a carpenter here!” He was not a carpenter, but he did know his way around woodworking tools, so Luigi never corrected while he helped out building stands and stalls).

Luigi was also a bit surprised to see how many of them remembered and recognized him. Yeah, he and his brother did save their kingdom, but he just wasn’t used to all of the attention. The questions if he was actually the Luigi that saved them, voices filled with an attempt to keep their enthusiasm hidden, always made Luigi stutter a bit as he nodded yes. The attention was new, but not unwelcomed. He couldn't help but wonder if this was how Mario felt all the time, in the Mushroom Kingdom. If it was, he wasn’t sure how Mario could handle it all the time, or have the energy for it. Just a small con of being the kingdom’s hero, he supposed. 

The small looks Peasley sent Luigi never went unnoticed. The smiles that the prince gave were often met with shy ones from Luigi. Small waves exchanged between the two, along with a few words when they were close by, until one or the other was whisked away by a townsperson in need of their help. But of course, the smile Peasley wore never left as he helped–whenever Luigi’s eyes fell back onto the prince, the smile was always graced upon his face.

And, down the line, they did end up doing what Peasley wanted to do in the first place. Luigi got to take in the hard work the Beanish people were putting in for the festival. They were proud of their work, that much was obvious, and Luigi believed rightfully so. The games he got to survey, treats he got to taste-test, and artwork he got to take in were all incredible in their own ways. The effort that the kingdom was putting into the festival was clear; they all deserved to feel pride over their work.

The pair worked well until the evening, with the sun falling behind the mountains. Luigi would say that he was hungry for dinner, but with all of the different savory foods and sweets all given to him–followed by questions if it was too salty, if it needed more sugar in it, if maybe perhaps a maple glaze would work well with it–it was safe to say that his appetite was well taken care of. Although, the only complaint that Luigi had was that even with his gloves on, his hands were starting to freeze. He definitely wasn’t bundled up enough for the cold, and with the moon starting to come up, he knew he would have to get warmer clothes if he wanted to stay outside.

Thankfully though, Peasley seemed to have wrapped up what he was doing. Promises to his people were made, that he would come back in the afternoon to be of more help. It wasn’t until the last person left did Peasley let out a slow exhale, with his shoulders coming down into a more relaxed position. Though his smile never left, it was clear that he was on the edge of exhaustion. The prince was good at hiding it at times, but Luigi had learned his tells well enough to see.

“I believe it’s time for us to head back,” Peasley said. Luigi nodded in agreement, and the two were off towards the castle. “I don’t think the chefs are quite done with it, though–I’ll have to check up on that. But, as you wait, you can decompress in your room.”

“I don’t mind the wait,” Luigi said. “I, uh, got quite a bit of food from the chefs cooking the festival foods. They were a bit filling.” A nervous chuckle followed, but Peasley simply hummed.

“Well, even so my love, I’ll be sure to come by to pick you up for dinner. I’m sure my mother would want to properly see you as well, and getting those formal greetings is often best done over a meal.” Luigi didn’t mind that. The queen was a bit…intimidating, he had to admit, and carrying a conversation with her with the chance to stuff food into his mouth to prevent words and stutters from pouring out seemed ideal. He also hadn’t seen her in quite a bit of time–the last being when he and Mario had to save the Beanstar, and that wasn’t quite a formal or proper time to really discuss anything or have her ask a plethora of questions.

Once they entered the castle, Luigi first noticed the way it buzzed with life. It was clear that many of the staff members were helping out with preparations as well, and weren’t letting anything distract them from their tasks. Diligent guards kept a keen eye out (or, maybe not so diligent, based on how a group of them chattered and a lone one snored away while standing); many maids and butlers walked with a pep in their step, letting Luigi know that it would best if he did his best to stay out of their way.

Peasley led him to his room, where his suitcase had been placed on the otherwise untouched bed. With Peasley bidding a goodbye to let Luigi rest for a short while, Luigi was finally able to get off of his feet. Exhaustion weighed heavier on his shoulders than he had originally thought, Luigi realized as he all but collapsed on the bed. He just couldn’t help it–the room was warm, the bed incredibly soft, and after a tiring day, it was nice to settle into. It was practically inviting him in, and Luigi wasn’t one to say no to comfort.

He wasn’t sure how long he had laid there for. It must’ve only been a few minutes though, and too early for Peasley to come back to alert him of dinner, but nevertheless, there was a knocking at the door. The quick and hurried type, with urgency behind each sound. Confused, Luigi sat up, staring at the door. He only then got up to his feet when another set of raps hit the door, just as fast and alarming as the last set.

Luigi opened the door to reveal a worry-filled Peasley on the other side. There was a smile on his face, more likely to be used as some sort of cushion or reassurance, but it didn’t match his eyes that were filled with fear and concern.

“Peasley? Is something wrong?” A dumb question on his part, he internally chided to himself–of course something was wrong.

“Ah, yes my dear, you see- well-” It wasn’t like Peasley to stutter his words like that. Something big must have definitely happened. His hands were constantly shifting as he tried to gather his words, and Luigi hesitantly went forward to grab one of the prince’s hands. Peasley grabbed onto it, and gave a gentle squeeze as he took in a deep breath. His voice, steady and sure of itself, announced something that made Luigi’s eyes widen.

“The Harmony Heart has gone missing.”