#and i really dont think hes socially awkward by any means. and hes certainly never been anxious lol lol

[luridparty]

yonny pikmin 4 🫵👍my head in going to explode !!!!🫵💥💥💥💥💥

[meatballdonut]

HOME

For some reason, I cant add an actual title

Part two??

Summary: Never having a place to call home can do something to a person. The most apparent side effect, never getting attached. Eddie Musnons changes everything for you, but will you be able to get over your issues?

Warnings: Physical/ Emotional Abuse, Brief mention of an eating disorder, Eddie being Eddie, mild angst.

Characters: Eddie Munson X Fem!Reader, Steve, Dunstin, Mike, random made up people, shitty parents, Jason Carver. 

Pairing: Eddie Munson X Fem!Reader (not really a relationship, but it's hinted that it will eventually happen)

Word Count: 2,167

Master List

When most people say they have a home, they mean they have a place they will always feel safe, welcome, and loved. That is why you have never had a home, sure you've had a place to sleep, but never a home. You've been with your parents youre entire life, but you've never felt welcome, wanted, and nowhere near loved. Instead, you feel used, unimportant, and unneeded. A home doesn't need to be an actual house, a home can be a person, thing, or an idea, another thing you've never had.  As far as you can remember, this is how you've always been treated, nobody allowing you to get close, nobody taking the time to get to know you, and certainly nobody took the time to befriend you, giving you your reputation as the “weird” loner girl who sits by herself all day.  This wasn't the worst reputation you could have, it also wasn't false. You did prefer to be by yourself, saving you from both the awkwardness of getting to know someone, and the fear of becoming their friend. 

There was another mis represented person in this school, Eddie Munson, most commonly called, the freak of Hawkins. You have never spoken to the so-called “freak” but you could tell he meant well. He was usually hanging out with the other kids in the school that didn't fit into any social groups, giving them a home. Putting on shows for everyone to see in the lunchroom, jumping on tables, picking fights with the basketball players, being everything you werent. You weren't quite as lucky as the other kids he's brought into his group, yes you were out of the social norm, yes, you didn't fit into any social group, no, you were not a part of the home Eddie has created. You weren't sure if you wanted to actually be a part of his group, or if you just liked the idea of belonging. Though it was probably for the best, you couldn't help but feel hurt that you were more of an outcast than the “freaks'' of the school. Being so much more of an outcast than them that you didn't belong with them either. Confirming your role as the schools number one loner. 

School goes by in a slow blurr, classes where teachers call on everyone but you, other classes where students work with their friends and you're left to work alone. Except for biology, today was different. In today's class you were meant to dissect a frog, great, but with this project you were also assigned a partner. Jason Carver, the biggest jerk in this school since Billy Hargrove. “How did I get stuck with the weirdo?” He sounded angry, furious at the thought of having to work with someone outside of his social status. “Mr. Carver, I think you will find that y/n here is very intelligent. You might even find you lucked out with your pairing.” The teacher knew what she was doing, giving him the student that would do the brunt of the work. “Whatever” He made no attempt at making his way over to your table, so when the rest of the students took their seats with their partners, you made your way over to him. Neither of you speaking a word, you began reading over the assignment. “Let's lay down some ground rules. You're doing the work, Ill present it, deal?” With a heavy sigh, you dont speak and simply nod acknowledging  and agreeing to his terms. You weren't necessarily mad at the arrangement, you wouldn't have to speak with him too often, and you wouldn't have to worry about one of you going over to the other's house. So you began working, laying out the assignment, figuring out the best way to complete it, and then, dissecting the frog. You've always been squeamish, not liking the sight of blood and certainly not the sight of another creature's intestines. Nonetheless, you finish the first part of the assignment, while neither of you spoke, you could feel him watching you at times. Taking in your focus, and the way you pretended as if he wasn't here. You had caught the attention of the worst person in the school. “You know what, I'll help you with the project. How does your place after school sound?” Oh no, no no no no no. This couldn't be happening. “N-no it's okay, i prefer working this way” He couldn't come over, nobody can come over.  He let out a light chuckle, no way YOU were rejecting HIM. “Nope, i'm coming over after school, and we are going to do this project” The tone of his voice alluded to his very obvious ulterior motives. That's not what you were worried about, your parents would kill you. “Can we do it in the library here at school? My parents hate when I bring company over” For the first time in that class, or ever, you meet his eyes. Trying to show how truly desperate you were for him not to come to your house. By the grace of god, he agreed. The both of you are planning to meet there directly after your last class. 

School ended faster than you had hoped, this was the most social interaction you had gotten in ages. Wanting to get this over with, you went to the library and began working on the project. “I've been walking around for a few minutes, thought you stood me up”  You could see straight through his fake kindness, he didn't want to be your friend, he wanted you for your looks and the title he could have. “No, i've been here, we don't have much left to do”  You could feel the smugness radiating off of him, you couldn't practically hear him smirking at you. “I think we should focus our attention on something more interesting than the project.” There it was, you knew that's what he wanted, and you knew that it was going to be put on the table. “No, I would rather focus on the project”  Silence, gut wrenching silence. He didn't know what to do, or to say. Nobody had ever rejected him so flat out before, How could they? He was Jason god damn Carver. “Think about what you're doing right now y/n, think about the reputation I have compared to the one you have. I could make your life a living hell, so I'm going to ask again. Why don't we focus on something more Interesting” What could he do that would make your life worse. “Pass” your fate was sealed, there was no going back from this moment, but what's the worst that could happen. His threat quickly coming to fruition, he took his hand and swiped all your work off the table you were working at. “You're going to regret this y/n” with that, he walked away, and you stayed putting everything back on the table and continuing to work on your project. 

You werent there for much longer, maybe another thirty minutes. You decided it was time to go home, hoping to either find your parents passed out drunk on the couch, or maybe they wouldn't be home at all. Instead of your hopes coming to life, they were very much intoxicated, which of course means they were mad about something you did. Even if that something was nothing. “About damn time you showed up” Your mother spoke, her words slurred, eyes crossed. Things were about to get bad, as they usually did. She stood up and made her way over to you “where were you” . She has mastered the ‘I'm drunk and I want to sound scary’ tone, and as most people are, she is a considerable amount taller than you. Your mother looms over you, waiting for an answer that will satisfy her expectations. “I was at the school working on a project for biology” you know not to sound scared in these moments, if you do it won't do anything but encourage her to continue. Her nostrils flare, her eyes grow a few centimeters,she's pissed. “Liar”  then starts the nightly routine of your parents taking turns to ‘discipline’ you, even though you are well in your teen years and not in need of discipline.  Punches to the gut, face, arms, legs, any place they can manage to land a kick or a punch, you better believe they will. 

This goes on for a few hours, nobody daring to interrupt them during their violent episodes. You know, as well as everyone else knows, that the walls of your trailer are less than sound proof. If you can hear a car door close from three trailers down, you best believe that they can hear the yells coming from both you and your parents, and yet nobody does anything about it. You've always hoped that one day someone would be the knight in shining armor that you read about when you were a child, but as you've grown you have realized that those were just fairy tales. 

________________ As the days passed, Jason kept his end of the promise, making your life a living hell. Between your home life, and the beatings led by Jason at school, you have no true peace. Nothing to look forward to, nothing. At lunch you try to sit in peace, taking a moment to yourself, but that is quickly ruined by the cool sensation caused by someone pouring their drink directly on top of you. This was your breaking point, finally allowing yourself to feel everything you have been holding back. Tears quickly spill down your face, looking down hoping nobody would see. You honestly needed for people not to see how truly broken you felt. “Guys we finally did it, we broke the weirdo” you could see just how truly happy the person was that you had broken. Before anybody could be too happy about your downfall, someone stepped in. Your hero, the freak himself, Eddie Munson. “I think you've made your point, yeah?” His tall, looming figure doing his best to intimidate anyone watching. His dark clothes, big hair, and striking image managed to get the jerk who poured his drink on top of you to scamper off. “I'm sorry they did that to you” you didn't know what to say, this was the first time someone had spoken to you with no ulterior motive, and this was sure as shit the first time someone had spoken to you after preventing someone from bullying you further. All you could do was look at him, a glimmer of happiness held in both of your eyes, as a sudden weight was lifted off of your shoulder. The weight of not having anybody in your life that you can trust, because, in this one short and fleeting moment, you had him. “Thank you”  A smile grew on your face, causing one to grow on his. The way his lips curled up into their natural position, a smile. His natural position was a smile, while yours was a frown. His eyes are bright, while yours are dim. He was everything you weren't, he was strong enough to handle the maltreatment of the jocks at school, and he was strong enough to stand up to them for a total stranger. “It's not a problem really, I've been wanting to tell that guy off for a while now, and I've also been looking for a reason to talk to you” He took his seat next to you, while also offering you a spare shirt he had. “Drinks have been poured on me more times than I can count, I always keep a spare '' His smile still had not faded from his face.  He was bright, happy, and warm. “T-thank you”  nobody had ever shown you this much kindness, nobody had ever looked for a reason to talk to you. Eddie Munson has been in your life for all five minutes, and he has already been the first person to do a lot of things.  “Are those the only words you know?” You could tell he was joking, the lopsided smirk planted on his face, the shining in his eyes, nothing about his demeanor hinted at any malice coming off of him. “Sorry I guess I'm kind of in shock, nobody has wanted to talk to me before, let alone stand up for me” Your words were small and quiet, but he was listening. Someone was listening to you. “Why don't you come to sit with us? We've been meaning to add someone else to our crew of misfits” Your stomach did three summersaults, he wanted you to sit with them. He wanted you to be a part of their family, their home. “ I would love that Eddie, I really would” a cheesy grin grew on your face, you had done it, he had done it. Maybe now you would belong somewhere, maybe now you could finally have it. A Home.

Taglist Open!!!:

to be added either message me directly, or comment on this post.

Requests are also Open!

Done through my page.

[shotorozu]

hellolololo!¡! so i recently saw this video where their

s/o goes on to omegle and the other person from omegle like goes “hi ur cute” or “u have snap?” and then their boyfriend just enters the frame,, can u do that to todobakudeku separately :3

if u dont understand u can check this out 😭 https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSJdEqc7V/ tyy ❤️❤️

“ur kinda cute” on omegle

(tiktok prank)

character(s) : todoroki shouto, bakugou katsuki, midoriya izuku (bnha)

part two — part three

legend : [Y/N = your name] they/them pronouns used, quirk not mentioned

headcanon type : fluff, crack — ‘x reader’

note(s) : i love these types of requests 🤩 so i plan on making 3 parts with this (oh and don’t worry, i’ll finish the other tiktok prank series i have going on at the moment)

also, there’s no proofread on this so if there’s any typos or mistakes, sorry! i’ll be editing them in the morning

┈ ✁✃✁✃✁✃✁✃✁ ┈

todoroki shouto

okay so, the entire tiktok idea was planned— but the part where shouto came in surely wasn’t staged

so, being a curious young person— you wanted to make a tiktok, where you went on omegle just to speak to people for fun

and inside of your head, you’re kinda thinking that “this is dumb, omg im going to get flashed on there.” also while you were setting up your laptop

but you just used the appropriate tags and !! you were set off for an adventure

you set your phone aside, and you filmed most of the experience— cutting out the not so interesting encounters out of your tiktok

and then came on a dude, who had a,, unique reaction. he didn’t seem all that fishy— until he asked you for your snap (your social medias, essentially)

“you’re kinda cute, y’know. how did i not see you before?”

you shake your head, “oh no no! i appreciate your compliment, but i’m very much taken!” your mind immediately flashing back to the image of your icyhot boyfriend

“nahh you’re lying! i don’t see any dude back there”

oh,, and that was because shouto was out getting snacks 🧎 “no really dude, i appreciate it! i’m very much taken and being disloyal is out of the question!”

this dude just kept insisting and insisting, and due to the struggle— you weren’t able to hear the door knob jiggle

it seemed to be that his advances came to an end, and your lover made an entrance— a mop of red and white peaked out from the door frame

and the dude literally got scared and ended the conversation 💀 because you really weren’t lying!

you also figured that it was time to end your omegle shenanigans, and finish the tiktok— because your boyfriend was already there “hi love, who were you talking to?”

you closed your laptop, and offered him a smile “i was on omegle for a tiktok! i’m glad you’re back.” you discard your phone, wrapping your arms around his torso (and also making sure you don’t delete the draft)

shouto doesn’t say a lot, but he immediately accepts your touch, setting the groceries aside.

he doesn’t question the fact that you were on omegle because well,, he had to get used to your shenanigans on tiktok SOMEHOW

a few hours later, you posted the tiktok— and almost immediately, the tiktok gains a lot of attention

“i love how your boyfriend drove the last dude away 💀💀” “man the last dude didn’t take the hint 🗿” “your boyfriend indirectly protected you! we need more guys like him.”

you snicker at the comments, which ultimately gathered shouto’s attention “what’s up, love?”

you show him the tiktok, “the tiktok did well.” he’ll comment calmly, but shouto’s lowkey MAD ?? that a dude had the audacity. but he’s just glad that you’re happy just maybe,, don’t go on omegle anymore 💀

“love— next time, let me in on your tiktoks.” he says, running a thumb along your cheek lightly. because he was actually quite entertained, putting everything aside

bakugou katsuki

as if bakugou katsuki would let you go on OMEGLE, a place that’s known for having the sketchiest people to ever exist— but make it virtual

but being with you made him realize that well,, if you want to do something, you’ll go through lengths just to do it.

even the great bakugou katsuki can’t really stop you. whatever makes you happy— but oh, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t highly discourage it

which lead you to go on omegle for a tiktok in the other room, while bakugou exercised in the very next room.

when you told him that you wanted to film a tiktok, bakugou only shrugged— “don’t do overly dumb shit.” was what he only told you and he left the door open too

you then set up your phone and laptop, applied the appropriate tags— and went off to make your tiktok

you only filmed the interesting encounters, and the people you met on there were very diverse in personality and just,, in general.

after the 4th encounter, then came a rather interesting dude. he didn’t seem all that ordinary but he wasn’t spectacular. he was just nice

and the conversation was rather normal— until he started asking for your socials “putting everything aside, do you have social media? you’re really cute.”

you reject immediately, “oh no, i appreciate your words but— i already have a boyfriend.”

you just have to hope that he noticed bakugou walking back and forth with equipment, but with his next words— that doesn’t seem to be the case

“i didn’t see anyone back there, a simple no would’ve been sufficient instead.” uh oh

“no really, i—” and before things escalated, katsuki’s head peaked through the door frame, freshly out of the shower “are you almost done, idiot?”

the dude literally looked behind you, and thought “oh shit, their boyfriend is bakugou fucking katsuki.” because bakugou is famous for,, multiple different reasons

the dude’s camera shakes in terror, “oh uhm,, it was nice meeting you!” not long before he dips from of the conversation, never to be seen again.

closing your laptop— you end the tiktok while bursting into laughter, and this action just confused katsuki ever further. he heard you speaking to someone, and when he looked, the person was nowhere to be seen

“what are you laughing at??”

“nothing katsuki, i was laughing at the tiktok i just made.”

then— you figured that it would be best to tell katsuki now that you were on omegle (long story short, he wasn’t pleased)

he scolded you that you shouldn’t be on omegle, but let’s be honest, he couldn’t stay mad at you— so he just cuddles the frustration away

when you upload the tiktok the following hours, it blows up pretty quickly—with comments like “LOL IS THAT BAKUGOU KATSUKI??” “he had guts until he saw bakugou katsuki 💀” “tbh i’d be scared too”

and when you report the news the katsuki, he smirks— “as he should be.”

midoriya izuku

at this point, izuku is very much used to your shenanigans on tiktok. he’s very supportive of whatever you do all in all

but, about omegle,,, yeah,, as much as he trusts you— he does not trust omegle. he’s aware that it’s a shady place, and he doesn’t advise that you do go on that website bc he cares

so when you brought up the tiktok idea, he proposed that he’d be there, right beside you just to monitor if anyone’s being weird :)

and that’s great! because you also wanted to ask if he wanted to be a reoccuring guest in your tiktok— and of course, what kind of boyfriend would he be if he opposed?

he helps you set up your laptop and phone— all of that sort of stuff, and then you guys were off to make an interesting tiktok

oh, but izuku did apply the appropriate tags because he didn’t want you to see odd things he was secretly nervous but,, you were very ethusiastic, so he was too.

the first several people were interesting in their own way— especially with their reactions to your boyfriend appearing on screen

usually, they’d back off with, and comment on how cute your boyfriend is— wishing the both of you well before calmly leaving to meet new people,

that was how it was, until you met this person in particular.

he sounded very,, egotistical— i wouldn’t say that because you’ve just met the dude, but he acted like everyone wanted him or it sounded like that

then he says, “you definitely have a phone number, right? you’re cute, just my type.” wkdksmd this is awkward since izuku’s right beside you, but he’s just outside of the frame

then, izuku pops out of the frame— in all his cute ass glory, he gives a small wave to the not so pleased stranger

“please, that’s your boyfriend?” he scoffs, “with those arms, he looks like he could be your little brother! now let me ask again—”

it’s really weird?? because have you seen izuku’s gainz?? and this dude’s audacity is extraordinary.

but little did this guy know, he’s looking at midoriya izuku— and,, you’ve seen his performance in the sports festival.

the dude takes another glance at your boyfriend, who’s sitting there right beside you— and he realizes who he was talking to

“oh shit, you’re—” and before the both of you could realize it, he nopes out of the conversation.

after that encounter, you burst into a fit of laughter— the look on izuku’s face being priceless. “you should’ve seen your reaction!”

“haha, i guess he knew who i was,” he says bashfully, cheeks warming up. because it registered in his mind that people actually knew who he was. “can you,, upload the tiktok later? i want to hug you— i mean! if that’s fine.”

of course it’s fine! you oblige, and give him all the hugs he could ever need

after cuddling with izuku, you do upload the tiktok— and an hour later, your tiktok notifications blow up

the tiktok all in all gathered 1M views, 780K likes, and over 1,500 comments— most of them saying stuff like

“your boyfriend’s reaction was so cute?? i know he looked like he was going to punch him through the screen but 👀” “last dude was just not it.” “LMAO HE REALLY TRIED IT” “is your boyfriend IZUKU MIDORIYA??”

when you excitingly showed him the tiktok’s results, he was certainly pleased— because most of the comments were positive, and also because the tiktok’s results made you happy

“i’m glad that it did well!” he’ll sigh in relief, pressing a kiss against your temple, let’s just not go on there ever again

┈ ✁✃✁✃✁✃✁✃✁ ┈

likes and reblogs are appreciated, thanks for reading!

i do not own bnha/mha and it’s characters. boku no hero academia/my hero academia belongs to horikoshi kohei, i only own the writing and i do not profit off of my hobby

do not plagiarize, reupload, translate, or use my works for audio readings without permission

[poetrusicperry]

Hey!! Ok so about me ummm i have curly/wavy brown hair, a bit longer than my shoulders, and hazel eyes. My personality, im very talkative but still introverted and i get awkward at events where i dont know a lot of ppl (i still love partying and dancing w friends tho) so i am a fan of my down time that involves either reading, writing, or watching tv. i love talking to people and friends, I’ll always listen if someone needs to vent to me and I love hearing ppl talk about their nerdy sides lol. i also tend to ramble a bit in conversations and im open to sharing a lot of things about myself. I’m also a very honest person who keeps it real with people and is straightforward about how i’m feeling and i like honesty from other ppl as well. I sing in choir and love music, I’m also sort of into theater, I’ve watched a good amount of musicals and LOVE Funny Girl. I read a lot, mostly cheesy romance books like red white and royal blue or to all the boys i loved before. I also love Harry Potter and can talk about that for ages. Feel free to ship me w who you think is best I’ll love anything but if it helps, part of me kins todd bc of his anxiety, i really feel like charlie is my spirit animal at times, i just resonate with his vibe, and i love neil. Thanks!! :)

beth !!!<3 i hope i did justice with this and you like it just as much as the anderperry piece from the other night (; thank you for all you do. here it is:

ship:

going to ship you with the cutest little baby himself, todd anderson. even though you’re very similar in terms of personality, you were juuuust a tad more outgoing than him, which allowed him to open up really well because you showed him how (:

hcs:

neil would love talking theater with you. he’d try to convince you to come tryout for the upcoming play, but when you refused nicely, he took it in stride, just grateful that he was able to geek out with someone about something that meant a lot to him

he’d be so, so supportive of you singing in choir and would always take initiative in planning how he and all the other poets would get to and from your recitals

you and todd would grow together so much in your relationship, moving forward with your social anxieties, and making your bond that much stronger (see: “grow as we go” by ben platt)

you and cameron got on fairly well, mostly he just helped you with any school work you would get confused on (and he always found you cute, but never ever said anything in respect for both you and todd)

consider you and meeks the hugest harry potter geeks in the friend group, charlie giving you guys a hard time about it. but once you lent him your books, he would join the discourse between you and meeks, wanting to know what house he’d be in and talking about hp nonstop

having to encourage todd to trust himself as a person and open up a bit more was a hard task at times, but he’d just watch your example of how honest and comfortable you seemed with yourself, and it got easier as the months went on

sitting in a room with knox, charlie, and neil listening to them rant about how much they didn’t want to follow in their dads’ footsteps, and only giving advice if they asked (they were just thankful that you listened to them)

todd would fully understand and respect your down time/alone time, asking if there was anything you’d need to have a nice afternoon to yourself

even if you didn’t say you needed anything, a new book and a couple of hand-written original poems would find their way onto your desk while you were out (:

charlie always giving you a “hard time” for how you were so quiet in class, but would talk nonstop when it was just you and the poets (“do you want me to not be comfortable around you guys ? because i can make that happen,” you’d say. to which his response [slightly panicked] would be, “no ! of course not, i’m merely making an observation and  commenting”

you and todd finding a nook somewhere on campus where you could just sit and read together, enjoying the silence and each other’s company

you and pitts would most certainly have a show that you would binge together; hours at a time. i mean seriously, to the point where meeks would have to check if you guys were still alive after he’d been in a study group all afternoon on the weekends

todd would also love to play with your hair because it was so pretty (i’m sure a description of your looks was utilized in countless poems of his)

blurb:

on the night of one of your choir performances, you had left the poets in the midst of an argument about how todd didn’t want pitts to wear his plaid blazer because todd wanted to wear his, claiming it was “his girlfriend’s performance and wanted to look good,” (which he always did in his plaid blazer and black slacks). neil was worried they’d be late, constantly checking his watch, and charlie was running around messing up cameron’s and pitts’ hair for fun.

by the time they had gotten to the performance hall and seated, the lights were dimming. neil was just glad that they got there on time, and todd was so excited to see you doing something you loved. needless to say, you were the star of the show, and todd’s eyes were gleaming as he watched you (later on he’d tell you that he’d never heard something so pretty come out of someone’s mouth ever). when the performance was over, they would cheer so loud, earning dirty looks from all the preppy parents in attendance. you’d be so excited to see the boys, but todd in particular. after you came out of the stage door, they’d all be waiting, todd holding a bouquet of flowers, and the other boys giving you a humongous round of applause (complete with “whoops”/shouts) and congratulating you on doing such a good job.

“you are amazing, beth,” charlie and neil would say, giving you big hugs. the other boys would agree, and you’d turn to todd who held the bouquet out to you, clearly speechless. he kept starting to say something, but could just give you the most humongous hug ever,

“you are everything,” he’d say quietly just so you could hear. he truly didn’t know how to convey just how much you left him in awe, but when you woke up to a poem about it on your desk the next morning, it meant that much more to have him in your life.

[stonyiscanon]

socially awkward! peter parker x oblivious shit! reader

read: peter has a heart attack every time he talks to you because you’re too pretty and nice oof

lmfao just experimenting some new head canon//writing styles lmk what you guys think 🥺

it’s essentially a crack fic i have no regrets.

Warnings: an excessive amount of exclamation points used, overload of fluff, it might be little TOO crack-y if that’s even possible for me, a confusing amount of POV switches. ok it’s just shitty writing would you please read it.

Words: 4.8k this be a baby fic

Genre: fluffity fluff, idiots to lovers, high school! reader, god just read the title.

my masterlist is here if you want more shit

talk to me! be my friend please im lonely

 peter first meets you when you’re new to midtown and you get sorted into his science class.

you sat in front of him your very first day and yeah he’s been soft™ for you ever since

like no joke the first time he saw your face he freezed up and choked on his banana

‘oh nO NED!!! she’s PRETTY!!’

‘like, REALLY pretty!!! S H I T’

‘um,,... okay ain’t that a good thing you sit behind her in class!! maybe you can ask for her number or something—‘

oh hohohohoho ned my friend,,

N O

ABSOLUTELY NOT

peter parker has spoken to you a total of twenty-two (22) times within the whole year that you’ve been... acquaintances?? classmates?? ….. friends???

and his fat secret crush on you will STAY A SECRET THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

he’ll die before he asks you out or makes a move because there’s no way in hell peter has a chance with you, the beautiful new girl.

‘i mean, she’s not just beautiful too! she’s so smart, and i know that because i can literally see all her notes from behind her and she gets like, basically all A’s, but she doesn’t even know she’s smart and beautiful?? like, she never raises her hand in class even though i know she knows all th-’

you would think ned would be tired of peter’s ‘shit I’m in LOVE’ rants by now, he’s not because we stan supportive friend ned.

hehe little does he know his big fat secret crush may not be,, totally unrequited

👀

oKAY so maybe you have a humongous tiny crush on the dorky cute guy who sits behind you in science class

WHAT ABOUT IT not like he likes you back anyways.

that one time you asked him for a pencil he looked like he was having an aneurysm!! like okay, are you that hideous or—?

(yeah it totally doesn’t hurt at all that the cute guy you like is repulsed by your presence and seems to ignore you and tense up whenever you’re around)

(t o ta ll y) 🤡

yeah y/n kinda dumb in this because the entire student body knows about peter’s (not so secret lmFAO) crush on you

everyone lOwkEy ships it

ned is president of the petery/n shipper fanclub

that may be because he’s the only member in aforementioned fanclub but you two have many supporters outside the fanclub

ned hypes peter up everytime science class comes around and peter gets kinda confident when he walks in the classroom

‘yeah! i got this!! maybe this time i won’t stare at her hair creepily and then run aw-‘

‘hey peter!’

asjkdjejnxHAUXINENEIAIRJBSJS

ABORT NEVERMIND I DONT GOT THIS ASKXISNNDKSN

peters brain has left the building

and he kinda stares at you for a sec and runs off to his seat at the back

hm, yeah he definitely doesn’t like you

you sigh as you take your seat in front of him, trying to ignore how your love for this dork is completely one sided

the entire class wants to throttle both of you

so then for the sake of the cliche and the plot (did you heart that fourth wall break?? nvm i didn’t hear nothin)

gasp group project time??!?!?!?!

dang who could have saw this coming

totally unexpected

wow

peter is half hoping to get you and half DREADING to

because he knows if he gets you he’ll be able to spend time with you but 300% won’t be able to function and will most certainly fail this project

but i mean who cares about grades.

in a plot twist that literally no one saw coming,,,

‘betty and liz, you’ll be doing yours on atomic structure,

and peter and y/n are partners! you’ll be doing...’

oh nO

you’re partnered up with peter!

i mean this is great news you get to stare at his precious face more but you’re basically forcing him to spend time with someone he doesn’t like!!

so you turn around and you give him an apologetic and (cute as FXCK) small smile

meanwhile, peter combusts

one look at your smile and he just knows he’s completely fucked

like he physically uwus so hard he slams his head on the table

‘oh! are.. you okay? i mean, is working with me really going to be that bad?’

awkward laugh to hide the pain,, quick y/n!!

‘nO!! i mean, no, absolutely not that’s not what i- it wasn’t my- i didn’t m-‘

you smile a little sadly this time and say,

‘don’t worry about it, i know you don’t like me. it’s only two weeks anyway. i promise i won’t take much of your time.’

wait. hold up. back up here. wha-? wHO doesn’t like W HO??

‘wait what do you mea-‘

‘don’t worry about it. wanna meet at the library after school to get a head start on this?’

‘uh, yeah. i mean- cowabunga…!’

wat

shit peter has never wanted to die more in his entire life

so he does what any other normal person would do and yEEts out the classroom full speed

leaving you slightly hurt but mostly just confused

peter strolls in the library casually attempting to strain his neck 360 degrees to look for you

he looks like a chicken and also that’s humanly impossible but leave him be he’s iN LOVE

he spots you on one of the study tables. he takes a deep breath,, and walks over

‘hey!! sorry i’m a little late, uh, something… came up haha’

acting like the poor boy didn’t stand outside the library for fifteen minutes thinking about what he was going to say to you

‘no worries!’ you shoot him another one of those painfully adorable smiles and peter wants nothing more but to give that smile a smooch because damn that is a face that deserves smooches

but he also has a tiny feeling that maybe you might not appreciate it if he randomly kissed you out of nowhere

(you would not mind at all but he doesn’t know that)

‘so yeah! ready to compare the wonders of chemistry and motion physics?’ peter says, bending down to snatch his backpack up to the table (effectively hiding his red cheeks)

you snort as you prop your elbows onto the table, resting your head on your hands.

‘the wonders? hm, i really can’t tell whether you’re being serious or not. guess you really are a dork.’

you giggle a little bit before you catch sight of peter looking like a gaping fish. you immediately slam your hands down, perhaps a little too loudly considering you’re in a library, and blurt out,

‘uh, I was.. joking! making a joke, in case, you know, that wasn’t obvious.’ You awkwardly hide your face between your fingers and squeak out a small apology

‘nO! no, no, don’t worry about it. yeah, I am a dork, so… yeah, i’m not offended, or anything. uh- just, yeah, don’t worry about it.’

well, that ruined the flow of conversation peter was so desperate to keep up with

none of you speak for a bit, opting to look around the very interesting library walls instead, until peter clears his throat and brings up motion physics again

yeah! this will be fine. all you have to focus on is science, and NOT peter’s very soft kissable lips and how good he looks in his light green coloured sweater

huh

oh no

 desperately attempting to clear your mind, you try and focus on what he’s saying instead

it’s just SCIENCE, y/n. focus on the SCIENCE.

this distraction just-concentrate-on-the-work technique works for about the next hour or so as you guys study and work on this project

everything is going great!

you two have an organised google doc full of research and a finished introduction! you’re being extremely productive!

both of you are doing an amazing job at hiding your mutual (except none of you know it’s mutual) attraction!

so as you walk out the library beside peter some time later, you’re smiling softly, because even if your massive crush isn’t reciprocated, you and peter can maybe at least be friends by the end of this, right?

he didn’t even look like he detested you as much as usual today

maybe that’s because he was pretty much forced into cooperating with you because of this project, but you even caught him smiling at you today, so he must be warming up to you

which is great news, of course

peter swallows down his fear and the excessive amount of spit that is coating his tongue and turns to you

‘so, this was really fun’

you tilt your head, mildly horrified at his words

‘we need to stage you an intervention if a science project is something you classify as ‘fun’’

‘no, i mean, the science was kinda boring. spending time with you was really fun. ….right?’

oh good, he isn’t actually a complete monster who does science for fun

(he totally is but you don’t need to know that)

‘yeah! hanging out was really fun, even if we had to spend that time doing work’

you shudder and cringe when you mention ‘work’, because there are much more interesting things you’d rather be doing with peter

👀

‘yep.’

‘yeeep.’

‘so, we should meet up again to work on this… project. right?’ you’re shifting your weight and darting your eyes across the floor, desperately avoiding peter’s gaze.

‘yeah!!’

oof maybe that was a little too enthusiastic. maybe you didn’t notice?

‘i mean, yeah… yeah, totally. sounds… chill.’

oh god that’s worse isn’t it

‘great!’

cue awkward silence

‘so… um… can I maybe have your number?’

you stare blankly at him trying to conceal your excitement because did PETER PARKER just ask for YOUR number?!?!?!

oh no why aren’t you saying anything crapcrapcrap this is peter’s first time asking for ANYONE’S number did he mess up oh no he messed up didn’t he.

‘you know, for the project!!!!! haha!!!!’

oh. of course he wouldn’t actually want your number

*sigh these oblivious fucks I stg i’m the one who’s actually writing this and I want to throttle them*

‘oh… yeah, no problem! um, here’s my number’

‘cool! i’ll text you then!’

from peter p [12:48]

Hey y/n!! Um this is Peter btw. Peter Parker. From science class.

to peter p [12:49]

hey peter!

from peter p [12:49]

So if it’s cool w u do you want to meet up at my place? For the project haha, just figured a change of scenery might be nice. The library can get a little bit boring sometimes.

to peter p [12:49]

yeah sounds cool just send me ur address and i’ll be over after skl tdy if that’s ok

from peter p [12:50]

Yep awesome see u then

to peter p [12:50]

see u! :))

 that smiley face almost makes his heart burst god he’s so whipped for you.

then the panic kicks in.

‘OHMYGOD Y/N Y/L/N IS COMING OVER.’

peter spends like three hours making sure the apartment is SPOTLESS.

spends like half an hour trying to decide whether he should take down all the Star Wars memorabilia down from his walls

like, he doesn’t want you to think he’s a DORK.

(too late peter)

but then ultimately keeps them up, partly because shit you’re coming in like 5 minutes he doesn’t have time for this

but also, you’re a nice person! you surely won’t make fun of him for having a knockoff replica of the death star in his room.

hopefully

oh god if you make fun of him for being a Star Wars nerd he will break down in tears HE HAS TO TAKE THEM DOWN

*ding*

fuck

peter stands up from his spinney chair abruptly and scrambles towards front door.

he spent some time this morning with Aunt May for girl advice and nothing really came out of that except a very traumatizing safe sex talk and some teasing that he will never be able to erase from his memory.

he takes a fast detour and quickly stops in front of the bathroom mirror on his way to open the door, desperately trying to tame the mop of curls and his head.

did I put on deodorant this morning? crap I brushed my teeth right?

*ding*

FUCK

peter stops in front of the door, takes a deep breath and-

‘hey!’ a strangled greeting comes out of his throat but hopefully you don’t notice how nervous he is.

you don’t, because this is oblivious shit!reader

‘hi peter!’

peter is suddenly very aware of how long you have been standing outside.

‘oH! sorry, um come in!!’ he says, opening the door wider and welcoming you in with (overly?) enthusiastic arms.

‘yeah! make yourself at home and everything. you want a drink or something?’

‘water would be nice.’

peter sprints to the kitchen to get you some ICE COLD water in his favourite mug.

peter parker’s apartment is covered with cosy furniture and photos of him and another middle aged woman. half those photos are him and that woman smiling brightly into the camera.

there’s a photo that’s nicely framed above the mantle that shows a young peter beaming in front of a birthday cake, with that same woman and another unknown middle aged man smiling down at him. the photo is clearly old and crumpled, even with the frame around it.

peter looks so happy in that photo…

huh. baby peter is just as adorable as he is now.

you jump away from the photo when you hear his footsteps coming back into the living room. something about the photo seemed emotional, personal. it just didn’t seem like something you should be looking at.

peter comes back clutching two mugs and hands one to you.

‘nice place!’

‘oh, thanks… yeah my Aunt isn’t home right now, she’s downtown meeting some friends, so we have the place to ourselves……’

‘so we can study uninterrupted.’ he says.

oh of course, studying!! yep that’s exactly where your mind went when peter said the apartment was empty aHaH.

peter’s room is a little less adult than the rest of his apartment, flooded with polaroids of him and Ned, with Star Wars posters on the walls.

you ignore the pang of jealousy that you feel when you spot a photo of MJ and peter grinning in front of a bowling alley.

so for the next two hours you two are in peter’s room… studying vigorously.

you would be 100% lying if you said you weren’t disappointed only studying happened.

the weird thing is???

every time you would look down at your textbook to explain something about periodic motion peter seemed to be looking at you when you looked up?

well, looking at you isn’t very weird, looking at someone while they’re talking is just basic manners. but when you looked back he would snap his eyes straight back to his own textbook, nodding and wordlessly agreeing with whatever you had just said.

maybe it’s just your imagination but the way he looked at you, it’s almost a loving, caring gaze.

oh god who are you kidding, it’s just your brain and imagination playing tricks on you.

you’re alone with peter parker in his bedroom!! these things are going to happen!

‘hey you want to take a break? we’ve been going at this for a whole hour now.’ peter says, craning his neck to take a look at the clock on the wall.

‘has it really been a whole hour?’ you lean back in your chair looking up at the ceiling.

‘yeah okay. let’s have a small break then.’

peter picks up both of your mugs and heads off to the kitchen, groaning slightly when he stretches his legs out for the first time in an hour.

*a/n: apologies in advance to those with nut allergies*

he comes back with both your mugs refilled with (water for you, gatorade for peter) and a small bag of almonds for you to snack on.

‘oh hey! almonds are my study snack of choice too!’

‘yeah, i know’ peter says carelessly, scrolling down his phone.

‘i don’t like almonds all that much, but i bought a few packs this morning on the way to school.’

hm,, wHat

‘if… you don’t like almonds why would you get them for me?’

‘because you like almonds.’

blink.

b l i n k

it takes a bit of time for peter to realise what just came out of his mouth.

‘i meAn! I’M NOT A STALKER I SWEAR. i just see you at school sometimes and you always have a small pack of these to snack on whenever you’re doing work so i thought,, you know, since we’re doing WORK, i should buy some for you… so you won’t get hungry!!!’ he’s wailing nonsensical excuses and apologies by now.

huh.

peter parker knows that you snack on almonds when you study, and bought a pack for you even though he doesn’t like them at all.

maybe he doesn’t hate you as much as you thought.

you tear apart the packaging and stuff an almond in your mouth, your traitorous lips slowly threatening to curl into a huge smile.

(despite how much you fight against it, you end up with a slightly demonic looking huge smile on your face, which you attempt to hide by stuffing more almonds in your mouth)

(you now look like a chipmunk)

(but a cute one!!!!)

meanwhile peter is trying to hide the feeling of humiliation by resting his face in his hands, because he literally just exposed himself. he will not be able to take it if he looks back up at your face and you’re laughing at him for this stupid crush.

to his surprise, he does not look up to find you mocking his love for you, but instead, he finds you with a mouth full of almonds, struggling to chew and swallow them all without looking like a disgusting fool.

oh.

that’s kinda cute.

after a good five minutes of you trying to force like 10 almonds down your esophagus,  you clear your throat and awkwardly blurt out a ‘thank you’

‘for the almonds! it’s cute how you bought them for me because you knew how much i like to snack on them while i study. that’s really sweet of you. i guess you really don’t hate me all that much, huh?’ the last sentence comes out teasingly, a playful smile gracing your lips, but instead of uwu-ing over your cute smile, peter’s just confused.

‘why would i hate you?’ he says, his eyebrows laced together in confusion.

‘well, i always kinda got the impression that you didn’t like me… all that much? i never really knew why. hey, why did you hate me so much before this? if i accidentally did something at the start of the year that pissed you off, i’m sorry.’

your playful smile fades a little bit as you see peter basically collapse on himself just due to sheer GRIEVANCE.

‘WHY WOULD YOU THINK I HATED YOU?’ peter yells out, probably annoying the neighbours with how fucking loud he is, but he can’t seem to bring himself to care right now.

‘you… didn’t?’ you say, now becoming just as confused as peter.

he shakes his head aggressively, bringing his fingers up to his temples.

‘but… you always seemed so jumpy around me! and you would never really talk to me, and that one time i asked you for a pencil, you looked like you were dying or something! i always just thought you didn’t like me!’

oh

my

god

peter doesn’t know whether he should be laughing or crying.

‘that’s not because I HATED YOU!! that’s because- i mean- i always thought-’ he’s still yelling and at this point one of the neighbours are definitely going to come knocking to complain, but peter still doesn’t care, because he’s currently having an existential crisis.

ohmygod all this time my CRUSH thought I HATED HER because I couldn’t function like a normal human being in front of her because of how much I liked her until i gave her some ALMONDS what is wrong with me? what kind of entity that controls the universe could hate me so much to pull THIS kind of sick prank on me?

‘wait if you didn’t hate me why would you always act so weird in front of me?’

‘BECAUSE-’ peter tangles his fingers into his hair, and he kicks his chair, sending it halfway across his room from frustration.

‘how could you possibly think I hated you??? how could you possibly think ANYONE could hate you??? you’re single handedly the only good person in this godforsaken school full of IDIOTS and BULLIES! nobody could ever hate you, y/n, and certainly not ME!’

perhaps he is using an excessive amount of hand gestures, but it gets his point across.

‘wha-? what do yo-?’

‘wHat are you TALKING ABOUT?’ you say, slowly turning just as frustrated as peter.

‘if there’s ANYONE that’s decent in this ‘godforsaken school full of idiots’ it would be YOU, peter parker!! nobody would just pay attention to what I EAT so I wouldn’t get HUNGRY during a study session oKaY!! you’re so CONFUSING! every time I accept the fact that you don’t like me back you pull this bullshit, essentially making me rethink ALL MY FEELINGS!’ you say, going through the room (stepping over the toppled chair), just to jab a finger onto peter’s chest.

suddenly both of you are aware of your flushed cheeks and your close proximity.

‘wha- WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?’ peter basically shrieks, and you would not be surprised if all of New York managed to hear that scream.

your cheeks darken as you awkwardly step back from him, realising that you accidentally outed yourself.

‘um- i mean,’ you stumble on the fallen chair as you desperately walk backwards with your hands behind your back to avoid peter’s piercing gaze.

*you’re not good at confrontation okay*

‘you like me?? wait wait, you like ME?’ you frown a little as you look at peter’s incredulous expression.

‘well yeah, you don’t have to rub it in like that, I know you don’t like me back.’ You mumble, looking away.

‘don’t like yo- OH MY GOD!’

this time peter stalks all the way across the room, looking you dead straight in the eye.

‘you better not be joking with me, y/n.’

you squeak out a small ‘no’ or something like that because you can’t really focus with peter looking down at you like that.

‘you mean to tell me, my stupid fat, nervous crush on you was mistaken for HATRED, and all this time I’ve been thinking I have no chance with you, but you’ve been crushing on me too all this time?’ his words come out jumbled, and a little fast, but you can decipher the general meaning.

peter parker likes you… too.

oh GOD WAT

he clears his throat, biting his lip and you can just tell he’s about to apologise, because peter’s a complete angel who probably doesn’t want you feeling uncomfortable.

‘um- uh, y- oomph!’

and in this shocking turn of events, you execute the only spontaneous thing you’ve ever done in your life and pray that it ends up well.

you lean forward and press your lips to peter’s, hoping to whatever superior being there is that this was a good decision.

spoiler alert: it was

peter.exe has shut down because all of a sudden your lips are against his and oh wow this is so much better than all those times he’s imagined it happening because it’s actually happening now.

your hands find their way to peter’s curls that he was trying so hard to get under control an hour ago but now he can’t remember why he doesn’t like his hair if it’s just going to be tugged on by you like this from now on.

he grabs you by the waist and pulls you closer to him, pretty much pressing his body against yours.

not that you’re complaining.

and god if peter died from suffocation right now that would be a heavenly way to go, and he would be a-ok with dying if it meant finally being in your arms.

you pull away from peter, both of you slightly panting before you burst out in giggles, resting your head and letting it fall on peter’s shoulder.

‘oh my god, we’re such idiots, aren’t we?’

peter hums in agreement before lifting your chin up to kiss you again.

 bonus: boyfriend! peter

definitely still stares at you in science class except now whenever you catch him staring he just shoots you a lazy grin

because yEa he has FULL RIGHTS to stare at you now because you’re his GIRLFRIEND.

you find out he’s spiderman pretty much immediately let’s be real this boy is not the best at hiding secrets

especially from his GIRLFRIENDS whomst he loves VERY MUCH.

this boy also gives you anxiety attacks whenever you see spiderman on the news saving people, getting hurt and shit, but he understands.

sends you a text before and after he gets in the suit whenever he can.

most certainly uses his spidey-powers for things they were not intended to be used for.

to visit his girlfriend so she can give him cuddles at any time why what were you guys thinking about hMmmMMMmmmM?

likes to show you off but also gets very blushy and shy about PDA

pretty much had a seizure the first time you held hands.

ned almost fainted when he heard the news (aka peter rushed to call him the second you left that night you kissed because these bitches are very gossipy)

peter parker is the ultimate clingy boyfriend.

……

and you love it.

your science teacher no longer puts you in the same group or partners you guys up now though.

because now you can’t study together, you literally can’t keep your hands off each other.

sometimes when peter is feeling ~particularly clingy he just nuzzles into the crook of your neck during lunch, and pulls you to him so you’re pretty much on his lap.

and MJ is just like yall r disgusTING

right in front of my salad.

in conclusion, peter parker loves you and you love him.

it’s honestly kind of sickening,

but you love that too.

[biscuitfam]

Truth is Sweet

Summary: Across the floor her eyes met yours and you knew  she was the right one for you. Your best friend, your Doctor. She certainly would never feel the same for a human though, right?

WC: roughly 800

Pairing: 13 x reader

Warnings/Tags: So much fluff my bisexual heart can’t take it

A/N:  Another sweet & fluffy 13 fic. I’m trying to get myself into a writing mood to post more 😭

Also, if you enjoy my content consider buying me a ko-fi to support this broke college student  >  Here!

“ Just tell her, you know? The Doc won’t hurt you intentionally. She’s the nicest person I’ve ever met.” Graham let out a soft sigh as he leaned up against the wall in his suit looking rather itchy and uncomfortably pulling at the bow tie around his neck. While he was right, it didn’t make the situation any easier.

She floated around the room somewhat graceful still trying to get the female mannerisms down, especially for this given time period. While in present day she could experts herself freely like human women — blending in was key. Your eyes glanced down to the drink your your hands and swirled it lightly with gloved hands still completely unsure of what to do. One side of the situation you could pull her aside and truly tell her how you feel and the opposite you could pretend like you didn’t just lock eyes with her and completely fall in love. You could pretend she was only your best friend and you didn’t have eyes for her.

That could defiantly work, that is, until she stood before you with a beaming ot bright smile despite lookikg awkward in her gown. Suits looked much better on the woman, but you put it down more so as a confidence issue. You turned back to graham with a slight blush spread across the apples of your cheeks and brows knitted tightly, “ It’s kot that easy Graham, really. She’s so much more..she’s more that I’ll ever be. How can I live up to her? She’s magnificent. Her imperfections are even beautiful. I’m just..”

“Just what?” The soft voice of the Doctor sounded from behind you midst your rant. The color from your cheeks suddenly drained to form a ghostly sheen instead. The older man smirked cheekily and slinked off to find his grandson and their shared mate, Yasmin. You turned around and smiled up towards the woman with a weakened grin.

“ Nothing at all, Doctor.”

“Now dont be daft, sorry that was mean...well, don’t lie to me!” She let out a small laugh and shifted on her feet, rolling back and forth from heel to balancing on her toes.

You hesitated slightly then around the room afraid to draw attention to yourself given the time period and social acceptance of your romantic feelings towards her. However, the didn’t know that she didn’t exactly have an assigned gender..it just flowed with regeneration. You shook your head and bit your lip lightly. “ It’s just me. Human.”

The words that spilt from your lips caused her to frown and grip your wrist, matching off down the hallway and to and to a empty room. She looked partially mad as we’ll saddened by what you had said. Possibly even ashamed of herself. How could she have been so wrong? Not have proved herself enough to you? You weren’t any less being human. In her eyes, you had the advantage.

“ Human? Oh..Y/N. Humans are wonderful. Would you rather be me? Yeah, me? Old alien all alone..humans have a purpose. A way of life. A path. I’m just a traveler. You can make yourself into anything — really!” She begun to rant, but got caught off by your laugh.

“ But that is it, Doc.”

“ What is?”

“ I don’t want to be like you, I want to be with you — properly. I hate all this mucking about and pretending to be just friends. I see you in a different way and I hope to god I’m not embarrassing myself..Doctor I’m falling in love with you each day.”

The woman got caught off guard the bluntness and the sudden truth. She blinked slightly and backed away, itching in the stuffy dress as if she were being constricted. Over the years of travels many companions had fallen for her and wanted to be with her — especially when she was a man. Many crushes. Many hearts broken. However, the Doctor only fell for few. She knew for a fact you were one as her hearts swelled at the message and hope rose through her.

“ Y/N...Y/N you are amazing,” She giggled and stepped forward to cup your face between two thin hands, “ You have no idea how long I’ve been eating to hear those words. I think this body might be a bit of a coward or just straight blind to this, but I feel the same.”

She lowered her head and met your lips with hers. She tasted like a sweet berry wine and fresh mint toothpaste. Fresh and sweet and like everything you ever hoped for. That is until the party owner stepped in with a beet red face and chased you two away leaving the both of you running down across the courtyard howling with laughter and happy tears leaking from the corners of your eyes.

Truth could sometimes be painful, but tonight was certainly not one of those times.

[lightborrowcd]

I KNOW NOTHING ABT BRUCIE’S CANON SO TELL ME WHAT U KEEP FOR UR INTERPRETATION AND WHAT U DONT

okay so. canon meaning the Gotham series because i don’t even know what counts as actual canon. even though im ( clearly ) quite canon averse for hp stuff i actually really enjoy what they did with Bruce in gotham / the show as a whole. here is a list of some major things that i’m keeping / not keeping, including stuff from the nolan trilogy since that’s influenced bruce’s adult life. i’ll try and explain them somewhat well for people who don’t know wtf i’ve been taking about this whole time 

keeping:

okay first brucie is a hoe but we all knew that lmao.

keeping the part where he starts self-harming behaviors to “ over come pain ” and they run a fair bit deeper than what’s shown in canon but..... idk if i’ll ever publicly write about that in too much detail, it’s disturbing 

i’m keeping bruce and selina of course, no matter what their adult relationship looks like she HEAVILY influenced not just his preferences for partners but who he is as a person and that’s very important. i’m also keeping the fact that he doesn’t say goodbye or give her any kind of warning when he leaves gotham for and entire decade. 

i’m also keeping him being socially awkward, shy, and an easy target for bullying when he’s younger, it’s part of what makes his whole “i have friends now” arc so much more toxic lmao. 

also the phase where he starts acting out with substances / girls ( and boys in this case ) is pretty important and kind of never ends !! 

i’m keeping + expanding on the whole court of owls thing..... more on this later bc i need to refresh my knowledge of canon but he’s there for long enough to come out with a significant amount of mental / physical training that he didn’t have before, i’m also keeping the deep brainwashing and the part where they send a clone to take his place in regular life also holds up lmao just not in his hogwarts verse. just. if r’as al ghul is his voldemort then he basically joined the death eaters for a second there, mostly unknowingly but still, i hope that explains it well enough

the thing where the jermiah valeska / the joker is fixated with being bruce’s brother / friend and subsequently getting his attention by whatever means necessary... i kinda love that i’m not gonna lie it’s completely cursed

as much as i hate it i’m also keeping both of the times he fires alfred because he can’t process his own feelings or recognize that alfred loves him unconditionally and has literally been his surrogate father this entire time....... it’s cursed but..... necessary

i LOVE the fact that he never really interacts with the penguin in person that much and it’s mostly by oswald’s reputation that bruce knows him. idk shit about what’s in the comics but for my version of bruce, the riddler and the penguin especially are prominent enemies. 

so in the third movie of the nolan trilogy it’s established that he + his parents spent some time visiting the orphanage in gotham and i’m definitely keeping that and expanding that to say that he and his mother specifically spent a significant amount time there and that he had some meaningful childhood friendships with children there. what that changes is that bruce would certainly recognize john blake on sight, and might even greet him like an old friend in private. ( i would give anything for a john blake to write with and not just bc i’m a jgl stan but anyWaYS )

i’m also keeping the part where there’s significant wear and tear on his joints that leaves him in pain a lot of the time. maybe not necessarily to the same extent as in the dark knight rises, but still to the point where he’s suffering by his mid-thirties. 

bruce can and will adopt children. this is kinda sticky because obviously you can’t be batman and have children that don’t know, so they’ll be trained accordingly and he has to be careful with which children he takes in. but he’s definitely much more fatherly to dick grayson / any other children he might take in than in some interpretations. 

not keeping:

trigger warning: holocaust mention. so there’s one specific scene and i don’t remember how bruce is in it but basically. the riddler ( as part of someone else’s Evil Plan ) has bruce and lucius fox trapped in a literal gas chamber and i don’t know that’s just TOO DARK considering that my version of bruce is jewish ( and even just the kid who plays him in gotham being jewish + lucius being black ) and edward nygma is a lot of things but i don’t think he’s THAT evil. i’d need to plot out the specific details of what he does instead with specific eds but..... what the fuck u feel

i’m flexible with poison ivy’s very confusing arc...... i kinda like the version of her where she’s very powerful dumb as shit ( like delphi uwu ) the best it’s iconic 

i’m not keeping rachel dawes as a part of his canon ( although i’m willing to plot for that ) i just can’t find a way to make any of that make sense lmao. gotta find another way for the joker to permanently destroy him.

so in gotham canon bruce and his parents go to see a movie and then leave when it’s finished and that’s when they’re murdered, and i’m keeping that version because the nolan version where they leave the theatre because bruce is scared is literally too sad to even think about

i uh. don’t like gotham’s version of jim gordon lmao i’m sorry i just think it kinda missed The Point of his character. ( not that i know anything but. ) i don’t think the Military Man(TM) that he is ( and in a distinctly different way than alfred is ) is someone that bruce would look up to and i also don’t think that bruce would view his militarization of gcpd as a good thing. i’m open to interacting with an jim gordons, but for my interpretation jim will be more like g.ary oldm.an’s version of him, gentle, unassuming, and fatherly by nature.  

[silvanable]

Match-Up : Ikemen Sengoku

@nad-zeta

Hi there love! I hope you are doing well! Can i please request a ikemen sengoku matchup. ^0^

❤🥰 i am a aries, infp, Hufflepuff female 🦊 i am shy and difficult to get to know (apparently it took me 2 months to start opening up to my friends, ooops), i tend to bottle up my emotions, my friends would likely describe me as incredibly stubborn, gentle, kind, over dramatic, goofy and fun loving. I am pretty aloof and blunt, i like i will 9/10 times tell you to your face how if feel about you if you ask 🙈once u are part of my inner circle i am playful, teasing, i am an extremely sarcastic person that makes snarky remarks under my breath and my kind of humor is a bit of dark and self deprecating. I will definitely be the person making jokes at inappropriate times and something about inappropriate things (its one of my coping mechanisms) 😂 I love my friends and family and will fight anyone how threatens them, although when it comes to me you can do or say anything to me and i wont do anything (I honestly cant stand up for myself). I swear like a sailor although i am trying to get that under control, however the road rage is real.

i love nature and animals (i love my lil bunnies and dogs), i love working out/going to the gym #gym is life (it is one of my coping mechanisms and has helped me slowly overcome an eating disorder)😂

i enjoy cooking (i am now officially a chef), wine tasting (fancy way of saying getting very tipsy of different wines most nights), spending time with friends (especially if there is tea to be spilt) although i do need lots of alone time to recharge my social battery, i like conspiracies, reading, writing (Fanfics and im busy with my Masters in nutrition >“<), romcoms, and  sleeping. As much as i love spending time outdoor i also enjoy lazing around the house being a lazy potato. I definitely zone out and daydream all the freaken time

I tend to blush easily which i hate 🙈 My face will give away what i am thinking. i enjoy my own alone time and i definitely dont like crowds and loud sounds (ie you will never find me in a club). I am a picky eater despite my degree in cooking (i basically only eat candy, carbs and protein), i love cuddles although i look like someone that wouldn’t. Ive been told i come across as calm and confident, while in truth on the inside i am really scared and insecure.  I am incredibly awkward when it comes to boys and have been told my sarcastic comments are x100 when i talk to them (oops).

I am very go with the flow, and i never burn my bridges 🙈 i am very forgive and forget🦊, like no matter how badly you hurt me.

🙈 Thanx so much dear ❤ Sorry if this is TMI🔥Cant wait to see who i get matched with 🌈🎀

✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦

oh chica, i absolutely adore you just by this description.

i definitely had a fun time sorting out who i think would best compliment your personality & it was most certainly a tough one to settle on but in the end there must only be one~

i  hope you enjoy it!

✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦

↪  GUIDELINES

✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦

ー SHINGEN TAKEDA : TIGER OF KAI

after long debate i can see you and shingen as being a very favorable pair.

for starters, while you might not believe it you do have some very parallel personality traits (especially those based on your star signs!!).

you both have a rather optimistic disposition and a value for honest because shingen has never lied he just avoids answering questions.

additionally, you are both very difficult to get to know, as you have a tendency to bottle up your true feelings or are too shy and reserve to open up.

besides you being a beautiful woman, that would intrigue shingen even more. he wants to know why lies behind that quiet & guarded mask, to see what’s in your mind.

your dark humor & self-deprecating jokes would certainly concern him at first, especially because a “goddess such as you should never doubt yourself”.

i feel like what you said on being awkward around the menfolk would make you somewhat resistant to his flirt.

and by resistant i mean you turn red in a full blown blush and completely withdraw on yourself. you’d be lucky to get out a thank you or might completely bat the compliment off with a snarky comment ( and we’re on the inappropriately timed jokes too! ).

everything he learns about you is something new and surprising & he would be absolutely enthralled with you.

you’re a chef from your time? he’d love to watch you cook and savour whatever meal you’d be so generous as to let him taste.

you love to write & read? conspiracy theories? he would ask you all about what you read, what you’re interested in writing, and even indulge you as you ramble on about your favorite conspiracies.

then there’s your protective nature.

you take insults or things against you without batting an eye, but the moment someone insults him or any of those you care for, suddenly a warrioress comes out in you like he’s never seen.

you’re shy one day and another you’re so straight forward with him, he values that courage, even if you do not see it, and how honest you are. he admires honesty.

finding out you swear like a sailor would surprise him the most.

he has such a fondness for this young, gentle, and very fun & loving women and sudden she’s in the garden, profanities leaving her mouth in a never ending string after stubbing her toe ( can’t tell me that it doesn’t hurt enough NOT to swear ).

this man would have to do a double take just to make sure his eyes & ears weren’t deceiving him.

shingen would absolutely tease you about that later, how such an angel could have such strong words.

your passion and dedication to your work is something else shingen would find admirable, as he understands having a love of something you do & the beauty of being able to create it.

he is super attentive & always watching over for you and your moods.

you’re upset? he can see it in everything you do.

tired out and need a little you time? he’ll arrange for you to be undisturbed for a time and offer to bring you sweets to snack on & a book to enjoy your alone time with.

you are his angel of beauty and kindness, his goddess of ever compassionate forgiveness, and everything he comes to hold so dearly, meaning he will shower you endlessly with compliments & gifts if nothing more than to see you smile.

at kasuyagama you’re the castle’s mediator, as your personality seems to lean more towards peace & calm.

all that really means is you end up stopping shingen from teasing kenshin & keeping kenshin at best you can from being overly stabby.

i have to throw in that dates would be of the utmost importance to shingen with you.

he would have to take you to ever possible tea house to get you to try all of his favorite sweets and he would absolutely be abusing the fact you love them to against you to indulge you both.

yukimura would not be happy with either of you for constantly eating sweets & junk because it’s bad for your health and you need actual food to survive.

all. the. snuggles.

you have a favor for a calm & quiet atmosphere, so i can see you and shingen spending nights on the terrace in the cool evening air to admire the stars & moon.

correct me if i’m wrong, but you trapping shingen for morning cuddles? just five more minutes then you’ll let him go not really.

✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦

[bagels-and-seagulls]

54 for Davenzi pls. The locker kiss

Against a Locker kiss (did u mean hot jock david with his awkward bf day of a football match? because that’s what this prompt told me)

check it out on ao3

Jonas slid up beside Matteo and slammed against the locker next to his, landing with a clang and making Matteo jump up a little on his toes. “Are you going to game tonight?” He asks in a rush, and Matteo barely has the second to process it before Jonas asks again. “Are you going or not?” There was a little more whine in his voice this time around. 

“To what?” Matteo asks slowly, grabbing the last book he needed and shutting the door to his locker with a click. 

“The game.” 

“What game?” 

“The football game obviously. You know, the one that your so-called boyfriend is the captain of.” 

“So-call- Don’t say it like that. He’s my actual boyfriend,” Matteo mumbles and turns away to start walking to class. 

Jonas follows right on his heels. “Well, that certainly would be a lot more believable if we ever actually saw you guys together-” 

“I’m a catch you know,” he interrupts, tired of having to explain to everyone he tells that him and David Schreibner, yes that David Schreibner, social king and hottest guy in the whole school, were in fact dating. Boyfriends, if you will. Matteo certainly does. 

“If you’re a catch, David is a fucking whale, and we both knows that’s true. Anyways, the game.” 

“I’m meeting my mom for dinner tonight. I already had to reschedule.” 

Jonas scoffs. “Likely excuse.” 

“It’s true,” Matteo rolls his eyes. “Besides, you’ve never been interested in football before. Something about capitalism and sports empires and socially approved violence, if I remember right.”

“That was before I saw you stashing a jersey in your bag that for sure does not belong to you,” Jonas dramatically looks into where Matteo’s bag is still slightly unzipped. 

“It’s David’s. He asked me to wear it to the game,” Matteo turns around the corner with his cheeks burning brightly at the confession. God, he felt like a fucking cliche when David had brought it up. Felt even more like one because he feels so giddy about it, like some teenage girl, twirling her pigtails around her fingers and popping bumble gum when her crush comes up to talk to her.

“So you are-”

“I already told him there was a chance I couldn’t go. There will be more games.” 

“So you’re going to wear it later then?” Jonas asks with an obvious glee in his voice and lightness in his step. 

Matteo rolls his eyes again, afraid her ears were fucking scarlet at this point. “I have to go. Byyyye,” he drawls out and enters his classroom. 

His phone buzzes, and he pulls it out to check it. 

⚽Da.Vid💋: 

What were you and Jonas talking about?

You looked like a tomato haha

Teo🍝❤️: 

stop spying on me weirdo

⚽Da.Vid💋: 

I haven’t seen my super cute boyfriend in like two days can you blame me for looking?

Teo🍝❤️ : 

super cute bf? do i kno him? dont tell me its jonas

⚽Da.Vid💋 :

You caught me. I’ve been hanging out with you for weeks just to get into Jonas’ pants. 

Teo🍝❤️ :

he asked me if i was going to the game

and he made fun of for the jersey thing

⚽Da.Vid💋 :

I see you’re not wearing it 👀👀

Will I still get to see you before? 

Teo🍝❤️ : 

its itchy

and everyone would jsut think i stole it like a creep

meet you after school? 

“Mr. Florenzi,” a sharp, nasally voice calls out. Matteo looks up from his phone, and the entire class is watching him as the teacher stares, her arms crossed in front of her chest. “Is there something you wanted to share with the class?” 

“No,” he answers, and he catches Amira laughing at him out the corner of his eye. 

“Gotta be better than that,” she whispers, and Matteo just flicks her off with an exaggerated scowl. 

He doesn’t get a chance to check it until he’s halfway to Spanish. 

⚽Da.Vid💋:

I’ll get a matching one with Florenzi and a bowl of pasta.

We’ll be best dressed of the year. 

I’ll meet you at your locker after PE

Time ticks kind of slowly after that. Matteo wasn’t able to keep track of what was going on in class, scribbling down random doodles during all the lectures and looking up at Amira with puppy dog eyes until she rolled her and showed him her answers, and during lunch, Carlos and Jonas were busy working on some German paper in the library. Abdi spent the entire thing talking about Sam, and her eyes, and her laugh, and her hair, and yadda yadda yadda. Matteo stopped listening halfway though. Same old. Same old, he thought. He’s heard it all before. 

After what feels like a small eternity, or maybe just an average couple of hours, Matteo manages to make it to his locker. His locker that was currently sans any David near it. Matteo pouted at the sight and started shoving his books in some haphazard format inside, thinking that this game of tetris he had with all his stuff might pass the time a little. 

He hears quick footsteps come up besides him, and he turns, expecting to see his devastatingly dashing boyfriend, but was disappointed with just Jonas. He must notice when Matteo deflates a little because he says, “It’s good to see you too, man,” with a dramatic frown. 

“Sorry,” Matteo says, and bumps their fists together. “David is meeting me after gym.” 

“Did I hear my name?” Matteo shuts his locker and sees David smiling brightly back at him. His hair is sticking to his forehead, and his cheeks are flushed, probably from PE class still. Wow, Matteo thinks. He really was a teenage girl. He thinks he might be swooning a little bit. “Na?” He asks when Matteo doesn’t say anything, his eyes flicking down to Matteo’s lips from his eyes quickly. 

“Na,” Matteo repeats dumbly. His mouth feels kind of dry, and he really remembers that they haven’t seen each other in two days all of a sudden. 

“Um,” Jonas drawls out, fiddling with his bag straps awkwardly. Matteo almost feels like it serves him right from the amount of times he’s been the third wheel for him, but decides that he probably should save him after all. 

“Oh, uh, Jonas, you know David, right?” Matteo says and takes half a step back so they could all look at each other better. 

David nods and raises his hand. “Yeah, yeah,” Jonas agrees and meets David halfway. “We had math together right?” 

“Something like that,” David laughs and takes half a step back into Matteo’s space until their shoulders were brushing. 

“Well, uh, I’ve gotta run. Uh, Carlos and I are meeting. Yeah. See you tomorrow, bro?” Matteo nodded and they bumped elbows. “See you, David,” Jonas waves, and then wonders off, giving Matteo a smug look as he left. 

“That was, uh,” David starts and then stops with a laugh. 

“Weird,” Matteo finishes for him. “That was weird.” 

“Yeah, a little,” David agrees, scrunching up his nose cutely. “So.” 

“So,” Matteo repeats and leans against his locker. 

David leans in close, and Matteo can feel the heat off of him. “Laura will be out tonight, if you wanted to come over after the game.” 

“What are you implying, Mr. Schreibner? I’m not easy, you know.” 

“I’m making no comment about that,” David replies with a smirk. “But it would be very nice to have my very cute boyfriend come over to celebrate tonight.”

Matteo hums. “Seems confident of you to plan a celebration before you even play. I’ll have you know I only hang out with the real winners.”  

“Well, if a win is what it takes to get you to come over, then that’s plenty of motivation to score a few goals,” David mutters into the side of Matteo’s face and kisses him sweetly right next to the lockers. 

[comicteaparty]

December 18th-December 24th, 2019 Reader Favorites Archive

The archive for the Reader Favorites chat that occurred from December 18th, 2019 to December 24th, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question:

What tropes and/or clichés are you perfectly fine with seeing in the webcomics you read?

Deo101

Like all of the cutesy cheesy relationship tropes. I love them all and I always will! Plenty more, but I find myself getting caught up in the relationship tropes the most. Specifically friends to lovers, but I also really like the found family trope. I know there are more tropes that I love but I can't think of them off the top of my head, so I'll probably just agree with others as the week goes on

indogswetrust

pass me the slow burn romance please thaaaanks

Deo101

that one too. Also hurt/comfort. Pump those into my VEINS they are my lifeblood... I shamelessly put every trope I want into my work so I can't judge other people for doing the same

indogswetrust

i’m trash

I’ve become more sssssophisticated as I’ve gotten older but I know what I like in a webcomic.

And it’s Adorable Behavior (tm)

Deo101

I've gotten less sophosticated. I thought I got more sophisticated but turns out I just got less shameful about the things i like

indogswetrust

Haha

I mean I used to really be fixated on comedy and now I’m more okay with things being ambiguous and complex? Ingress is a good example. I might have put it down two years ago but now I wanna see where Spicer and Toivo’s journey takes them

Fixated isn’t the exact word. whatever

Deo101

No I get you! Realizing you like more than just one thing and expanding your horizons is really important!

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I love the enemies-to-lovers trope. Any time a pair of characters goes from ‘I hate your guts’ to ‘take me now’ I’m loving it. That is, so long as one of them wasn’t being outright abusive during their ‘hate’ phase.

indogswetrust

Man that’s a delicate balance but also

Deo101

^ Fully agree. I just get a little too anxious about the "enemies" side of thing and worry they wont fully grow into lovers I guess! But if it's done well, Its an especially good one

carcarchu

i second the enemies-to-lovers thing i will never get enough of that trope

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

thirded

if I even smell a hint of it in a story, provided it's not overtly violent or abusive or otherwise horrible... I am hooked

kayotics

Fourthed... it’s a good trope

keii4ii

Now I feel like the odd one out for being neutral toward that trope. I definitely enjoy good examples of it, but otherwise completely neutral?

Evolving relationships is a good thing in general though, and enemies to lovers does fall in that category.

keii4ii

I have a soft spot for long lost superadvanced civilizations being unearthed. While it doesn't guarantee I'll fall in love with the story, it WILL grab my attention and at least get me to check it out.

renieplayerone

I dont really have any strong opinions on any tropes, but theres a really good channel on youtube that goes through and critiques tropes. I find it really useful for writing. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDb22nlVXGgcljcdyDk80bBDXGyeZjZ5e

keii4ii

(Please don't let my weirdness ruin anyone's enjoyment of the trope though, lol. I'm all for celebrating what you like! was just genuinely wondering if I'm the only one who's neutral about it!)

keii4ii

Also not an overarching story trope, but more like a type of a scene... I really like this thing (if this is a trope please tell me what it's called XD) A, B, C are friends. A and B are bffs. C is not as close. B talks to C about this while A is away. This is an honest conversation, not a malicious one. B learns to see A in a way they hadn't before, and it strengthens the B-A friendship. I'm not likely to start reading a story just because I know it contains this scene. But if a story I already like has this scene, it is likely to be my favorite scene!(edited)

I guess part of the reason why I like it so much is, it shows that the relationship (the B-A one in this case) is not insular. It's a real relationship between real people, who also have relationships outside of it, and the relationships have an influence on each other.

(And that's a lot of "relationship"s in a paragraph...)

eli [a winged tale]

Positive relationships and healthy navigations between relationship and life problems are my jam The enemies to lovers trope can be gripping because you get an additional conflict on top of tension. I thought the novel Red White & Royal Blue did a good job at that. Grant Snyder did a trope bingo for murakami and I thought it was fun to do the same for my works in progress. For reference: the murakami one https://www.google.com/amp/s/news.avclub.com/here-s-how-to-play-haruki-murakami-bingo-as-you-read-hi-1798271345/amp

keii4ii

omg

I NEED TO MAKE THIS for me/ comics I read

I mean I don't have a whole lot of stories, but it would be interesting to see what kind of common items get checked off across mine + my favorite comics combined

Capitania do Azar

wow I've been thinking about it a lot and I'm having a very hard time selecting the tropes I like best... I'm more of a "I know what I don't like and taking that aside I like being surprised"

Cronaj

All I can say is... Red Oni, Blue Oni (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RedOniBlueOni). This trope is seriously so good. My favorite thing about this trope is that the "Red Oni," or the hot-headed one, and the "Blue Oni," the cold or level-headed one, can be either friends or enemies. So it makes for a beautiful dynamic no matter what type of story it is. Buddy cops, competitors in the workplace, brothers, enemies, the straight man and the fool, you name it. Typically these characters are foils of each other, and their differencesbalways make for exceedingly fun interactions. Another favorite trope of mine, which I don't really know the name of, is where the seemingly hot/handsome guy is actually a dork who has no idea what he's doing. Everyone in the story thinks he's done everything, but really he's just a dopey, niave possibly shy and definitely clumsy virgin. But the social awkwardness only makes him inexplicably more appealing to the other lead. Cute

Ah! Another trope I have to add because it's basically my crack: Androids Are People, Too (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AndroidsArePeopleToo). I have loved this trope since before Detroit: Become Human, but the game certainly rekindled my love for it. Very genre-specific, but AI fascinate me to no end, whether it's in the real world, or in Sci-Fi.

eli [a winged tale]

Haha Cronaj are you me? Contrasting characters and robots who have feelings can get me hooked straight away

indogswetrust

lemme tell y’all about a trope I’ve noticed: the crazy lesbian. Like, The Favorite and Killing Eve and that Netflix movie about the violinists. Whoof. I am so tired of that

Cronaj

Hahahaha! I dunno maybe. I also have a protagonist in one of my novels named Eli.

eli [a winged tale]

The cute nerd who is fumbling but appeared to have it all together may lean towards the Mary Sue for me but if there is a true flaw (Tm) then I’m down

indogswetrust

I feel like gay men characters have been getting humanized and happy endings and that’s awesome! But lesbians have not been getting the same treatment.

bumbling and romantically inept nerds fuel me

eli [a winged tale]

What do you mean about the lesbian part, indogswetrust? I’m curious to know of the differences as I’m currently writing both

Cronaj

@eli [a winged tale] YES. I'm not gonna lie, I have definitely used more than one of these tropes XD And one of them may or may not be the fumbling hottie...

eli [a winged tale]

I wanted to link my trope bingo but thought it went against the pinned rules I can DM it to you if you’re interested and I’d love to play everyone else’s bingos

Cronaj

Oh hell yes. Lesgooooooo!

I have never made a trope bingo, but I really should

indogswetrust

Like, Love, Simon or Call Me By Your Name show gay men as people slowly falling in love and it’s tender and kind. But The Favorite literally has animal abuse in it and women sleeping with each other for power. I walked out of the theater. Same for Killing Eve, it’s about a spy and a murderer. High intrigue and drama but it’s obviously a toxic relationship from the premise

eli [a winged tale]

Oh no! You should check out Their Story by Tan Jiu)

It’s formatted like a webcomic as well though formally called manhua. It does the slow burn romance, humanizing aspect very well. I’m not well versed in the mainstream portrayal but certainly on the indie side, people are stepping up and writing very positive and healthy lesbian stories

indogswetrust

The indie side is great. Even “The Sea In You” (a webcomic) is frickin adorable

It just grinds my beans about mainstream portrayal

eli [a winged tale]

Loving the sea in you!

RebelVampire

A trope I will never get sick of is https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses , especially if https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ReallyRoyaltyReveal this is what happens in the story. I just...I really love royalty. I can't help it. I love the pointless traditions, the fancy dresses, the palaces, etc.. And even if that's not part of it, I still like it when some rando girl realizes that she's a princess and now has to deal with that idea that she has subjects she has to protect or something. Bonus points if she's a magical girl. I even like it when it's a reverse situation where it's an evil princess. I will never tire of princesses ever because the concept is always fascinating to me no matter which way its spun.

eli [a winged tale]

I love the fanciness of it all. All those lovely eye candy designs

Cronaj

Same... I have also used the Really Royalty Reveal, like..... Several times

eli [a winged tale]

The royal reveal when done well can be so powerful and validating

Kelsey (Kurio)

I have a queen ant character but no princesses yet

Eightfish

ooh are we talking about tropes we like? I really like mind reading/ mind control. But consensual. It's feels like the theme of trust taken to the extreme, where a character has such belief in someone they'd trust their mind / body to them. But I've only really seen it in some kid's books I liked (Young Wizards, Animorphs), and the only webcomic I've seen with this idea is my own, and I haven't even gotten to that part yet. Anyone have any recommendations? Ooh or a tvtropes link?

Erin Ptah (BICP 🎄 Leif & Thorn)

It comes up in the Murderbot Diaries -- the main character is a construct, basically a really-advanced android, and there are times when it lets a more-powerful AI pilot its body to handle an emergency that's unfolding too fast for it to keep up with on its own.

Eightfish

I looked it up and I do like the themes of androids' humanity. And it's a series of novellae, which, wow, that's very rare. Not sure I've ever seen that before. Do you recommend the book as a whole?(edited)

Erin Ptah (BICP 🎄 Leif & Thorn)

I recommend the whole series, yes!

[itsalreadybroken]

Through Expectations Chapter 3.

Ben Hardy x Reader

Synopsis: You're the daughter of the famous Roger Taylor, okay that seemed alright the thing is, you're more of a geek than a rockstar's daughter. He's blonde, blue eyes and you're brunette, brown eyes. Your brother on the other hand was the younger version of your dad, certainly he preffered to play the guitar, but that only seemed to make him even more popular. But things change the day you get to meet the cast of your dad's movie, and a certain blonde guy makes you change your point of view.

Chapter 2: http://itsalreadybroken.tumblr.com/post/183270695519

A/N: Sorry for some grammar mistake that might exist (if seen please inform me so I can change it) I'm portuguese, and trying to write something that all of you can read and hopefully enjoy!

Words: 3256

The next week was pretty much the same, but you were different, you were acting different. At lest, that was what your brother thought.

“Why aren't you studying something?” Jamie's voice came from your bedroom door while you were checking your phone for you don't know how many times.

“Hum?” you stop looking at your phone and looke at your brother.

“Hello, it's 3pm and you aren't studying or making some assignment due to next moth!” he mocked you and threw you a pillow “Maybe that Dean guy isn't so bad after all. Nice choice of a guy Rogerina” you ignored him and he simply left to his bedroom and after a few minutes he left your house. Maybe to attend some practice, drumming time, parties, who knew it was Jamie's full agenda life.

That wasn't the reason. The reason you spent the last week so into your phone and so eagerly to answer all of your texts so fast was because some guy had followed you back. Texted you and you couldn't help but smile at some idiots things that have been typed.

Ben followed you, Ben texted you. Was it normal? Of course it was you reminded. He made small talk and after that he surely made time to ask you little Roger details. So it was all stritcly professional you asked him and he assured you. All you could think about was, if that was merely professional how could you not stop checking your phone? Waiting for him to answer, tried to type something he always needed to answer back. He did, he never ever left you on mute.

~~~

Ben: So, what are you doing?

Me: Ben it's 3am, what do you think I'm doing?

Ben: So... Wanna grab some food?

Me: It's 3 am ahahaha

Ben: Yes or No?

Was this a way of invinting you out? Was this a date? It couldn't be a date, it was 3am. Probably his idea of a date at 3am would be something completely different. Some text poped-up on you phone and you grabbed it.

Ben: …

Ben: You did not fell asleep, answer me!

Ben: …. Y/N ….!!

Me: Okay, let's go.

Ben: Nice, I'll pick you up in 10.

After choosing some comfy and nice pants, you put on a warm black jacket. So, you only had a problem. You had to leave your house without waking up your dad or Jamie. Luckily father was always a hard sleeper, but your brother, like the brat he was, was not. Any small sound and he woke up.

After closing the door from the outside you sighed with relieve. A car was already waiting for you and you could see Ben smiling when he opened the car window.

“So, where are we exactly going?” you giggled after entering the car and he started driving.

“Well, we have those supermarkets that never close you knnow?” he mocked your question and you looked at him.

“Huuum, yeah I might have heard about it. You do realise it's fucking late and people might see you?” you pressed your lips together smiling.

“Yes I do. People will see me hanging with Y/N Taylor and thinking how the fuck did I got Roger Taylor's part” he laughed never taking his eyes from the road. The music in his car was not that loud and you looke through the window, not saying a word.

Was different talking on the internet and in person. You were nervous, but why?

“So, will you be on set tomorrow?” he asked you turning left and you could see the store he was talking about.

“You do know I go at university right? So I cannot always looking at your blond hair”

“Do you like my hair?” you remained quiet for a while.

“I did not say that!!!” you blushed and covered your cheeks with your hands while he parked the car laughing.

“Still made you think about it, so it's not that bad”.

You both entered the store, it was empty, but you did not got surprised, it was really late, you didn't know what you wanted to eat and Ben was simply grabbing chips and looking for something to go with it.

“Y/N, what do you want?” some blue eyes checked you out while you chose an ice cream. A large ice cream as in matter of fact.

“Just this” you smiled and he nodded. You went to the cashier you couldn't stop staring at him.

“I'll pay” you put yourself in front of him, not allowing him to pay and heard him complain.

“Yes yes, I'm with Y/N Taylor, don't mind trying to guess who I am” he laughed and you glred at him. “Ben!!”

The girl excused herself and after you payed you rolled your eyes containing a smile “What the hell did you just do?”

“Well, she was looking at me and not at you, so I had to make her!” he replied excusing himself. “You're nice to look at!”

“But you...!” the grip you felt to scold him soon lef after his word and you just got yourself in the car as he seem worried.

“Are you mad?” you heard him say while starting the car.

“No I'm not mad. You know, I don't like people to know who I am and even if I did, they never do know. I don't look like him. You look more like him that I do.”

“That's because I have a penis?” he asked making you laugh and taking some weight off of your shoulders.

“It's NOT because of your penis” you grabbed one of his chips.

“My penis felt betrayed right now... Hey that was mine!” he was looking at you opening your ice cream jar “If you wanted more, you should have buyed them”.

“I wanted one, since I bought them, they're yours, but mine!” you teased and tasted your ice cream.

“God this is so good!” you put a bit on the spoon and made him try it “isn't it?”

“It's alright” he srughed.

“Do you like to piss me off Hardy?” his eyes were teasing you, a lot.

“What do you think Taylor?”

~~~

You woke up to the sound of your dad calling you. You wish you didn't, the bed was so comfy and you were so sleepy. You came home at 5am and you belly hurt for the amout of laughing you two made.

“Y/N, come on moonpie, what's with you today? Are you sick?!” Roger knocked the door and then opened it to check in on you.

“I'm fine daddy, just insomnia last night, don't worry” he smiled and kissed your forehead.

Running down the stairs knowing you were more than fashionable late to your classes, made yoou even more stressed, only grabbed your car keys and waved a quick goodbye.

“Where the hell have you been?” Stevie grabbed you by one arm and dragged you to the nearest coffee shop.

“Aren't we supposed to attend class?” you raised one eyebrow looking at her face.

“We were if you were not super late and your bestie decided to wait for you” you both sit on a booth and ordered something. “What have you been up to?” she asked you once again.

“Me? What? How the hell am I up to something?” oh but you knew... You knew she knew you were hiding something. She grabbed her phone and gave it to you. “What's this?”

“Oh no” you murmured. Looking at it, there were pictures of you and Ben at the store Ben hardy and mistery gal was the title and you pressed your lips together. There was even one when you were paying and he was so close to you. His chest seeme to touch your back and you knew sooner or later people would find out who you were and even worse, dad would find out.

Thinking about it, Ben didn't text you this orning either.

And now a big smile came to Stevie's face “SOOOOOO what's his lips like?”

“I dont' know! And I don't want to know. Christ! We just went to get some food!”  you spoke a bit angrily.

“At 3am?!”

“What difference does ir make?!” but you knew the difference, you were just trying to convince yourself this wasn't a big deal. “No one knows who I am” you tried to sound neutral but knowing this could change the life you were used to. Papparazzi would approach you and ask you stuff, girls would be mean on social media. People would want to hang out with you so they could hang out with Ben.

Your phone started ringing, you declined the call so the person on the other line call you back again, and again and again... By the time Stevie went outside to smoke you answered it.

“Y/N I've just checked my phone, I'm so sorry!! I didn't know...!”

“No... No you didn't” you said grabbing one more bite of your croassaint. “Ben... I did not thought it through. I'm used to act and not having much prepercussions after it. No one knows who I am so I guess it's okay. No one recognized me yet”

“Yes but still... I don't know if Roger's going to be there on set today...” he was a bit nervous because your dad had told him you hated all of that attention, you liked being normal. Just hated when people did not believe you were Roger's daughter and needed confirmation.

“If my dad asks you, tell him, I'll explain. I really need to go now, bye” you hang up as soon as Stevie entered.

What if your dad had known the moment he woke you up? He had not said anything. But he never pressured you into talking, he had always given you time to explain yourself and to talk things through. Even if he did, you wouldn't know.

Unless... Unless you went to the studio and spent some time there. It wouldn't be that awkward, would it?

“Earth to Y/N! Are you still thinking about Ben? And Dean?”

You look right up to her “There's nothing going on with me and Ben!”

“But you wish there was” she used a fiercly expression and you pressed your lips together.

“Huum, I don't think so. Plus, I have been seeing Dean you know?!”

“So why don't you introduce him to your father?” she got a point, for the first fucking time, she did it. She got it.

“We haven't been together that long. Besides, it's not official and you know it.”

“Ok, you got me there. But it's official enough so you can take him to the movie studios isn't it?”

Your face lit up a big smile “Of course yes, and that's what I'm going to do today. Just to prove you are wrong”

“I might not be that wrong if you are always trying to prove me that!” Stevie said while you called Dean inviting him to got with you which he accpeted and you squint your eyes at her smiling right after ending your call.

“By the way, isn't your dad's dinner tomorrow night?”

“Yes, you can come to my place to choose what to wear” you both laughed finishg both of your meals.

~~~

You grabbed your wheel a little harder than you should, seeing your knuckles going a bit to white as Dean was changing the station on your car.

“So, this is a nice baby you got here” he spoke breaking the silence between the two of you and you felt your shoulders light up a bit.

“Yes, it was my birthday gift when I turned 18” you quickly took a look at his face. “I wanted an old car but my dad got me this one. Is not the one I really liked but it comes in handy sometimes” you giggled and he put his hand on your thigh.

“Taylor, are you okay?” The concern on his voice made you feel a bit warm, getting the grip that you might be overreacting “Is your dad killing me or something like that? Or is this because of the pictures that came out today?”

You bit your bottom lip and nodded.

“Taylor, I get you're not regular like me. I get a bunch of eyes are upon you and all the things you say and do need to have a filter, even though you don't have it. And most of it, we have only hanging out a couple of times. I'm not gonna get crazy jealous just because a guy want to go out with you” he winked at you “I mean, only blind guys wouldn't want it and that's for sure they never had been talking with you”.

A big exhale came out from your lips “I was just worried you might be thinking I'm some kind of skank or whatsoever” your voice was so low you hadn't been sure he'd heard you.

“I know you, I know you'r bounded to a lot od things that don't concern you and which you cannot alter. Dating or not, you'r allowed to go out with anyone you'd like. What two people need to have between them is respect. And at last but not least, you need to understand who you like”

“I...”

“I'm not saying you don't like me” you cut you rapidly off “i know I'm your crush, I saw you blush a lot of times just for passing by” he laughed “But when you like someone, like really like, you grab it”

Was a guy really saying this? Why was he being so thoughtful to all of this? “My girlfriend left me, and for the first year I was in deep shit. I didn't care about anything, or anyone as a matter of fact”.

You just drove, in silence, listening to him “I saw the way he looked at you the time you kissed his cheek at the party, he fancies you”.

“So do you” you immediately reply.

“I do” he laughs “Did I ever told you that?”

You laughed and shook your head “You don't call the other girls by their last name, so I just assumed” a giggle came form you and the air was just so much lighter.

Arriving at the studio, you grabbed Dean by his arm and you both went in, girls working there stopped to look at him. He was a hunk, tall, good looking, the one you want to sweep you off of your feet. He had it all.

“Y/N!” you heard a voice calling you and you turned your head to see who it was.

“Joe, hi!” you smiled and greeted him with a hug. This Joe was dressed like a young John Deacon . “How are you? This is Dean. He was at the party too” they handshaked and you could see he was reluctant on talking “So... I've seen some pictures...”

“We just went for some food, nothing much...” you excused yourself and tried looking everywhere except his face “So, which part are you recording now?”

“The part where we try to Bohemian Rhapsody as our single”

When you three arrived the set, all faces turned around to see you.

“Moonpie!” Roger approached you and you introduced him to your Dean “Y/N has never ever introduced me to any guy”

“I'm not any guy” he laughed and you looked searching for blue eyes that didn't yet meet yours.

Ben wanted to talk to you, but at the same time, he didn't because he was looking at Roger and Dean and they both were laughing and talking about something that made you do an annoyed look followed by the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

The time your eyes met, you waved and taking the opportunity, you approached him.

“Hey, how are you?” both of you know how both of you were, but nevertheless you were trying to keep it hidden even though all of the people there had seen your pictures at the store.

“I'm fine, see you brought a friend” he added, souding neutral, non jealousy type.

“It's Dean from the party... No big deal” you added.

“I don't remember him” he lied and you both knew that.

“It's fine, we're friends and he is a fan of Queen” you sat next to him and all you could sense was the bitterness in him

“Aren't we all?”

“Well... Yes. He knows about the store and he told me to go after you if you'd care to know. Plus, that outfit looks really good on you” these were your last words and when he tried to chase after you to get acquiantance of what you just said the director entered the room telling the boys it was time to shoot the scenes, so you just left him there and went on backstage to see the scene beeing shot.

You and Dean stood there for a while but the guys where just not gettng focused on the scene so they are always remaking it.

You said goodbye to your dad and Brian who was across the studio and took Dean home.

The next night would be great, or not.

Ben was getting attached to you and he had seen you leave with Dean at the party, was hard for him to believe there was nothing going on.

~~~

The house was perfectly fine, dinner had been cooked according to some of your dad's favourite and it looked like a fancy dinner between friends. You wish it wouldn't be, because it should be more casual. But that's the thing with Roger Taylor you had to do casual and fancy all in one.

You had a little black dress, lots of bracelets, one necklace and flat shoes.

“I still can't figure out what to wear!” Stevie had already been trying more than a dozen dresses and she was so fashion concerned about the others. So you grabbed one of the pile and showed it to her.

“I think this was your best, and to impress Jamie... Nothing better” you made a devilish smile.

The guys had just arrived and so you excused yourself and left Stevie alone.

You went down the stairs and caught Ben alone at the hall.

“Ben!” his eyes laid upon you more than you expected. Good.

“Y/N, how are you?” he was acting casual like nothing had happened. Well... Nothing did happen but you wanted it. Oh god how you wanted it!

“So glad you're here” you were a little uncertain but you hugged him anyway “Listen, about the pictures...”

“I said I'm sorry” he spoke in a bit harsh voice “If I had known I'd never tell you anything, I know how much you hate attentions drawn to you. And all I do is catch other's attention”

“Hey... I did not say that! I said I didn't care, because for the first time I didn't care if anyone saw me, knew me or photographed me. I had such a nice time with you” you crossed your arms knowing you were getting sadder just by the thought of not being around that ray of sunshine. Not being able to speak, you turned yourself to the living room to greet the other guys, leaving him alone in the hall.

NOTE: So, what did you think about this chapter? What do you think it’s going to happen next?  i’m trying to write a bit everyday, and always thinking in ways to feel inspired and nice and fine ideas for the plot.

Tag-List: @killer-queen-ofrhye @cotton-candy-bubbles @applcrumblr@roseesirene @freddiewhistle @kurt-nightcrawler @works-of-fanfiction @but-legendsneverdie @jelly-snow-stark @strangemaximoff @marvel-rhapsody@blessthegulag @ur-gunna-h8-ths @destiel-stucky4ever-loki-queen@celebsimagines @queen-irl-af @rogerinasqueen  @jelly-snow-stark @whoianayesha @annas-unicorun @raythespastic @little1-1red @imlosingmyshit @blackparacosm @sheridans-dynamos @sarai-ibn-la-ahad @ixchel-9275

[virtuissimo]

Pride by Ibi Zoboi (Review)

This book is a modern retelling of the Jane Austen’s seminal classic Pride & Prejudice. Zuri Luz Benitez is a black Haitian-Dominican teenager in her senior year of high school whose identity is constructed around her life in Bushwick, a neighborhood with a tight community that is going through aggressive gentrification. Across the street, in one of the new gentrified houses, the Darcy family moves in, including twins Ainsley and Darius, two rich private-school boys sticking out like a fish out of water.

Zoboi’s adaptation creates amazing parallels when compared one-to-one with P&P, but it can’t hold its own very well. The writing is a simplistic and the characterization for most of the named characters is extremely one-dimensional. I was taken a bit by surprise when I found it in the youth section, and the simple writing makes me confused about the age of the intended audience. In any case, I didn’t have a bad time reading this, but I was expecting a lot more than I got.

To expand a little on the intended audience, I think my confusion is mostly because of the conflicting styles. On one hand, Zoboi’s prose is very simple and almost hamfisted in how she handles her characters and story. Other than some nice and age-appropriate poetry from Zuri herself, the rest of the book isn’t very elegant in writing quality. So I said to myself, ok I found it in the youth section. It’s intended for a younger audience. However, all the central characters are in their senior year of high school, and there are numerous allusions to sex and cusses that I’m not sure would fly in middle fiction. I think those who are in this reading level will find the characters too old and teenagery, while those who are the main character’s ages will find the prose to be lacking. Zuri in specific is a voracious reader, and she herself would not have the patience to enjoy reading this book which is far below her reading level.

It’s easier to read this book for what it’s supposed to be saying rather than what it is saying, if that makes any sense. For instance, Darius when he first shows up is quiet and doesn’t offer much information about himself, but he also wasn’t very rude or belligerent upon first impression. I know “prejudice” is half the thing, but Zuri really jumps the gun and kind of started the whole feud in the first place. It just wasn’t that believable that he was some jerk who deserved her hatred like it was with Elizabeth Bennet, and similarly it wasn’t very believable when she later learns that she just misinterpreted his social awkwardness.

Also, I thought it was interesting that the title removed the “prejudice” when to me that seemed like a much bigger aspect of this version than in Austen’s work. For instance, Darius makes a number of disparaging remarks about Bushwick and its “ghetto” people, but even before he makes these remarks Zuri already “hates” him based on stuff she made up about him in her head. And then later, when they begin to get closer, she actually never confronts him about his prejudice and just. Forgives and forgets.

She also forgives and forgets when it comes to Ainsley and Janae. This bothered me a lot more than some of my other nitpicking because it actually changes one of the important themes of P&P. Not that Zoboi doesn’t have the right to alter thematic elements—she absolutely does! But the theme of family and the fact that Zuri would do ANYTHING for her sisters is told to the reader through a lot of exposition, but we don’t actually see it. The moment in the car when she finds out that Darius split up Ainsley and Janae is really representative of that for me. She got angry in the moment, but she never actually investigates to find out WHY he did it like Elizabeth in P&P. On that note, later on when she forgives him, she never asks him to account for it again.

In fact, character motivation and appropriate emotional buildup was a recurring issue in this book. Nothing hit quite like I think Zoboi intended them to.

The talk on gentrification and class difference is good tho. Perhaps incomplete, but there’s only so much space. They really show how class plays a role in a variety of different circumstances and scenarios, and I think Zoboi succeeds here where others have failed.

Some of the parallels that I liked:

-          Warren and Colin took me OUT when they first appeared. You can really see what Zoboi thinks about Mr. Wickham and Mr. Collins from the original lol.

-          The tour of Howard instead of touring the Darcy home was very interesting to me. I think it was a great introduction to how she wasn’t expecting her world to expand so much, and that there’s a lot of different experiences in the world that she’s missing, and she gets introduced to this idea by people who AREN’T Darius and Ainsley. I really liked that.

-          The leopard print and “inappropriate dress” that the Benitez family wore to the Darcy cocktail party. It seems like a good way to show how respectability politics still play into the modern day, and it added a bit of character to the Benitez family as a prototypical Latinx family that I really enjoyed.

-          The Warren and Georgia situation was also a good way to translate this into the modern day.

-          P&P: In order to avoid scandal, Darcy pays for a marriage between a 16 year old and a 20-something known scumbag, and this is seen as a good thing because it saved the Bennet family. Zoboi’s Pride: Darius beats the shit out of Warren. I REALLY CRIED, THIS IS WHAT I WANT OUT OF AN ADAPTATION.

Things I didn’t like so much:

-          Ainsley x Janae is treated like a veeery minor side story instead of being a secondary plot. One of the big things in P&P is that Jane and Bingley are the prototypical pure love story and they think they are the main characters. Ainsley and Janae are not given much space to breathe in the narrative, and their relationship comes across as an afterthought instead of as one of the principal plot threads.

-          The diversion with Darius’ grandmother was also thrown in there like an afterthought. It didn’t add much to the story other than showing that Darius will side with Zuri when push comes to shove. It still felt like it took up a lot more time than it needed to if the grandmother wasn’t going to appear again at the end of the book like in the original. If it’s role to the plot was going to be minimized like that, I don’t really understand why it was included at all.

-          Charlise and Colin as a pair also felt out of place. In the original, Mr. Collins and Charlotte weren’t a major part of the story, but they contributed to the narrative that Austen wanted to tell about marriage and the different types of marriages that exist in English society at the time. Charlise and Colin don’t really have that effect on the story at all. Both characters are completely irrelevant to the plot (except Colin in the last possible moment), and they’re only really there to BE an adaptation.

-          Some of the plot beats were rearranged. I didn’t mind this so much since any number of directorial decisions are valid so long as the have a positive impact on the adaptation’s goal, but I didn’t really see how they added much.

One thing I REALLY liked was the addition of Madrina. I’m not sure if she’s a reference to something I don’t remember from the text or a completely original addition, but I thought she made for some really interesting moments. I especially loved how much connection Zuri felt with her Orisha worship and that they called her “daughter of Ochun.” I would change NOTHING about this, it was pure and really sweet.

One adaptation I WISH Zoboi had made was to have Zuri call out Darius’ hypocrisy. In P&P, the Bennetts are certainly in a different social class from Darcy and the Bingleys, but they’re ultimately still property owners in Britain. The stakes are different here. Darius keeps talking about how things in his life aren’t perfect just because he’s rich (which is absolutely true, especially when Zoboi starts getting into his experience as a black teenager surrounded by white classmates), but he is STILL not really understanding the difference in experience between himself and Zuri. The thing is, although she’s not right to judge Darius’ whole personality, she absolutely IS right about a lot of his privilege at the very beginning, but she kind of lets that go after a while. Zuri confronts Darius about his wealth many times, but to me at least it doesn’t really seem like she was able to convince him that his whole outlook on life is fundamentally different because of his wealth. Idk maybe I’m grasping at straws here. I just wish that Darius had actually talked about like . trying to persuade his parents to donate more to charity, or doing community service, or idk DISTRIBUTING THE WEALTH. Darius doesn’t change much in the story. At the beginning, he’s like “sorry im rich but lmfao you’re being mean to me!” and then at the end he is like “I am simply a rich boy, I cannot change this” which is barely a difference at all.

Anyways. I really didn’t hate this book. I wanted to like it a lot more than I did, which is why I have all these criticisms about it.

I recommend this to anyone who wants to read a thoughtprovoking discussion on class through the lens of one of history’s most overrated love stories (speaking as someone who loves P&P: yea it’s overrated). Read it for Zuri and Darius, who are totally different people from Elizabeth and Darcy. Read it for nostalgia, because even though I don’t know what it feels like to be one of 5 Afrolatine kids in Bushwick, I Felt that family affection.

3/5 for having great ideas but not such great execution.

[adorkablephil]

Fic: Listen (Chapter 2)

Title: Listen Rating: PG Word Count: 2.8K for this chapter Summary: Phil is a successful YouTuber, and Dan is a fan desperate for attention. Sounds like 2009, right? Except Phil is Deaf. Tags: AU, Deaf!Phil, Strangers to Friends to Lovers Author’s Note: All dates are obviously completely fictionalized, including Dan’s little subscriber count milestone. This is an AU, in case you hadn’t noticed. :) Extreme thanks to the Treehouse Mailing List for all their support and encouragement! Fic also available on AO3 here

[Masterlist of all “Listen” chapters on Tumblr]

Chapter 2: Talk to Me

danisnotonfire You said to DM you, so here I am. DMing you. This feels weird. Is it weird? I think maybe Im making it weird. 8 September 2009

AmazingPhil It’s not weird. Or if it is, that’s cool. I like weird. ;) 8 September 2009

danisnotonfire lol 8 September 2009

AmazingPhil I was interested in what you were saying about the FFVII soundtrack. Tell me more about why you like the music so much. 8 September 2009

danisnotonfire Have you lestined to it? 8 September 2009

AmazingPhil No 8 September 2009

danisnotonfire But you play the game, right? It ws in your video 8 September 2009

AmazingPhil It’s hard to explain, but I play it with the sound off. 8 September 2009

danisnotonfire ??? 8 September 2009

AmazingPhil But seriously, I’m interested. Tell me about the music. 8 September 2009

Dan’s passion for music inspired Phil to download the song “Interrupted by Fireworks” and play it loud enough that he could feel the tempo by laying his palms flat on the speakers.

After his roommates complained about the noise, he only did it again at times when they weren’t home.

AmazingPhil This is going to seem really weird, but I’ve felt awkward about bringing it up. 27 September 2009

danisnotonfire I am the king of awkward lol 27 September 2009

danisnotonfire Bring what up? 27 September 2009

AmazingPhil It’s just, we’ve been talking for weeks, and I haven’t said anything about it. 27 September 2009

danisnotonfire ??? 27 September 2009

AmazingPhil Okay, well, I’m Deaf. 27 September 2009

[a few minutes pass]

danisnotonfire You cant hear? 27 September 2009

AmazingPhil Yes, Dan, that’s what Deaf means. 27 September 2009

danisnotonfire Hey no need to be a jerk about it. I’m just surprised. 27 September 2009

danisnotonfire Why didn’t you ever say anything? 27 September 2009

AmazingPhil Well, I thought you would have figured it out from some of my videos and stuff I’ve tweeted, but then when you started talking about music, I just … 27 September 2009

[a few minutes pass]

danisnotonfire I am such an idiot. 27 September 2009

AmazingPhil No you’re not! That’s why I didn’t want to say anything! 27 September 2009

danisnotonfire why? 27 September 2009

AmazingPhil Because I liked talking to you, and I didn’t want you to be embarrassed or something. Or to maybe think I was a freak or something. 27 September 2009

[a few minutes pass]

danisnotonfire I dont think your a freak 27 September 2009

[a few minutes pass]

danisnotonfire the whole reason i started liking your videos was because you dont talk in them 27 September 2009

danisnotonfire is that weird? 27 September 2009

AmazingPhil Maybe we’re both a little weird. But I don’t mind if you don’t. :) 27 September 2009

danisnotonfire xD 27 September 2009

One of Phil’s old friends from school had gone all the way to America to attend Gallaudet University, since it was the most highly respected university for the Deaf in the world. She’d had to study ASL in advance, of course, since it was a completely different language than BSL, but she seemed to be really enjoying her studies there. Apparently the sense of Deaf community there was more than she’d even imagined in Manchester. She practically glowed when she talked about her feeling of belonging.

Phil was jealous.

He’d chosen York because of his interest in their graduate program in video postproduction, since he’d loved experimenting with film since childhood, but his isolation as an undergraduate made him wonder how well a Deaf student would be received in the graduate program. Would they even make any accommodation for him in studying what they might perceive as a definitively audio and visual medium?

He and Sharon occasionally Skyped when the time difference allowed, but she now sometimes slipped into ASL without noticing, and Phil found himself feeling like even his Deaf friends were slipping away.

AmazingPhil Maybe we could Skype sometime? I mean, I can’t talk, obviously, or hear you, but we could at least see each other in real life and not just Dailybooth pics. :] 2 October 2009

danisnotonfire How would we talk tho? 2 October 2009

AmazingPhil I don’t know. We could write on paper and hold it up or something? 2 October 2009

[a few minutes pass]

danisnotonfire ok 2 October 2009

AmazingPhil Now? 2 October 2009

danisnotonfire ok 2 October 2009

AmazingPhil YAY! 2 October 2009

AmazingPhil See you soon! 2 October 2009

Dan seemed cripplingly shy in their first Skype call. He avoided eye contact much of the time, which made communicating rather difficult, but he loosened up a bit by the end and even seemed to flirt a bit.

Phil tried really hard not to develop a crush.

He was not particularly successful.

They exchanged phone numbers and began texting constantly, not to mention the lengthy Skype calls. Dan talked about his own interest in making videos, but gloomily doubted his ability to create anything interesting or worthwhile. Phil urged him to give it a try.

15 October 2009

Phil: I think you should upload it. It’s really good. Really!

Dan: I don’t now. I’m afraid people will think its kind of weird.

Phil: Weird is kind of our thing, though, isn’t it? :p

Dan: I just dont want to look stupid or soemething. i mean it kind of sucks

Phil: Dan, it’s brilliant. I promise.

Phil: I have to ask, though. The subtitle thing. Did you do that because of me?

Dan: No. I dont know. Not really. i just liked it. I thought it looked cool.

Phil: It DOES look cool. I just didn’t want …

Dan: what?

Phil: I don’t know. I didn’t want you to be making videos for me like that just because I’m Deaf. I know that sounds stupid. Never mind.

Dan: No i now what you mean. That wasn’t why i did it. I told you i first liked your videos becuz you didnt talk in them. So I guess I liked that style, but mine is different. right?

Phil: Of course! Your style is completely different from mine! I love the old-time silent movie thing, with the title cards and everything. It’s really unique! That’s why I think it’s so brilliant!

Phil: That’s why you should definitely upload it.

Dan: really?

Phil: Absolutely!

[a few minutes pass]

Dan: ok

Dan: maybe tmorrow

When Dan uploaded his first video, Phil tweeted about it enthusiastically to encourage his own online friends and fans to check it out, and unsurprisingly people loved it.

Dan’s unique, silent film era style, complete with occasional sepia tones and use of fancy-font title cards to communicate all dialogue and narration, approached modern-day storytelling and vlogging from a completely fresh perspective. He told stories about his own life, but in a style no one had used before.

People were intrigued. Other YouTubers Phil had come to know over the years quickly began interacting with Dan on Twitter, and Dan gathered an enthusiastic audience almost right from the start.

And Dan’s looks certainly didn’t hurt. Phil tried to ignore any jealousy he felt about the amount of flirting he saw going on publicly over social media. He and Dan were friends. Maybe they flirted, but apparently Dan flirted with everyone. It didn’t mean anything.

23 October 2009

Phil: Are you going to the Halloween gathering in London next week?

Dan: no

Phil: Why not? You’re officially a YouTuber now! You should come!

Dan: I can’t

Phil: We could finally meet. That would be so cool!

Dan: I said I cant

Dan: Just drop it ok?

[a few minutes pass]

Phil: I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push or anything.

Phil: I mean, of course if you don’t want to come, that’s fine.

Phil: I just thought it would be cool to meet you in person.

Phil: I mean, you’re one of my closest friends now and we’ve never even met!

[no response]

[after an hour, Phil logs off]

Phil took the train to London and attended the Halloween Gathering on his own, but felt Dan’s absence keenly the entire time. He brought a white board and a few different colored pens so he could communicate with people more easily, and found that YouTubers were less shy about such things than the average uni student seemed to be. They seemed to find the white board an intriguing novelty and eagerly interacted with him through it.

They didn’t treat him like a freak.

Or, at least, they treated him like their own kind of freak.

He’d discovered a different community. One that wasn’t perhaps as easily familiar and comfortable as the Deaf community he’d grown up in, but a community nonetheless.

He just wished Dan had gotten to experience it, too.

He kept in touch with another YouTuber he’d met at the London gathering, a guy named PJ who had been particularly unselfconscious about using pantomime, facial expression, and the occasional impromptu prop to communicate with Phil instead of relying exclusively on words written on the white board.

Their brains seemed to work in similarly creative ways, and they collaborated on a sort of abstract short film they’d sketched out together on a series of paper napkins during dinner at the gathering. Phil was pretty proud of the way the project turned out, and PJ seemed happy with it, too. They put it up on PJ’s channel, and it got quite a bit of enthusiastic viewer response.

Dan’s blatantly passive-aggressive jealousy about the whole thing was Phil’s first hint that his own more-than-platonic interest might be reciprocated, but he tried not to get his hopes up.

13 December 2009

Dan: I can’t believe I hit 10,000 subscribers!

Phil: Yeah, well, everybody loves danisnotonfire.

Dan: really? so that includes you? ;)

Phil: Nah. Not me.

Phil: I don’t love danisnotonfire.

Phil: I love Dan Howell.

[a minute passes]

Dan: I love Phil Lester, too.

Phil finished his graduate degree in York and returned to Manchester to find himself a flat on his own. He liked the independence but also enjoyed being closer to his family again, and some of his friends from school and college had returned to the area after uni as well.

Returning to some involvement with Deaf culture encouraged Phil to gradually shift the content of his videos, as he became more comfortable openly signing anecdotes about his life, influenced no doubt by Dan’s focus on his everyday life experiences in his own videos.

Viewer response was mixed. Some of Phil’s loyal audience rolled with the changes and seemed to enjoy the more personal glimpses into his life and personality, but others left ignorant, offensive comments about deafness and sign language. He lost some subscribers. Making his content more personal had made the cruel comments feel more personal, too. But when something online hurt his feelings, he just texted a real-life person he knew accepted him just as he was, and it helped.

Being able to sign with people again made his life richer and more fulfilling … and yet he found himself looking forward to his evening Skype calls more than any real-life interactions with his old friends. His family expressed concern that this obsession with a “stranger” on the Internet wasn’t healthy, but they just didn’t understand.

Phil had fallen harder than he ever had before, and with someone he’d never even met in person.

In a strange way, Phil felt simultaneously happier and lonelier than he’d ever been.

11 June 2011

Phil: Are you going to Summer in the City this year?

Dan: no

Phil: You have a lot of fans now. I’m sure they’d like to meet you!

Phil: And there are other people who would like to meet you, too! :p

[a few minutes pass]

Phil: Dan?

[several minutes pass]

Dan: I said no. Jesus phil just leave it the fuck alone!

Phil: Hey, I’m sorry! I’m not trying to pressure you!

Phil: I’m just starting to feel like this is kind of weird. Like I have a boyfriend I’ve never even met.

Dan: weird is what we do, right?

[a few minutes pass]

Phil: Yeah. Right.

Phil: I know.

Phil: I’d just really like to meet you.

[no response]

[after a really long time, Phil logs off]

Phil attended Summer in the City on his own again, painfully aware of how much closer he was to Dan when he visited London than when he was back home in Manchester. Painfully aware that Dan not only hadn’t wanted to attend the convention, but hadn’t even responded to Phil’s desire to meet.

He talked with other YouTubers, made plans for possible future collaborations, and hugged dozens of enthusiastic fans, took hundreds of smiling selfies. But the entire time, he couldn’t help but think that Dan was only 40 miles away, instead of the usual 200. Less than an hour by train.

So near, and yet not within reach. He felt it like a physical pain.

15 June 2011

Dan: remember when you first told me you were deaf?

Phil: Yeah?

Dan: and you were afraid i woud think you were a freak

Phil: Right, but you didn’t. Right?

Dan: of course not you idiot <3

Phil: So what’s going on?

Dan: theres soemthing i havent told you

Phil: You can tell me anything. I love you. You know that.

Dan: but its really weird

Phil: Weird is what we do. <3<3<3

[several minutes pass]

Dan: i dont talk

Phil: Like you’re shy? I wondered if that might be why you wouldn’t go to the gatherings and stuff.

Dan: no i dont talk

Phil: But you talk to me all the time. I’m confused.

Dan: i mean to people. out loud. irl i don’t talk. ever

Phil: Okay.

Dan: ok?

Phil: Yeah. Okay. I mean, I don’t talk either. Are you Deaf too? Is that why you don’t talk? Why didn’t you ever say anything?

[several minutes pass]

Dan: no i’m not deaf i just dont talk

Phil: It’s okay, Dan. I just want to understand. Why don’t you talk?

[no response]

[after a very, very long time, Phil logs off]

Phil didn’t know what to do with what Dan had told him, especially since Dan had sort of dropped a bomb and then just run off without explaining anything.

One thing was clear, though. Dan didn’t like being pushed. When he wanted to talk about this—no pun intended—he would.

Because if one other thing was clear, it was that Phil was willing to wait.

6 July 2011

Dan: You havent brought it up.

Phil: What?

Dan: You havent ever asked about the talking thing.

Phil: I did. You didn’t answer.

Dan: yeah but you havent asked again since

Phil: Did you want me to?

[several minutes pass]

Dan: I dont know. maybe

Phil: Okay. Why don’t you talk?

[several minutes pass]

Dan: I havent talked since I was 8.

Phil: Wow. That’s a long time.

[a few minutes pass]

Dan: yeah

[a few minutes pass]

Phil: Is that why you never wanted to meet?

Dan: yeah i didn’t want you to think I was a freak

Phil: Dan, weird is what we do. And I’m Deaf!

Dan: Well yeah but you dont do that on purpose.

Phil: You do it on purpose?

Dan: sort of i guess

Phil: So you could talk if you wanted to, but you don’t want to?

[several minutes pass]

Phil: Dan?

[several minutes pass]

Phil: Dan, I don’t think you’re a freak. Just talk to me.

Phil: Crap. You know what I mean.

[no response]

[hours later, Phil finally logs off]

Phil did some research into muteness that someone might call “on purpose,” just wanting to understand, and found himself wondering if what Dan experienced was maybe something called “selective mutism” or maybe a “conversion disorder.” As far as he could tell, neither one was truly something anyone did purposely, but, really, if Dan didn’t want to talk about it, Phil wouldn’t be able to understand much at all. He just wanted to educate himself a bit so that if Dan ever did want to talk about it, he’d be less likely to say something stupid and make Dan shut down even more.

12 February 2012

Dan: I have a question to ask you.

Phil: Okay.

Dan: but its making me really nervous

Phil: I love you, Dan. Whatever it is, it’ll be okay. I promise. <3

[several minutes pass]

Dan: do you think maybe i could come visit you in manchester?

Phil: Skype me right now this very minute because you have to see how big my smile is! <3<3<3<3<3

[Continue to Chapter 3]

[refiningspacetime]

> THE TRADITIONAL GAME OF ASH CHICKEN [P2]

Hadean and Pheres have a long history of meddling with one another, starting when Hadean intervened with Pheres’s matesprit shortly after they first met - and rolling downhill ever since then in an ever-escalating war. Pheres’s solution to this? Meddle more intensively in Hadean’s life, until Hadean’s finally forced to admit that he can’t handle it and flees the scene entirely.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite turn out the way Pheres plans. It turns out that no one ever wins when it comes to games of ash chicken.

>CAST

invertedDissident | Hadean

refiningSpacetime | Pheres

gentleOssifrage | Kilran

PART TWO:

DAGINY,

under their false identity, Lannia / harebrainedLibrarian, messages Pheres in the aftermath to see what is happening. Pheres has been engaged in a long-term plan to sabotage Lannia's existing moirallegience, so that he can swoop in and serve as her functional rebound - helping her to better herself more than BB could've, and getting Emerel, who believes he needs a moirail, off of his back in the process.

--harebrainedLibrarian [HL] started pestering refiningspacetime [RS]--

HL: hello~! HL: I thought I would just check in on you~! Seeing how you must be having such a hard time right now~! RS: | ! | RS: | Oh | ! | RS: | I am Not Having Such a Terrible Time | But | Ah | RS: | Thank You | RS: | I have Been More Worried about You | Honestly | RS: | How Are You Doing | ? | HL: oh i'm doing perfectly well~! HL: but surely there's something wrong~! GO was being so awfully rude~! RS: RS: | Ah | RS: | It was Just a Little Tiff | RS: | GO is Rather | RS: RS: | Some Trolls Just Feel Entitled to More than Others | RS: | I Suppose It got a Touch Overblown | HL: oh no it didn't seem like something that was so terribly overblown~! i was oh so concerned~! HL: you have been so very sweet to me Pheres~! HL: i wouldn't mind lending you a listening ear~! RS: RS: RS: | That is So Kind of You | ! | RS: | Would You Really | ? | RS: | I |(edited) RS: | Would Hate to Be a Burden Upon You | RS: | I Just | Have a Great Deal of Feelings | RS: | | So Many | I have Been Told It Is | Ah | RS: | A Lot to Take In | HL: oh it's no trouble at all~! HL: i've been so grateful for a friendly word, and you've given it~! i'd love to return the favor~! RS: | Really | ? | RS: | You are So Sweet | RS: | I | RS: | Wouldn't Even Know Where to Begin | HL: please~! HL: don't worry about it~! :blush: i can set aside all the time i need for a friend~! RS: | Oh | RS: | My | ! | RS: | Well | Ah | RS: RS: | Alright | RS: | I Suppose I Don't Need to Explain about Kilran and I | RS: | It is Rather Self-Evident | RS: | But | Ah | RS: | I Suppose I Don't Need to Explain about Kilran and I | RS: | It is Rather Self-Evident | RS: | But | Ah | RS: | | I Had to Break Up with My Kismesis Recently | and I Suppose That is Why | Kilran's Illicit Fascination | has Struck Me So Personally | HL: oh dear~!! HL: that is quite rude~! HL: are you sure his fascination was pitch~! HL: it seemed to me it was quite murderous~!! RS: | | Oh | Ah | RS: | I am Certain It is Platonic | Haha | The Illicit was Just to Say | It is Rather Unseemly | RS: | to Want to Cull Someone for No Reason | HL: it really quite is~! HL: i hope that is put to rest~! HL: GO won't come looking for you, will he~? :0 RS: RS: RS: | Why Would He Come Looking For Me | ? | RS: | Haha | Ah | I Am Certain | That Would Not Be The Case | RS: | Over A Simple Internet Dispute | HL: i should certainly hope not~! HL: but we never do know what another troll is capable of~! RS: RS: | Hm | ! | RS: | Well | RS: | That Is A Thought | HL: it is~! HL: but i don't suppose you have all too much to worry about, do you~? HL: i'm sure GO is more reasonable than that~! HL: i hope so at least~! RS: | No | Haha | It is Silly of Me to Be Concerned | =:B | RS: | Thank You for that | Kind | Reminder | RS: | Kilran is Perfectly Reasonable | Underneath All of His Bile | RS: | So | It is Not Something I have to be Concerned About | I would Hope | Haha |(edited) RS: | | And I am Friendly with His Paleamour | RS: | So | Hopefully | He would Reign Him In | If He Were Not |(edited) RS: | And | By Hopefully |(edited) RS: | I Mean | RS: | He Would | I am Sure | ! | RS: | I am Fairly Certain |(edited) HL: well it's certainly reassuring to have that social insurance~! RS: | Yes | ! | RS: | Isn't It | ? | HL: it is certainly helpful~! HL: you do have other ways of protecting yourself yes~? HL: if i call correctly he is a shapeshifter right~? RS: RS: RS: | Um | Of Course I Do | ? |(edited) RS: | I | Do Not Think That He Cares That Much | About an Internet Tiff | RS: | I am Sure | ? | RS: RS: | Do You Think He Does | ? | HL: i would certainly hope not~! HL: but he also seems to me like someone who can smile quite well when he lies~! HL: so please be careful until we can say for certain~! RS: RS: | Of Course | ! | RS: | Heavens | I Just | RS: | Excuse Me for a Moment | RS: | I am Getting Emotional | But | RS: | It is So Kind of You to | Pay Attention to All of This | RS: | And Take Time Out of Your Day | to Speak with Me | RS: | I | RS: | I can't Say Many Do | RS: | And | People Have Been Being So Vicious about Kilran | RS: | I was Starting To Think | RS: RS: | Never Mind | What I Was Thinking | HL: what were you thinking~?!? HL: oh dear, has talking about all this upset you~? RS: RS: | Maybe a Little | I | RS: | Suppose I am Just Being Too | Emotional | | |(edited) HL: oh there's no such thing i say~! HL: you should feel what you feel~! RS: | Oh | ! | RS: | Oh | Heavens | RS: | | That is So Kind of You to Say | RS: | I Just | RS: | I Know I Keep Saying That | RS: | But It is Simply Outstanding | It's | RS: | | Thank You so Much | HL: oh it's no worries at all~! HL: RS: | =:) | RS: | I | RS: | This is a Little | Oh | I Hope It Isn't Too Forward | But | RS: | You have Been Awfully Kind | And | RS: | | I do Appreciate It | And the Fact You are So Interested in My Feelings | RS: | <> | HL: oh~! well~! RS: | Oh | You Don't Have to Answer | I am Sorry | RS: | That Was a Little Abrupt | RS: | And Right After | Well | You and | Lynner | | | RS: | I Suppose It was Insensitive of Me to Even Mention | RS: | But You have Always Been So Kind | and Intellectual | and Polite | Even in the Face of People's Ire | RS: | I | RS: | Thought It Ought to Be Said | HL: oh well~!(edited) HL: i think i will need some time~! HL: i mean, it is so soon after Lynner and I~! HL: but i'm very very flattered~! RS: | Oh | ! | That is Perfectly Understandable | RS: | And I Wouldn't Want It Any Other Way | RS: | There is No Need to Rush Into Things | Haha | And It Has Been Said | So | Ah | RS: | | Oh | I am Dreadfully Sorry | RS: | But | I Have a Customer Who Just Entered My Store | RS: | I Have to Go | =:( | HL: farewell~!! HL: good luck with your customer~! RS: | Thank You So Much | ! | RS| =:) | Good Light | ! | RS: | And | Thank You Again |

-- refiningSpacetime [RS] is no longer messaging harebrainedLibrarian [HL]! --

Pheres then promptly sends the message to Emerel, his matesprit, annoyed enough to try and get some advantage out of this situation:

-- refiningSpacetime [RS] is now trolling meganeNarcissus [MN]! --

RS: | Here |

-- refiningSpacetime [RS] has attached a text log! It consists of:

RS: | =:) | RS: | I | RS: | This is a Little | Oh | I Hope It Isn't Too Forward | But | RS: | You have Been Awfully Kind | And | RS: | | I do Appreciate It | And the Fact You are So Interested in My Feelings | RS: | <> | HL: oh~! well~! RS: | Oh | You Don't Have to Answer | I am Sorry | RS: | That Was a Little Abrupt | RS: | And Right After | Well | You and | Lynner | | | RS: | I Suppose It was Insensitive of Me to Even Mention | RS: | But You have Always Been So Kind | and Intellectual | and Polite | Even in the Face of People's Ire | RS: | I | RS: | Thought It Ought to Be Said | HL: oh well~! HL: i think i will need some time~! HL: i mean, it is so soon after Lynner and I~! HL: but i'm very very flattered~! --

MN: holy shit MN: wEll that EscalatEd RS: | Yes | It Did | RS: | So | I Will Give Her Two Nights | RS: | And Then Propose a Pale Date | MN: and if shE says no RS: | She Just Spoke to Me About My Feelings for Two Hours | Emerel | RS: | After Prying and Prodding For Me to Simply Open Up to Her | RS: | I am Fairly Certain She is Not Going to Say No | Haha | MN: wEll MN: .I.m glad its working out for you MN: what is shE likE RS: | Haha | Pale Romance | as I Said | is Remarkably Easy | RS: | | For Me | RS: | But | She is a Tealblood | RS: | She is Completely Awkward | RS: | But In a Charming Way | ! | And So Clever | She is a Librarian | So | Rather Like You | RS: | She Studies History as Well | ! | RS: | I am Evidently Collecting Historians | =:P | RS: | I Hope You Feel Flattered | MN: haha MN: .I. might just haVE to stEp up .MY. gamE in that casE RS: | | I shan't Object If You Do | ! | MN: .I. haVE to do somEthing to outdo all thosE othEr historians in your collEction RS: | Heavens | RS: | I Agree | =:B | You Must Prove Yourself Outstanding | to Stand Out Amongst the Crowd | RS: | But What | ? | RS: | Do I Get a Hint | ? | MN: hahaha MN: now it wouldnt bE a surprisE if .I. wEnt and told you what .I. was planning now would it MN: ;) MN: but itll bE grEat dont worry about that(edited) RS: | Winky Smilies Look Absurd | -- refiningSpacetime [RS] has attached here.jpeg! It's a picture of him beaming at his webcamera, eyebrows arched, slightly flirtatious. It'd be more flirtatious if he wasn't at his taxidermy table. -- RS: | I am Excited to Find Out | =:) | RS: | I have Missed You | By the Way | You should Come Visit Me | Outside of Your Swamp | Sometimes | Haha | MN: oh .MY. god --meganeNarcissus [MN] sent rightbackatyou.png! It's a picture of him in his kitchen striking his best seductive pose + smile combo-- MN: spEaking of MN: sincE thE musEum is still undEr rEpair MN: that mEans .I. gEt to traVEl for a bit if .I. want MN: guEss whos gEtting gracEd with .MY. prEsEncE RS: | Mm | RS: | Sipara | ? | RS: | Hadean | ? | RS: | Your Hair is Out of Place on the Top | RS: | By the Way | RS: | You Should Fix That | =:B | MN: hEy now MN: .I.ll haVE you know .I. chEckEd .MY. hair bEforEhand and its cErtifiably flawlEss MN: maybE .I.ll show you firsthand whEn .I. gEt thErE haha RS: | Nonsense | How can It Be Certifiably Flawless | When Neither of Us is a Certifier | ? | RS: | That Has to Be Done by a Professional | Emerel | =:P |(edited) MN: but what if .I.m .MY. own cErtifiEr MN: what thEn .PHERES. RS: | We have Had This Discussion | ! | One Cannot Certify Their Own Goods | RS: | It Has to Be Done by An External | Unbiased | Party | Who Does Not Have Any Profit to Gain Through the Analysis | RS: | Which is to Say | RS: | Come Visit Me | And I Will Check If Your Hair is Flawless | RS: RS: | And If It Stays Flawless | =:) | MN: uh huh MN: call .ME. crazy .PHERES. MN: buuuut .I. think you just might haVE a littlE bias thErE MN: but sincE you insist MN: .I. guEss .I.ll just haVE to pop oVEr and sEE if yourE thE rEal dEal cErtifiEr RS: | Nonsense | ! | I am Always Unbiased | RS: | And I Have No Profit to Gain | As I Said | =:) | So | RS: | Hush | MN: wE all know wE wouldnt want .ME. to haVE a hair out of placE MN: ;) RS: | Haha | RS: | Ah | RS: RS: | Right | ! | RS: | Haha \ RS: |* RS: | I Just Wanted To Let You Know | RS: | About My Successful Pale Foray | RS: | So | ! | MN: holy shit .I. missEd you MN: .I.m glad your palE foray is a rEsounding succEss MN: good job .PHER. RS: | I have Missed You as Well | RS: | This has Been a Very Long Break | Haha | MN: agrEEd MN: itll bE good to hang out RS: | It Will Be | RS: | | You Know | Um | Are You Busy Right Now | ? | RS: | Because | If You Are Not | I Could Call You | Instead | RS: | It Has Been | What | A Week Since We Have Spoken | ? | RS: | It Would Be Nice | RS: | I Think | RS: | Ah | If You Don't Mind | MN: not busy at all MN: hit .ME. up man RS: | Marvelous | RS: | =:) |

-- refiningSpacetime [RS] is no longer trolling meganeNarcissus [MN]! --

AUGUST 25TH: After a night of publicly shunning Hadean, Pheres feels some minor regrets - but mostly, he wants to set the record straight, in the most pointed way that he can.

-- refiningSpacetime [RS] is now messaging invertedDissident [ID]! --

RS: / I wanted to apologize / for the other night / ID: ID: huh. ID: and i thought the cold shoulder and pointed barb in the lowblood chat were signs you were still upset. RS: / of course I am upset / but there was no call to behave as I did / towards you / RS: / accusing you of acting ash was / unnecessary / ID: uh-huh. ID: well, i just can't seem to wrap my pan over why the two of you keep dancing around in this little hate circle is all. RS: RS: / =:/ / RS: / yes / well / we are all mystified by some things / RS: / it is a tragedy of life / RS: / are you going to insist upon continuing to stick your fronds into this / ? /(edited) ID: dnw, i had a nice chat with kilran and you don't have to worry about him bugging you ever again. ID: so. no need to stick fronds in to a matter that's resolved. RS: / ah / marvelous / ! / what about murdering me / hadean / ? / does that resolve that / ? / RS: / or / forgive me / I don't think he's out and out stated his desire for that / RS: / how is mauling / ? / =:) / ID: first you apologize for accusing me of ashing it up in here. then you complain that i'm not doing it right. ID: idk what you're wanting here pheres, tbh. =:'( ID: but he's not going to murder you. or make any jabs about maiming you. so don't worry about it. RS: RS: RS: RS: / are you attempting to be ashen / ? / just answer the question / spare me your wit / i am not interested / RS: / because if you are not / you need to /- stop -/ RS: / you told me once to say if something is bothering me / and this /- is -/(edited) ID: i'm trying to get you two to cut it out before kilran goes after you, sipara goes after him, prisma. idfk, blows us all up, and we're all a big ol corpse pile. ID: emerel probs gets involved too in there somewhere. ID: but fine. i'll stop! ID: and if you just ignore kilran like he's going to ignore you, it's all a non-issue. RS: RS: / you are amazing / RS: / heavens / RS: / would you tolerate someone speaking to you like this / ? / any time I type a message / and he happens to be online / ? / RS: / because experience says no / and I know that you / and everyone else thinks I am too meek / and too / oh / RS: /- servile -/ RS: / but then you object if I am not / ID: yeah, i'm trying to work on not punching everything that makes a comment that i take the wrong way. ID: ID: it's a work in process. but i'm p sure you do not want to be like me. ID: but. you said you're uncomfortable. so i'm stopping. lifting my fronds from the keys regarding you and kil. forbidden topic. RS: / don't phrase it like / RS: RS: / the problem here is not your meddling / if you wish to play ashen in my affairs / that is /- fine -/ RS: / the problem is that you are being unfair about it / RS: / you were not meddling when he was actively threatening me / you started meddling when I had the audacity to respond / ID: i've had talks with kilran. =:/ ID: and ullane was around for you to throw clubs at when he was saying he'd break your snout- ID: i guess i'm making excuses. ugh. RS: / ullane intervened until she became uncomfortable with the connotations of the relationship / by which I mean / with two strangers / RS: / if you would like me to ignore him / I can do so / if he finally will simply leave me alone / RS: / there is no amount of conversation from someone who has threatened you / and told you that you deserve to die in a helmsblock / that is actually friendly / RS: / it is a reminder that he can behave however he wants towards me / he can say whatever he wants / and no one will /- care -/ because he is brown / and he happens to spackle his words with enough hearts / that any objections on my part seem /- petty -/(edited) ID: i was unfair. and it was shitty of me to do. ID: so sorry for that. and sorry for last night too. ID: ID: and making you uncomfortable to begin with and just kinda. trampling on you anyways. RS: RS: / well / thank you / I was not behaving in a proper manner yesterday / either / RS: /so I suppose we are both in the wrong / ID: it can happen. i mean. ID: i've been pushing and being an ass about it. so you had a reason to be upset. RS: / well / ! / i was not being much less aggressive towards you / was i / ? / RS: / and you were / mm / RS: / trying your best / the intentions should be considered / if nothing else / RS: / so / my apologies for not taking that into consideration / RS: | And | Ahem | RS: | I Suppose I Shouldn't Have Attempted to Drag Your Good Name through the Mire | RS: | In the First Place | RS: | Given that Prisma is Your Friend | RS: | And You Have Your Own Complications Here | ID: yeah, well. intentions don't always make something good, so. ID: don't worry about being aggressive to me. ID: ID: complications. yeah, i guess so. ID: plus lately i've been having sleep difficulties so i'm not exactly. the most keen pan around. and i get. snappier and nastier. so sorry for that too. RS: | Perhaps Not | But They still Warrant Consideration | ! | RS: | And | Just Because Our Relationship is Contentious | at Points | doesn't Mean That You Deserve the Disrespect of Public Aggression | RS: | I am Sorry that You're Having Difficulties | Though | RS: | Please | Do not Apologise to Me | over That | ID: yeahhh we can. be at each other's throats a lil bit at times. ID: or a lot at times. ID: but uh. thanks for telling me you're uncomfortable and all that. and don't worry about apologizing to me about anything. RS: RS: | I | Regret Phrasing It Like That | RS: | Um | ID: it's fine, it's fine. ID: so. uh. anything else we should be talking about, or. RS: | Yes | It is Fine | RS: | But | Ah | Also | No | I Suppose It Isn't | RS: RS: | I don't Mind Your Meddling | It is | RS: | Aggravating | ! | But | Endearing | that You Care Enough to Wish to Meddle | ? | RS: | It was Uncomfortable | When I Thought You Were Leaning into Kilran's Perception | RS: | That I was Completely Unwarranted in | | Even Acknowledging the Fact He has Been Awful to Me | RS: | Or | Um | RS: | Doing Anything Except For Taking It | ? | RS: | But | You Apologised | And I Apologised | RS: | So I am No Longer Uncomfortable | ? | ID: well. good. i'm glad you're not uncomfortable and i'll watch for that stuff in the future. ID: and try not to do it. ID: so thanks for letting me know you're uncomfortable and. yeah. ID: sorry and. thanks. RS: RS: | Um | You are Welcome | And | I am Sorry | I have Gone and Made This Awkward | I think | RS: RS: | Ah | This is a Silly Question | I am Aware | RS: | But | RS: | We are Still Friends | Right | ? |(edited) RS: | Are You Alright | ? | RS: | You Seem a Little | Downcast | ID: uh. ID: ID: it's a story. and not a fun one, and probs not one you want to hear. ID: so don't worry about it. RS: | No | ! | You can Tell Me | RS: | I am Sure You Will Feel Better For It | ? | You Seem Stressed | RS: | And You have Been Trying to Help Me Out | RS: | It is Only Fair to Let Me Help You Out in Turn | ? | ID: i appreciate the thought. ID: seriously. but it's. y'know. ID: ID: an uncomfortable topic. for. ID: our kind of troll. RS: | Would You Rather not Discuss It | ? | RS: | Because | If You Would Prefer Not To | That is Fine | RS: | I am Not Pushing You | I am Just | RS: RS: | I have Heard Worse | I am Sure | Even If It is About | RS: | Something Uncomfortable | Say | Ah | Helming | ? | ID: ID: ID: yeah. err. i'm good with not discussing it. RS: | That is Fine | ! | Um | RS: | | Do Try to Find Someone That You are Comfortable Talking To About It | Though | ? | RS: | Because | It is Rather Unhealthy to Just | Bottle Things Up | ID: just, y'know. ID: er. had someone hurl some stuff at me that wasn't too fun to hear. or pics that were nice to look at. ID: ID: and i mean. idk. talking about the future with psionics. isn't always a fun time for either side. RS: | Which is Not to Say That You Have to Talk to Me Either | But | Um | RS: RS: | Oh | I am Sorry to Hear That | RS: | | I would Like to Say | What Sort of Person Does That | RS: | But | I Suppose That is Irrelevant | RS: | Were They Doing It Just to Be Cruel | ? | ID: yeah. but. uh. we were both being cruel to each other. if i'm honest. ID: but i wasn't the side dedicated enough to send. med pics. RS: | Well | Yes | I am Not Surprised by That | But | RS: | That Doesn't Mean They Should've Escalated | RS: | Or Sent You Images | ID: yeah, well. gotta drive in that whole. 'they can put your thinkpan in a jar' idea. RS: RS: | Well | That is | RS: | Absolutely Dreadful | RS: | Even If You were Being Cruel in Return | that still Did Not Warrant That | RS: | I Hope You Realise | ? | ID: ID: yeah. just been a lot going on. ID: ID: yeah, well. mmm. RS: | Don't Mmm Me | RS: | It is a Statement of Fact | RS: | People Like to Abuse the Fact We are Psionics | and We Can be Treated as Tools | RS: | There is Never an Excuse For This | It is Just Base Cruelty | and a Sign of a Small Mind | ID: yeah. and with pris eyeing up all this imp-y stuff, and that, and. other stuff. ID: it's been a lot and i've been. more of a jerk in some ways. ID: i mean. some of it is just usual jerk, but. also other jerk on top of it. RS: | Oh | Yes | the Imperial | Canary | Thing | RS: | | You are Under a Great Deal of Stress Lately | I am Sorry | =:( | RS: | From Every Corner | It Sounds Like | RS: | Are You | Ah | Taking Care of Yourself | ? | RS: | Trying To | ? | ID: uh. i mean. yeah. ID: other than the sleep. work in progress there. ID: and i'm working on getting over all the stress. so. RS: | Mm | Do You Know What Helps Me in Alleviating Stress | ? | ID: nope. what? RS: RS: | Ah | My Apologies | RS: | I was Dragged Into Another Conversation | RS: | Unfortunately | ID: =:??? you okay? RS: | Not Especially | ! | Moirails are An Abomination | and So is the Entire Concept of That Relationship | RS: | But | One Must Do What One Must Do | RS: | | I am Being | As Sipara Would Say | RS: | Petulant | Forgive Me | RS: | Ah | What I Do to Alleviate Stress | Haha | RS: | is Go Out | or Distract Myself | ! | =:) | ID: hey, sometimes you gotta vent it out a little. no bottling it up, like you said. RS: | | I Suppose That is Fair | =:B | ID: i try to distract myself, but then when i stop i just. return to whatevs i was stressing about? RS: | Hm | RS: | Why do You Think That Is | ? | ID: ...idk. usually something just. happens that reminds me of the worry. RS: | Are You Ever Actually | Addressing | These Worries | ? | ID: i mean. not all worries are. addressable. ID: i'm working on some of it with sips. ID: ID: and her. nerd knowledge. RS: RS: | Good | ! | If the Both of You Are Suitable | Then | Ah | I Suppose | She Might Be Able to Help You with More | than Just the Nerd Parts | ? | RS: | To Use Your Words | Not Mine | Haha | RS: | I Have Always Found Her Nerdiness Rather Endearing | In a Stupid Bug Way |(edited) RS: | What Sort of Worries Do You Have that You Think are Not Addressable | ? | ID: ID: uh. ID: it's impressive, at least. ID: but. umm. ID: ID: hard to describe. worries about myself, that's all. RS: | Oh | RS: | About Conscription | ? | RS: | I have Worried About That a Great Deal as Well | RS: | It is an Alarming Thought | Isn't It | ID: ...yeah. ID: p alarming. RS: | | I suppose the Best Suggestion on That is to Just | RS: | Think of the Worse That Could Happen | ? | RS: | Analyse It | Embrace It | Figure Out How You could Make It Less Awful | RS: | And Then | Think of the Best Thing that Could Happen | ? | RS: | Regardless of If It Can or Not | RS: | And Accept | You Will Likely Achieve Something in the Center of Those Two Things | RS: | It is Easier Said than Done | But That is What I Do | ID: well. i can. try. ID: whatever in the middle of those things is. ID: ID: thanks. RS: | It will Feel Impossible the First Time | RS: | But | Ah | Each Time You Attempt It | ID: i'm having trouble just figuring out which end is the worst. RS: | It will Get Easier | and Everything will Feel More Tolerable | with Each Attempt | I Think | RS: | Until It is Less Devastating to Consider | RS: RS: | Um | RS: | Can I Ask | ? | ID: ...brain in a jar or. like. ID: ID: idk. lab experiment. who knows what they do in programs. i mean. not like they'd ever tell us the scary bits. RS: RS: RS: | Um | RS: | | If It is Any Consolation | However Small | I Do Not Think | Ah | RS: | They Would | Put | Your Brain in Anything | ? | RS: |We Are | Lucky | Enough Not To Be The Sort Of Lowbloods Who | Ah | Are Useful | RS: | For That Sort Of | Thing | ID: fair. i don't know much about. ID: brain jarring. ID: ID: so yeah. i'll try it tho. RS: | I | Try Not To Know Anything About | Ah | Brain Jarring | RS: | But | Well | There Is Only So Many Times Someone Can Say | That Sort Of Thing | RS: | Before You Have To Gain Information | ID: i'm just. trying to get my info from sips. less graphic pics that way. ID: ID: soz if i'm like. y'know. making you uncomfortable with this topic. RS: | You Are Not | ! | RS: | If I Was Uncomfortable with the Topic | I Would Hardly Be Able to Stand Being Around Riccin | ID: fair enough. ID: but i'll, uh. let you go? i got food to eat and. stuff to think about now. RS: | Yes | Do Not Let Me Hold You Away from Eating | RS: | I Think Laledy Rather Expects Me to Distribute Food for Him Now | Anyway | Haha | RS: | | Feel Better | RS: | ! | Or Try | I Suppose |

-- refiningSpacetime [RS] is no longer messaging invertedDissident [ID]! --

[papermoth-bird-blog]

Red, Blues & the Greyhound bus to Nashville

Most people, when I said I was going to take the bus between my stops, gave me a very strange strange look. As if to say “why would you subject yourself to that?” or “I’m worried about you.” I have no regrets though. Truly, I set out to get an authentic understanding about what is going on in the American south right now, and let me tell you, I certainly have been learning a lot. Now, of course, in all my stops I’ve landed in blue cities in Red States, so I’ve felt quite sheltered for the most part. But there is no way better to learn, then riding the bus.

Now leaving New Orleans was difficult, I’ll tell you. Not just because I had such a great time there, but because my new friends were literally getting ready for the WITCHES BALL as I was packing up my bag. It was like the city was dangling the carrot begging me to stay. On top of that- Will Smith showed up and played the preservation hall. I mean--- New Orleans just has to stop flirting with me. It’s too much. As a matter of fact, it was like the city was holding on to me. My bus was supposed to leave at 9:30 pm, but it ended up leaving half past midnight. I didn’t mind, I knew the bus wasn’t going to glamorous or fun persay. I wanted to see the landscape/ people-scape change as I moved through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama & Tennessee. It was palatable too.

I mean, I don’t know if other places are like this, but from my time on bus’ in Canada, I’ve never been made to get off before. Here you do- At every. single. stop. Which is tedious to say the least. My ticket originally said I just had stop in Mobile, Alabama, for an hour. As it turned out, we actually had an hour long stop in Mobile, Montegomery, Birimgham (maybe another one too?). Each time we stopped for a while, the bus would be emptied out & cleaned from top to bottom. I which is nice, but how messy could they possibly get in two hours?The stop in Mobile ended up being more like 5 hours- because we missed the connecting bus. I didn’t really mind (I mean, I sighed up for it & all I could do was go with it, being negative wouldn’t change the situation & I wasn’t even tempted to be).

Most people were grumpy though, if I’m being honest. Those poor greyhound people, I think every person going through those terminals, particularly in Alabama, was swearing and cursing those greyhound staff. They were grumpy about all kinds of stuff- but mostly because of that missed connection. 

There really were ‘all-kinds’ on that bus. Joining up in New Orleans, there was a whole group (of maybe 20) parents & children coming into the country (via Texas) for the first time. In Nola, a man and a woman, rushed towards them, handing out supplies & fruit & a manner of many other small items. It was clear they were migrating because they all had the same lime green totes, with the name of a charity that helps with these things printed on them. We parted ways in Montgomery, where many of them continued on to Atlanta or Florida. 

In Birmingham, I mostly occupied my time with watching videos Eli was sending me about Tulum. (Which I think is growing on me as a destination). I made small talk with a guy next to me who (I didn’t realize until later) was wearing a shirt with a confederate flag on it, that said something like “never apologize for your past”. He asked me where I was coming from and where i was going & I told him. In regards to Nashville, he said “Oh, yeah I like it up there. They are a lot more polite than in places like down here.” He also told me he’d always wanted to go to Canada, but couldn’t (he learned at the boarder one time) “on account of my convictions”- which turned out to be 3rd degree assault & battery. I didn’t really ask more questions. 

Maybe it was a fluke, maybe not, but I also found the amount of people wearing the colour red was super unusually numerous. Like everyone, white people, people of colour, old, young. Maybe it’s a style choice, but I definitely noticed it in Birmingham. Our stop in Birmingham also ended up being a lot longer than we initally thought it would be because the police wouldn’t let our bus leave. They picked out a couple of white guys in the back (who had been with me since Mobile) who were both wearing red shirts & grey hoodies (my co-incidence, I dont think they knew eachother). They were both asked to leave the bus, where they were searched for weapons. When they got back on, they were both making a fuss, saying that the cops were trying to figure out if they were “in the brotherhood” or not. The brotherhood, of course, being the Klu Klux Klan. Which made me both uncomfortable & way more aware. I mean, I was one of the only white people on the bus (definitely the only white woman on the whole trip), and if it made me uncomfortable, I can’t imagine what it would have felt like otherwise. The bus driver, who was a black woman, then got up to warn us that she would have “no tolerence for any kind of nonesense” and that she would kick anyone off if she felt any trouble from them. It had me kind of on edge, but it turned out fine.

I did sleep for the most part. I mean, it was a night bus anyways, but I didn’t feel like anyone else was feeling super chatty. (okay, that may be a lie. A guy that was on his way to rehab in Colombus kept offering me peanut butter sandwhiches. Actually, he was one of the people accused of being in the KKK. Maybe it was me that wasn’t feeling chatty- I was doing my best to observe.) In Huntsville, a young man came and sat next to me. His speech was super slurry, and I couldn’t easily understand him. He did keep making conversation with me. Then he started crying. The whole way to Nashville. He was messaging back & forth with a girl, who clearly broke his heart in someway. As if sitting next to a crying, stranger wasn’t awkward enough. He couldn’t read that well, so he kept turning to me ASKING ME TO READ THE MESSAGES to him. Which of course, would make him burst out into tears all over again. Texts including “N ya. that’s y I dnt wanna b wit u” & “I do got luv for u. Just nt as a couple”. He then kept voice memo-ing her stuff including “That’s fucked up!” over and over again. It started to feel like I was breaking up with this guy. This strange, strange, socially awkward person. I try not to pity people, because I think that is a sentiment that can be disempowering for the subject. Not going to lie tho, I felt a lot of pity for that guy. Honestly, I felt a lot of relief too, when we finally got to Nashville.

I haven’t explored too much yet- I mean- It’s 8am on the morning after my bus rolled in (a good 7hrs after it said it would). I did wander just a little to find Two Boots pizza-which was relatively near by. Two Boots is the pizza chain that Leon (Asa’s cousin) family owns. It’s a cajun, pizza place- the two boots being Louisiana & Italy. So I got a calzone & tried not to feel sad about the fact that I wasn’t in New Orleans anymore. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I have a good feeling about Nashville. Definitely crush worthy too. The mountains that hug this city were beautiful to watch with the setting sun. I do feel a sense of land-locked-ness, which I wasn’t necessarily expecting, but I think that’s my spoiled east-coast girl showing. Nashville has a really good energy about it. Bubbly, a little hooky for sure, but friendly as ever. I already feel much more comfortable walking around at night here.  I’m gonna do my best to get my country music fix here- I can tell it won’t be hard- there are honky-tonks everywhere.

[paige-writes]

Behind the Mic (chapter 2)

A voltron college!au fic between Shiro and Lira (OC)

Lira felt dead on her feet. Morning classes were always a hassle and made her and just about 98% of the school feel like zombies. Kudos to the rest who actually liked getting up at 7 am.

After walking into her creative writing class, Lira trudged up the steps to the middle section of the seats. The front was where basically everyone got picked to answer questions, and in the back you could barely hear the professor speak, so the middle was the only option in Lira’s case. After choosing a random row, Lira sat down as if a weight was strapped to her shoulders. She laid her head down in her arms in an attempt to get a few extra minutes of sleep before class started, but was soon woken up by someone tapping her shoulder.

Obviously annoyed, Lira turned her head to the side to see this perpetrator, only to bolt upright when she was faced with the same guy she bumped into yesterday. Since when was he in this class!? Okay, calm down Lira. He’s just a good looking guy you were just ogling after he made you fall. No big deal. Just….talk.

“H-Hi.” Okay, you stuttered.

“Hey,” he replied. “Did I wake you?”

“No, n-not at all! I was just resting a bit….” Lira tapped her hands on the table, thinking of what to say next. “So….what’s going on?”

“Oh, nothing. Just wanted to return these.” Lira stared at him confused until he reached into his bag and pulled out the same bag of mini Oreos that she’d dropped yesterday. “You, uh, left them behind, and I didn’t want to throw them away. I figured I’d give them to you since we’re in the same class.” He slid the package to Lira, who hesitantly took it in her hands. He….actually saved them for her. “Thank you,” she said. The guy smiled in response. “I’m Takashi Shirogane, by the way. You can call me Shiro, though.” Lira found herself smiling back. “Lira Evans. Nice to meet you.”

The opening of the classroom door signaled that the teacher was here. She began class by saying that everyone was to write a poem. “Since we have been on the topic of poetry for the past couple of weeks,” she said, “I wanted you all to try your hand at it yourselves.” There was a synced groan from the students that the professor ignored. “Your poems will be due next Friday and everyone will be presenting them.” Another groan from the class, one that Lira heavily emphasized. One thing that was worse than talking to one stranger was talking to multiple of them. She was never good at it; her throat always dried up, her hands would get clammy, and she would stutter tremendously. It was easy to avoid up until now when it was mandatory.This was going to be loads of fun.

Shiro noticed Lira’s look of distress and gave her a pat on the shoulder. “It won’t be that bad,” he assured. Lira sighed. “I hope so.”

“If you need help we could always work on these poems together.”

Lira felt her ears heat up slightly after he said that, because the one thing that romance films have taught her growing up was that working on schoolwork together meant ‘study date’, and study dates didn’t really include a whole lot of studying in those films. Lira instantly shook her head. “I-I think I can do this on my own. Thank you, though.”

The teacher gave the rest of the period to the students so that they could brainstorm their poetic ideas. Most of them sat around and did nothing while the rest got to work. Lira stared at her blank notebook, then to Shiro who was doing the same. He was twirling his pen in his hand, in complete focus. Sighing to herself for what felt like the umpteenth time that morning, Lira reached into her backpack and retrieved a leather-bound photo album and started to look through it for some sort of inspiration. Shiro noticed her movements out of the corner of his eye and switched his gaze to her, then to her album. There were various photos ranging from nature to antiques at a pawn shop and everything in between.

“You’re a photographer?” he asked, pointing to Lira’s album. Lira nodded, then explained how she was an art major in the photography field. “I do draw a little from time to time,“ she said, "but photography is what I’m mostly good at. There’s just so much to capture in one frame. Even a simple photo of a leaf could have a special meaning, although in my opinion the perfect photo is all about angling and precision. You have to hold your camera just right at a certain degree to get a perfect shot, and even after that there’s always the option of the right filter and—” Lira cut herself off when she saw Shiro staring at her, his cheek resting in one of his hands with a smile plastered on his face.

Heat quickly rose to Lira’s pale cheeks. “Oh no,” she said, making Shiro’s smile disappear into a puzzled expression, “I’m sorry, I’m rambling again. God, this always happens!”

“No, no,” Shiro replied, his smile returning. “Don’t be sorry, Lira. You’re passionate about photography, something you love. It’s cute that you like to talk about these things so openly.” Cute? Shiro thought it was cute? Well that was certainly one way to put it.

"I’m….flattered. Usually someone would tell me to stop talking by this point, but you don’t seem to mind at all.” There was a brief silence, both students not knowing how to continue this awkward conversation. It ended up finishing with just that, and the two resorted to writing their poems.

“Bonne après-midi my fellow listeners at Altea University! Welcome back to another daily segment of ‘Advice Corner’. I’m your host, A. It’s that time in the semester again where everyone crams and gathers in the library. Yes, it’s almost time for midterms. Grab your textbooks and your coffee and get studying! And if any of you need to vent or get advice, just send in a call and I’ll listen. Oh, and it looks like we have our first caller. Good afternoon fellow listener. How can I make your day feel A-Okay?”

The line was silent for a second before a male voice broke through.

“Uh, hi A. Man, these midterms are gonna kick my ass. Got any advice on how to not be too stressed?”

“Of course. It’s true that stress can’t be relieved altogether, especially with tests, however there are a few ways to clear your head in these trying times. Go outside for a breather if you feel cramped inside or are in need of a break. Listen to a calming soundtrack made for studying for concentration. Maybe take a hot shower or drink a warm beverage afterwards so that you feel more at ease. I know that when I’m stressed, I always put on my favorite fuzzy pajama pants.”

“Ah, these sound like good ideas. Thank you, A.”

“No problem, mon amie. Glad to help. Okay, next caller!”

Lira stretched in her chair, a strangled noise leaving her throat. Another successful segment, and now it’s back to classes.

As Lira left the office building, she heard her phone vibrate multiple times in her bag. Oh yeah, she’d forgot to silence it before starting the segment. Taking it out while she walked back to campus, she saw that it was yet again a text from Anita, and this time she made a group chat with Pidge included.

Art Nerd (Anita): liraaaaaaa

Pidge(on): llllliiiiiirrraaaaa

Art Nerd(Anita): answer ur phone dammit

Art Nerd (Anita): if ur asleep then wake uuuuuup

Pidge(on): pls dont be dead liraaaaaaa

Not-So-Social (Lira): Guys im fine. Just busy.

Pidge(on): OH MY GOD SHE LIVES

Art Nerd (Anita): PRAISE

Not-So-Social (Lira): Yes yes im alive, but what’s with the group chat? Usually you guys don’t make one unless….

Not-So-Social (Lira): oh no

Not-So-Social (Lira): Guys. This better not be what I think it is.

Art Nerd (Anita): sHIT! pidge shes onto us!

Pidge(on): welp. might as well come clean then. lira, the three of us are going out on Saturday. and when i say three, i mean THREE. not three and then one chickens out at the last minute.

Not-So-Social (Lira): Hey!

Art Nerd (Anita): shes not wrong tho. lira, we know u dont like interacting with other people, but at least spend time with us! we feel bad that ur holed up in ur apartment all the time and god knows we dont want u looking like casper the ghost. hell even pidge leaves her computer once in a while, even if i DO have to drag her away.

Art Nerd (Anita): and i mean it both metaphorically and physically

Not-So-Social (Lira): She goes out with you because you’re dating

Art Nerd (Anita): point taken

Pidge(on): COMING BACK TO OUR INITIAL TASK, it’d be nice to have some fun before we all have to hibernate and cram, and it’s not like we’re going to one of those sketchy frat/sor parties. we’ll go somewhere that’s nice and doesn’t leave us smelling like tequila and pot.

Not-So-Social (Lira): I’m pretty sure I don’t have a choice, but not smelling like tequila and pot sounds great in my book. Fine, send me the details when you guys can.

Art Nerd (Anita): YES

Pidge(on): we knew you’d come around. we’re irresistible >:)

Not-So-Social (Lira): I feel like I’m gonna regret this….

**chapter 3 coming soon!**

Translations

bonne après-midi (French) - good afternoon

mon amie (French) - my friend