#and like okay time to get sappy and corny as hell in the notes so go ahead and skip this part idk who even reads my notes hello

[spikeyjo]

also uh im kind of not thinking about it much because its insane. but if everything goes right (and i mean a considerable amount of things that probably wont go as planned) but if they DO... i will have a major surgery in like two weeks

[moonspower]

Is Vi the type to write love letters? Does he like receiving them?? What sort of things would he put in one?

✨ @pluviacuratio ty!

this is an astrology heavy blog so time for some birth chart lore. virote’s venus sign aka the love sign is in the 3rd house. the 3rd house is ruled by mercury [ hey, his grandfather! lolll ] and signifies communication, spoken word, written word, etc. because ppl w. their venus in the 3rd rely on their ability to communicate, it’s very likely they’ll send love letters to their partner… so yeah. vi! and he likes to receive them, too. :) he’s actually never gotten one before.

virote’s love letters are a bit unique in that they aren’t hefty on the romance.

his love letters are very, very casual by design.

they’re actually v PLAYFUL. for as mature as he is a lot of the time, his love letters have a playful, im forreal ur homie kind of element to them.

he really likes writing a couple of pages about ordinary, mundane things. like some funny childhood stories or what he’s thinking about. something about the bird he saw in the morning eating a french fry. or how he found a new brand of jellybeans that he really likes. how he thinks about you whenever he sees a certain color. how he thinks you’ll like the new tea blend he bought from a little shop around the corner from his workplace cuz it has strawberry notes.

asking you if you’re okay.

also asking you what kind of jellybeans you like. then he’ll have like a whole paragraph about jellybeans. then having a side tangent on how he hates some guy he has to work with on a project klgfjgkld. lotsa shit talking.

occasionally he’ll get sappy, but it’s not really his style. he doesn't like sap too much, it's rarely ever executed in a way he finds tasteful and not corny as hell.

[sammyboyimagines]

may I request a Steve Harrington x Reader smutfic :) The Reader has powers like el’s but Steve doesn’t know this so when it comes time they do the ✨devils tango✨ their powers end up going off. :))

omg anon this is an amazing request and I may have got a little carried away. thank you for this request!

Pairing: Steve Harrington x afab!reader

Summary: Reader has powers but hides them from Steve. After a series of weird light flickers and random dropping objects, Steve finally understands his girlfriend's secret. 3.8k words

Warnings: 18+ NO MINORS (i will call ur mom, go play outside or something). Steve is very corny, very sappy. Both reader and Steve are lovesick. This a very VERY FLUFFY SMUT FIC. Swearing, unprotected sex (wrap it folks), light hair-pulling kink, pet names (baby, sweetheart), insecure reader, self-doubt. sweet sweet fluff and smut. Established relationship.

the warnings are messy, I realize that but I don't want to change it so I'm very sorry. Also, anon I hope you don't mind that I made the reader a bit insecure about their powers?

"Hey, beautiful" 

You read Steve's note that he had passed to you during your class. He was lucky Mrs. Johnson wasn't looking or he'd be knee-deep in extra work to get out of detention. While the small smiley face at the end of the signed note made you warm inside, you gave Steve a look that said, "you're such an idiot."

You enjoyed Steve's antics as much as anyone else did, but it still bothered you when he would purposefully get himself into trouble to amuse you. 

Even if it was adorable...

To everyone else, your relationship with Steve was a classic case of girl-next-door meets boy-next-door. But the truth was you were hiding a dark secret. One that you had trained yourself to keep deep inside your mind.

You had special abilities. If you dared to tell anyone, they'd consider them gifts. But you couldn't feel more alienated. After all, you were attending Hawkins High and dating Steve Harrington. 

'King Steve'

 But in Steve's opinion, you couldn't be more perfect; hell he'd say you were the hottest girl in school. You were never seen without Steve either holding your hand or following behind you like a lost puppy. It made your heart melt every time someone mentioned the heart eyes Steve gave you when you weren't looking. However, it also made you incredibly nervous.

Having powers wasn't fun when you could accidentally use them in public settings. Even worse; in front of your perfect boyfriend and his 'perfect' friend group inside your 'perfect' school. You knew of Steve's experiences with the Hawkins Lab. It gave you chills just thinking about your life before you escaped. He had told you about Eleven, and you tried your best to pretend like you didn't have a clue of what horrors lay behind the closed doors in that lab. It was one of the best days of your life when it finally closed down. You chose to stay ignorant about the Eleven business; you'd convinced yourself it was better this way.

Steve hadn't noticed a thing, and you wouldn't have it any other way. He never noticed how the lights would flicker a little when you got excited or scared. You'd play it off with something along the lines of "stupid electricity," and he'd brush it off just as you did. 

Just like you wanted

You weren't trying to lie to him, but you thought it was okay if you didn't tell the full truth. What he doesn't know can't hurt him.

"Psst!" Steve shoved another folded lined paper note onto your desk. You smiled and checked if the coast was clear. Mrs. Johnson was asleep, her head laid on her desk as her warm coffee grew cold. 

"Meet me at our spot? :)" Steve was staring at you from his desk next to you, his head resting on his elbow. You crumbled the note up and rolled your eyes. As much as some time away from class sounded amazing, you already had a D in Mrs. Johnson's class, and you'd be dead if you failed a class. Steve wasn't paying attention to the schoolwork piled on his desk. He was too hypnotized by the way your outfit hugged your body in a way that made him practically drool over you. Then again, you could be wearing anything and he'd react the same way.

Steve tapped your foot with his own. His big brown eyes were your weakness and you hardly got your way when he would beg you with puppy eyes. "Fine." you mouthed before you shot your hand up to ask for the bathroom. Steve was watching the clock, timing the perfect moment so nobody would suspect you were meeting each other.

Just as promised, you walked to your 'spot' which was an empty janitor's closet Steve had found while you two hid from your responsibilities and classes. You fumbled for the lights and eventually switched them on, just in time for Steve to walk in. 

"Been waiting for this all day", Steve's hands were immediately on your waist before you had a chance to say anything. He mumbled sweet compliments as he pressed soft kisses against your neck. "We've only been at school for 3 hours.." your laughs made him beyond happy, but he was too worked up to focus.

"Exactly, all day." he gently held your face in his hands. "You're so gorgeous." Steve was always very honest with you, it was something he wanted in his relationships after Nancy. It made you sick to your stomach each time you remembered that you were hiding your abilities from him, but you hoped he would understand.

Steve's hands ran up and down your body, practically worshiping your body over your clothes. "What did I do to deserve you?" with that he slid his hands up your top as he made out with you. You pushed his hair out of his face as he peppered small kisses along your jawline. "Just making out for now, okay?" you mumbled, feeling him nod against your warm body. 

"Of course, babe, whatever you want is fine with me." Steve had no issue with whatever you wanted to do, he just loved spending time with you. His large hands held your waist as he pulled away from your lips for air. "Maybe we could just spend the rest of school in here, hangin' out. You were distracted, to say the least, you hadn't said anything for the last few minutes.

"Babe? Are you okay?" he held your hands in his own, his small smile bringing you out of the depths of your mind. Steve never wanted you to feel pressured to do anything, and he knew when you weren't telling him something. 

Your eyes couldn't meet his as he tried to reach out to you. You felt guilty, but you couldn't bring yourself to tell him. Steve knew something was up, he never wanted to make you feel like you couldn't have secrets. When he met you, he immediately felt safe around you, like he could tell you anything. He always wanted to have someone trust him enough to tell him everything. And he got it, he got you. 

Steve looked at your puzzled face and felt himself frown. He cared for you, he was in love with you. He hadn't told you yet, but he made up for it by showering you with affection, gifts, and compliments. He wanted to tell you, more than anything. He just never found the proper moment.

"Steve, can I tell you something?" he felt his stomach drop. Were you breaking up with him? 

"Yeah, of course, anything." he clasped his hands in yours tightly, holding onto you as if he was going to lose you any second. You smiled at his nervousness. "I'm not going to break up with you, don't worry." You watched him physically untense against your body. 

"Are you pregnant? his eyes were darting over your face, looking for any kind of hint from your body language. "No! I'm not pregnant. Just let me talk!" your laugh gave him some sense of comfort. It always had been a comfort for him, even if you didn't like your laugh. His day would always get better the moment he was able to make you laugh. It was his favorite part of each day. He listened attentively, his intense glare making you slightly nervous. 

Your hands were clammy and gripping Steve's impossibly tighter. "Let's say that I have a secret, and I don't want to tell you because it could make you think differently of me." Steve normally refrained from interrupting you, he hated when people would talk over you and he always noticed how upset it made you. But he couldn't stop himself.

"Y/n, baby. You don't have to tell me. I trust you." Steve's comforting brown eyes looked into yours, letting you know he was genuine. "I trust you completely." you would have melted to the floor if you weren't so incredibly nervous. You nodded in response, eternally grateful to have found such a considerate person to spend your time with.

"I have something to tell you too, if it's okay with you?" he sits on the floor with you, wanting to have your full attention before he confessed. 

"You're not breaking up with me, are you?" you laughed, making him smile. Steve watched you, he couldn't think of a better way to spend his time with you, making you laugh.

"No, actually the opposite." he ignored your confused face and took a deep breath as he wiped his hands on his jeans nervously. "I've been thinking about this for a while and I think I should tell you. You don't have to say it back or anything." he stood up, his legs feeling restless.

Steve had been working up to this moment for an entire week. He even practiced in front of his mirror. "I'm just gonna start by saying that you look so beautiful today. Not that you don't look beautiful every day!" he stutters out, making you smile. It was heartwarming how flustered he was when talking about his feelings.

"I've spent so long looking for someone like you, and I want you to know how much I appreciate you. You're gorgeous but what I really like about you is how...great you are." he chuckles nervously. He was at a loss for words all of the sudden. You could tell he was stuck in his thoughts. "Steve baby just tell me, you can tell me anything." 

He chuckles. "That's what I like about you." he sighs and sits back down, building up for a dramatic finish to his nervous monologue. "I'm in love with you, Y/n. I have been more months, you're my everything and I just want to be with you every second of every day." he brushes the hair out of his face and waits patiently for a response.

You were expecting something upsetting, but it was a pleasant surprise. "I love you too, Steve." despite it being a small step in your relationship with Steve, it felt like everything had changed. As if you both fell more in love with each other. 

"I have a surprise for you later, we should probably get back to class." Steve helped you up and pulled you in for a long kiss. After a good amount of time, he pulled back for air. "I am so in love with you, Y/n." the lights flickered. You let it slip and the lights flickered from the pure excitement and love flowing through your veins. Steve jumped out of habit. "Stupid lights probably need to be replaced." you were frantically thinking of something to say to get back on topic.

"It's okay, we'll find a better closet." he chuckles. Steve left first so nobody would see both of you coming out of the small room at once.

After school, you hurried to Steve's car while he was jamming out to the radio. "Ready to go?" you slip into the passenger seat and admire his strange dancing. "Earth to Steve.." you wave a hand in front of his face, making him turn down the radio and turn his body to face you. "Before we go, I just want to say you look fucking amazing today. I love you." Steve was obviously laying it on thick, but you enjoyed it if you were honest with yourself.

"Mm, let's go to your house then. You can show me how much you love me." Steve took that as his cue to take off. "Yes, ma'am."

When you got to Steve's place, you hardly closed the door before his lips were attached to your neck, giving you several love bites from your jaw to your collarbone. You let out small moans, from the satisfaction of finally being alone with him and the passionate affection from Steve. He loved hearing your noises, they only fueled the butterflies in his stomach when he remembered hearing "I love you too" leave your lips.

Steve had you pressed against the wall, his hard-on pressed against your thigh as he cupped your face. "See how much you affect me? It's like I can't get you out of my head," he mumbled against your lips, only millimeters from yours, building the tension between your bodies.

"I love you, Steve. I can't get you off my mind either." you knew exactly how to work him up. And it was definitely working. 

"Jesus, you can't say those things.." he chuckles at how pathetically whipped he was for you. "We haven't even kissed yet, Steve." you thought it was hot that he was so worked up he forgot to kiss your lips.

He mentally scolded himself for not realizing it. "Let's change that." He took your face in his hands as he kissed you with a new passion, a more intense feeling of love, not lust. Pure love.

Wrapped up in the hot kiss, you were surprised when he picked you up with his large hands holding your ass. "I could hold you like this all day." he chuckles and kneads the soft skin of your ass and thighs before he gently set you down on his large bed. A perk of going to his house was that his parents were seldom home. He had the entire house to himself. Which meant sex anywhere, anytime. 

"Fuck, gotta get all these clothes off of you.." he helped you take your clothes off before he took off his own. "Have I ever told you that you're beautiful?" he smiled when you raised an eyebrow.

"Every day, but maybe you should tell me again." you laid beneath Steve, your hands tangled in his hair as he made out with you. Normally you would have begged him to get to the point but tonight was a different mood. You desired him, not just his body. To feel his arms around you, his warm breath against your neck whispering sweet nothings as he ran his hands up and down your delicate skin, feeling every scar and mark you had. 

Steve wanted the same thing. He wanted you to understand that he was yours completely. He had been searching for somebody to be with for life. Someone to share every moment and milestone in his life. He wanted to be there for you, to be the one to make you happy, pleasure you, comfort you. He needed you, possibly more than you needed him.

"You are my everything, Y/n. You're all I need. All I want." Steve knew he was being super sappy right now, but he didn't care. Like clockwork, you knew just what to say to make him melt. 

"I'm yours, Steve. I want this." that was the breaking point. He wasn't going to hold back now that he knew you felt the exact same. His hands groped your breasts, sinking down to suck on them as his right hand slid down to your pussy, cupping it gently.

Your moans only turned him on more. He smirked against the soft skin of your tits, his fingers lightly brushing against your clit. Your hips jerked up to meet his hand. "I barely touched you, sweetheart.." he looked at your flushed face. He revels in the blissed look across your face. Even though he teased, he adored you in every way.

His middle finger slid inside you, he watched the way your mouth gaped open and you let out a shaky moan. He added another, thrusting his two fingers inside you quickly, relishing in the way you moaned his name so sweetly. "Fuck Steve!" you gasped when he added yet another finger, three digits pumping into you with force. 

"C'mon baby, I can feel you tightening around my fingers. You're making such a mess." the way he encouraged you and degraded you at the same time made you a mess in his grasp. You felt like you couldn't move like you were under his spell. His mouth moved to your neck, leaving more hickeys across your heated skin. 

"Cum for me baby I know you're so close. Give it to me," he repeated that last sentence, groaning softly into your ear as he rubbed his hard-on into his mattress. Your hips were rolling to meet the fast pace of his fingers, and you could hear him panting quietly in anticipation. Steve was just as turned on as you. He could die happy just watching you.

Your legs were starting to shake already, and you grew closer to your release with each sweet kiss Steve placed on your tits and neck. "Oh god Steve keep going.." he nodded against your skin. Your orgasm ripped through your body. Your whole body felt like it was on fire like electricity was running through you. You let out a strangled loud moan as Steve rode you through your orgasm. 

"So good for me," he pulled his fingers out, smiling when you whimpered from the empty feeling it gave you. He licked his fingers clean, noticing the way you squirmed as you watched him. 

"Please. Need you so bad.." you begged for him, your limbs feeling shaky as excitement coursed through your veins. Steve felt on fire too. Steve pumped his cock a little bit, already hard and longing to feel your warm walls surrounding him as he pounded into you.

He caged his body over yours, his hands holding your wrists against the mattress. "Are you okay with this?" he gave you soft loving kisses, wanting to be as genuine as possible before he had his way with you. With your permission, of course.

"Yes, please Steve fuck me. Been waiting all day.." you let your head fall back onto the mattress as you whined out a pathetic beg. He smirked and kissed your head. "I won't keep you waiting then." he was very thankful you were on the pill, so he could feel the way you squeezed him before your release. He loved being so intimate with you.

Steve could barely keep his composure as he admired the way you laid underneath him, your chest rising and falling as you gasped out desperate tiny moans when he teased your entrance. "Stop teasing.." you whined out, your hips grinding against his cock to create some friction.

He inhaled sharply at the feeling. "Alright baby, behave." he pushed into you slowly, groaning your name softly. He felt you wiggle your hips again. "Eager aren't we?" he chuckles, out of breath a little bit. He was trying to hold back from thrusting into you with such force. 

"Just fuck me already, I want you so bad." with that, he thrust into you as your nails dug into his shoulders. Steve could hardly think, the way your pussy felt against him made him weak in the knees. It was like you were made for him. It made him fall harder for you.

"Fuck you feel amazing, I wish we did this more often." he moaned as he listened to your pleas for him to go faster. He had a weak spot for your voice, it was music to his ears.

You two were often very busy. You both hardly had time or privacy to be intimate because of the six children following him around after school helping him with whatever he was doing and your life projects and nosy family members.

"Harder Steve, don't hold back, please. I really need this." Neither of you would admit this, but you both had so much life stress. Being so romantic and intimate also relieved some of that stress. You felt as if you were in your own little world with him. Just him, the closed curtains, and his king-sized bed, maybe a little jazz playing from time to time. 

Steve captured your lips in his, his teeth gently biting your lip as you both held back loud moans. You reached your hands into his hair and pulled gently, making him shudder as he pounded into you. "Fuck do that again, please do it again." you blushed at the new-found kink that Steve possessed. 

You would have been self-conscious about the wet noises and loud moans coming from you, but nobody was home except you and Steve. It was you and him against the world. The thought of being his and only his drove you crazy. You tugged at Steve's hair, hearing him moan your name. His thrusts became increasingly uneven. "Please tell me you're close baby. I don't know if I can keep going much longer." he was begging you to cum. The lights suddenly started to flicker harshly, you hadn't noticed at all.

Almost on command, you felt your orgasm hit you hard. "Fuck Steve!" you could only say those two words. Your brain was static as your limbs shook with the waves of pleasure washing over your tired body. Steve was hardly focused on his surroundings, but he was a tad bit worried about the lights. He didn't realize that all of the things sitting on his shelves were now scattered across the floor and a picture hanging on the wall had fallen off. Once Steve had fucked you through your orgasm, he filled you up with his cum.

Steve shakily held himself up as he pressed a kiss to your head. You could barely hear anything but the gasping from your mouths. "You are so pretty like this. Has anyone told you that you look like an angel?" he laughs when you hit his chest. You weren't smiling. You were panicking. The lights began flickering again.

You had been so utterly blissed out that you couldn't keep yourself from letting your powers go. "What's going on? I'm sorry this usually doesn't happen." He turned around and saw the objects on the floor and his face contorted in confusion. "What the hell?" He stood up.

You grabbed his hand. "Steve?" you were breathing heavily. You had to tell him. "This is what I wanted to tell you." Steve sat down next to you. He was extremely confused now. "What are you talking about?" he frowns. 

"I did this. The lights, the stuff on the floor." Steve held your shaky hands in his. Everything started to make sense, he was worried he was cursed or something. "You have powers?" he now understood why you were so hesitant.

"Yes. I know I should have told you before but I didn't want to ruin what we have. I want to be with you so bad, Steve. I'm in love with you and I didn't want you to think I was some kind of freak." you felt Steve wrap his arms around your shaking body. 

"You're not a freak, Y/n. You're my girlfriend. I could never think less of you, no matter what you do. I'm here for you for everything. I promised I would stay with you no matter what. Plus, it's kinda cool." he cleared his throat after his less serious sentence.

"I couldn't love you more. This is just a perk. My girl is a superhero." he pulled you in for a soft kiss. Steve smiled against your lips when he felt you hold onto him.

"Maybe we could try some new positions then? Like some cool positions with your powers-"

"Shut up."

//and that's it folks! I honestly think I'm getting better at writing smut, this is my second attempt at writing smut. Let me know if there's any weak spots!

[trulymadlysydney]

Farewell Fine Line

Okay pardon me for being sappy but since tonight is our last night in the Fine Line era I just want to take a minute and reflect. This is going to be long and corny as hell and you DO NOT have to read it, but I'm feeling sappy so I DO have to write it.

Fine Line was so exciting from start to finish. From the very beginning we knew it was going to be BIG. Even from the fucking "do" tweet that I'll never forgive him for, we knew right away that there was just going to be something about this album.

Lights Up was a day I'll absolutely never forget. When we figured out the lead single was called Lights Up and none of us believed it. (I'll never forget posting on here "Wtf that is not the single title, that sounds like a Liam Payne song" and getting a ton of notes and then turning out to be a clown.) When that thumbnail dropped, we had no idea what to expect. It was so different from anything in HS1 era. It was so sexy and exciting and good and so HIM. Surprising, but him.

I remember Eroda, and how it scared the shit out of me for no reason. (I still haven't watched any of the ads that some of yall were getting on youtube for it). I remember anons telling me I was stupid for believing it was linked to Harry. I remember Fish Anon (moment of silence for fish anon). I remember staying up ALL NIGHT for the music video, and all he dropped was the song. The music video came out hours later, and I remember setting an alarm for like 6am to watch the video.

And god, the album release night. I spent hours on Facetime with @emotionally-imbruised and the lovely Bee (who is no longer on tumblr). We got drunk, and we listened to HS1 in its entirety because we knew it was the last time that that was going to be our only Harry album. I remember Bee living on the other side of the world and having early access to the album, so she'd already listened to like two songs (Sunflower and Cherry-- she waited to hear the rest till I had access to the album) and letting me have just the TINIEST little snippet of Sunflower. (It was the "I couldn't want you any more, kiss in the kitchen like its a dance floor" part and I was hooked from that alone). And I remember it finally dropping-- sitting on the floor of my bedroom (not even in my bed) listening to every song-- even the singles I had already heard-- and live texting Ken and Bee through all of them. We analyzed the shit out of some of them ("No because the long guitar solo in She represents sex and then the climax and then the coming down") and my favorite part of all... when Fine Line ended. I remember just sitting in silence, and getting a text in our groupchat. "Guys... we just listened to Fine Line."

I remember running into my half asleep mom's room JUST to play her the Sunflower "boop boop"s and telling her that my grandpa would have absolutely loved that song.

In my own life, big things were happening as well. I interviewed for (and was offered) my dream job of being a flight attendant, after YEARS of being told no by various airlines. And as thrilled as I was, I was terrified. I can't put into words just how much this album got me through one of the most stressful months of my life. It also gave me one of the most cherished memories I've ever made; February 2020, the plane taking off out of Phoenix to take me to training, listening to Fine Line as we taxied along the runway and hearing the big "We'll be alright" the second the wheels lifted off the ground. Looking over Phoenix, thinking about the big changes that were waiting for me, and hearing that song... honestly I still get chills thinking about it.

I got my wings March of 2020. Obviously, we had no idea what else was going to happen starting that same month. I lived in a crashpad, in a bunk bed, with several other flight attendants, across the country from my parents (first time ever living away from them), and wasn't flying much because of Covid. My other flight attendant roommates were all older, well seasoned flight attendants who didn't really care that much, so I spent a lot of my days alone (AND/OR on facetime with @emotionally-imbruised). And this album became the soundtrack to those memories. This album guided me through a lot of hard times during quarantine. This album means so much to me.

I remember hanging out with @harryfeatgaga in Boston, spending the first day of summer drinking hard seltzer at the beach, our first time having some really deep conversations about life and, of course, listening to Fine Line on her little portable speaker. We still both look back on that day as the day we really became best friends. We listened to the acapella version of Fine Line and SPIRALED over so many hidden vocals we hadn't heard before. We also got our first (and not last) matching tattoo shortly after-- Harry's handwriting (although some of yall seem to think it's Disney Font...) reading "Oh Honey."

Two years later, I was lucky enough to go to Love on Tour several times and watch these songs performed live by the man who means more to me than anything. I got matching tattoos with Paige, @stillafineline, and two other girls who I'd only met 24 hours prior. I was lucky enough to meet so many beautiful friends I'd only spoken to via tumblr, as well as SO so so many others. (The girls Paige and I met at a bar in NY who just so happened to see our matching Harry tattoos. The girls we met in line for wristbands who came over to my, Paige, Caitlin, and @harryshousesonvinyl's Airbnb in LA to get ready. The girls next to us in the pit who watched us deal with a very blackout drunk Sarah Baska. The 17 Harries we picked up on our way to a gay club in downtown NY after Harryween.). I was able to celebrate my 26th birthday in the presence of Harry Styles, who not only performed Medicine, but also had the audacity to say "this is called 'edging'" right before my very eyes. Happy birthday to me, I was edged by Harry Styles.

In those big arenas surrounded by that many Harries and wearing my absolute flashiest outfits, it was the most Myself I had felt in over two years. I'll never forget that.

Fine Line era was hard, but it also had some really beautiful moments throughout the chaos. And this album will forever be one of my favorites. I'm so, so lucky to have experienced it, and I'm so lucky to love Harry.

Goodbye, Fine Line era. I cannot wait to see what surprises Harry has in store for us with the Harry's House era.💜✨

[thought-loop]

An Irresponsibly Long and Occasionally Corny Love Letter

Okay, so this is going to be a long one. I’ve found myself in a situation where my life is the best it’s ever been, and it feels so incredibly surreal waking up to it every morning. I’ve been wanting to talk about it for a while now, and I want to make sure I get it all down on record before the memory is too distant.

If you found your way here through a link I sent you, this is written for you in particular. This is an extended thank you to you, and I want you to know how you’ve touched my life.

Fall 2019 was my 7th semester in college. It was a dark time in my life. College burnout was hitting me hard, and my mental health suffered as a result. I routinely skipped my classes and slept in until 2pm. I felt like a stranger in my own college, and I dreaded studying. I had no friends in the CS department that I regularly talked to, and this made me feel like an island. My grades in the fall were abysmal, and my grades in the spring were even worse.  By the time May came around, I was in jeopardy of failing out after 4 years.

I was determined to finish what I started. I picked up 18 credits over the summer, and three of the classes were my third and final attempt to pass them. Summer of 2019 was do or die. I was in too deep to give up, so I kicked things into high gear.  When summer session began, I hit the ground running.  I spent the first few weeks getting waaaay ahead wherever I could.  I studied like I had something to prove, because I did.

As a result, I became an active member in class GroupMes answering questions and helping others (in addition to ranting and posting memes).  I had always loved these groups, and they made up most of my social interactions.  As an introvert, I generally have a hard time putting myself out there and making friends.  But these groups felt very approachable, and they gave me a place where I felt comfortable reaching out. I took better notes if I knew someone else would see them, and the study guides I posted were lauded.  Helping others in the class not only kept my understanding sharp, but it also energized me. I had inadvertently made a name for myself in these forums.  Around exams and project due dates, I was regularly getting 5-10 DMs a day from various people.  This was a massive and welcome change to how I’d been studying for the past year.  It made me feel like I had something to offer as a person.  For the first time in a long time, I felt valued and validated.

But it went a step further than that.  Eventually I wasn’t just getting messages from people with homework questions.  I was getting messages about everything. I know a lot of people who were hit with AI violations for McDaniel’s second project, because a lot of them reached out to me about it seeking advice and comfort.  I’ve had people consult me about switching majors before they spoke with an advisor.  Hell, I’ve been asked for relationship advice in a GroupMe DM from someone I had never met in the flesh.  I don’t know how or why, but somehow I had become a confidante for a significant number of people who I’d never even met.  And I was (and still am) always happy to talk with people about the things they’re dealing with.  As the daughter of a therapist, I feel energized by opportunities to help others with their problems.

In any case, I was taken aback.  It’s hard to accurately describe the gravity of what I experienced without coming across as factitious posturing, but it’s difficult not to when the people around me have made me feel like I’m on one.  I brought it up with other friends who were active in these groups, and they said they didn’t have this experience of having their peers message them out-of-the-blue to talk about their thoughts, problems, dreams.  I recognized that lot of people began to see me as someone they respect, someone they can trust with their baggage, someone who they can open up to _even _about their more embarrassing predicaments.  It felt like I was given a special role that no one else knew about, and one that was really hard to explain.

Even describing it now, it sounds like I’m blowing smoke up my own ass.  But I just want to make it known that this has been a borderline religious experience for me.  During the months leading up to this point I felt completely alone.  I felt like a failure.  I felt like a waste of space.  I stopped taking care of myself.  When I started posting study guides and answering question in GroupMe, I was doing it for my own benefit as a last-ditch effort to stay in the major.  I had no idea that so many people would huddle around me in the way they did.  I’ve shed tears reflecting on the overwhelming amount of support and love I’ve received from people I’ve never met, DMing me spontaneously to just check in on me and see how I was doing.  It’s an incredible feeling knowing there are people who think of me and are looking out for me, and I’ve never experienced anything like it in my 23 years on this earth--at least anything of this magnitude.

So that was my motivation for writing this.  It’s a difficult experience to talk about (it doesn’t really work in casual conversation), but I had to find a way to let the people who’ve impacted me know how much they’ve impacted me.  I’ve had conversations with so many amazing people, and I want them to know how amazing they are in my eyes. My life has been changed in a way that I could never imagined, and I will think back on this experience fondly for years to come.

I want to take a moment to get sappy and name some people in particular, for various reasons, as individuals who I’m especially grateful for or that I have particularly fond memories of.

Nate:  You were the first friend I made in those forums back in fall semester, and even though we only briefly see each other, I still consider you a close friend of mine.  You were the only person I talked to in my classes for a long time.  You were there when I felt most alone, and I’ll always remember that.

Jimmy: Between you, Nate, and I, we’ve always been the Meme Gang in our groups, probably annoying the shit out of everyone else.  We’ve become sort of partners in crime in our classes this semester, and it’s been a wonderful partnership.  You’ve become my study buddy of choice if I ever need help because I know I can count on you.

Vernika: I remember you messaging me back before summer session even started to establish a friendship, and I’m so glad you did.  I would never leave my house if it weren’t for you inviting me over between classes, letting me sleep on your couch because of my nightmarish sleep schedule, and otherwise being an awesome person to hang out with.  If it weren’t for you I also wouldn’t have met Evelynn or Kyle who I literally owe giant chunks of my grade to. 

Ajinkya: We haven’t spoke in a while, but I still wanted to thank you in particular.  Back when I was doing McDaniel’s third project, you stayed up for hours with me helping me debug my code.  It probably seemed like nothing to you, but I still have fond memories of working with you.

Chris: When Evelynn first introduced us, the first thing you said to me was, “Wait, you’re not _the _Chloe are you? The one from the GroupMes?” You made me feel like a rockstar then, and you _always _make me feel like a rockstar to this day.   Even when I’m bombing hard, your positivity is infectious.  You have a unique style of communicating that motivates me to act and keeps me from being too self-deprecating.

There are so many more people I could talk about and so many other experiences that impacted me, but this post is already getting monstrously long and I’d actually like for people to read it.  But I just wanted to express how fondly I think of you all in particular. Most of you had stuck your necks out for me long before you had even met me and made me feel welcome in a way I hadn’t felt in years.

To those reading this, thank you for indulging me.  These are things that I’ve been holding inside for a while, and it feels good to finally get it out there.  If any of you ever need someone to lean on, even years from now, for whatever reason, you know where to find me.  I wish you all the best.

From me to you,

Chloe

[rerwby]

Volume 5 OST

I don’t normally have such verbose opinions on the RVVBY music (it’s like writing a review for fiberglass insulation) I managed to sit down and listen to this album the whole way through. My feelings on these tracks feels like a culmination of all my feelings of previous RVVBY music. I won’t try to be lengthy about this but I got some solid thoughts.

First of all, can we just collectively agree to stop making every fucking RVVBY song put on Youtube use fan art? Like can we just get a solid fucking static picture of the volume cover art maybe? I’m sick of the mediocre ship art used for goddamn everything and it looks incredibly unprofessional. Also since these are RT fans you know they don’t give a flying fuck about credit.

The Triumph Not to kick this off on such an upbeat note but this is one of my favorite OP’s. Maybe my favorite. Maybe. I could not fully appreciate this song when the episodes were coming out because the opening itself was the biggest trashfire to come out of this show. Like, sorry I can’t get hyped up on 10 seconds of Ruby and Ren and Jaune sitting on a couch. Listening to it alone though? Big improvement.

Jeff Williams does this thing where he’s clearly way too proud of his proud choice and rhymes, and usually lines end with a big focus on stupid vernacular. Trust me, this will come up later. The Triumph manages to avoid that. This Will be the Day does as well because it’s a pretty hammy song with a better, more consistent tone. “Back to reality, back to the show” is an awful, terrible, horribly ironic line in the context of Volume 5, but it’s not as in your face as it could be, so it gets a pass from me. I also think “That’s when you learned you were messing with gods” is awesome, sorry. It could be more awesome if these characters like, seemed more like gods? And they don’t? So eh.

Then the second verse happens and it calls back to the first with “Yeah I’m a girl but I’m also a god” and I’m like, oh, so you’re just gonna- oh, okay then. Yeah let’s just beat the one good part like a dead horse, sure. That really ruins the song for me ngl.

It also manages to avoid the formulaic trend of post-second verse slow sappy breakdown. Time to Say Goodbye and Let’s Just Live do that and it gets old after a while. If you’re gonna give me hype music then stick with it. Not that Let’s Just Live really hypes you up.

Overall it’s like a 7/10 for me because it has a good pace and it doesn’t scream “look at how clever I am!” at every turn.

Ignite The song I was most excited for and the most disappointed by. I wrote about it here and I’ll try not to do anything more than summarize what I said there.

It’s obnoxious and the lyrics are way too dumb. Not funny dumb, not hammy dumb, nope, just dumb. It’s not even in the style of Yang’s usual dumbness, which by all accounts should now be under Armed and Ready’s foot since that is now the prime Yang theme. The major problem is how obvious these issues are. Like you can’t not hear how bad the writing is.

Then Lamar comes in, and I usually enjoy him since, like I said above, he brings with him some hammy, corny lyrics that manage to be fun. But he’s phoning it in here. He’s mumbling and tripping over his own words. God I didn’t even understand what mumbling truly sounded like until I heard that verse.

4/10 and I hate to write that on a Yang theme but this song is everything wrong with these soundtracks.

Path to Isolation Which brings us to my favorite annual game of “Count How Many Times a Weiss Song Uses the Word ‘Mirror.’” Spoilers: it’s a handful.

It’s fine. Weiss songs have always been fine. The worst thing I can say about them is that you have to dredge through their slow-ass, repetitive openings to get to the good part. 5/10

All Things Must Die aka “Slow And Brooding Villain Song That Turns Into a Rock Anthem #5″ aka “Sacrifice And Divide Did It Better But Even They Were Only So Good” aka “We’re Not Even Going For A Subtle Title Here.”

I don’t even know whose perspective this is sung from anymore. Like Cinder is our designated villain song candidate but she has like no autonomy this volume so that falls flat, meanwhile Salem still has no clear motivation. Hazel and Adam might be the most developed(?) bad guys this volume but this song has nothing to do with them. 4/10

This Time (From Shadows Part II) I’m writing about this one before Smile for a reason.

A song called From Shadows Part II deserves better, lol. Also given the fan art uses on the version I found posted, this is a Blake+Sun song? I don’t know. It starts with the beautiful piano solo from the original which was godlike and relaxing and also dramatic.

Lyrics are just shitty but in a shocking twist they’re hard to hear other than THIS TIIIIME in the chorus which...I’m fine with. I’m legit convinced that the fewer lyrics you can make out in these songs, the better. This all sounds rather nice and has a good flow to it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s kinda just trash. Absolute filler. Fluff. Churned-out melodrama to keep the White Fang kindle going.

Also I guess in hindsight it’s weird to have Jeff singing here since this song is supposed to represent Blake moving on with new resolve. Like before it was clearly Blake and Adam singing, but now it’s Blake and...Sun? Adam again? Like some non-canon reformed Adam? Idk. At least it’s tonally a good contrast to Part I. It’s easy to listen to the song without focusing on the lyrics which is rather soothing, but it’s still nonsense. 5/10

Smile (From Shadows Part 0)

No yeah I made that part up, but I think this song is a better From Shadows Part 0 than This Time is a Part II. I’m dead serious. They gave us an Ilia song and made it more interesting than her character is in volume 5, if not extremely on the nose.

Because my god, it’s on the nose. It’s just Ilia’s backstory about blending in to avoid all the pain your oppressors brought you and biding your time until you can rip the smiles off their faces...oh I don’t think that’s how Ilia’s backstory went. This is much darker. Very Count of Monte Crisco and dare I say actually interesting. It makes Ilia sound way more compelling than Blake while also making her out as a foil to her. Except I don’t know why the fucking hell the character presented in Smile would ever join the White Fang, especially under Adam’s authority, and then follow him so blindly. But I guess as of last volume’s OST we should be use to that disconnect between show plot and music lore.

7/10 for being accidentally interesting.

All That Matters

It’s....fine? Fine-ish. Obligatory slow and sappy song because ofc. Casey at least sounds like she’s in her comfort zone. It just doesn’t mean much to me.I guess it’s the theme of the girls being back together but I have my own issues with that, which is mainly that three of them were already reunited halfway into Volume 5 and it was only Blake’s arrival that really pushed them into sappy territory.

5/10 it’s not bombastically terrible enough to merit a lower score and not interesting enough to be higher.

I’m Her Daughter After All - RVVBY Volume 5 Official Score

I don’t know why this song is here because it’s an actual non-lyrical official part of the soundtrack, which is mind-blowing. You’d think Jeff was contractually obligated to have his blood’s voices dip their toes in every track.

It’s a nice medley of Yang’s themes, namely I Burn and Armed and Ready. It also makes you appreciate how Yang’s musical themes have actually evolved, unlike those of the other characters. Why do we have this Western thing going on? Qrow had it too in Bad Luck Charm. I don’t mind it since I think it’s kinda neat, but 6/10 for being a random score track.

Mayday! Lancers! - RVVBY Volume 5 Official Sc- wait

They did the score thing again. I don’t know why. I also forgot the Lancer scene actually happened in Volume 5 until I heard this. Like, Weiss did so little in Volume 4 that I’m attributing stuff that happened in V5 to last volume.

It’s fine? It’s nice to have a non-lyrical Weiss song, actually. 5/10

Armed and Ready ie The Appeal Of The Original Was Lost On Us

This song did not need a remix lol. Armed and Ready is actually damn good, is a great proper evolution of Yang’s theme that successfully moves her out of the shadow of I Burn, and was a really, really good climax to her recovery arc. This turns it into a dance remix, which ironically is the exact sort of thing the original moved her character away from. 4/10

Gold (Acoustic)

As I listened to this I realized it wasn’t just the original vocals played over an acoustic cover; Casey actually re-recorded the song. That’s blowing it out of the park for a RVVBY remix. Also it’s like, good.

I always liked Gold for whatever reason. I just thought it was uplifting and it did the nice thing where the lyrics are simple and flow well. The loud instrumentals had me unsure if it made for a good complement to the lyrics or if it was just a bad choice. This just sounds wonderful. Most importantly, it makes you really appreciate Casey’s singing talent. More than anything, she sounds absolutely comfortable singing this song. No stressed notes, no weird word choices, no ham. This is just a nice song and it’s my favorite on this album. 8/10

Let’s Just Live (Remix) “The Obligatory OP Remix Oh God Triumph Is Gonna Get This Treatment Next Year

It doesn’t go above my expectations but I like the new instrumentals. Reminds me of Stickerbrush Symphony. I think it’s much more fitting than in the original and is a true improvement on it. 6/10

The final issue I have with this album is this, and it involves some statistics. This is a 12-song album. That isn’t strange. But here are some numbers for you:

Ruby Songs: 0 Weiss Songs: 2 Blake Songs: 1 (2 if you count Smile) Yang Songs: 4 Remixes: 3 Scores(?): 2

Just to put that in front of you. Remixes comprise 1/4th of the album, glorified scores are 1/6th, and Yang received 4 whole slots (one-third of the album!) while Ruby, the protagonist, got absolutely none. Nothing in this album is about just Ruby, and I think she kind of deserves that. I mean she did nothing this volume so whatever, but we didn’t even get Glorious Score Track Of Jaune Healing Weiss so that’s super strange. They didn’t even shaft her in lieu of anyone, she was just left out.

[richietozierluv]

valentine’s day - (richie tozier) part 1 of 2

part 2

Pairing: Richie Tozier x Reader

Summary: You and Richie were... to say the least, ‘hanging out’. But sooner or later someone was bound to catch feelings, and sooner or later the others would find out.

Author’s Note: I know this is super, super late. LIKE SUPER LATE. But dear god I’ve been so busy with assignments and I’ve been so tired, but I thought I’d make it up to you guys by making it a two parter?

Request/s: @cyborgfromthesupermarket HELLOOOO I FRICKING LOVE YOU YOU ARE ONE OF THE BEST BLOGS OUT THERE AND I WAS HOPING YOU COULD DO A REQUEST WHERE Is like valentines day and richie and reader are together and like their school is doing this roses exchange and like all the girls in the class are getting roses except for y/n bc richie forgot to buy them and like y/n doesn't care but richie feels bad and like makes something amazing to compensate it (sorry if its weird)

@queenpheebs the losers club catches the reader and Richie making out PS YOU DONT HAVE TO DO IT IF YOU WANT

Word Count: 2,163

Warnings: Swearing

For the most part, you couldn’t give a rat’s ass about ‘that day in February’, and even more so, each year it only became harder to pretend to enjoy Beverly’s take on her date with Bill and all the things he’d gotten her. You didn’t understand how she came to be this person who enjoyed flowers, teddy bears and corny shit; until now. If it hadn’t been for the others catching you making out with Richie Tozier in the school bathrooms, you wouldn’t be bouncing on your feet as you walked home, wondering if this finally meant you’d receive the sappy card, and disgusting box of chocolates you hadn’t realized you’d wanted until now.

It had all started a few weeks ago when you found yourself blushing at his dirty jokes rather than cursing him out for them. While alone, your insults towards each other became endearing compliments, sparks between each hand touch, and the mere act of you calling Richie ‘pretty’, enough to make him flustered and duck inside, so as not for you to see him laugh and smile. But of course, instead of confronting his feelings, Richie did the next worst thing. He kissed you.

For a while, that steadied both of your heartbeats, and everything seemed normal between the two of you. You stopped blushing at all of his jokes, and he could even stand to look at you without imagining you as the future Mrs Tozier. But only with the weekly occurrence of a make out session to keep your feelings (and lips) intact.

This had soon become a daily routine. Wake up, hang with friends, ‘go separate ways’, and kiss Richie. Wake up, hang with friends, ‘go separate ways’, and kiss Richie. On and on, until he found every excuse to get you alone and away from the others, not wasting a moment as soon as you were both out of sight to grab your face and go at it. Of course you’d both wondered if it’d be easier if you just told the group that you guys were a ‘thing’, but with that came the question of whether or not you were actually a ‘thing’. The topic had come up dozens of times, but neither of you had the guts to tell one another that you thought you were falling in love. Which brings us to you making out in the school bathrooms. After a month of holding hands under desks, sneaking around to the bike racks, and teasing each other in the school hallways, someone was bound to break character. It came as no surprise that it was Richie.

“Richie, what are you doing?” you were pulled through the crowd of students, half laughing, half thinking, this little shit is going to get us caught. “Rich, I need to go get my notes from Mike,”

“Like hell you need to,” he turned around, still pushing through the crowd, “you’ve already got with you the best tutor in Derry,” he winked. Ben stood by Beverly’s locker, watching Richie pull you along as a note slipped through his hands and through the grates in the metal, his eyes following after you as Richie turned into an empty classroom.

“I think I only have it in me to say this once, so- wait,” he made his way over to where you stood leaning on a desk and pulled you close into his arms, kissing you slowly, and for once being the first one to pull away. You smiled at him adoringly, as he opened and closed his mouth, playing nervously with his hands.

“If this is your way of getting us both a detention so that we have an excuse to stay late after school, can I just suggest something else? Come over to mine Rich, my school record’s bad enough as it is.”

He started to pace in front of you, and unknowingly, Ben watched through the classroom window.

“Y/n, I- I really like what we’ve got going on,” his face turned red, “but I reckon even if I kissed every girl I met, I’d still want to end the day kissing you.”

You bit back a smile, shaking your head, “Is this your way of telling me that you like me?”

“It could be- but- pfft, if you don’t think that’s rad or whatever, then I totally didn’t mean it,”

“You’re a dick, Trashmouth.”

His face fell, and in an attempt to laugh it off, he choked on his own spit.

“An absolute div,” you stepped towards him and took hold of his hand. He quickly realised what was happening, and tried to relieve himself of his coughing fit, unable to breathe in complete awe that you actually might like him back. For more than my hot piece of ass, he thought.

“You’re out of bounds!” the teacher’s high heels clicked against the linoleum, and Ben jumped, both at the sight of Richie sticking his tongue down your throat, and at the shrill voice coming towards him.

“I- I was just looking for a friend,” he stammered, falling back from the classroom door and making a point to squint down the hallway behind himself.

“I’ll let your friend know you were looking for them as I’m giving them a detention. Go to lunch.”

Ben found himself stuck, just as you did against Richie, not knowing whether to warn you both or take a chance that she wouldn’t look through the window. Luckily, you’d taken a moment to breathe, and had pulled yourself away from him, only to notice the lack of light in the classroom, and Ben’s shadow being the source.

“Oh shit!” you ducked down and crawled behind the teacher’s desk, pointing at the door when Richie hadn’t followed suit. Despite feeling a little claustrophobic and hot waiting for the coast to be clear, Richie found himself too excited with the prospect of your legs against his, and whispered, “I really, really think I’m falling for you Y/n,”

“Are you kidding me Richie? Is now really the time?”

“It’s only Ben- and now that we, y’know, said some things…”

“There’s a teacher too, you dweeb,” you glared at him. But then you both found yourselves in a fit of laughter, eyes scrunched up, faces red, and spitting everywhere. And if circumstances were different, you would’ve said, “I think I’m falling for you too Rich.”

Light spilled on to the floor, catching Richie’s shoe, but as the teacher stepped into the room she was distracted by the broken light switch, cursing under her breath. Richie pulled his knees together, bumping his head against the desk and although he couldn’t see, earned an obscene hand gesture from you, and a muttered, “for fucks sake Richie, any longer and I would’ve personally shoved your knees so far up your ass-“

The sound of heels clicking against the floor grew further and further away, so you both stood up from under the desk and stared at each other in the little light that was left in the room. You were angry at him, not for any reason in particular, but god knows what your parents would’ve said if you’d gotten another detention, and even worse, for sneaking around with a boy.

“It’s not my fault my legs hit a growth spurt before any other part of my body,” he said, this time earning a kick in the shins before you headed towards the door.

“Whatever,” you peered into the hallway, stepping out as the high heels disappeared into another classroom a few doors down, “do you just wanna go make out in the bathrooms?”

“Yeah, okay.”

Ben was quiet all through lunch, not having touched his food, unable to decide what he thought about the whole ‘you and Richie’ situation. He’d looked up just as the seventh spitball landed on his shoulder, coming face to face with Mike, who was waving his hand comically in front of him.

“Anyone in there Haystack?” he turned to the others and shrugged his shoulders. Beverly’s next spitball landed on the end of Ben’s nose, and even though that hadn’t shaken him from his thoughts, the boys cheering loudly in his ears certainly did. His lunch tray jumped out of his hands and fell flat on to the table, not looking any worse for wear.

“You thinking about writing me another poem this year?” Bev nudged his foot with hers, smiling sweetly, and although his face turned red, he confidently said, “Don’t sweat it, Bev.”

“How ‘bout y-you Stan? And p-plans for the big d-d-day?”

“It never changes Big Bill. I’ve got a date with my binoculars,” Stan didn’t look up from the book he was reading.

“Oh so you and Richie are finally going to third base?” Eddie laughed, and a perfectly timed spitball landed in his open mouth; another round of applause for Beverly as Eddie’s face turned significantly whiter than before, and he found himself retching to the side of the lunch table.

In all the commotion, Ben almost couldn’t be heard, “I saw Y/n and Richie making out upstairs.” Almost.

It was as if everyone had swallowed a spit ball at once, Beverly hitting Stan on the back as he choked on his shock, and Mike falling so far back in his chair that the entire lunch room now watched and stared at the back of his head meeting the ground with a loud THUD. Bill was the first to speak, for once without a stutter, and in one breath, “Sorry, I thought you just said that you saw Y/n and Richie making out?”

“I think so,” Ben’s face flushed red again as all eyes turned on him, “the room was pretty dark, and some teacher told me to get lost, but for the most part? It all makes sense doesn’t it?”

Eddie sat up, the swig of water doing nothing to help his now raspy voice, “What do you mean?”

“They’re always coincidentally leaving at the same time. And Richie’s altogether stopped being a div recently-“

“He hasn’t stopped fucking with me!”

“Yeah well, Eddie, you’re too easy of a target,” Mike said apologetically.

While they listed off the all too obvious signs that they’d somehow missed, Richie pushed you against the door to the girl’s bathroom, hardly able to see where he was going with your face against his.

Your hand became tangled in his hair, and unable to let go in the heat of the moment, pulled him closer, as you both backed into the closest stall. The same one Beverly had tagged three years ago; BM + BD.

“I-I’m gonna g-g-go look for th-them,” Bill stood up, and despite Ben begging him not to, the losers soon found themselves looking into the window of the classroom you’d just escaped from. “I thought y-you said they w-were in here?”

Before Mike could say that maybe the teacher had found you, Richie had fallen on top of you and you’d both cursed as your limbs hit the porcelain toilet, and your heads knocked together. Stan looked round at the others, as if he were looking into a camera, unable to believe that after all this sneaking around, you let yourselves get caught by being complete loud-mouthed idiots.

You looked at Richie, as though in a brand new light. The bathroom windows cast a yellow reflection across his face, and his cheeks began to burn. He pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and covered his eyes from the sun, cocking his head. “What are you looking at me like that for?”

“I just really like you Richie Tozier,” and you pulled him forward by his collar, kissing him once again. Your head hit the side of the stall wall at the sound of a cough, and when your eyes met with Ben’s, he shrugged and mouthed a ‘sorry’.

“Fucking Tozier and Y/l/n, should’ve seen it coming,” said Beverly, looking at you with a mixture of ‘I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,’ and ‘it’s about time!’ lending you a hand to stand up. You were pulled down by your legs, still tangled with Richie’s, again and again, thanking god that the others, apart from Stan, stared at anything else but you. Richie stood up next to you, and it felt as if you could cut the tension with a knife. No one knew what to say. For as long as you’d all known each other, it’d become a custom to assume that nothing would change. But this, Stan finally couldn’t stand it any longer.

“How long has this been going on exactly? Because last time I checked, you were at each other’s throats for an entirely different reason,” he crossed his arms.

“Uh, I – we,” Richie looked to you, hand on the back of his neck, “a few months?”

“WHAT?!” Stan, Bev, and Bill yelled altogether. Mike had to take a step back, only now just realising Richie’s hand was holding yours behind him.     

an: I’LL GO INTO MORE DETAIL IN THE NEXT PART BUT I DIDN’T REALIZE HOW LONG THIS WAS UNTIL I GLANCED OVER AT THE WORD COUNT, anyways for those who requested, thank you for being so patient! Again, I’m super sorry for the delay, but I’ll work on the next part asap

tagged: @riverdalerebel​ @johnsonxstilinski @littlepaperaeroplanes @tn22220-blog @goshdarnitthatsalongname @beepbeeprichtozier @emmaamalie

[lesbow]

relationship klance

we always talk about pre-relationship klance like what about the actual relationship ya feel

to start off they absolutely get together in the dorkiest way possible like its either 100% sappy or 100% embarrassing and by accident there is no in between 

they did that fanfic corny scene where lance was about to confess and keith realized before he even finished his sentence and just goes for the smooch

except its terrible theres too much teeth and their noses crash into each other its just a mess 

its also both their first kiss 

even after they both confess its takes them like a week to get up the courage to ask each other out bc theyre both nerds

lance plans on trying to keep it small bc he thinks keith doesnt really want anything big and cheesy

keith plans on absolutely making it as cheesy as possible bc he thinks lance would prefer big and cheesy to small and ordinary

they literally plan to ask each other out on the same damn day

keith asks hunk to make lances favorite food for lunch and asks pidge to hook up the projector so they can watch an altean romcom they wont understand anyway but catch keith trying to take notes during the fluffy scenes 

hunk and pidge tease them to hell and back but theyre really happy for them so they go through with his requests

lance and keith both keep looking at each other during the movie wondering if they’ll be like that at some point and blush throughout the whole damn thing

everyone else thinks its so so so fucking cheesy but oh my god hunk and shiro are so happy for them bc its been a long time coming

at dinner they sit extra close to each other and casually brush fingers. theyre obviously blushing throughout the whole thing 

its just a week of blushing okay

lance gets so happy and smiles so wide when he realizes its his favorite food that keith just stares with a soft expression and when lance meets his eye they both blush but keith doesnt look away as fast as he used to bc he can have this 

after dinner they walk to the map room to look at the stars bc its become their thing and lance has had Enough with the brushing hands so he offers keith his palm and keith fucking swoons when they interlock fingers

they both planned to ask each other out at the star deck so obviously both of their plans crash bc after a weird silence where theyre BOTH thinking hard and turning into blushing, fidgeting, and sweating messes they turn to each other with the same glint in their eye

they say it at the same time 

lance and keith.jpg

and then they turn into giggling messes with fond looks bc if this isnt foreshadowing how amazing theyre relationship is gonna be than idk what is 

ROMANCE ENSUETH

in the beginning theyre just really really really nervous still bc theyve both been pining for a long time and dont wanna mess this up

when they start out, lance initiates most of the physical contact first like hand holding, putting his arm around keiths shoulders, that sorta thing bc keith is so fucking nervous and was never good at expressing himself but he eventually initiates it to he loves seeing how happy lance looks when he does

theyre both flustered messes but keith is really bad

they dont kiss yet bc theyre practically walking nervous systems 

they hold hands a lot tho lance has soft hands bc of his skin care routines so a lot of times keith will just idly play with lances fingers because it calms him 

keith rubs his thumb on the back of lances hand and lance fucking dies every time

lance still makes fun of keiths hair but it dies down little by little bc hes always wanted to play in that dang mullet tbh

one day keith catches lance just intensely staring at his hair and before he can even ask whats up lance asks if he can do his hair

theyre both messes when lance gets behind and starts playing in keiths hair but eventually lance just gets distracted with it and keith finds it really soothing. moreso than he thought it’d be

it becomes a reoccurring thing. lance will run his hands through keiths hair and keith just loves it so much it feels so nice

it started on the couch in that lounge room they have but one time hunk walked in and keith was practically passed out with his head on lances lap and he felt so embarrassed bc it feels really intimate and they both would rather keep stuff like that in their rooms so they do

whenever they go to a planet keith tries to look for things he thinks lance would like. hes not good with words so he tries to express himself through other means

the first time keith gave lance a gift from a planet it was a cat plushie bc its pretty fucking obvious lance likes cats

its red 

when keith gives it to him he stares at the ground and just like thrusts it out to him bc hes so nervous and lance takes it slowly, cautiously, and when hes stopped astral projecting into another plane of existence he kisses keith on the cheek bc he love love loooovvveess it

he names it keef and cuddles it all the time. keith always just stares like >:0 bc its really cute and he loves his boyfriend so much but also bc oh my god are we gonna cuddle like that someday omg lance is my boyfriend ohmy go d holl y s hi

he falls down the rabbit hole often

lance on the other hand loves bears and loves anything that he thinks could represent them like he’ll just point out two rocks side by side or some shit to hunk and be like “thats gonna be me and keith one day :) <3″ and hunk juts pats him on the back

DONT EVEN GET STARTED ON SEEING OTHER COUPLES IN PUBLIC 

whenever theyre planet side and lance sees a romantic couple he squeezes keiths hand (bc theyre already holding hands they never stop) and gets this fond and hopeful look on his face

lance wants every planet they meet to know keith is his boyfriend (he never gets tired of saying it) so whenever theyre at diplomatic functions and they have to talk to the aliens, he’ll always bring it up somehow 

it ranges from “so it must be difficult fighting this war” “yeah but having keith by my side helps” to “our planet welcomes you young paladin” “thanks and also heres my boyfriend keith the red paladin you know the right arm of voltron? that guy? yeah thats my boyfriend. my boyfriend is the red paladin his name is keith. we’re in a relationship. did you know that? its great im so happy omg this food is so good btw did i mention im dating keith and that keith is my boyfriend?”

lance still flirts sometimes but he never actually wants it to go anywhere. at first this makes keith a little disoriented and he mopes but then they talk and Communicate and lance says that he just likes to flatter people bc it makes them feel good and stuff and so they work it out. so lance still flirts but only a little and not as strongly as he used to 

speaking of communication, in the beginning theyre talking fucking s u ck ed they’d misunderstand each other and it would result in sadness and venting to their respective besties but the third time they get shoved in a room and told to just “talk it out” they realized that they really need to be more open/clear about stuff

eventually they get really good at talking about things to each other. their problem wasnt that they wouldnt talk to each other it was that they just couldnt understand the other so they work on getting to know each other better and it really helps and works out so so great

they both have issues, lance with his self esteem and keith with his abandonment issues and they know that the other cant fix it bc thats not what its about but they definitely help.

unlike lance, keith knows who he is and is confident in his abilities so he tries to help him in that aspect

unlike keith lance has always been a people person and is family oriented so he tries to help keith slowly get overcome it

theyre both really good for each other. they cant “fix” each other obviously but they help one another out so much and it means a lot

they have their first kiss like two months after they got together 

it was after a battle and no not a deadly one you heathens a really really awesome one the teams all smiles and lance pulled a cool move at the end when they formed voltron and they saved a planet and everyones soooo happy and when they get back to the castle lance bolts to keith and just spins him around in a hug smiling and laughing and they smooch

its the best thing theyve ever experienced

they dont stop kissing after that. catch them giving each other little pecks all the time 

at this point they arent as nervous as when they first started 

after long battles theyll just kinda fall into each other

they dont do it in public/in front of the team but they cuddle a l o t

keiths two favorite places are in the crooks of lances neck and on his chest to hear his heartbeat 

lance likes to kiss keiths forehead bangs in the way or not if he thinks his man needs some smooches he’ll give him some fucking smooches

the first time they fall asleep together (i mean literally fall asleep not anything nasty pls dont sexualize these boys) locks in for both of them that This Is It ya know

theyre cuddling in lances room keith wearing his jacket and has his face smooshed against his chest lance is playing in keiths hair and his lips are lightly touching his forehead

its after a diplomatic meeting 

theyre both really tired and keith thinks he should probably go back to his room but they both feel too comfortable and everything feels so nice so he doesnt

lance likes listening to keiths voice and vice versa so theyre literally just saying nonsense 

theyre voices drift off into a comfortable silence and eventually they both fall asleep

keith wakes up first and hes confused but then he looks up at lance and how peaceful he looks when hes sleeping and just stares

lance wakes up a little while later and meets eyes with keith but then he notices keiths unruly bed hair and the small spot of drool by keiths mouth and almost cries 

its the best sight either of them have ever seen and at the same time they both think to themselves that they wouldnt mind waking up like this for the rest of their lives 

[violetbeachpod]

transcript: 9 - communication issues

Okay, so, we’re doing this again. Cool. Sup. It’s your girl.

No. No. That’s bad.

Charlotte, here. Cranor-Liu. From here. You know me. I know you. We’re friends. That’s--a thing that’s happening.

I have a better opening line. But first, a foreword. A preface? Not sure, not really giving two shits, but.

Cool.

So. Each of you individually texted me a potential opener for this. To be fair, and because they were all equally dumb and bad, I will read all of them individually.

Benji Ahuja, local small business owner and general huge nerd and also my worst enemy, but, like, in a friendly rivalry way, we are both so committed to this bit where we pretend to hate each other, okay, says: We got a real life possession on our hands, folks!

Corny. Bad. Sounds like a line from an 80s disaster movie, which, actually, is probably what you were going for.

I have never seen an 80s disaster movie. Was that 80s or 70s? Again, don’t really care. That’s rhetorical.

AJ Diggs, very good barista and very bad lab partner, yeah, dude, I am still bitter about that physics project from eighth grade where I had to write the whole paper at 3 AM, says: Did I miss anything?

He also used emojis in that, but I’ll spare him the embarrassment of reading out what they were. Actually--they were interrobangs, and then the 100 one a few times, as a joke, maybe? I don’t know if he knows what that one means. He’s not hip. He’s like a grandpa in a teen body. Wears the sweaters and everything. Not in the Macklemore way, which wouldn’t help him either, but in the actual grandpa way. He’s not even trying to be cool. He just dresses like a grandpa.

I love him very much. He is my dearest friend in the world. Thank you. Now, AJ, please never remind me that I said that.Because I can and will curse you and make you into a werewolf man or something. Cuz I’m evil and magical and can destroy you.

Robin Harper, writer and general icon: Can you maybe mention that my wedding was nice? I feel like Teresa didn’t acknowledge that enough. I’m kidding. LOL. Open it with, like. A message of concern. Say something nice, Charlotte. I love you. Hope you’re having a nice day. But. Please. Heart emoji. Heart emoji. Heart emoji.

Teresa literally told us not to be nice, so, uh, no. Love you too though.

Elaine Harper, crazy cat lady and also an icon: Dealing With Your Girlfriend From An Alternate Universe For Dummies is an easy book to write.

That’s--no one read those books. Did you read those books? Elaine, you’re legally obligated to tell me. Boom, roasted, whatever. I--that’s not even funny, Elaine, and you seemed to be, like, slightly cool, so, uh, thanks for ruining that illusion. I should have known, from the fact that you were getting married to Robin, but, alas, your cool vibes distracted me from that.

Teresa Marin, who sometimes gets possessed and who is also a student: Teresa Marin, more like Teresa Scarin’ me!

I absolutely refuse. No further comment. And, then, and here’s the interesting part:

Angie Thompson, student who wants, desperately, to be a singer-songwriter, but, like, who knows, maybe her music’s just not for me?: Teresa Marin, more like Teresa Scarin’ me!

Thinking about it, Angie probably sent that from both of their phones. Teresa’s not funny, but, uh, her jokes are better than that. I hope. Oh my God, I hope. Because Teresa is, like. Not a rhyming humor type of person. I know her well enough to know that, okay?

Anyway, so, uh, here’s my opener:

Can we learn how to, like, communicate like normal human goddamned beings about, like, the alternative universe that has entered into our lives? Like, I get not sharing out publicly, but we all know about it. We can, like, maybe tell each other about being possessed as soon as it happens the first time.

Look, my girlfriend, Mae Babson who, yes, is from an alternate universe, and who is also super cool and great and is my girlfriend and who is not a nerdlord, unlike you weirdasses and also me, was raised in a place where she cannot lie.

Which is sort of a cool thing, from, like, a moral standpoint, even though it was used to hurt her and those around her.  Y’know what I mean?

Listen, look, listen, maybe we as a group of friends can take a page out of the book of the evil villain or whatever we’re calling him and, like, tell each other the truth.

But that’s—whatever. Whatever. We can make a Google Doc or something? Maybe. As a solution to this whole info-sharing crisis we’re having with each other.

Okay. So.

How’s me? How’s Charlotte? How is she doing? How on top is she? Is she still killing it?

Of course she is. But let’s elaborate. We need elaboration, here.

Well. I’m directing a one act that I wrote. That’s cool. My first few pitches got rejected, but, uh, the current one’s pretty good, so. I’m cool with that. And this one hopefully won’t get ruined by paranormal happenings. So. That’s cool. It’s a subversion of vampire romance tropes and a subtle commentary on heteropatriarchy in YA fiction. Because I’m that good.

Uh. I got a job? That’s something. Just heard back yesterday, I’ve actually only told AJ so far, so. Cool? It’s at the Bean Zone, so. AJ’s training me. So that’ll be a fun experience for all of us, which is to say, AJ, I’m going to make your life hell and there is nothing you can do to stop me. Absolutely nothing. Because Amanda loves me.

Mae is finally coming out of her shell, a little bit. You guys are—thanks for being good to her. I’m being genuine here. It’s very difficult to, uh. Cope? I guess, for her, and you guys are being genuinely cool.

Once you got over the whole alternate universe, thing, I mean, like. Thanks for not grilling her ever, but. You need to—

Whatever. Whatever. I’m not about to get sappy. I don’t do sappy. I’m a huge badass, and, as such, I don’t get sappy. We can all accept this about me.

I’m about to update you on Weird Shit. Because that, assholes, is the point of these. I mean, you could maybe argue that this is, as a group of people who are generally terrible at being alive and interacting at other people, a way for us to interact with other people, but.

Nah.

This is for weird shit updates. Those and only those

So. Teresa has been getting possessed on and off for months. If you’ve somehow managed to forget, which I haven’t. And my memory’s not great, so, I’m assuming that you’ve all remembered that. That’s cool. Kinda scary, but cool. Good to have that particular knowledge secured in terms of Weird Shit That’s Going Down Annual, a magazine edited by me.

But.

Uh. Mae seems to be the only fully successful—y’know. transport of a person to this world. She’s not sure why. I think it’s because she’s just very good at everything, but. She broke into a museum and everything, like, pulled a heist and all. Which is very cute. Very cool.

She doesn’t have a double. Most other people who’ve tried—do. There’s not another Mae Babson. There is another me, another Teresa, you get it. I don’t know—and really, I don’t care about why there aren’t doubles of certain people. That’s not—that’s a stupid thing to spend time caring about. For me. You guys can go wild on it, but, honestly? I’m cool with there being a second me. Mae says she’s chill.

Presumably, she’s—she’s extremely chill. And Mae—Mae didn’t know her super well, I guess? Because I’m—I’m sure that she’d like her. Probably better.

Because, uh. She’d understand and everything. And she’s probably a little. Y’know. More—determined. Sharper. Y’know? Because she’s—

I should not get jealous of myself in an alternate universe. She probably has self-esteem issues too.

Doc David Diggs says I need to work on projection. I’ve been talking to him. Do we all talk to him? I know that Angie does. And AJ doesn’t. But. Yeah.

Uh. Other Weird Shit. Hm. Let’s get into that. That’s—going on. Certainly, certainly, def, def, obvi, obvi, y’know how it is. More blank-faced people—failed travelers, I guess. The board is still a thing. I’ve snuck into a few meetings, and, uh. They’re pulling, uh, some shit. I took notes and everything. I’m not even taking APUSH notes anymore, so we can see that this actually matters to me.

Also, I still have a 93 in that class, so, uh, guess who’s on top? Yeah. I am a genius, thank you, thank you, thank you.

So. Notes. Notes on notes. Hell yeah.

So, I kept a chart of this, so.

Names of people on the board that I can make out are:

Hamish South

Katherine (not sure if it’s with a c or a k or a y or whatever? that’s a bad name to have. don’t name your child catherine. please) Brooks

Frederick Lewis

Daniel Wexton

Lisa Barnes

And there are a few others, but I can’t get their names. Mae doesn’t know any of the names, says that they’re way too secretive over there, so. Cool. You know how it is.

I have a few sketches of their faces, but they’re not great and I kind of have an issue with noses, so Mae can’t recognize them. None of them have doubles.

Daniel Wexton is the one who grabbed me, I think. Same voice and everything. Can’t quite make out his features, but.

These are the bad guys. That should be, uh, pretty obvious. But they’re the bad guys! That’s cool to know! Cue graphic, cheesy music, the more you know, and all the rest. Eugh. That’s—

So. Cool. We know who we’re going after.

Okay, more notes. Evil plans:

-Necromancy. The rest turned to sirens and other really painful noises, but I got necromancy? so? That’s important. I think it’s to get our boy Andy back, because this is very much a cult, which, cool, we’re infiltrating a cult, and by we’re, I mean me, and by infiltrating, I mean spying on, because I’m not technically getting into the cult itself. I’m just listening. You get me.

-Cut back on drama spending. That’s an evil plan. It’s the evil plan in every Muppet movie, and the board is doing it, so it counts. And yes, I do love the Muppets. I have emotions. I’m only human. I have a heart. None of you are allowed to repeat this to anyone ever. But, anyways, how fucked up is that? Not only are they trying to kill people, they’re also trying to take away my whole Thing, so. Yeah! Love this!

-Eliminate travelers from their place to ours, which makes sense, but which is, uh terrifying. Not much else to say, but it’s. Y’know. A thing that’s happening.

-Benji’s name came up one time but I got bored, so I stopped writing. Also the janitor walked in so I had to run before I got caught by anyone?

And that’s all that’s really relevant.

Um. I don’t really know how to end this? I guess--I just have to reaffirm that we know who the hell we’re investigating, and maybe fighting? Is this a showdown thing? Will there be a climactic battle sequence? Cuz I’m good at those. I can punch. Ask AJ.

So. Yeah. Update complete. This is Charlotte, signing off for now, cuz, uh. I--are we still doing sign-offs? Should I get a, uh. Like a normal one? Or one that we all use? Because I don’t trust you to come up with those things, because you’re clearly all less charming than me.

So. Yeah. We’re not doing that.

I do love you guys. Stay safe. Tell me if something happens.

Bye.

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Michael After Midnight: Aladdin and the King of Thieves

Welcome to the first entry of Michael After Midnight’s Disnovember! That’s right, all month I’m going to be reviewing some of the hidden gems, cult classics, cheesy wonders, and actually pretty fucking bad movies from Disney I haven’t reviewed already. And I figured what better way to start this than with a truly underrated gem that blows the idea all the DTV sequels were trash out of the water: Aladdin and the King of Thieves.

First, let’s go with a brief overview of the Aladdin film series: The first movie is, without a doubt, a classic. It’s easily my favorite Disney Animated Canon film, and obviously most of the reason why is due to Robin Williams’ legendary performance as the big, lovable goofball that is Genie the, well, genie of the lamp. Of course, props also must be given to Iago; he’s probably the reason I’m able to tolerate Gilbert Gottfried’s voice more than most people seem to be able to. It’s such a fun, entertaining, and charming movie with gorgeous animation… take away that last bit, and lessen the first few things a fair bit, and you have an idea of the DTV sequel, The Return of Jafar. In it, the villainous sorcerer-turned-genie Jafar returns (duh) and tries to get revenge with the help of a bumbling thief named Abis Mal, played by the always enjoyable Jason Alexander. Despite the weaker animation and the fact this is blatantly a pilot film for the TV series, it’s a pretty enjoyable sequel, and the character arc for Iago is really well done. This also marks Dan Castellaneta’s first outing as the replacement for Robin Williams… meh. He’s okay and all, but no one can ever replace Williams. Overall, it’s enjoyable, and it even set up the TV show pretty well.

Now, the TV show! It’s a fun fantasy adventure series where Aladdin and his pals constantly cross paths with all manner of mystical mischief. It had a lot of great adventures in it, and a pretty impressive rogues gallery to boot, a lot of them with hilariously awful puns for names. You thought Abis Mal was corny? Well, prepare yourself for Haroud Hazi Bin, Ayam Aghoul, Nefir Hasenuf, and Amin Damoola! The best villains had really creative concepts to them, like exiled Greek mad scientist Mechanikles, sexy trickster cat goddess Mirage, and sorcerous lich Mozenrath. It’s a fun episodic show from the 90s; it was no Gargoyles or Darkwing Duck, but it was definitely one of the better shows based on a Disney movie, and for all its shortcomings, its colorful cast and variety made up for that.

Now, I tell you all this because this film is the true finale to the whole Aladdin series; it even has a nice capstone moment that brings everything right back around right at the end I’ll mention at the review’s end. It’s kinda good to know where this falls in terms of quality in regards to the entire Aladdin mythos, you know? So without further ado, here’s the story:

There’s a party here in Agrabah! And the reason for that party? Aladdin and Jasmine are FINALLY tying the knot after two movies and a TV series! Too bad the Forty Thieves are plotting to steal from the wedding; after Aladdin and the gang fight them off, they find out they have a magical treasure containing an oracle who will give the answer to any one question; Aladdin asks where his dad might be, and it turns out he’s with the Forty Thieves! Aladdin goes off to rescue his dad, and finds out his dad isn’t just stuck in with the Forty Thieves; he’s the motherfucking king! Guess Aladdin really was a prince this whole time, eh? Really wasted that wish in the first movie, Al. Anyway, can Al reconnect with his dad and all that sappy shit, or is his dad just gonna use Al to get dirty stinkin’ rich?

This has all the stuff a grand finale should have: it has a plot focusing on our main character and his issues (something The Return of Jafar lacked), much better quality animation, and even a strong antagonist in Sa’luk. Let’s look at the plot first. There are moments here and there where it’s a bit shaky, but overall I found it executed quite well. It’s a young man reconnecting with his father, a father who is in fact a wanted criminal, and there is the expected conflict. Aladdin isn’t super trusting, Cassim is kinda shifty, and the two butt heads a lot throughout the film, though obviously in the end it becomes truly clear that they care for each other. It’s a pretty sweet thing, and a bit more complex than what you’d expect from a DTV sequel.

Sa’luk is a big plus for being just an absolutely brutal villain. He’s as dark as Jafar got, and he doesn’t even need magic! All he needs is his trusty Wolverine claw knuckle duster. This guy is so hardcore that not even gravity could kill him, and it has killed many villains in the main canon, from Gaston to MacLeach, so you already can tell this man ain’t nothin’ to fuck with. He also kills a goddamn shark onscreen and then proceeds to make the film dark as hell. But Death in the Disney universe is fickle and much like Death in Final Destination; if you think you can cheat it while being a villain, whoo boy do you have another thing coming. For surviving a fall from a great height, Sa’luk is rewarded with one of the most absolutely nightmarish deaths in any Disney film, one so disturbing I shan’t spoil it here; just go watch the movie and see for yourself.

Another note is that the man himself, Robin fucking Williams, is back! He voices Genie again for the finale, and he really is perfect for the role… though sadly, his humor is a lot more hit-or-miss than it ever has been before. While he still has a hell of a lot of zingers – that Thor joke he has in particular is so absolutely corny that I can’t help but love it – he does fall a bit too much into pop cultural references, including towards his own movies (in one scene, he turns into Mrs. Doubtfire to console Jasmine). Obviously he doesn’t ruin the film, and as far as weak Williams comedy goes this is still leagues better than a lot of the best material of some comedians today (COUGHAmy SchumerCOUGH) but I can’t deny it’s lacking a bit of the Genie charm from the first film.

A final bit of info: there’s a lot of intriguing “what could have been” situations for the film. The most notable is that Mozenrath was originally slated to be the main villain of the film, with fans speculating that perhaps he would be revealed as Aladdin’s brother (I can’t stress enough that was all fan speculation, there is no reliable source Mozenrath being Aladdin’s brother was the plan). They decided not to do this to a desire to diverge from the TV series and due to Mozenrath’s voice actor being hard to get ahold of, and I think this decision was a pretty good one; as great as the series is, I think this was a much better way to bring the story of Aladdin full circle. The other interesting tidbit is that Cassim was almost voiced by none other than James Bond himself, Sean Connery, but he had other commitments and sadly could not do it. However, his replacement John Rhys-Davies (AKA Gimli) did a great job, and even sounds a bit like he’s doing a Connery impression. And there’s one more bit of info, the best for last, but let me sum things up first…

This film is pretty good. It’s not as amazing as the first film is, nothing really could be, but as the grand finale of all things Aladdin, this was a pretty fun and enjoyable way to go out. I’d say give it a watch; hell, since it distances itself from the series you can reasonably watch it right after the first film and not have to worry about anything but missing a few background cameos! For a DTV sequel, it’s a fun ride, with a lot of good qualities to it, and by DTV qualities  this is basically the DTV equivalent of Fantasia with how good it is. Don’t go in expecting a masterpiece on the same level as the first film, but expect an enjoyable fantasy adventure with some solid family conflict.

Now, you ready for the last bit of info? The Peddler from the original film appears at the end of this film, singing a variant of “Arabian Nights” to book end the series. This was originally planned for the first film, back when he was going to be the narrator and pop up from time to time, the first film ending with his reprise of “Arabian Nights” as he packed up his camel and rode off into the desert. But that wasn’t used, and after all these adventures he finally gets to do it, the implication being that he spent the entire prologue sequence of the first movie rambling on about all the adventures of Aladdin to whoever was there to buy from him, and in the final scene of this movie his stories and the Arabian nights finally come to an end.

Also, the peddler was the Genie the whole time, as confirmed by the directors in 2015. Figured I’d throw that in there as one last tidbit. Didn’t really book end the review well, but we can’t all be genies disguised as peddlers narrating an entire series worth of adventures, can we?

[marshmallowgoop]

Platonic Senketsu/Ryuko fanfic ? ( please ? )

I’m not sure if this is a request for fic recommendations or a request for a fic, so…

If you’re looking for the former, I made a list for Senketsu fic recs a while back, of which most are platonic Ryuko/Senketsu stories.

I also include a lot of platonic Ryuko/Senketsu stories in my own fic, Strings and Threads, a collection of Kill la Kill short stories. Any romantic Ryuketsu will be labeled with “Ryuketsu” there; the rest is platonic.

If you’re looking for the latter, well. I’ve been working on a platonic Ryuko/Senketsu story that might be of interest, maybe?

Title: comfortable

Fandom: Kill la Kill

Summary: A trip to the movies becomes something more.

Notes: Author’s notes/commentary for this story can be found here.

[AO3] [FFNET]

It all begins on July 7th, with a romantic space adventure.

The movie was Senketsu’s idea, ‘cause somehow—and it wasn’t any fault of hers—Ryuko’s ridiculous uniform got it in his ridiculous head to find the trailers intriguing.

Like, intriguing-enough-to-warrant-a-trip-to-the-theater intriguing.

And Senketsu didn’t just want to go as a joke, either. He was stone-cold, dead serious. Some sappy, insufferable love story between an alien and a human that those damn promos and TV spots couldn’t stop overhyping got him all starry-eyed in a way that Ryuko thought only a good ironing could do, and he was completely unapologetic about his excitement, eagerly gushing on and on and on.

And, well, Ryuko wasn’t gonna rain on Senketsu’s parade (he just hasn’t seen enough movies to know any better, she told herself), but if she were being honest, she was absolutely, utterly convinced that no one else in the entire world wanted to see the corny mess. Even Mako of all people passed up on it.

But beyond Ryuko’s most out-there, nonsensical, wildest expectations, Satsuki agreed.

Satsuki Kiryuin.

“I think it looks quite sweet,” Satsuki said, when Senketsu inquired about the cheese-fest while out on one of their shopping extravaganzas. She smiled his way—that-too-nice-for-Satsuki kinda expression that Ryuko’s still getting used to—not even hesitating as she declared, in no uncertain terms, “I would love to go with you, Senketsu.”

Ryuko right choked on her ice cream at that.

Senketsu couldn’t have been happier.

(But he tried very hard not to let it on, the obnoxious outfit.)

Still, even if the thought of her own flesh-and-blood sister having such terrible taste made Ryuko die on the inside a little bit, she put it on herself to see the best of the situation. She was stuck going to the theater with Senketsu no matter what—God knows (if there is a God, of course) that Ryuko would endure ten trillion times worse than a shitty movie to see Senketsu happy—but at least with Satsuki tagging along, Ryuko would have someone else to keep her company, too.

There would be no way that Ryuko’s very own big sis could think such a ridiculous, gooey, feel-good sap trap was any good at all once they were actually there in the theater.

No way in hell.

On the sunny, balmy afternoon of July 7th, Ryuko is wrong.

Very, very, very wrong.

Well, actually, Ryuko tells herself, as the three of them exit the dark theater, the movie was just as bad as she had expected. (Maybe even worse, if she were telling the truth.)

But she certainly, definitely didn’t expect the absolutely nauseating gushing that Senketsu and Satsuki got up into as soon as the credits rolled.

Heck, how they even kept paying attention past the first fifteen minutes is well beyond her understanding, but as soon as Ryuko comes face-to-face with the overly-bright, too-hot reality of summer in Japan, she can’t try to deny the sickening, horrible truth a second longer.

Satsuki and Senketsu didn’t just like the movie.

They loved it.

And they’d spent the last who-the-hell-knows-how-long spouting out nothing but praises and overeager blubbering, and they’re not stopping. They’re standing out in broad daylight and walking down the sidewalk talking their mouths off about the most embarrassing movie to hit the theaters in ten million years.

Ryuko half-considers tossing the last remnants of her Calpis over herself just to get them to yap about something else.

But she doesn’t.

And on they go.

On and on and on.

“If I saw it again,” Senketsu says, after spilling out a whole stream of I know, I know!s, “I still wouldn’t be able to keep myself from crying when the pair parted in Australia!”

He blinks movie-theater darkness from his eyes, staring up at Satsuki, who nods her head. “I didn’t cry, but I got awfully close,” she admits. “The scene was ruined a little by the night sky. There would be no way you could see those constellations at that time of year in Australia.”

Senketsu just about leaps right off of Ryuko’s chest at that. “I was thinking the same!” he cries. He’s as bubbling with excitement as he would be after the best damn ironing in the world, and he pushes Ryuko to walk a bit more quickly so that they can keep up with Satsuki’s always-too-fast pace.

Ryuko only begrudgingly follows his lead, sipping those final bits of Calpis from her cup as obnoxiously as she can.

Neither Senketsu nor Satsuki make any note of it.

“The inaccuracy wasn’t enough to pull me out of the moment,” Senketsu goes on, now right beside Satsuki, “but it was a bit glaring.”

Satsuki nods some more in agreement, and if Ryuko weren’t so fed up over a silly movie, she might have found something amusing or funny or nice about how thoughtful Satsuki is over a thing she enjoyed.

Maybe even something sweet.

But now Ryuko’s just tired and it’s not so amusing or funny or nice or comfortable to be ignored by your clothes and your sister, and she only feels her irritation build inside her as Satsuki continues, “You would think the filmmakers would do more research for such a big-budget film!”

Satsuki shakes her head, frowning a bit, clutching her bag a bit tighter. “And there is also no way that robot could have moved so easily in the sand,” she adds. “It was shaped like a soccer ball.”

“And practically all of Earth’s satellites orbit the planet west to east, not east to west!” Senketsu and Satsuki say together.

They both break out laughing.

Ryuko throws away her empty cup into the nearest trash bin with a grimace.

“I had no idea you were so interested in astrophysics and astronomy, Senketsu,” Satsuki says. She’s now smiling a very strange smile that makes Ryuko just a bit uncomfortable.

Senketsu blushes—at least, Ryuko thinks that’s what he does, since she suddenly feels a lot warmer (and she was already hot enough to begin with in this 500-degree weather).

“Well, y-you know,” Senketsu tells Satsuki, “Ryuko and I have both been to space. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since.”

And Satsuki just won’t quit it with that smile. Ryuko swears it’s only getting worse. Weirder.

“You should take a look at some of the books in the Kiryuin library,” Satsuki says. There’s that overeagerness to her tone that’s almost as uncomfortable as the ever-increasingly-uncomfortable look on her face, and she smiles a bit wider, adding, quickly, excitedly, “I think you would particularly like—“

And Ryuko can’t help herself. She groans.

“Jesus,” she whines. “If you wanna yap about this stuff so much, I don’t think I should be the one wearing Senketsu!”

And they all stop walking. Right there. Just like that.

An awkward silence falls over the three of them, and in retrospect, maybe Ryuko would admit that she maybe sounded a bit too fed up and pissed off.

But at the time, Ryuko feels more than justified in her outburst. Being dragged along in a conversation by your damn clothes isn’t exactly what she would call a good time.

Or comfortable.

But Senketsu hardly seems to mind the abrasiveness of Ryuko’s words. He just brings his full attention to her, his eyes wide.

“Would it really be okay?” he asks. “For Satsuki to wear me?”

And Ryuko can’t really find the words to answer right away. Senketsu can no doubt feel her heart fluttering, and she’s come to feel very, very, very hot—like, way more than the this-is-summer kind of hot.

But Ryuko eventually takes a deep breath, tryin’ to think a bit before she speaks. “Kamui Senketsu,” she says, using the most chastising mom-voice she can muster (even though she’s well aware that she is not convincing in the slightest), “I thought you finally got it through your head that you ain’t just some outfit.”

She pauses, on fire, and then gently, quietly, she adds, “You got a will all your own, Senketsu. You’re your own person.”

They’re still stopped in place. Senketsu can’t stop staring up at Ryuko, and Satsuki is staring, too.

Ryuko bites down on her lip, turning away. “And grown people don’t go around asking other grown people for permission to be with a grown person who ain’t them,” she continues, hastily, face flushing. “Well, at least, they shouldn’t! So you shouldn’t be askin’ me any of this.”

Nobody says anything. They stay standing obtrusively on the sidewalk, and Ryuko can’t help but feel even more embarrassed when she sees that Satsuki’s awkward, uncomfortable smile has shifted into something you’d see plastered on the face of some proud mom at her kid’s violin concert.

But Ryuko doesn’t get too long to fuss over that as Senketsu sighs against her, which she takes immediately as Senketsu-language that he’s gonna disagree with her, or something.

And he promptly does nothing of the sort.

“You’re right, Ryuko!” Senketsu declares. “I should be asking Satsuki if it’s all right!”

So Senketsu looks to Satsuki Kiryuin and the big weird smile that she’s now directing his way (that’s continuing to make Ryuko feel even more uncomfortable), and he asks, very nervously, “What do you say, Satsuki? Would you… wear me?”

Satsuki’s smile only grows. “I would be honored, Senketsu,” she says. “It has been too long. And I—“

Satsuki stops abruptly, meeting Ryuko’s eyes, her icky, uncomfortable smile falling into what Ryuko could only describe as shame.

“And I would love to wear you again,” Satsuki finishes, weakly.

And, well, now Ryuko’s mild (yes, mild) discomfort and annoyance has twisted into the desire to just throw up all the popcorn and Calpis she’d spent the last two hours focusing on rather than the kill-me-now kitsch that was the ridiculous movie she’d overpaid for (even if it was Ladies’ Day, she still always bought a ticket for Senketsu (and the hot mess wasn’t worth even a single yen, if you had to ask her opinion)).

It wasn’t like Satsuki was trying to be a bitch or anything—at least, Ryuko hopes so, anyway. But the reminder of that time just turns and turns Ryuko’s stomach.

She doesn’t let it on.

“Let’s get on with it, then!” she says. “Let’s go change right fuckin’ now.”

“Now?” Satsuki repeats.

“This minute?” Senketsu tries to clarify.

“Right now this minute,” Ryuko insists.

And, okay, maybe she sounds just a little done with them.

But Senketsu and Satsuki agree, however reluctantly.

The three decide to grab lunch at a nearby convenience store, but before they do any of that, they head into the restrooms to change.

Ryuko, for one, is quite glad that no one else is in the facilities when they step inside. Quiet and emptiness meet them in the bathroom (as well as a space that Ryuko has to admit is much cleaner than she would expect from a convenience store).

Ryuko sighs as she enters a stall with Senketsu. Without a word, Satsuki goes into the one right beside her, the door closing with a click.

And Ryuko sighs once more, surrounded by mustard-yellow walls and a gleaming toilet. Though she would never say it out loud—and though she knows she hasn’t even been with Senketsu a year yet—life without him by her side still feels like a gross, distant past, and the thought of walking out of here by herself is… strange.

Uncomfortable.

Ryuko would never say it makes her nervous, though. Never nervous.

Her heart must say otherwise.

“Ryuko…” Senketsu starts, looking up at her with big, concerned eyes.

But Ryuko turns away, pulling him off as aggressively and suddenly as she had the day his memory returned.

She talks fast. “Senketsu,” she groans, “y’know better than to get all chatty in the bathroom. People’ll think we’re doing weird shit in here.”

Senketsu falls to the bathroom floor, leaning up against the wall. “But there’s no one else in here, Ryuko…” he says.

“Whatever!” Ryuko says right back.

She flings open the door and shoos Senketsu out like a little lost child. “Sis,” she says, much more loudly than necessary, “open your door up so Senketsu can get over there.”

Ryuko awkwardly reaches one arm out of her stall, using the other to hold the door close to her (as though to cover herself from anyone who might happen to wander in, but why the hell she gives a shit about modesty anymore is beyond her).

“Also I’m holding my hand out for your clothes,” Ryuko adds. “So, like, just, uh, give ‘em to me, or somethin’.”

“Very well,” Satsuki answers, and very uncomfortably, very ungracefully, she successfully passes her clothes into Ryuko’s hands. (Of course, Satsuki’s prissy ensemble almost falls to the ground what feels like half a dozen times and Ryuko has to stretch her arm out the farthest it’ll go to get to them and there’s a bit of swearing involved, but somehow, they manage.)

And armed with a new outfit, Ryuko retreats back into her stall and locks the door with a frown. Maybe they shouldn’t have done this right now this minute after all. The thought of wearing her sister’s clothes has never seemed so unpleasant—uncomfortable—until she has them in her hands.

“Sats, you dress like such a mom,” Ryuko whines, pulling an ankle-length wrap skirt over herself. Rayon has never felt stranger to her after wearing little but Life Fiber and cotton pajamas for so long.

“And who the hell wears sweaters in the middle of summer?” Ryuko’s barely pulled the cream-colored knit over herself and already she feels hotter than hell.

But Satsuki isn’t paying the slightest bit of attention to Ryuko’s complaints.

“Senketsu, you are lovely,” she says to Senketsu instead. “But I do think I’m a little old for sailor uniforms—don’t you think you are too, Ryuko?”

Ryuko’s frown deepens.

“I suppose you are still in high school…“ Satsuki muses.

Ryuko ties the slick white ribbon on the indigo skirt that now covers her into a sloppy bow. “Yeah, I am,” she grinds out. “So, what?”

Ryuko so doesn’t need this kind of patronizing bullshit right now. She fiddles with her sister’s clothes, trying—and failing—to look somewhat presentable. It’s more than obvious that nothing fits her quite right, and the sweater is the worst offender, hanging off her body loosely and awkwardly, the threads bunching up in a manner that’s way uncomfortable.

Deep inside, a part of Ryuko never even wants to leave this stall.

But she’d never let any of those feelings on.

“Do you not wanna wear Senketsu anymore, huh?” Ryuko finds herself asking. A familiar anger bubbles up inside—the kind that’d bring her to strip down to her underwear and take on a gun-toting, even-more-naked guy with just her fists. “I swear, Satsuki. I don’t care if you’re my sister. If you make Senketsu cry, I’ll—“

“And why would I ever do a thing like that?” Satsuki asks.

“I am not so prone to fits of crying!” Senketsu adds. He sounds so damn defensive that Ryuko doesn’t have to be anywhere near him to know that he’s got that hurt, put-upon look on his face.

Ryuko crosses her arms, leaning up against the mustard-yellow wall. “Hmph, excuuuse me for caring,” she says, feeling damn hot in the face, but Senketsu and Satsuki pay her no mind.

“You are an incredible person, Senketsu,” Satsuki is saying. “And I have been thinking. You are certainly more than a mere sailor uniform, so I know you are capable of looking like more, too.”

Senketsu stutters. “I-I…” he says, and though Ryuko can’t see, she imagines Satsuki giving him one of her uncomfortable, weird-o smiles.

“If we do something like Life Fiber synchronization,” Satsuki goes on, “then I know you can become whatever you like. Whatever suits you.”

“I’ve never done that before,” Senketsu says. His voice trembles in a way that Ryuko has hardly ever heard coming from him, and for some reason, it all makes Ryuko feel like she’s melting even more in this unseasonal sweater.

But she’d never say anything.

“I know you can do it,” Satsuki tells Senketsu. “Let’s try!”

“All right, Satsuki!” Senketsu says.

And before Ryuko knows it, together, as one, Senketsu and Satsuki shout out, “Life Fiber Synchronize!,” their words seeming to echo across the empty, desolate space around them.

And Ryuko sinks down to the bathroom floor (that probably isn’t quite as clean as she thought it was coming in) at the sound, letting her head fall against wall, wishing more than anything to tear this suffocating sweater off.

But she doesn’t.

And they laugh. Senketsu and Satsuki laugh more intensely than Ryuko even thought possible for the two of them.

“You look great!” Satsuki cries, when the laughter falls away. “This is exactly something I would put in my closet. How did you know?”

Senketsu can’t keep the excitement out of his voice. “I just gave it my best!” he says. “I saw what you gave Ryuko, and I thought, “If any ordinary clothes can look like that, then why can’t I?””

The stall beside Ryuko opens with a creak, and Ryuko hears her sister rush out with Senketsu, calling her name with that overeagerness that just serves to make Ryuko feel even surer that she’d love to never leave this stall.

But Satsuki insists. “You must see this,” she says. “Senketsu has done a fantastic job.”

“We did a fantastic job, Satsuki,” Senketsu butts in. “Remember, you are the one wearing me.”

So with a groan and a grumble, Ryuko rises to her feet, brushing down on Satsuki’s skirt and sweater and slowly, embarrassingly opening the stall door to reveal a sight that boggles the mind almost as much as the fact that human evolution was literally a thing just because of clothes aliens that wanted to eat them all.

Because her Senketsu… no longer looks like her Senketsu at all.

The outfit her sister wears before her is entirely foreign. Gone are the midriff-baring top, the suspenders, and mini skirt, replaced with a frilly, baby-blue button-up and a cozy-looking circle skirt in gray.

Ryuko wouldn’t even believe that the sight before her was her Senketsu at all, had she not looked towards the elaborate, floral pattern embellishing Satsuki’s collar and noticed, without a doubt, Senketsu’s warm eyes staring back at her.

She swallows very hard, feeling her face turn very, very red.

Satsuki smiles Ryuko’s way. “You ought to try this yourself sometime,” she says.

But Ryuko can only nod, dully, as Senketsu and Satsuki skitter to the bathroom mirrors and laugh and spin in front of the glass, complimenting each other and gushing about their teamwork.

In her head, Ryuko would admit that, well, okay, sure, maybe it is a bit jarring to hear Senketsu’s voice coming from somewhere other than her.

But she would never, ever admit that what leaves her firmly Not Hungry is the strange smile on her sister’s face and how Senketsu and Satsuki just can’t shut up. They’d gone right back to talking about that damn movie again, blathering on and on about this and that and how romantic!

Ryuko could hurl.

Somehow, though, Ryuko manages to at least nibble on her yakisoba-pan.

Then again, never in her life has convenience-store yakisoba stuffed in a hot dog bun tasted as bad as it does right now, as she sits next to Satsuki and Senketsu in the park and they act like some half-baked love story is worth more than a one-word review that just says, “Sucks.”

‘Course, Ryuko thinks, spending so long chewing the ends of a noodle that it quickly just tastes like mushy nothingness, Senketsu would tell her—all smugly and condescendingly—that it’s better to not eat much of this stuff. Junk food, he’d say. How can you expect to keep up your strength with that?

Least, he would say all that crap, if she were the one wearing him.

Ryuko sighs. It’s still summer and hot and sticky (and she’s still stuck with Satsuki’s sweater), but even she could admit that it’s a fine enough day. The sky is a rich, deep blue, the way the sun filters through the leaves is so picturesque that if Mako had come along she’d beg to take about a hundred photos, and sitting here in the shade surrounded by all this niceness—with a cool breeze fluttering by that should keep her from getting too overheated—would normally be great. Any other day, any other time, Ryuko would love to be where she is, eating cheap-o convenience store food with Senketsu and Satsuki beneath the trees.

But now, well. Now she’s never felt sicker. The yakisoba-pan seems to taunt her with its smell and pitiful, this-stuff-was-made-really-fast appearance, and it’s only when a bit of yakisoba slips from its bun and falls to the ground with a heavy splat that Senketsu and Satsuki take any note of Ryuko at all.

Senketsu looks her up and down at the noise (abruptly cutting off some conversation about space and time and love and who-knows-what).

“Ryuko,” he says, his voice filled with the kind of concern that makes Ryuko feel even more ready to just vomit all over the place, “are you all right? You’ve barely touched your food.”

More yakisoba drips from the bun to the ground, and Ryuko watches it fall, making absolutely no attempt to get it to stop. The cicadas are screaming and flies make their way to the dropped food, and, quietly, Ryuko stands herself up.

“It’s shit,” she says. Her voice is surprisingly calm for how much she wants to scream along with the cicadas, and as she makes her way to the nearest garbage can, she wonders when in the world she got this kind of self-control.

Ryuko stops before the bin. “I don’t want this crap,” she goes on, and without any feeling at all, she watches as the yakisoba-pan falls apart in the trash, the yakisoba spilling every which way, breaking away from the bun.

Ryuko takes her place back on the bench beside Satsuki and Senketsu. Satsuki frowns. Ryuko ignores it.

“I thought you’d like that I’m not eating that stuff,” she says. Ryuko meant to direct the words at Senketsu, but, well, actually, it probably applies to the both of ‘em.

Satsuki really didn’t like hearing about all the Cup Curry Rice and instant miso soup she ate before she lived with the Mankanshokus, after all…

And now, Satsuki just frowns harder—and it’s harder for Ryuko to ignore it—her caterpillar eyebrows furrowed in Concern. “Ryuko,” she starts, “are you—“

“I just wanna head home,” Ryuko blurts out. She supposes it’s true, but that doesn’t stop the blush creeping over her cheeks. “I-I mean,” she stutters, “it’s just been a long day, and I’m, uh, like really tired, and, uh…”

Satsuki stands with a graceful flourish and swish of Senketsu’s now long, gray skirt. “I see,” she says. “I suppose it is getting a bit late. I’d best return Senketsu to you, shouldn’t I?”

Satsuki’s sweater might as well be eating Ryuko alive. “Jesus,” she grumbles, looking away. “Senketsu ain’t fuckin’ mine. I don’t own ‘im. It’s Senketsu’s choice to do whatever he wants.”

Ryuko lets her eyes meet his, for just a moment. “Right, Senketsu?”

Satsuki’s blue top looks very suddenly a bit pink. Ryuko tries very hard to smile, though she’s not really looking at Satsuki and Senketsu anymore, and her effort probably just comes out seeming kinda fucked up and demonic.

“Look,” Ryuko says, standing up again herself, cracking her back as though she’s toootally cool with this whole situation (which she is, of course, definitely, absolutely, why wouldn’t she be?). “You two’re havin’ so much fun, so why don’t you stay with Satsuki for a change, Senketsu?”

The words fall out before Ryuko can even stop herself, and both Senketsu and Satsuki stare at her wide-eyed.

Well, Ryuko would be happy to join her fallen yakisoba and the screaming cicadas right about now.

But she can’t stop it with the incessant, worthless blubbering. “Y-Y’know,” she says, trying very hard—and failing even harder—to hide the twitter in her voice, “I was just thinking about how nice it’d be to spend some time away from obnoxious outfits!”

Satsuki and Senketsu exchange worried glances.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Senketsu asks.

“I don’t need ya babysitting me!” Ryuko says—well, shouts, more like, which just serves to make Satsuki’s frown become even more intense.

Ryuko sighs, and more quietly, more calmly, she adds, “’Sides, you should be askin’ Satsuki if it’s all right, not me.”

So up Senketsu’s eyes go, to his wearer. “Would you mind if I stayed the night with you?” he asks.

“Not at all,” answers Satsuki. “But—“

Ryuko claps her hands together. “Well, I am just so glad we got that figured out!” she says. Her attention falls to the baggy, ill-fitting ensemble dripping off her body. “I’ll return these mom-clothes to ya when we meet up again.”

Satsuki doesn’t even react to Ryuko’s insults. She says, “Are you sure—“

But Ryuko storms away without waiting to hear the rest, waving a hand behind her.

“You guys just have fun,” she says, even as she hears Senketsu call her name and Satsuki mutter something or other that she can’t especially make out.

And, okay, sure. The walk back from downtown has never seemed so long.

Fine. Ryuko would admit that much.

Slouching and dragging her feet along the sidewalk, Ryuko keeps herself distracted by kicking along pebbles and listening for the click, click, clicks as they hop across the pavement. Whenever she loses a pebble to the grass or the streets, she picks out another on her path to hit along instead. Ryuko never seems to hold on to a stone for more than fifteen sidewalk squares, and maybe another time that’d annoy her, but she’s got more than enough eating at her now.

It’s not that she’s jealous, of course, Ryuko thinks. Satsuki just doesn’t know how to wash Senketsu right and ain’t got a clue about how he likes to be ironed and maybe Satsuki would hurt herself wearing Senketsu for so long in that weird state because Senketsu was designed for her after all and she’s just concerned, okay?

Ryuko loses another pebble on her walk. This one can’t even have lasted five sidewalk squares, and she pauses on her way, groaning, trying to find another.

But it seems this sidewalk is fresh out of pebbles, and Ryuko ain’t got anything even close to the patience or energy or care to go pick out the one she lost to the grass.

So she’ll just deal with it, she thinks. If Senketsu and Satsuki come cryin’ back to her in the morning, then she could at least say that they’d tried.

Ryuko almost-smiles at the thought. Things are gonna be okay. It’s not like Senketsu is gonna…

Well, Ryuko doesn’t get the chance to ponder anymore on that. Seemingly out of nowhere, she’s attacked with a loud, energetic, over-peppy shout from none other than Mako Mankanshoku.

“Lady Satsuki!” the girl cries. She promptly throws down the yellow sponge she’d been using to clean the family car and rushes to where Ryuko stands, her arms outstretched for a hug.

“I didn’t know you’d be coming to visit!” Mako goes on, but her smile quickly falls as she gets a better look at the very not-Satsuki Kiryuin with the too-big, uncomfortable clothes and ordinary eyebrows and wild hair that will never sit flat, no matter how hard you might try.

“Oh, it’s you, Ryuko,” Mako says, frowning a bit. “Why’re you all dressed up like Satsuki? Where’s Senketsu?”

Ryuko feels her stomach churn. She barely even ate that yakisoba-pan, but she might just throw it all up right now.

She doesn’t.

“Oh,” she says, trying very hard to sound casual, but Satsuki’s clothes don’t have pockets or even little pouches like Senketsu does, so she can’t oh-so-nonchalantly fiddle with something as though the conversation they’re having is no big deal at all (which it isn’t, of course, why would it be?).

She ends up rolling up the sleeves of Satsuki’s sweater, like she’s getting ready for a fist fight. “Well, Senketsu n’ Satsuki just decided to hang out a little while longer, that’s all,” she explains.  

And Ryuko smiles, sort of, melting in this horrible sweater more than ever.

And Mako’s mouth falls wide open.

“You mean that Satsuki is wearing Senketsu?!” she bursts out. “Are you sure that’s okay, Ryuko?”

Ryuko flushes, turning her head away from Mako. “Why wouldn’t it be?” she asks. “Senketsu is his own person, you know.”

Mako can’t stop looking at her funny, but eventually nods her head sagely. “Okay, Ryuko,” she says, very matter-of-fact, very knowingly. “Your secret is safe with me!” She winks, offering Ryuko a wide-toothed grin, but now it’s Ryuko’s turn to have her own mouth fall open.

“My what now?” she gasps. “Mako, don’t tell me that you still think that Senketsu n’ me—“

“It’s okay, Ryuko!” Mako repeats, patting Ryuko on the back as they walk towards their home. “You don’t have to hide anything from me!”

Ryuko sighs. It’s still one ear and out the other with this family sometimes, but she supposes she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Why don’t I help you with the car?” Ryuko asks, smiling for real now. “It’s… partly my fault that it’s all covered in blood, after all.” (Only partly, though. It’s not her fault that overpass bridges aren’t nearly as high as they should be.)

Mako nods her head eagerly, handing Ryuko an oversized sponge.

Okay, but maybe there’s still something that’s just kinda-sorta odd as hell about changing into pajamas at night and not hearing a peep from Senketsu.

Ryuko steals a glance at the bathroom mirror before going to wash Satsuki’s clothes. Her hair’s just as all-over-the-place as ever, and, feebly, Ryuko brings a hand to her head to push the wild strands down.

It all just fluffs back up again in moments.

Of course.

It’s not like Ryuko would like her hair all flat and silky and refined like Satsuki, though. No way in hell. She’s not that boring, and it’s not her fault if Senketsu’s so boring that he prefers the boring-boringness of Satsuki Kiryuin over her.

Unlike that sister of hers, Ryuko doesn’t have some stick up her ass and isn’t some lame-old fine lady who drinks tea and acts all proper-like and you can tell that even from her hair and…

She’s not jealous, okay?!

Ryuko rushes out from the bathroom with Satsuki’s clothes clutched too tightly in her hands, her fingers digging into the fabric and threads. She scrambles over to the wash tub and throws the garments down more furiously than she should, and fills the basin more viciously than she should, and adds more of Mrs. Mankanshoku’s laundry detergent than she should, and when she goes to scrub out all her sweat and stench, she scrubs much more aggressively than she should, too.

If it were Senketsu she were washing, he’d be screaming and crying at her to “be gentle!” and to “quit it!,” but these clothes say nothing and Ryuko’s just fine with that!

But when Ryuko hangs Satsuki’s too-big, ugly sweater and prissy, ankle-length skirt to dry on the line, and when she heads to bed, there’s an odd sensation that overtakes her, one that she can’t especially explain. It’s a bit out-of-body, a bit surreal, a bit uncomfortable, and when Ryuko pulls her polka-dotted blanket over herself, a part of her hopes that it has only been a dream, this entire atrocity of a day. She’d wake up in the morning and look to the wardrobe and there wouldn’t be an empty hanger anymore and…

And what the hell is her problem, anyway? She’s not five years old anymore, Ryuko tells herself, calling her dad from her dorm every night and twisting that damn phone wire ‘round and ‘round her fingers as he doesn’t pick up. She’s not fifteen anymore, listening to punk-ass bitches she woulda swore were on her side talking shit about her (and going outta her way to break more noses than anyone probably should).

But when Ryuko pulls her sheets completely over her head, to cover herself in total darkness, to hide away from her family and a shadowed wardrobe and abandoned hanger, sleep still only comes to her in short, nightmarish fragments full of Maiko Ogure and Fight Club and dinners all alone.

On July 8th, long before morning, Ryuko wakes with her heart racing and her body slick with sweat, and she sits up quickly, holding a hand over her mouth.

Her pajamas stick uncomfortably to her skin, but it’s not nearly as uncomfortable as the horrible ache in her stomach. That yakisoba-pan’s getting to her, or maybe it’s the Calpis, or the popcorn, but whatever it is, Ryuko needs the toilet.

Now.

She hurries to her feet, careful to step around her family’s sleeping forms as she hops straight to the bathroom, where she promptly throws on the lights and shoves her head over the toilet bowl.

Her mouth falls open. She coughs and gags, and hardly keeps herself quiet. However selfish it is, nothing else matters right now besides getting this shit out of her.

But nothing comes. Ryuko’s stomach feels ready to explode, but nothing comes.

With a groan, she leans away from the bowl, unsure if she should sit around here and wait for the inevitable vomit flood or try to sleep again, but she pauses as she catches her reflection in the water.

She nearly screams, too, when she sees the white gloves that have covered her hands.

“No…” Ryuko mumbles, shooting up to her feet.

But the cracked, murky bathroom mirror confirms everything. Her hair is even wilder than usual, spiking up unnaturally—so much so that no amount of pressing down or water or hell, even gravity could tame it—and it’s streaked with red and blue, adorned with twisted silver that juts out from her scalp.

And it laughs at her. Her entire appearance laughs at her.

“Come on, Ryuko…” her reflection says. It has the most shit-eating grin on its face, and its eyes are wild and manic, the lids painted scarlet. “Did you really think he would want to stick with you?”

It laughs some more, and Ryuko backs away. She leans against the wall, pulling at the blue-edged collar that brushes uncomfortably against her cheeks, but it’s stuck, stitched on, and this time, no amount of tearing or snapping seems to get it to budge.

The expression in the mirror darkens. “You’re so damn annoying,” it says. “Actin’ all high n’ mighty, like you can jus’ get away with anything you want ‘cause you think you deserve it.”

Ryuko stops struggling. Her reflection glowers. “But here’s the thing, princess. You can’t erase what you did.”

It smiles once more, and Junketsu only seems to hold Ryuko tighter, its fabric pulling her so close that it’s suffocating.

And Ryuko can’t say anything, as her reflection laughs in her face, and Junketsu screams, and the white gloves won’t go away.

And she still can’t say anything, as blood covers the mirror and splatters over her, and she sees in the glass the blurry image of Senketsu drenched in red.

And so it is on July 8th that Ryuko really wakes with Senketsu’s name on her lips.

She only barely manages to keep herself from shouting out, clamping a hand over her mouth before she can make any sound at all.

It’s late—or disgustingly early (Ryuko can’t say she can tell). The house is as quiet as it ever gets, filled with only the distant sounds of the screaming cicadas and the gentle rumble of her family’s snores, and it’s so dark that Ryuko can hardly tell that the hanger perched on the wardrobe is empty.

She pulls her hand away from her mouth, staring down at her blanket, ignoring the uncomfortable, too-hot feeling she has on account of her shit sleep tonight and her shit dreams.

And nervously, twittery, Ryuko bunches and bunches her sheets up in her hands, smiling a little, knowing that any other time, Senketsu would tell her to wear his glove “for protection against the nightmares!” right about now, and she’d say back (like always) that he’s being ridiculous and she doesn’t know where he got it in his head to spout out that kinda crap.

But she’d do what he said anyway. Of course she would. Of course she would.

And of course Senketsu would rather be with someone who never betrayed him and treated him well and Senketsu and Satsuki had even come up with Senjin-Shippu together and that’s something she hadn’t considered and it’s not Senketsu’s fault that she’s terrible and he’s tired of putting up with it, right?

Ryuko shakes her head, falling back into bed. No, no, she thinks, Satsuki and Senketsu can’t possibly get along like she and Senketsu can, of course not, no way, Senketsu was made for her after all, isn’t that right, and after those two spend one night together they’ll realize that—

That what?

Ryuko turns over to her side, facing away from the wardrobe and towards Mako, who sleeps just as heavily as usual. Piles of drool puddle up across Mako’s pillow, and normally, any other day, Ryuko would inch away at the sight of all that spit.

But now, tonight, Ryuko is instead filled with a sense of longing. If only she could get some sleep.

And then she just kinda wants to swear at the top of her lungs at the thought.

What the hell is she sittin’ around moping about? It’s not that she’s jealous or anything petty like that and tomorrow everything will return to how it was anyway and besides there are just ways that things should be and Senketsu being with Satsuki all night isn’t how things should be and Ryuko can’t sleep only ‘cause she’s been horribly amused this whole time ‘cause it’s just so damn funny and there’s a natural order to stuff and—

Okay, maybe that’s not the best way to put it.

She’s just—she’s not jealous, right?

Right?

Ryuko turns over once more, back towards the abandoned hanger glistening in the starlight, and no matter how much she tells herself that it’s nothing and she’s fine and it’s not like that (of course it’s not), she can’t sleep for the rest night, tossing and turning even worse than she did right before she first faced Satsuki all decked out in that piece-of-shit Junketsu.

It’s only when streaks of morning punch her in the face that Ryuko thinks back to her dreams and Junketsu and then Senketsu covered in blood that she knows it’s not jealousy at all, what’s kept her up all night.

But the truth certainly doesn’t make her feel any better, and if she could only get some damn sleep, she’d just stay in bed all day.

Easily.

But at 6:17 AM, Ryuko gives it up. She forces herself out from the warmth and comfort of her sheets—‘cause of course Satsuki would be wide awake at that godawful time in the morning—and she punches in the number of Satsuki’s cell on the phone, pulling the cord with her ‘til both she and the phone are outside.

Cool summer air hits Ryuko’s skin and the sound of ringing hits her ear and she shudders at the thought of figuring out what exactly she’s going to say.

Just seein’ if you survived one night of my obnoxious outfit, she thinks. Just checkin’ up to make sure yer not dead.

The more Ryuko considers, the more ridiculous it all sounds.

The more Ryuko thinks about it, the more uncomfortable everything feels.

But Satsuki picks up before long, gigging incessantly. “This is Satsuki,” she says, still laughing. “Hush, Senketsu! It’s important to keep a proper presence on the phone!”

Well, that certainly doesn’t make Ryuko feel any better. She blanches, clutching the phone wire tight.

“You sound well,” Ryuko says, dully. Faintly, Ryuko hears Senketsu laugh, too, and it takes everything she has to hide the hurt in her voice as she adds, “Senketsu sounds great, too.”

“Oh, yes,” says Satsuki, trying—and failing—to keep her tone level and free of giggles. “We are both doing quite well, Ryuko. And how are you?”

Ryuko doesn’t get a chance to really answer (and it’s not like she would want to, anyway). Satsuki seems to turn her full attention to Senketsu right then, and the phone line is filled with incoherent fuzz and split-off conversations and laughter and Ryuko could really be throwing up now, probably?

But she doesn’t.

“Forgive me, Ryuko,” Satsuki eventually says, after an annoyingly-loud throat clearing. “Senketsu would like to talk to you, but I’m not quite sure about the best way to get him to speak over the phone—“

The line fills up once more with laughter. And fuzz. Tons and tons of fuzz.

Ryuko pulls her head away from the speaker, groaning.

“Okay!” Satsuki says soon enough, very loudly, as though she is far away. “I’ve put the phone against Senketsu. Can you hear him?”

Ryuko scowls. “I can just hear you, actually.”

“Very funny, Ryuko,” comes Senketsu. His voice is still a bit fuzzy, but it’s clear enough that Ryuko can tell that he is in high spirits. There’s a bounce in his tone—the kind he gets when he’s being ironed or when they go flying in Senketsu-Shippu.

And Ryuko didn’t even think it was possible at this point, but her own spirits fall below the ground and straight into the Earth’s core at that. She can’t find anything to say back to Senketsu, standing with the old landline phone held up against her face and her fingers nervously twirling and twirling the coiled wire, her whole body burning hot no matter the chill, early-morning summer breeze that can’t stop hitting her.

Senketsu must notice. Of course he does.

“Are you all right, Ryuko?” he asks, all kindness and worry, and Ryuko can only clench her fist around the phone wire at the sound of it.

“’Course I am,” she says, so loudly that she might-probably be bothering the too-close neighbors whose houses are just about rammed up against her own. “In fact, it was so nice to get a break from your annoying ass!”

Ryuko spits onto the ground, scoffing like she’s about to go fight up against the latest competitor ever. “I think you should stay with Satsuki longer!” she says.

Senketsu is quiet. Ryuko’s heart races in her chest. Well, it is nice to get away from how he can read shit like that so easily.

Not like being distanced really stops him, though, and he says, very Concerned, “Ryuko, are you—“

And Ryuko clutches the phone wire so hard she might just have to invest in a new one again.

“I said you should just stay with Satsuki longer, didn’t I?!”

She doesn’t wait to hear anything more. Ryuko busts back into the house, slamming the phone down with a too-loud huff, her face very red and her heart still beating way too quickly.

If this is the way it’s gonna be, she thinks, it’s completely fine! It’s more than fine! She’s just so incredibly, wonderfully fucking fine!

And maybe Ryuko would just simmer in her complete and total fine-ness, but a knock sounds on the door before she even knows it, startling all her thoughts and leaving her suddenly very aware of the fact that she’s breathing hard and fuming after talking with her clothes on the phone at 6:30 in the morning.

But something tells her that the door is for her, so Ryuko makes her way over, giving absolutely no shits about how her hair must be even worse than usual and giving even less shits about how the strands really oughta be stickin’ up in fifty different directions and she also doesn’t give any shits about how she hasn’t changed out of her pajamas and she definitely, absolutely, 100% doesn’t fucking care about the dark circles that must be drooping off her eyes because she slept worse than garbage and would probably just fall over if she weren’t so fine right about now.

So Ryuko opens the door, looking very much like the trash she slept like, only to see none other than Senketsu and Satsuki themselves.

And she promptly slams the door in their faces.

Satsuki wrenches it right back open. Ryuko scowls.

“You really flew all the way over here?” she asks. She tastes the nasty-ass morning breath in her mouth, and she hopes it smells just as bad as it feels. “What the fuck for?”

Well, that makes Satsuki look quite Exasperated. “What for?” she repeats. “Because of this sight before me!” She gestures up and down at Ryuko, her motions uncharacteristically sloppy and frenzied—but completely-characteristically full of Concern.

Ryuko only feels her irritation grow. “Says the one wearing Senketsu around like that in the middle of the street,” she says, dully.

But neither Satsuki nor Senketsu are really paying any attention to her anymore, quite content with talking among themselves as though Ryuko isn’t even there.

“I told you,” Senketsu is saying, his voice obnoxiously matter-of-fact, like his I’m-only-a-year-old ass really knows more than anyone else, “Ryuko needs someone to keep her in check. It was selfish of me to leave her alone all night.”

Satsuki frowns. Ryuko could spontaneously combust. Mako tells her people have done that at her dad’s “hospital” before. It’s possible.

But she doesn’t.

Satsuki says, “Senketsu, but what if it’s simply the stress of—“

And Ryuko can’t take another word. “I am right fucking here,” she says—well, just-about-screams-to-the-heavens, more like. “You wanna say something about my appearance or whatever the hell else, you can say it to my fucking face! Or blow it out your fucking ass!”

And Satsuki raises one of her giant caterpillar-butt eyebrows at Ryuko at that outburst. “Ryuko, as your older sister, I am just concerned—“

And, well, Ryuko doesn’t wait to any more. She slams the door on the two of them (again), fuming. She would have thought that this patronizing crap was behind Satsuki ever since the two of them had figured out their blood connection, but now she’s half-convinced that this shit has just become even worse: it’s gone from just patronizing to the kind of garbage, over-protective, big-sister, patronizing for your own good crap.

And it’s just made even worse when added on to Senketsu’s already worry-warty self.

And it’s only after Ryuko has stood still for a good few seconds that she notices the entire Mankanshoku family behind her.

“Don’t say anything,” she says, and she storms off into the main room before they even have a chance to stop her, as if she could really get away that easily, grimacing as she catches the sight of Satsuki and Senketsu in the window.

Ryuko slams that shut in their faces, too.

Doesn’t stop them from running their mouths, though.

“Senketsu would like to say that he cares about you very much, Ryuko!” Satsuki shouts, her voice just as loud as it had been when she’d spouted out orders from the top of Honnouji Academy. (Her tone is just as irritatingly commandeering and contentious, too.)

“And Satsuki loves you very much herself!” Senketsu adds.

“We’ll be back in the morning!” they shout together, and though Ryuko doesn’t watch, she hears them fly away, chattering among themselves, and she falls back to her sheets at the sound of it, pulling the covers up ‘til her shoulders.

Well, there’s no way she’s going to school today. No way, no way, no way.

But Mako is in the room in only a moment, peering over at Ryuko with big bug eyes. “Ryuuuuko,” she says, leaning over, her hair brushing up against her neck, “we have to get ready to go or we’ll be late again!”

Ryuko pulls the covers completely over. “I’m sick,” she says. She turns the farthest away she can from Mako, scowling to herself.

“Yeah, heartsick!” Mako cries. With a great huff, she pulls Ryuko’s sheets away and scowls a scowl that could rival Ryuko’s own, refusing to let Ryuko grab back her covers (no matter how much Ryuko’s hands reach over to snatch them back from Mako’s grip).

“Ryuko, you can’t cure your heartache moping around here, so stop it! You’re not gonna win the fight for Senketsu’s heart lying around here on the floor all day!”

Well, that brings Ryuko right up to her feet.

“The what?!” she gasps, hardly keeping herself from falling over.

Mako gets very, very close to Ryuko’s face.

“You heard me!” she shouts. “The. Fight. For. Senketsu’s. Heart!”

Ryuko’s mouth falls open. Her face burns.

Mako can’t stop staring at her with starry eyes.

“Two sisters,” Mako says, dreamily, “torn apart by love! What tragedy! What horror!”

Ryuko could die.

She doesn’t.

“Okay, first of all, there is nothing appealing about that kinda situation,” Ryuko manages to say. “But you’re misunderstandin’ again. It’s not—“

“You don’t have to lie to me, Ryuko!” Mako cries. She drapes a dramatic arm across her forehead, shutting her eyes and leaning over as though the weight of what’s going on is too much to handle.

“I see the way you look at Senketsu!” she says. “I see—“

And Ryuko promptly snatches her blanket back from the distracted Mako and pushes herself right back under them. “I’msickandstayinginbed,” she says, but Mako lifts her up as though she’s nothing, the covers falling away.

“W-what are you doing?!” Ryuko blubbers. She struggles to break free, but Mako’s grip doesn’t let up one bit.

“I’m rooting for you!” Mako declares. “You are going to win this war! I’ll make sure of it!”

Mako brings Ryuko right into the bathroom and plops her flat down onto a chair that seems to have come from nowhere because Ryuko is sure it wasn’t there last night and she’s slept like shit and—

God, all she wants right now is just to sleep.

Ryuko sighs (for what feels like the millionth time in the last 24 hours). “Look,” she starts to say, but she stops pretty abruptly when she catches sight of her reflection in the mirror.

Oh, she thinks. She does look horrible. For real.

Her hair is sticking up in every direction, defying all logic, reason, and, well, that gravity thing. It seems more than impossible to have just woken up like that, but there her hair hangs above her, a frizzy, wild mass of human and Life Fiber and…

Right. Maybe it’s not so weird, being what she is.

Ryuko turns away, quiet. There’s only so much lookin’ at herself that she can stand, especially when her pajamas are crinkled and too tight and falling off at the same time and her face is all red and her eyes are all bloodshot like she’s been crying but she hasn’t been cryin’ not a bit not even a little she hasn’t she—

And Ryuko is quite quickly forced to notice that Mako’s taken a wet brush to her hair. She gasps suddenly, breaking herself away from her thoughts, grimacing as cold water drips down her neck and forehead.

“…and once Senketsu sees how popular you are,” Mako is saying, and Ryuko realizes all at once that she hasn’t heard a word of whatever the heck Mako had been goin’ on about up to this point, “he’ll see just what he’s missing and come running right back! He’ll see that he’s your uniform and only yours!”

“But he’s not,” Ryuko says. The words come out much calmer than she had expected, and even she is surprised by the composed tone she’s taken on. “He’s not mine. He can do whatever he wants…”

Mako pauses in her furious brushing of Ryuko’s hair. “And date anyone he wants?” she asks. “Look deep inside yourself, Ryuko! You don’t want Senketsu with anyone but you and you know it! You have to fight!”

Ryuko feels her hair deflate—and not from Mako’s brushing “Why would I have to do that?” she asks. “It’s his life.”

“But what about your life?!” Mako cries. She stands before Ryuko, placing her hands firmly on Ryuko’s shoulders, squeezing, tight. “Ryuko, you deserve happiness with Senketsu!”

Ryuko pushes Mako’s hands away, her touch gentle. “You’re still misunderstanding,” she says, and then she smiles a little, as much as she can. “Senketsu and I aren’t like that at all.”

“But—“ Mako tries, her eyes very wide, but Ryuko squeezes Mako’s hands now, and the girl quiets.

“We’re not like that,” Ryuko repeats. She stands, and Mako doesn’t try to stop her as she leaves the bathroom, her hair dripping icy water that falls to the floor and across her pajama top, and as she prepares herself for the day.

She’s fine, Ryuko tells herself. There’s no reason to stay in bed. She and Senketsu aren’t anything like that at all, so what reason is there to be upset? To sit around mopin’ all day?

None. No reason at all!

So why is it, Ryuko thinks, as she sits in class that day, and hastily finishes her homework, and unenthusiastically jams food into her mouth at lunch, that she can’t stop thinking of him? Why is it that every classmate that passes her by reminds her of him, and his stupid comfortable fabric, and reminds her of how he isn’t there to talk with her anymore, and to tell her to calm down, and—

Mako’s gasp breaks through Ryuko’s thoughts. It takes Ryuko a moment to realize that the hamburger steak between her chopsticks had fallen right to the ground.

“How horrible!” Mako cries. She frowns at Ryuko, her expression very serious. “Ryuko, you have got to talk to Senketsu!” she pleads. “Otherwise, there will be more unnecessary food death!”

Ryuko scoffs. “Food death?” she repeats. “Aren’t you just going to eat that anyway?”

Mako already has the fallen bit of steak in her hand, and she turns a bit red at Ryuko’s accusation. “T-that doesn’t matter!” she insists, jamming the hamburger steak into her mouth. “You still have to talk to Senketsu!”

“I’m glad to get a break from that obnoxious know-it-all,” Ryuko answers, just as she has been this whole time, poking chopsticks into her smiling tako sausage, but she drops some lettuce and tomato to the ground before lunch is over, and she can’t pay any attention at all to her afternoon classes, no matter how much she knows she ought to be thinking about end-of-term exams.

On July 8th, Mrs. Mankanshoku prepares a bath for Ryuko after dinner, just as she always does.

“Take as long as you like, dear,” she says, extra sweetly, more so than usual, and Ryuko tries very hard to hide her embarrassment.

She just wasn’t hungry, she wants to say. That’s the only reason why she just pecked at her food more than she ate it.

But Ryuko still spends an extra-extra-long time in the bath, drenching herself in the horrible, wonderful stench of cucumber and vanilla, trying to let herself believe that it’d be enough to make her feel better, and to quell her fears, and to allow her to imagine, just for a moment, that she is not alone.

And maybe it would have worked, if Mako hadn’t caught Ryuko returning Mrs. Mankanshoku’s homemade laundry detergent to its proper place.

Mako looks Ryuko up and down then, her eyes catching on Ryuko’s wet hair and the detergent pail still clutched in her hands.

“Ryuko,” she says, very slowly. “What were you doing?”

“Taking a bath,” Ryuko answers. Her grip around the detergent pail tightens. She feels very hot.

Very uncomfortable.

“With Mom’s laundry detergent?” Mako asks. She frowns, only for her eyes to get so big that Ryuko becomes half-convinced that they’ll bug right outta her face.

“Oh. My. God!” Mako cries. She gets very close to Ryuko’s face, that bug-eyed look still very much staying put. “Your love for Senketsu is so strong, you even want to smell like him! How romantic!

Mako’s expression darkens. “How tragic!”

And Ryuko is so exhausted and overwhelmed that she can’t find it in her to even be surprised or offended at Mako’s outburst.

She just stands very still, her hair dripping, her grip on the laundry detergent slipping.

What was she even doing?

Mako takes a hold of Ryuko’s free hand. “Ryuko,” she says, “you have got to fight! Fight for your love!”

Somehow, Ryuko manages to shake her head. “You’ve got it all wrong,” she tells Mako, for what must be the umpteenth time. “It’s just, I’m… I’m part-clothes, right? So who says I even can love, huh? And-and, who says I should even use human stuff in my baths, huh? Maybe I shoulda been usin’ laundry detergent my whole damn—“

And Mako quite abruptly takes Ryuko by the shoulders. “Do you want me to iron you now, too?!” she cries. She’s got a wild, almost manic look to her now, her big brown eyes wider than ever. “Ryuko, listen to yourself! You can’t replace Senketsu by being him! You are Ryuko! You aren’t Senketsu! You have to fight, fight, fight!”

Ryuko looks away. “Fight for what?” she asks.

And Mako looks more than ready to spout on and on about that, but Ryuko’s grip on the laundry detergent just so happens to slip completely right then, and the pail falls to the ground, dumping laundry powder all over the floor.

“Shit,” Ryuko says at the sight, and she groans, and she falls to the ground herself, to pick up the mess she made, but something about that damn tipped-over, rejected laundry detergent pail and the scattered powder brings a sob to her throat, and she clasps a hand over her mouth to keep from crying out.

Mako softens at the sight, not even hesitating to crouch down beside Ryuko, wrapping gentle arms around her.

“Ryuko,” she says, and there is none of the dramatic flair or fighting spirit in her tone any longer, “you have to talk to him.”

Ryuko dully nods her head. She swallows back her tears, calms her breathing. “Yeah,” she says, quietly. “Yeah. You’re right.”

And shyly, she brings her own arms around Mako, and returns the hug.

It’s not until the late evening that Ryuko sums up the courage to call Senketsu, and she stands a long moment before the phone, her hair now dried, the stench of cucumber and vanilla filling her ‘til she feels sick.

Mako gives her two thumbs up. Ryuko takes a deep breath, reaching her hand for the phone…

And the phone promptly rings as soon as her skin makes contact with the cheap plastic.

Ryuko picks it up, hesitantly. Mako scurries away with a grin.

“Hello?”

There’s silence, and then, quietly, “Ryuko.”

Senketsu. Ryuko can’t help herself. She freezes up at the sound, twirling the phone wire in her fingers.

“Senketsu,” she says, “I…”

She doesn’t know what to say. Ryuko swallows, shuts her eyes. It’s so much different over the phone. She just wishes… she just wishes…

“I’m worried about you,” Senketsu says for Ryuko, filling the space. “Satsuki is, too. We’re going to come over in the morning.”

Ryuko manages a laugh. She acts like it’s a surprise, like she hadn’t heard them declare that they were coming back just this morning.

“Again?” she asks. “You were just here!” She tries to force another one of her lies, that she’d hoped they’d stay away a little while longer no matter what they’d said before, because she was just starting to get used to all the peace and quiet she got without his annoying ass around.

But Ryuko can’t do it anymore, and she’s silent, her mouth dry.

“We have… something to tell you,” Senketsu says, and Ryuko doesn’t get any time to react to that as he shouts a hasty, “Goodbye!” and the line goes dead.

Ryuko takes a long moment before she puts down the phone, and when she finally forces herself to, she does it slowly, quietly, standing horribly still.

It’s only when she sees Mako in the corner of her eye that she grits her teeth together, her hands folding into fists.

“Well,” Ryuko says, much more loudly than needed, “if there was a fight here, I sure got my ass handed to me!”

Mako’s smile falls, and she is uncharacteristically quiet, and she stays that way as they prepare themselves for bed—for sleep that Ryuko knows will never come.

Something to tell you, she thinks.

So, it’s true after all.

Morning takes too long to come.

Ryuko rises as soon as she sees the first glimmers of light, stepping quietly outside to watch the sunrise.

She pushes away the thoughts of Senketsu watching the sunrise with her when she couldn’t get any rest.

She pushes away the thoughts of wearing his glove to bed.

She pushes away the thoughts of sleeping with her hand over her heart, to keep that worry wart satisfied with the sound of her heart.

Ryuko absolutely, positively, most-definitely does not think about any of that shit as scarlet and orange and dandelion-yellow light up the sky, so she doesn’t know why her face is wet when she comes back into the house and why her insides are so twisted up with her real issue here that she can barely breathe.

She wipes her face as quickly as she can muster when she sees Mako already awake.

“You’re up early,” she blubbers, as nonchalantly as she can (which is about as “nonchalant” as a Mako ten centimeters away from an all-you-can-eat buffet).

Mako pays Ryuko’s tone no mind, though. “Of course I’m up, silly!” she says. She seems to want to be whispering ‘cause the rest of her family’s still asleep, but there’s a kind of bubbly excitement in her that has it so she’s just-about shouting. “I have to help you get prettied up!”

“Prettied up?” Ryuko repeats.

“Of. Course!” Mako cries. She takes her hands from behind her back, revealing one of the new frilly outfits she’d gotten on one of their shopping trips.

Mako shakes the fabric with a grin, and Ryuko doesn’t have the chance to say or do anything as Mako grabs her by the hand and rushes her to the bathroom with an over-eager, “Come on!”

Ryuko only manages to escape Mako’s makeover to open the door for Satsuki and Senketsu, but by that time, it’s already too late. Her hair is tied back into two girlish pigtails, and to make her even more of an eyesore, they’re all held up by pink ribbons that match the oversized bows on the frilly, ruffly, pink-and-purple dress drenched in lace that Mako had begged her to put on.

Her entire ensemble also matches her bubblegum-pink lipstick.

“You’re going to wear clothes so cute that Senketsu’ll be green with envy!” Mako had said. “And the rest of you will be even cuter! He won’t be able to resist!”

And, well, Ryuko thinks she must actually look like some ridiculous cosplayer who’s lost her way to her convention—and she’s probably a million times more uncomfortable than a girl in that situation, too—but she pulls open the door for Satsuki and Senketsu in the ridiculous get-up all the same. (And tries very hard to ignore their wide-eyed stares.)

“So, what’s so important that you had to come all the way over here to tell me about?” Ryuko asks, as casually as she can muster, but she knows that she can only sound so casual when she’s wearing an outfit and makeup more fit for a magical girl anime than reality.

And she can only be so casual when she knows that Senketsu has decided to leave her for Satsuki.

For good.

She clenches her fist at the thought.

Satsuki can’t stop with the staring. Neither can Senketsu. He’s a navy blue dress today, not too unlike his usual self (though, being on Satsuki, his fabric falls to her ankles, of course), and his eyes rest on a red scarf that Satsuki has tied around her head as a headband.

“Well, Ryuko,” Satsuki eventually manages to say, averting her eyes oddly, “I think… Senketsu would like to sit down, for this.”

“Well, Senketsu can tell me that himself, can’t he?” Ryuko asks in a huff, but she softens a bit as Satsuki holds out a bag for her.

“I know it’s a bit early,” Satsuki says, “but I made these for you earlier this morning. I hope you like them, and that they’re still warm.”

Ryuko takes the gift with a heavy heart. A consolation prize, huh?

Part of Ryuko wants to be angry at the gesture, but she only feels a mixture of guilt and pity and shame when Satsuki explains, “It’s nothing much, but I thought you would like some homemade yakisoba-pan after the other day.”

Ryuko swallows the lump in her throat as she peers inside and sees the neatest fucking yakisoba-pan she has ever seen—with yakisoba so damn perfectly kept inside the bun!—all enclosed in cutesy-pink food storage boxes that Ryuko would have never, ever fathomed her sister having.

“Thanks, Sis,” she manages to say, and she lets them in, prompting an overly-excited Mrs. Mankanshoku to make them all some tea.

But Senketsu is quick to drop the news before any tea arrives and before Ryuko even has a chance to open up the yakisoba-pan, running his mouth almost as soon as they sit at the table.

“Ryuko,” he says, all nervousness and anticipation and quiet enthusiasm, Ryuko trembling horribly at all of it, hardly even able to breathe, “Satsuki and I wanted to tell you that…”

Senketsu looks up at Satsuki before he goes on. Ryuko is so uncomfortable she can barely believe her Life Fiber-infused heart hasn’t just given up by now.

But it clearly hasn’t, and Satsuki nods her head, and together, she and Senketsu look right at Ryuko as they say, quite matter-of-fact, “We’re dating now.”

And, well, Ryuko is quite silent for a long, long moment.

Satsuki’s cheeks flush. Senketsu sweats.

And then, without any warning at all, Ryuko breaks out laughing.

She doesn’t even know how she has it in her to get such a bombastic sound out of herself on account of her shit sleeping for the last two days, but somehow, loud, shrill laughter pours out of Ryuko, and she pounds her hand on the table, blinking tears from her eyes.

“I don’t see what is so funny,” Satsuki says, sounding hurt.

But Ryuko just keeps laughing through it. “Okay,” she says, amidst giggles, “you’re tellin’ me that-that…” She pauses, more and more laughter spilling from her lips, her chest aching as she wheezes and gasps for air.

“You’re tellin’ me that,” she tries again, still spluttering out laughter, still hardly able to breathe, “that-that-that Satsuki Kiryuin—Satsuki motherfucking Kiryuin—is dating—dating—my Senketsu? That Satsuki Kiryuin and—“

But, well, Ryuko can’t quite go on after that.

That’s right, she thinks. Not her Senketsu. Not anymore.

Ryuko grits her teeth together. She laughs again, but it’s no longer the kind that’s for something funny.

“So, it’s true, huh?” she asks. “You’re-you’re really… pushing me out, huh? Don’t wanna be my uniform anymore, huh?”

Somehow, Ryuko gets up to smiling so hard that her face hurts. “Well, it’s about time!” she says. She leans back, crosses her arms as coolly as she can. “Being my uniform must blow! And-and, I was just thinkin’ ‘bout how nice it was—“

“Ryuko.” It’s Senketsu, his voice carrying none of his annoying, know-it-all sassiness, instead full of sappy, feel-good goo that makes Ryuko feel a million, trillion times worse. Senketsu wouldn’t bother to be an asshole when he’s dumping her ass, of all times he should be an asshole?

She’s just about ready to call him the biggest dick in the world, but Senketsu speaks first, his voice far too gentle, too kind.

“Is that what this is all about?” he asks. “You think I would abandon you?” A bit of laughter comes over him. “After all we’ve been through, Ryuko? Why in the world would I leave you now?”

“Because you’re an obnoxious outfit and it took ya this long to get it through yer head that you shouldn’t bother with someone like me,” Ryuko says—mumbles more like—her face very red, her fake-ass smile long gone, and her eyes very sore.

She fiddles with the ends of the pink ribbon on her frilly bodice, keeping her eyes fixed on the stupid thing. “But it still took ya less time than my dad, so I guess you’re not that out of your mind.”

“Ryuko.” Senketsu has gone right into a somber sort of Seriousness, and it makes Ryuko’s stomach turn and turn. “I would never, ever leave you,” he says. “You know that, right?”

Ryuko is silent. Senketsu sighs.

“Ryuko, Satsuki is my girlfriend, but you—you’re my soulmate.”

Ryuko looks up to see Satsuki nodding her head. “I couldn’t keep the two of you apart if I tried,” she says, with a wink. “You’re “two in one,” remember?”

Ryuko looks away, but even she can’t help the small smile coming over her. “Is-is that so?” she asks.

“It is,” says Senketsu. “Now, why don’t you take that ridiculous outfit off and put me on instead? I can be anything you’d like!”

He looks towards the bag Ryuko’s left on the table. “And you should make it quick! Before the yakisoba-pan get cold!”

“This coming from you?” Ryuko wants to say, but she doesn’t, her entire being overwhelmed with something so strange and new and different that she can’t speak.

But it’s not uncomfortable. None of this is uncomfortable at all.

And okay, maybe Ryuko smiles just a bit and is just a bit glad when Satsuki’s scarf comes her way, and she brings him into her arms, and she wraps him around her neck, just like they’d done when she had sworn on everything that she would bring him back if it were the last thing she ever did.

And when Ryuko finally returns her sister’s clothes, and goes to come back into her own, she thinks that someday soon, she will be too old for sailor uniforms, and Senketsu will be too old to be sailor uniforms, too.

But right now, on the brisk, balmy morning of July 9th, Ryuko is still in high school, and still a teenage girl, and she thinks, she’s going to enjoy that for as long as she can.

And she’s glad, and satisfied, and so damn comfortable, that she doesn’t have to say a word to Senketsu about any of it, as he comes to her, and she comes to him, just as they always had.

[zustinviews]

Long Distance Relationship - jb imagine

Pairing: Reader x Justin Bieber

Request: ‘hi love, could you write an imagine about a long distance relationship with justin? one about where y/n mails him something for his birthday and when hers comes up he mails her something as well but also surprises her by picking her up from school/work? and since he's famous she just quickly gets into the car (so no one would see him) and once they arrive at hers they realize that they're together again and they hug and kiss and stuff.. thank you xxxxx’

Warnings: none, it’s fluff

A/N: i kind of edited this in a way that it wouldn't be too long. i hope this is what you were looking for @ whoever requested this. oh and before i forget, the time in this imagine is going to jump around a tad.

Y/N POV

In just a few days it would be Justin’s birthday. I was scanning through the shelves in K-Mart in hopes to find something for him. There were some left over candies and other goodies surprisingly from Valentine’s Day so, I decided to go with a thing of chocolate and a teddy bear.

You never really know what exactly your boyfriend, of course in my case it was a lot harder picking something for a guy I've never met in person before. Justin lived in LA, while I lived in Miami. It was about 2,700+ miles so, it was quite the difference. It must've been nice having a significant other live with a few minutes to an hour from you. I never knew what that was like because nobody in my school liked me—relationship wise.

And besides, none of the guys were really attractive. They were complete assholes and players, oh, don’t even get me started on the football players. I placed the things I picked up in my shopping cart and went to the section where they had cards. I scanned through the endless selection of cards until something finally caught my eye.

This would be perfect, I thought to myself. I placed the card in my cart and went to the cashier to check out.

“This must be one lucky guy,” the cashier said, scanning my items. I nodded my head and agreement and began getting my money ready. “Okay, your total is going to be $14.75. Cash, credit, or debit?” What the hell does it look like Debra? 

“Cash,” I simply replied, taking my money out from my wallet to hand to her. She took it, typing in the amount I gave her, and quickly putting it into the drawer.

“Here you are, have a nice day!” She smiled warmly at me. I fake smiled back, walking away from the line. My smile quickly dropped and I rolled my eyes. People can be so, how do you put it? Annoying? Fake? I don’t know. I walked out of the store and went back to my car packing everything away. I hoped Justin would like this.

1 Month Later...

“Wow, Y/N, this is really awesome. How’d you know I liked chocolate?”

“I’m your girlfriend and who doesn’t like chocolate?”

“People who are allergic to it.”

“Shut up! You always say something corny.”

“What was that? Did you say I always make you horny? It’s my job babe.”

“Gross. Anyways, I’m glad you enjoyed your gift and I wish I was there to celebrate with you.”

“Me too Y/N, me too. Want to know what my wish was?”

“No, because then it’ll spoil it the wish. Just save it for when we finally meet one day, yeah?”

“Gosh, you’re so smart princess. What would I ever do without your knowledge?”

“Don’t know. I love you Justin and Happy Birthday.”

“Love you more. Sleep nice.”

3 Months Later...

Today was my 18th birthday and of course, it wasn't going to be spent with Justin. The things I’d do just to be able to hold him. The bell rang, marking the end of the day. I walked out of my eighth period class, which was Pre-Calc, and went straight to my locker. I put in my combination and when I opened the lock, a note fell from my locker. Hmm, interesting.

I picked it up, examining it. It was addressed to me, wonder who it was from. Maybe it was a secret admirer. I laughed at my thoughts whilst opening the envelope.

Dearest Y/N, I’m sorry I can’t be with you on your spectacular day. I enclosed a $1000 Visa gift card so you can buy whatever it is you pleased. I was going to buy you something but, I didn’t know what you wanted. I hope to see you very soon :) - Justin

I smiled to myself after reading the note. I found the gift card and left it where it was. What a guy Justin was. I walked out of the school building to catch my bus when I saw a black van sitting right at the curb. Wonder who that was for. A tall, bulky male exited the van walking over towards me.

“Are you Y/N Y/L/N?” he questioned.

Who the hell even was this guy? “Depends on who wants to know.” I wasn't going to to straight up tell this guy my name. For as much as I know, he could be working for the government. The back car window winded down behind him and a blurry face came into focus.

“Me.” I heard the blurry face say. I glanced back at who exactly was talking when I realized who it was. It was Justin!

“Oh my god! Justin!” I exclaimed, causing all the attention to be drawn to me. “Oh, sorry.” I quietly apologized. Everyone continued going on their way but, I was still freaking out. “Justin, what are you doing here?”

“Get in the car,” he responded, “I’ll explain later.” I did as told and entered the car. Justin moved over to the next seat and I sat where he originally sat. The tall guy from before closed the door after me. I put on my seatbelt and we pulled out from the school parking lot. Hey, at least it’s a free ride home.

“You’re awfully talkative on FaceTime. Why aren't you talking now that I’m here with you in person?” Justin spoke up, breaking the silence.

“Well..” Think Y/N! Think! What could you say that doesn't sound to sappy or clingy? “I’m not really sure honestly. This all just caught me off guard. I really wasn't expecting this.”

“Did it catch you off guard in a good way or a bad way?” he continued.

“A good way of course! I never thought I’d spend my 18th birthday with you Justin. I’m so glad you’re here.” I smiled at him, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Can I tell you something?” Justin asked. I sat up straight looking over at him, waiting for what he had to say. Please let it not be bad. “Meeting you was my birthday wish.”

I took a moment, processing what he said. “You remembered what I said?” I replied, smiling bigger than before at him.

“I may have a terrible memory but, I never forget what you say to me. Happy Birthday Y/N.” He pecked me on the cheek. I couldn't help but, swoon over how soft his lips were. I can’t believe this was actually happening. 

This wasn't a dream, right?