#and simultaneously I genuinely enjoy love and adore both!!!

[pastrymechanic]

𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘༘ florida wind + troubles

➯ y/n is at a race where she runs into a high school memory she’d like to forget. thankfully ollie comes to her rescue.

➯ very fearful to post my first little writing but i tried my darndest so enjoy or not. constructive criticism is welcome 🌷

➯ warnings: high school bullies but hey we got ollie standing up for y/n!!

the rosso corsa sundress billowed in the soft yet humid miami wind. the peace of being back in beachy paradise felt like she was almost floating on a cloud while she flowed through the familiar paddock, speaking to fans and collecting gifts for ollie.

her sunglasses were pushed up to her head as she slid friendship bracelets onto her wrist, taking photos with fans while simultaneously collecting letters and plushies for her boyfriend. after it seemed most of the fans had been noticed and all important gifts had been placed carefully in her beige tote bag she began the walk back to the ferrari motorhome, passing the jet black mercedes garage as she goes. 

she doesn’t think twice as she passes other paddock goers, walking by two girls waiting near the mercedes motorhome until a familiar italian face pops his head out waving to the girl skipping along her way through the floridan paddock. a simple wave and smile to kimi is given before she continues on until a hand grabs her freckled arm and her journey back is cut short.

a quick squeal and she jumps back, heart thumping through her chest as the sunglasses previously rested atop her head, fall to the sidewalk and she meets the eyes of who stopped her. it felt as if every single high school memory flooded back to her in a second. the insults, the rude looks, the violence for a girl she’d tried to forget.

“y/n? long time no see, finally got to a race, i see.” the girl’s arms crossed over the sky blue dress, one y/n adored with its contrast against the hateful girl’s tan skin. 

“oh, yeah. you know my boyfriend got me paddock passes.” she let out an awkward laugh, twisting the ends of her sunglasses in her hands, desperately trying get this conversation to end faster. why years later did she have to run into her old high school “friend”?

“oh? where is he?” the girl stood behind her blast from the past asked, a matching dress in moss green adorning her body as she smirked at the memory of a girl.

“oh he’s just waiting for me in uhm, ferrari.” she spoke vaguely, trying desperately not to let them in on her private life even more than she already had.

“you don’t have to lie to us, y/n. it’s okay if momma bought the tickets for you.” the girl faked a frown. while y/n let out a deep breath, currently hoping and praying anyone would come pull her away, unfortunately the small curly headed mercedes driver seemed to disappear after a quick greeting from his close friend’s girlfriend.

“listen, i just want to enjoy my day with my boyfriend.” y/n tried to brush off the conversation, gently as the people pleaser she always was and will be.

“oh shut up like you actually have a boyfriend. give it up, if i don’t have one right now then you certainly can’t.” her old friend groaned, her hands dropping down to her sides in exasperation. almost as if she genuinely didn’t believe the girl stood before he once again, but who was she kidding she most definitely didn’t believe y/n.

just as she felt as though it would never end a hand snaked around her waist and the familiar british accent spoke beside her.

“hello amore mio, i was waiting for you.” (my love) y/n could barely turn her head before ollie turned her head for her and gave her a sweet yet short peck she’d never get tired of. 

“oh uhm just got caught up.” she smiled at him, leaning on his shoulder as he looked towards the girls. after years he could read the girl before him like a book and obviously these people were a bother, he just couldn’t figure out how.

“oh? i’m oliver.” he nodded towards the two girls who seemed gobsmacked,  both rushing to speak to their old celebrity crush.

“oh my gosh ollie, i love you so much. i’m an old friend of y/n.” the previously harsh girl put her best smile on her face with a hand extended, promptly ignored by ollie.

“it’s oliver.” ollie corrected and y/n couldn’t help but let a small smile through at his sternness before he whisked her away back to ferrari, her dress twirling making her feel like a less woodsy, more motor oil version of giselle from enchanted.

“do you know i love you?” y/n looked up at the ferrari driver, a genuine smile shone up to him as he smiled back down, his happiness stemming from her sunshine smile.

“and i. love. you.” ollie fit a kiss between each word as they entered his driver’s room before she pulled away with a series of giggles.

“thanks for saving me from my high school bully.” her voice barely above a whisper, as her eyes searched the briton’s face. her eyes filled with memories flashing through them, her mind only brought back to the present by ollie’s voice.

“you’re welcome love, it’s my offical duty as your lovely f1 driver boyfriend.” y/n gave a playful smack to his chest before rolling her eyes at his joking ego. with a small laugh she pulled him back into a hug so tight he thought he might loose his head to her  love before any crash into a barrier. after her hold loosened ollie pulled back with pure love in his eyes before sighing in contentment at the girl before him. her gorgeous eyes staring back at him with her hair slightly tangled from the florida wind. oh how he would protect her from everyone who troubled her. anytime, anywhere.

[mothwingwritings]

What Picture Of You The Baki Men Choose As Their Phone Background, Pt. 1 <3

Reader X Baki, Retsu, and Katsumi

I saw this prompt for some other fandoms and thought it was absolutely adorable, so here are some silly little sweet headcanons for your reading pleasure!

Thank you and I hope you enjoy!

Warnings: Mostly fluff, some mentions of suggestive themes and spicy texts, but other than that it’s rather mild. Also, it’s pretty lightly edited. No gendered words, but leans towards a female reader.

/)/) /)/) ( . .) (⸝⸝ᵕ ᵕ) ~ ♪ (ა📱ა૮( )ა

Baki Hanma 📱

Lock Screen- A cute picture of the two of you from one of your first official dates. It was at an amusement park and some of the park employees were greeting oncoming guests dressed up as mascots, milling around the front of the park posing with and taking pictures with the newcomers. At the time you were rather embarrassed, the characters mostly flocked to the children that were entering the park, but since there were no children in your party they all buzzed around you instead. The huge, florescent pink cat-suited individual that danced around you commented on what a lovely couple you were, urging you and Baki to form a heart with your hands as they posed energetically behind you, their cohort (an equally bright blue dog) snapping a quick picture of the three of you with Baki’s phone. Though the photo was rushed and a little blurry, you are all smiles in the shot, both yourself and Baki looking both bashful and genuinely happy. The love radiating through that image alone warms his heart each time he glances at it, and it warmed yours in turn to know he cherished the memory as much as you did, going so far as to set it as his lock screen so that he could be reminded of it each time he checked his phone.

Home Screen- A candid picture of yourself on another one of your dates, taken quite some time after the amusement park picture was taken. The newbie awkwardness in your relationship had greatly diminished at this point, a peaceful sort of comfort and familiarity now reigning supreme in your romance. Years of being with another person does that to you, your new-relationship jitters subsiding as you get to know all about your partner, their best and worst sides. With time all their obnoxious or gross habits have long since been laid bare, but you are still somehow simultaneously finding new things about them that make you love them even more. Your love changes with time, morphing from something fresh and new to something much deeper, more concrete, more real. The picture he displayed on his homes screen was taken on a random day at a random time when nothing in particular was going on. You were simply walking in front of him and stopped for a brief moment to look at something across the way. He wasn’t even sure what it was that caught your attention, didn’t even really care, he was just fully fixated on you and how breathtakingly gorgeous you looked in that average, everyday moment. Before he even realized he was doing it he snapped a pic, and he was very grateful that he did. Each time he stares at his screen his heart races, beating so rapidly it’s as if he was back in the puppy-love stage of the relationship, and he falls for you all over again.

/)/) /)/) ( . .) (⸝⸝ᵕ ᵕ) ~ ♪ (ა📱ა૮( )ა

Retsu Kaioh 📱

Lock Screen- Like Baki, Retsu is rather fond of candid pictures. Something about capturing you spur of the moment in your day to day life really appeals to him, his heart fluttering when he catches glimpses of reminders that you have become a part of his daily routine. He gets to witness you in all states of being, and knowing you are comfortable enough around him to be your most natural, unguarded self, warms his heart like nothing else. You yourself didn’t find anything super special about the picture he took of you at the home and garden store. If anything you felt the image of yourself holding a succulent in a death grip, eying it a little too intensely as you debated whether you wanted to purchase it or not, was embarrassing. Retsu begs to differ, and each time you gripe about it he goes on a mini spiel, explaining to you in a little too much detail just how endearing he finds your ‘suffering an internal crisis as you try to find the perfect plant for the kitchen windowsill’ expression. This never ceases to instantly make your cheeks blush bright red at the impassioned nature of his tone. Still, the fact that he can find such ardent moments of love in the mundane is one of the reasons why you fell for him to begin with. You hope to share many more little adventures with him that yield even more random pictures you can look back on and smile, whether you personally find them flattering or not. As long as they bring Retsu joy, you will find joy in them as well.

Home Screen- If the picture of you at the store made you a little self-conscious, then his home screen was enough to make you want to bury your face and cry. At some point he had snapped an image of you asleep on the couch. This wasn’t some cutesy ‘I just fell asleep and look like a peaceful little angel’ snooze either- you were DEEP in the troughs of a nap, completely dead to the world. Mouth wide open with a rivulet of drool seeping out the side, old shirt rumpled up with your hand rested on your exposed belly, hair an absolute rats nest as it messily framed your head, it was the kind of picture that could easily be used as blackmail. Yet Retsu cherished it, beaming down at it like a parent looking at their child’s straight A report card. While you cringed each time you peered at his phone screen, questioning why in the world he would pick such an unflattering picture of you to stare at each day, it crossed your mind that maybe he set it as a joke, or to poke fun at you. That thought was quickly laid to rest however, as the sheer look of pure love that reflected in his eyes each time he stared at it made you keenly aware that his choice of setting it as his wallpaper was no prank. Somehow he found true beauty in that gross picture of you, and that in and of itself melted your heart a little bit. So it didn’t really matter how much you loathed the picture, after seeing Retsu’s puppy dog eyes as he stared at your passed out visage you decided it was fine to let him keep it as his background in lieu of something a little more complementary (as long as no one else was allowed to use his phone and potentially see it, that is).

/)/) /)/) ( . .) (⸝⸝ᵕ ᵕ) ~ ♪ (ა📱ა૮( )ა

Katsumi Orochi 📱

Lock Screen- He is definitely the type of dude to have some kind of dweeby, professionally done picture of the two of you as his lock screen. You remember thinking he was kidding when he asked you if you were interested in booking a couples photo session, but when you noted the serious look in his eye as he pressed the issue, you knew the offer wasn’t a joke. Though hesitant, you found yourself unable to turn him down, and a few days later you found yourself in a photo studio posing awkwardly while a photographer happily snapped away, complimenting what a cute couple you were as he directed you to pose this way or that. Despite the previous uncertainty and slightly uncomfortable atmosphere, quite a few gems were born from the shoot, and you ended up being very happy to have some beautifully charming shots to look back on. A certain picture stood out from the rest, one grabbed just as some silly, random comment from Katsumi made you both burst into a fit of laughter. With his arms wrapped around you from behind and huge genuine smiles engulfing both your faces, you leaned into one other, reliant on each other’s support lest you collapse to the ground into a pile of giggles. It was such a fun, happy capture that it very easily became your all-time favorite picture of the two of you.  So you couldn’t help but smile when you happened to spy his lock screen, finding it ironic that he chose your favorite picture to grace his background, especially when your own lock screen displayed the exact same pic. <3

Home Screen- A spicier selfie you sent him in the past. While there is no nudity in the shot itself, you can pinpoint the precise moment you took the shot, remembering it as one that definitely led to some much more revealing pictures (with provocative text to match). You also remembered being quite proud of the selfie- the seductive smolder in your eye, the way your shirt had slunk down your shoulder, the coy little smile on your face as you bit into your bottom lip, all of it came together for a truly sexy presentation. You weren’t one to often brag about your looks, but that day you worked hard to look hot and it had certainly paid off.  That day had also blessed you with good lighting and one of the best hair/makeup days of your life, so to see the image grace his phone screen made butterflies burst in your stomach, a feeling of elation washing over you with the realization that the effort you put in was not in vain. Though it made you blush a little to see that he had made one of the private pictures you sent him his phone background, there was no denying that it pleased you greatly. He was the type of man that earnestly believed that you were the most gorgeous thing on the planet no matter how much or little you were dolled up, but realizing that he took extra notice of when you put in effort to look your best for him, liking it to the point of making it a picture he could stare at all day (while all manner of fantasies were surely buzzing through his brain)…. Well, it certainly set your heart a flutter, for more reason than one.

/)/) /)/) ( . .) (⸝⸝ᵕ ᵕ) ~ ♪ (ა📱ა૮( )ა

[creampuffqueen]

I wanna hear more avatar headcanons! From the novels or just the avatars themselves! I loved reading your kavik and yangchen hcs 🥹🫶🏻

ahhh thank you!! i'm glad you like my random thoughts lol 🫶

here are a few more random thoughts i've been having that i just haven't quite made into posts yet (mostly yangvik because i love them but some other avatars as well):

yangchen is actually a terrible cook 💀 she's basically always had people taking care of her so she never really needed to learn! she can make a good cup of tea and that's about it. she regularly burns rice. she's also just generally bad at remembering to feed herself. kavik, who is a decent cook, is largely the only reason she remembers to eat

as for the other known avatars: kyoshi is by FAR the best cook. she's genuinely good at it. aang is a very close second. roku, kuruk, and wan are all average at it. korra has been banned from every kitchen in republic city

yangchen and kavik both strike me as people who really enjoy physical touch. they both really enjoy cuddling with each other, even before their relationship turns more romantic. acts of service is also a major love language for them

i also feel very strongly that they never used typical labels for their relationship. they usually referred to each other as their 'partner', occasionally 'lover', but most often just continued to use 'companion'. these vague labels frustrate scholars to no end, and today in the atla universe nobody can agree on the nature of their relationship. which is exactly how they wanted it lol, they were extremely private about their relationship

yangchen does have the iconic crooked smile that all the avatars share, but it only comes out when she's well and truly happy about something

her laugh is the same way. she has a very convincing fake laugh, as her real laugh is kind of 'ugly'. it's some kind of snorting, wheezing sound that kind of sounds like she's dying but is also absolutely adorable. yangchen hates it. kavik adores it, and will make an absolute fool of himself trying to hear it

yangchen is a massive, merciless flirt and takes great pleasure in seeing just how red she can make kavik's face turn. but on the rare occasion kavik gets enough confidence to flirt back, she turns into a total mess

pik and pak's favorite place to sleep is right on top of kavik's face

because of how hard she works herself, yangchen often falls asleep in the strangest places. if she's actually tired, she can fall asleep literally anywhere. it's simultaneously a superpower and a massive annoyance

a somewhat sad/bittersweet headcanon i have is that yangchen dies first. i've seen a lot of people saying that she lives to 150 but i can't find a source for that anywhere so i'm choosing to ignore it. yangchen has already watched too many loved ones die, she doesn't need to see kavik die before her as well. they both live very long lives, but kavik outlives her by a few years. after yangchen's death, he returns home to the northern water tribe

at one point, only a few months before his death, he is out for a walk when a little toddler wanders up to him all alone. he chats with him for a few minutes until the boy's parents find them and thank him for watching over their son. 'kuruk, what have we told you about wandering off like that?' the mother asks. the toddler waves goodbye, and kavik walks home feeling oddly contented. he never meets the boy again, and he dies well before kuruk is revealed as the avatar, but he feels a sense of peace from the interaction, knowing deep down that yangchen has made it safely back into the material world

when kavik dies, he wills his bone necklace to kuruk's family. they don't understand why until kuruk's sixteenth birthday. (SERIOUSLY THEIR NECKLACES LOOK ALMOST IDENTICAL ITS WILD)

that's all the thoughts i can scrape up off the top of my head, but i'm just generally thinking about avatar characters All The Time lmao. thank you for asking!!!

[vee-crytraps]

Kiss Me More {Themes/TW's Masterlist}

Pairings: Dick Grayson/Reader, Jason Todd/Reader, Tim Drake/Reader, Damian Wayne/Reader Trigger Warnings: 18+, light yandere, graphic descriptions of sex, Fan-non personalities, reverse harem, unhealthy relationships, unhealthy pining, teenage hormones, (legal) age differences, fem!reader, violence, drug use, polyandry. General Themes: Sex positivity, sexual curiosity, sexual promiscuity, sexy sex sex sex, struggling with growing up, struggling with Naughty Feelings, trying to become a person, general feeling of being misunderstood, possibility of light angst in future, family death (mentioned).

Chapters: 1 | GROAN (Jason/Reader 🔞) 2 | BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE 3 | EAU D'BEDROOM DANCING (Dick/Reader 🔞) 4 | ORNAMENT 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 5 | KRIMSON (Tim/Reader 🔞) 6 | TO YOU (Damian/Reader 🔞)

Reference:

Ages: Dick 29 | Jason 23 | Tim 20 | Damian 18 | Reader 18 DICK is the ‘no man will compare to your charming big brother’ type. He is your knight in shining armor, always eager to put you first. He believes no one will be able to take care of you the way that he can, but doesn't view other men as competition- preferring to show you that he’s better. He's your childhood friend, your 'boy-(in-the-room-) next-door'. Dick's love language is...kind of all of them? But he loves spending time with you, lounging about your room while you choose outfits and recount high school drama. JASON is one of your more estranged siblings. He gets off knowing that Bruce views you as an innocent, and that your involvement with him in particular is taboo in all sorts of ways. Part of him is getting over the fact that you really aren’t as delicate as you used to be, far from the annoying brat he believed too weak for their nightly family adventures. He wants to protect you but also feels like he’s missed too many formative years to really boss you around like an older brother. Whenever he tries, it always comes out a little awkward. He’s the care-free fun sibling, letting you get away with whatever you want while simultaneously encouraging it. He is a pleasure seeker and an enabler, but will also recite some poetry after he finishes boning you on his couch. TIM is like a best friend. This relationship is more casual than truly lusty or romantic, at least at the start. Even your intimacy is playful and spontaneous. There's no pressure to be anything but yourself, in and out of the bedroom. Tim mostly adores your curiosity, a trait which you both share. You often go down wikipedia rabbit holes together, or people watch at the park outside of WayneTech during his lunch breaks. You've also started a snapchat series of him falling asleep in strange places. DAMIAN is a total dominant personality, if somewhat socially awkward. In some ways, he believes you belong to him. He views you as a pet or a toy sometimes, wishing to take care of you in his own way. His role in your life is essentially a sexual and romantic version of how Bruce sees you. Damian dresses you, enjoys bathing you and would rather watch you get off than be able to get himself off. Like Bruce, it's as much of a control thing as it is a 'I don't know how to interact with people in a genuine way' thing. He doesn’t always know what to do with reciprocation as he’s never had it, but he doesn’t need it with you. Much like the relationship between a pet and it’s human, it’s one sided care. This is important because Damian cherishes pets over humans, so the fact that he cares for you like a dog means that you’re highly valued in his mind.

Lil Notes: Feel free to suggest/request little scenarios! If they don't inspire anything for Kiss Me More, they might make a nice little one shot! No guarantee that I can get around to them, but I will try my best! I'll be re-posting my work from Ao3 onto Tumblr slowly so I don't flood the tags.

[eiightysixbaby]

Idk if your requests are open- Eddie and rock singer!reader? They both perform at the hideout, which is how they met, and then he finds out she goes to Hawkins High as well. Rest is up to you 😊 p

hi love! thanks for your request, I adore this! I hope you enjoy my take on it 🫶🏻

Eddie genuinely can’t believe his eyes. There’s no way - no way - a girl as gorgeous as you lives in Hawkins and he’s never seen you before. There’s no way this gorgeous girl exists and she can sing like a goddess. But, here you are, performing with your band at the Hideout on the same night he’s performing with Corroded Coffin.

You’re doing a cover of Barracuda by Heart, killing it if Eddie’s being honest. Your voice works so well for the song and your energy is so captivating, he’s actually got heart shaped eyes as he watches you command the tiny little stage. It puts the set they just played to shame, the way you draw a crowd - that isn’t just full of drunk people.

Gareth knocks his fist against Eddie’s shoulder, breaking him out of his trance. Eddie glances at him, unwilling to tear his eyes away from you for too long.

“Dude, they’re fucking amazing,” Gareth says emphatically. “That girl can sing.”

“Tell me about it. I genuinely think I found the love of my life,” Eddie replies, shifting his gaze back onto you as if to prove a point.

He watches as you belt into the microphone, finishing the song and giving an enthusiastic bow before you and the rest of your band leave the stage.

“Go talk to her, man!” Jeff encourages, leaning over the table to grab Eddie’s forearm, giving it a slight shake.

Eddie shakes his head, curly hair flopping around his face. “Nah, I dunno, man,” he starts, but the guys don’t even let him finish.

“Don’t say she wouldn’t be into you,” Gareth interjects “because she literally did a cover of Dio earlier. That girl was made for you.”

“And she’s wearing a Metallica shirt,” Jeff says.

“And I caught her watching our set,” says Grant. “But she certainly wasn’t looking at any one of us except you, Ed,” he laughs.

“Okay, alright, point taken,” Eddie snaps, raising his hands up to silence the group.

He knows he should talk to you. He knows he’ll regret it forever if he doesn’t. And yet, when he sees you sit down with your band mates at the table beside his, he feels his stomach do somersaults. Your laugh sounds like sunshine. Like butterflies and rainbows and glitter and everything good. It simultaneously makes him nauseous and elated. He feels himself go rigid with nerves as you talk mere feet away from him, rambling excitedly to your friends about how well they did up on stage. He feels himself literally turn to stone when Gareth stands up, sidling up to your table and congratulating you all on an awesome performance.

Because Eddie knows Gareth, and he knows he’s not just innocently praising you guys, no. He’s on a mission to make Eddie crawl out of his skin, and he’s about to achieve it.

“Yeah, me and my friend Eddie were just talking about how great you guys sounded. Isn’t that right, Ed?” he says, giving Eddie a wickedly cheeky grin as Eddie turns to look at him. He’d be scowling if it weren’t for the fact that you are also looking right at him.

He’s like a deer in headlights, lips parted slightly as he fully meets your eyes. He blubbers like a fish for a moment before Jeff literally kicks him under the table, waking him up.

“Uh, y-yeah, oh yeah. You guys were incredible, put us to shame really,” he forces out a laugh, tries to force a sense of ease into his voice, which is horribly ironic.

You seem to buy it, though, or at least you don’t comment on it if you can tell that he’s about ready to tunnel underground and leave this bar forever. Instead, you beam at him, a brilliant and gorgeous smile that would have his knees buckling if he’d been standing.

“Thanks, Eddie, but you guys truly killed it. We couldn’t have possibly competed with that Master of Puppets solo you delivered,” you say excitedly, talking with your hands. “I’m Y/N, by the way,” you say, leaning forward on your table, extending a hand as far as it will go for him to shake.

He totally notices how you didn’t extend a hand to Gareth, oh boy does he notice. He only sweats a little bit as he reaches his hand to meet yours, shaking it firmly. “It’s great to meet you,” he says, smiling softly, butterflies still raging in his stomach.

“You should’ve seen him when he was learning that solo,” Grant interjects, “holed himself up in his room for weeks until he mastered it.”

“Yeah, he wouldn’t do anything else but practice. I swear, he probably didn’t shower for day-” Jeff is cut off by an elbow to his ribs, Eddie turning to him with an expression that says ‘you’re dead if you keep talking’.

“Ooookay, anyways,” Eddie interrupts, his cheeks going pink.

His face feels hot as you laugh at the image his friends had put in your brain. But you aren’t truly laughing at him, Eddie can tell, and your response only affirms it. “I don’t blame you, it’s one of those songs that just infects you, right? Your hard work clearly paid off, too,” you say, still smiling brightly.

Eddie feels his nerves ease a bit, and he knows he’s in good company with you. You aren’t phased by his awkwardness, you don’t even seem to notice. Eventually, your friends and his friends all leave the tables, walking over to play some of the pinball machines tucked in one of the corners of the bar. It’s just you and him now, silence washing over the scene as he finds he doesn’t really know what to say.

“So, uh, you from Hawkins? I’ve never seen you around,” he wonders, voice cracking mid-sentence. He wants to slam his head against the table top until it cracks open, but he perseveres.

“I actually moved here at the start of summer,” you say, setting down the glass of water you’d been sipping on. “Moved in right next door to our drummer, caught him playing in his garage the one day, and the rest was history. They needed a singer for the band, and I decided, why not?” you smile, reminiscing on those first days of friendship. “Anyway, I’m due to start at Hawkins High next week for the new school year. I’ll be a senior.”

Eddie’s heart thumps in his chest at that, giddiness brewing in his chest at the thought of seeing you again. “Oh, no shit! I go to Hawkins High, too. I’ll be, uh, I’ll be doing my senior year…. for the… third time,” he winces, earning a soft laugh out of you.

“Third times a charm, isn’t that what they say?” you beam at him, resting a hand on his forearm gently and squeezing once before pulling away. Your soft eyes meet his, and he feels all of his worries melt away. There isn’t a hint of judgment in your voice, in your gaze, and it’s genuinely a weird feeling to Eddie. He feels like he could tell you anything.

God, he’s screwed.

Eddie normally hates the first day of school. Everyone bubbling with an excitement he doesn’t feel, talking to their friends as if they haven’t seen each other in ages, when this town is so small it’d be next to impossible to not have run into each other over the summer. School to him was just a place where people would pick on him, try to tear him apart, outcast him. Yeah, the first day of school has never been Eddie’s favorite day. Until today.

He finds himself getting up before his alarm even goes off, the anticipation of possibly getting to see you taking over his brain. You hadn’t spoken since that night at the Hideout, he didn’t get your number like an idiot, and needless to say he’s been dying to talk to you again. His friends gave him plenty of hell for not setting up a date with you or something, but he just couldn’t do it so impulsively. Now, though? Now, he wants to work up the nerve to do it, and he’s hoping he’ll get the chance to see you throughout the school day.

His uncle Wayne notices the unusual skip in his step, the small smile tugging at his lips as he prepares his breakfast for the day.

“What’s gotten into you, boy? Usually I’m dragging your ass outta bed so you’re not late for first period,”

“Just, uh, just excited to start my last year of high school,” Eddie says, playing it off. “One day closer to graduating and leaving that place forever, huh?”

Wayne doesn’t buy it, knows Eddie’s been dreading doing senior year over for a second time, but he doesn’t press the issue. Just gives him a slight nod and goes out to the porch to drink his coffee.

Eddie flies through his morning routine; scarfs down his breakfast, chugs a mug of coffee very ungracefully, showers and gets dressed. He puts on a Dio shirt, thinking back to the cover of Holy Diver you did with your band. A conversation starter, he thinks to himself. He grabs his keys, heading for his van with his backpack and his little tin lunch box full of drugs in tow - because, y’know, he won’t turn down the chance to make a few extra bucks today if the opportunity presents itself.

The halls of Hawkins High are bustling when he arrives, full of giddy freshmen going over their schedules with their friends, teachers greeting the students, the jocks being obnoxiously loud as per usual. But this time, Eddie doesn’t feel an overwhelming sense of dread consuming him. His eyes scan the sea of people for your familiar face, but he doesn’t see you.

He can’t really be disappointed yet - there’s tons of students here, it’s unlikely you’d be the first one he’d run into. But then first period passes and you aren’t in his class. And then second, and third. Halfway through the day, and still nothing. What if you don’t share a single period with him? What if he doesn’t get the chance to see you at all?

He trudges into the cafeteria at his designated lunch hour, mood lifting a little when he sees Gareth and Grant waving at him eagerly from the table they’d claimed.

“What’s up, man? You look a little down in the dumps,” Gareth says, frowning a little at the older boy.

“He’s sad cause he hasn’t seen the love of his life yet,” Jeff says, coming up behind Eddie with his tray of food, startling him.

“Oh shut up,” Eddie mumbles, taking his seat and pulling his sandwich from his lunch bag.

He’s not really listening to the conversation his friends dive into, he’s too busy scanning the room for you. His eyes roam over the various tables, separated into their designated cliques. He spots the band geeks, the cheerleaders, the basketball team - just the way it always is. There’s a sea of people in here but he doesn’t find the one he’s looking for. Just as he’s about to lose hope, to resign to the fact that you’ve probably been assigned to a different lunch period, he hears a familiar voice calling his name.

“Eddie?” your voice calls, and he turns in his seat.

You wave eagerly at him when his eyes land on you, and it makes his stomach flip. You look perfect, dressed a bit more preppy than you had been at the Hideout, but still not untrue to yourself.

“I’m so glad I ran into you! Love the shirt, by the way,” you tell him, and he feels his cheeks heat.

“Y/N, hey,” he says, swallowing the nervous lump in his throat. “It’s so great to see you again, how’re you liking Hawkins High?”

“Eh, it’s alright so far. The jocks are extra annoying and Ms. O’Donnell seems like she’ll be a pain in my ass, but I’ll push through,” you say, still smiling despite your complaints.

“Don’t get me started on that woman,” Eddie says, shaking his head and laughing.

You greet the rest of the guys, chatting briefly with all of them about band stuff and what classes you’re taking. Eddie watches you, listens to that gorgeous laugh of yours as you exchange banter with his friends. He’s got stars in his eyes every time you glance over at him.

Soon enough you decide you need to head back to your table, wanting to make sure you have enough time to eat your food. “It was great to see you guys again, we’ll have to get together sometime soon!” you say, waving pointedly at Eddie as you retreat to your own seat with your own friends.

Eddie wants to smack himself for not making a move, not asking you out on a date. The opportunity slipped right through his fingers. He doesn’t even need to look at the guys to know they’re all staring at him, ready to deliver various quips about how he had his chance right there.

“Don’t say shit, or I’ll make the next Hellfire campaign a nightmare for all of you,” he threatens, pointing a ringed finger at the three of them.

The table goes silent, each of the guys suddenly extremely interested in their meals, none of them daring another glance in Eddie’s direction.

The rest of the school day drags. Eddie knows he’ll see you again, he knows it wasn’t his only shot to ask you out, but he disappointed himself by losing the nerve to speak up. What if he flounders every time he sees you? What if someone else snatches you up before he can get the balls to try? He absentmindedly floats through his last few periods, staring into space as he daydreams about you.

Finally, the last bell rings, saving him from purgatory. He packs up his things and shuffles out of his classroom, ready to go home and just sleep away his self-pity.

Then, he sees you. You’re about to head out the door of the building, backpack slung over your shoulders. A fire ignites beneath his feet, a gnawing feeling that tells him he can’t let you get away this time. He picks up his pace as he heads in your direction, sneakers squeaking on the freshly polished floors. He doesn’t give himself the time to second guess it. He calls your name, and you turn, eyes shining when you realize it’s him.

“Eddie, hi, what’s up?” you ask, tilting your head to the side a little as you both step out of the way of the crowds of students who are eager to leave for the day.

“Hey, um, I was just wondering if… maybe you’d want to swing by the diner or something? For dinner tonight?” he asks, his palms sweating as he speaks.

For once, he thinks he’s made you nervous. You glance away from him for a moment, chewing your lip as you hold back a smile.

“I’d love to,” you say, and he feels an immense weight lifting off of his shoulders. He feels like he could fly right now if he wanted to.

“I can pick you up at around, say five-thirty?” he questions, waiting for your approval. He shifts his weight on his feet, hands fidgeting with one of the straps of his book bag.

“Okay, yeah,” you agree, pulling a piece of paper and pen from your backpack and scribbling your address down, handing it to him. “I’ll see you then, Eddie,” you grin. Then, you lean closer, your mouth hovering beside his ear. “Maybe after dinner you can teach me how to play Master of Puppets,” you say quietly, pulling back with a slight smirk on your face.

He doesn’t get the chance to respond before you’re gone, pushing the doors open and walking through the parking lot. He looks down at the paper you’d handed him, sparkly purple ink from your gel pen gleaming up at him.

And yeah, Eddie’s so fucking screwed with you. But there’s no way he’s letting you out of his grip now.

[total-drama-brainrot]

I’ve never seen someone else in this fandom actually make content for Chris and Noahs dynamic, I GENUINELY LOVE THEM SO MUCH, THEIR SNARK MAKES THE DUO SO FUNNY TO ME. Theres not enough Chris and Noah enjoyers in this fandoommm

Assistant!Noah really was a blessing to the fandom that we've taken for granted. I love the concept of it, and I adore the idea of him and Chris and Chef having this bantering back-and-forth whilst he's working for them; it starts out as him genuinely insulting his bosses but evolves into a weird sort of bonding activity. Throwing insults and barbed comments at each other like they're compliments. It's enrichment for both parties.

The Chris (and Chef) and Noah dynamic is one of my favourites to explore, simply because there's so many different ways you would take it.

Having Chref as sort-of parental figures to Noah is the most glaringly obvious, and it's hilarious every time because neither of these men should be trusted with the wellbeing of a teenager, certified genius or not. You could take it in a fluffy 'Chref learn how to become decent people through the Powers Of Pseudo-Parenting A Snarky Teenager' direction, or have the two of them act as fun morally bereft uncles that Noah simultaneously hates and begrudgingly cares out.

Or, you could flip the script and have Noah act as the 'authority' in their dynamic instead; Local TV host is such a disaster of a man that local hyper-competent (and incredibly lazy) teenager takes it upon himself to micromanage him. This one's a great avenue of opportunity for crack fics.

There's so much angst and hurt/comfort potential in any interpretations of their dynamic, but I'm not gonna go into that because. Well. You'll see soon enough.

I reccommend the series kijosakka has on their Ao3 that explores the relationship Chris and Noah share through their shared struggled with ED, though I know the subject isn't exactly palatable for everyone (no pun intended), and there's a tonne of really cool fics exploring their dynamic on the Chris McLean & Noah tag on Ao3 too, so if you're looking for more content with these two there's plenty there to peruse. At the moment I'm really enjoying the Chref&Noah dynamic in This Superhero AU Fic by Noah_bout_it.

[firedrakegirl]

When children were born, there was a small lump near what would become their belly button. Eventually, it would grow and crystallize, turning the color that would be indicative of their soulmate(s). Once it reached the correct size and shape, which was different for everyone, it would fall off. Their parents would set it into a necklace and they would wear it forever. These were called soul drops, and would glow and warm up when in the vicinity of their soulmates.

I glared at Tony. Tony grinned back. “Why are you hosting a masquerade ball?”

“Falcon and Sif think it’s a good idea. And you know Thor has been homesick, so it might make him feel better.”

“Ugh, fine. But you’re buying my outfit.”

His grin widened. “Pepper, Darcy, and Sif already picked it out. You’re going to love it.”

“So I don’t even get to pick it? Seriously?”

“I have reason to believe that you will genuinely love it. Pep won’t tell me what it is, though.” He pouted.

“Well, it’ll be a surprise for us both, then.” I grumped.

“Hey, maybe you’ll meet your soulmate.” He glanced down at the necklace I wore.

“Hmm. Maybe.” I shrugged. Most of the team had met their soulmates already, but I was still waiting to find mine. I rubbed my thumb along the rough edge of my soul’s drop, hoping I’d find them soon. I appreciated Tony’s attempt to cheer me up, but it didn’t really help.

“Ugh, I have to admit Tony was right.” I complained at Darcy.

“About what?”

“I do love the outfit.”

“Of course you do. It’s a dragon. Pepper handled the actual fashion, while I took care of the fantasy parts.”

“I do love that you’re a nerd. The absolute coolest.” I hugged her tightly, then started to get changed. The dress was amazing. Deep red with orange and gold that made it look like flames. It had in a built in corset so I didn’t have to wear a bra and could actually enjoy a strapless dress.

Then Darcy grinned. “Am I your bestie or what?” She held up a massive container of glitter. “Gold holo taco for the dragon.” She applied it all over my arms and chest, adding other make up that made it look like I had sparkling scales.

Before long, both of us were fully ready and looking amazing. She was a kelpie, which made me laugh. When we got to the entrance of the ballroom, we were stopped by an actual herald right out of a medieval fantasy movie. He smiled and announced us. “Lady Darcy the Kelpie.”

Darcy winked at me and strode out with the kind of confidence I wished I could have.

A moment later, the herald announced me, giving a moment for the excitement for Darcy to die down. “Lady Fire the Drake.”

I did my best to seem as confident as Darcy as I walked out. It looked like all the Avengers and their hangers on were doing a mythical being theme, and I certainly wasn’t complaining. IT was fantastic, pun intended.

Thor was busy exclaiming over Darcy’s costume. The adoration in both their eyes was heartwarming, even if it made me feel a little lonely. Tony and Pepper were dancing and lost in each other. Sam was harassing Bucky, who was trying to sulk in a corner alone. Steve and Justine were out on the balcony, probably giving her a chance to calm down. ‘Tine didn’t handle crowds well, but she always came for Steve.

Then I met his eyes. The first thing I noticed was his garnet red eyes and the way they sparkled behind his silver and blue feathered mask. Then I realized two more things simultaneously. He was blue and shirtless. There was a recently healed massive scar through the center of his chest, and many other scars across the visible part of his torso. Then I noticed my soul’s drop was hot against my throat. My hand involuntarily flew up to clasp the pendant even as he did the same. I gulped. He was the most handsome person I’d ever seen. All of the sudden, Sif was at my side. “That is Thor’s brother, Loki. I think you will really like him.” She was dressed as the chimera, which somehow made her more beautiful. 

“Okay, 1: you’ve gotta stop managing to be the most beautiful woman in the room so easily.” I teased her. I wasn’t entirely sure how our friendship had formed, but I was very glad to call her my friend. “Secondly, I adore your costume. You look amazing. And then C: I think he might be my soulmate? My necklace warmed up when our eyes met.” 

Sif pulled me around to meet her eyes. “Are you certain?”

“No, cuz I haven’t talked to him yet. But… I think so? Why? Is that bad?”

“Nay! Tis wonderful news.” She was beaming behind her mask. “Come. I shall introduce you. Thor and I hoped you’d be a match. We even paired your costumes.” 

I frowned a little as I turned back to look at him. I wasn’t aware of any specific ice birds off hand, but paired with me being a dragon… “Ice phoenix?”

“Aye. I know that’s not how they work according to your mythology but we thought it would be fine, and Lady Darcy agreed. And she thought the fire and ice theme would be funnier.” 

I rolled my eyes and pulled her into a hug. “Thank you, Lady Sif. Care to introduce me?”

She took my arm and led me to over to him. “Loki Odinson, this is the Lady Fire. Lady Fire, Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard.”

He took my hand, the cold temperature of his sending shivers up my spine, and bowed over it, bringing it up to his lips. “It is a pleasure to meet you, milady.”

“The pleasure is mine, your highness.” I blushed brightly enough to blend with my outfit.

“I do believe you are my soulmate, milady.” He said, not letting go of my hand as he straightened up. “Did your soul’s drop also heat when our eyes met?”

He towered over me, but I still felt safe rather than on the defensive. “It did. I was surprised.”

“Is it my appearance?”

“Yes, but probably not in the way you’re thinking.” I hummed, looking up at him. “You are far too handsome and regal to be stuck with someone like me.”

“Why would you think that? You are stunning in your own right. And I would very much like to dance with you, if you’ll permit me.”

“I would be honored, your highness.” I blushed again at the look in his eyes.

“And please, call me Loki.”

[loverboyjamespotter]

What’re your general prongsfoot head canons

hiii!!! im so sorry for the late reply ive not been online much recently!

and thank you for asking about prongsfoot hcs bc honestly i could talk about them all day lmaooo OKAY SO:

sirius has borderline personality disorder and his favourite person is james

this isnt really prongsfoot this is more james but i firmly believe he has adhd

on a similar note i definitely DEFINITELY think sirius is autistic

i think that no one truly UNDERSTOOD james like sirius. i think one of the most compelling things about prongsfoot is that james is obviously a performer. he enjoys attention and he likes being the centre of attention. however, i think at the end of the day that really is just an Image if you get what i mean? like everyone wants a part of james hes the most popular boy in school hes practically a legend like i really really feel like people underestimate the fucking FORCE OF NATURE that was james potter like he was the gryffindor chaser IN SECOND YEAR!!!!! but i feel like ... hmm this is hard to articulate but i think what i mean is sirius sees Through the facade and loves james for who he is not in spite of who he is. like in SWM when theres people in the crowd who are laughing at james' antics (along the vein of 'oh that james! what a card!') and lily telling james to stop it but i think sirius just sees the worst parts of james and loves them just as much as the good parts. i think he sees through the spoilt naivety, the arrogance, the everything to who james is as a person. and heres the really crazy thing: i really dont even think ... james KNOWS he putting on this performance for the benefit of everyone else because i think he absolutely is the most oblivious person when it comes to his feelings but sirius knows.

this links into my next big hc which is that i think BOTH sirius AND james love each other for who they are in their entirety like i think james saw sirius and adored him for everything he was.

i think theyre simultaneously the same person and polar opposites.

i think sirius because of the the fact he had the upbringing he did is hyperconscious of what hes feeling at any time so he knew he was in love with james like. within first year. but i genuinely think james didnt even realise he was in love with sirius just because he always WAS ... hes just has TERRIBLE reflection skills like that guy is sooo oblivious to his own feelings its hilarious. like hes ALSO been in love with sirius since first year he just didnt realise bc the feelings always been there.

theres this popular thing in fics and it really annoys me its like my pet peeve in fics where its like sirius only was obsessed with james bc james was his first friend or the first person that was kind to him :| i genuinely think thats just terrible analysis. firstly we KNOW andromeda and sirius were always on good terms and alphard cared for sirius too. but even if that wasnt true i genuinely dont think sirius is the kind of person to be obsessed with the first person who's nice to him. i think theres a tendency to remove sirius from his own canonical context like sirius is ... at best indifferent and at worst disinterested in ... pretty much EVERYONE. like he wouldn't just choose some random kid to obsess over. i think sirius consciously and DELIBERATELY chose james to obsess over because it was JAMES not because james HAPPENED to be the first person to be kind to sirius. also this is soo silly because if you re-read their first meeting ... JAMES ISNT EVEN NICE TO HIM LMFAOOOOO???? like hes a little shit he LITERALLY SAYS AND I QUOTE 'blimey and i thought you were alright' LIKE SIRIUS JUST SAID HIS WHOLE FAMILY ARE SLYTHERINS AND JAMES SAID THE EQUIVALENT OF 'lmfaooo your family sux' like????

this is canon but i just want to stress it more but i think the whole entire school knew james and sirius were obsessed with each other like again yes this is canon the fact 'you never saw one without the other' but i genuinely think everyone was absolutely so sick of them.

this is another popular thing in fics where it has jily being together and sirius 'moving on' ... sorry but sirius is not ever dating anyone that isnt james he is never moving on he is never trying to get past james. is that healthy? fuck no. but also prongsfoot as a dynamic is absolutely insane like it really really irritates me when fic has sirius trying to 'move on' sorry that guy is NEVER EVER going to try and get over james. ever.

another thing that is a pet peeve of mine and i realise this is now just becoming a pet peeves list but bare with me is that fic often under-emphasises how the nature of prongsfoots relationship was definitely reciprocal and by that i mean james was EQUALLY as obsessed with sirius like again to point to SWM .... it SAYS. IN THE TEXT. that harry got the feeling that james wouldnt stop being an asshole for anyone other than sirius. HARRY FEELS THAT PALPABLY BY WATCHING THEM FROM A DISTANCE!!!!!!!!!!!! but my hc is that over the summers before sirius runs away james mopes around the whole house sighing and everything because he misses sirius. like to the point where james' parents are concerned for him bc james is NOT the brooding type yet he spends a full day flat on his back glaring at the ceiling because walburga confiscated sirius' two way mirror and sirius hasnt stolen it back yet.

GOD IM SORRY THESE ARE SO LONG I HAD SO MANY MORE BUT I THOUGHT IT BEST TO CUT OFF HERE

[mybrokenveins3000]

Everyday Rockstar - College!Ross Macdonald

A/N: Hi babies, me again. College!Ross was only supposed to be a oneshot but my delusional ass going-to-uni-in-two-weeks self wants more. Like I always say, delusion is manifestation. Anyways, enjoy!

word count: 1.1k

♫ The City - The 1975

The annoying one on your course invited you to one of his band's gigs. You weren't expecting much, I mean, this was Matty we're talking about. You could see it now, him parading across the stage with a beer bottle in hand and his shirt unbuttoned. However, what you weren't expecting was who he'd been sharing the stage with.

You and your coursemates are running a bit late. Despite it being two months since you moved out here to the city, you're all still figuring it out - the right bus routes to take, how much alcohol is too much, what shoes not to wear on any given occasion.

The wet, November pavement reflects the air back colder than it is. As you open the doors, you accept the warmth in the pub like an old friend. Your entrance is punctuated by loud drums and droning vocals, not to mention THE 1975 printed in blocked letters on what seems to be a pinned up old bedsheet. Yup, definitely Matty's band.

Your preconceptions were correct. There Matty was scantily-clad with a bottle in hand. But not of beer - wine. How pretentious. So French New Wave of you, you thought.

But next to him was someone familiar.

"Ross?" you whisper to yourself. You stand in shock, squinting hard as if to take a picture. You are mesmerised by the simultaneous nonchalant power and peace he brings on stage.

It caught you off guard how incongruous the History student was to the setting and yet how perfectly he fit in a dark, sultry place like this. He was wearing a black leather jacket, a far cry from that hoodie you stole from him just a month prior.

You and your mates walk into a gap in the crowd, not so dissimilar to a clearing in the woods. The song ends to which you all clap and holler as if your life depended on it. As you scream with adoration, he spots you.

His eyes widen like a child opening presents on Christmas. He smiles a smile so genuine it puts all of Matty's theatrics to shame. He's doing that thing where he looks down at the floor smiling, plays with the chain around his neck for a second. He's something out of a movie scene.

"Isn't that the guy you're hooking up with?" a disembodied head notices and exclaims behind you. You open your mouth but a response doesn't form. It's a yes or no question and yet neither response fits.

Ever since you met at that goddamn party, poured your heart out to each other, and ended up doing your laundry together, you both knew it would never be just hooking up. Heck, you haven't even done anything of that nature (yet), you've just been kissing, hanging out. Yes or no doesn't fit these weird romantically and sexually charged interactions you both have been having over the past month. So you turn to her and just shrug, mouth an "I don't know" much to both your confusion.

"This is a song called The City," Matty slurs down the mic. The percussion kicks in, heavy and confident.

There's a second before the other instruments follow suit where you wave at Ross and he waves back. It's this secret moment that's just yours. Blink and you'll miss it.

"You wanna find love, well, you know where the city is," your coursemate exclaims, like a drunken beat poet.

The bass rings right through you, your whole body reverberating under his hands, with every string he plucks. He catches glances at you as you bob your head and sway, eyes closed to really feel it. When your eyes aren't closed, you think he's made to be looked at like a Greek God on high platforms and by crowds bigger than these. It's like this for the entire show.

---

After the show, the pub is electric.

Matty's weak fist hits the side of your arm as he cries, "Ross is waiting for you outside!"

"Fuck you! You're actually not half bad, you know!" you hit him back with all the force he lacks and rush out through to the back smoking area.

The wet, cold air greets you as you walk through the door. "Ooh, it's cold out here," you shiver. Ross is right by the door, having just taken a cigarette out of the box. He's surprised by your arrival but smiles that same warm smile. "Matty said you asked for me?" you questioned.

The slightest eyebrow raise and air of confusion about him and you're prompted to go back the way you came. Trust Matty to embarrass you like that.

"No, no. Stay." Ross' hand grabs onto your wrist. His warm touch lingers a moment longer, it could melt your ice skin. It's a moment soundtracked by the muffled pop coming from inside and the hum of cars far away. You oblige to his request. He lets go of your wrist. You lean on the wall of the pub.

"Matty didn't mention you were a part of the band," you say, watching the buildings and stars twinkle in the distance, "as a matter of fact, YOU never told me you were a rockstar."

"I'm no rockstar," he laughs, raising the cigarette to his lips. Just as he lifts up his lighter, he decides to hand it to you. You step closer, looking at the lighter and then back at him. Since your first meeting, it always got so tense between the two of you. You light the cigarette, shielding the flame, hands grazing his lips ever so slightly. The smoke dances into the night as he blows out.

You break the silence. "Bass as well, best instrument out of them all... you were really good."

"Oh yeah?" he smirks.

"You were amazing... why didn't you mention it before?"

He touches his lips in contemplation, his gaze fixed on you taking in your smokey eyes and dark lips. You were made to foreground cityscapes, he wants to say. But all he manages is an "I don't know."

"God, if only I'd known I was brushing shoulders with a rockstar this whole time."

"Rockstar", he whispers. You catch him blushing almost as bright as the tip of the cigarette. You take note of his affinity to that particular word. An unconventional name to use on him later.

"You know what?"

"What?"

"I love the city," you breathe out.

"The place or the song?"

"Both."

You wanna find love, well, you know where the city is. The lyrics, shared like a memory, waver in another moment of silence.

"Can I kiss you?" he finally says as he takes his cigarette from his mouth. His dark eyes are transfixed on your lips whilst he plays with his chain.

"Yes please."

And he kisses you. You fling your arms around his neck like you did that very first night. He wraps his jacket around you, as if to take all of you in.

He is the warmth when it's cold. He is the rare quiet to your fluorescent metropolis. The cigarette ash falls onto the pavement as it dwindles away in the background. The pop song inside fades to another. The cars keep passing through. It's another secret moment that is all yours.

A/N: FIRST AND FOREMOST, thank you to @hypersonic04 for help when I was brainstorming. You know I love you.

Right so I don't know Tumblr terminology, dunno what a blurb, oneshot etc. actually are. College!Ross was only supposed to be a oneshot (?), but because I'm continuing the story, it's technically not now, is it? Is it a series? I don't even know. I don't know what this is unravelling to be, in my head it's just a series of episodic vignettes in the same universe about the same person, not necessarily a series. If you have any input on the subject, by all means, tell me because I'm confusing myself.

Also, what do we think about college!Ross as a tag? I'm British so college means something different here, so when I write it I just have the image of a 16-year-old doing a vocational course in my head. The tag feels very American, but university!Ross or uni!Ross makes him sound like a unicorn or smth silly, student!Ross also sounds lame asf. ANYWAYS, I digress, I hope you liked this. And send me requests of what you wanna hear from me/just to chat &lt;3 <3

[bacusdraculacape]

THEORY: HAVE ALEX TURNER'S GIRLFRIENDS BEEN FAKE? OR RATHER BEARDS ALL ALONG? (MOST OF EM ANYWAYS?)

It is clear as day that Alex and Miles are practically soulmates. Just look at photograph or video of them together: the way they gaze at each other, the way they behave around each other, the nicknames they give each other, even the way they give adorable nods each other in both their music, and everything else :)

So knowing that, the question is why would you date somebody else if you clearly do love someone as much as Alex clearly loves Miles and vice versa?

-> Well, maybe you might have assets to protect. And maybe most likely, even though it is the 21st Century homophobia hasn't been entirely eradicated. Here's even a screenshot of this post I saw the other day:

-> With that been said and shown. I'm brought back to address the beards or his 'girlfriends'. Beards definition:

Adding to this- I even theorise Al hinted this in one of his songs- most notebly within the lyrics of Four Out Five from TBHC:

The Hokey-Cokey is a notebly dance that people perform.

Hokey itself as a word has a few definitions. One of those definitions is this:

Cokey as a word is sometimes used as a shortened version of c0caine. And there's even a version of the Hokey-Cokey word: Cokey-Cokey- as in the substance. In this particular instance, however, it could apply to a relationship- because a person typically would probably have to have a certain amount of an addiction to a certain other person to call them their significant other. So if this train of thought is followed: "Hokey-Cokey with the opposite sex" could possibly imply = fake-dating the opposite sex.

Aswell, the lyric prior to it: "the head of special effects in my minds eye." makes me theorise this theory I have more.

A head of special effects would be a person whose responsible for any effect that is manually or mechanically manipulated for screen. In Alex Turner's case, this would be the public most likely.

Lastly (for now), if you look at the way Al holds his "girlfriends" or rather beards:

versus how he holds Miles (and how Miles holds him):

To me, the way Al's holding Mi looks so natural as if he's done it a hundred times before and knows the way Mi likes to be held & the way Al enjoys to hold him simultaneously. However, if you inspect the way he holds the girls, it looks (at least to myself) either put on and or just not the same. Like come on any guy in an actual committed relationship that actually has a heart that's as passionate and big as I imagine Alex's is would probably typically appear more submissive and relaxed and hold the other person more endearingly. However, in Alex's case, that is not the way I see it. Therefore are the girls theoretically beards to make him appear straight- at least to media in order to protect what him and Miles have? I definitely THEORISE so.

I'll probably do a second part to this at some point to delve further into this because this is genuinely something I've really given a great deep observation into for my own personal recreation lol.

[sarnai4]

Father-Daughter Bonding

Spoilers ahead for Avatar and the Netflix version.

There is something in the cartoon show that I enjoyed a lot and was very excited to see more of in the Netflix version when I found out Azula and Ozai would be in season 1 more prominently. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Now, this isn't to say it's right or wrong, but this is what I personally would've enjoyed. It's a headcanon of mine.

Ozai sees himself and Iroh in Azula and Zuko. This is partially why he is so hateful of the boy. He perceives them both as undeserving people who would be heir to the throne and gain more respect simply because of age and nothing else. He resents Iroh for being born first and having the birthright just as he resents Zuko for being first and stealing that from Azula when Ozai becomes Fire Lord.

It could make the relationship simultaneously more loving and more toxic. Azula thinks that her father really values her and wants the best for her when in reality, he just loves the part of her that reminds him of himself. He'll never see her as her own person and simply adores how he has a mini him.

It bummed me out to see Ozai almost showing favoritism towards Zuko in the new version (in a sick way) by chastising Azula for mocking his Avatar hunt and even going to check on him after the Agni Kai. Then, he tested Azula so much. I want Azula to still be tested, but the brain washing has gone on for so long that it's self-induced. He could give her a compliment, but she'll still think it could be better because he's trained her to accept nothing less than perfection as well as the fact that nothing will ever be perfect. So, she's stuck in this cycle of always trying to improve to keep his love since she believes it's her skills and competence he cares about so much.

Azula hates Zuko because Ozai does. It's part of their bond now. They both hate those "dishonorable" brothers of theirs who are "weak" and "need to be removed." Ozai poisons Azula against Zuko and tries to constantly demean the boy so that he'll never have the same type of public reception as Mr. Popular Dragon of the West has. Instead of seeing how he's tearing their family apart, Azula sees it as him bringing her in closer. Maybe a part of Ozai could even have a genuine love for his daughter, but it'll only be the most love as he's capable of giving and that is a very small amount that will always be less than what he reserves for himself.

[slightlyunconventional]

Here goes:, because this has been swimming around in my head:

K/az has injured his arm(s) on their last job. He’s sore, having trouble moving it, it's in a sling, etc., something like that.

And on top of it all, for reasons of your choice, he’s SUPER sneezy.

I just want to read I/nej helping him tend to his nose. Since K/az can't reach it himself (or he can but not without immense amounts of pain). Like, I/nej rubbing his nose gently for him, massaging his nostrils through cloth to help him sneeze or not sneeze, soothing the itch, cleaning it up--anything, just give me I/nej tending to Kaz’s super sneezy irritated nose ^__^; only if you like

THANK YOU for this prompt i adore it so much and i genuinely had so much fun writing this! i hope you enjoy :D

assistance (basically, k/az is a TOTAL mess and i/nej is lovely as usual)

After a nasty run-in with some thugs from a rival club during a job gone sour, K/az found himself in quite the predicament. The kind of predicament that meant both of his arms were out of action. To his credit, he’d held up his own against the gang for a surprisingly long time but still walked away with a broken wrist and a very painful forearm that was most likely fractured - not to mention the sizeable purple bruise he was sporting on his jaw. 

K/az threw open the door and stomped into the Slat looking positively bedraggled. His hat had been discarded somewhere amidst the conflict. 

“It was twenty versus one! I can’t believe he wouldn’t let us get involved!” 

“What, and blow our own cover? Did you want us to die?”

“He probably died!”

“Saints, J/es, N/ina, calm down. He was putting up a good fight, I’m sure he’ll be- oh, K/az,” I/nej said, spotting K/az as he entered the room. She stood up from the table where J/esper and N/ina were bickering and approached the rain-soaked man.

“Yes, I took care of them all,” Kaz rasped, answering Inej’s question before she could even ask it. 

The gap between them was almost closed as Inej stepped forward, looking closely at his face. 

“Are you okay?” she dared to ask.

Kaz let his expression soften at her words.

“I’m okay,” he hesitated, “well, I’ll be okay.”

Concern blossomed in Inej’s eyes like the petals of a crocus.

“You know that’s not what I want to hear.”

Kaz remained silent. He was suddenly acutely aware of each and every droplet of water sliding from his hair and onto the floor, and the way his sodden clothes clung to his skin, and the warmth he felt in his cheeks from Inej’s proximity even under the sting of a fresh bruise. Another drop of rain slipped from Kaz’s mess of soaked black hair, falling down right between their faces. Inej’s eyes tracked the droplet down as it fell to the floorboards. She lifted her gaze to meet his. The heat in Kaz’s cheeks grew, much to his resentment.

“I think you dropped something,” she said quietly, looking back down at the rain-spattered ground.

The corners of Kaz’s lips twitched. He noted the glint in Inej’s deep brown eyes.

A (surprisingly clean) towel ruined the moment by soaring right into their faces. Kaz and Inej looked up simultaneously, met by Jesper’s shit-eating grin.

“Good fight, boss? I knew you’d come out on top,” he said smugly.

“Were you not just panicking because you thought he was dead?” Nina asked with her eyebrows raised.

Inej snorted.

“No idea what you’re talking about, Nins.” 

Now it was Kaz’s turn to raise his eyebrows. “And why did you throw a towel at me?”

Jesper shrugged. “Looked like you needed it.”

Kaz sighed. He took the towel from Inej who had picked it up off the floor where it had landed. Inej clocked the way he winced when reaching his arm out.

“Thank you,” Kaz said quietly. He made his way over to the stairs, the gazes of everyone in the room like lasers on his back. Inej watched him closely and, seeing his extra-pronounced limp and the shake of the arm holding his cane with every step, decided to follow him. 

“I don’t believe I asked for an entourage.” 

“It’s not just your room that's upstairs,” Inej replied, a little too quickly. She knew Kaz didn’t believe her, but he still let her trail behind him as he ascended the stairs lopsidedly. They walked in silence until they reached Kaz’s room, when he looked back at her with a single eyebrow lifted. Inej took this as her cue to pretend to disappear into her own room. She definitely didn’t imagine the pained sigh that escaped Kaz. As soon as he’d shut his door, she slipped back out into the corridor and stood quietly outside, listening.

She heard the creak of Kaz’s chair as he lowered himself into it, then a heavy clatter on the floor.

“Shit,” muttered Kaz. The chair creaked again. Probably dropped his cane, Inej thought, strange, though, that’s not like him. The patter of the rain on the roof and windows severely hindered her ability to listen in on him, however. 

After a few moments, Inej did manage to hear a rather wet-sounding thump, presumably Kaz discarding his thick, wool greatcoat onto the floor. Another sigh. Part of her wanted to enter the room and see him, help dry his hair, hang his coat up by the window, fall asleep with her head resting on his firm shoulder, but she knew she shouldn’t. So she waited, she listened. 

“Oh, Saints,” Inej heard after a short while. She had not a second to wonder why Kaz had said that, as the next moment she heard a sound she hadn’t heard in a very long time. 

“hehH’GNKTSschew!”

She then heard what she thought was Kaz sucking a sharp breath in through his teeth. He’s in pain, she realised. A million thoughts barrelled through her mind - is he sick? Injured? Both? Inej worried at her lower lip, knowing now that Kaz was in way worse condition than he was letting on. Against her better judgement, she slowly pushed open the door… right as Kaz was (trying to) stifle another harsh sneeze.

“hH’GKKTTSChhiew! Huhh…” 

The hand he used to pinch his nose was shaking slightly as he lifted it from his face. His brows were drawn tightly together and his teeth were gritted, hard - Inej had never seen him looking so pained. He looked up at Inej who was hovering in the doorway, hand still lifted cautiously in the air, as though he was scared to put it down. 

“Saints above, Kaz. You said you were fine,” Inej said with worry.

Kaz averted his eyes. “I am fine,” he replied shortly. 

Inej approached him and gently took his gloved hand in hers. 

“Don’t-” he started, teeth still gritted. He yanked his hand away instinctively. She noticed how his face paled slightly.

“What happened to your hands, Kaz?” asked Inej, quietly but firmly. Kaz still didn’t meet her gaze.

“Nothing.”

“You can’t expect me to believe that.”

Kaz hesitated. He looked down at his hand.

“Broke it. My wrist,” he muttered with reluctance, “Think the other arm’s fractured, too.”

Inej held back a gasp. “Tell me you’re joking.”

Kaz shook his head, hair still damp from the torrential rain.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” she asked incredulously, “In fact, nevermind that, we need Nina to fix-”

“No, we don’t-!” Kaz cut in. His words were tinted with a note of panic that she’d never heard before.

Inej let her shoulders lower. She sighed. “At least let me patch you up, then.”

“Fine.”

“Right. Good. I’ll get the first aid kit,” Inej said, beginning to turn away.

“-hahH’KKSCHHhiew! Oh, God, I-” Kaz sneezed wetly and openly, cringing at the mess it left on his upper lip. He raised his hand weakly to his face to cover it.

“Saints, and I’ll get some tissues. Try not to move your arms around too much, okay?” Inej said. She left the room.

-

A short while later, Inej returned to Kaz’s room, clutching a box containing the Slat’s first aid kit, as well as a rather old-looking box of tissues. He was still sitting at his desk, one arm hanging at his side, the other with its hand resting carefully on the tabletop. His nose had become significantly pinker since Inej last saw him, which was only mere minutes prior. She was greeted with another grating sneeze.

“haHH’GKKSHHhiew!”

“Bless you,” Inej offered.

“I’m sorry, I… cah-cahhn’tseemtostop-! huhH’KTSCHHh! ‘GKKSCHH! hah-hAH’KKTSCHHhiew!”

“Wow. Bless you, bless you, bless you,” Inej said with a sympathetic smile, “Oh, you’ve made a real mess of yourself there, Kaz.”

He lifted his hand to clean himself up, but tensed up at the pain. Inej leaned forward and gently helped his arm back down.

“Here, let me.”

“There’s a hahh-handker-’TSSCHhiew! Ugh. Handkerchief, in my coat.”

“That’ll be soaking wet, Kaz. I have tissues.”

She plucked a couple of tissues from the box she’d placed on Kaz’s desk and used them to gently clean up Kaz’s face. He sighed.

“You know I can do it myself,” he said thickly, voice muffled by the soft tissues in front of his face.

“I know you can, but is it going to do you any good?” Inej asked; a rhetorical question. She made sure to keep her touch on his face gentle. She knew how sensitive his nose could get. As if on cue, Inej felt Kaz’s nose flare under the tissues.

“‘Nej, I’m going to-” His breaths were rapid and shallow.

“I know.”

“But I don’t wanna sn- haHH’GKKTSCHHhew! haH’ISCHHhiew!” He cut himself off with two heavy, messy sneezes, right into the tissues in Inej’s hand. “Saints, I’m sorry,” he added breathlessly.

“Bless you, bless you. It’s okay.” Inej gently cleaned his face once again. The pure exhaustion in his coffee-brown eyes sent a pang of pity through her heart.

“You really don’t need to say ‘bless you’ every… hahh… every- oh- sorry, I’m- haHH’KKSHHHhiew!”

Inej smiled. “Bless you.”

Kaz rolled his eyes. Inej tightened her hand on his face slightly.

“Blow,” she instructed. Kaz looked up at her in disbelief.

“I really don’t think that’s-”

“You heard me,” she cut in, “By the sound of those sneezes, you need it.”

The dark haired man hesitated, but eventually leaned into the tissues with a sigh, and blew his nose heavily. Inej smiled sympathetically. Kaz emerged looking positively mortified.

“Never doing that again,” he muttered.

“You wouldn’t have had to if you didn’t insist on taking on that entire gang on your own,” Inej pointed out. Kaz shot her a look. She tilted her head at him, still smiling softly. “Now let’s get you bandaged up, okay?”

He nodded. Inej opened the first-aid box and pulled out a roll of wide bandages.

“Roll up your sleeve for me,” she said gently. He obliged.

Inej got to work wrapping his broken wrist in bandages - it was the best she could do, considering Kaz refused to let Nina see to him, at least for now. It wasn’t long before Kaz’s breath caught again. He turned his head away from Inej, trying his best to keep his hand still as she tended to it.

“Sorry- hahH’KKSCHHIEWhh!” 

“Bles-” Inej started.

Kaz shook his head. “N-not done-” he said, panting. “hAH’KTSCHHUHh!”

His whole body shook with the force of each sneeze, his shoulders tensing and legs jolting slightly upwards. Luckily, Inej had finished wrapping his broken wrist, so she could stop to once again tend to Kaz’s nose. She pressed two fresh tissues to his face and massaged his nose ever so gently. His breath caught sharply.

“Don’t, that’s too- hahH-! Too gentle, I’m g-go--huHH’GKKSCHHHh! ‘SSCHHHhiew!”

“Oh, Saints, sorry. You really can’t stop, can you?” Inej said, still cradling his face with the thick wad of tissue.

“It’s the rain, or something. Apparently it really g-gets to… to… me-'' Kaz's eyes narrowed and Inej felt his nostrils flare desperately even through the tissues. His breath hitched.

“haAHhdt-! huh-hUH-huhHh- oh, S-saints, it’s not comi- haAH-!”

“Stuck, huh?” Inej teased, “Happens to the best of us.”

Inej decided to reuse her “too-gentle” massaging technique to ease Kaz along. Perhaps it worked a little too well - he exploded into a series of tearing, messy sneezes, each outburst just barely caught in Inej’s hand.

“haAHh’GNKTSCHHhuhh! ‘KKSCHHIEW! ‘SHHHhew! hah-hAH-hAHH’KZZSCHIEWhh! ‘IZZSCHHhiew!”

He was left panting, almost unable to catch his breath. Inej reached for a few more tissues, keeping the used ones braced to Kaz’s face in case of another incident. She now held a thick wad of tissues, pressed to Kaz’s streaming reddened nose. 

“Bless you - I don’t even know how many times,” Inej said with a slight laugh. She cleaned up the rest of the mess that had gathered on his face with the tissues, all while Kaz’s cheeks turned pink in true mortification. Inej noticed this and added, “You don’t have to be embarrassed. This happens to everyone.” 

She saw Kaz’s shoulders relax slightly and he exhaled slowly.

“Saints, that was awful. I’m sor-” he started.

“Don’t apologise. You know I value being able to care for you. I’m glad you let me.”

Kaz nodded silently. He leaned back in his chair, exhaustion now clear in his face.

“Let’s get to that other arm now, shall we?”

[giggly-squiggily]

I just read the cilan request you wrote and first off I want to say thank you and that it was absolutely adorable! Second, I am now hungry for more cilan content so may I please request “say yes” with him and the reader again (platonically please!!) i fee like it has potential since he works as a chef. I always enjoy reading your stuff and I appreciate you both doing events like this and being able to fulfill all the requests, both mine and everyone else’s. Have a lovely day!!! -⚡️

{Candy Heart Prompts: OFFICIALLY CLOSED!}

jkarjejarje Welcome back friend! And of course you can- I can't get enough Ler!Cilan in my life; he's so fun to write for! :D Thank you for the kind words- I genuinely appreciate it! Have an amazing day aswell!

Say Yes: "Hey, what are you- give that back!"

“Eggs, sugar, milk, flour…” Cilan read through the recipe beside him, cheeks dusted with powdered sugar and the counterspace a disaster zone. He wasn’t usually this messy in the kitchen, but baking was a beast of its own. Cress usually made all the sweets for their cafe.

This batch, however- Cilan was determined to make it himself. Even if he would face the wrath of said brother over the collateral damage. “Great- that’s everything, now to-”

He reached for the spoon without looking, finding only air. Blinking, he turned to find you smiling around the battered spoon. “(Y/N), what are you- hey, give that back!”

“Sorry, it’s mine now!” You grinned as you danced out of reach, nibbling on the sweet batter with a happy hum. “This is amazing, Cilan! Whatcha making?”

“Cookies- or at least, I would be if someone didn’t steal my mixing spoon!” Cilan swiped at it, missing again as you dodged. “(Y/N)!”

“You don’t have any more spoons?”

“Of course I do, but that requires more cleaning!”

“Looks like you’ll be doing a lot of that anyway…”

“Oh you- gotcha!” Cilan grabbed you, making you squeak as he pulled you close. “Give me that back!”

“Ne-ehehehehhehehver!” You nearly dropped it when he suddenly pressed into your sides, tickling you with all his might. “AH! Ahehahahahahha, Ciihihihiihlahahahan!”

“Spoon. Return it. Now.” He growled in your ear, moving up and down your torso and finding all your tickle spots. You squealed and squirmed in his arms, trying to keep the spoon out of reach while simultaneously guarding your tickle spots. “Hand it over and this will all end, (Y/N).”

“Ahehahahhaha! Gehahahaha, fihihihihine!” You cried, surrendering said spoon, but not before snagging one last lick. Cilan rolled his eyes as he released you, smiling as you gasped for breath. “Ahehehe..ehehe..iihihit taahahasted goohohod-” You suddenly went still, eyes wide. Cilan blinked before following your gaze.

Cress leaned in the kitchen door frame, arms crossed and expression less than pleased. “Cilan..”

“Eh..erm, wanna lick the spoon?” He held up said utensil, sending you into a fit of breathless giggles. Cress softened near immediately.

“Just make sure you clean up when you're done, okay?” Cress shook his head with a small laugh as he left you and Cilan in the kitchen, your breathy laughter following him out. Cilan sighed and leaned into the counter- saved by your antics.

“You’re helping me clean up.” He declared.

“Do I get to eat the cookies?” You pointed at the bowl, smiling when he laughed.

“I made them for you- of course you can.”

[tothepointofinsanity]

I have a similar-ish art style to you in the sense that a lot of my art just by the way I stylize certain features makes my it look creepy. This is a huge problem for me because I do genuinely love drawing cute stuff but I can’t because of my art style. I don’t want to completely change my art style because one that would take forever but two drawing things that are scary and creepy help me cope with my agoraphobia and paranoia. I know this is more of a do you have advice than a proper question but what would you suggest I do?

(side note: I ADORE YOUR ART!!!! I especially love your Sayaka work as a massive pmmm fangirl)

Hello, firstly, thank you for taking your time out to write out a long ask. (/ _ ; ) <- Grateful. I’m not a reliable person to ask things about in terms of art given I’m not a professional or good at it, but as usual I will try my best to answer your question here.

I suppose there is a perspective that what constitutes as “cute” differs from everyone, and often I’ve noticed that things that are cute can also be creepy simultaneously depending on context, not just by changing styles alone. Kyubey is an example of this, if you must. It has all the markers of “cute animal design” - round eyes, large bushy tail, cat-like ears, and in the show it behaves like a cat hopping around and perched on the shoulders of the magical girls. Yet it’s not restricted to the interpretation that it’s just cute, since later on there are different things which make it creepy. The context of what the alien creature represents, for one, or the way shots of it are accompanied by a gloomy, industrial background which contrast its bright, supposedly cheerful colour scheme, or how there’s nothing humanly sentimental in it whenever it focuses on Kyubey’s eyes. These transitional details are what balances something that can be deemed both creepy and cute, although not everyone might share this perception.

You don’t have to change your art style, just the way you want to stylise cuteness in your own way. This could mean cutting down “realistic” details for the subject but still keeping the way the background is coloured or textured, for one. Cute things can be achieved also by being simplified. I think Kyubey would look terrifying and not cute at all had they went with a realistic cat design and not an “anime” styled one. One reference I often think about is the way Gekidan Inu Curry captures the dichotomy of Sayaka.

In this example, the highlight is the “size” or composition of the subject. Sayaka on the left is closer to the audience, so we can see her details clearly (how tall she is, how her eyes look, the shadows coloured over her heart). It makes her seem menacing because she’s so close and doing strange things. Yet it has a retain “moe” charm to it because the way it’s coloured and being sketched that it seems…cute. In its own way. Sayaka on the right is sitting further away and enjoying a drink atop a mountain of fluffy Anthony balls. It’s worth noting as well how her eyes in the second picture are more simplified, being drawn on as dots, but the style does not outright lose its creepiness [the weird, dated shading on the umbrella, her hair being textured darker, the background being a fuzzy red].

What you could do is try thinking about how something that is cute would look like in your style. If that makes sense. It is a sort of attitude that affects the approach of your art. Thus it’s strongly encouraged to experiment with what you can draw in your current art style instead of needing to change it. If a rabbit is cute, can you find a way to make it look cute in your style? What is the core appeal of the thing you like? What elements are making current results unsatisfactory by your standards? What do you have to adjust? — Those are questions you’ll venture the answer yourself, and the more you draw, the more your style changes on its own, organically, so don’t worry about it. You may not be able to draw cute things today or tomorrow, and you will likely struggle to get the process of it, but eventually you’ll certainly be able to draw the diverse things you really enjoy without having to sacrifice the personal components of your art’s identity and what it ultimately means to you. With all that said, I’m not sure how realistically useful my suggestion or advice will be, but I will nevertheless be supportive of your endeavours. Good luck!

And thank you! I love drawing Sayaka, so I’m happy people like seeing her just as much. ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶!

[i-heart-hxh]

Hi,.....if you don't mind me asking, can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from Hunter x Hunter? And why you loved them? And your top 5 favorite moments from the series? Sorry if you've answered this question before....Thanks....

I'm happy to answer, thank you very much for asking! I'm indecisive and overflowing with love for HxH, so doing rankings is a challenge for me, but I put some thought into it and here are my answers for now!

Top 5 Characters:

5. Biscuit Krueger -- It's fun how Bisky isn't at all what you'd assume when we meet her character (in a few different ways), and I love her sassy attitude! She has a lot of different sides to her, and I find her very entertaining. Her strong personality makes how she plays off other characters especially amusing. I like that she can be somewhat cranky, self-serving, and rude at times, but she also has a softer and caring side to her. I look forward to seeing more of her role in the current arc!

4. Neferpitou -- I adore Pitou's design, and the combination of how sinister and also cute they are simultaneously, which is fitting of a very powerful cat (ant). I enjoy their mischievous and playful side as well! Their growth as a character throughout Chimera Ant Arc is so moving to me, and such a vital part of the arc and the message of the series as a whole.

3. Kurapika -- He's a great second protagonist for the series! The dichotomy of the brutality and darkness of his revenge/recovery mission and what succeeding at that requires from him, and his underlying gentle and polite demeanor are interesting to watch play out. I'm both excited and nervous to see what Togashi has in store for the rest of his arc...

2. Gon Freecss -- He's only very, very narrowly in second place, I adore him deeply and he and Killua are undoubtedly my two favorite characters of all time (from anything). I love how he initially seems to be a normal, cheerful, and strong-willed shounen protagonist, but as you go further in the story and look deeper into his character it becomes increasingly clear how unique and well-written he is. There's so much nuance to him and he's such a fulfilling character to explore and think about, I never get tired of it. Plus, of course he's adorable!

1. Killua Zoldyck -- I mean, who doesn't love him? He's such an incredibly multidimensional, fun, heartwrenching, fantastic character. His emotional growth throughout the series is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in a piece of fiction. His character design is so simple and yet so precious and iconic. There are tons of little touches to his character that contribute to making him feel so well-rounded and genuine. He and Gon utterly captured my heart my first time through the series and haven't let go even slightly.

Honorable mentions: Leorio, Alluka, Senritsu, I could go on and on... Togashi is a master at writing characters!

Top 5 Series Moments:

5. Gon and Killua on Whale Island -- I absolutely love the Whale Island episodes/chapters, they're such a reprieve from the many harrowing things going in the series otherwise, and it's wonderful to see Gon and Killua becoming closer. Their talk under the stars is such an important moment for them, setting the tone for their relationship going forward. I love thinking about all the fun they must have had that we don't see when they're on Whale Island, because they were there for a while and we only see a bit of it. These episodes/chapters are something I come back to a lot for comfort, and in the future I'm hoping we'll get another scene that echoes the scene under the stars...

4. "It has to be Killua." (From the dodgeball match.) -- There are so many layers to this scene, I love the complexity of it. From Gon's romantic-coded words towards Killua, Killua's very non-platonic response, and the contrast with Killua getting hurt on Gon's behalf, but it's because of Gon's respect for Killua's desire to help him at all costs... It's difficult to even summarize all the layers of what's going on without going deep into meta, it's a great microcosm of both the love and trust between the two, and some of the issues between them beginning to pop up, too.

3. The initial confrontation between Gon and Pitou/"It has nothing to do with you." -- The intensity of this scene is off the charts, both in the manga's incredible inked portrayal and the 2011 anime (with some of the absolute best voice acting I've ever seen in the hundreds of anime I've watched). Watching Gon lose control the way he does is chilling, and meanwhile we witness Pitou's growth as a character and the deep pain and conflict Killua faces. It's a difficult read/watch for sure, but an absolute turning point in the series and for the characters involved, and it's brilliantly executed and tragic.

2. Meruem and Komugi's lover's suicide -- This scene has made me cry hard so many times, it's beautiful and iconic and the absolute perfect climax to the Chimera Ant arc. One of the best and most heartwarming/heartbreaking scenes simultaneously I've ever seen.

1. "Gon, you are light." -- This scene was a major turning point for me when I watched the series the first time, and I still think it's an incredibly amazing and painful scene that says so much with so little. It's not just about Killua's increasingly hard to deny love for Gon, but also his self-esteem issues and how he sees himself in comparison to Gon, Killua's guilt over what happened to Kite, his denial of the cruel reality of what's happening because he deeply wants to see the optimistic way Gon does... And then of course with the scene going straight to Pitou holding Kite's decapitated head, it's really a gut punch.

This was difficult for me because there are SO many fantastic moments in HxH, I could easily make a top 20 or 30 and still not run out of scenes I adore. Of course, loving Gon and Killua's dynamic as much as I do, I go back to their scenes over and over again, and so that's what I'm focusing on here in my ranking. But there are tons of scenes not centered around them at all or only centered on one or the other that I also deeply love, and it's hard to leave all those out!

Thank you for asking my opinion! As hard as it is deciding on rankings, it was fun to think this over and write out some of my reasons why.

[moltengoldveins]

That TCU post…that is truly one of, if not the greatest thing I’ve ever seen come out of this fandom. I tried my own hand a while back at writing “the dsmp but taken seriously”; gave it a name and a playlist but didn’t really write much before I went back to my other projects. If you ever have the motivation to do more with that outline I’d be honored to be a co-writer or help out in any way, or if you want you could just use my title as a name for the series: A Ballad of Broken Dreams.

holy crap op this is so sweet. Thank you so much. I’m… wow ok. That. Wow. Thank you. That’s legitimately so kind and I’m so glad you enjoyed it XD. Id also Love to see your playlist and your thoughts behind the songs if you’re down?! That sounds awesome :D

funnily enough, I’ve had a drafted outline for this heccin thing running around in my head since the Butcher Army arc. Right around when SAD-ist dropped her animatic, I simultaneously realized ‘oh wow, I Adore this concept’ and ‘oh wow, I Highly doubt the CCs are gonna manage to do this the way I’d want to see it’ and lo and behold: I was correct. So painfully correct. (There were also People Involved whom I had Really Bad Feelings About from very early on that, sure enough, turned out to be exactly what i thought they were, rip) So the Emduo prequels, Icarus heccin Dying, and the end of Axe of Peace have been around for Ages.

I’d honestly love to do more with this concept, (i am designing movie posters as we speak) but due to Chronic Illness Pog I’m in a rather unstable financial situation? And don’t have a ton of free time for art. Any big projects are gonna take a While, or id need to find a way to use it or something adjacent to fund, y’know, Rent. That being said, I’m definitely writing the emduo prequels, both as movie scripts and as novels, as those are the films focused on, yknow, My Bois. I also think it’d be hilarious to release the novels and then the scripts and watch people Loose Their Minds over the ‘inaccurate adaptation >>:(‘

I’d absolutely love to work with other people in the fandom on this stuff, though I’ve never been the best at directly co-writing (my writing method and style is painfully specific (ie needlessly poetic) and I’m very autistic: I don’t like it when people touch that Specific Thing) but literally anything else? Im open ears. I love collabs.

and finally, I adore your name for the series, (excellent word choice there /srs, it fits perfectly with the symbolism of the whole story) and I think it works really Really well for the actual DSMP, but if I’m entirely honest… I’m not sure it fits the TCU? Like genuinely I’m so grateful for the suggestion, I love when people offer ideas and bounce things around like that. But one of the main things I tried to do with this concept was work out how the story could actually end Well. A deep-seated belief in the good-but-fallen nature of man, the importance of hope, and the inevitability of redemption kinda comes part and parcel with the whole Being-A-Christian Thing (if it doesn’t, you’re missing the Whole Point Of The Bible) and while the actual DSMP may have ended in broken dreams… this doesn’t. That was my first thought when writing that outline: This Is Going To End Well. Not for wish-fulfillment reasons, not because I’m naive or I don’t like bad endings, but because fundamentally, everything sad is a lie, and if the story has ended in tragedy, it hasn’t ended yet.

If I had to pick a series name now, I’m not sure what I’d pick. A part of me balks at referencing anything popularized by Our Local Redacted, but ‘unfinished symphony’ wasn’t his in the first place, it was from Hamilton. “The Finished Symphony” has a cool ring to it? I dunno. If anyone else has ideas please feel free to toss them in here aight, I’m not settling on anything for a While.

Anyways, thanks for Ted talking with me, drink water 💜