#and sometimes i wonder what my roommate thinks of the random shit he sees appear in our living room lol

[emiliaoagi]

Came downstairs to a bag full of inflatable saxaphones and a gold tophat that i bought last minute and my first thought was just "I miss GISH"

[hitoshisbabygirl]

Author's Notes ♡: Hey Hey, it’s me, ya girl and I’m back with another collab! Ive always loved the roommates theme and have a few ideas for some other ones in my head making this. It’s kinda all over the place because it was a professing with their friendship! Yes I made a Zelda reference and I land about it no. I know Rapp is seen as violent and dense but but this is in a collage au so he’s just a bit...aloof I just love the idea of him actually being a big softie ʕ⊙ᴥ⊙ʔ. I hope you enjoy! ~ bunny ❥

Warnings : NSFW!!! (◎_◎;)

Sweet caring sorta himbo(meh?) Rappa, female oral, Big Dick Rappa , sorta size kink if you really sqint,cheater ex mentioned like once , language

Word count : About 5k! Yikes ^^’

Paring(s) : Kendo Rappa x F! Reader

Enjoy ♡

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Having Kendo Rappa as a roommate is an interesting feat in itself. He is big, and loud , very very loud. He wasn't a bad roommate he just..was like a cute large and fluffy puppy that didn't know his size...or power. Their interactions started as the two met during a halloween party one of the frat houses down the street thew. [ ] went as Midna, her best friend Rumi was dressed as Impa while the last two of her friend group , Amaya and Asa, a pair of sisters, were dressed as fairies. “[ ]! Rumi! you two are so cute! Zelda costumes?” Asa asked as her sister ran up to admire their outfits. “Yeah! [ ] wanted to do some characters that matched us y'know?” She said as she nudged her quiet friend , the girl jumped and laughed , scratching her neck as she gave the excited sisters a small smile “If i was coming out tonight I was gonna wear what i wanted to really wear” [ ] said as the group of them laughed and mingled with their other friends and classmates. While heading to get juice , she heard loud screaming , as the sport boys were starting to show up. First was the football team, then the basketball. Baseball and wrestling came next, then the smaller clubs finished them out. Sighing [ ] was content away from everyone as she watched mayhem ensure, chugging of barrels , more music, girls swarming around the players they crushed on as they did minor things, like talk to their teammates or eating from one of the big food trays laying around. Feeling a tap on her shoulder broke her from her people watching, Rumi giving her a bright smile as she took a cup and joined her. “How's my favorite antisocial babe doing now that all of the party has arrived?” She asked as [ ] gave her a pained smile, going to get more if something to drink “Well I don't feel the need to smack anyone is that a good sign?” she chuckled as she got a hug from the more energetic girl “That's my girl! Don't worry, i wanna get out asap but we’re gonna need our favourite pair of sisters before that can happen and it seems like they're fawning over some of the baseball boys as we speak” Rumi said as they watched a familiar tutu of blue go by, followed by a pink one going a similar way. “I don't get it… but at least their taste in men isn't too bad” [ ] joked as Rumi agreed , laughing “Yeah miss tsundere, you can't stand saps, or most of the jocks either” giving the white haired girl a look she rolled her eyes and gave her own laugh back “Yeah I guess i'm either picky or just got high standards” “Ain't nothing wrong with that we all do!” She said as she elbowed the girl beside her.

As the two of them sat there and talked Rumi glanced past her and her eyes widened, causing [ ] to stop talking “What is it-” before she could question her, the white haired girl jumped up, waving at someone “Rap! Over here!” Constantly yelling to someone [ ] started to ask again when a booming voice came from above her “HEY RUMI” a very loud voice called as stomping could be heard before it stopped “I see you took our idea huh?” With that comment [ ] turned around only to be face to face with a dark cover chest, only to then look up to some of the most warm and amber colored eyes looking down at her “Hello there little lady, I like your costume! Erm..Midna aint it?” The giant ganon dressed man questioned as all she could do was shake her head in agreement, causing the giant male to laugh “Awe don't be shy of me kitten i ain't gonna bite!” He chuckled some more as her friend jumped in “I told you she was shy! Be nice Rappa!” Rumi yelled at the flaming red head as he gave her a toothy grin “Oh I was just teasin’ , I bet I ain't hurt her feelin’s did I sweetheart?” Rappa questioned as [ ] face felt hot, hiding her face in her hands as the teasing duo laughed causing the girl to huff “I'm tired of you two already” She said as a giant warm hand touched her shoulders “Awe dont be like that hun, in time ya’l love me” Rappa teased as he gave her a smile,making her stomach flutter “Yeah! This is who wanted you to meet anyway [ ]! This is Kendo Rappa, our top wrestling boy, Rappa this is my adorable best friend [ ]!” Rumi said as the two gave each other a shy smile , a sly one creeping up on Rumis as she thought to herself “Yeah, this'll definitely happen”

Since then the two had become more acquainted , having many classes together and sharing some similar friends [ ] was used to the bruting and sometimes dense man making a random ( and loud) appearance. As [ ] sat in her mostly empty room thanks to her last roommate moving out after constantly breaking sound rules and getting into it with the girl downstairs for being in her bed with her boyfriend (Yikes) she felt a sense of calm. Closing her chemistry book and letting out a relieved sigh [ ] thought about the fact she was going to get a new roommate, the thought was nerve wracking but also it was exciting as well. It was almost too quiet , having the last room by the stairs meant she didn't have to deal with many people besides her friend group. They weren't loud , unless one of her friends decided to get laid and made way too many sounds, or if their neighbors under them threw parties or also had...extra partners coming around. She definitely could feel she was sorta excited she was going to have a roommate again. The sisters had a room to the left of her while Rumi had the one to the right, sharing it with a girl they knew from math. The rooms were not gender defined, some girls having rooms with guys and vise versa so it made it easy to get a room.

These dorms were also quite spacious, the walls not paper thin and a large enough area space that could house two or maybe even three people. So when she heard a knock on her door she expected it to be her new roommate she was advised would come today. Happily opening the door she was shocked and almost terrified to see just a box, well actually a few boxed stacked hiding whoever it was behind them. But if the faed rustic orange hair and wide shoulders meant anything she knew her new roommate already “K-kendo?” [ ] said as the boxes walked by her , landing with a soft thud as bangs covered the male “[ ]? Is that you?” moving his hair out of the way their eyes had the same expression, shocked. “Uh h-hey there sweetheart why isn't this cute, we’re roomies hun?” he laughed as she couldn't help but give him a smile back. “I never expected to see you as my roommate” [ ] teased as Rappa gave her a hardy laugh “Well it looks like me and you are gonna be close friends here darlin’!” With a wide smile he picked her up and gave her a tight hug, taking her breath away ‘ Oh boy i wonder how this will turn out’ she thought as she was eye leve with her giant puppy like friend, his eyes filled of joy

Which leads into now, [ ] trying her hardest to read up on what her next project could be. As she sat there thinking she heard the tale tell sound of her roommate entering with some of his teammates, the boys loud and rambunctious as they entered. Feeling a heavy hand on her shoulder she looked up to the towering boy that was her roommate, his eyes just as bright as usual. “Hey darlin, we're just gonna talk up sum strats a for the upcoming match and play some games in the back , is that alright?” He asked with pleading eyes as one of his more cocky and jock like friends spoke up “Well youre the man here, dont let some women say if we cant or can be here” Rolling her eyes and proceeding to stand up and push past the wide eyed boy who knew what was going to happen. [ ] took in a breath before opening her eyes to look up to the boy “Well it is my room, i pay shit here and the man over there didnt get this place, so i do choose who can and cant come through my place” She said as she pointed a finger to the boys chest. Trying to push his luck he pushed back against her finger “ I bet you just haven’t gotten a good enough dicking for you to just stay out of the way” He laughed. Before [ ] could hit him hard enough her rust haired friend moved in , clearly towering the boy “Yer better watch yer mouth, she has her right around here, im invatin her space so watch it before there's no place for any of us to relax without rules” He said as the boy sucked up any laughing and nodded his head in understanding. Surprised by her usually aloof roommate [ ] stood back and went back to her work, the other boys scrambling behind kendo as the boy who tried to challenge her jumped to follow, never making a move to mock or do anything again.

The boys picked back up and were having fun in the back room of kendo’s , sighs and groans when they lost and victorious laughs and screams if someone won. Once they all left and everything settle to a quiet rumble as the last few funneled out [ ] could here herself think, reading up on chemistry as she felt a presence behind her. “ ‘M sorry, i didn't know my question wouldve cause a roar outta ya..” Kendo started as she smiled gently, turning to face the wounded boy “Its okay….guess it just lit something in me i always did y'know?” She said with a small laugh as she went to type again, but was stopped by the hulking boy. “I gotta make it up to ya alright? I know i aint say anythin that he did but…. It feels like my fault y'know?” He admitted as his large hand covered hers. “You wont live this down will you?” She questioned as his eyes flickered up to hers, sparking. “Nope, not at all. Lemme treat ya right okay?” For such innocent words [ ] couldnt help the shiver that ran down her back at his words. Maybe it was because he was so close, or that the smell of his cologne was too much, either way her head was spinning as she let him still hold her hand as he tugged her away from her computer , his smile widening as she reluctantly shut the bright screen “Great! Now let's get something to eat im starvin” He rasped out as [ ] gave him a giggle that made the boy stop in his tracks. He always thought she had a cute giggle but this one,for some reason , made his heart and chest feel warm and tight. Ignoring the feeling he took the girl with him, the two headed out to get something to eat as they headed down , the sound of her giggling still running though kendos mind.

Getting a random frantic text from Kendo wasn't unusual, in fact it was quite common for him to do such, which now didn't faze [ ] at all but this one was...particularly odd giving what he was asking ‘Hair? And messy? What in the world is he up to’ [. ] thought to herself as she headed to her shared room with the boy, nervous of what scene she could be entering.

Sighing after his last text she hurried her way to their dorm room and in fact he did leave the door open, making her more nervous as she entered the living room. “Kendo?” [ ] called out as she heard a gruff sound come from her bathroom. Entering was a sight of its own; towels, a bowl of some..substance , bags and bottles of body wash and a one flustered and shirtless Kendo. “[ ]! ‘M so glad yer home here take this” The large man said as he handed her an old toothbrush that was frayed and covered with the same odd substance in the bowl. The lingering smell from the room eventually gave it away ; shampoos. “Uh why do i need this? And why is there shampoo on a toothbrush” She questioned as he groaned, taking the towel off his head as she blinked owlishly at his very faded red orange hair, the color now more of a neon pumpkin. Shaking off extra water caused even more of his hair to fall, landing between his shoulder blades as he gave [ ] a desperate look. “It wont come out, and the more i scub the more...orange i become. I look like a orange peel” He whined as [ ] figured out what he was trying to do

“ You wanna remove the color right? A bowl of shampoo and body wash isnt strong enough” Going into their kitchen she grabbed some baking soda and lemon juice , coming back to the hopeless boy “Let me mix something up ive used before okay? Then we can proceed with your hair” Two and a half hours later the boys hair was now a light peachy orange, just light enough to take up with bleach “Well, if were gonna go for blonde ill go get some bleach and some masks, deep conditioners too, your hair is definitely gonna need it and I don’t want it breaking off because you're impatient to take care of it” she sighed as he was amazed at his hair, running a large hand through the still damp mess atop his head “Wow yer good” He said as she smiled at him, taking her keys “And you have a lot of hair. I'll be back” She said as she hopped up “Wait! Lemme go with you?” He asked but also seemed to demand, pleading eyes looking down at hers as wet hair dropped onto his still bare chest.

Trying not to be hypnotized by where they landed and proceeded to slide down she looked up at her amber eyed friend, who was staring intently as he waited for her answer, soft “Please?” coming from his lips. Sighing dramatically on purpose [ ] laughed at him, giving him a grin “of course you can you big puppy” she said as he picked her up in a hug, a gesture that shows his excitement she's come to learn. Putting her down he went to go to the door before his friend called him out “uhm Kendo? You don’t have on a shirt” she said plainly as he looked at her, raising a brow as he gave his rebuttal “Its hot” He responded. Giving him a side eyed look she turned from him and towards their bedrooms, [ ] sliding into his. Soon she came out with a sleeveless one, throwing it at the hulk of a guy infront of her “You can't come in the store without one” She said as he gave a growl of his own, sliding the shirt over his head as they left their apartment “Well at least ya got me one without sleeves” He huffed as they started back to the door, heading out to finally go to the store to start another process on Kendos hair, the male just excited to finally get rid of his pumpkin hair.

As Kendo sat in the shared living room with [ ] , deep conditioning his hair at her yelling request (‘If you dont re nourish it before you want me to bleach it , I won't do it!’ ) he watched his roommate and now his best friend wanderer around and do housley things for their apartment, the girl content as she cleaned and sorted out things in the kitchen, her body turned away from him as he started to think over how beautiful he thought she was. He want the type to brag or gloat about having so many girls comment on his size , height wised and well sometimes other ways , trying to tempt him to them. All while his friends wanted him to explain how he got the attention from the other gender , Kendo hated to admit it but ,he only wanted his roommates' affection. He knew how put together she was, smart and kind. He saw what her previous boyfriend did, a cheater that didnt take care of the beautiful soul he lived with. He couldnt stand seeing her come home and cry herself to sleep broke his heart, and when he fought the cheater, in the act he didnt feel bad once. Of course it ended their relationship, and [ ] yelled at him for fighting , explaining how he couldve ended in jail for fighting her ex, but he argued it would be worth it.

Sitting and mulling over everything he realized Rumi was right, hed do anything for [ ] but not the same for the other females that passed through his life. She actually, was the first person he did that for and that thought made his head dizzy. Moving from his place on the couch he went to stand in the kitchen, waiting for [ ] to come back from her room. Hearing the iconic sound of her feet pittering across the wooden floor he gave her a lopsided smile as she jumped, smacking into the chest of Kendo. Before [ ] could fall from impacting with his chest he caught her, holding her arm to his chest. “K-kendo! You shouldve told me you were in here! Why are you in here anyway?”[ ] scolded as he laughed, moving out of the shorter girl's way as he started his staring again, this time [ ] noticed him “......What?” She asked as he looked down at her, an unreadable look on his face. “Kendo” she called as he hummed, moving closer “Yer gorgeous” Kendo blurted out as [ ] started to stutter, eyes going wide. Taking teo steps forward he essentially trapped his friend between the corner of their kitchen canopy. “Remember when I fought that bastard of an ex you had?” Kendo asked as he saw [ ]’s eyes go soft , shaking her head “What about him...i'm still mad you almost lost everything just to fight him yknow” she huffed as he poked her cheek “Id do it again if it meant you'd be happy again yaknow” Kendo said as he leaned down to push his head against hers, amber and [ ] eyes mingling. Lifting his large hands he traced each side of her cheek, analyzing over her face as he nuzzled against her nose “Stop playin hard to get would ya? Bad enough you got my heart all in your little hands” he whispered as [ ] just started at the giant , her arms gently coming over to cover his that were place on her cheeks “K-ken..i need to start you hair..” She hopelessly try to argue as he groaned, burying his face into her neck. Squealing at his damp hair touching her shoulder [ ] jumped ,pushing the large boy back “Your hair's wet!” She whined as he chuckleed, mo\ving back as it turned into a booming laugh “Oh my ‘m sorry babe , you look surprised” He said as she smacked hsi chest “Go to the sink, i need to rinse the conditioner” She yelled as he hwld his hands up in a mocked surrender, pulling his shirt up and off in one fluid movement. Caught up by him stripping his shirt off [ ] gave him a glance over, the heaviness of him admitting feelings for her in his own unique way still lingering in her mind as the toned and strong back of her friend made her head hazy. Turning around from the lack of notice of his smaller friend Kendo caught the eys of [ ] staring, her eyes quickly flickering to his curious ones as he grinned “See somethin you like darlin?” He teased as she grunted, reaching up to push his head in the sink “Shut up and let me do your hair”

And like clockwork, Kendo rappa was an icy blonde after two days, a break given to his long ,thick and wavy hair, the giant boy looking over his new look as he sighed happily, loving to have his hair finally look normal. “Well damn [ ]! Ya made it even better than what i was thinking. Look! My hair’s all wavy at the ends and it's soft! Whatever you made me do made it feel better!” He raved as the girl looked over her work. And in fact it was highly even, his hair consistent and lavishy soft. Giving him a shy look she giggle “That's what a deep conditioner will do to damage hair and the way i'm always untangling your hair for you, i knew it would need it before you wanted to go white” She said as he just kept running his hands in his hair, turning back to her “I could just kiss you right now!” He blurted out as they both froze at his words, eyes wide from both parties “I-I aint mean it [ ]” He croaked out as she giggled, stepping back from him “O-of course you didnt, why would you i mean aha..”She said as she moved away more , his own words started to hit him as he realized the reverse effect it was having “NO! No, I'd want to kiss you, I really really want to. I just...want it to be on your terms okay?” he said as he grabbed her arm, holding her in front of him as if she'd float away if he didnt.

“Kendo...I..” [ ] started as she came back to his hip, laying between his legs onto his thankfully covered chest “I just dont want to lose you if you decide you wouldnt want me around” She whispered as he pulled her even closer, kissing her forehead as he stared at her “Dont you ever say that again ya hear me? Youll be my princess and ill be your humble er..knight” He hesitated as he tried to think of a sweet way to explain his feelings. [ ] looked up to him as she felt here eyes feel heavy with tears. Before one even fell Kendo pushed his lips as soft as the strong boy could, wrapping a large and beefy arm around her waist as he slipped his tongue in her mouth, letting his hand slide down to pull her up to sit on the tops of his thighs while he leaned against his dresser. Softly [ ] pushed her hand on his chest and pulled away, now eye to eye with Kendo “Sorry , d-did i overstep my place” He asked as she let out a snot, before laughing. Confused, Kendo went to talk before she stopped him “No no, youre good, just that if we keep kissing on this dressed there's gonna be a hole in the wall” She said as she pointed to where the mirror kept tapping a spot, scrapes already aroring it “R-right!” He laughed too, picking her up to set her on his bed “Now then...lemme serve you princess” He said before kissing her again, not letting her rebuttal his own comment. As the two kissed he made sure to be as gentle as he could be , at times clumsily nipping her lip or his hand pulling hard at her clothes.

All in the name of wanting to show how much she meant to him. Soon he pulled away, a small string of saliva strung between them from the hearty kissing. “[ ]...i think i love you” He said as she gave him a soft look , trying to catch her breath from the dramatic kiss they came from “Good, because i love your loud ass too Kendo” She teased as he smirked,leaning down to bite her neck, causing her to moan loudly “We’ll see whos loud after im done wit ya” he gave his own tease back as he moved between her plump thighs, kissing the flesh there as he pulled her shorts to the side, exposing her flushed lower lips. Gasping she reached for his hand that held her legs apart causing the fresh blonde to look up at her, eyes wandering over her face for signs of him to stop “I-Im not used to being this bare sorry..” She whimpered out as it dawned on the other side of her words “Have you ever ate out baby?” he asked as she hid her face from him, shaking ehr head as he groaned, pulling her shorts down as he saw her lacy panties , a smirk placed on his lips as he peeled them off too, a string of arousal keeping them plastered to her lips “fuck, that bastared really didnt take care of you” he growled as she sat up to see his darkening eyes kiss up to her lips whispering out a “but i will” as he sucked one of her lips into his mouth, causing a lound moan from the woman he was inbetween. Slowly he licked up her lips, searching for that small pearl as she whined, a hand coming down to tug his hair. Grunting he soon found it, sucking onto her clit as she gasped, her thighs shutting over his head as he looked up to her, watching as her back arched off of the bed once her pressed his tongue hard against her clit. Softly he let a hand run under her thigh, a single thick finger tracing over her twitching hole as he pushed it in gently, making [ ] squeal. “K-Ken!” She called out as he looked up again, catching her eyes and flushed face on his actions. Making a show of what he was doing he let a second one join the first as he sucked hard on her bud at the same time making [ ]’s eyes roll back as her hand fell from his head, nervous od pulling too hard. Kendo however had other plans. Feeling her walls tighten around his fingers he made sure to find that spongy spot and hitting it, finally pulling his lips from her clit as he smiled “Uuh Uh doll, look at me” He growled as she hesitantly glances at him, regretting that she did. He looked way too good, hair a mess as he was panting, catching his breath from being down on her. With evry pump of his fingers his muscle in his arm twitched, making her own walls spasm as she watched it “Ya like it sweetheart?” He asked as she shook her head, watching him move back to her pussy “Good, cause i aint done” He said as he gave her clit kitten licks beofe slurping on it, throwing a wink at her as he picked up his pace, making [ ]’s voice rise as she felt herself getting close before quickly snapping at a particular hard thrust of his finger to her spot on her walls.

Letting out a light scream she came over his fingers and tongue, the male laughing gleefully as he sucked up her juices. LEtting her come down some he watched her face as bliss spread through her body and a sense of confidence whent though his. Slowly he picked up the pace of his fingers again, going from a shallow push to more stroking as he heard [ ] whine, grabbing at his hand “Uh uh sweetheart, you taste too good fro me to only let you cum on my tongue once” he said as he pushed her down by her stomach, letting her take his spare hand as he went back to suckling on her lower lips. He knew he had a lot in stored for her, and watching the newly admitted love of his life cum from his pleasing was enough for him to realized he needed to do more. Popping off her clit as puling his fingers gently out he looked at her ravished body, using his non wet hand to pull at his sweats. “Youre beautiful like this [ ]” kendo said as she took in heavy breaths, feeling her throat close as he stroked his massive size, rubbing the swollen head as he looked at her , giving her a soft smile “Ya dont have to take me just yet , hes just throbbin too much” He groaned as he twisted his hand hard over his leaking tip, feeling himself throb as he laid back on his bed. “Ride my face?” he asked with one of the most sinful looks [ ] had ever seen ; lustful eyes watching her as his large hand stroked his larger dick, the soft and fleshy muscle jumping at watching her crawl to him, throwing a leg over his neck

“I-i dont wanna suffocate you..” She said as he smirked before saying “Ya cant suffocate me i want it” Soon he grabbed her hip, pushing her onto his awaiting mouth as he picked up his pace, sliding his tongue into her twitching hole as she rocked her hips, keeping a steady pace as she held herself on his shoulder and headboard, ,depreate moand and cries tumbling out as he rocked her too, going from her clit to her dripping entrance, stoking his dick harder and harde as her moans spurred him on. Soon he felt the bud in his mouth twitch and throb harder, the sounds [ ] made increasing as his own hand sped up with his throbbing head, the telltales of them both getting close. A moan erruptred from the girl on his lips as she came again , her essence running down his face as he groaned, ropes of cum shooting onto his hand and stomach as he came himself, still stroking out what he could as the pressure he felt subside. Sliding off softly [ ] saw the mess behind her, taking it upon herself to lick up some of it as she was met with his same aber eyes, watching her move to his still hard member “Let me take care of you too?” she asked shyly. Fuck he was done for as he felt himslef hardend worse at her words, a large hand coming up to smack her ass as he psuhed her up and over his head, letting his tip and her swollen lips run over eachother. Slowly he pushed his tip past her budding lips, entranced by the way it swallowed her whole “Fuck...i love you [ ] and by the time im done with ya...youll know it” he whispered in her ear as she felet him push, more and moreof his large size spreading her lips father than shed ever had. Her eyes rolled up as she felt him bottom out, both moaning as he picked up his pace, making a soothing rhythm as little moans and whines came from [ ], deep grunts coming from Kendo as he kissed her shoulders and back, marking where he could as he felt himself get closer with how she was throbbing over his member.

Digging his fingers as deep as he could in her plush hips he let our a mantra of ‘Cummin’ i and ‘ I love yous’ in her ear as she pushed back against him, feeling herself teetering as he pushed as deep as he could go ,letting himself cum as she came too, the overwhelming feeling of him throbbing against her spongy walls and previous orgasms enough to push her over a third time. “[ ]” Kendo rasped as [ ] hummed , feeling her legs still shake with him in her “Im serious, i'm never leaving you...you're mine and i love you…” kendo said as he kissed the back of her neck, nibbling her ear as he stayed in her “Mhm….i love you too Rappa..”

[stvpidinlove]

[ IM JIN-AH, SHE/HER, CIS WOMAN ]  —  [ SENA HA ]  is a child of  [ PERSEPHONE ]  with the power of  [ PLANT GROWTH & SHADOW TRAVEL ] .  they were born in  [ 1993 ]  and have been in nemean lion since  [ 2005 ] .  with the change, they  [ HAVE GRADUATED FROM ]  the  [ BUSINESS ]  role which makes sense since they’re usually  [ ANSWERING EMAILS & RUNNING IN HEELS ] .  if you’d like to meet them try the  [ MOON ]  building . 

perhaps my most put together character but is that saying anything

BASICS

hometown: san francisco, california

eye color: brown

hair color: brown

height: 5′7

sexuality: bisexual

birthday: august 29, 1993 ( virgo )

BIO

sena’s a first generation american, raised by a single father, who wouldn’t find love again until the age of 49, by which time sena was old enough to be a bridesmaid and drink at the bachelorette party. so growing up, it was always just her and her father. he wasn’t exactly...a sad man, but he was melancholy, sometimes. he’d get lost in his thoughts, sometimes, and especially as a child, sena would wonder if he was thinking about her mother. because a lot of the time, she was.

she didn’t know much about her absent mother, but her father only had kind things to say about her. then again, he only had kind things to say about most people, which was probably how he ended up as a defense lawyer. his parents had hoped he’d go into something like law, though ultimately they were disappointed by their son’s big heart, prone to taking on hopeless or pro bono cases.

but then again, in most situations, his clients paid, because he had a reputation for being good at what he did, and it was all based in hard work and research, not in smearing the prosecution or fabricating stories that would be more convincing to the jury. the two of them were never wanting for anything and sena loved growing up in san francisco, swinging by chinatown or fisherman's wharf after school or on the weekends, frequenting the various museums whenever a new exhibit blew through town. she spent a lot of time on her own because her father had busy hours and she had no siblings to talk to, so she quickly learned how to be self-sufficient and responsible

from a very young age, sena knew she was different. there’s really no good way to explain her ability to make plants grow at will, a skill she less-than-discretely displayed regularly at the park near her house. the shadow travel was less obvious and far more difficult, something she never really used unless there was a pressing reason

like many demigods, sena has always been fascinated by her mother’s story, for as long as she’s known the truth of her parentage. she’s been at nemean lion since the age of thirteen, making it easy to find the proper resources for learning more about the entire world of greek mythology. although the seemingly unbelievable has been a part of her life since her conception, sena is a very level-headed person. she’s organized, almost to a fault at times, and always looks put-together, whether she is or not

before nl, she’d wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps, maybe not exactly, but certainly she had an interest in law. she never fully gave up on the dream, but she can appreciate her role at nl, too, and as long as she’s helping people with her business acumen, she’s satisfied

sena isn’t uptight, exactly, but she does struggle at times to let loose. she’d never leave her apartment in an un-ironed skirt or wrinkled blouse. appearances mean a lot to her, primarily because she knows it’s important to put your best food forward in business and present your best self

partly due to proximity, she’s been at nemean lion for quite a while now and can’t imagine life without it, though she visits home a lot because she’s close with her father. she’s glad he has his new wife (and young twins) to keep him company while she’s away 

RANDOM FACTS

for a daughter of persephone, sena doesn’t spend a ton of time outside these days. she’s the kind of person who has to be reminded to get out and take a break from working. that said, she loves nature, innately, and enjoys gardening

she’s the kind of person to scold gently/kindly because she can’t help quietly worrying about everyone and wanting them to succeed but she tries really hard not to be overbearing

somehow she has huge big sister energy even though she grew up as an only child

sena can’t shadow travel other people yet but she’s lowkey working on it??? she’s been training for over a decade so it’s like...why not but also she doesn’t see it as a huge priority. she’s gotten really good at doing it herself though she sort of has a mentality of not wanting to abuse her powers by using them frivolously

POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS

the biggest mom friend...plus she’s on the older side compared to a lot of people at nl so she’d def fall into the big sister/mentor category, i feel like people would come to her for Life Advice because she seems to have her shit 2gether and she gives good sensible advice 

she does sort of consider hades kids to be like step siblings but ig it depends on the person lmao

someone who also came to nemean lion 10+ years ago who she’s been friends with for over a decade, super duper close, probably goes up with her to san fran sometimes!!!

a longterm roommate! they get along really well and ofc they’re friends but they’re not like Besties which is why they’re able to live together for so long without complaint. lowkey codependent??

an opposites attract kinda thing where they’re super forgetful and/or messy and sena always has to help them get their life together but secretly she enjoys it <3

[in-tua-deep]

tua rewatch with the roommate

Episode five

Oh fuck the “I found you. all your bodies.” scene

“We died?” “Horribly.” throwback to the ben convo o o f

“If perfectly arranged under rubble and otherwise unharmed counts as ‘horribly”’  - roommate

I like that Diego says he’s going to kill Hazel and Cha-Cha like it’s a challenge?? lol five doesn’t care if they live or die he only cares if u do you big dumbass

“Well I know none of the main characters die bc there’s a season 2... and i’m pretty sure they’re all in s2... like all of the family?”

I mean luther is kind of valid for being frustrated that five didn’t share about the apocalypse but also like,,, the first person five told about it (Vanya) suggested he might be insane. so. i can understand some reluctance on his part on top of the whole “the last time my siblings fought this the Whole World Died Including Them i would like them as far away from apocalypse stuff as possible”

okay okay so five says “they turned me into the perfect instrument” so do y’all think that implies experimentation like in the comics or ????

all i can think about during the kennedy scene though is my high school history teacher. he went over the assassination in intimate detail and i’m pretty sure he was writing a book about it and everything. mr. hansen if you’re out there - 

i like feral beard five more than mustache five tbh if i’m picking 

“Someone ELSE shot the president? Was he supposed to shoot kennedy or was he supposed to kill the person who shot kennedy?” - Roommate

love that five tells luther to grow up over murder,,, though to be valid pretty sure they did actually murder people as kids SO. grow down?

fuck i love mary,, will you love me like you loved me in the january rain??? just shoot me in the heart

GOD rob is such a good actor

“wait a second... how is he wearing pants?” oh roommate you have a big storm coming

i have some serious questions about the commission and their methods of communication. where do?? the tubes come from? where do they go after?

Allison: i have a bad feeling [about leonard]

where are these instincts for everything else tho??? her marriage?

“Vanya. she really is trying to look out for you. i really would trust her. you could invite her to come along so she can see he’s perfectly fine??” - Roommate, whose instincts regarding not trusting leonard-harold are spot on

apparently my roommate knows people who put salt in their coffee. i have. so many questions.

“That’s suspicious?? that’s suspicious right?? did he do that? is he a secret serial killer? is he a FUCKING secret serial killer?” roommate when they talk about helen cho going missing

“What do you mean stop showing up it’s been like. a day” - I mean. the roommate has a point. 

Klaus’s depression bath is a mood :(

did klaus put eye shadow on before his bath or did he get his hands on eye shadow in vietnam?? the questions that will never be answered

Five is so enthusiastic about having someone who understands... he doesn’t even notice absolutely Not Being In The Mood,, klaus is grieving and five is just like !!! where did you go!!!! like it was a vacation

klaus: yeah i’m ten months older now. when i’m done being depressed i will lord that over diego for the rest of our natural lives.

does five write in all caps all the time?? why? 

roommate: I wonder what the upper size limit on the knives her can use. like is it machete length? forearm length? what are the limits on his powers. if he sharpened a very sharp mechanical pencil could he use it? if he sharpened a piece of the chandelier? at what point does something become a knife?

me: could he hurl mia (my cat)? mia and her knife feet?

allison also writes in all caps to write leonard’s address

we stan agnes and hazel in this household

“I never said we didn’t !! i just thought she was just a random extra in the first episode and every time we cut away i think that’s the last we’ve seen of her” - roommate because i keep saying that this is an agnes stan household

“OH THERE’S THE PATCHWORK COAT i was afraid it didn’t come back” - okay though good question he definitely didn’t have the coat on the bus. what is it with klaus and his magically appearing coat????

oh :(  oh klaus :(  every time klaus is sad i am also sad :(

honestly a family conversation IS the threat in this family

god though this random vet in this bar is actually an asshole though like. klaus doesn’t owe him shit. klaus served. he’s clearly having a moment with the photo. that could have been a family member or something who died i don’t even know

agnes: i’m a twitcher :)

“like a twitch streamer?” -Roommate

PLEASE give me twitch streamer!Agnes au

look i just enjoy hazel and agnes

roommate: honey you’re too young for her

me: NO DON’T BE MEAN TO THEM,,, agnes deserves a boytoy

“does diego drive a manual?” my roommate once again focusing on things that i do not

five: i have to find the people whose deaths could save the timeline

my roommate: is it agnes?? is he going to kill agnes????

i’m still laughing about that fact that luther is holding dolores.... over the fire escape... she couldn’t drop that far lads

luther’s dumb sometimes but he does have some nice heart to hearts with his brother,,,, honestly he and five get along pretty well in the early episodes. kindred spirits. body dysmorphia and isolation squad.

my roommate has to keep remembering social media doesn’t exist in this universe

i am still confused as to why

that won’t stop me from giving everyone iphones and youtube accounts in my aus though

diego can curve ANYTHING he throws, usually knives, according to cha-cha’s research. but that doesn’t explain the spoilers i have seen about s2 sO

Klaus: You also told me that licking a nine volt battery would give me pubes

HOW DID I FORGET THAT LINE

oh diego got a bullet graze forgot about that as well?? does he ever get like. medical attention for that? diego?????

it really has been like. maybe two days since helen cho died. is no one??? concerned????? they just immediately jump into replacing her??????????????????? hellO? 

“very clear camera angles to show that this actress did not actually play the violin for this role” - i mean that’s fair but ellen is trying rip

me: who’s your favorite character so far?  roommate: that’s a tricky question. klaus is very entertaining to watch. allison is the most reasonable and i’m very interested to know, well, she seems like the best combination of reasonable and has the least selfish intentions. diego and luther i feel like are both good in a bland way in that they’re both doing good in the best way they can which usually involves punching people. five is fun. five is very fun. five is as fun to watch as klaus, they’re both very fun actors to watch on screen. they’re more expressive than diego and luther tend to be.  me: so which is your favorite?????  roommate: first instinct says allison, though she probably has the least dynamic or interesting arc so far

are hazel and cha-cha the best because their victims never see them coming?? like. they aren’t really THAT competent.

“I do LOVE the aesthetic of an ice cream truck playing ride of the valkyries” - my roommate is valid

“LOVE the hypersaturated background in this scene. it’s more fun that having it be desaturated.”

five looks so baby in this scene with the handler :(

still unsure where five got that handgun but i’m vibing

hate when she touches his face !! awful!!!

the handler’s little “all of them??” like yeAH ALL OF THEM even though they irritate the living FUCK out of each other. siblings man

ben gets shotgun for the getaway !!! go ben!

“I’m starting to think... given how space and reality seemed to be warping during her playing... that her medication... isn’t for anxiety...” - oh, oh roommate

ah i blocked out the leonard vanya make out as well

“DIDN’T YOU MEET HIM TWO DAYS AGO?” - yeah i feel u roommate

yup there’s helen’s body

“CSI call crime scene investigation - that’s going to start to smell real soon”

pogo: and you understand that the children can never know

me: actually pogo fuck you

and that’s episode 5 everyone thank you and goodnight

episode six

i do love a good flashback to klaus

klaus: sees a shirtless soldier and instantly falls in love

they don’T EVEN QUESTION HIM just “KATZ GET THIS MAN A PAIR OF PANTS” and they go with it?? he just APPEARED and they don’t even care

klaus was really just vibing in the 60s huh

wait this is like 1962 or 63 right

when does s2 take place?? also the 60s right???

didn’t kennedy die in 1963 i feel like what i know about s2 contradicts that date but i could have sworn they said a round trip to 1963??????

luther is SUCH A MOOD in the family briefing.

“aww he’s a bad liar” - roommate

“I realize that [the umbrella] was necessary for the title drop but where the fuck did that come from”

@ the handler please stop touching five,,, but also five has such. non reactions to her touching him. which worries me. like she grabs his shoulder walking alongside him and he doesn’t even look at her

why are there gas masks in the briefcase room...

can you IMAGINE if your boss toted a child into the room and introduced him as the Legendary Time Travelling Assassin that the whole office had a betting pool over who would die that one time and is Definitely approaching 60 not 13... and then called him LEADERSHIP MATERIAL. implying that this child will probably get a promotion before you do?? can you IMAGINE?

“again... two days ago...” roommate about leonard and vanya

vanya really chose literally just the worst time to come back to the academy huh

okay but vanya going off?? valid, but also,, i mean. it IS their dads fault that they don’t have any relationship with vanya?

luther: it’s about the moon  roommate: critical role moon theory

hey like. how did the family get together in the first timeline holy fuck. it’s hard enough to get them together when they Literally Know The World Is Going To End

so remember diego getting grazed with a bullet yeah well he has a sling on now which makes sense!! and yet. when five got grazed by a bullet he SLAPS A BANDAID ON IT. someone please address this.

five is such an asshole coworker i love it

i wonder if dot is a mother. or just a nice coworker. she keeps trying to talk to him and invite him to lunch aww

i wonder if it’s purposeful on the handler’s part to call him “mr. five” instead of “mr. hargreeves” to like... further isolate him from his family? by removing his last name they’re sort of removing his ties to his siblings considering it’s not like they’re related by blood

forgot how much i hate the bathroom scene !! wow !! hate it so much!!! there’s so many violations of social etiquette in such a short scene! it’s so deeply uncomfortable!

luther: stop it pogo! you know everything our dad did

i am remembering once again how much i hate pogo all over again!! reginald literally locked klaus in a mausoleum!! he abused the kids! pogo didn’t even speak up about sending luther to the MOON,,, oh luther :(

he just learned his dad exiled him for no reason he has lots of rights his entire world view was just shattered wow i am like infinitely more sympathetic to luther on the second watch

“I knew allison and luther was a thing. you told me allison and luther was a weird thing. still not a fan.” - my very valid roommate

they could have made the fort so much more sibling-y instead of romantic and it would have been so much better honestly

oh dave :(

“I wonder who her primary care physician is and if she can find out what that medication was...” roommate i wish i knew

“I’m trying to decide if he knew ahead to time to try and get at her specifically or like... i don’t know when he took the figurine I was like ‘doesn’t he own an antique shop is he there to steal antiques from the family home’.” roommate on leonard

forgot the handler gifted five a suit. also don’t like that. don’t like her talk about his body and everything either.

“is it too much to ask to give him two outfits? one he can wear now and one with the new body?” - roommate

honestly with hazel’s talk on budget cuts i’m not surprised he only gets one suit

STOP TOUCHING HIS FACE,,,, HANDLER. STOP TOUCHING HIS FACE

five and his sweet tooth. don’t take the candy five. come on. what did your father TEACH YOU. honestly reggie probably was like “let them get kidnapped it will probably teach them a life lesson”

“there were like... villages that needed rebuilding after disasters. he could have been sending these packages to legit lunar research facilities. legit facilities would have adored to have that information.” 

okay but people KNEW he was on the moon. cha-cha mentioned it. it was in vanya’s book. why were scientists not knocking down reginald’s door demanding the research??? if i was a moon scientist i would have the mansion staked out trying to demand info jesus

“love his eye fluttering in the way of ‘oh shit i got something in my eye i can’t break character scene is still going scene is stILL GOING’“ - hilarious observations from the allison luther fort scene 2.0: grown up version that gets erased

did they just leave the fort up all those years. did no one USE the green house??? did grace lovingly work around it all that time?

oh :(  dave :(

grace is capable of lying and pogo is a shadowy motherfucker

“okay now that they’re actually putting it into the plot i understand why you don’t think he’s trustworthy but you really got on my back about that”

in my defense i just hate him tbh i did not like him when he first showed up and i never particularly liked him tbh

allison: i think you’re the only person who knows who i am and likes me anyway

me, remembering the theory that allison rumored luther to love her: HMMMMMM

okay but i think the luther and allison dance scene is fucking HILARIOUS. absolutely ridiculous. i mean i hate that it’s incest but also the fucking LIGHTS DESCENDING. the RANDOM WARDROBE CHANGE. 

roommate likes the green underskirt thing under allison’s random dance dress

are they just doing this in public???

ugh. the kiss. ugh. erased that from my memory as well

“they clearly want romance in this show but they painted themselves into a corner with the siblings thing” - roommate

five and his fucking STAPLERS isn’t this the second time he’s knocked someone out with a stapler?? the bank robber and now gloria??

five please your siblings were finally doing some decent work on their own issues :/

five is the kind of dramatic as fuck entrances 

“love how he just grabs [allison’s] coffee. kid needs a coffee after all that.” - roommate

five actually does a good job of rallying the siblings though?? they just broke the fuck up in the og timeline

“something tells me that harold jenkins might be leonard”

oh roommate

episode seven

uh oh harold was born

i feel vaguely bad for him

“me the night before a convention” - roommate on harold’s tape and cosplay and everything

okay but how did reginald even KNOW harold jenkins had no powers?? did he? keep tabs on all the forty some kids not just the seven he kept?

but also why the fuck are these people laughing at An Actual Child fuck all of them honestly

“did HE kill hargreeves?? I mean. he’s got motive.” - roommate

harold really said “i think my superpower is actually this hammer motherfucker”

how did he get twelve years?? was he tried as an adult?? was he in juvie? how old WAS he

twelve years ago... they’re 29 soooo seventeen? he did NOT look seventeen? he was NOT seventeen in that flashback what???

roommate theorizes that harold ran off after the murder and committed petty crimes until caught and tried for murder when he was seventeen so was maybe 13 in the flashback

okay so i looked up the timeline and he got out in 2014 or something so he was like 13 in the flashback which makes SO much more sense honestly but also what the FUCK was he doing for five years

“he’s actually laying out all the facts as he knows them and I appreciate that.” -roommate about five briefing the team

five?? the only member of the family with communication skills? it’s? somehow more likely than you think?

“allison’s pants that she’s wearing now are the most perfectly tailored things i’ve ever seen. not even a wrinkle when she’s standing still. do you know how hard that is to do?” again my roommate noticing the things i absolutely do not

five. five. you have a GUT WOUND and also jumped a BUNCH OF TIMES. you are not blinking into the police station and getting the file. you need some SLEEP. and REST. and WOUND CARE FIVE FOR FUCK’S SAKE. you still have a GUNSHOT GRAZE on your upper arm and a SLICE on your wrist from DIGGING OUT A TRACKER. FIVE.

diego wants to be batman SO BAD.

five crossing his arms and Not Uncrossing Them because he’s literally HOLDING HIMSELF TOGETHER.

wow luther is really handling this so much worse in this timeline rip

luther is losing validity points for CHOKING KLAUS i knew this happened but i didn’t remember how awful it was !!! bad and terrible! and luther is very drunk and very sad and very angry. oh. he’s saying he never left the house and never had friends for nothing :(

klaus had the realization that reggie was an asshole YEARS ago and he’s just kind of like “aww. luther :(” 

klaus is trying so hard

“Klaus has had the most heart to hearts with the most siblings honestly.” - roommate

allison at the beginning making her laugh in the office with the EYES, five on the steps of meritech, diego after the vet bar, luther on the couch...

wow cha cha really thought hazel was talking about how meaningful his partnership was with her when he was talking about agNES

five limping up the lawn and staggering up the stairs and clinging to the rails baBY SIT DOWN. YOU ARE BLEEDING.

“inspiring leadership” “one of the greats” what a sibling moment honestly.

five really said “i think i will pass the fuck out now”

five really said “hey i am literally willing to die for this mission because this mission is the safety and lives of my entire family and i love you guys :(”

except he doesn’t because five is decent at information sharing but getting feelings out of him feels like pulling teeth at times smh

is leonard trying to vicariously live his “normal child born on the umbrella academy day discovers they have had powers the WHOLE TIME” dream through vanya??

we yell about how leonard and vanya have known each other for like a week but i mean same for hazel and agnes!! he’s literally asking her to run away with him and she says yes !!!!! agnes is here for the romantic adventure with this man she’s really living her first hot girl summer and living for it

“she’s having her own little rom com! she thinks she’s living in a rom com not a dark sci fi!” - roommate accurate as usual

she just called ben the emotional support ghost and i mean... she ain’t wrong

honestly klaus should have just left luther to his rave, he didn’t get to party in his teens or during his college years or anything

i do appreciate the viking yell of “B R O T H E R” that luther greets klaus with though because that’s exactly how i greet my own siblings whenever i see them

oh klaus :(

oh klaus :(

he’s having war flashbacks, cravings, is in withdrawal, AND experiencing sensory overload while reliving one of the more traumatizing moment of his life

oh klaus :(

five in a bed for the second time of the season which is nice for him. if only the first time wasn’t because he passed out drunk and the second time wasn’t because of a whole shrapnel wound. i am now that captain of the Let Five Sleep brigade holy SHIT like at least they imply that the others sleep five is just feral and ready to go at all times

are the police allowed to just. remove someone’s arm sling? is that permitted? his arm could be fucked up? i mean. it is? he was shot?

“I saw everything my brothers and sister could do ruin their lives” VANYA some REALIZATION up in here,,,, admitting that the umbrella academy wasn’t exactly a desirable place to be is actually some real growth for her and leonard just fucking shuts her down? fuck that man

VANYA SEE THE RED FLAGS FOR WHAT THEY ARE COME ON

oh klaus :(  oh luther :(  oh :(

“love his corset side pants, like benedict from violet evergarden” - on the topic of Klaus’s pants

“I made everyone else so I must have made you” says god except for the fact that the kids just... surprise popped up instead of coming about the natural way. maybe god DIDN’T made them????????

oh klaus :(  prepare for disappointment :(

oh i didn’t notice the photos of the umbrella academy in the barbershop the first time i watched this

so klaus gives an age for the mausoleum... thirteen... do you think that was before or after five left? statistically it’s probably after bc it was only a couple of months after they turned thirteen that five vanished

Klaus’s “we were just kids” breaks my heart every time

if i was one of reggie’s kids i would have just not gone to the funeral. rip to the hargreeves kids but i’m different

he doesn’t even call klaus klaus in death, he still calls klaus number four. fuck that man.

“i was gonna say i’d have been very very surprised if they kept him dead” - roommate on klaus waking up

“Five bucks says he set these guys up to try and get something out of her” - the roommate being very perceptive

cha cha is VERY rude to my girl agnes

honestly why DIDN’T hazel just kill cha cha after her whole speech and threats about killing agnes slowly in front of him???? like he literally watched her try to kill him as well

why wasn’t diego arrested in the original day that wasn’t actually?? he was being considered already. he still left the house, albeit with grace instead of allison. why wasn’t he arrested then???????? 

roommate thinks it’s interesting how committed the show is to their old timey shit. she used a nicer words like anachronisms but the point is: w h y

are these episodes even longer than i remember?? holy SHIT

[yodawgiherd]

Red flag

>>> AO3 <<<

ye, just creating random scenarios instead of sleeping, that's how we roll

“Don’t get into cars with strangers.“

That’s what her mother told her back when she was a child, and that was the rule she lived by. Until tonight. Because tonight, Mikasa was leading a complete unknown out of the bar, not nearly as drunk as she wanted to be when she came. Why? Because her last exam was done, which meant that now she had a glorious month of no university work, no assignments, no nothing, just free time to do whatever she wished. Which meant getting roped in with Sasha and following her bestie out of the dorms and into the welcoming embrace of the city’s busy nightlife.

With a clear intent in mind, to get as drunk as possible and finally let go for once. School was kicking her ass lately, so much that she had to cut down on her Muay Thai classes, a fact that had her brother scowling endlessly. Mikasa shook her head. She didn’t want to think about her brother today, or school, or workouts. Tonight, she wanted to drink and have a good time with Sasha. Tonight, her brain was on party mode.

The plan was great at the start. She and Sasha met some other schoolmates at the first bar, doing the exact same thing, and they joined forces. When Sasha grew bored, they changed establishments for another bar where they met yet another group, and once again bundled together. Her brown-haired friend just had that effect on people, Sasha was so friendly that it was infectious in a way. Now surrounded by a rather large group, Mikasa could finally feel the fact that her finals are done making its way to her brain. For the first time in months, she felt herself relaxing, truly enjoying the moment. Raising her glass, she emptied it, feeling the burn of alcohol in her throat. Everything was going great, she was getting wasted at exactly the preferred rate, and her life didn’t seem so gloom for a moment.

And then he walked in.

Brown hair in a ponytail, green emeralds for eyes, a confident stride of someone who is attractive and damn well knows it. Not paying attention left or right, he beelined to the bar, nodding at the bartender who almost immediately served him something in a tall glass. A regular then.

“Hey, Miks…”

Torn from her trance, she turned her head to the left to see Sasha gripping her shoulder, an ear to ear grin on her face.

“You’re staring.”

A faint blush crept up Mikasa’s features and she vehemently shook her head.

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. I haven’t seen you like this since you saw that new motorbike model.”, turning on shaky legs, Sasha observed the new guy down the glass in one smooth go, “Well, I can see why you’re gawking like that. This looks like a fun ride too.”

It took a second before Mikasa understood the double-meaning in Sasha’s words, which made her blush even harder.

“It’s not like that…”

“Why not?”

“H-Huh?”

“You’re a grown woman Miks, just go talk to the guy, see where the night takes you.”

“B-But..”

“Hey, I won’t force you.”, Sasha calmed her, “But I don’t see what’s wrong in you having some fun once in your life. C’mon, what’s the worst thing that can happen? If he’s a creep or something, just knock him on his ass.”

Mikasa opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, but nothing came out.

“Welp, if you want to just sit here and make fish-faces at me, that’s fine too, but I’m getting another drink. You have fun now, you hear?”

Done with her free advice class, Sasha let go of Mikasa’s shoulder and made her way back towards the bar. Turning the words inside her head, she tapped her fingers against the glass. Have fun, Sasha said. But she was having fun, damn it, before this guy walked in. Now all she could think of was how nicely his forearms looked when he flexed his fingers and….

Oh god, was she seriously admiring his forearms? How far had she fallen.

Then again, Sasha was right, there was nothing wrong with enjoying yourself once in a while. In the worst-case scenario, Mikasa was more than able to defend herself, Levi took care of that years ago. Finishing her next shot, Mikasa made a decision, standing up swiftly without even wobbling on her feet. Unlike Sasha, she was very far from being hammered, and the lack of alcohol in her system was making this thing just that much harder. A deep breath later, she made her way towards where the guy was sitting, wondering how the hell one started a conversation with a complete stranger.

In high school, Mikasa was often told that she has the attitude of ice queen – she didn’t care what people thought about her, and she didn’t think much about anyone herself. As queen of the ice, she should be good at breaking it, right? Yet apparently it didn’t work that way, because she found herself standing next to the stranger’s barstool while drawing a complete blank in her brain. Words were just impossible, and she cursed whoever invented English because he had to make the language so hard on purpose. Just as she was about to turn and walk/run away in shame, the stranger took notice of her, turning towards Mikasa with a raised eyebrow.

“Can I help you?”

Damn, even his voice was sexy. He asked her a question, answer. Answer. Answer….

“I…. Huh…”

For some reason, he found that amusing, the corner of his mouth turning upwards. Pointing at the stool next to him, he continued himself.

“Would you like to sit?”

Saved from answering, she plopped down on the offered seat, her cheeks flaming red. This wouldn’t work, she was just making a fool of herself. And the stranger was keen on torturing her with more completely basic questions that any other human being would have no problem answering.

“Can I buy you a drink?”

A nod was the best she could manage.

“Any preferences?”

“H-Huh…”

She could hear the grin in his voice.

“I’ll pick for you then if that’s okay.”

Another nod.

Leaning over the counter, he ordered her something, sitting back after. Determined to stop acting like a five-year-old, Mikasa raised her eyes, meeting the inquisitive green gaze. She could get lost in those eyes no problem….

“Can I at least know your name? Please.”

All right, she can give him this, come on.

“M-Mikasa.”

Good job!

“Mikasa.”, it rolled off his tongue naturally, “Pretty name for a pretty girl.”

He paused there, probably waiting for a response, but got nothing.

“I’m Eren. Nice to meet you.”

She nodded at him. Again. Luckily, the bartender picked just that moment to clink her drink down, and Mikasa could hide her face behind glass for a moment. Whatever Eren ordered her was fruity and fresh, with just a small hint of alcohol. It would appear that he wasn’t trying to get her wasted, which gave him a few good guy points in her book.

“So… Mikasa…”

Oh shit, he was talking again.

“How are you doing this evening? All good?”

If she came here of her own volition, that meant that she wanted to talk to the guy so, please... Nope, nothing came out.

“Well, they say silence is golden right?”

For whatever reason, Eren looked like he was having a blast in this one-sided dialogue, instead of being weirded out. Why? And he still went on.

“Since you are such a great conversation partner, I could bounce some of my ideas off you, what do you say? Nothing? Good. Ok, so….”

Sometimes, she wished that she was more like Sasha. While in the ring Mikasa could take on anyone or anything, in social situations she was helpless. On the other hand, Sasha could very well have a great talk with a rock and somehow befriend it. Mikasa should know, as she was the rock at the start of their friendship, it was completely Sasha’s doing that they were roommates now. But even with that giant social blocker in her brain, Mikasa could see that she completely sunk whatever chance she had here, and now was left with only one thing. Exit. Gritting her teeth, she stood up straight, interrupting Eren’s monologue about the economic situation of the middle class.

“I’m sorry, but this is not working.”, to ease her speech, she kept her eyes on the floor, “I made an ass of myself, so I’ll just cut my losses and leave. Feel free to laugh.”

Resolutely, she began to turn, only to be stopped by his voice.

“Please don’t.”

Raising her eyes from the floor, she saw that Eren’s face was completely serious, he wasn’t making fun of her.

“Huh?”

“Mikasa, please don’t go.”, he repeated, “I do enjoy your company.”

“The company of a silent creep?”

“Creep? No... I think it’s cute.”

The blush that was present on her face for this whole time had now spread everywhere.

“W-What?”

“Yea. I know that this is pretty shallow of me, but I think that you are really pretty, and I would like to get to know you better.”,  a crooked smile appeared, “If you will finally talk to me, that is.”

This was completely out of her character. She had never done this before. She never even thought about doing it before. But this is how Sasha did it, right? This is how.. normal people did it. This was….

But she liked this guy, really really liked how he looked, he was basically what she imagined her type to be if it was a person, liked how he talked. Plus there was that strange gut feeling Mikasa got once she moved closer to him. Like she knew him already, like they already talked before or something. That had to be fake, as this was the first time her eyes saw him because she wouldn’t forget someone like this. Yet the feeling remained, only growing stronger.

So Mikasa collected all that was left of her courage, hot-glued it together, and made a sentence.

“How about we skip the talking and head out?”

Eren’s eyes widened, and Mikasa didn’t blame him. How does one react when the girl that couldn’t complete a sentence is now asking you out, just like that.

“You sure?”, the wariness was clear in his voice.

Scared that her voice will betray her again, Mikasa just nodded, her favorite head movement for the evening.

“All right then.”

Eren finished his drink, fished out some money and placed them on the counter before standing up. His eyes were still confused, but he gestured towards the exit in the classic “ladies first” move. Dude was probably still half-sure that Mikasa was making fun of him. Shooting a last look towards her group, her eyes met Sasha’s who gave her encouraging thumbs up. And then they were out, standing awkwardly in front of the bar.

“Is there a place you want to go?”, Eren asked, either dense as hell or the perfect gentleman, giving her an out if she wanted it.

Judging from his face, it was probably the latter, but Mikasa was still riding high on that bravery wave, determined to push through to the final goal.

“How about your place?” she offered.

To her surprise, Eren leaned closer, and Mikasa’s fist tensed on its own, ready to defend herself if the need arose. But all he did was look her in the eyes, studying her face for a moment.

“You’re hardly even drunk.”, he finally concluded, pulling back.

“That an issue?”

“It would be an issue if you were hammered.”, Eren corrected her, “I have no interest in that.”

“Well, I’m just slightly buzzed, so how about you get us a ride?”

“Do you really want me to?”

“I wouldn’t be asking otherwise.”

Finally convinced that Mikasa was in her senses and wanting this, Eren was quick to grab them a taxi. Not that long after, they were standing in front of his flat’s door while he fumbled with the keys a bit before finding the right one. Cracking the door open, he stepped aside, letting Mikasa go in first.

“Welcome to my kingdom.”, he said, “Make yourself at home.”

It was a very nice flat, much better than her dorm. Pretty big too, Mikasa noted, making her wonder if he was living here on his own.

“Take your shoes off please,” a polite request from behind her, “I like to keep things clean.”

Her brother would be happy. After complying, Mikasa walked into something which was probably a living room, dominated by a large couch and a flat-screened TV. Following Eren’s wish of making herself at home, she sat down, eyes wandering. The room was very neat and organized, but it lacked personal items, those small trinkets that people collected through their lives and that could be used to get a bit of an insight into their personality. Even in his home, Eren remained a mystery.

The couch dipped, announcing his arrival. Turning to face him, Mikasa was once again hit by that beautiful green gaze, somehow making her feel all warm and tingly inside.

“So, what do we do now?”, Eren asked, smiling once more, “Something in mind?”

In rare moments like these, Mikasa usually asked herself a question. What would Sasha do? Well…

“Just one.”

Luckily, he sat close enough that when she moved in for the kiss, she didn’t have to go far. It still caught him a bit off guard, but Eren had quick reactions and was kissing her back before she could truly get irritated at the lack of response. And damn, he was good. She could say that he was experienced, because the movements of his tongue and lips were short but calculated, drawing gasps much faster than Mikasa thought was possible. He liked to take control too, as she found herself on her back very quickly, with Eren hovering over her, pressing her down into the soft material. The way he kissed was addicting, and with each one, Mikasa was more at peace with her reckless decision to come here. When he dropped his mouth down on her neck, the sharp bite made her moan, the realization that she will have a dark mark tomorrow flying out of the window. Her body acted on its own, turned on so efficiently, she didn’t even realize that her hips rubbed against him, against that hardness that was forming in Eren’s pants. Dropping a hand between them, she palmed that impressive length, earning a groan against the skin on her neck. Yet for some reason, it was that touch that broke the spell. She was enjoying this, he was, judging from the sounds he was making, too, so when Eren suddenly pulled back without saying anything Mikasa did not understand it at all.

Opening her eyes that she closed in her bliss before, Mikasa saw that Eren was sitting a bit away from her, watching her with a strange glint in his gaze.

“What’s wrong?”, she asked, more than hoping that he will continue.

Instead, he shook his head.

“I can’t do this.”

“Huh?”

Bullshit. Unless Eren was keeping a large flashlight in his boxers, he most definitely could do it. Question was, why didn’t he want to? He did say that she is pretty, right?

“I can’t…. Uhm... It’s hard to explain.”

“Try me.”

“I think it would be better to show you. Wait here? Please.”

Again so polite. Mikasa nodded, watching him give her a tight smile before he stood up and disappeared somewhere inside the flat. At least it gave her time to sit up and fix her ruffled dress, calming her horny mind for a moment. It didn’t feel nice to be so violently yanked from such a pleasant kiss, but Eren had something to get off his chest and if she wanted the night to go on, she had to deal with it first. Such is life, no good thing comes without baggage.

Eren was back before she could think about whatever the problem was. He looked the same, the only change being that his face was wet, most likely from a splash of cold water, and he was holding something in his hands. Sitting back, he offered the item to Mikasa for inspection, making her brows furrow. It was a rope. Reaching out, she took it, feeling it in her own hands, still having no idea what this had to do with Eren giving her the proverbial blue balls.

“It’s soft.”, she said out of nowhere, breaking the silence.

“It’s a special kind, doesn’t give burns or marks easily.”, Eren quickly supplied.

All right, that’s cool, but still….

“I don’t get it.”, she finally surrendered, looking up from the rope.

“The thing is, I don’t really have a normal sex.”

“Why?”

“Professional deformation.”

“H-Huh?”

“That’s a story for another day. Now, since you are apparently willing to continue, I have to ask you.”, Eren took the rope from her hands, flexing it between his fingers, “Would it be okay if I tied you up first?”

Talk about a giant red flag. The stranger not only had her in his home, he also wanted to tie her up as the first thing. Normally, Mikasa would immediately say no and leave. But then again, normal Mikasa would never find herself here in the first place. Normal Mikasa would never talk to strangers at a bar and ask them out. Normal Mikasa…….. was on vacation today.

“I don’t know, I’ve never tried it.”, she confessed.

“That’s fine, let’s start small, see if you can handle it.”, Eren immediately answered, “Hold out your hand.”

Following the command, Mikasa did so, watching when he looped the rope once around her wrist, tightening it with very practiced movements. This was not his first time, that was for sure.

“First a rule, if I do something you don’t like and you want me to stop immediately, just say red, okay?”

She nodded. That was easy enough.

“Good. Now close your eyes.”, Eren went on, “Tell me how you feel.”

She did so, surrendering to the darkness. The touch at her wrist was something new, but not unpleasant, the rope was indeed very soft. It hugged her close, like a bracelet, sliding over her skin with a hushed whisper that promised so much more, if she is willing.

“It’s… good. Good.”

“Okay, let’s try something harder. Can I have your other hand? Oh, and keep your eyes closed.”

When she offered it, Eren gently pushed her hands together and after a moment her hands were tied at the wrist.

“What now?”

Mikasa breathed in, breathed out, focused on that sensation. At first, it was fine, but then….

The memories, the blood, the darkness. And she was helpless to defend herself, she couldn’t do anything, because her hands were tied, she couldn’t….

Her breathing became ragged, heartbeat accelerating but not in a good way, and suddenly it was very, very cold in the room. Panic was choking her, rising into her throat and she had to get away, get free, now, now, NOW.

“Red red red red.”, Mikasa screamed those words out.

There was a kiss of something cold on her wrists but then the rope was gone and she was free, scooting away from her assailant on the sofa as far as it would let her. Finally opening her eyes, she saw Eren looking at her, with the cut rope in one hand and a knife in the other. Sensing her urgency, he probably decided to just cut the bindings instead of taking his time with undoing the knots. He also saw just how distressed Mikasa was and didn’t try to move closer, giving her all the space she wanted. Rubbing her wrists, calming her breathing and realizing that nothing happened, Mikasa slowly got her body back into control.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I can do it after all.”, she finally said, earning a sad smile from him.

“Of course, I understand.”

Her reaction was violent and over the top, but it was clear to see that whatever plagued Mikasa was not something she was willing to share, and Eren did not press the issue. Smart guy.

“I should go.”

“Let me call you a cab.”, he offered immediately, grabbing his phone before Mikasa could protest.

Sitting in silence, she listened as he got her a ride, gallant as ever.

“He will be here soon.”

A nod. Good enough.

“Listen, Mikasa.”, she looked up from her lap, eyes shining with unshed tears.

Eren wanted to hug her then but held himself back because he could say that physical contact was something very far down on her priority list right now.

“Can I give you my number?”

She blinked at him, not understanding why he would ever want something to do with her again.

“I meant what I said at the bar,“ Eren continued, “I would like to get to know you. How about you give me a call and we meet someday. I’ll treat you to lunch or something.”

She was still on the fence, though, this humiliating evening left her ashamed enough that meeting the guy who saw her at her lowest was not exactly appealing.

“I’ll just give you my number, you don’t have to give me yours.”, he offered, “So If you don’t want to see me again, just don’t call. I promise I won’t stalk you.”

Finally, thank heavens, she caved in. Must have been the promise of free food.

“All right.”

So one one-sided number exchange later, Mikasa said her goodbyes and was gone, leaving Eren alone with a faint ember of hope in his chest. It was strange since she said about two to three full sentences that evening, but Eren could not shake that pleasant feeling that he had in her presence. And what was that spine tingle that tried to tell him that he met her before? No way, a girl like that he would remember. Why? Because she was exactly his type.

[creativewritingpracticestudio]

Vodka-Flavored Kisses and Cookies (The Dirt!Mick Mars x Reader)

@songbirds-sweet Thank you for the request! So sorry for the wait! Here’s the friends-to-lovers fic! Set in the 80s. Sorry, it’s not my best, I’m in such a weird spot right now. I tried my best!

Description: You and Mick have been close friends since the beginning of Mötley Crüe. You and him have become roommates, so that you can help him with his disease. You both swear up and down that you’re just friends. One night, the two of you are getting drunk and baking cookies, and a confession slips out. Just friends? Or something more?

Warnings: Alcohol use and cursing. Brief mentions of sex. No smut! This is fluffy :)

“I’m telling you, Mick, dipping the cookies in our vodka will make them taste way better. It’s like what old people do with milk, or whatever.”

Mick flashed you the driest look you’d ever been given as he wiped his cookie-dough-covered hands on a dish towel and leaned against the counter. “You’re an alcoholic, (Y/n).” You smirked at him as you pushed the tray of cookies into the oven and closed it with your hip. “An alcoholic who knows how to have fun.” Mick rolled his eyes, but the smallest of smiles had appeared on his face.

“Anyway, cookies will be done in about an hour. Until then, we drink!” You poured a glass for each of you, and he carefully took a seat at the bar, wincing slightly. You grimaced, hurrying over to hand him the bottle of painkillers you kept on you for this exact event. “Thanks.” Mick tried to hide the pain in his voice, but after 3 months of living with him, you could always pick up on it. You felt awful, but knew better than to show it. He hated being pitied. You handed him his glass, and clinked yours against it. “Cheers, Mick.” He nodded. “Cheers.”

You’d been friends with Mick since before he had formed Mötley Crüe with the others. You’d placed an ad looking for someone to teach you to play guitar, and he’d been the one to respond. It only took a few lessons for the two of you to become extremely close. His dry snark matched well with your energetic, enthusiastic personality. Even when he became famous, you were with him all the time; backstage and offstage.

You’d often come to his house in the odd hours of the night, when he called you in pain to ask for your help. A few months ago, after the fifth night in a row of his urgent calls, the two of you came to the same conclusion: you needed to move in together. You were the only person he trusted to see him in such a vulnerable, fragile state. He didn’t want anyone else to help him.

Now, three months later, you didn’t regret the decision at all. Nights like this were the best. The two of you bickered and talked and got drunk together like an old couple, which was why more than one of Mick’s band members had questioned the exact nature of your relationship. It didn’t help that Mick was a lot nicer to you than he was to anyone else. But, the two of you denied it.

He was your best friend, you were his. That was all. But sometimes, on nights where you slept in his bed after a nightmare, or those times where you kissed him on the cheek, or called him a pet name, he wondered if that was really all that it was. And sometimes, like when he vented about his abusive ex-girlfriend, or when you shared a blanket with him to watch a movie, or when you saw his face twisted in pain and felt your break for him, you wondered if you really only saw him as a friend.

This particular night, there had been no venting or cheek-kissing, but the tension was still there. As the two of you downed your drinks, you found yourself watching the dark-haired guitarist, taking in the details of his face with the curiosity of a small child. He really was attractive, as insecure as he was. He locked eyes with you, and raised an eyebrow. “Something wrong?”

“Nah. Just wondering how you don’t have frown lines yet, Mickie. Would it kill you to smile at me? I’m your best friend!” His face darkened at the term, but he rolled his eyes playfully and gave you a goofy, fake smile. “Satisfied?” You sighed dramatically. “It’ll have to do.” Mick let out a genuine laugh, and you beamed with pride. You loved making him laugh. You poured him another drink and grinned. “Cookies will taste better if we’re piss-ass drunk.” ————————————————————

An hour later, you were both pretty wasted. You were drunken-giggling and dancing around the kitchen. Mick, who was only slightly better at holding his alcohol, was in a better mood and was watching you dance with a small smile. The timer to the oven went off, and you excitedly grabbed an oven mitt and pulled the cookies out. “Yes! They look bomb! We’re some damn good bakers, Mick-ster.” You touched one, hissing and retracting your finger from the heat.

“While we’re waiting for them to cool...” You strolled over to Mick’s seated form with a mischievous grin. “...tell me a secret, Mick! And then I’ll tell you one! It’ll be like a game!” He glared at you in a ‘that’s fucking stupid’ way, but you simply smiled drunkenly back at him, and he sighed. “Only if you go first.” You nodded, happy he said yes. “Okay! My secret is..I only know like 5 Mötley Crüe songs.”

“Seriously? You come to every concert with me.” You shrugged. “Well, alright then. I guess I have one secret.” You leaned forward with interest. “I’m the one who ate all of your gummy bears last week.” You pouted. “Not a good secret, but mean. You sure you don’t have any real secrets?” He shook his head. “Not really.” You gave up, and walked over to check the cookies. Mick loved to mess with you.

He watched you with a smirk, feeling a lot happier than he had earlier. That was one thing about you he couldn’t get enough of; you put him in a better mood just by being you. You didn’t call him “old” or make fun of him like his bandmates. You treated him like a real friend, a person, not the fragile old man he felt like at times. Not to mention, You were a lot prettier than Nikki or Tommy or Vince. Especially tonight..was it the alcohol? He felt a rush of affection for you as you carefully placed the cookies on a plate and smiled up at him.

Mick took another swig of his vodka, feeling a strange surge of daring fill him. “...I do have one other secret.” You glanced back at him with interest. “What is it?” He was quiet for a second. “I think you’re pretty.” You stared at him, slightly shocked. “Really?” He nodded, somehow managing to keep eye contact even though his nerves were shot. “Well, I think you’re handsome.”

Mick went silent again, trying to think of a response. “We shouldn’t get drunk this often. No wonder Tommy thinks we’re hooking up.” You raised an eyebrow. “Tommy thinks we’re hooking up?” He nodded. “Yeah, whole band thinks we’re secretly together.” You thought this over for a second as you placed his cookie down in front of him.

“Why aren’t we?” He blinked. “Why aren’t we what?” You stared down at your hands. “Together. Why aren’t we? We live together. We both just admitted that we find each other attractive. So why aren’t we?” Mick leaned back in his chair and stared off into space, trying to think of a response. “I don’t know. I didn’t really think you were attracted to me, I guess. Most girls don’t have a thing for ancient, stiff-ass cripples.”

You glared at him. “Mick, you’re not an ancient, stiff-ass cripple. You’re a lot more handsome than you think. And you’re really funny, and really sweet. Well..when you want to be, anyway. I like you, Mick.” You’d never seen the guitarist at such a loss for words. After a moment, he finally responded, clearly afraid that your response wouldn’t be ideal.

“I like you too.” You grinned, leaning over to dip your cookie in his glass of vodka before grabbing his face and pulling him so close to your face that his forehead brushed yours. “Is that so? In that case, kiss me.” He stared back at you hesitantly, searching your eyes for signs of dishonesty, any hint that you were playing with his emotions. There was none. “You gonna do it?”

After a second, he spoke one more time. “For the record, you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met. Funniest, too.” And then he kissed you before you could respond. It was clearly a drunk kiss; you both were slightly wobbly, his hands gripping the countertop’s edge for support as he leaned closer to deepen the kiss. You wrapped an arm around his neck and tangled your hands in his hair, tasting the mix of the vodka and the cookies on his tongue.

He pulled away, gasping for breath, and leaned back in his seat. “Did that just happen?” You smirked and nodded, taking a victorious bite of your cookie. “Yes, yes it did. Look at you, finally being friendly with me. You’re a good kisser, Mick-ster. Told you cookies and vodka were a good combination.” He laughed, taking another sip of his drink. “So...are we together now?”

“Depends. Do you actually want to be together, or do you feel like you need to since we’ve kissed?” He flashed you a warning look. “I’m being serious. I don’t just kiss random people for no reason. I genuinely want to be with you. You’re the only person I’ve ever felt this comfortable around. You don’t judge me or make fun of me or any of that shit.” You went serious, covering his hand with your own.

“Of course I don’t, Mick. You’re not a monster or some shit. You’re a person. A very cute one, at that.” You leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, and got up to rinse your plate. “So is that a yes or a no?” You smiled, leaning against the counter and pretending to think deeply. “Hmm..I’ll think about it.” But your grin told him that you’d already made up your mind.

The next day, the two of you told the other bandmates the news, and received congratulations from Tommy (who bear-hugged you) and Nikki. Nikki grinned at Vince and held out his hand expectantly. Vince handed Nikki $10, pouted, and stormed out of the room. Nikki smirked. “Told him it would happen.” Tommy snickered. Mick face-palmed and sighed. “Hope you don’t mind having these idiots around.”

A group of drunken, drug-addicted, gambling idiots? You smiled proudly. You couldn’t have asked for better.

[jse-element-au]

Tenebrae

Summary: While on patrol, Jackie notices someone-or something-dragging away a dead body. Of course, he decides to introduce himself.

Warnings: blood, injuries (cuts, bruises), implied suicide

Jackie paced in a circle, trying to look for any problems. Looking around at the busy streets, he couldn’t see anyone causing any trouble. It had been a surprisingly quiet day, with only one mugging and a couple of shoplifters, so he decided to take a break for lunch. After a quick check of his phone to see if there had been any cries for help, the hero sat down, grabbed his turkey sandwich, and let his legs dangle over the edge of the building. 

He took a bite out of his sandwich as his mind jumped to how he even started as a superhero. It’d been-what, about a month now? My god, it’s been that long? Jackie thought. It felt like a week. At least he had more control over his powers now. Better to stun criminals instead of accidentally shocking random people on the street. He wasn’t entirely sure that everyone else was getting the hang of this whole powers thing as easily as he was. Oh! I should totally talk to Chase, Jackie realized. He’s definitely had the most trouble controlling his powers. Maybe I should give him some tips or something? Ooh! I could make a list of ways tha-

His train of thought came to an abrupt halt as he saw a shadowy black figure with smoke pouring off of it dragging away what looked like a dead body. 

Woah, who is that? Jackie wondered. Is that even a person? It doesn’t really look like a person. Maybe it’s some sort of cryptid? He stared at it for a bit, mouth agape, when he realized-Oh shit! I should be going after them-it, whatever it is. It’s probably up to no good. He chucked his sandwich onto the ledge (the birds would eat it anyway) and leaped to the next building in pursuit of the...thing.

As he got closer to it, he realized how odd the creature truly was. He-they-it, whatever it was-tried to avoid direct sunlight and stay in the shadows of buildings, like some sort of vampire. It seemed to be made of some otherworldly substance, too, even though it was shaped and moved like a person. Black smoke poured off of it, and it didn’t look super solid. It almost looks like it’s made of shadows, Jackie noted. What the hell is this thing? 

On the contrary, the man that the creature was dragging along didn’t look so good. He was unconscious, and Jackie could tell that there had been a struggle of some sort. He could see some cuts on the man’s arms from being dragged along the ground, along with a weird, thick, black substance that was leaking from his eyes and mouth. 

Oh God, Jackie thought. What the hell happened? He quickly caught up to them, and decided to watch for a bit to see if he could corner it somewhere instead of confronting it out in the open, where it could easily run or hide. Obviously, it was a malicious being of some sort. What else could have caused that weird black stuff to leak from that person’s eyes? He watched it walk further ahead and turn into an alleyway right in front of the building Jackie was standing on. It propped the body against the back of the alley so it was facing him. Jackie was about to jump down and pull his whole “Drop the civilian and no one gets hurt!’ schtick, until the creature solidified and formed into a man.

He was about average height, with pasty skin and dark green hair that was spiked up with hair gel. The sides of his head were shaved, and were a medium brown. He was facing away from Jackie, but was clearly hyperventilating. 

“Oh fuck, fuck, shit, fuck, fucking HELL, shit, holy shit, FUCK!” he was saying. His voice was hoarse, with pauses here and there. It sounded like his vocal chords had been destroyed somehow. His volume fluctuated without control, so it sounded like there were gaps in his words. It almost sounds like his voice is glitching, Jackie thought with interest. What the hell happened to him?

He was saying to the other man, “Are you ok, dude? I have no idea what happened, I’m so sorry. I didn’t do it on purpose, I swear!! Please just...say something…….” The man burst into sobs.

Jackie was thinking about whether he should call the hospital or approach the men when the other man groaned. He had long, black, messy hair, and dark tan skin. He appeared to be a bit shorter than average and somewhat overweight. He opened his eyes slightly and said weakly, “It’s okay, man. I know you didn’t mean too.”

The first man choked and stopped sobbing. “Max! Holy shit, are you ok!? How are you feeling?”

“Eh, I’ve been better,” the second man joked. He chuckled, but it quickly devolved into coughing.

“That’s not very helpful, y’know,” the first man said with a slight smile in his voice.

“No, seriously, I’m fine."

“You look far from fine. How do you feel?”

“My head’s a bit foggy, everything aches, and my eyes really fucking hurt, but that’s it. The scratches all over my arms hurt, too. Did you have to drag me along the ground?” Max said.

The other man shrugged. “I panicked. You were heavy.”

Max smiled, then sighed. “I’m gonna take a nap. I’m really fucking tired.”

“What else is new?”

Max snorted. “You okay with just chilling here?”

“Yeah, I’ll figure something out,” the man said. “Just-don’t die on me, ok? I don’t really want that on my consciousness.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t. I promise.” Max smiled and closed his eyes.

Jackie watched on in silence. He was about to leave, thinking, It seems like they’re fine, and I don’t really wanna bother them. Just as he was about to jump away, he remembered, Wait, that guy didn’t seem too healthy. He sounded really weird. Maybe he needs help or something like that. And the other guy, Max, doesn’t look too good either. 

He got ready to just jump into the alley. Shit-no, I shouldn’t do that. It’ll probably scare that dude. Instead, he just yelled down, “Hey, civilian! Need any he-”

Before he could get any farther, the man looked up in alarm and saw Jackie standing on top of the building. 

“HEY!!!” he yelled. “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!”

“Shit,” Jackie swore under his breath. Out loud, he said, “Hey, civilian! I didn’t mean to disturb you. I was just gonna ask you if you needed any help! So, uuh, do you need any help?”

The man wasn’t even listening to Jackie. Instead he was ranting to himself, sounding extremely panicked. “Shit, shit, shit, FUCK! What the FUCK am I gonna do now! The cops are gonna be on me now, because YOU,” and he pointed at Jackie,  “are probably going to call them, because of COURSE you will, an-and what am I supposed to say?! ‘Oh, I’m so sorry about this unconscious person next to me, officers!!! My roommate hugged me after I got into a fight to get me to calm down and all of a sudden black tar started coming out of his fucking eyes and mouth, and when I tried to drag him back to our apartment, I turned into some weird otherworldly fucking substance!! So sorry about that! I’ll just be on my merry way now, thank you!’”

Jackie waited until he was done. “Uhm, are you okay dude? I’m not gonna call the cops, I was only asking if you needed help. Okay?”

The man took a couple of shaky breaths and calmed down. “How did you find me?” he demanded.

Jackie blanked. What the hell am I supposed to say? I can’t tell him that I followed him or he’ll freak out! “Uuuuh...I was on patrol, standing on this building, and I just saw you walk in the alleyway…?” 

“Bullshit. You totally followed me! You're not going anywhere ‘till you promise you won’t tell anyone!!!”

“Okay, okay, I won’t tell anyone anything! Jeez!! Can I go now? Please? I need to save someone,” Jackie said. He had felt his phone beep in his pocket while talking to the man, and at this point, he was ready to use any excuse to get out of the mess he caused.

The man paused, thinking. “You’re that superhero dude, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Uuuh….yeah? I’m Jackieboy Man. Why are you asking?”

The man reflected on this (again). “You have actual powers, right? None of that ‘I have some nifty gadgets and I’m stronger than an average person’ shit?”

“Yeah, I can generate electricity. Can I please leave now?”

The man thought for a bit more. “Maybe.”

“Oh for God-Why?! I have to leave, dude. Unless I’m helping you, I can’t just do whatever you want me to do. I’m going, okay? I hope your friend’s alright.”

“But by sticking around, you would be helping me.”

Jackie sighed, and hoped that the person in trouble wasn’t about to die or anything drastic like that. “Okay. What do you need help with?” he asked in a friendlier tone.

The man shifted on his feet uncomfortably. “I-I wanted to talk to you about your powers.”

Jackie thought about how to break it to the man that he couldn’t do it. “I-okay,” he said. “I can’t do it this second, since I’m still on patrol, but I’m having a meet and greet Saturday in Clive Park. If you can’t make it, I’m usually roaming around the city. My patrol hours are always 9 till 10, sometimes later. Okay? I’m sorry I can’t help you right now.”

“Wait! It’s urgent! I swear!!” the man called out. But Jackie was already running towards the other end of the building.

Jackie’s phone beeped again. He stopped halfway to the ledge and checked it. Turns out that it was a false alarm, and someone just wanted to meet him. He muttered to himself, “Damnit, I thought Chase fixed that.” He thought about what to do now. Should I go back to that weird dude, or go to a coffee shop somewhere and get some actual lunch? After some deliberation, he decided, Ehh, whatever. I’m bored, and started to walk back towards the two men in the alley.

When he got there, he called down into the alley, “Hey, I’m back. I’m free to discuss my powers.” 

“I thought you had your hero duties or whatever,” the man sarcastically replied. He was leaning against the building that Jackie was standing on, and all Jackie could see was the top of his head.

“Well, they’ve been cancelled. Do you want to talk to me or not? I’m only available for a limited amount of time,” Jackie shot back.

The man sighed. “Fine. Come on down. Just-don’t get too freaked out when you see me.”

Wait, what? How bad was that fight he got into? Jackie thought to himself. He shrugged it off and said, “Okay. I won’t. If I come down there though, will you tell me what happened? I heard some of what you said before, and I’d like to know exactly what happened.” The other man started to speak, but Jackie cut him off, “No, I won’t tell the cops anything. I don’t really like cops, anyway. I’m technically a vigilante.”

The man nodded with respect. “Nice. I’ll tell you what happened. I’m Anthony, by the way. Not sure I ever mentioned that.”

Jackie started to climb down. “No, you didn’t actually. Cool name though.”

“Thanks.”

Jackie reached the alleyway, and turned to face Anthony. “So, what exactly did you want to talk abou-oH SHIT!”

Anthony’s neck was sliced open. Blood was pouring out of it, and the collar of his dark blue shirt was soaked. As well as that, his eyes were...weird. The right one was bright blue, and looked like a normal eye, but the left one was completely black. No pupil, no iris, nothing. It didn’t look very solid, either. It was constantly shifting and churning, almost like the weird creature he was before, Jackie later realized. 

He looked pretty beat up, too. There were multiple cuts on his arm, and his left eye had already turned into a black eye. There were lots of bruises of different sizes and colors all over his legs. 

“I told you not to freak out,” Anthony sounded hurt. At least the weird way he talked with the stutters and pauses made more sense now.

Jackie was momentarily speechless. “I-I...Your throat is slit wide open. How can I not be freaked out? You should be dead!”

“You think I don’t know that?” Anthony snapped. More blood started to pour out of his neck. He took a deep breath. “Ok, ok. I’m sorry I snapped at you, I just-today has sucked so much, and way too many things have happened. I swear I’ll tell you everything.”

Jackie hesitated. “Can I ask you one thing?”

“Fire away.”

“How the hell are you-”

“Not dead?” Anthony finished Jackie’s question. “I have no idea. I think it was a month and a half ago-ish, and I had an...accident...and my throat was sliced open. About 7 minutes after I died, I just..woke up! For no fucking reason at all. And then, a-all of this weird stuff started happening.”

“Like, all of a sudden, you could manipulate some element and you could do all of these weird things now?” the hero asked.

“Wha-yeah, exactly. How’d you know?”

“Same thing pretty much happened to me. Instead of getting my throat sliced open, I was struck with lightning. All of a sudden, electricity was bursting out of my hands and causing my phone to short-out.”

“Woah…Really?”

“Yeah! It was super weird at first, but I kind of learned to control it and use it for good! See?”

Jackie spread his hands out, and concentrated really hard. Crackles of electricity started to form in between his fingers, growing stronger and brighter. Since he was just showing off, they were a bright cyan. He smiled up at Anthony.

“Holy fuck!” Anthony said. “That’s insane!!”

Jackie dropped his hands to his sides and the electricity instantly disappeared. “Thanks!!! I usually use it to zap bad guys,” he said with a prideful grin.

There was a pause, where Anthony looked around somewhat uncomfortably. Is that all he wanted to see? Jackie wondered. If so, he coulda just looked at my Insta or something.

“So…what kinda powers do you have? Is it based off of some sort of element? Like electricity, or fire, or water, or something like that?��� Jackie broke the silence.

“I...don’t really know.” Anthony replied, sounding irritated. “Everything weird that’s happened has happened involved this weird, black, goopy stuff. I have no idea what it is, which makes controlling it about 10 times harder.”

“What about your eye?”

“Oh, I have no idea how it’s doing this. I lost my eye the day after the accident, and it just formed out of nowhere about a week after I lost it.”

“Dude! That’s super cool!” Jackie said eagerly. “Can you still see out of it? Does it ever go away? Is it solid? What does it feel li-”

“Oh my God!” the man cried. “Do you ever fucking shut up?” He mumbled something that sounded like “I wish it had worked” as even more blood poured out of his neck.

Jackie was taken aback. “O-okay, I’ll stop talking,” he said hesitantly. “You could’ve just asked…”

After a pause, where he continued to stare at the floor and mumbled. Anthony looked up, seemingly confused. “No-I didn’t-ahh fuck, I’m so sorry,” he apologized. “I’m not usually like that, I swear.”

“Well then, why did you say that?” Jackie asked, hurt.

“I’m getting a bit tired of saying this, but I don’t know. I’ve been just like-angier, I guess, after the...accident. Is that a side effect of your powers?”

“What, being an asshole? No, no it’s not. Seems like a convenient excuse for you, though.”

Anthony looked guilty. He mumbled, “I said that I was sorry…”

Jackie sighed. “Alright, I’m sorry I said that. Thanks for apologizing.”

There was another pause, longer this time. That’s a weird side effect, if he isn’t lying, Jackie thought. Maybe he can control something different than the rest of us. 

“What do you know about your powers?” he suddenly asked Anthony. “Like what consistently shows up when you use it?”

“Uummmm, it’s always black, it shows up at night more often than daylight…what else…it’s usually either smoke-y or goopy, stuff usually happens when I get emotional…uhmmm…I think that’s it?” Anthony said.

“Hmmm…” Jackie was lost in thought. Okay, so it’s obviously something completely different compared to anyone else’s powers, he started. It seems pretty different, except for the responds to emotions thing. Maybe smoke? No, he said that it’s goopy sometimes. It usually shows up at night…darkness? That’s not really an element though. What other elements are there anyway? I think there’s like, talking to animals, levitation, lightness...

“Shadows!” Jackie cried out.

Anthony jumped slightly. “What?”

“That’s what you can control! Shadows!” Jackie excitedly said.

Anthony thought about it, and a smile appeared on his face. “Oh my God-that makes so much sense! You’re a genius, kid!”

“It was nothing,” Jackie said bashfully. “I’m just glad that I could help you out.”

Just then, there was another beep from his phone. He checked it, and someone was being mugged only 2 blocks away. 

“I’m so sorry dude, I’ve got to go,” he said to Anthony. “I have to go off to do my ‘hero duties.’ I hope you’re ok with it.”

“No, you’re good man. Go ahead,” Anthony said to Jackie. “I’ll always owe you for figuring out what the fuck’s going on with me. It’d be nice to get some tips for how to control my powers, but I understand that you have to leave.”

Jackie stared at Anthony. “Uuuh, you could’ve just asked me for my phone number.”

Anthony stared back at Jackie, and burst out laughing. “Right, right-Sorry about that! I can be such a moron sometimes.”

They exchanged numbers and shook hands. Jackie was glad he met Anthony. He seems alright, he thought. Not quite as nice as Henrik or Chase, and a bit weird, but still…

Jackie was about to climb back up to the roof, when he remembered that he still wanted to ask Anthony something.

“Can I ask you one last thing before I head off?” 

“Of course. What’s up?”

“What was that accident that caused your throat to-uuuhh...end up like that?” Jackie asked. “That cut looks pretty deep.”

Anthony froze, scared out of his mind. He quietly mumbled, “I don’t really wanna talk about it...”

“No no, it’s okay! You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” Jackie said gently. At least reassuring people was something that he’s good at.

“Thanks man. That means a lot.” 

“No problem, dude.”

After a somewhat uncomfortable pause, Jackie said, “So...see ya around, I guess?”

Anthony gave him a warm smile. “Yeah...see you around.” His right eye swirled around ominously in its socket as Jackie leapt off to save another civilian.

[dreamsafterhours]

college boyfriend!markhyuk au series: II (mark’s pathway)

a universe in which roommates!markhyuk meet each other's s/o in class

markhyuk are roommates, my/n and dy/n are roommates, mark and dy/n take classes together and so do donghyuk and my/n — how will their fates intertwine?

genre: fluff, some angst pairing: platonic!donghyuk+my/n, surprise visit from mark format: dotpoint AU universe: non idol, college best friend warning: a lil swearing (best get used to it)

masterlist

or click here to continue your friendship with eng lit!mark!

I ⇤ | II | ⇥ III

II: relationship consolidation.. it’s platonic i swear

the fellowship continues (donghyuk + my/n)

hello again

are we ready

ever-ready i’m going whether u r or not lol idc you’re COMING

aight so ;;, donghyuk,

this boi,,

to meet someone new who he sees as almost a personal challenge,, to befriend and get to That Point™ in the friendship where you can talk about anything and everything without judging each other

he doesn’t have many friends that he can do that with tbh,, , he does have a lot of friends and people he knows and has conversed with but not a lot of friends he can crack jokes with and know they don’t take it personally

lots of dark humour and sometimes suggestive ones and political jokes and all that shit ,, intellectual puns and suicidal jokes,,, the lot

the basics for gen z humour right

he just wants someone to talk to and explore different concepts and abstract meanings and philosophical questions and get new perspectives on things he’d never thought about before

but also be able to say “ah fuck me upside down” without it actually affecting the relationship bc you’re just that close

sometimes it’s hard to have that relationship with the predominantly straight boys he surrounds himself with a lot of the time

and he’s always wondered what it’d be like to have a female friend like that and unfortunately he hasn’t befriended anyone and gotten to that point yet that he can ask genuine questions for the female point of view on certain topics

so meeting you,, and finding out you’re going for the same faculty after your undergrad course ,,,. then you being genuinely comfortable with him and his jokes and openly willing to accept his humour

he’s like /exclamation point appears above his head/

will this be The One™

so he lowkey ,, unintentionally,, in the process of getting to know you

develops a smol crush on you

it’s unintentional but he can’t help the fact that he falls in love really quickly but is also capable of getting over people fairly quickly if they don’t reciprocate his feelings and seems to be okay with that

but who can blame him for liking you??

you’re really damn cute

and genuinely good company

when he hinted that you could get married and have children in the future,,

his thought process was that ahaha i’m kidding.. unless?

so yes he was flirting but like ,, experimental flirting

and over the next couple of weeks he continues flirting with you

random lines like

“hey you look familiar, have i taken a class with you before?” he literally said this on the second day of classes with you

you honestly thought he was being genuine and actually didn’t remember you so you were like wait what ??? you literally walked me to my next class yesterday../? how? do you forget that??

and then he pulls a

“really? i swear we had chemistry” hand stroking his invisible beard

and then laughing at your reaction when you deadpan

“it was biology, donghyuk”

and sometimes u keep having that thought that u had in the middle of ur first lecture together, how he’s probably like this with everyone and he can easily befriend anyone else he’s probably gonna end up being those people that you know vaguely

but then you realise he’s been waiting in the same spot outside the lecture theatre every morning and afternoon, leaning on the wall, and looking up occasionally

smiling when he finds you in the crowd, picking up his bag from the floor and making his way over to you to walk into the lecture together

and you decide hm? he sticks around, i’ll stick around

on a separate occasion in some study session he’s like

“are you my appendix because i have no idea how you work, but the feeling in my stomach makes me want to take you out”

and you’re like “wow looks like you went ahead in the course donghyuk we don’t have human anatomy until next year. but how’s tmr at 7”

“perfect i’ll pick you up wear something nice”

hold

and then he bURSTS OUT LAUGHING and HOLLERING and yelling about how that was a good one tho right

you’re both in this sort of grey area where neither of you know where this is going

the reason he’s been saying all these things is to see what you were comfortable with in conversation and trying to analyse from your reaction whether or not you were actually flirting back or not

he’s ranted to mark in his dorms about it a couple times ,,

and so have you with your roommate

you return to your dorm after a day of doing a lot of back and forth semi flirting with donghyuk and you collapse onto your bed

your roommate looks over from her desk like “u good bro”

"i’m confused”

“fair enough”

“seriously idk if this kid is actually flirting with me or whether he’s practising on me or what”

“is this the donghek boi”

“yeah donghyuk” aka your future s/o yEET

you sit up and look at her

“uk what he said to me today”

she turns in her chair to face you fully,, ready for the tea

so you tell her the pickup line he came up with that day & your response to it and then his reaction to that bc he always seems to go for it but then tap out afterwards when you actually respond

and now you’re thinking,, do you really like him as more than a friend ??

and its???

so ?confusing to you

if you can’t tell if you like him for sure then you probably don’t, romantically

but then what effect are your responses having on him

what he actually does like you and all those flirty comments are genuine??? and you’re /internal gASP moment/

what if you’re leading him on?? what if it’s always gonna be him initiating the flirting but you’re accepting it with insincerity?

you decide this goes entirely against your morals

and you tell this to your roommate and she goes hmm,,

if you don’t feel committed to the idea of that,, then you don’t have to feel obligated to keep it going,, be honest with him ,, draw lines if you have to .. yes leading people on is a bad thing and it’s gonna affect the friendship

but also maybe it really is just part of the humour and that’s the friendship dynamic he wants to build with you?

so you decide to sleep on it bc it’s 1am and significant choices should not be made when drowsy and you’ve lost a lot of sleep these past couple days anyway

not that you get good sleep that night anyways

meanwhile donghyuk is shrugging @ mark like

“idk bro do i like her?? or do i like the idea of having someone to say that to”

“and yes she returns the gestures but then also i don’t think she means it? do we just keep it at that and keep being friends like WHAT IF I CATCH FEELINGS”

and mark is just staring at him like dude idk don’t ask me

“you’re so bad at giving advice mark”

but you wake up the next morning and decide to have a serious conversation with him after class bc that day you have a free hour after your lecture

it’s all you can think about during the class so you’re kinda distracted plus the partial sleep deprivation is getting to you

and he notices so he’s like

“bro u alright?”

so you just think fuck it and go

“hey real talk tho”

“ya”

“maybe i’ve been overanalysing this so,, tell me if i am but”

“sure”

“do you ,,, actually mean all those pickup lines ,, like are they based off, , real feelings or is this just part of the friendship dynamic”

and you’re almost surprised when he gets serious with you

he’s always been so lighthearted and sarcastic about things

but when he listens to your side of things and how you’re worried about whether or not you’ve been leading him on or something

he lets you finish and just tells you his feelings as well

“i’ve always wondered what it’d be like to have that dynamic and i guess i tried it on you without being honest ,, half to see if you would flirt back and half to just joke around ,;; i’m sorry that you got confused but i guess this means you don’t have? romantic feelings?”

so you have to reply honestly

“not necessarily ,, it’s been fun to have these conversations and laugh at pickup lines but”

“nothing behind it right”

“..yeah”

and instead of putting a damper on the atmosphere

it’s actually

refreshing

it clears the air in a way you didn’t expect

“right? nah it’s fun what we have going”

and you agree

aside from the confusion behind the flirting it’s been really fun talking to him and getting to know him

half of him was a lil disappointed that it didn’t go the romantic path but then again he wasn’t sure he had romantic feelings anyway

so he settles for

The Best Friend™

and so the friendship turns into sibling-like teasing and petty arguing from that day onwards

legit you’ll catch him staring

“what” “wHat” “what u lookin at” “whAt U loOkIn At” “stop copying me” “sToP CoPYinG mE” /you slap his arm/ “oW”

whimpers a lil clutching his arm uwu babie

“you hit harder than the bass drop”

sending each other bio memes and yelling at each other to go commit lysis

“lysosomes can take you out because you’re TRASH”

“i would send a macrophage after you you PATHOGEN”

calling him a parasite when he asks u for notes that he missed in class but it happens vice versa anyways lmfao

then one morning lab class he forgets his pencil case in his dorm like he forgot his laptop on the first day

except this time you call him a forgetful dumbass

all while offering a pencil from your own pencil case

which he takes

so he calls his roommate who “has a noon class and is probs still sleeping lol” to ask him if he can bring it down for him bc he’s got more lab classes that day

so after the class you wait outside the building for his roommate to arrive

and when he does he gives you a rlly nice smile and says “ʰᶦ”

“oh hello”

“yes this is my adoptive younger sister and my/n this is my roommate the Elder”

“ah you’re overreacting” the roommate turns to you and u ,, gotta admit ,

he’s really cute ,,, “don’t listen to anything donghyuk says, all he does is lie”

“hEY i am a SINCERE MEMBER OF CIVILISATION”

the roommate points to donghyuk again and goes “see he’s even lying about being civil”

so you laugh and gang up on donghyuk like “oh i saw through him a long time ago”

“wow he even lied about how” /puts up air quotes/ “ugly you AREN’T”

“wHAT”

“HE SAID IT NOT ME”

donghyuk is flabbergasted at this point

“wHEN DID I SAY THAT MY/N WAS UGLY”

“WANNA TELL ME THAT YOURSELF MR LEE DONGHYUK HUH”

which results in a sulky hyuk and you two laughing at his reaction of being Wronged™

he regrets letting u two meet in that moment

oh but we don’t

“ok u did ur mission. u can go now”

“so mean :((”

but donghyuk’s roomie waves at you while turning to leave and you wave back ,,

trying to calm yourself bc you’re highkey feeling kinda hot ur cheeks r burning up

he said ?? donghyuk was lying when he said u were ugly?

damn

donghyuk’s pickup lines had never been direct compliments about you

but this one from his roommate wasn’t a pickup line it was just

a statement

and it made u feel a typa way

dw baby it’s gonna be a happy ending uwu

and u tell ur roomie that night abt it too

“bRO his rOOMMATE”

“what’s his NAME i gotta FANGIRL WITH YOU”

“.. idk”

“.. oh”

/short pause, lip smack/

“.. lib tomorrow?”

“.. ya sure”

the next day after classes you check your phone and see that she’s texted you asking if her friend and his friend from eng lit can come and join you guys in the lib

and, naturally, u don’t see why not

so u reply

“the more the merrier”

the more the merrier for us too sweetie hmm hmm

eeeeeeéeeeeeèeeeeee

mhm mhm mhm it’s finally getting somewhere

click here to continue your friendship with eng lit!mark!

I ⇤ | II | ⇥ III

[constantconfusion111]

Etched into your skin - Chapter 3

Here’s the 3rd chapter! Thanks everyone for the comments/likes/Kudos, you’re the best!!!

Link to AO3

Link to Ch1 ; Link to Ch2

---------------

Type was an expert at denial. He wore it like a second skin.

As he moved his boxes in the condo he’ll share with Techno, no one could have imagined his brain was torturing him. He almost met Tharn.

The first thing he’ll do as soon as class started was to find out in which university his soulmate was exactly as to stay the fuck away from it forever. Maybe he should consider changing university. His parents would definitely not be on board with that. It took him almost 3 weeks to convince his father to let him ditch the dorms.

Frankly, his dad didn’t want him in a condo for his first year, but Type had little choice in the matter. He simply couldn’t be in the same room with Tharn. The man would find out. Maybe not the first week, maybe not even the first month if he lied about his name. But he would eventually. And Type refused to deal with the potential fallout. So he had to use an argument he wasn’t proud of.

‘Dad, I’m not feeling safe in a room with another random guy.’

He had felt guilty and uncomfortable using that against his dad. But the result was instant, and the following week he was already signing the lease of his new condo.

“Type! Here’s your last one,” called Techno, sliding a cardboard box on the floor.

All was fine, he could handle this.

----------

Maybe Tharn had been overeager.

When he had red the letter, he’d stared at it unblinkingly for what felt like an eternity. His mother, worried, had read over his shoulder. Before he knew it, his face got crushed in a suffocating hug as she was part laughing part crying for him.

His dad had soon barged into the kitchen, concerned about the noise.

The rest of the evening had been very loud as his parents swinged between congratulations and hugs. And then he had to explain everything for a third time when Thorn came back home later in the evening.

Saying he was excited was the understatement of his life. So as soon as the first day of moving into the dorm rolled around, Tharn brought all his boxes and started to put his things away.

He wanted to be there to welcome Type in what would be their first home together. Tharn wanted to smile at him, see in his eyes a reflexion of his thoughts. Would he be nervous? Giddy? Composed?

Type would already know who he was.

Were they supposed to hug? Was that too forward? But at the same time, he couldn’t just… not. That would be too strange. Maybe they could go out and eat together to chat, starting to get to know each other. Maybe they wouldn’t be able to bring themselves to leave the room.

Tharn had so many questions for him. But probably the first one would be why hadn’t Type registered himself? If his soulmate was in Uni, he had to at least be his own age. Was Type one of these people that wanted the meeting to be organic? Was Type a romantic?

His heart was beating too fast, he was feeling light headed.

Tharn was going to be fine, he just had to handle himself until Type arrived. That’s what he had to keep repeating at least.

Tharn looked up at the dorm’s door with each item he was putting away.

After emptying his first box, he only raised his head whenever he heard movement in the hall.

After the third box, he stopped altogether, massaging his neck slowly.

As the night rolled around, he had to accept today wasn’t the day. Maybe he really had been too eager. They still had quite some time until the start of the semester.

However, on the first day of class, as he woke up yet again facing an empty bed, Tharn’s enthusiasm vanished like smoke in the wind.

Type must have known, he must have received the same letter as him, clearly stating who his roommate would be. Suddenly, Type not being registered sounded less like romance and more like avoidance.

But why? Why would Type not want to meet? Even if he didn’t want a romantic relationship, which did happen sometimes, why not meet with him and tell him?

What if something bad had happened?

As soon as his first day of classes ended, Tharn excused himself from the group of freshmen that wanted to go out for celebratory drinks, claiming he had some administrative issues. Lhong had thrown him a look, but didn’t stop him.

Technically, Tharn wasn’t lying. It just wasn’t his own administrative problem. He approached a woman reading behind her desk.

“Hello, I’m sorry to bother, but I think there’s a problem with my roommate.”

She looked at him with the sort of weariness born out of dealing with stupid requests from days on end.

“Unless the issue is actually very serious, there’s nothing I can do to help. All the rooms are jam packed, so we can’t transfer the freshmen left and right.”

“Ah, no that’s not why I’m here. I’m worried for my roommate, he never moved him. Since classes started already, I was wondering if everything was alright. His name is Type Thiwat Phawattakun.”

She hummed, turning toward her computer and checking some files. It took a couple of minutes of silent scrolling before she turned toward him again.

“He cancelled his spot in the dorms. Very last minute actually. Freshmen are more and more irresponsible each year��”

Tharn felt a pang in his heart at the news. Type has cancelled. He’d backed out of their meeting.

“Where is he now? Did he drop out of University?”

“I don’t think so, it does happen that freshmen give up the dorm for their own private accommodations. It’s more expensive, but also more comfortable.”

So Type was definitely avoiding him.

“Could you tell me which University he’s enrolled in please?”

At that, the woman looked at him with narrowed eyes.

“These are private information that I cannot share with just anyone, sorry Nong. You should just enjoy your big room for yourself, you’re the only one lucky enough for that.”

Tharn felt anything but lucky.

-------------

Turns out, finding one guy within an entire University complex could be quite the challenge. The first thing people said when he asked if they knew Tharn was:

“Tharn? From which Uni?”

So far, he’d only managed to confirm Tharn wasn’t enrolled into the faculty of sports. Only a million more people to ask.

Despite the stress of having to look over his shoulder all the time and making a point of asking people their names before they could even think of asking his first -which had already put him in hot waters with some seniors- University life wasn’t half bad.

Living with Techno was fun. In the evenings they played games together and chilled. Sometimes Techno invited some of their classmates to hang out and drink. They had met some very cool people, particularly a guy called Champ who seemed to know all the best restaurants around. Friday or Saturday nights, they even managed to motivate each other enough to actually go to a proper bar.

Classes are as easy as they ever were and as long as Type listened to the lecture, he barely had any efforts to put into his homeworks. Still drove Techno up the wall in frustration. The coach liked him, even though he always said that Type had to keep his temper in check or he’ll be benched. Type knows he’s good enough to not have to worry too much about the threat. Again, that drove Techno completely crazy since he’d already started his recruitment campaign to convince everyone to elect him as team captain. For his senior year. What was wrong with that boy, Type wasn’t too sure sometimes. In any case, sucking up to the coaches was part of his strategy. Techno did try to deny that last point, but there was an overwhelming amount of evidence against him. For instance, the way he almost tripped on his own feet to play delivery boy.

“Bring this to the music faculty office, it’s the selection of songs we want them to play during the matches.”

“No problem coach! I’ll go right away.”

His bunch of papers under the arm, Techno came back to his group of friends.

“Guys! Come with me, we need to deliver some papers.”

“This is in no way a ‘we’ situation No,” said Champ, stretching out his legs.

“Sorry, we’re kind of in the middle of our stretches,” tried Team, offering a small smile to the other boy.

“Type is on his phone! He’s not even pretending to stretch!”

They all turned to the accused who was indeed lounging on his side, scrolling lazily.

“Type does whatever he wants…”

That was true and it made him very happy to know they already realised it after only a couple of short weeks.

“Tyyyyyype.”

“I would rather die than come with you No,” came the deadpan answer.

“You could at least look up from your phone!”

His plea went unanswered. Knowing better than to annoy the young man to the point of aggression, Techno cursed them all and started his solo adventure.

Techno had to actually ask his way a couple of times as the music and sports department weren’t close at all. He even had to take a Uni shuttle, receiving plenty of curious looks since he hadn’t taken the time to change out of his sports outfit.

Despite being quite a trek away from their faculty, the music building looked pretty similar to their own. Maybe there were more windows. Was light important for musicians? Did they share with the art department?

His adventure wasn’t over quite yet though, the entrance office wouldn’t take the papers, complaining about messing the systems up and Techno got redirected once again.

“So… third floor, and then at the back of the building…”

Every single room, every corridor looked the same and nothing appeared as being the back of anything.

“Shit!”

“Hey, are you alright?”

Techno turned around, coming face to face with-

“Handsome boy!”

The man raised both eyebrows in surprise, readjusting the straps of his bag on his shoulders.

“What?”

“You’re so pretty, are you an angel sent from the sky to help me?”

The man was adorable with a very cute face and pouty lips, a single long earring catching the light on the side of his face and despite his clear confusion, he still offered Techno a large smile.

“I can definitely try.”

“I need to find the faculty office of the music department. It’s about music for our matches,” he explained, flapping around the brown envelope he’d brought all the way there.

“Ah I see, I’ll walk you there. You’re very close, but it can be tricky to find the room.”

“Lhong, is everything fine?”

Techno turned toward the man that seemed to have called his saviour.

“Damn! Is it a requirement to be handsome to get into the faculty of music?”

If Lhong was cute, the newcomer was definitely handsome, and that despite the dark circles under his eyes.

“All good, I’ll just show this guy the way to the office. Save me a spot in the canteen?”

The man nodded and left without further ado.

“Let’s go!”

“Thanks man, I’m Techno by the way. I’m in the faculty of sports.”

Lhong laughed, checking him out from head to toe.

“Yeah I could have guessed that. I’m Lhong. Isn’t the faculty of sports super far away from here?”

Techno groaned loudly.

“So far away! I had to take the Uni shuttle to come!”

“Sounds like a pain, you should stay to eat with us so you wouldn’t have travelled all the way for nothing.”

After one last corridor turn, they finally arrived in front of the teachers’ office. Techno would never have found it, even the door tag was scratched out and faded.

“I wish, I lost too much time already, I’ll have to hurry back and pray my friends didn’t ditch me. But give me your Line ID! I’ll send you a message and we can go grab a drink, I’ll treat you as a thank you.”

“Ah, that’s not necessary, it was nothing.”

Techno shushed him, already fishing out his phone and pushing it in Lhong’s hands.

“Nonsense! It’s gonna be fun. I’ll bring my friends, bring the hot one you were with before. I’m sure music students know the best bars.”

Lhong shared his number and after a last goodbye, they parted in front of the office.

Maybe his adventure hadn’t all been in vain.

[unordinary-analysis]

Episode 146

Honorable mentions:

I swear people just love to jump out at Blyke poor guy

Remi is way too chill for someone expecting to be drop-kicked into tomorrow

Isen’s face just gets funnier and funnier as this episode goes on i swear

Is it bad that I’m kind of sad that Blyke wasn’t noticing John for his muscles..?

I just remembered that Elaine existed ohmygod lmao what’s she been up to haha. She knows about John I feel like I haven’t seen her for some time (or I’m just forgetful lol)

I love how Remi doesn’t even act surprised when she finds out that Isen knew who joker was slkddjk

I’m really mad that Remi interrupted Isen when he was saying “you have no idea what you’re talking about.” Like, girl, if Isen had been able to warn Arlo what would happen, none of you would be in this situation right now. Let Isen explain it to someone damn it. I won’t be able to take a replay of the entire plot I’ve suffered too much.

Arlo’s so done with this shit that he doesn’t even react when Remi tells him she knows who Joker is

I swear to god, i don’t know if i’ll love Arlo using Sera against John or hate it.

I’ve realized very recently that these posts have strayed a bit from being analysis posts and have really turned into me freaking out about the new episode each week and I’m sorry, I’ll try to actually share some theories and more thoughts in the future ;-;

I should also probably reread these before posting… lol I’ve probably messed up somewhere in this. Eh idc im lazy

Also, uru-chan answered questions by the instagram account @unordinary.webtoon and said that UnOrdinary is going to have at least two seasons and will end up being over 300 episode so buckle in folks this train ain’t ending anywhere soon we in this for the long haul.

Smart Blyke:

    For the first time in my UnOrdinary history (around 1 ½ years), Blyke might have become my favorite character. I know I said last week how much I was loving Arlo and John, and that’s still true, but honestly, right now, Blyke is tied with like Arlo. I used to really dislike Blyke. Not because I didn’t like his character, but because he took up time that could be focused on like John or Arlo. He was always that ‘filler’ character for me, but damn.

    I’m really happy with how this small detective Blyke bit ended. Before, Isen really overshadowed Blyke in the smarts department because, well, smarts were what Isen’s storylines revolved around. His whole relevance to the plot is from when Arlo told him to dig up dirt on John, forcing him to get creative and think. Blyke’s storyline, however, has always been about power. He wants to be stronger and become that white knight type. He wants to prove himself through ability. I think because this part of Blyke was showcased since the beginning, everyone kind of wrote him off as that valient, but dumb type.

    Hehe, I love being proven wrong.

    Like I said already, I’m so impressed with Blyke and his deductive skills. Like dude. Blyke’s instinctive theories prove that he’s so much more than first presented. “Joker… Whoever this guy is, he’s well-versed in combat and he’s been exposed to countless abilities.” Pretty normal reasoning right? But then he hits us with the “He may have hidden himself all this time, but he’s been watching and analyzing all of us.” I feel like even more so than Isen, Blyke knows what he should be worrying about. Blyke can see the bigger picture. Not only such a great leadership quality, but I’ve been having issues since forever with the characters of UnOrdinary not seeing the bigger picture. Hell, a while back, I made this whole ass post explaining why Seraphina was such an annoying character to read and see because she only seemed to notice things revolving around herself (still true, but that’s for another day). 

    Back to Blyke: He thought to himself, “I wonder how long he can retain abilities for? It isn’t permanent otherwise he would’ve started our fight off with Isen’s ability. Does he keep an ability with him at all times? What’s he like when the abilities he collects wear off?”

    These quotes were all from last week’s episode (episode 145), and I wondered whether he had actually solved it. When he reacted to John, had it all clicked. And damn how excited I was when I found out that it did.

    I guess I technically can’t be too impressed with Blyke because he did say in this week’s episode that, “It’s just a strong feeling.” But like, he backs it up with reasoning and he was right so like. Good on you Blyke lmao.

    Even though snakes are like the best characters because the drama, the captain america type (like Blyke [you know what I mean right?]) really draws me in sometimes. I really feel like I’m looking at a “what if” version of Arlo. What if Rei hadn’t messed up the hierarchy? What if Arlo hadn’t been forced into leadership after only being at school for one year? I know that this probably isn’t true because uru-chan recently said that the characters were all created based off of anime stereotypes (already stated by her, but it really fits with Blyke) and after that, they evolved into different parts of her personality, but I genuinely feel like Blyke was created to be Arlo’s parallel, if you know what I’m saying. I’m probably talking nonsense lol, I just love the idea of parallels (I’ll try to tone that down haha).

    ((afterthought: Blyke can also be stupid sometimes. like , he figured it out, but he still doesn’t know what’s he’s talking about boy let Isen talk))

Isen:

    Yessssss yes yes yes yes. God, I’ve been waiting for this since forever. Remi and Blyke finally know that he knew who Joker was (which, by the way, was something else that Blyke realized).

    I’m really excited purely for the fact that this has been set up since the beginning of the comic, when Arlo told Isen to learn stuff about John. Isen’s been a key character all along because he knows stuff. He’s the guy with all the secrets and I’m living. But the best part of a character knowing so much, is when everyone discovers exactly how much they know and the significance. I swear it’s one of my favorite tropes (? is that the right word to use?) like ever. When someone is revealed to have held the cards all along. And it’s so much more satisfying when everyone else isn’t aware at first, which is why I’m not freaking out over John. For Blyke and Remi, they’ve been with Isen since the beginning. Through every attack that John’s been involved in (when Arlo got defeated, when he freaked out because John was Blyke’s roommate, e.t.c. [I just realized that the examples I used are the exact same ones uru used in the new episode ksdjfhkshf]), Remi and Blyke have either tried to figure on what was going on or trying to figure out why Isen was acting weird. I know that was worded so badly, but I ain’t here to impress, I’m here to force my opinions on y’all.

    I probably have more opinions on this, but thinking confuses me so we’re moving on.

Theories that look bad because i can’t be bothered to properly write them out:

Remi is going to demask Joker so everyone knows who he is, solving the problem of nobody believing when they would say that John is Joker

Arlo is going to use Seraphina by dragging her ass to his and John’s fight

Both of these happen at the same time

=chaos

(please)

This is really random, but i might as well say (while I’m here) that if Claire never even makes an appearance over the course of this comic, i’m going to be actually upset.

also guys be prepared John is onto Blyke bitch did you see that death glare at the end of last episode whew

[negasonicimagines]

Hello / Wonderwall

good fucking night I haven’t posted in like a bajillion years I’m so sorry jdklfldkfjs “anyways here’s wonderwall” (lol anyone remember that meme) anyways this is inspired by two things 

1) this request:  i just listened to adele and my heart is shattered and my angsty soul loves it so could i ask you to write ellie x reader where they're not dating but reader has a crush on ellie and she finds out but neither of them want to be in a relationship because 'feeling things sucks and i dont wanna' something like that because they're both really closed off tough people. and they love eachother and dont want to and its complicated and ugh ANGSTY. im really sorry i hope you're having a great day!!😀💞💞 [btw sorry if i didn’t fill this properly i did my best but my writers’ block is literally THE WORST and has been for a really long time(duh)]

2) This really cool mashup of Adele’s “Hello” and everyone’s favorite Oasis song, “Wonderwall.” It fucking slaps and TOTALLY suits this imagine. If there’s any way you could listen to it and read this at the same time, I recommend it. It’s what I listening to when I was writing it (that and Adele’s “Chasing Pavements.”)

Anyways, enjoy! Who knows when the next one’ll be out, amiright?

Ellie didn���t like love. Even platonic or familial love was shrugged off. It just… Wasn’t her thing. It was too dangerous for mutants, the world. Forget emotions.

You’re new here, at the school. Wade’s forced you to quit your previous line of work, saying that “you’re too damn young to be killin’ people for a living!” You’d rolled your eyes, but agreed that a break would be nice. So, now, you’re being shown around by a charmingly bitchy girl that’s around your age, maybe a smidge older.

“This is the art room, and, um, that about covers it. So, uh, just go away now.”

“Are you not going to show me where my room is?” You ask, letting your eyebrows arch skeptically.

“And how would I know where your room is?” She inquires in response. Where she was the rude kind of standoffish, you were the polite, distant type.

“It’s the same as yours, Negasonic,” you carefully inform her, gauging her reaction.

“It’s- It’s what?”

“Did no one tell you?” you wonder. “That’s weird.”

“Very. Whatever, come on. At least you’re not extra annoying,” she sighs, and you follow her down to the dorms, your suitcase rolling behind you.

“Thanks,” you chuckle a little, and she twitches, her eyes flickering to yours for a moment. The ghost of a smile phases across her lips, disappearing just as subtly as it appeared.

“Alright, now…” She looks at her phone. “Yeah, now, it’s time for training. Depending on your mentor, you’ll have different times. Who’s your mentor?”

“Oh, uh, Emma Frost?” You tell her looking at your schedule.

“You’ll be with me, then. Training with me. Piotr and Ms. Frost’s students train together, I guess because they both have weird skin. Emma’s is temporary, but still. Let’s move.”

“Okay,” you respond, walking with her to the gym.

“If you need any sort of protective gear, it’ll be in the closet by the entrance.”

“I think I’ll be alright,” you say, taking what she said more as a challenge than a helpful tip. She scoffs, rolling her eyes.

But when you catch a glimpse of the light smirk she’s wearing, electricity sparks through you. (Not literally, don’t worry. Your mutation is different and not embarrassing in that way.)

Two weeks later, you and Ellie are fast friends...And maybe more.

“Gaga okay?” she asks.

“Duh!” you respond, scrolling through your twitter feed. “So, whose stans are we trolling tonight?”

“What’s your mutation, anyway? You never did say.”

“Ah, it’s lame,” you brush her off.

“Wade doesn’t think it’s lame… But that’s not really saying much, is it? Damn, sorry,” Ellie chuckles. She smiles more around you than anyone else, but you’re not sure why. Not yet.

“I just… People tend to think less of me when they hear. It’s a bit destructive.”

“You did not just say that to me,” Ellie delivers a surprisingly good rebuttal.

“Well, uh… Basically, by coming into direct contact with it through touch, I can temporarily gain access to their abilities and sometimes even their knowledge. If I consume it, it lasts longer or can even be permanent. Kinda perfect for a kill-for-hire. Not so much for a normal high school girl, though,” you admit shyly. Ellie’s dead silent.

You look to your crush, nervously, and she looks awe-struck.

“That’s so fucking cool. I wish I could become stronger by giving someone a bloody nose. I’d do it all the time. No wonder you killed people for a living.”

“If only everyone saw it that way,” you tell her with a relieved smile. “I can’t believe the stoic Ellie Phimister just called me cool.” Don’t blush, Y/N, don’t blush, you beg yourself.

“Don’t let it get to your head. I once called Wilson cool.”

“He’s not so bad. He’s the reason I’m here.”

“He is?” Remind me to thank him, she thinks. “Hey, listen. I know we didn’t get off to the best start, and uh… I just wanted to say that… I think you’re really awesome.”

“Well, thank-”

“No, that’s not what I wanted to say. What I wanted to say is that, uh… I’m not really much of a romantic or anything, but I really like you. And I normally wouldn’t ever tell a girl that I liked I like her, because then she would stop talking to me and also hate me forever, I think. But you seem…  Different.”

Oh shit. You’re glad your crush likes you back, but...I know what I have to do. I just fucking hate it. “Listen, I’m sorry for giving you the wrong impression, but I don’t like you that way. At all. You’re just my roommate that I really like as a friend. We probably wouldn’t even be friends if we weren’t roommates.”

“But we are roommates.”

“Then I should probably change rooms.”

“Wow. I never thought I’d be the asshole who turns into a, well, a fucking asshole when I get rejected, but I guess I am that kind of asshole. Maybe it’s because I know you’re full of shit. Fuck you, Y/N.”

You sigh, and she turns the music off as you leave the room, making your way to the offices. It’s the early evening, so it’s likely either Jean Grey or Professor Xavier is still in their office.

An hour later, you return. Your efforts were fruitless.

*Guess it’s likely time to make with the apologies, see if she’ll at least treat me with civility after the stunt I pulled.*

“I tried to get a room change. It looks like there isn’t anywhere else for me to go.”

“Then just get out of the school, you murderous scum,” Ellie fires.

*Guess not.*

“Oh shit,” you say, trying not to let the hurt show. She knew how insecure you were, how you just knew that’s what everyone here really thought about you. You’d told her that. Foolishly opened up to her, knowing it’d end like this, or worse.

But in the end, you knew you deserved it for pushing her away. Shattering her blackened heart.

“You’re right. I’ll start packing my things now.”

*Wait,* Ellie thought, but her pride had its hand over her mouth. Don’t go. Don’t be like everyone else.

But, faster than she thought possible, you’re out the door. Guess you hadn’t taken root in this place as deeply as she’d fooled herself.

There’s a knock on the door about ten minutes later.

“Go away!” Ellie yells, throwing a random textbook at the door.

“Why did Y/N leave?” Wade asks through said door.

“Because she’s a stupid fucking liar! Go away!”

“Oh yeah? Well, that stupid fucking liar is gonna get us both in trouble if she we don’t retrieve her, so get the hell up, Negasonic Punkass Mean Teen Queen!”

Ellie begrudgingly gets off her ass and opens the door, hoping that Wade doesn’t notice the eyeliner that’s lightly stained her cheeks, or, at least, that he doesn’t point it out. He seems to have enough courtesy to do at least the latter.

“Tracked her phone to here,” He says, looking at his own phone and walking towards a door. Ellie follows, but stands off to the side when he opens the door.

“Go away.”

“That’s funny, that’s exactly what your little girlfriend said when I knocked on her door.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” you disagree.

“Then why are you running away? You only run away when you like someone, you’re always willing to stick around for a fight. It used to be a good quality, when you were doing a job no kid should be doing. I really should’ve pulled you outta that life sooner, but I knew you wouldn’t’ve listened to me,” Wade admits, unintentionally explaining a *lot* about you.

“She’s not like you, Wade. She can die. I’m not risking that for some cheesy teen romance that’ll probably last around two dates and then fizzle off into us being acquaintances,” you argue, peeking out the window to notice you ex-friend, ex-something, at least, outside. Shit. But you know the truth:

“If you really felt that way, kid, you wouldn’t bother running away.” He continues in a grave, lowered tone: “You wouldn’t have bothered hurting her. If you were anyone else, I’d’ve kicked your stupid ass. You’re lucky.”

“I wouldn’t consider myself lucky.”

“Ellie fucking Phimister told you that she liked you. Like, as a person. You’re luckier than anyone else I’ve ever met.”

You roll your eyes. “Just go away. And take Ellie fucking Phimister with you.”

“Can’t say I didn’t try, kid.”

“I wouldn’t bother telling anyone about this. Go,” you say, slamming the door in his face and sliding down it to the ground, hiding your face in your hands. Your life was so unbelievably fucked.

You let yourself cry, thinking no one’s there to listen. And then there’s a knock on the window. You look to find Ellie there.

“Let me in, asshole,” she says, her voice muffled by the glass. You open the door, too tired to say no. You were so tired, you realized. Tired of running. Tired of fighting. Tired of being so fucking alone.

“You fucking idiot,” she says, pulling you in for a hug, her head buried in your chest. “You fucking idiot.” She pulls away, telling you: “You keep forgetting that I’m just as tough as you are. What am I gonna have to, arm wrestle you?”

You laugh harder than you should, the laughter dissolving into tears.

“I’m so sorry,” you tell her.”I just- I’m not used to people being safe around me. I’m so used to being the most dangerous person in the room, I- I’m sorry for forgetting that you’re- You’re a fucking force of nature, E. I’ll do anything for you to forgive me for being such a fucking scumbag.”

“Just shut up with the apologies, okay? You- Make it up to me by paying for our first date, yeah?”

“I really don’t think it’s a good idea-”

“Well, I do. And, listen: I’m sorry, too. I should’ve realized that just throwing my feelings on you wasn’t the best course of action. I’m not the only person in the world with people issues, and I seem to forget that sometimes. So, let’s have people issues together, okay?”

“I-”

She fixes you with an impatient stare.

“Okay,” you sigh, smiling. “I paid for a night here, do you just want to stay?”

“Yeah. I’d like that, actually. I…”She hesitates, searching your expression for something. “I call big spoon.”

[sugarcoated-pain]

Heavy Rotation Part One

Here comes my first ever 5SOS fanfic! This series is a collaboration with the remarkable @sublimehood and we are super excited to finally share it with all of you! Let me know what you think! (unless you hate it, then keep that shit to yourself :P) 

Quick synopsis: New Girl meets Empire Records. All the boys are in this one, but with particular focus on Ashton <3 

Warnings: I cuss a lot *shrugs* . Also, this shit is LONGGGGG haha. 

Heavy Rotation- Part One 

Nothing had ever looked as beautiful as the city lights that lay ahead as the Greyhound sped toward Los Angeles. It wasn’t the lights themselves that appealed to me. Growing up less than two hours outside of New York City, it would take much more than that to impress this girl. No, it was the absolute freedom and opportunity for a whole new life that this magical new city held that had me glued to the window with excitement. I pulled one ear bud out to listen to the driver’s announcement with arrival details as I began gathering my belongings I had scattered across both seats in my row, as well as the row across from me. Books, notebooks full of song lyrics, my acoustic guitar, food wrappers, random articles of clothing and all kinds of miscellaneous shit were strewn all over. Sixty five hours was far too damn long to be cooped up in a moving vehicle, despite stopping several times. I had just gathered the last of my things at the very moment the bus came to a stop at the station.

After collecting my checked bag from the bus’s underbelly, I stopped for a moment to take it all in. The sun was just starting to rise and wash over the city with a soft, warm glow. Knowing nowhere I needed to be would be open this early, breakfast at the McDonald’s across the street from the station was sounding pretty damn good. I sat alone in a booth surrounded by the only possessions I owned that mattered anymore, and scrolling through musicians forums online on my cell phone. One particular neighborhood, Silver Lake, kept coming up in discussions and I just knew that was where I needed to start my search. If I were a normal, sane human, I should be utterly terrified of the fact that I just moved across the country with about two percent of a plan for my future, but I am not, in fact, a normal or sane human. It was exhilarating to not have a clue where I was sleeping that night, and to know that if I wanted to get anywhere in this city, I had to bust my ass to do it.

I let a couple of hours pass until it seemed like I might actually be able to accomplish something, hopped in a cab, and instructed the driver to take me to his favorite spot in Silver Lake, which turned out to be this killer little locally owned coffee shop. Don’t mind if I do! Dragging my few belongings along with a latte in hand, I begin my hunt for anything that looks like it involves music and might be hiring. I couldn’t possibly have expected this to be easy, right? Every recording studio, indie radio station and music store for at least a mile was extremely quick to kick this East Coast girl with way too much shit in her hands right back to the curb. That mildly uneasy feeling in my stomach, that probably would have started for anyone else back at the bus station in Jersey, began to creep up on me. I had enough cash in my beat- up handbag to get me maybe a week in a seedy motel, but what happened after that if I didn’t find a job IMMEDIATELY, I am not ready to start thinking about yet.

This situation requires more coffee. I make my back to Mr. Taxi Driver’s favorite coffee shop, order my drink, and skim the bulletins next to the counter while waiting. Somebody, somewhere must be hiring and/or looking for a roommate, right?

“Large cold brew, coconut milk and a shot of espresso.” the barista calls, setting my drink down. But at the exact moment I reach for it, someone else does too. A large hand accidentally covers mine, and I instinctively look up to see who it belongs to. The most gorgeous hazel eyes I have ever had the privilege of seeing lock with mine. His curly dirty blonde hair falling casually in his face, that chiseled jawline, that dimpled smile- holy crap. This is one seriously beautiful human being. Something inside me vaguely in the vicinity of my stomach decides it wants to be a gymnast all of the sudden and begins performing somersaults. I feel my cheeks flush slightly and finally remember to pull my hand away.

“Sorry. I assumed it was mine, but please. Take it.” The handsome stranger insists.

“Thanks,” I reply. “Pretty unusual order. I’ve never met anyone else who drank this.” I state, awkwardly. What the hell. Who even am I right now? I am NOT awkward. Pull yourself together, bitch.

The barista calls the same order once again, and Mr. Beautiful grabs it with smirk. “Cheers.” he says, holding his drink in the air in my direction. I playfully clink my plastic cup against his, and then I notice his eyes flutter to my guitar case on my arm. “Are you a musician?” he asks.

“Aspiring. You?” I answer, avoiding looking in his eyes to regain my confidence and for fear of never being able to stop.

“Also aspiring. I work for a recording studio part time but I’m also in a band, which is completely LA cliche, but they are some of the best musicians in this city. You should check us out sometime. Oh, I’m Ashton, by the way.” He says while flashing that mesmerizing smile once again and holding his hand out to shake mine. I reach for it. Dear god, those hands. The kind of hands that make you wonder what they’re really capable of…

“Emma,” I reply, regaining my composure and flashing a flirty smile. “This recording studio you speak of wouldn’t happen to be hiring by any chance, would it?”

“Hmm, I don’t think so, but ya know, it never hurts to ask.” he replies, as he reaches over the counter to grab the barista’s sharpie and a small napkin. I’m incapable of pulling my eyes off this flawless creature as he jots something down. “Here’s the address. Go in through the record store and ask for Liz. She should be there after 1pm today.” he adds as he hands me the napkin.

“Thanks! I didn’t think I’d run into someone so willing to help around here.” I reply excitedly, taking it from him a little too slowly and deliberately rubbing my fingers against his again.

“I’ve gotta get back to work, but hopefully I’ll see you around.” Ashton says with another goddamned smile as he walks away.

What the hell just happened to me? I feel like I got punched in the gut. I pick my bag up from off the floor, and drag it with my guitar and drink to the nearest table. Checking the time on my cell phone, I realize it is only 11:30am. So, looks like I’m sitting here daydreaming about what just happened for the next hour and a half. But that’s it though, that nagging voice in my head insists. Just daydreaming. No man is getting in the way of my music.

“UGH I know, I know.” I sigh to myself out loud. The elderly couple next to me turns to me with puzzled expressions on their faces, and I simply smile back at them and turn back to my phone.

The walk to the record store wasn’t far, so I gathered up my things and decided to go there shortly after one o'clock. The black sign above the door read “Heavy Rotation” in an edgy, handwritten-looking font. I take a deep breath and enter the record store Ashton had written on the napkin. An attractive guy around my age with electric blue hair is sitting on a stool with his feet propped up on the counter next to the cash register flipping through what appears to be a rock n roll magazine. He doesn’t even blink when I walk in. “Welcome to Heavy Rotation. Let me know if you need any help.” He says, in a somewhat disgruntled tone, still not looking up.

“Hi,” I greet him as I approach the counter, “I’m looking for Liz? And also, I like your hair.”

He glances up and looks me up and down, as if appraising the situation. “Thanks, I like yours too.” My fire engine red ombre look wasn’t properly appreciated in small-town New Jersey, but I knew LA would understand.“Gimme a sec, I’ll go get Liz.” Blue-haired guy walks to the back of the room, and I take the opportunity to glance around. It’s perfect. A little dark, very “offbeat”- retro but with a cutting-edge vibe; low ceiling, eclectic lighting, rows upon rows of records, vintage and new alike. The store itself is much larger than it appears from the outside, as it stretches far back into the building. A deep purple velvet curtain covers a doorway on the right side of the room, separate from where Blue-Hair went into, and I have a sneaking suspicion the recording studio lies beyond. A thrill creeps up my spine. Solely over the concept of being so close to where music is actually produced, and having absolutely nothing at all to do with the fact that the flawless man from the coffee shop is most likely behind that curtain.

Blue-hair comes back with a blonde lady, whom one could deduce is Liz. I approach her with my hand outstretched. “Hi, Liz? I’m Emma. I met Ashton at a coffee shop and he thought I might be able to talk you into a possible job around here?”

She shakes my hand while looking me up and down, eyes lingering for a moment on my guitar. “I bet he did.” she replies with a small chuckle. Not really sure what the hell that’s supposed to mean… “It’s nice to meet you, Emma. I’m sorry, hon, but we aren’t hiring at the moment.”

“Please. I’m sorry to sound pushy and desperate but I’ll do anything you need. There has to be SOMETHING I could do here.” I press, attempting to keep the panic out of my voice.

“Well, what makes you think you would be a good fit here?” Liz asks, eyeing me interestedly.

I take a deep breath. “I have wanted to be a musician for as long as I can remember. I’ve been singing since before I could talk and music has always been my number one passion in life. I know more about music than most people twice my age. I just graduated from music school and realized the east coast scene wasn’t right for me and that I needed to get away from everything there, and hopped a Greyhound bus four days ago to come here and be close to the music. I just want to work a job with music while I work toward my dream. And, not to judge or anything, but looking at this place you’ve got here, I’d say you seem like the type of person who can appreciate that.”

Liz studies me once more, and then slowly answers. “Well, I think we could use a little help with cleaning and organizing between the store and the studio. I won’t be able to give you a ton of hours, and the pay won’t be much. Still something you’re interested in?”

“YES! I mean.. Yeah I think I could make that work.” I reply eagerly.

“Alright then. Come back to the office with me and we can sort out all the details and legal crap.”

Thirty minutes later, I follow Liz out of the office for her to give me the grand tour. Realizing I’m still lugging around everything I own, I ask, “..you wouldn’t happen to know anyone in the area who is looking for a roommate, would you?”

Blue-hair perks up from the behind the cash register, “did you say roommate? Are you looking for a place to stay?”

“Mikey… I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.” Liz chimes in immediately.

Glancing back and forth between the two of them, I turn back to Mikey, “uh, yeah I am. Do you know a place?”

“I live upstairs with my friends and we currently happen to be looking for a roommate!” he replies enthusiastically.

“Well that sounds almost too perfect… can I see the space?” I ask, ignoring the look of disapproval on Liz’s face.

“Liz, mind if I abandon my post for a minute to run her upstairs?” Mikey asks.

She sighs, and then nods.

I stash my stuff in a corner of the store and follow him up the stairs. The building is pretty old, but in the cool, artsy, vintage way and not the nasty, dilapidated old. When we reach the second floor landing, Mike pulls out a set of keys and unlocks the front door. One could definitely tell that only guys lived there, but that they appeared to have attempted to straighten up a bit. Growing up with 3 brothers, none of this phases me. The architecture was naturally gorgeous but there was really no other decor. Mismatched couches and chairs surrounded an extremely nice and unnecessarily large TV which was surrounded by various video game consoles.

“So, this is the living room. The kitchen is over there. Uh.. there’s only one bathroom, so that kinda sucks, but it’s right here.” Mikey says as he gestures me through the space. “And this here, is your room.”

It was a small room with just a twin sized bed and a small dresser already furnished. Nothing fancy, just the basics, which is exactly what I need at this moment. “How much is the rent?” I ask him.

“Uhh.. so we hadn’t really talked about it yet but considering that Luke’s parents own the building, we pretty much just each pay what we can…” he answers.

“Luke?”

“OH, yeah he’s one of my roommates and Liz’s son, I think he’s home actually, I can introduce you. HEY LUKE!” he shouts across the apartment. Moments later, a tall, good-looking blonde boy steps into the living area. “Luke, this is Emma.. your mom just hired her downstairs, and she needs a place to stay so I’m showing her the extra room.”

“Oh, hey. Nice to meet you, Emma. What do you think so far?” Luke answers, walking over to us.

“Hey,” I answer. “I think it’s perfect actually.” I bite my lip to try and hold back the smile that threatened to expose me. Was every single person who has anything to do with this building good looking?

“Can I ask what brings you to LA?” Luke asks.

“The typical, aspiring musician. But it’s everything I’ve ever wanted. I met Ashton at the coffee shop, he thought you guys might be able to help me out.” I’ve probably said too much.

“I hope so. When can you move in?” Luke asks, and Mikey gets overly excited beside me.

“I um...right now?” I laugh a little awkwardly.

“Perfect.” Luke flashes a smile that would make any girl weak in the knees. But it’s nothing compared to the dimpled one I had the pleasure of witnessing on Ashton’s face.

Things might be going my way a little too conveniently. OR maybe this is the universe’s way of telling me this is exactly where I belong. The guys offer to give me a tour of the recording studio, which I jump at since it’s basically all that’s on my mind right now. When we get back downstairs, they introduce me to a pretty dark-haired girl by the name of Georgia who works in the record store.

“Oh thank god! We need more girls around here!” she sighs with relief as she shakes my hand. She and Mikey both get back to work as Luke leads me through the curtain I had seen earlier toward the recording studio. This is it. This is what I came here for. Excitement starts building, and I’m going to pretend it’s exclusively over the possibility of finally being able to make music, NOT because I know the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen might also be somewhere behind that curtain.

The recording studio is everything I ever imagined and more. Dark walls, sleek black furniture and decor, framed awards and photos of celebrities lining the walls.  When we enter, Luke introduces me to Calum, their tall, dark and handsome ‘other roommate’ who also happens to be Georgia’s boyfriend. I mentally answer my previous question- yes, every single person associated with this building is drop-dead gorgeous.

“Other roommate?? How many people live up there?!” I ask, half amused, half concerned.

“Don’t worry,” Luke assures me, “you get your own room. We worked out a system for the rest of us….”

“.. I don’t wanna know…” I say darkly.

Both guys laugh. “Don’t worry, it’s just us, Mikey and Ashton.” Calum replies.

I choke on air at his last word. “Ashton? The guy I met at the coffee shop? HE is also our roommate??”

As if on cue, Ashton comes into the main area through a door to the left. “Hey! Emma, isn’t it? Looks like you found the place!”

“My mom hired her to help out around here, and she’s also gonna take the spare bedroom upstairs.” Luke adds.

A look passes over Ashton’s face, just briefly. What is that look? Surprise? Disappointment? Concern? It’s gone before I can even register what the hell that might be about, and his winning smile is back. “Wow! Awesome! Well, welcome.”

Just as I’m about to reply, a thin, fake-tanned girl with long blonde hair struts into the studio like she owns the place. “Hey babe, are you off work yet? You said you’d be done an hour ago.” She whines, making her way over to Ashton and wrapping her arms around his waist.

I try hard not to show any signs that my stomach plummeted through the floor at the sight of them together. Let her have him. You didn’t sit on a disgusting bus for sixty five hours to meet guys. You’re here for music. He would only distract you.

“Camille, this is Emma. She’s gonna be working with us and also renting out the spare bedroom upstairs. Emma, this is my girlfriend, Camille.” Ashton introduces us. Is it just in my head or was there something about the way he said the word ‘girlfriend’?

Camille eyes me up and down, clearly debating whether or not I might be a threat. I make the first move. “It’s great to meet you! Nice to know I won’t be constantly surrounded by only guys..” I extend my hand to shake hers. She hesitates before taking it, and doesn’t say anything. So that’s how it’s gonna be.

Ashton and Camille leave the studio together. Everybody else goes about their business, so I head back to where I had stashed my belongings in the record store and take them upstairs, to my new home. I look around as I enter it again, taking everything in. When I get to the bedroom, I toss my stuff on the floor and collapse on the bed. I made it. I did it. I am actually living in Los Angeles. Now, to survive.

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

Part Eight

[lightsandlostbells]

Skam Italia season 2, episode 1 reaction

Hello, how’s everybody doing? We survived the first week of a S3 remake. I wrote a little (a lot) about it.

Just to be clear: I completely understand if people just want to hang on and enjoy the ride because it’s S3 again, we love it, it’s an important story for many people! But so far there are aspects of Skam Italia S2 that I am positive about, and there are areas where I have criticisms. Don’t read if you don’t want to hear some comments that are not 100% enthusiasm. For real, I’m not trying to be a buzz kill, like I’m fine with posting these to crickets, lmao, because it’s a fun exercise for me to analyze the remakes even if I’m essentially talking to myself. 

Thank you so much to everyone translating this show! Imagine if no one was translating this season. The fandom would lose its goddamn mind. You are literally saving the planet from destruction, thank you for your service.

At the risk of sounding pretentious, I’m going to put additional disclaimers here, because people have strong feelings about Skam S3, and people also have strong feelings about Skam Italia, and there is already drama when those feelings bump up against each other:

The reason why I started doing reactions to the remakes was to compare the versions of Skam and analyze what worked and what didn’t in the adaptation process. This was a clever change to fit this culture, this was awkward and didn’t work, etc. While I do want to judge S2 of Skam Italia on its own merits, I’m not going to leave the original series out of it and look at this season as something that exists in a Skamless void, because that’s not my aim with these recaps. So if you are really not interested in comparisons to the original show (positive, negative, or neutral) then perhaps don’t read further.

I’m also taking into account this is a different culture than the original show and noting how that might affect this story, and that it’s a big deal to have an LGBT Italian lead in a series and Italian fans are very excited. So I’m keeping that in mind! But I also think that, should Skam Italia bungle something, it’s okay to call it out, it doesn’t get a free pass. We criticized parts of the original series while praising it where it succeeded. Sana’s season, for example, is extremely progressive as a concept (a Muslim girl lead is extremely rare) but had numerous aspects where it stumbled, and as a fandom there was no shortage of criticism. This goes for both the social justice and educational aspects of Skam as well as writing, directing, acting, and other basic storytelling stuff.

Okay? Okay.

Episode 1

Clip 1 - GET OUT OF THE FUCKING TUB, LOSERS

Right away, I loved the voicemails. They sound like real accounts of homophobia, and I don’t know if these are actors recreating them or real people sharing their own experiences, but it was a powerful intro to the season.

I also like zooming in over the city while these voicemails played, over all these dark apartment buildings, because it felt like those voices could be coming from anywhere. They were anonymous. Your neighbor could be gay, the woman who lives downstairs could be a lesbian, and you might never know because they’re in the closet. You might never know how much they’d suffered due to homophobia. But they’re also everywhere. Despite their treatment in society, LGBT people aren’t “the other” but can be anyone you know. That’s why it zooms into the party, to link these anonymous voices to a face that we we do know.

I saw some people suggesting that maybe these have to do with Martino’s involvement in the radio station, and that this will be some part of a project that he does, and while I think it’d be awesome if the radio station came into play with his personal development, I’m ehhhhh about these turning out to be part of Martino’s project all along because it doesn’t seem like it goes with the real time format, and IDK, it seems too literal. But I’d be OK with it these were more of a thematic device and Martino has a literal confession along these lines later on. 

Rainbow logo 🌈🌈🌈

...who’s that blue-haired girl?

I feel like Edoardo being immediately on screen was to reassure any OG Skam viewers and Incantava fans who hadn’t yet gotten the message that EDOARDO IS DEFINITELY NOT GOING ANYWHERE THIS SEASON DO NOT PANIC.

Silvia is watching some girls dance and for a hot second I hoped they were finally hinting at the lesbian Vilde story we deserve, but it seems like she is watching them because of their slim figures, because she reconsiders the piece of cake she was going to eat. Silvia, no.

Silvia is very upset about the hotties at the party and Sana says there only would have been four people there and reassures her that she’s beautiful, awwww. But Silvia is upset about some Argentinean girl, who I assume is an apex hottie that she fears will outshine her, perhaps?

Silvia waves at Edoardo, who ignores her. You know, Edoardo’s apology to Silvia would feel more genuine if he acted like a baseline decent human being toward her instead of refraining from basic politeness because OH NO he has to shake her off his back (except when he can exploit her interest for his own gain).

It’s Italian Eskild! He says that Edoardo’s hair is indeed shit, suggesting Eleonora has told him all about it (something for the Incantava shippers) and I mean, I support him giving Silvia a boost, and I support any dragging of Edoardo, except Edoardo’s hair is like the one thing about him that is not shit.

He takes Silvia to dance and comments about checking her boobs to see if she is a virgin, so this is filling in for S2’s “It’s Britney bitch” moment. I guess they’re going to incorporate some Skam S2 material into this season in order to accommodate for the switch in storylines.

Hey, you know what I could have strongly done without? Filippo grabbing Silvia’s tit out of nowhere. There’s sometimes a tendency for gay men to grope women and get away with it because it’s obviously not sexual, so what’s the problem? Except the problem is that men, no matter what their sexuality, feel like they have unfettered access to women’s bodies. I’m not saying HE’S CANCELED or anything, but it irritated me that they threw in such a small moment that wasn’t needed, especially because this is our introduction to this character. Thanks, I want casual groping to be my initial impression of this guy. (Just to be clear, this dialogue happens in the original, but there is no unauthorized tit-grabbing from Eskild.)

And the fact that this moment went so unremarked upon is a sign of how normalized this behavior is, frankly. But they played it off as a funny moment so it’s okay!! Lol Filippo, you’re supposed to be gay!!!

Incantava shippers get a morsel before Eleonora leaves for London as she and Edoardo share a ~glance.

So Filo is Eleonora’s brother, which is a good way to incorporate his character considering it’s unlikely for Martino or Eleonora to live with a random roommate instead of their families, and they hadn’t set up the Filo character in S2 so his appearance in Martino’s life is going to need to be established quickly. So that makes both the Eleonora-Filo and Martino-Filo relationships more plausible in this culture.

Although lmao, imagine some of Eskild’s S2 scenes now that he and the Noora character are related. I’m sure Eleonora will need to bleach her eyeballs if she walks in on her brother getting his dick sucked to Circle of Life.

Eva catches up to Martino in the kitchen, and the flirtatious vibes are there right away, you know this isn’t going anywhere good. She tries to kiss him, so this is basically that scene from S2 where Eva tries to make out with Isak at a party, except way more awkward because this Eva actually manages to get a few kisses on Martino. Yikes.

Of course he’s not into it, and she’s just like yeah, go to your friends. Go find Gio. She knows where his real interests like. 

Martino answering some random landline is pretty endearing, especially when he has cans of beer he needs to balance to do so.

Him being like “I am not the owner.” Lmao, he’s a sweetie. I suppose this was maybe a neighbor or someone wondering about the noise level and activity at the party, and that was why the police show up later? But I like to imagine that they were filming in this building, the phone rang randomly, and they were like, eh, throw it in.

So now we’re moving into the OG S3 content, with Martino entering the bathroom and sitting in the tub with his friends drinking and getting high.

Elia is the second person to mention the Argentinean girl, so I guess she must be a stone cold babe. Are we ever going to see her? Or will her hotness exist only in legends?

They do the whole song and dance where Martino pretends like these girls aren’t hot enough for him, while the other dudes are not having it. Well, to be fair, he really isn’t into them. I’m not sure what to make of his reactions, because Isak was very performative, and Martino just seems indifferent.

The boys claim to have gotten Fede a present, I wonder what it was? Probably just booze or something?

Lmao I was wondering why this girl would use this random out-of-the-way bathroom, but apparently two dudes are fucking in the other one (what are the odds it’s Filo).

What assholes, get out of the fucking tub for two minutes and let the girl pee in peace! I guess they’re just lazy and stoned, but JFC.

Instead of saying the girl looks like Eleven from Stranger Things, Martino tells her she looks like a frog… I kind of see it? But she’s also a babe, soooo. 

Not gonna lie, I really did not like how they adapted this scene. “We’ll leave you alone to pee but you have to hook up with one of us” is not … cute … like it takes it out of negging teenage asshole territory and gets creepy. Maybe because of the hellscape that has been RL politics for the past few weeks, but I’m not in the mood for any of this boys-will-be-boys shit.

We know that one new dude must be Magnus because he is instantly rejected.

Martino gives the boys the thumbs up once Italian Emma starts making out with him and they’re leaving.

Martino didn’t actually do anything to win over this girl, really? With Isak it was a performance: Emma came in and he made a determined effort to flirt with her, he negged her, he complimented her, he got out of the tub and was more active in his pursuit. All of that was because he was trying to seem straight in front of his friends. Martino, on the other hand, was far more passive. He made the frog comment but that seems less like negging when all four of them are sitting there being dicks to this girl, rather than him alone, and she just happened to choose him out of the four. Isak was putting some effort into it and pretending to be interested until the boys left and things got steamier, but Martino just plain is not trying. He ain’t feeling it.

This is one of the disadvantages of writing recaps episode by episode as they air and not when you can look at the full season, though. Because on the one hand, making Martino more of a passive participant in his fake heterosexuality is fine, but on the other hand, if that’s not their intent - if they’re more or less going to follow Isak’s character arc for him - then I think they missed a big point of this scene in not making Martino pursue this girl more actively. But we don’t know exactly if this is a thoughtful, deliberate choice or an oversight. (For example, in S1 of Skam Italia, several of Eva’s key moments of “who are you?” were eliminated, Gio’s skate park speech was rewritten with a different focus, etc. which made me wonder about her character arc. It could have worked if they had intentionally made these changes to arrive at a different conclusion, but in the end Eva’s final speech to Gio is the same, the arc is supposed to be the same even though crucial points have been left out, and it didn’t feel as strong. So it’s hard to say whether Martino’s character is supposed to be written with subtle differences that change his characterization, or if they don’t realize how small edits can affect the perception of this character.)

I am a little alarmed that the girl goes for the blowjob like immediately after choosing Martino? Isak was hardcore flirting with Emma so it made more sense she was trying to do that with him. With this girl, she’s just trying to pee and some random guy’s like “Hook up with one of us and we’ll leave you be” and she’s like, “Sounds like a plan!” Damn girl, didn’t you need to really use the toilet? But you’re going to stop to blow him? Okay.

Eva is stumped by seeing that Martino was in the bathroom with a girl,  probably moreso because he just rejected her upstairs. Well, this girl isn’t his best friend’s ex, sooooo it makes a smidge more sense, Martino’s sexuality aside.

Incantava moment: Edoardo brings up the deal with the apology to Silvia, so that made it into this remake. Part of the deal was to erase the wall of conquests - smart of Eleonora - and I guess Edo did that, hopefully, but he also reminds her that she agreed to a date.

What a power move of Eleonora to go to England to avoid this date.

At least Edo was not pursuing her prior to this, apparently. It would be a shame if they suddenly had him pressure her into a date in Eleonora’s season.

Okay, I realize that Martino didn’t appear to have the best options to hide his weed,  but he’s really just gonna put it in a box on the railing where it could easily get knocked over the balcony or blown away or something? Lmao.

The scene of the boys running away from the cops was cute and had that “reckless youth enjoying the night” vibe.

So Martino clearly still has Giovanni feelings, and Giovanni is going to be crashing at his place tonight. Look at that hand on Martino’s shoulder, probably burning through his shirt. I like perhaps acknowledging the idea that all this casual affection between guys in this culture can take on a hidden toll for a closeted gay kid.

Martino mentions that his mom is freaking out, so they’re openly acknowledging Martino’s mom situation in front of the other guys (when Isak was less open about it) and Giovanni gives him a hug that fucks Martino up. It seemed like Martino didn’t want Giovanni to come over, probably both because of his crush and because of his mom situation.

Clip 2 - Sad boy slumber party

Martino wakes up and stares at Giovanni, who’s still sleeping. Martino is not on the bed, but on the floor, ostensibly because Giovanni threw him off the bed but really because he doesn’t want to be so close to Giovanni. He pointedly turns down Giovanni’s invitation to get back in the bed. This is a really delicate situation; this is such a casual thing for Giovanni that he doesn’t even think about it, but for Martino it’s this extremely loaded scenario that comes with dangers, so better not risk it.

Eva calls and wants to talk to Martino, but he can’t since he’s with Giovanni. Giovanni says that he’s been trying to get back together with Eva, and making a fool out of himself, so Martino is certainly not enjoying about this reminder that Giovanni likes girls, Giovanni loved (loves?) Eva, it will never be Giovanni and Martino in the way he wants. Also, awkward of course because Eva tried to kiss Martino, which says a lot about how she thinks of Giovanni - probably not keen to get back with him if she can make a move on his best friend, even when drunk.

Okay, I have a deeply unpopular opinion and that is: while Skam Italia’s cinematography is often visually impressive, at times it does not work with the material it’s supposed to be conveying. It’s not style over substance, but style against substance. There are several examples, but to go into one now: why the fuck is the lighting so dark in certain moments. Whyyyyyy.

And before you tell me, I do know why the director is perhaps doing this. It’s supposed to reflect Martino’s state of mind, it’s supposed to make things seem bleak, it’s supposed to contrast with the sunnier scenes such as later in the episode with Niccolò, etc. etc. The problem is that I do not think it is effective for the format of this show. Here’s the thing: we are supposed to be in Martino’s POV for a reason. His reactions should not be hidden from us, this audience, and to me the lighting is a barrier from getting closer to him and getting fully into his mindset. Like, the camera should be eating this shit up! Give me all the microexpressions! Federico Cesari is doing a nice job of acting so far and it bugs me that the lighting is obscuring some of his facial expressions. Now it makes sense for ambiguity on the part of say, Niccolò, who will be keeping secrets for most of the season (based on Even’s role) but this is Martino’s season, and we as the audience should be deep into his head every step of the way. This is supposed to be an immersive experience. There is zero reason to obscure Martino’s reactions from the audience. Martino may have a barrier between him and his friends, his family, his schoolmates, society at large - but not us, the viewers. (And not just the lighting, but for example, that his face is shot in profile for part of this scene, which again doesn’t give us a full range of Martino’s reactions, or the amount of distance between the camera and Martino at times. Even if you can assume what Martino is thinking and feeling enough that you don’t need really clear reaction shots, it’s like there’s a gap and we’re not supposed to get too close.) 

Like obviously this cinematography is working for people, and if it is for you, great! If this were a different show, I could be fine with it. But not with a series that is supposed to put me fully into this character’s head, not keep me at a distance.

Covitti is the girl from the bathroom? She’s followed Martino on IG. I feel like, if they’re doing a repeat of Emma’s involvement, then it doesn’t work as well as to why she’d suddenly be interested in Martino. With Isak, there was something karmic about it, because he blatantly pursued when he met her, and it’s like he reaped what he sowed, you know? Don’t get me wrong, he absolutely did not deserve the much later repercussions with Emma outing him, but the immediate aftermath of him flirting with Emma showed that his actions had consequences. He couldn’t just make out with this girl for the benefit of an audience and then drop her. With Martino, he was so much more passive with Covitti, that it feels less earned. I mean he’s very cute, but him being doggedly pursued by her doesn’t have as much to do with his characterization, unless the point is that he refuses to put his foot down and reject her. (A valid characterization choice! But hopefully an intentional one.)

We get to see Martino’s mom and on the one hand, it’s pretty cool that she’s around in this version, but on the other hand, goddamn am I apprehensive about how they will depict her.

Martino really does not want to eat lunch with her. Apparently they have chicken and potatoes four times a week. Credit to Giovanni, he acts normal and is polite to Martino’s mom and is eager to eat with her.

Eva apologizes for trying to kiss Martino. So Giovanni is trying to get back with Eva and Eva made a move on Martino. Awkward! Eva is also probably dying to bring up the topic of that girl in the bathroom with Martino, let’s be real.

Giovanni chides Martino for being an asshole and says if he didn’t treat his mom like shit, maybe he would help her! Hey, no offense, Giovanni, but fuck off. I agree that Martino was not nice to his mom, I agree that he should treat her better. But Giovanni is a visitor. He is a guest in this household. He doesn’t know shit about what it’s like to live there or what’s the best course of action. No, actually it’s not as easy being kind to someone and it’ll fix their mental illness.

If I sound weirdly pissed about this, it’s because I am speaking as someone who has been a caretaker to a mentally ill parent. One of the most frustrating things was when people who were completely outside of my situation told me how to deal with it. It’s fucking easy to think you have the answers when you don’t live in this situation, when you have the freedom to go back to your own home when shit gets really rough. When you likely haven’t seen a loved one at their worst. 

To clarify, this isn’t necessarily a flaw of the show, just an area where I think a character is flawed. But I would hate for Giovanni’s POV to be validated. Of course Martino should not treat his mother poorly, but he needs to do that on his own, not because some outsider who has no idea what is going on in this house thinks so.

Anyway. Shut the fuck up, Gio. 

Eva also doesn’t want Martino to tell Gio, so you know Gio is going to find out at some point. Here’s the thing: if this drama is more along the lines of ~ooo Eva kissed Martino and he didn’t tell Gio and Gio feels BETRAYED when he finds out~ then it sounds tedious and exactly the kind of drama I don’t want. It’s not necessary, it’s honestly a very low-stakes situation. However, if it’s more of a lead-in to S1’s drama being revealed, and Gio learns about what happened with Martino ratting out Eva, that would be interesting. I’d be very interested in seeing where it goes. I think the writers have to know that this would be the most compelling aspect, so here’s hoping.

Not gonna lie, one thing I liked about S3 was the lack of heterosexual relationship drama (other than what directly serviced Isak and Even’s relationship), and I don’t want this season to stray too far into Eva/Gio stuff. Though I realize that by switching S2 and S3, they probably feel like they have to account for their relationship.

In S2 of the original, we saw the remnants of Eva/Jonas more on Eva’s side, through Noora’s eyes. Eva told herself she was over Jonas and they were just friends, but we could see that wasn’t totally true. With this season, though, we’ll probably see Eva/Giovanni more through Giovanni’s eyes, because even if Martino is Eva’s friend, he’s Giovanni’s best friend.

Clip 3 - The Phantom Clitoris

Lmao, Luca being like “Guess what happened to me” and Gio being like “Did you put an egg in the microwave again?” (I mean, you can cook eggs in a microwave even if it’s not the best way!)

Luca hooked up with a girl! If we believe him. She didn’t have a clitoris! Except he didn’t know what it was called. I don’t know whether to think that if it he didn’t know what it was called, he probably didn’t know how to look for one, or that he’s straight up lying. But this is interesting because Jonas was the one who went down on girls in the original and had this dialogue, and then Magnus was the virgin seeking wisdom from Isak, and here apparently Luca is already banging girls? Or he’s pretending to.

Martino sees Niccolò for the first time! Niccolò is adorable. He’s got the Even denim jacket and a nice smile. Sana and Silvia are shown going up to him while he’s talking to another dude.

Luca is like, I watched a 20-minute porn tutorial of how to eat a girl out. No offense bro, but I doubt you were in a very studious mindset during that. Or maybe he was! Maybe he made flashcards.

Martino gets a text from his dad about having dinner “with us” and I’m guessing that his dad has a new girlfriend or something, because it’s kinda weird to text your kid “have dinner with us?” about both his parents when his dad left his mom.

Silvia and Sana come up, Elia brings up the girl with no clitoris to them (why was that the first thing out of your mouth, dude), and Silvia mentions that she and Sana are now in charge of the radio. So this is our kosegruppa! I wonder if the radio itself will have more plot relevance for the season.

The guys are conveniently too busy to help on Thursday! But Sana thinks they’ll be helping soon enough.

For a moment I thought Luca was frightened by Silvia and saw that as a point toward Luca/Silvia happening, since it would be in line with Magnus’ sado-Vilde dreams, but then I was like, oh right, he probably means Sana, lol. (Silvia is way less intimidating than Vilde. Silvia is cheerful, Vilde was sugar layered over a core of menace when she pitched kosegruppa to the guys.)

Martino checks out Niccolò again, because who wouldn’t, and Niccolò is talking to the other guy … maybe Niccolò is flirting with that guy?

The boys suggest smoking a joint but Martino didn’t get the weed back yet, so the boys are bummed, but Gio keeps his disappointment restrained to a few jovial  throttles of Martino’s neck. Martino dies inside and tries not to develop a choking kink.

Niccolò did not look at Martino in this clip, there’s no evidence he saw him in this scene, and he was in fact preoccupied with conversation with another dude. So ... has Niccolo seen Martino yet? In an “I saw you the first day of school” way? Because with that knowledge in mind, in the original we could look back at Even’s first appearance in the cafeteria and see that he had obviously grabbed a seat with a good view of Isak and was sitting there alone, possibly sketching him. I guess you could say that Niccolò was standing there to get Martino’s attention, maybe even trying to make him jealous by talking to another guy, but that seems .... really convoluted. If they do include the “I saw you the first day of school” line, they should have had Niccolò look at Martino for even a brief moment. It didn’t even need to be eye contact! Like you could show Niccolò looking toward Martino when he’s out of focus, as a background event, a little Easter egg for the eagle-eyed viewer.

This is one of those original clip comparisons, so hold on to your butts. In the original clip, the way the scene is shot and acted combines multiple details to demonstrate Isak’s alienation from the other boys. Tarjei’s acting shows that he is disconnected from this conversation - he’s picking at his sandwich, checking his phone, he’s not really engaged with the cat tongue/clitoris talk. He has a few mild smiles but his facial expressions and body language show he’s checked out. He doesn't participate in that conversation at all, actually, other than a look or two. There’s no dialogue from him. And the camera contributes to this impression that he’s withdrawn: it’s often just on Isak with the conversation coming from off screen, rather than showing him in the shots with the guys. It shows him alone instead of showing him connected to the group. When it does show him with the group, he’s not reacting to them much. So when he hears a boy's laugh, it seems plausible that it would get attention as the boys’ conversation is not holding his interest.

With this clip, Martino might make a comment like "Oh no, don't tell us your dirty story" but he is otherwise very engaged in this conversation. He leans into it, he's listening, his face makes him seem eager. He's frequently shown in the shot with the other guys, part of the group rather than isolated. Gio repeatedly looks back at him and shares looks with him so there’s something reciprocal happening. Martino speaks to Luca and he high fives him. He's just a definite participant in this conversation, so there isn't much of a feel of alienation here. I mean, we know he's gay, and maybe we can assume that his participation in this conversation is forced or half-hearted, but that's not coming through in how it's portrayed. And I like Federico, I think he's one of the better actors on the show, but I also think he's playing it too comfortably, though I blame Bessegatto more for that since his direction is what guides the performance. It seems like Martino's a nice guy with some friends, who doesn't seem too detached this conversation and who seems totally fine with looking at a cute guy over there. Not much of an internal struggle. Not much of an external struggle either, really. 

It felt like there were missed opportunities. For example, when Martino says he doesn’t want Luca’s TMI, and Gio is like, “Yes we do, don’t listen to him,” we don’t even get a reaction shot from Martino to see how that affects him? We could have seen him annoyed, or exasperated, or uninterested in this conversation. We could have seen him drifting and doing something with his body language to indicate he’s not comfortable, and then THAT is when he sees Niccolò, because his mind is already wandering. Not when he’s engaged in this conversation. Or keep in Luca asking Martino about going girls and wanting to know how Martino finds the clitoris, and Martino having to struggle to answer that when the boys are all looking at him.

I mean, again, it makes me wonder what they’re going to do with Martino’s characterization because they’re playing up his struggles with his attraction to Gio, but he does not seem to be struggling as much with the public performance of liking girls. Or even perhaps the internal conflict of liking boys. And that would be fine except it seems like it should be. Martino was the one who introduced the idea of liking Eva back in S1, before Eva had even suggested it herself. He was definitely on the defense then, so what’s going on now? 

Also, Isak glanced at Even and Even looked back, which made Isak look away. Julie pointedly did not show Even again in that clip because Isak was clamping down on his attraction and forcing himself not to look. Martino allows himself a second glance. It frames the scene way more comfortably.

Clip 4 - Fede almost had it all

12:12 ...it begins...

Martino sees Fede and Sana, so he approaches them. He calls them “rays of sunshine,” which is cute! Though he’s totally doing it to butter them up so he gets his stash back.

LMAO I love the part where Federica is like, I found a drill, who brings a drill to a party? (Someone you pray to God remains sober.)

He asks if he can come over and Federica chokes on her drink. She’s really cute in this scene. Honestly, she didn’t make a ton of impression on me in S1 compared to other girl Chrises from the remakes, but I enjoyed her here a lot, she’s sweet.

They can “study” together in the living room because Fede’s parents are gone. Oh babe, I think you’ll be disappointed at the amount of actual learnin’ that would take place were such a study session to take place.

Sana sits there texting Martino that she has his weed while he’s right there next to her. I guess Fede was just really excited by the prospect of having Martino in her house, but did she really not notice that Sana was texting and Martino just so happened to receive a text at the same time?

Sana saying that it’s “a friend of her brother’s” who has Martino’s “necklace.” Is that an actual nod toward Niccolò or just a coincidence? If she means Niccolò, then why is she bringing him up?

Like I know people like this theory, but I don’t think it makes sense that Sana was trying to hook up Isak and Even all along (or Martino and Niccolò if the circumstances are the same), because how does that explain her reactions to being asked about Islam’s view of homosexuality, or to Isak being outed? Of course they could be going for a diferent approach in this remake.

Federica is really adorable freaking out over how she ALMOST had Martino within her grasp. Poor girl, I’m sorry to tell you that your day is never coming. (Lmao, I guess one day a remake could swap out Emma for Isak hooking up with the Chris character? I mean Chris >>>>> Emma, but then I’d feel so bad for her.)

Clip 5 - Here we gooooooooo

So the carrot cake (made by Silvia) suuuuucks. Martino’s disgusted face is pretty good.

The girl squad is trying to Skype with Eleonora. Meanwhile Martino sits there by himself, not having a great time. As a contrast to the girl squad who are laughing and having fun, Martino is on his own because his dumbass friends ditched him.

Sana wants Martino to let them use his Internet connection to continue the Skype call, he’s like lmao, she’s ditching you guys on purpose. Gonna go out on a limb and say that he’s projecting.

Tbh I do think it’s odd that they wrote out Eleonora so much if they didn’t need to. Like I know people think they switched S2 and S3 for dramatic, important reasons, but I get the feeling it was just a matter of actor availability. I could be wrong!

That random curly-haired dude at the meeting is the true star of this clip. He was INTO everything that was happening.

SIlvia says it took forever to make her cake. And it still sucks, apparently. Good thing that the girls never seemed to get her pineapple cake from S1? Was Silvia behind the Jell-O disaster, too?

She doesn’t want another piece, which might be another hint at her ED, but the cake is garbage soooo maybe she just has taste buds and a self-preservation instinct, IDK.

It’s actually intriguing that Silvia seems to be baking cakes for people and yet she monitors her own eating so closely.

Lmao at there being dead noise when Martino sees Niccolò enter the room. Everything fades except this smiley hottie. (For a second I was like “is he flat-lining?”)

Niccolò walked in with some other people, including Covetti. He sits on the table beside Martino. Martino keeps glancing at him but Niccolò will NOT glance at Martino. Again, if they’re going to go with “I saw you the first day of school,” I don’t think they set it up that well. It’s fine if they don’t, but there are really no fun “extras” you get from these scenes with that reveal. In both of his scenes Niccolò has been hanging out with other people, he’s not glancing at Martino. There’s no foreshadowing. You can be like oh, Niccolò positioned himself outside the school for Martino to see, he DELIBERATELY didn’t look at Martino for reasons! But that’s not very enjoyable on a rewatch.

The way Martino begrudgingly greets that Uglydoll or whatever is the best part of the episode.

Covitti notices Martino looking over at Niccolo, by the way.

Okay, WHO IS THAT BLUE-HAIRED GIRL. Like it seems as if she would make a good Sonja, she reminds me a little of Theresa. 

Covitti whispers something to Martino but we don’t know what.

“Bad story about Chicco Rodi” Who was that? I vaguely remember the name from S1? Oh wait, was he the guy who got the award for worst attendance? I hope that “tutorial” is foreshadowing for Martino and Niccolò breaking into the school at some point.

Silvia comes across as positively chill compared to Vilde. It must be Osvaldo’s influence.

Why is Covitti even there, since she’s not interested in what Silvia’s saying? To stalk Martino? How did she know he would be there? Emma knew Isak was going to be there because of signups, were there signups for this? (This is nitpicky and I’m sure that’s what they meant, it’s just that they’re skipping over some parts where her motivations become clear.)

Martino: Sorry I have to take this totally real and not at all imaginary call!!!!!

Wow, no finesse, just like our man Isak.

Martino’s fake phone call is pretty funny, like he lets it go on way longer than necessary.

He plops down in a chair in the radio room and then he starts talking to himself and pretending to be on the radio. I really do like the idea of Martino finding his voice through the radio, literally and metaphorically. And actually, when he starts speaking by himself, he sounds pretty good to me! Confident, composed, his voice sounds good, the words come easy. So maybe this is a move from him being passive to speaking up for himself.

That shot of Martino, fractured in the glass, when Niccolò turns on the light is fabulous. Showing how Niccolò’s introduction is going to break apart Martino’s sense of self. And Niccolò‘s image is clear and whole so Martino perhaps sees him as this cool, confident dude who’s got his shit together. So he thinks. (Plus Niccolò literally turns on the light on and all.)

Niccolò says it’s a shame Martino stopped talking, basically, and they laugh about Silvia’s dry-ass cake.

Niccolò has a shitty ancient phone? Would that play into his avoidance of social media because of his manic episode? Since you can’t post to IG/FB/any apps from one of those. Or is he just a hipster who hates technology? Or something else? 

Lol, I didn’t have to wait long before the “breaking into the school” prophecy was fulfilled. They end up climbing into a part of the school that’s closed.

Beautiful view on the roof, obviously. I guess for O Helga Natt, Martino is going to run and find Niccolò here, maybe? And then he’ll be in the radio room instead? Will they stare at each other from behind the glass? 

Niccolò asks if Martino knows Silvia, and he says no, she’s a friend of a friend. Niccolò asks which one, so he’s probably wondering if Martino is good pals with Sana.

Niccolò notes that Martino doesn’t seem happy to be there, and neither does Niccolò. Taking him at his word, he’s doing this as part of school-work interchange. So I guess he didn’t show up just to meet Martino? Again, I have no problem with that changing that (I loved it with Evak but I’m fine with them not repeating it), I just want them to do a good job of foreshadowing if they do go with that.

We get the conversation about Niccolò being from a different school, but there’s no line (as in the original) where Isak notes with some incredulity that he transferred during his last year, so there isn’t as much of a hint that something happened to Niccolò, provided they are still keeping in his backstory. (I think he’s still in his final year?)

The camera gets very close up in the boys’ faces as they talk about more personal topics, THANK GOD. Like I do think the coldness and distance in other clips is intentional, I just don’t think it works with this show, but at least we can get warmer, closer scenes when necessary.

Covitti (whose first name is Emma, by the way) shows up and literally comes between them. They do the whole thing where Martino “introduces” Niccolò to Emma, except they’re not trying to pretend they’re already partners to avoid her. 

“Fares” means horseman or knight in Arabic, so I guess Niccolò is going to be Martino’s knight in shining armor? Or fight for him? That would explain his flipbook in the trailer with stick figure Niccotino on a horse.

Covitti isn’t very awkward as a person. She and Niccolò have a polite, maybe even flirty conversation when filtered through certain jealous ears; it’s Martino who suddenly feels like a third wheel. Covitti is still making eyes at Martino, though. Niccolò says he and Martino will stay back and smoke, which pleases Martino, but she invites herself to smoke with them. It’s awkward but way less so that with Isak, Even, and Emma, in my opinion, maybe because Covitti seems like she’s enjoying herself even if the boys aren’t. 

The poppy indie song at the end of the clip feels out of place. Like if they wanted to emphasize the awkwardness, they should have just ended in a stranger song or complete silence to drive home how Martino did not want her there. If they wanted to use this song to emphasize Martino’s crush, show closeups of Martino glancing at Niccolò with the sunlight bouncing off his face without including Covitti in there. 

Oh god. Don’t kill me for this. Okay. So we have Niccolò’s introduction in this clip, obviously, and I like him in the sense that he's a friendly guy with an utterly beautiful smile. But I felt like they made him just like ... a really nice, smiley guy, in a way that was one-note. And I’m NOT criticizing the actor’s abilities, because I’ve seen his acting clips from other projects and I think he could do justice to the character. This is more about directorial decisions.

Part of the reason I love Even is because he’s fucking strange. Sure, he’s Isak’s dream boy with his denim jacket and styled hair, and he’s got a smile like the sun, and he just feels cool, but he’s also a bouncy, twitchy weirdo coursing with energy. In his first clip he makes a HELL of an impression and it’s by pulling a bizarre stunt in the bathroom with paper towels and then by making a blowjob joke as one of his first lines to Isak. Now I don’t think every Even of the remakes need to do that, not at all, but Even felt like a really specific character to me, someone who was weird and strongly himself and presented in a way that made us fall for him piece by piece. And one fear I have about the remakes is that they’ll remove some of his weirdness to make him more of a general artsy hipster type who gets along with the Isak. (Or maybe him an artsy hipster asshole, but that’s another story.)

I feel bad because I do actually want to love Niccolò I think the actor is tremendously adorable and enthusiastic about is role, and I think he can make Niccolò into someone specific and memorable. But the way this scene was directed and performed, it felt like Bessegatto told Rocco to be charming by smiling a lot. And I mean, he DOES have a great smile, but Niccolò has the same amused, benign friendliness the whooooole clip, and my gut feeling was that they were trying too hard to make us like him and eliminating anything that might make the character off-putting, which is unfortunately some of what makes the character compelling, especially this early on as he should be something of a mystery both for Martino and the audience. 

Where this approach would have worked more for me is if Niccolò was this unstoppable force of sunshine against Martino’s constant grumpy iciness, and he couldn’t help but melt in the face of it. But the thing is, Martino isn’t a constant grump who’s freezing people out. He’s actually pretty friendly to people. So it was like radiant sunshine against slightly less radiant sunshine, and there wasn’t a lot like I felt I could mull over, IDK. 

And yes yes I know this is only the first clip. Niccolò has tons of time to make himself into a distinctive, memorable character. I’m aware of that. But I don’t want to lie about my reaction. 

General Comments/Social Media:

Continuing with Martino’s crush on Giovanni makes sense considering only a few months have passed. Though it should be said that I never thought Isak getting over Jonas from S1 to S3 without any elaboration was like .. a flaw of the show? It depends on how deep you think Isak’s feelings were. Personally I never saw him as in love with Jonas, I saw it as an intense crush, compounded by Isak’s bad home life so that Jonas, his best friend who was always there for him, was someone who really made his life better at the time, and whose attention he craved.

There was almost a year between the end of S1 and the start of S3, and during that time, Isak had seen Jonas go from Eva to other girls, so I’m sure it sunk in that Jonas wasn’t suddenly going to go for him just because Eva was out of the picture. And Isak had moved out of his parents’ home so there was less of an immediately chaotic situation where he was more dependent on Jonas for support. I mean he’s clearly not in a great place at the start of S3, but he was able to get some independence and distance from his parents. I think his life was more stable on a day-to-day basis. So it’s not hard to see how Isak’s crush would have faded with those factors in mind. Martino, on the other hand, has had less time to get over Giovanni, Giovanni perhaps has not moved on to other girls since he’s still trying to get with Eva, and Martino is still probably depending on him for more emotional support since he has to deal with a more directly stressful environment at home.

In the texts, Giovanni refers to Sana as “Sana Escobar” in reference to her taking the weed. Pablo Escobar is obviously extremely well-known on his own, but I do think it’s a nod to all the Narcos/Escobar mentions in Isak’s season. Or at least they took inspiration there.

Elia is apparently one hell of a dumbass according to an essay he wrote that showed up on IG.

I wonder if they’re going to swap out the Grindr clip with Eskild for the first meeting with Filippo. I really do wonder how that relationship will come across, because I know people are excited about seeing them meet (and I am too) but the thing is, a big part of what made Isak and Eskild’s relationship in S3 meaningful was that they had months of trust to be established between them. Eskild saw Isak repressing his sexuality for months, and when Isak finally came out to him, there was pride in seeing this kid’s long journey to acceptance. We also got plenty of little scenes between them so the dynamic wasn’t just a big dramatic thing, we saw the casual side of their relationship. So I’m not sure how they can replicate that with a relationship that cannot help but have less buildup.

Niccolò is a pianist and there’s a video of him playing on YouTube! I’m really glad they incorporated the actor’s talents into the character and gave him his own artistic skill to make him a little different from Even. I assume that Martino will find the piano video and watch that endlessly. And it’ll be fun if Martino is all convinced Niccolò is a serious classical music snob but then Niccolò is like, “YES, this is my JAM” over a cheesy pop song.

One big problem I have is that it feels like a lot of potential for conflict or tension (both internal and external) is being minimized across various relationships, in multiple situations. It just feels safer for Martino despite him still going through some major problems that Isak was not at this point, and so it really shouldn’t. And that makes it harder to get involved in his POV or to immerse ourselves in his struggles. For example:

The boy squad isn't angry or annoyed with Martino for losing the weed, they're just kind of like lol, get it back. 

Sana and Martino don't clash with as much tension, and does Sana even explain why she’s holding onto Martino’s weed instead of giving it back? Sana B. was disgusted that Isak left the weed in Eva’s house where Eva could get in trouble if it was found; Sana A. is just doing it to be sassy, so far? Knowing that she found Isak’s actions distasteful upped the animosity of the Sana-Isak relationship, whereas Sana-Martino doesn’t have that element. I mean it’s certainly a reasonable inference that Sana is mad at him for potentially getting Fede in trouble, but it’s not a clear motivation. Martino doesn’t know why she’s randomly holding on to his weed. Does he think she’s doing it because she’s Muslim and disapproves? Because she wants it for herself? Just to torment him?

Italian Emma comes across way more of a chill, tolerable girl than Nowegian Emma and less of a persistent nuisance causing him stress just by existing.

Martino is less alienated and uncomfortable and more like a chill dude who likes to look at guys. The boys talking about going down on girls doesn’t make him uninterested and detached from the situation, he just mildly protests about TMI but continues to engage. He can look at Niccolò without having to make himself look away. He puts up less of a show to perform heterosexuality than Isak.

Martino doesn’t want to get involved in the radio show, except when he’s left alone he starts talking into a mic and pretending he’s on the radio, suggesting that it is of interest to him even if he’s not into Silvia’s leadership or whatever (as opposed to Isak who just didn’t want to deal with kosegruppa).

Even the Martino and Niccolò meeting had them bantering right away, practically as soon as they spoke, rather than encountering any moments of uncertainty or confusion, no time where they had to find their groove. And people are going to be like “They got along right away when Isak and Even didn’t!” when the reason Isak and Even were a little awkward at first was not because they clashed but because they were attracted to each other. Isak was shy about talking to a cute boy and taken aback by Even’s approach; Even was overwhelmed about talking to the boy he’d liked for weeks. It’s also a mark of how genuine Isak’s interest was: with Emma he was all slick and insincere, with Even he was real and tongue-tied. I mean, think about episode 2 and what a great moment it is when Isak runs into Even on the tram and they fumble for words at first. It’s so good! It’s human and real. It’s vulnerable, especially from Isak’s POV since we know how hard he has been pining over the last week, but also from Even’s POV especially when you know he’s liked Isak for a long time. The thing with Martino and Niccolò is that they settle into conversation so instantly, without any bumps, that I don’t think I would buy a moment like that happening. It’s not like I expect them to immediately become best friends but it would feel strange after this scene. And personally, it’s not like this relationship needs to develop the same as Isak/Even, but it’s good to leave some room for build-up from a narrative perspective. That’s why it’s so satisfying when Isak goes from barely being able to speak to Even to getting so comfortable with him that he can joke around and laugh with him. Like, let Martino say the wrong thing, or not know what to say, or make a mistake, so he can earn that more comfortable place with Niccolò, or so we can savor the moments that show him as vulnerable. (I mean, did people not enjoy Isak and Even being shy around each other? Because the awkwardness, the long silent pauses, the fumbling for what to say ... I ate that shit up. I loved it.)

Now on their own, it’s not wrong for any of these plot threads or scenes to go more smoothly. But do you see how cumulatively, they don’t contribute that much to creating a stressful internal and external climate for Martino? He’s just so much milder about everything, and the people around him are milder to him, and from a dramatic perspective it’s not as engaging.

I mean fandom does this thing where it’s like “These characters get along better! Things are Softer! Cinnamon rolls!! It’s an improvement!!!” but that’s not ... actually great from a narrative standpoint. We’re at the beginning of Martino’s story and it makes more sense to emphasize what a shit place he’s in so we can build him up over the season. 

The conflict that IS there, and felt like it had more of a presence on screen when it was addressed, is Martino still having feelings for Giovanni and Martino’s issues with his parents. I’m not sure how much farther they’ll take Martino’s crush on Gio, since now Niccolò is in the picture, but they’ll likely have Martino keeping secrets from Giovanni that are Eva-related. And we have Martino living with his mother and dealing with her problems, but I felt like that should have been more emphasized in this premiere episode and not just one clip, since it’s really fucking huge. It’s not a problem he can kind of repress like Isak because Isak can just ignore his mom’s texts. Martino has to go home and deal with it every day. (Like I would have put the radio/weed stuff for episode 1 and kick off with Martino’s parental problems and meeting Filippo, since that should set sooo much of the stage for this season, emotionally.)

I’ve also seen the idea that this season will focus more on Martino dealing with external homophobia than internalized homophobia, and that’s certainly a good idea, but then they really should have hit the ground running with that theme. Show the boy squad making casually homophobic comments, show him fearing what his mom will say. Show some random assholes making gay jokes about Filippo at the party and Martino overhears. 

I think they’re doing the meeting with Filippo in episode 2, so hopefully we get more meat to Martino’s conflicts.

I sound like I’m being negative, probably, but I’m aware this is only episode 1, and there’s plenty more to come. There are things that I do like, such as Filippo being Eleonora’s brother and the introduction of the radio. I think those could be really cool for the season. And I’m still intrigued by everything else, because this is S3 and of course I’m wondering how they’ll adapt it!

Please feel free to correct me if I missed or misinterpreted anything!

If you got this far, thank you for reading! Especially if you disagreed with me, lol.

[shadowsong26fic]

Because Roommate and I think we’re funny...

...here’s another excerpt from our Epic Crossover RP of DOOM!

For those of you who don’t know, this started life...yeesh, three years ago...anyway, it started life as a Star Wars/Marvel crossover (primarily rooted in MCU, but with a fair amount of comics canon drawn in; and using Precipice for the Star Wars side).

It has been going for, as I said, three years, probably a good 250-300k words long at least, and now includes ten fandoms (though one is mostly in the background and the other has yet to actually appear on page but will fairly soon). It is delightfully cracky and wonderfully self-indulgent, involving a boatload of OCs because Why Not.

This bit is from fairly early on. As a note, neither of us had seen Rebels when we wrote it, which means that some backstories are not necessarily consistent to canon. Also, if this scene seems to end rather abruptly, it’s because it’s about to veer off into Major Spoilers for a future Precipice arc.

And so, without further ado, behind the cut is an excerpt which focuses on certain Avengers meeting Hondo Ohnaka. Enjoy!

   Tony was actually kind of proud of himself that it had only taken about three hours between "my kids are nowhere to be found" and "rescue party assembled and through the portal." Under ordinary circumstances that would have been quite a bit longer than he liked, but he'd been waylaid into believing Emily used "Coruscant" as a code and it took him a couple of hours to realize she was serious. The remaining hour had been been roughly half and half between recruiting helpers and suiting up, and deciphering Addie's handwriting to figure out the coordinates she'd left. But now they were there, ready to go, him and Steve (of course) and Thor (who adored the girls and had since immediately after he met them, it was weird) and Natasha, silent and deadly. Clint and Bruce had agreed to stay behind, stall Fury and Coulson (and Pepper) and take care of anything that popped up in the meantime. So… here they went… he took a deep breath, and launched himself in full armor through the portal.

   They did not land on Coruscant, or in any other city. But they were on what was probably some kind of spaceship--a cluttered, dirty spaceship, with a trio of aliens playing some sort of dice game on a crate.

   Or, that's what they were doing, until Tony and the others came through the portal. Then they jumped up and started shooting.

   Tony didn't feel entirely comfortable repulsoring the shit out of them, so it was probably a good thing that Steve came through next, and took them all out with a single shield throw. Thor actually looked disappointed, which would have been hilarious if he hadn't been so worried about his kids. He picked a random groaning pirate and hoisted him up, shaking him. Where are my kids?"

   "Kids?" the pirate said. "Dunno what the hell you're talking about. We don't got no kids on board." He somehow dragged a holdout blaster from his boot and tried firing it into Tony's abdomen.

   Oh, hey, the armor deflected blasters too. Tony sometimes amazed himself with how good he was. "They're adults," he said. "But they're my kids, so tell me where they are or else."

   "Dunno what the hell you're talking about," the pirate insisted. "We ain't got no hostages on board at all."

   "Well, well, well, what is going on here?" A fourth pirate had joined them, same species, one with dark goggles and a weird sort of monkey-parrot-thing hovering on his shoulder.

   Natasha was behind him. On the off-chance (or, okay, fairly good chance) that he hadn't noticed her, Tony wasn't planning on drawing his attention to her. "My kids came here, they didn't come back, so where the hell are they?" he asked, without dropping the pirate he had. Thor was swinging his hammer and looking sufficiently ominous even without Steve glaring at the guy.

   "Kids?" The pirate tilted his head and tapped his chin. "No, no children here. I haven't kidnapped anyone's children in almost a year, have I? And let me tell you, Hondo Ohnaka is not a man who lies!"

   "Sure," Tony said, then did a double-take. "Wait, the wiseass pirate?"

   Hondo laughed uproariously. "I like you! Come, come, put down my men and I will help you find your children. I am in a generous mood today!"

   "Are you really," Tony said, more than asked, "or are you just angling for a payday? 'Cause don't get me wrong, I'm happy to pay to get my kids back, but I don't think you accept credit cards."

   Behind Hondo, Natasha raised an eyebrow at him.

   Hondo waved a hand. "We can work out all those details later. Right now, there are children in danger, and I have just finished a very profitable deal--very profitable indeed!"

   Tony hesitantly put the pirate down, and glanced at Steve, who was frowning, but when wasn't he when the kids were in danger. "Technically they're not children," he said. Emily, after all, was an adult. "Well, Addie is."

   "Ah, yes, but daughters are always children, are they not?" Hondo said. "Come, come. You say your children came here? How do you know? You're the first stowaways on my ship, unless that crazy horned man got to my men again."

   "No, Hondo," the pirate Tony had dropped said, rubbing his neck and glaring not-so-subtly in Tony's direction. "We learned our lesson."

   "So! No stowaways, until you came here. Only me, my men, and my new business partner."

   Whoever that was. "My kids are geniuses," Tony said. Thor nodded, and boomed out an, "Indeed!" Tony ignored him, and continued, "One of them built a portal generator and left me these coordinates, which means they came here."

   Natasha, from behind Hondo, inquired, "Where is here?"

   "Deep space," Hondo said. "You are very lucky, I think, that I was here to catch you!"

   "No," Tony said, "because I thought of that and I was going to go back and keep them from coming through if there wasn't anything here." Which he totally would have done, if he'd thought of it. And judging from Natasha's expression, she knew it. He didn't dare look at Steve.

   "I see, I see." Hondo frowned. "Well, we will just have to try and find which ships passed through here in the--whenever your daughters passed through. We find the right ship, we find your children, everyone goes home happy. I like this plan!"

   "So do I," Tony said.

   "Me too," Steve said. "What do you get out of?" He pinned Hondo with his all-American-gung-ho-GI-man glare.

   "I don't think I like you as much as your shiny metal friend," Hondo said thoughtfully. He then shook his head, and completely and totally did not answer Steve's question. "Come! I will show you my scanners, we will find your mystery ship!"

   "Yeah, you didn't answer my question," Steve said.

   "You're going to want to answer his question," Natasha said, sweetly. Since she was pants-wettingly terrifying when she was sweet, Tony wasn't sure how Hondo could hold it together.

   His eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "No, no, I didn't." He sighed, then put back on his carefree persona. "Why must you make things so difficult? Very well, fine. What I get out of it all depends on what ship we find, yes? If they're friends of mine, that's one thing, but if they're not my friends, well. That's something different, isn't it?"

   Which made absolutely no sense to Tony, but Steve's eyes narrowed. "We won't kill anyone for you," he said, flatly.

   "Excuse me," Tony said. "If someone is hurting my kids I absolutely will kill them."

   "Well, yeah," Steve said, momentarily distracted, "but, I mean, that's for the girls, not for him. We're not mercenaries."

   "Technically," Tony started.

   "Tony," Natasha said, still sweetly. "Shut up." He shut up.

   "For me, for them, what does it matter?" Hondo shrugged. "Trust me, my not-friends are very unreasonable people. You won't like them, either."

   "Yeah, you don't seem like the kind of person who'd be friends with the Empire," Tony said. "Wait, are they around yet? When is this?"

   "Ah, the Empire." Hondo tutted and shook his head. "Bad for business, bad for business. Except when they're good for business--more profit, but sadly more risk. This is no game for an old man like me. It's why I'm branching out--new deals, new partners. Legal businesses! Or, well, mostly legal, anyway."

   "Oh," Natasha said, and smiled, sharp and unfairly beautiful. "You two should get along wonderfully, then."

   "Hey, fuck you," Tony said, but not very loudly, in case she heard him. "My business has always been legal. Just not, you know, super ethical sometimes."

   Steve coughed. It sounded like "Stane." Tony gave him the evil eye and said, "I said my business."

   Hondo laughed again. "I knew I liked you, shiny metal man! So, are we going to look at my scanners, or not?"

   Tony wondered if he ought to mention that he wasn't actually metal, and decided that wasn't really an illusion he was interested in dispelling. "Sure, let's go."

   He could hear Steve roll his eyes, but at least Cap got it. "Thor, you're behind Tony. Natasha and I will have the rear. If anyone tries anything, hammer them."

   Thor hefted Mjolnir, and grinned a feral Viking grin at the nearest pirate. "I look forward to any hammering."

   Tony choked at that, but managed to keep his voice steady. "Lead on, weird pirate man."

   The pirates glared back at Thor, and Hondo turned and led them through the cluttered, narrow hallways of his ship.

   They made their way to the bridge without anyone trying anything--Mjolnir seemed to be an effective deterrent.

   On the bridge were another couple Weequay pirates, who Hondo nudged out of the way as they headed to a viewscreen, and someone who looked an awful lot like Lando Calrissian.

   Tony pointed at him and yelled something incoherent. Again, he heard Steve roll his eyes, but screw Steve anyway, he'd seen Empire Strikes Back on opening night and it was formative, all right. "You!"

    Lando blinked, and turned to face the group with one eyebrow raised. "Last I checked, yes. I don't think we've met, though. I'm pretty sure I'd remember the four of you." He flashed a particularly wide grin at Natasha. "Lando Calrissian, at your service."

   Natasha smiled back at him, her unnerving, terrifying smile. "Charmed."

   "Steve Rogers," Steve said, and offered his hand, because Steve was like that. "These are my teammates, Natasha Romanava, Thor, and Tony Stark. We're here looking for our daughters."

   Steve and his "no relationships while in uniform" policy. Ah well.

   At first, Lando had seemed only encouraged by Natasha's terrifying smile--then again, he'd been pretty flirty with Leia at her most antagonistic, so that wasn't all that surprising. But that smile slipped when he heard Steve. He shook his hand firmly. "I'm so sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help?"

   "They were in this part of space sometime recently," Hondo called. "I'm finding the ship they may have landed on for my new friends here."

   "They're smart, they're resourceful, and you shouldn't fuck with either one of them," Tony said, "so I know they're fine, they're just having trouble getting home. So I am here to retrieve them." Or so he was going to continue to tell himself, anyway.

   "As far as we can tell,” Steve continued, "they came here about five hours ago."

   "Good, good," Hondo said. "That will make it easier to find the ship, yes?"

   "Hondo, I've got some time. I'd like to stick around and help, if you don't mind my company a little longer," Lando said.

   "Of course, of course," Hondo said. "Anything for my new friends."

   Steve narrowed his eyes again, although Tony wasn't sure why since he'd seen Empire Strikes Back too. "And… no offense. Mr. Calrissian, but what's in it for you?"

   "I don't like it when people hurt kids," he said quietly.

   "Okay," Tony said, "I'm just gonna reiterate that Emily's not a kid. I mean, she's my baby, she'll always be my baby, but she's twenty-five and she can kick you in the face from a standing start."

   "I taught her that," Natasha said, rather smugly. "She could also break a man's neck with her thighs. At least theoretically."

   "See?" Tony gestured at Natasha. "See? Also, Addie will just fuck you up."

   Thor nodded, solemnly. "Indeed, the Miss Starks are intimidating."

   "Still," Lando said. "At least one kid is in danger, even if she can hit back. I may be a lot of things, but I'm not a monster. That satisfy you, Rogers?"

   Thor straightened up to his considerable height and glared. "Captain Rogers," he said, "is worthy of being addressed by his title."

   Tony was ninety, ninety-five percent sure that Thor was just fucking with Lando, but he wasn't completely sure, so he was glad when Steve said, "It's fine. And sure, why not."

   "Sorry about that," Lando said, with an apologetic shrug. "I would've used it if I'd known it. Any luck, Hondo?"

   "Three ships came by around the right time," the pirate said. "One at about six hours, one at five, and one at four and a half."

   Thor settled down into a glare, but… no, the corner of his mouth was twitching a little. Yeah, he was fucking with the guy. Anyway, Tony had other things to worry about.

   "What kind of ships?" Tony asked, walking over to the scanners. He didn't know what he was looking at but he could guess. "Who do they belong to?"

   "Well, this first one--they are not my friends. Star Destroyer. The...Chimaera, I think."

   Tony frowned. He knew that name… right, Zahn. "When is this again?" he asked. "What's blown up most recently?"

   "I love that you track timelines through explosions," Steve murmured. Disturbingly, he sounded sincere, but Steve had weird taste in men, obviously.

   "There was a big one out near Yavin earlier," Hondo said. "I don't know what it is yet, I'm hoping my friends will tell me. This second one here--ah, false ID. It may take us some time to identify."

   "I'll work on that," Lando said. "I can at least figure out who made the fake transponder for you."

   The big one near Yavin was probably the Death Star, which meant the Emperor was still around, which meant it probably wasn't Grand Admiral Thrawn or Captain Pellaeon, which meant Tony really hoped his girls weren't on the Star Destroyer. "What kind of ship?" he asked.

   "Midsized freighter," Lando answered. "Looks like it's--"

   "Aha!" Hondo said, jabbing a finger at the third ship. "I know that ship! That is the Waterfall! They are my friends! Or, well, my friend's brother, who is almost my friend."

   Tony snorted. Steve choked. Thor looked vaguely hunted, and even Natasha looked vaguely amused. "Emphasis on almost," he said. "Who's your friend?"

   "Why, Kenobi, of course. I should call him, we haven't spoken in months--"

   "He's been trying to call you for an hour, Captain," one of the other Weequay said. "Our comms haven't been working too well since--"

   "Yes, yes, fine," he said, waving his hand in annoyance.

   "Uh," Tony said, because if Kenobi was who he thought he was… "Maybe you better call him back." Because he was like, 95% sure that Kenobi had died on the Death Star earlier.

   Judging from Steve's expression he'd just figured that out too. Thor just looked blank— Tony made a mental note to pick Star Wars for the next movie night— and Natasha kept her poker face as per usual.

   "He's hailing us again, Captain," the same Weequay said.

   "Kenobi has always had the best timing," Hondo said, and wandered over to the comm system. He pushed a few buttons and a grainy, wavery hologram of a bearded man appeared. He could very well have been Obi-Wan, but it was low-quality and hard to tell. "Kenobi, my friend! It has been too long."

   "Hond--I need--headed to--" There was some kind of interference or bad connection, but that was definitely Obi-Wan Kenobi's voice.

   "Huh," Tony said, intelligently.

   "Huh," Steve agreed, making Tony feel better about himself.

   "Kenobi, Kenobi, I can't hear you," Hondo said, gesturing dramatically at his ears. "Call me later." He hung up. "Anyway. If Kenobi and Skywalker picked up your girls, they're fine. I know those two almost as well as I know my men. The adventures we've had! Twenty years and more of them!"

   Tony stared at him for a moment before he remembered that the faceplate was down and thus it wasn't having the effect he wanted. "So… you didn't ask him if he had my girls because...."

   "I couldn't hear him anyway," Hondo said. "But he said 'need' and 'headed to,' so I think he needs a favor from Hondo, and is coming here. These conversations are much better face to face, yes?"

   "No," Tony said, "they're better when I know if my kids are okay," but there wasn't much he could do about it now. Not yet, anyway. "When's he going to get here?"

   "Hmmm, well..." Hondo glanced at the pirate manning the comm station.

   "Signal didn't come from far," she said. "Looks like he just dropped out of hyperspace. Should be here in a half-hour or so, on the outside. Depending on which ship he borrowed."

   "Fine," Tony said, and because he was a scientist and an impatient bastard, started a clock running inside his HUD because why not. "Half an hour."

   "In the meantime," Natasha said, "may I suggest contingency plans? How might one take down a Star Destroyer, for example?"

   Somehow Tony suspected she wasn't asking out of idle curiosity. It was something to do with the glee on her face.

   "I have never tried," Hondo admitted. "Shame, such a shame. But you can ask Kenobi when he gets here! He's done such things."

   "Are you taking it out from the outside or from inside?" Lando asked absently, still working on the fake ID for the third ship.

   "Either," Natasha said, and moved over to him. "Explain."

   Tony would have been intimidated by her looming, but then, Lando hadn't seen what she could do. Yet. He did anticipate Natasha beating up someone, if only because she was bored and hadn't been able to.

   "From outside, depends on what kind of firepower you're packing, and whether or not you're alone," Lando said. "From inside..." He looked over at her, and quirked a smile. "I'm guessing you're used to infiltration tactics. So, I'd get the specs and then sneak on board in a stolen uniform--you're too short to pass as a stormtrooper, but if you get a low-level army or navy officer uniform, you could probably bluff your way into the engine room and disable the hyperdrive. You'd probably only get to one vital system before you got caught, and that's where you'd want to start. That or the shields, but there are fewer redundancies on the hyperdrive. You'd still need someone on the outside to finish the job, and probably an extraction team, but you could do it. Corporal or something similar would probably be best for your cover. High enough that no one bothers you, low enough that people don't actually look to you for commands."

   Natasha thought about it for a moment. "Clint and I could do it in an hour," she said, after a minute. "Less if we had a lightsaber or repulsors, more if we were working with just his arrows and my knives."

   "A whole hour?" Tony asked, not quite joking. "You're slipping."

   "It's an unfamiliar ship," Natasha said, serenely.

   "Plus, those things are big," Lando said. "And your best infiltration points aren't all that close to the engine room, because the Empire's stupid about some things, but that ain't one of them. And if the rumors about the Super Star Destroyers they're building are true, those'll be even harder."

   "God<i>damn</i> I want one of those," Tony said.

   "No," Steve said, without looking around. He'd been taking lessons from Pepper, clearly.

   "All right," Lando said. "I know the guy who made this ID. He works all over the map, but given they were meeting up with the Waterfall, I'm guessing they're Alliance. Either that, or Skywalker's got an underworld contact that isn't you," he added, nodding to Hondo.

   The pirate looked scandalized. "Such a betrayal! I would never think it of him! But, then again, it is good business. On the other hand, Skywalker has never had a good business sense..."

   "Skywalker?" Steve asked, frowning. "Wait a minute..."

   "No," Tony interrupted, quickly. "I don't care. I don't care yet. Let's find the girls first and then we can care, okay?"

   "Okay," Steve said, "but I will care."

   "Fine," Tony said, waving a hand. "We can absolutely care then."

   Lando shrugged, and turned back to the third ship. "I'll keep working on this, see if I can confirm it's Alliance or not."

   "And if it is, we can make a deal with them!" Hondo said. "I like making deals with the Alliance. Nice people. Not much money, though."

   "Money I got," Tony said. "Money is not really a problem here."

   "Well," Steve said, thoughtfully, but he cut himself off almost immediately. "Hey, what's that?" He gestured at the scopes.

   "Looks like an X-wing," Lando said.

   "Might be Kenobi," Hondo added. "Is he hailing us again?"

   "Trying to, Captain," the pirate monitoring the comms said. "It's all choppy, though."

   Did Obi-Wan Kenobi fly an X-wing? Tony honestly couldn't remember because at that point in the movie he'd been yelling about the problems of fires in space until Emily kicked him in the ankle. "What's wrong with the comms?"

   "Oh, they keep breaking, ever since that mess last year on Ordo Plutonia," Hondo said, waving a hand.

   Gah, it was driving him nuts. Tony got down on his knees and peered under the console for a minute, before he held a hand out and said, "Screwdriver. Did anyone look at this? The wiring's all fucked up and crossways but I can fix it." Something else to think about beside his children, missing… yeah, okay, wiring.

   "Better do it," Steve advised Hondo. "He'll just tear it apart otherwise."

   Hondo paused for a second. "Well, all right then." He clapped his hands twice. "Come, come, get the shiny metal man a screwdriver!"

   One of the pirates complied, dropping one into Tony's outstretched hand.

   "Thanks," Tony said absently, already poking around the wiring. Oh, yeah, some of them were just cross-plugged. It looked like… "Did this get thrown around or something? Because it looks like somebody just plugged these back in any which way."

   "Uh, more or less?" Hondo said. "Why, did we do it wrong?"

   "Way wrong," Tony said. It might have come out really muffled, he wasn't sure. "It's like you screwed up the whole AC/DC circuit except that's not what's going on at all."

   He barely heard Steve tell Hondo, "He's like this. Just nod and smile."

   "Ah, I'm good at that!" Hondo said, then laughed again.

   "X-wing transponder matches Alliance codes," the pirate on comms said. "Odds are good it's Kenobi. Should I let him land, boss?"

   "Yes, yes," Hondo said. "Let him come!"

   Tony tweaked a couple of wires, swapped another pair, screwed one loose nut back into place and then came out again. "Okay, try it now, should be good." He absently stuck the screwdriver in his gauntlet sleeve.

   Hondo pushed a couple of buttons, and a much-clearer hologram appeared. It was definitely Obi-Wan Kenobi--but he looked younger than he should have, if the Death Star just blew, by at least a decade. "Hondo. I'm just coming into your docking bay. Shall we hold off until I can see you face-to-face?"

   Interesting, Tony thought, staring at the hologram. Amazing what twenty years of not being on a desert planet would do to a man.

   "Yes, yes," Hondo said. "I was just making sure the shiny metal man fixed my comms. I will see you soon!"

   "...Hondo--"

   He flipped a switch, cutting the connection.

   "Am I going to be shiny metal man forever?" Tony asked. "I ask purely out of curiosity, since I do have a name and you can use it, weird pirate man."

   "You are as soon as I tell Clint about it," Natasha said, sounding annoyingly pleased. Tony flipped her off and then hid behind Steve.

   "Well, you are a shiny metal man," Hondo said. "And I am a weird pirate man, too!"

   "So everyone is pleased!" boomed Thor. Tony jumped, having either forgotten that Thor was there or lost track of him or SOMETHING. "This is excellent! You may call me mighty lightning man."

   "Mighty lightning man?" Hondo asked. "Why are you the mighty lightning man, eh?"

   Thor grinned, and raised Mjolnir, but then apparently thought better of it before anyone said anything. "Alas, I cannot demonstrate in here."

   "He'd fry us all," Tony said. "Well. You all. I'm grounded."

   Steve choked at that, and then said, "No you're not."

   Tony flipped him off too.

   Hondo looked almost as disappointed as Thor did. "Some other time, then, yes?"

   "When we are not surrounded by metal," Thor said, and bowed. "It would be my pleasure, Weird Pirate Man."

   Tony could hear the capitals.

   "I look forward to it, Mighty Lightning Man," Hondo said, with an extravagant bow of his own. His monkey-parrot thing chittered and danced a little bit on his shoulder.

   "Oh, my God," Tony said, to no one in particular. "Thor's made a friend."

[alyricalberry]

Building Bridges || Sebchel

Who: @alyricalberry & @bismythe 

When: October 16, 2018

Where: NYADA, outside Florence Farr

What: Rachel runs into Sebastian outside of her classes and they get to talking.

Warnings: None

Sebastian sits outside of Florence Farr, looking effortlessly cool in an all-black ensemble that helps him appear A) subtle and B) seductive. Subtlety is the important thing for a change. He's been hogging this bench for the past hour in this exact spot (despite another pair of students pointedly edging closer and closer until leaving in a huff, score Sebastian) absolutely crushing Little Alchemy on his phone and keeping a watch at the main door to the building. Any minute Rachel Barbra Berry should emerge, and Sebastian will be ready. Of course there are multiple doors to the building, but after a few promising conversations with classmates and random students, he's fairly certain he's in the right place to catch her after whatever she does there on the weekends. Personally, Sebastian doesn't think it's any of his business when a Bloodline family produces a "lost child" to bring into the fold, but unfortunately hers is not just any family. SmytheCo. has been steadily crushing the Corcoran family since before Sebastian was born and his father - his father, a troglodyte who barely comprehends the existence of multiple social media platforms -- texted him to keep an eye on the situation, so that's what he's going to do. Sebastian pauses his game play long enough for a full body stretch and a less covert glance of his surroundings. Not seeing -- or hearing, he's been assured he'll hear her long before he sees her -- Rachel, he snaps his Xtra Patience Infused gum between his molars and settles in for another round of waiting.

Rachel had spent her Saturday mostly as she normally did, which was by rehearsing in one if the Florence Farr study rooms. It had been a tradition of hers since she’d started at NYADA. Every Saturday, two hours if vocal rehearsal followed by dance practice after lunch. It was true that her dance practice bad fallen to the wayside lately, and that was mostly because she’d developed a new habit, which consisted mostly of pacing in front of Shelby Corcoran’s office doors. Sometimes Rachel almost got the courage to knock on the door to see if the woman—her mother—would speak to her. But Rachel knew it was a fruitless endeavour. Whenever Rachel tried to speak to Shelby after a class, she would deftly sweep away, pretending she hadn’t heard her. It was clear to Rachel Shelby had no intention of ever being more than her professor, but that still didn’t stop Rachel from wanting it. She was getting to know her grandparents, which was wonderful, but there were questions she had that only Shelby could answer, like questions about her father. But Rachel could never get past that wall Shelby had put up between them. And so after having spent near an hour pacing the hall outside Shelby’s office, Rachel gave up, like she usually did, knowing she would probably never have the courage to try to talk to her mother. And today, for some reason, the thought made her more upset than usual. She quickly walked out of Florence Farr and collapsed in the nearest bench she could find, not noticing the student dressed in all black already occupying half of it. She buried her face in her hands and let out a long sigh, trying to shake off the latest wave of disappointment at how her life was turning out.

Sebastian suppresses his instinctive reaction to seeing a person in emotional distress, which is usually telling them to take that shit elsewhere. Instead he pauses his game and calls upon the same mantra he's been using for years: Fake it 'til you make it. "Hey, uh," he says softly, just enough to catch her attention, "are you okay? Normally, I wouldn't ask but with everything going on," he trails off, looking away. Sebastian can be charming when he wants to be; put him with a group of people at a party, and they'll be MagicMorph in his hands before the night is over. Sebastian just needs an opening and if Feelings are his way in, then that's just what he's going to have to do.

Rachel jumped when she heard someone speak to her. She looked up and vaguely recognized him from Tumblr, and from Blaine talking about him. “Um, hi. You’re Sebastian, right?” She asked. She pushed her hair behind her ears and sat up straighter. “I’m fine, really. Some days are just a little tougher than others with everything going on, you know with finding out I’m a secret Bloodline, and my biological mother having absolutely no interest in talking to me. It’s... a lot,” she said with a bitter laugh. “Sorry, I don’t mean to unload all this on you, I know we barely know each other,” she added, wiping discreetly at her eyes.

Sebastian blinks. "Yeah, no, that sounds like a lot," he replies, to give himself time to re-evalute his strategy. Well. That was easier than he thought it would be. He expected a little hesitation before he could tease out the problem, but this is even better. "It's fine, really," Sebastian says, and realizes he might sound too eager. He clears his throat. Slow and easy does it, Sebastian. He repeats, in a calmer fashion, "It's fine, really. Sometimes people find it easier to talk to strangers to get an outside perspective." He shrugs, opening his messenger-style bag to retrieve his toiletries bag. He takes out his Magic Refresher Towel -- guaranteed to remove signs of tears without messing up her make up -- and hands it to her. "Nice to meet you. It's Rachel, right? We're, uh, mutuals on tumblr or something?" As if he doesn't know that already. "I'm sorry she doesn't want to talk to you. I'm sure you have important questions for her. If you don't mind me asking," Sebastian begins slowly, "if she won't talk to you, how did you find out?"

Rachel couldn't help but smile at Sebastian's sympathizing with her. It was nice having someone who would just listen to her. Even if he was a stranger. She accepted the towel from her and gently dabbed her eyes. "Thank you, and yes, that's me. You're friends with Blaine, right? He used to live in the room beside mine in Zephyrus, before he randomly moved to Notos. I still don't know what that's about," she told him. She pondered answering his question for a second. He wasn't the only student who'd ask her about all the drama that had unfolded in her life lately. But Santana's video was floating around somewhere so what was the point in hiding it. "Well, my grandparents—Caroline and Jacob Corcoran, I don't know if you've heard of them?—they found out about me somehow and had me watched by a bodyguard for a while before they decided to have him very publicly announce that I was the long lost Corcoran heir. That was a fun day," she said, somewhat bitterly. "Anyways, they're the ones I have contact with. Ms. Corcoran isn't very interested in having a relationship with her daughter, apparently. But that's okay. At least I have my grandparents, right?"

"Of a sort," Sebastian replies. Even though there really isn't much to say, he figures it can't hurt to give her some extra information. "I moved around a lot as a kid, so we haven't had a chance to catch up. Notos is located in the heart of campus and is a popular place for NYADA students to socialize, study, dine, and then tuck away high into the clouds for rest. I mean," -- is he quoting the brochure? He's quoting the brochure -- "It's also pretty secure from what I understand. Not the worst move to make." He nods thoughtfully. "One of the Corcorans usually attend one of the events hosted by my family, but they're pretty attached to their reclusive mystique. I'm surprised they decided to announce it so publicly. I couldn't begin to understand how you feel." No, really, Sebastian would be mortified to find out he was a Corcoran, but that's because he's already a Smythe. A downgrade like that? No, thanks. "At least you have your grandparents," Sebastian agrees, thinking it over. So her grandparents are onboard but their daughter isn't? Interesting. "Maybe their daughter just needs time to come around. You said you were adopted, right? If your grandparents are the ones who approached you, then maybe she just needs time to get over the shock of your... introduction into Bloodline Society the same way you do. And if not? Well, what can you do? Her loss."

"I get that it's just... it doesn't seem very Blaine-like for him to have up and moved like that. He and his roommate really got along. I just can't help but feel like something's up," Rachel explained, but decided to let the subject drop. She listened to Sebastian speak and couldn't help but smile. It was nice to have someone sympathize with her and actually understand what she was going through. "I know that. I know it's her loss. It still hurts, you know? Like I'm being completely rejected by my own mother," she told him. "But I am grateful to have my grandparents, at least. They've been so nice. I take it you don't really know much about them? No one else really seems to either. Maybe that's why they wanted to make it so public, to start being seen more in Bloodline society? I don't even know. I'm still very new to all this Bloodline stuff," she chuckled. "Anyways, I'm sorry to be dumping all this on you. Thank you for listening, Sebastian. I really do appreciate it."

Sebastian shrugs because what he does and does not think about Blaine Anderson is a para for another time. "You should trust your intuition," he says, without much feeling. That's like advise 101, right? He somehow keeps his expression sympathetic as he listens to Rachel pouring her heart out. Hopefully this isn't going to be a regular thing. "The Corcorans are pretty reclusive, so what I know is courtesy of the Bloodline Magic Gloryvine." He pretends to think for a moment, hoping enough time has passed for him the idea to seem spur of the moment instead of as a the manipulation for permanent openings for future conversations that it is. "Hey, I am the master of useless genealogy trivia- I can't really help with your mom, but if you need any advice on navigating all of the 'Bloodline stuff,' I'm happy to provide assistance. We bloodlines have to stick together, right?" he says, easing himself a little closer.

Rachel couldn't help but smile at Sebastian's words. "Thank you, Sebastian. That's actually really kind of you to offer," she said. She leaned into him when he scooted closer. "I think that would be great. God knows I could use the help," she added with a chuckle. "Give me your phone. I'll give you my number and we can meet up for coffee or something? I have to be going to my next class..."

[storiesaboutcole]

If You Want To

Description: You were locked out of your apartment and Cole randomly appears to save the night.

Your night just couldn’t get any worse. You lost your purse at the bar, your phone died and now you’re locked out of your own apartment. You kept on hitting the buzzer but to no avail. You groaned out loud, devastated, knowing that your roommate was not at home yet. You tried buzzing your neighbours too, but they thought you were just some random drunk who’s trying to enter the building.

“Fuck off!” the guy from unit 7A told you without even trying to hear you out.

With no money or whatsoever, you were beginning to accept the fact that the only thing that you could do was to wait out in the cold. You sat on the doorstep, admitting defeat. Then the most hopeful thing happened to you. You looked up and saw the window to your bedroom open. Your unit is just a storey up anyway. You could just climb up, you thought to yourself. Delighted, you began to study the surrounding as you slowly lay out the strategy in your head. You mentally thank yourself for wearing a pair of jeans instead of a dress.

“I can do this,” you told yourself as you take of your shoes, stepping on the handrail of the staircase. You tried reaching out to the window apron above you, but since you’re rather small, it was just too high for you. You quickly looked to the left and thought maybe you should try stepping on your neighbour’s apron first to give you the height you needed. And so you did, while praying that your neighbour was fast asleep. 

“Yes!” you celebrated when your hands could finally reach the apron above you. You just needed to lift yourself up but it was so much harder than you thought it would be. You began to panic and struggled with balance a little bit as your feet wobbled on the apron below. You took a calming breath and recomposed yourself.

“You can do this, [Y/N]. You can do this,” you exhaled.

You tried lifting your weight again, and this time, you brilliantly placed your foot on the little space in between the concrete wall like how you would while rock climbing. It worked! You lifted another foot and almost screamed your victory when you suddenly heard a siren from behind you. You turned around to look and saw a policeman approaching the entrance.

“No! No! No!” you cried to yourself.

“Miss, can you step away from the window please,” the officer sternly told you. He was in his 30s, early 40s maybe.

Panicking, you quickly abide to what the officer told you to do.

“Miss, I believe you are trying to trespass,” he said.

“Me? No, Mr Police, sir. I was just trying to get to my room. You see, I’m locked out,” you nervously swallowed.

With his eyebrows all furrowed, he immediately asked for your ID. “Can I see some ID, please?”

“I don’t have it with me. You see, my purse got stollen in the bar. My phone is dead. And I’m freezing to death out here officer,” you explained.

The officer looked like he wasn’t buying anything you were saying. You just knew whatever he was about to say would mean you’re dead. Perhaps the earth would just open up and swallow to your death already.

“From what I see, you’re attempting to enter the premise without permission, Miss. I might need to bring you to the station. Maybe you can get a friend to come and help you out there,” he told you.

“What? No! I am not going to follow some stranger in a car. Especially a guy in uniform!” 

“Miss, I am not going to allow anyone trespass this property without solid proof,’ he remained cool. “Now, would you please follow me to the station.”

You violently shook your head, nearly crying, thinking why on earth would you be arrested for trying to climb up your own bedroom window.

“Is everything alright?” A voice asked from behind. Both you and the police officer looked at the man behind you. He was flashing the biggest smile that you felt offended by it.”Did you get yourself locked out again, hun?”

You were puzzled by him. So was the police officer. You swore you have seen him somewhere before, but you just couldn’t wrap your head around it just yet, considering the fact that you’re worried shit about being taken to the police station.

“You know her?” the officer asked the guy.

“Of course. She is my girlfriend. We live here together. You have to forgive her because she can be a bit forgetful, sometimes. It’s not her first time,” he grinned, winking at you as he placed his arms around you, pulling you in closer. That caught you off guard.

The police officer carefully studied the both of you before he finally resigned.

“Alright then. I guess we are all good. Don’t climb the premise ever again,” the police officer scolded you. You turned bright red in embarrassment, as you watched the police officer returned to his vehicle. 

“That was easy,” the guy next to you chuckled. His arm was still around you, so you quickly released yourself from him. “Oh, sorry!” he shyly smiled. “I’m Cole.”

“[Y/N],” you nodded. “Thank you for saving me.”

“So, are you really locked out or were you really trying to break into the apartment? I overheard you and the officer. Thought of helping.”

“What, you don’t believe what I told the officer?” you gave him a side eye.

“Of course I do,” he chuckled. “Just making sure.”

“Do you live here?” You asked him, hoping that he was so you could slide into the building with his help.

“Unfortunately, no. So, technically, you’re still locked out. Sorry,” he bit his lip.

“Damn it,” you whispered, but he heard you anyway.

“Do you want to go for a walk or something? I mean, it’s too cold and dangerous to wait out here,” he offered.

“No, thanks. How would I know if you’re not a serial killer or something?”

Your question made him laugh. 

“Well, alright then. Waiting out here won’t guarantee you that you’d be safe from other serial killers, so...” he laughed. “Your choice. I won’t bite. I promise,’ he held his hands in the air.

You studied Cole for a minute. You began to think that he might not cause any harm. 

“Okay, okay.” you sighed, as you started walking. Cole made a little run to catch your pace. He was obviously delighted.

“Do you even live around here?” you couldn’t help but wonder.

“No,” he shook his head.

“Then what are you even doing here?” you asked with furrowed brows.

“I mean, I used to live around here, but I moved away. I’m just mainly here for work nowadays,” he explained.

“Oh, really? What do you do? Sell drugs on the street?” you chuckled.

“Hey, do I look like I belong to a drug cartel?” he laughed. 

“Maybe,” you chuckled.

“Let me remind you that it was not me that nearly got arrested,” he teased.

“Hey!” you playfully smacked his arm.

“Ouch!” he playfully looked over at you. You blushed when you realized that he he was actually really cute.

“So, [Y/N], what do you do?” You shook your head, and reminded him, “Uh-uh. No way. I asked you first!”

“Okay,” he nervously chuckled. “I’m... I’m a photographer.”

“Really? Wait.” you abruptly stopped your tracks and looked up at him so you could scrutinize his face. You were sure that you’ve seen him somewhere.

“What?” he flushed.

“I think I’ve seen you somewhere, but I just couldn’t remember where.”

“Probably my twin,” he scoffed, like he was telling an inside joke. “Your turn.”

“Don’t laugh, okay?” you warned him.

“Okay.”

“I’m a blogger.”

“Really? Are you one of those influencers they called these days?”

“Hey! I told you not to laugh!”

“I am not!” he chuckled as he took out his phone. You two were standing in the middle of the footpath as passersby walked pass the both of you. “What’s your Instagram? Let me add you up.”

You hesitated, but since Cole was really nice to you, you decided to give him the details he wanted. “It’s [your username]. I’d follow you back, but my phone’s dead.”

“Don’t worry about it, [your full name]. You’re a good influencer because you’ve influenced me to follow your Gram! And, whoa! 30k followers. So, you’re famous!” 

“Ah, stop it Cole!” you rolled your eyes. 

Laughing, he asked, “Hey, do you want to grab coffee or something? There’s a coffee shop downtown that I really like. On me. Given your purse situation.”

“It’s not like I have anywhere else to go anyway,” you shrugged.

The both of you shared more random stuff about each other as you made your way to the coffee shop. You really liked how warm and inviting Cole was. He made you feel like you have known him for such a long time.

Cole was about to open the door to the coffee shop when he was suddenly stopped by a couple of girls at the entrance.

“Cole! Oh my god!” one of the girls squealed.

“Hey ya!” Cole warmly smiled. 

“I won’t take much of your time, but if you could, please. Can we take a photo with you?” the other one excitedly asked. You were puzzled by their reaction. And seeing how gladly Cole was to take a photo with the girls, you began to wonder if he’s famous or something.

“Thank you so much, Cole!” both the girls said in unison. They didn’t even realized you were standing behind them when thet walked away, still squealing in joy.

“Sorry about that,” Cole told you as he opened the door for you.

“Are you like famous or something?” you said mimicking him.

He hesitated to answer. He bit his lower lip and starred at you. “I wouldn’t say that. I mean, if I were, then you’d recognize me. But, you didn’t.”

I heard faint whispers as we sat at one of the tables by the window. 

“Oh my god, is that Cole Sprouse?”

“He’s so hot.”

“Who is he with?”

“Make him look here.”

You could tell that Cole was pretending not to hear.

“Cole, do you mind if I borrow your phone?” you asked.

“Yeah, sure,” he handed it to you, with no questions asked.

You began to google Cole Sprouse. And you’re instincts were right. Cole was indeed famous. Not because he was a photographer. But because he was a famous actor.

“Are you going to tell me that you’re an actor or not? Now I get why people are excited about bumping into you.” you showed him the search results on his phone.

“You googled me?” he tilted his head. “On my phone?”

“Yeah, I had to. I overheard they said your name and got curious. So, why lied?”

“[Y/N], I didn’t mean to lie. I mean, I really am a photographer. It’s just... it’s just awkward for me to tell someone I’ve just met that I’m an actor. I don’t want to sound like an asshole. I’m sorry,” he gave you a sad puppy face.

“Well, okay then.”

“Really? You’re not mad at me?” 

“Why would I? It’s cool that you’re not one of those hey I’m famous look at me, look at me type.”

“I don’t know. I have to be honest with you. This is probably the first time that I meet someone who doesn’t know who I am or what I do and I really like it. It makes me feel like you want to talk to me because I’m me, you know? Not just because you know me as an actor or something. It’s refreshing, to say the least,” he warmly smiled.

You started to feel bad for him. It must have been tough to be him.

“Is your hair actually blonde?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “I had to dye it black for a character.”

“Oh my god! You have a twin brother!”

“Yeah, I do. I told you that before. Okay, enough with googling stuff about me. Now, let’s talk more about you.”

“Nope,” you shook your head. “Let’s play a game instead.”

“Okay?” he said, confused.

“21 Questions.”

“Really? That’s your game? You’ve been asking me tonnes of questions before we even play this game.” Cole looked around cautiously, chuckling.

“Are you afraid, Cole Sprouse? It’ll be fair for the both of us. You get to ask me questions and I get to ask you some. Fair, isn’t it?”

“Okay. Fine. Bring it on. You first,” he said as he stretched his arms. 

“What was the last photo you took?”

“Good question. Hmm, a photo of my cast members. Okay. I guess, it’s my turn. If you couldn’t be convicted of any one type of crime, what criminal charge would you like to be immune to?”

“You just love to torture me, don’t you? Hmm. Probably trespassing,” you laughed. 

“That’s a good answer,” Cole joined your laughter. “[Y/N], which celebrity do you think is the most down to earth?”

“Is that a trick question? You want me to say it’s you, don’t you?” 

“I mean, is it not true?” he laughed.

“You’re impossible, Cole! Okay, okay. What do you need help with most often?”

“Shutting up, because I tend to talk a lot! What were you completely certain of until you found out you were wrong?”

His questions never failed to make you laugh. “Climbing my bedroom window apparently, without a doubt.”

The both of you ended asking more that 21 questions. It just went on and on, from politics, to entertainment, to your favorite cartoon characters. You then realized that it was really late. 

“Okay, last few questions because it’s late!” you announced. “What topic could you spend hours talking about?”

Cole paused for a bit like he was constructing his answer. “I don’t mind talking about you for hours. I mean, technically, we just did,” he admitted. That made you flush. And awkward. He just sat in front of you, eyeing you from across the table. Not in a creepy way though. In a way that gave you butterflies in your tummy kind of way. He cleared his throat when he realized that you looked uncomfortable and quickly asked his question. “Do you like things to be carefully planned or do you prefer to just go with the flow?”

“Go with the flow, I guess. What’s something that you know is true, but you don’t like to admit it?”

Cole looked at you again and smiled. “Probably the fact that I kinda like bumping into you tonight.”

You didn’t say anything. Your heart was racing because you felt the same way, but was just too shy to admit it. 

“Can we see each other again after tonight?” Cole asked.

“Cole... Are we still playing the game because it doesn’t sound like the right question,” you swallowed.

‘I’m sorry,” he shyly said, looking a bit disappointed. You kinda felt bad for making him mistook your awkwardness as disinterest. “I’ll ask a different question then. What’s wrong but sounds right?”

You eyed him before you answered. “That maybe, we can start exchanging numbers?” you boldly suggested.

Surprised, Cole smiled to himself like he was finally being asked the question he wanted to hear. He looked down at his cup, as a few strands of his hair brushed his face, before looking at you again. You were smiling warmly at him, patiently waiting for him to answer as he returned your smile.

“I thought you’d never ask. Only if you want to, [Y/N]. Only if you want to.”