#and the boys as. i guess their only real roadblock? | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

yeschefthankyouchef · 1 year ago

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ugh. even though it was a “tame” chapter you still ripped my heart out and all the groundwork you laid here has me sweating in anticipation.

i also randomly remembered that this masterpiece wasn’t always going to be a full fic with fleshed out lore and i’m grateful to be in the timeline where you continue to bless us with more barby (even if it’s angsty as hell) ((i love the angst))

“But she’d always make sure you knew how easy it was for a person to walk out of your life. She liked to remind you that you couldn’t control other people’s actions, and just because you were important to someone today, didn’t mean those same feelings would transcend into tomorrow.”

okay so this is so beautiful in that her mom gave her the advice that she would need to hear regarding her present situation with carmy before it was relevant and before she died - it’s like she’s speaking to her from the grave. mother baby was giving her the tools before baby even knew she what she would need them for.

“The expiration date for whatever the fuck was going on between you and Carmy fastly approaching.”

god FUCKING damnit, how did you know that relationships with a clock/expiration date are my weakness? i hate to love the angst but god do i love the angst

“You had made a colossal mistake. Who did you think you were to bring people who cooked for a living a sweet and savory cobbler?”

yeah no baby is so much stronger than i, i feel like i would be embarrassed to go grocery shopping in front of any of them - let alone cook for them

“His eyes found two bears he would know fucking anywhere, the amount of times you forced him to watch that movie with you and Mikey drove him fucking insane.”

this is so sweet!! i love the brother bear nods they are so adorable to me

“If working here with Carmen meant every interaction would be like pulling teeth, you’d make sure to ignore him like the plague.”

he just like me fr (socially inept)

“Nat constantly made it obvious that she missed the constant sweets you would bake just for her.”

i just had the most disgustingly sweet thought of nat’s pregnancy cravings consisting of Baby’s Desserts™️ and nothing else

“he was situated across from you, and no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t remember ever teaching you how to make a peach simple syrup”

omg hes so jealous

“Carmy knew he didn’t hate you, but it was hard for him to look at you and not see the relationship he wanted with his brother. He didn’t blame you, but he resented the way it seemed so easy for Mikey to love you, to be open with you.”

carmy is the king of standing in his own way - this is such a major roadblock he’s going to have to get over before him and baby can have any chance at a happy ending

“I guess I say all of this to say I owe this article to Mikey, maybe if I had just picked up the fucking phone he’d still be here with us.”

this is so traumatic to live with, and this whole speech of hers was so impactful and raw.

“What really prickled her curiosity though, was a picture of the two of you strategically placed above the stove”

i love that the only real identifier in his apartment of who he is is of him and baby, that’s just really tugging at my heartstrings. i am a slut for the man who hates everything but his partner trope. ANNNNDDDDDD now we get to see wingwoman sydney blossom!!

“To forget a girl like you would be criminal,”

carmy is so lucky that baby has a thing for emotionally unavailable men because otherwise he would have no chance up against our golden boy hayden. also i think i’m back to imagining hayden as bradley bradshaw bc he gives the strongest divorcee energy to me lol

“Finding his destination Carmy made his way down the aisle, stopping as he saw you laughing with a man he didn’t recognize.”

YES LET THE JEALOUSY BEGIN!!!!!!!!!! oh my god i’m so excited about this it’s embarrassing

“He wanted a lot more than what the two of you allowed to transpire all these years.”

than the TWO OF YOU?? allowed?? my boy really thinks that nothing more transpiring was a mutual decision?? his head is so full yet so empty at the same time

“Carmy’s thoughts ran so wild with you as he entertained Claire’s conversation”

fuck i forgot that it would more likely be a love square than it would be a love triangle. stupid boy knows nothing but how to be a stupid boy.

chapter five | we keep this love in a photograph

masterlist | ↢ previous chapter | next chapter ↣

summary: as plans are set in motion and renovations move forward, carmy finds himself entangled with the thought of you.

wc: 7.1k

It was 4 am, and the heat from your oven warmed the kitchen. The biscuits lined up nicely on the cooling rack, You hadn’t given much thought to the task at hand, too busy trying to remove yourself from the guilt-ridden thoughts that plagued your mind most nights.

Peach juice coated your hands, the rhythmic act of peeling them helped you to silence the foreboding thoughts fighting their way to the forefront of your brain.

The handwritten recipe card was placed strategically out of the way to not get ruined while you worked around the kitchen. You were no chef that much was obvious, but your mom taught you the art of cooking from a very young age. Instilled in you a sense of independence.

Standing in your kitchen as the night began its metamorphosis into day, you couldn’t help but reminisce about the role your mom played in your life. As a single parent, your mom was adamant about you knowing how to live life without having to depend on the goodwill of others. And even when the Berzattos entered your life, she made sure that you were never too comfortable.

You were allowed to spend as much time with the family as your heart desired, your mom wanted you to understand and enjoy human connection. But she’d always make sure you knew how easy it was for a person to walk out of your life. She liked to remind you that you couldn’t control other people’s actions, and just because you were important to someone today, didn’t mean those same feelings would transcend into tomorrow. To take a little, but never too much, to allow a certain level of comfort but always remember your role in other people’s lives is never as important as you may think.

All the peeled peaches sat atop the cutting board, awaiting the moment they would be pitted and cut into symmetrical slices.

Parents, either unknowingly or not, pass down their own beliefs and ideas to their children. Children who were essentially sponges waiting to soak up whatever knowledge and information was thrown their way. You knew this first hand, your mom’s need for independence is the same flaw that now afflicted you even into adulthood.

The independence that was so far from what you craved growing up, so drilled into you by your mother, that you instead hid behind your dependency on the Berzatto family.

That same need for independence that you had finally given in to and had almost killed you five months ago.

While your mom saw her life lessons as a teaching moment to never overstay your welcome. You easily disregarded it growing up, how could she not expect you to live in your vulnerability, to depend on people she had so easily allowed to love you and take up space in your life?

You didn’t blame your mom for allowing you to know the Berzattos but you blamed her for the part of you that would always remember her words. Always make you second guess if your actions affected people the way theirs did you.

Her words once again made an appearance when Carmy first distanced himself from you and finally made a permanent home in your head when Mikey passed away.

A shrill beep alerted you, the oven was ready. The peaches are pristinely cut, along with the previously made peach simple syrup both awaiting use.

Gingerly adding all the ingredients to your Dutch oven, you placed the lilac pot into the oven before beginning to clean up the mess you made.

You knew your mom did her best raising you with the hand she was dealt. Your father, a shadow you’d never know. Her own life experiences an excuse to protect you from the world, from yourself.

As her health deteriorated, you watched your mom's outlook on life become less skewed. But what good would that do you? The little girl you once were absorbed her constant message and stored it in the back of your mind for safekeeping, awaiting the day such a pessimistic ideal system might one day be put to use.

The timer on your oven was ticking down, the hoard of minutes left until the peach cobbler was done brought on a feeling of despair. Watching the timer dwindle minute after minute felt like a metaphor for your life at the moment.

Time was running out, and maybe that wasn’t true but you sure as hell did feel that way. The time you had left to confess your shortcomings to Richie quickly passed by. The expiration date for whatever the fuck was going on between you and Carmy fastly approaching.

You couldn’t allow these things to continue festering in your life. The weight of them exhausting you, you couldn’t keep pushing on like everything was okay like nothing had changed between any of you.

Choices you made inadvertently affected them just as much as they affected you. You didn’t want this wall between you and them anymore, and even if the wall was nonexistent to them; it was very much real to you.

You would figure things out, you had to. There was no time like the present to commit yourself to fixing the lives you had messed up.

It was easy though walking through life as if you hadn’t ruined anyone else’s. It was almost like you hadn’t, if they weren’t privy to your vices, was there any point in coming clean? Any point in apologizing to them?

Those thoughts were wrong and you knew it. You had to admit your wrongdoings to yourself, to understand why the people you loved the most in life were deserving of an apology, because if you didn’t you would constantly spend the rest of your days justifying why your actions were okay.

Justifying the fact that because you didn’t mean to overdose, that made everything you did okay. That, because you were just going through a mentally tough time in your life, turning to stimulants to aid your grief, was fine. That you were trying to forget for all the right reasons.

Reality was though, there was no right reason for the choices you had been making this whole time. And that was something you still had to come to terms with.

Closing your eyes, your head fell back, face pointed towards the kitchen ceiling. A tired sigh escaped your lips, the exhaustion of recovery taking its toll on you. Tired of standing in the kitchen and being berated by your mind you decided to begin outlining the exposè you were hoping to write on The Bear.

Busying your mind was the easiest option right now, too much unnecessary thinking put you back into the mindset that got you into this mess. Silencing any unwanted thoughts was no longer an option for you, but focusing on something else was proving to work for the time being.

You had made a colossal mistake. Who did you think you were to bring people who cooked for a living a sweet and savory cobbler? That wasn’t your initial plan when you couldn’t sleep this morning and decided to bake. But after removing the dish from your oven allowing the aromas to swim through the foundation of your house, you couldn’t bring yourself to keep it.

A dish that was introduced to you through your mom and the lineage the both of you carried. A dish that Mikey would always want for, but never expect when you did make it for him. A dish that you had spent countless times baking with Carmy by your side the two of you messing up the recipe more than once.

A dish that you once loved so much, but after your mom's death it always tasted like something was missing. And now baking it for the first time since Mikey’s passing you couldn’t even stomach the sickly sweet smell of it.

Walking through the lot to the back door, you were unsurprised to find it unlocked. Entering, you began walking through the kitchen making your way to the counter to place the pastel Dutch oven, the tote bag with vanilla ice cream you picked up on your way there following quickly after.

You weren’t sure who was already here at this time but thought it’d be a nice thing to do by offering them a bowl of the diabetes-inducing dessert. The chunky knit cardigan you were wearing was relegated to the stool next to you, the kitchen felt unusually warm, or maybe that was just your body's natural reaction to being in the restaurant.

Since Carmy had taken over the joint you couldn’t pretend you knew where anything was located. You knew Carmy to be the type of person to run a tight ship, expecting a certain standard from his co-workers.

Searching through the various storage spaces lining the kitchen, you unconsciously bobbed your head to the music singing through your headphones lost to the angelic voice streaming into your ears.

Locating a stack of clear containers you grabbed them before searching for any utensils to eat with, trying four drawers before finding and pulling out a mix of forks and spoons. Finally making your way back to the counter you began ripping the plastic from the store-bought ice cream.

The noise in the kitchen alerted Carmy, the time on his phone signifying that it must’ve been Syd. Inching toward the kitchen he stopped for a moment to check the monthly timelines that were hanging in the front. Every day was filled with a new task, it would be do or die from here on out to even think about opening in six months.

Making his way into the kitchen he stopped the body taking up space notably not Sydney. Your head bobbed up and down to whatever was playing through your headphones. The quiet hum of your voice easily met his ears in the silent kitchen.

He watched as you raised a spoon into your mouth, confused as to why you were in his kitchen this early in the morning. The closed-off kitchen setup didn’t allow him to see what's taking up your attention.

Quietly maneuvering around to get a better view of you, the sudden thought that this may have been an invasion of privacy quickly crossed his mind. He was moments away from leaving you to your own devices before he spotted the scars painted down your right arm. The deepest one tracing from the top of your tricep to your elbow.

Small cuts littered around the larger one, almost like the smaller ones were put there as accent pieces to the main scar. Carmy couldn’t help but wonder what the fuck happened to you after you left his apartment that night, looking from afar it looked as though someone had gone at you with a broken beer bottle or something.

The movement of your arm drew his attention to the reflection of light off of the tape-like bandage above your elbow. His eyes found two bears he would know fucking anywhere, the amount of times you forced him to watch that movie with you and Mikey drove him fucking insane.

Seeing you in this kitchen reminded him of when you were teenagers. It was hard to come to terms with it but he resented you for working at The Beef, resented Mikey even more for allowing you to. It wasn’t fair to you, the more he thought about it the more he realized a lot of the shit he did and felt wasn’t fair to you when you were both younger.

Carmy made his way around the counter you were working at, stopping in front of you the only thing separating the two of you was the steel slab of metal. He wasn’t sure how to get your attention, not wanting to startle you. Standing there watching you shovel what he now knew to be peach cobbler, the nutmeg and cinnamon aroma delicately caressing his nostrils.

The scent easily transported him back to all the moments the two of you spent in borrowed kitchens making this exact dessert.

You were so caught up in the music blaring through your headphones that you hadn’t realized the presence standing in front of you. You jumped spoon clanging against the table as a tattooed hand reached out for the no longer empty container housing the contents of your homemade cobbler and store-bought ice cream.

“Jesus fuck Carmen!” A hand raised to clutch at your chest, you understood how Tina felt yesterday after you snuck up on her. You quickly pulled the headphones off dropping them onto the counter, “Why the fuck are you sneaking around and shit?”

Carmy stared at you blankly, eyebrows raised before his head nodded toward the bowl he was aiming to grab. You rolled your eyes before nodding, “Sure Carmen, almost give me a heart attack in this shit hole kitchen, oh and while you’re at it don’t forget to try my peach cobbler.”

“Heard.” A small nod was sent your way before he shoveled a spoon full of the dessert into his mouth.

A scoff escaped your lips, you picked up your discarded spoon before taking another bite of the ice cream. The atmosphere between the two of you became awkward real quick, neither of you willing to break the silence, neither of you knowing what to say to break the silence.

“So uh, what’s with the cobbler?” You eyed Carmy surprised he was the first to break the silence, you shrugged distracting yourself by putting the lid back on the Dutch oven to persevere the content's warmth.

“Dunno, couldn’t sleep,” it's not like you were lying to him, but standing in his presence acting as though everything was okay made you feel guilty.

“You uh still bake when you can’t sleep?” The sigh you let out was an indication of how this small talk was the last thing you wanted to be doing.

“Obviously Carmen,” your hand shot out to gesture to the pastel pot between the two of you.

“Right…right.” The drumming of Carmy’s finger’s against the steel caused a slight irritation in you. Nodding you wiped the non-existent grime from your hand on your pants.

“Right, well I need to finish my proposal.” You walked the spoon you’d been using to the dishwashing area before joining Carmy one more time, “I’ll be in the dining area if you need anything.”

“You said uh, that you were writing about Mikey and The Beef.” You nodded, waiting for him to finish his sentence, it didn’t sound like much of a question so you weren’t sure what form of response he was expecting.

The silence stretched around the kitchen, an unwavering stare down between you two filling the air with even more tension. You expected things to be stilted between the two of you, but things felt like they were on a whole other level now.

“Well, this is for everybody,” finger quickly pointing at the treats you bought. “It’s kind of a thank you for letting me be a part of this, even if you guys don’t sign off on the article.”

“No, yeah um awesome.” The blank stare you aimed in Carmy’s direction bordered on disgust, leave it to him to make an awkward situation even more awkward, it sure was a talent of his.

You picked up your tote bag and cardigan before heading to the dining area, hoping there was still a table and chair you could occupy. If working here with Carmen meant every interaction would be like pulling teeth, you’d make sure to ignore him like the plague.

“Is that peach fucking cobbler I smell?” Richie’s voice carried through to the dining area where you had sat staring at your finished outline.

You finished a bit ago but didn’t want to chance running into Carmy while it was still just the two of you here. Hearing Richie’s voice and the slight noise as you slipped your headphones off proved that you were no longer alone with one of your oldest friends.

“Baby! Where’s Baby?” You laughed maneuvering out of your seat to head back into the kitchen, unsurprised to find Richie and the rest of the crew gathered around containers of ice cream and cobbler in their hands.

It seemed too early in the day to attack your tastebuds with such a sweet confection, but it was kind of your fault for bringing it in in the first place. You made your way to Sugar’s side with a small smile on your lips as she ate her portion.

In the month after your release, before your house was ready you stayed with Nat and Pete. Your restless energy was channeled into your mom’s dessert recipes, a way to keep your mind occupied and the only way you knew to thank the two adults who hadn’t given up on you.

Nat constantly made it obvious that she missed the constant sweets you would bake just for her.

The two of you made your way to where everyone else was gathered around, you couldn’t lie seeing the empty pot caused a sigh of relief to leave you. You weren’t sure if you could handle being ridiculed by chefs for your poor-tasting dessert.

“This don’t taste like moms baby, you do somethin’ different this time?” Richie eyed you as he raised the spoon to his mouth, it may have tasted a bit different but that didn’t deter him from finishing his serving.

“Uh yeah, a friend of mine taught me how to make this peach simple syrup. It like helps the biscuits stay moist or something. Chef talk isn’t my strong suit.”

Carmy wasted no time before looking in your direction, he was situated across from you, and no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t remember ever teaching you how to make a peach simple syrup. He watched as Marcus began talking your ear off about the dessert, the two of you falling into quiet conversation as you found a connection in sweet confectionery.

It was hard to watch as you so easily integrated yourself into the crew, Syd raptly listening to yours and Marcus’ conversation as if you were some award-winning chef and not just some journalist who knew how to bake. As he stood there watching everyone in the kitchen, he couldn’t pinpoint why his thoughts surrounding you seemed so bitter, he didn’t hate you, didn’t think he ever could.

But as he focused on you more, he realized that you were a part of Mikey he never really got to know. Of course, you were Carmy’s best friend but when things between the two of you fizzled out, Mikey’s role in your life became larger, even if you were separated by states and time zones.

Carmy knew he didn’t hate you, but it was hard for him to look at you and not see the relationship he wanted with his brother. He didn’t blame you, but he resented the way it seemed so easy for Mikey to love you, to be open with you.

Catching your eye he nodded his head in the direction of the dining area curious to hear about this article you were thinking about writing and maybe learning more about how it all connected back to Mikey and The Beef.

He made his way to exit the kitchen assuming you would be following behind him. Carmy stopped before turning around, he couldn’t make this decision by himself or at least that was his excuse as he called for Sugar and Sydney to join the two of you. It was probably all for nothing though as he knew the two women were already on board.

The four of you took seats at the table, the arrangement was oddly reminiscent of the meeting yesterday, this conversation taking place at the same table. You sat lonely on one side of the table while the other three occupied the other side.

You glanced down at your laptop in front of you realizing it might be better to join the others, the graphics would have been all for nothing if they couldn’t see them. Quickly grabbing your laptop you wandered over to the three individuals before plopping it in front of them on the table, you walked to grab the closest chair scooting it next to Carmy. You were too worried about the response to your proposal to be worried about being in such close contact with Carmy.

Sitting down you tried not to let the brush of Carmy’s leg against yours bother you, adjusting yourself in your seat before clearing your throat.

“Uhh, I made a PowerPoint,” the time you spent hiding from Carmy this morning allotted you the opportunity to do so. “It’s pretty self-explanatory, but I’ll walk you through it.”

You began clicking through the slides, the nervousness you were feeling earlier taking a backseat as you so easily settled into your element. Time flew by as you grew more passionate about the article with each slide going into even more depth than the information in the presentation did.

“The reach this article will have might just be the difference in The Bear’s success or the lot of us paying back a loan in 18 months.” The smile on your face was enough to show how excited you were at the prospect of being able to go forth with your project.

“Or you know, the food might actually play a part in The Bear’s success,” you looked in Sydney’s direction, confidence shot before noticing the small uptick at the corner of her lips.

You nodded a small chuckle leaving your lips, “I guess the food might play a part.”

Two smiles directed towards you helped to make you feel infinitely better about the whole situation, you were doing your best to disregard the figure sitting next to you. Not doing a very good job as his leg continued to brush against yours which felt like every millisecond, you didn’t want to assume he was doing it on purpose but it did disrupt your focus while explaining your presentation.

“I think it’s a great idea. We’re going to need the exposure,” your eyes shot to Nat as she began speaking. “I mean, there’s really no cons to going through with this.” The encouraging smile Nat sent you reciprocated on your lips.

When nobody spoke up Syd began nodding along, “Yeah, I-I think it’s a great idea, though my opinion may be a little biased.” Her words drifted off into a soft mumble as she realized her previous reading of your work may have influenced her answer.

The two women’s agreement seemed like all you needed, no sign of Carmy itching to chime in. The lull in conversation created an opportunity for everyone to take their respective leave and work on their tasks for the day. You gathered your laptop in your hands and moved the chair you were using back to its original spot.

Making your way to your bag and cardigan you began putting your laptop away and making sure all your belongings were in there so you didn’t leave any valuables behind. You tried to ignore the presence that stayed in the room with you, not in any mood to deal with Carmy’s hot and cold attitude.

“Why is this article so important to you?” Carmy hadn’t said a word doing your entire explanation. It would've been easy to believe he wasn’t in the room if it wasn’t for his warm leg constantly pressing against yours. His arms crossed over his chest, it was hard to pretend you didn’t know what was hiding under the knit crew neck he was wearing.

You found his eyes, the exhaustion in them a mirror to your own. For a minute it was easy to imagine the two of you were teenagers again, the urge to find a seat next to him again and pour your heart out scratching at the back of your mind.

“Can I be honest with you?” You took a glance in Carmy’s direction watching as he relaxed his arms almost like he was opening himself up to whatever you had to get off your chest.

“I uh,” a sardonic chuckle passed through your lips. “I told Mikey I’d write about him one day and…and by the time I finally made it far enough into my career he…he left us.” Carmy’s face didn’t give much away about his feelings making it a little easier to continue your train of thought.

“It's just something I need to do I guess,” you shrugged your shoulders as you faced Carmy once more. The want to be near him won over, taking a few steps to the middle of the table before leaning against it, the once large gap between the two of you now lessened.

“He uh, called me that night. I was at a screening for a friend’s documentary so I just let the call go to voicemail. Texted him after that I’d call him in the morning.” It was weird, Natalie had seen you at your lowest and you had yet to tell her the whole story behind the infamous voicemail that kept you up that night. But standing here with Carmy at this moment gave you a sense of safety you had been lacking.

“I remember waking up in the middle of the night with so many missed calls from Nat and Richie, your mom even called me once,” a humorless laugh escaped your lips, the confidence you had earlier to tell this story dwindling with each word.

“I finally answered Sug’s next call and I remember before she even said anything, I felt like this ache in my chest.” Your hand had subconsciously moved to your chest pressing against it as though you were trying to relieve a bout of heartburn. “And I just…I could feel that something was wrong and you know my first thought was you, tha-that something happened and we never got a chance to fix us.”

“But then Sugar lets out this heart-wrenching sob, like this bone-chilling cry that just like freezes your blood and I’m sitting there listening to her cry and then I’m crying and I don’t even know why yet. And it feels like…like we’ve been on the phone for hours just crying with each other before Pete calms her down enough,” the shakiness not only evident in your voice but your hand that was still resting on the table by your hip. “And it's silent for a moment but I know, the moment the first syllable passes her lips it's like I lose all of my senses and I’m just sitting up in bed, numb to what she’s saying. And it can’t be real, you know because Mikey just called me only a couple of hours ago.”

“As soon as I’m off the phone with Nat I immediately call Richie, and the first thing he says to me is ‘Baby I’m sorry’ he apologizes to me like his best friend that he probably spent his whole day with didn’t just blow his brains out.” The lump in your throat was begging to be free, something you wouldn’t allow to happen. “And Richie is sitting there fucking consoling me because I’m too goddamn selfish to take one fucking breath and make sure he is okay.”

You finally meet Carmy’s eyes again, waterline wet with the tears you won’t allow to fall. “I guess I say all of this to say I owe this article to Mikey, maybe if I had just picked up the fucking phone he’d still be here with us.”

Carmy has no idea how to respond to anything you’d just told him at a loss for words as he allows your emotions to sink into him. He gently reaches his hand out, not knowing if a comforting touch would help, but wanting to do his best to let you know he was there with you. The two of you sat in each other’s presence, the weight of your confession weighing heavy in the room. Carmy knows nothing he says will change anything, it won’t bring Mikey back and it won’t lessen your grief, so for a while, he doesn’t, the two of you sit there connected by your hands.

“Uh, I’m not sure how much Sug told you, but there are these Al-Anon meetings for uh family members of addicts and I’ve been going for a while now,” he gave your hand a small squeeze to make sure you were still listening. “It helps to understand what Mikey was going through.”

You looked down at the man below you, a blank look on your face. You gave him a soft smile as your thumb caressed his knuckles, “Yeah I uh I’ll look into it.” You had wanted to laugh, the irony of the situation not lost on you but you appreciated the help Carmy was trying to offer.

The approaching footsteps easily forced you back to your side of the table, quickly occupying yourself to look busy so you wouldn’t have to explain why you were alone with Carmy. You listened quietly as he and Syd began conversing about something that was none of your business.

“I’m just gonna hang around here before I’ve gotta be at work if that’s cool with you guys?” You looked at the two chefs more so telling rather than asking but still wanting to be polite.

Syd nodded “The more hands the better I guess.” You sent a small smile in her direction before heading to the door hoping to make yourself useful and occupy your mind from the guilty thoughts.

Avoiding Carmy’s eyes as you not going unnoticed by him, though neither of you expected the conversation to take the turn it did. He was relieved that you still felt comfortable enough with him to have a conversation of that nature.

Sydney was doing her best to focus on the chaos menu with Carmy. But with it being the first time in a space so personal to him, she couldn’t help but take in the small details around his apartment that gave a look into who he was.

It was surprising to her really, the whole apartment was bare, lackluster of any interpersonal items besides Carmy’s belongings that one would expect to see. Syd tried not to come across as nosy, or too interested in the small things her eyes did catch onto, but it was hard.

Like the group picture stuck to his fridge with a random cheap banana magnet that no one ever knew they had but it just appeared in their kitchen one day. Or the aesthetic-looking knife set that Syd would equate to something a suburban mom might have in her kitchen and not the gritty anxiety-riddled chef she was cooking with.

What really prickled her curiosity though, was a picture of the two of you strategically placed above the stove. Syd was awarded a glance as Carmy removed his closet from the oven, she couldn’t tell how recent it was from the few seconds she saw it, but it did make her question what Carmy’s idea of an ‘old acquaintance’ was.

It was probably her third pass by the stove before she was finally able to take in a clear understanding of the Polaroid. She would admit she was surprised, the content of the picture far from anything she would ever equate to Carmen Berzatto.

It was of you and Carmy. The two of you were lying next to each other, whether on a bed or the floor, Sydney couldn’t tell. One of your arms was raised, presumably holding the camera in your hand. Even though the moment was captured in time, Syd could feel the intimacy through the photo, almost making her feel too uncomfortable to even be so intrigued by it.

Syd had seen the smile gracing Carmy’s face once or twice in real-time, something he usually kept to himself. He looked happy lying there next to you, like your being there eased him. She focused on you to find you were focusing on him, your head tilted up a little, eyes gleaming full of love.

You looked at Carmy the way Syd’s dad talked about her mom. Like your entire life was destined to be entangled with Carmy’s.

As Sydney focused on the picture once more, she finally noticed the number written on the white space of the Polaroid. Her only assumption that it must’ve been yours.

Her curiosity had finally gotten the best of her. From the way you two interacted, to the Polaroid she was sure she had taken in every detail of , there was history between you and Carmy.

“Hey uh, can I ask you a question?” She moved to sit at the table where Carmy was prepping pasta. She wasn’t sure whether she should beat around the bush or just outright ask her question.

Carmy raised his head, eyes catching hers before giving a slight nod, Syd took a deep breath. She would consider her and Carmy friends, but she didn’t want him to think she was crossing some line. “Uh what’s the deal between you two,” she said your name for clarification, not yet sure if she was allowed to call you by the nickname so many others did, and not wanting to make you uncomfortable.

Carmy froze for a minute, but his recovery was so quick if Syd wasn’t paying attention she wouldn’t have caught it. “It’s just uh, you called her an acquaintance, but I don’t think anybody gets those vibes from you two,” she trailed off not wanting to make Carmy feel pressured.

“I mean you have a shrine to her above your stove.” Carmy’s head snapped up to Syd before looking at the picture above his stove, Syd’s soft laugh signifying her quip as a joke.

“Fuck off,” he chuckled along with her, the weight on his shoulder at the idea of talking about you lessening a bit. “She uh, we were best friends growing up, she lived across the street from us.”

Syd nodded her head waiting for any more details, she wasn’t normally one to pry but Carmy’s explanation sounded like such bullshit compared to the way you two acted around each other. “So you guys like never dated or anything?” Syd’s curiosity caused the question to come across as less casual than she hoped.

“No, no. Just friends,” Carmy nodded eyes still on the pasta doing his best to distract his mind from Sydney’s line of questioning.

“Did you ever like, I dunno want more with her?” Carmy stopped eyes finally meeting Syd’s, he stood there for a moment just taking in her question. Although you once admitted your desire for something more with him, he still hadn’t. And he wasn’t sure if now in his kitchen with Sydney was the right time or place to do it.

But Syd didn’t need him to verbally answer, the look in his eyes told her more than what she had even asked. The two of them were only speaking about you and the longing in Carmy’s soft blue eyes was enough for Sydney to feel like she interrupted a sudden declaration of love.

Sydney cleared her throat, averting her eyes not at all meaning to get into anything too personal. Just a bit curious about the nature of the relationship between you two. “So any ideas on how to make this chaos menu…thoughtful?”

Carmy was grateful for Syd’s diversion of topics. If she had picked up on the tension between the two of you, he was sure the rest of the crew had. And if that meant everyone was privy to the unfinished history between the two of you then neither of you were as sly as you thought.

You lost Hayden somewhere between first entering the store and him wandering off for his necessities. You didn’t mind though, he was nice enough to offer you a ride home and stop by the store as the two of you brainstormed about your respective dinners for the night.

Wandering around on your own in a store you had never been to probably wasn’t the smartest decision you made. Case in point is the fact that you were standing in the alcoholic beverage section trying to fight the urge to peruse through the variety and pick your favorite form of poison.

The sound of your name caught your attention, eyes shooting to Hayden’s impeccably dressed form. You’d be the first to admit maturity had done him good, the sleeves of his button-up shirt rolled up to show off his toned forearms. The top three buttons were undone, his chest giving a preview of what he had to offer.

His lips wrapped around your name again, a slight frown to his brows. He looked around the aisle before his eyes landed back on you with a small smile decorating his lips, “You okay?” You watched as he checked you over, the action irritated you a bit. Was he expecting you to go batshit crazy in the middle of the grocery store and just start hammering away at the countless bottles?

“Fine, just got distracted. I um, I just need some açaí and I’ll be good.” You gave him your best smile hoping it would reassure him, the one he returned ensured just that.

The two of you made your way to the frozen food section, meaningless small talk passing between the two of you.

“I can’t believe you still eat this shit,” you scoffed, quickly grabbing the bag of frozen açaí from the freezer. Closing the door as you made your way back to Hayden the two of you ready to make your leave.

“If I recall, you had no problem eating this in my dorm all those years ago,” the boisterous laugh that escaped Hayden caused a similar one to leave you, neither of you having brought up this topic of conversation since reuniting.

“Had to replenish all that lost stamina somehow,” your eyes widened slightly Hayden’s smirk did nothing to quell the heated feeling spreading through you.

He walked past you, grabbing your hand so you would follow behind him. “What’s got you quiet all of a sudden?” You knew he was teasing you, the tone in his voice bringing a chuckle out of you.

“Just wasn’t sure how well you remembered our college shenanigans.” The shrug of your shoulders was supposed to feign nonchalance, but the wide grin on your face proved the opposite.

The two of you had lost any rush to leave the grocery store, casually walking around hands entwined together. “To forget a girl like you would be criminal,” you faced Hayden nose scrunching up at his words a laugh bubbling out of your lips.

“Didn’t you get married?” Hayden laughed, throwing his arm around your shoulder as the two of you continued around the store aimlessly just enjoying the company of an old friend.

“You didn’t want me the way I wanted you. Had to move on at some point.” The melancholy tone in his voice caused a feeling of guilt to shoot through your heart. You nodded a sad smile gracing your lips, the squeeze on your shoulder helping to alleviate your remorse.

“Listen, Hayden, I didn’t mean to hurt you or anything,” you sighed as you moved to stand in front of him. “It just wasn’t fair of me to commit to a long-term relationship with you when my heart wasn’t in it.” He nodded a smile sent in your direction.

“No, I uh I appreciate it, wouldn’t have married Marlene if you didn’t set me straight,” you smiled happy there was a bright side to this whole situation. “Probably wouldn’t have divorced her either. Hey, should I send you my lawyer fees or.” Hayden trailed off, grin returning to his face as you laughed swatting at his bicep.

All he saw in his head was you. As dramatic as it sounds it felt like the thought of you was keeping him alive, from the way you had all but disappeared when they opened Mikey’s locker. To the photo above his stove that was seared into his brain. So preoccupied with thoughts of you he had missed the aisle he intended to go down three times.

Finding his destination Carmy made his way down the aisle, stopping as he saw you laughing with a man he didn’t recognize. His mind going back to the conversation he had earlier with Sydney, Carmy did want more with you. He wanted a lot more than what the two of you allowed to transpire all these years.

Carmy wanted a life with you, a life where he was the one making you laugh in the grocery store. Where his apartment wasn’t just filled with a, year old photograph of the two of you, but filled with your presence.

He envisioned a life with you, and he wasn’t sure why he had sabotaged every chance you had given him to make that a reality. Carmy continued his journey through the store, thoughts of you played heavily on his mind. It didn’t matter what he wanted though if he never gained the courage to tell you. There was a lot unsaid between the two of you, but you had made your feelings clear. Tried to reconcile whatever relationship the two of you still had left. And the ball was in his court, had been since your impromptu visit last year.

Even when reunited with the girl he had crushed on once upon a time, you were still at the forefront of his mind. The woman in front of him is a cruel reminder of all the ways he messed up with you.

Carmy’s thoughts ran so wild with you as he entertained Claire’s conversation, that he didn’t think twice before giving her a number that had been left on a Polaroid a year ago and now decorated the space above his stove; but not the contact book in his phone.

a/n: it’s here!!! i think this chapter is pretty tame which is kind of out of character lol. thankful to be done with this chapter so i can explore some ideas i’ve been having! thank you all so much for your love and support! please support me in whatever way feels comfortable!!! 💜

tag list: @hawkins-2000 @elliesbabygirl @allbark-no-bite @anakinswh0re3005 @rexorangecouny @thecraziestcrayon @fruitcupsworld @nishinoyahhh @lilylovelyxo @ridingthehotmessexpress @noas-ark @jadeittic @hellokittyever @luvr-bunnyy @sxgees @fandomhopped @is-this-a-febreze-commercial @kravitzwhore @chanluvr @readingwiththereids @chims-kookies @ladygrey03 @ferida-kahlo @wanderlustnightwanderer @how2besalty @armydrcamers @jointherebellion215 @jackierose902109 @blkbxrbie-esther @ajordan2020 @head-slut-in-charge @magnet-girl @thebookwormlife @sevikasblackgf @writers-hes @senassn @bunnysthngs @gabbycoady13 @randomhoex @mattmurdocksstarlight @shinebright2000 @royalestrellas @khena @kailyn-g05 @ovaqma @fire-treasure-iii @frequentnosebleeder @awatt31 @cauliflowerpatch

#it’s getting hot in this kitchen #but i fear i’m patiently waiting for it to get spicy in this kitchen #when the slow burn is slow burning in the best way possible #carmen berzatto x reader

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fellpyrean · 2 years ago

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Advent Statement 9 - Cruciatum

Claps my hands! Alright alright!

A chapter that never made it to ao3! By the time I managed this technically 10th chapter, I was running on fumes but also had planned for the final 3 to be seasonally appropriate: the original plan was to post these from the 12th of Dec to the 24th/25th, after all, so having some seasonal statements for the holidays seemed like a fun idea. Unfortunately after the roadblocks of some earlier statements took much longer to overcome than expected, I was completely beat trying to get these done hahah.

Anyway, here we have the first seasonal one: a friendly Corruption chapter for the holidays! :D

CWs: seriously shit relationship, parasitism/infestation

___________________________________________________________

So am I clear or not? Can I leave? They said there was no sign of. Of ‘infestation,’ so I - … what?

You… you want me to identify-?

Oh god. Oh god, yeah, that’s. That’s Alex. And.

Is that. Oh my god. Infestation.

Fuck ok, what the hell is going on here? You want me to tell you that?

Fuck.

Coffee or whiskey, tell me you have one of those. No wonder you’ve all quarantined the building. What’s… what’s going to happen to them? What’s… left of them, at least? Incineration? … that’s probably for the best.

Jesus, ok.

I’ll tell you what I know.

Alex. Alex moved here after me. We were obviously neighbors, but that doesn’t mean much in an apartment. I only knew about their existence because they had an open space in front of their door where none of the apartment-approved shrubs grew, so they took it over. I came back one day in summer to see it nicely mulched with a horde of lovely green plants in pots around the edges. That was their one nod to the idea that they knew they were pushing their boundaries in annexing the space, but it really did look so much nicer walking out to green instead of dry, dusty dirt.

We first talked that summer. I happened to come home while they were out watering in the evening and I complimented them on their fuschia. They really lit up at that, and gleefully told me they’d named it ‘Shoggoth.’ It was extremely verdant and extremely vigorous, and knowing its name just… It was cute. Knowing the trailing plant positively dripping with flowers was named after a shambling abomination was just exquisite. I liked my neighbor. Their enthusiasm was infectious. They freely admitted they had little idea what they were doing, but were excited to try and grow something anyway and I really could understand that. It’s really satisfying, you know? To plant a seed and watch it thrive.

It was a delight to watch their garden grow that summer. We still had very separate schedules and didn’t exactly get to know one another, but we were friendly when we ran into each other and that was more than I’d had from any other neighbor in this place. We’d pass by and say hello and I’d complement the latest plant and they’d flush with delight and tell me what niche cultivar it was and where they’d gotten it.

They had a real passion for it, even if they stumbled and lost a few plants over the year.

I knew of the boyfriend. I admit, if I ever learned his name, I forgot it. Just kind of saw him leaving every now and then; enough to guess he didn’t live there and to know he drove a kind of douchey car. Not like, ‘I’m deeply insecure so I need something stupid and loud,’ but like, ‘this car should be a sedan and you’ve gone and made it sporty’ douchey. I knew enough about him from Alex’s comments and the way I saw them interact to see that… There’s not a great way to say this, but Alex was a lot more serious about him than he was about them.

I’ve had friends with bad boyfriends before. Girlfriends too, but, well. I didn’t know Alex well enough to interfere. Not really my place to tell the neighbor while they watered sweet ol’ Shoggoth that I thought it’d be better for them to break up before the boy pulled some serious bullshit.

I was right.

Trust me, I wasn’t trying to be nosy. I was trying to take out the trash. It was just before Christmas, actually. I’d cleaned out the fridge so I could immediately fill it with a lot more, and when I stepped out from the warm bubble of my music, I ran right into them having an… not an argument, but voices were raised. Neither of them noticed me, since they were both kind of just inside the door, and it took… well, zero seconds for me to realize what was happening.

Standing under the mistletoe Alex had put above the door, the boyfriend was dumping them. A week before Christmas. They’d tried to greet him with a kiss, thinking it’d be cute and fun for the holidays, and he’d… blown up about it. I only caught the tail end.

I only caught him whipping the door open all the way and leaving with a kind of smug satisfaction on his face that chilled me. He at least had the decency to look a little embarrassed when he saw me there at my door, frozen with my trashbag, but then he just walked faster to his car and then all I could hear was Alex, sobbing inside as their door slowly swung closed.

I really wasn’t sure what to do in this situation. This was probably all one… absolutely enormous social faux pas, but I couldn’t just leave them there alone to cry, so I ditched my trash bag outside my door and came over and knocked on theirs. It was still open a crack, and I kind of. Called out to them and tried to keep the awkwardness from my voice and mostly failed, but they did at least open the door. Good enough.

They were a wreck. I uh. I learned a lot more than I really wanted to about everything, but I… Look, I want to give them at least a speck of privacy now that they’re… Worse than dead. But from what I gathered, Alex had wanted to start a family. Wanted to get married and all that, and the boy had been along for it! Apparently they’d actually been trying for a kid for a while now, but he’d not wanted to make anything official until Alex was pregnant. I am a million percent sure I felt my blood pressure rise when I heard them say that, I mean, fuck I feel it now repeating it, and I might have regretted that I didn’t chase him down to punch him into the dirt when Alex said that just a week ago, they’d gotten back some tests and it turned out they’d probably never have a kid.

And then the boy dumped them.

I am not a violent person, but I felt like one then. Yes I just said I wanted to beat him into a pulp, but Alex was just. Destroyed by this. I was completely out of my depth and I knew that awkward back pats were not what they needed, but I had no idea what else to do. Offer tea? They seemed like the kind of person who’d like tea. So when they sniffled and looked up and looked sharp for the first time since I’d walked in as they asked me to tear down the mistletoe for them, I did.

They couldn’t quite reach it on their own. It was a little sticky when I took it down but - oh my god. That plant growing in them, was that…?

Fuck.

Uhm. So, so yeah. I tore down the mistletoe and gave it to them and they said they were going to be ok and I left them alone. Went and took out the trash and debated stopping back by to check on them when I came back but figured it’d be good to give them some space. So I took the time to make dinner and then I headed back next door to check in on them and the door was still unlocked and just that slightly bit cracked, which I instantly did not like.

That was a very bad and very educational evening.

Did you know that mistletoe used to be made into teas as treatments for infertility? Did you also know that every single part of the plant is poisonous?

Now you do. I learned it in a hospital, after I’d found my neighbor passed out on their kitchen floor with a cup of tea spilled and shattered next to them on the laminate tile and saw some familiarly fake looking leaves in the water. I don’t know if they wanted to die, or if they were so desperate to fix what was wrong with them that they just. Threw the plant they blamed for their break up into the kettle in some shattered hope that it would fix the things it broke.

That’s how… how it got inside them, isn’t it? I mean, that doesn’t make sense; mistletoe grows on the skin of the tree, it can’t grow inside a person… No, you’re right. I shouldn’t think about it.

… Alex seemed so much better when they woke up. Still spacey, but they smiled when they saw me. It was a terribly broken smile, but they thanked me for coming for them. Said they’d be alright now. They just asked me to water their indoor plants while they were gone.

The hospital kept them under watch for five days. Shockingly short, if you ask me, but they were… tranquil. I invited them to come over the next day for dinner since neither of us seemed to have anyone else for the holidays, and. Everything went well. They - the hospital that is - told me it’s good to give people something to look forward to, and it worked? They came over and their outfit was cute.

I was a little worried about the… Oh. I thought it was cute at the time, but. They had mistletoe tucked into their hair that day. Just. Just a couple sprigs. I was worried it might remind them of the shithead, but they said they didn’t blame the mistletoe for it. That it was such a charming plant. It’d already taken root.

Right. That’s horrible. Would it have changed anything, do you think, if I’d asked a little more? If I’d… I dunno, been a little more nosy?

Alex poured themself into their plants after that. I spent New Year’s at their apartment and we had sparkling cider and I admired all the plants they had inside. It’d just been six days or so since I’d last been there, but it was already like a jungle with plants growing on every surface they could fit on and then some. It was maybe a little worrying, like, maybe they were overcompensating by throwing themself into something that couldn’t dump them, something they could give all their love to and receive pretty leaves and flowers from instead of empty, hurtful words and lies.

I figured there were worse things someone could hoard and if the plants gave them a reason to keep going, I wasn’t going to stop it.

I didn’t see a lot of them after that. Enough for me to know they were alive, though it mostly came through new plants turning up outside their apartment once it was just barely warm enough for new things to grow. The peas were cute, their little tendrils coiling so… sweetly and affectionately around your fingers if you let them. And I… I thought the mistletoe poking through their hair was still just some kind of reminder. There was more of it, then. Before they started wearing a beanie all the time and I guess it makes sense now. How covered they were, even as we set into summer.

So, uh. So that’s how things went. Their garden grew and flourished and I’d water Shoggoth II, the Shoggothening, if it got droopy in the heat, and I… I guess I really didn’t see much of Alex. Just the plants.

I guess that brings us through the year to… just two days ago.

It’d snowed and the garden had long been brought back inside, even if I really staggered wondering where Alex would keep them all, and I had gotten a roast with the idea that maybe I’d invite Alex over to share some tomorrow. So I put everything away and went and knocked on their door. They… didn’t open it this time. Just a sliver, enough to talk, but all I could see was the pink-blue of grow lights and a vague, humid warmth that reminded me of a greenhouse. Alex was just a silhouette against it, and I couldn’t see even a sliver of their skin.

I invited them, and to my surprise and deep worry, they said that they’d have to refuse.

That their boyfriend was coming over.

They sounded so… so fucking hopeful, so happy about it. Lovesick and besotted in the worst of ways, and it made my stomach drop. I couldn’t keep myself from reminding them what he’d done, but they just. Insisted it would be different this time.

That now, they’d be together.

This… Alright so I watch a lot of true crime and I would be lying if I said this didn’t set off my premeditated murder alarm bells, but I just felt. Lost. I’d really thought Alex was doing better this year, and then their door was closed and I didn’t know what to do. Tomorrow would be the anniversary of their break up, and I was kind of on pins and needles that night.

He had been an utter asshole and I sincerely doubted a year would have changed him that much, but I didn’t have his number, I couldn’t really leave a note on the door warning him of imminent probably murder because what if I was just wrong and paranoid and meddling in something that wasn’t my business in the first place? What if they really… really could get back together?

Alex’s voice had sounded alive and… vibrant. Almost lyrical as they’d said it.

I could have called you guys, but would it have done any good? Hey I think my neighbor might murder their ex? I’d never have forgiven myself if I’d called and I was wrong and Alex got shot.

So I did nothing.

I just kind of drifted off uneasily that night, unsure what I’d do tomorrow but hoping I could… Maybe talk to one of them? I woke up very early and knocked on Alex’s door, but they didn’t answer.

There was mistletoe above it, I realized.

A so bright, so vibrant sprig. The berries were bright and red as holly, the leaves a fake, plasticy green. It looked like it was growing right out of the wood of the door frame.

It felt like a very, very bad sign. I went to rip it down - but I didn’t. It… have you ever felt like if you touch something, it will be very, very bad? A weird throwback to when people relied on instinct to survive that rears its head at the strangest of times and you listen to it.

Mistletoe plants its seeds on the skin of the bark. It’s a parasite. It roots into its host and… takes it over.

And that mistletoe was fresh and healthy and growing.

I pulled my hand back and I went back to my apartment.

I heard a douchey car pull up on the street, and I knew it was him. I objectively should have gotten up then. That instinct in my head knew something very bad would happen if he went inside that apartment, but the rest of me really wanted this to go well for Alex. God, he was a toxic asshole, but they just… wanted to be happy with him so, so badly.

So when I heard him walk up next door, I didn’t stop him from knocking. I just walked up to my door and pressed my ear to it and listened.

I heard their door open. I heard Alex tell him to look up.

I heard him sneer, and my heart stopped when I heard Alex laugh. He began to say something else, but then it was cut off. Muffled. I heard him make a noise. Like… like he was intrigued. I heard a gasp, a moan, and then. Then I heard him start in, smugly saying something like, “Didn’t know you missed me so much?” And then. Then he wasn’t smug anymore.

Then I heard him make a god awful noise. Wet and choking and I opened my door then just to see… Alex. Alex holding him in their arms, watching as he clawed frantically at his throat, his eyes bulging and Alex watching with adoration. Stroking his chest with fascination.

I was… shocked. I’d not seen Alex in months, and their… their hair wasn’t there anymore. I’d mistaken it for curls from the glimpses I’d seen before under the beanie, but it was all mistletoe. It looked like it was… growing out of their head in a thick, thriving cluster. I just. I just assumed it was some kind of wig. A real commitment to the. The whole revenge thing that was evidently happening. They still looked like a person when I saw them last. Not like. Like the picture you just showed me.

Where there’s. Barely anything left.

But in the moment, I thought. I thought they’d poisoned him. That this was maybe some murder/suicide happening next door, so when Alex looked at me and smiled and pulled him inside, that’s when I called you guys.

And I guess. I guess it was way too late then.

They didn’t lie though. That’s… very morbid of me probably, but. They’re together now. All tangled up in the plants rooted in their skin. So green and so… bright.

Right.

Whiskey.

I’ll go for another screening if you really want, but give me a shot first.

He was a bastard, but I’m not sure he deserved what happened to him. Maybe he did. I don’t know. What are you guys going to do with the apartments?

Burn them? Maybe? I mean, mistletoe seeds stick. You… you should be careful, if you decide to just… try and clean it up.

I’m… yeah, I’m gonna go get screened again. I’ve got a lot to think about.

#tma advent project #crowswritings #mistletoe is a parasite #i thought it would be fun to play with corruption and use a non-insect parasite as the infestation

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zestyderg · 2 years ago

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You know what? Here- 🦎💖🎨🧸

🦎 - Duna, Raptin, or Dynal?

Duna, Raptin, I love you both very dearly, but I gotta go with Dynal on this one. Love how it takes 1 battle against him in his vivosaur form to go from "I fucking HATE humans" to "aight we cool". Fighting him for that final battle post game was a nightmare for me though. Like, my only other roadblock in this game was Duna when I first played back when I was younger, but when I revisited it Dynal rocked my shit and I did end up resorting to using Frigi, Guvhorn, and uh, I think guan to beat him. Totally worth it, the dinaurians are absolutely busted and when put together trivialize everything else in the game.

Dynal's theme is also an absolute bop, one of my favorite tracks in the series.

I played through the DLC content in champions and I wonder why the hell Dynal is so rude. Like, sir, you've had your character arc last game, humans aren't beneath you, remember?

Also dynal and the dinaurians trying to navigate through a human world with Hunter, Rosie, and Diggins helping them out could be really funny. Dynal would be like a very confused dad trying his best to understand his kids' interests, and I wanna see Hunter and Rosie try to explain to him what a meme is.

💖 - Favorite type?

Ooooo boi this is a tricky one. I honestly don't have a favorite type. I guess I'd lean more towards air type? But only because it houses some of my favorite vivosaurs, like Spinax my precious, Coatlus, who I used a lot in FF1, and the OP monster that is Salada (also he goes boinga boinga, I love his animations so much). But I don't have type preferences, just vivosaur ones.

🎨 - What outfit colors did you get in the original fossil fighters?

I think it was the red and black outfit, because younger me really just gunned for the t-rex option because oooo t-rex. I didn't know until much later that what dinosaur that I chose as my favorite affected my appearance.

🧸- A piece of fossil fighters merch you'd buy if it was totally real

VIVOSAUR PLUSHIES. PLEASE I'D TAKE AN ENTIRE STOCK. So many vivosaurs I'd want plushies of! I'd go bankrupt trying to collect every vivosaur that I have used and would proudly keep them all on my bed, right alongside my enderdragon :)

Also maybe plushies of some of the non vivosaur characters??? Or maybe dinaurian plushies please??? Hhghhhhhh joe plushie

I do want English translated versions of the existing mangas, ESPECIALLY for the ryne Manga. Seriously what the hell was happening there? I could roughly understand it but I wanna know what everyone is saying dammit. Also, thinking about the fact that Ryne really created a new vivosaur, walks into a stadium, the lights turn on and joe is just STANDING there, and then Salada woops his ass when he challenges Ryne to a fossil battle. Dramatic, no matter the iteration, huh? (Oh yeah did I mention it was the middle of the fucking night? Man really decides to stay up, show up dramatically and make his penta fight this kid's boneysaur oc and then dips immediately after. Classic Joe Wildwest behavior)

#ask #fossil fighters #zesty's ramblings #WOOOOO THANK YOU KINDLY FOR THIS ASK

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larathia · 3 years ago

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My horse in the race.

Totally backing Nicol here. Since there’s some really good posts covering the whole harem’s pluses and minuses all I’ll say is “wow, I have a lot of ‘same’ thoughts with people here, this is unusual and kinda nice”. I just wanted to esplain why this one’s my choice.

Pros/Reasons Why: Nicol is the only harem member to make Katarina swoon just by smiling. Yes, I know, he has that effect on entire hallways full of girls, but seriously here - he makes Katarina the eternally oblivious swoon. And he’s not interested in that hallway full of girls, he’s interested in Katarina. So honestly, if he made a serious play for her, or chooses to do so in the future, I honestly expect fireworks. Like a whole fourth of july foom of fireworks. He doesn’t even need to kiss Katarina to get a reaction from her, and that’s way more than anyone else manages.

In addition, Katarina gets on very well with Sophia, who also loves her, and that’s his big break point with a lot of other girls. Nicol is a package deal with his sister, and frankly Sophia loves Katarina too.

(Sophia/Katarina is a ship I wouldn’t mind seeing? Like, at all? But Sophia herself seems to be angling for some kind of threesome, and in this case I’m very very okay with that idea as an outcome.)

Plus, Sophia is the reincarnation of Katarina’s friend from our world. So I feel like Katarina hooking up with Nicol results in three happy ever afters at once.

And lbr here. Katarina is adorable but kinda a dumbass. Having help keeping her from being kidnapped, trapped in a closet/a bakery/a bookshop/a pet store/somebody’s forgotten classroom is kind of necessary. Tag teaming for the win, am I right?

The obstacles/Reasons Why Not: Ah, Nicol. The boy has a sense of honor that seriously gets in the way here. He won’t make any kind of move, not while she’s engaged to Geordo. His reasons for not pushing it under these circumstances are fair and speak well of him, but are probably also THE big reason he’s been a background character in the harem up to this point.

Now, should at any point that engagement be called off, I will be Most Disappointed in this horse if he don’t get off his damn ass and say something. Or do something. I mean really, he could just smile at her and give her a book? Say “come hang with me and my sister for the afternoon”?

It would be so easy, and that’s actually why I don’t think we’ll see it in the anime for quite some time. (If ever, I know, but this is a hope thing rather than a prediction thing.) Where most of the harem have actual obstacles in their path that should reasonably be dealt with - ranging from personality issues to actual Obstacles like ‘I am legally her brother and might need the parents to do some legal footwork’ or ‘I am a known dark mage’ or ‘I am a commoner’ (yes I know Katarina doesn’t care, but I bet her parents do) or the ever popular ‘I am actually engaged to someone else’ - Nicol has....none of that? He’s not as noble as Katarina, but his family (and he) are well thought of, and if it were a love match, he isn’t so far down in Society that her family would be likely to throw up roadblocks. (Ordinarily I’d say they would, but Katarina’s parents seem pretty clear that Katarina while sweet is not exactly mentally geared for high society.) He’s not a dark mage, he’s not someone you’d want to Keep An Eye On Lest He Try Something, he’s not broke or common or engaged to anyone else...

...and this is a romance anime which means there’s no Drama in this choice. So I really don’t expect the author to do much beyond periodically remind us he’s there and in the running, until something changes.

In this case, what would have to change is Katarina’s current engagement to Geordo. Katarina is currently a romantically passive character, who’s just STARTING to take the whole engagement thing seriously (as in accepting that she IS engaged to Geordo, and starting to explore whether that’s truly what she wants). I expect that to continue for quite some time, as Geordo isn’t someone you’d lightly say ‘no’ to, but that cannot ultimately be what drives Katarina’s choice. (Or...I guess it can, but I will be real damn disappointed if it is.)

Now...it’s possible? that if word got around that Katarina did not WANT to marry Geordo, that Nicol might act before the engagement were formally ended. But I have to say I find that kind of speculation pointless at this stage. What I look for right now is ‘does the author make sure you remember Nicol’s there’. Because he’s a very easy choice, but not a story-type dramatic choice, the focus won’t be on him unless conditions are right. (Honestly? I mean personally? I don’t think, if this DOES turn out to be the series’ endgame, that we’ll see much sign of it before, say, at least 2/3 of the way through, for exactly the above reasons. So I’m quite fine watching everyone else go first, as the ride is a fun one and I don’t want it to end soon.)

#hamefura #my next life as a villainess

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butgilinsky · 4 years ago

Text

i’ve been looking for you // np

warning; language, angst but also fluff (way more angst than fluff), not proofread but who cares at this point

summary; you don’t believe in love, but nolan’s too far gone to stop himself from falling.

word count; 5.5k+

he could barely wrap his head around the fact that you were real. the universe did the world a favor when they made you, a bright light he never knew he needed in his life. he spent more time than he cared to admit admiring you, thanking the universe for placing you in his path of life. you seemed to have every attribute he could ever ask for, checking all of the boxes he didn’t know he had.

but he couldn’t forgive the universe for the tiny detail about you that he couldn’t get past. you didn’t believe in love, and that was a roadblock nolan wasn’t sure he’d be able to conquer.

the night he met you was straight out of a movie. everything around him seemed to slow down, allowing him a moment to admire you from the other side of the room. he had tuned out travis completely, completely lost in a reality only he would be able to experience as he visualized you in different parts of his life.

he didn’t realize that he would be given the opportunity to live out a few of those scenarios, though they weren’t the exact same. you’d go to his games, but his name wasn’t stretched across your back. you’d cheer so loud that your throat hurt when he scored, but he wouldn’t get to kiss you after he left the locker room at the end of the night.

he couldn’t have you, and it would drive him insane.

but it was too late for him. he wasn’t briefed on your lack of optimism when it came to romance until he’d found himself tumbling over the edge just hours later. you were a dream, you had to be. it was the only thing that made sense. how else would you end up at a party packed full of professional hockey players. maybe you were here with someone. maybe you were friends with one of his teammate’s wives, or maybe you were just a figment of his imagination.

he couldn’t hide the flush of his cheeks when you laughed at his introduction, taking his outstretched hand and shaking it gently as a bright smile spread across your lips.

“i know who you are. i work for the flyers.” he thought he was going to combust after the newfound information. you worked for the flyers, and he had never seen you before. how could he have missed you in passing if you were the only thing that held his attention for more than five minutes tonight?

“then i guess you don’t need an introduction from me either.” travis held out his hand for you to shake after you dropped nolan’s, somehow saving nolan from tripping over himself.

“i don’t think there’s a single person in the city of philadelphia that doesn’t know who you are.” her voice was teasing, the lilt in it making nolan swoon more than he already had been, which he had been surprised by.

he didn’t know he was capable of swooning over a person this much in such a short period of time.

“what do you do for the flyers?” travis saved his friend one more time, filling the air with another question before nolan allowed a thick silence to fall over the three of you.

“i’m a graphic designer. sometimes i do social media when it gets pretty hectic.” you shrugged, as if your job was a simple detail in your chaotic life that nolan found himself dying to learn about.

just before nolan could finally get his mouth to catch up with his thoughts, you were being tugged away into a different room by one of your friends. you sent both boys an apologetic smile, about to turn on the balls of your feet when nolan found his voice.

“wait! what’s your name?” you turned over your shoulder, the same bright smile from before gracing your face as you answered his question.

he replayed the name over and over again in his mind, allowing it to erase every other word he’d ever learned before now.

“you’re completely fucked.” travis snickered under his breath, clapping a hand onto his best friend’s back before shoving him out of the kitchen and towards a group fo his teammates.

it wasn’t too long before he found you again, standing on the balcony as you overlooked the city below you. you had lost track of how long you’d been out here, but it was long enough for you to finish your beer, which was somehow a perfect segway for nolan to join you. he held out a bottle towards you, the same one you’d been nursing all night long, though this one had just been opened seconds prior.

he found himself tumbling into a conversation with you that took minimal effort. it felt easy, standing beside you and talking about just about anything the two of you could think of. it wasn’t until the friend that you were clearly in charge of came outside, wobbling on her feet as she told you that it was past the time the two of you had originally set as your departure time.

noaln wanted to protest, wanted to find a reason for you to stay with him. but when you had to lunge for your friend to keep her up, draping her arm around your shoulders, he knew that nothing would be enough to get you to stay.

it wasn’t until you were out the door, along with a majority of the people that had come to the gathering, that a gentle hand landed on nolan’s shoulder, pulling his attention away from the door you’d just left through. he looked down at cara, one of the photographers that he knew decent enough for her to come offer a hint of advice.

“i wouldn’t get your hopes up with her, patty.” his eyebrows pulled together, unsure of how everyone was able to pick up on his infatuation with you. he hadn’t realized that he had been so transparent. did you pick up on it too?

“she doesn’t believe in love.”

it was something that, looking back on it, he should’ve listened to. he should’ve been able to tell himself to not go any further, to not throw himself down a hole of false hope and empty promises.

but he couldn’t. he couldn’t live with the face of knowing you and how incredible you were, and just ignore it. he couldn’t go to the arena, knowing you probably weren’t far away from him, and pretend like he didn’t know about your existence.

he couldn’t do it.

so he settled for a friendship. it was enough at first. any reason to be close to you, to talk to you about anything other than the view of philadelphia from someone’s apartment that neither of you two particularly wanted to be in. it turned into him looking for you at his games and smiling at you when he saw you in the hallways.

it went further when you started seeing each other outside of work. you’d find each other at team parties, at boring events that you both had to be at despite neither of you wanted to show. it turned into him lying across your couch with his head in your lap as you scratched at his scalp gently.

nolan though he could stop himself from falling too hard too fast. he hoped he could stop himself from falling at all, but that proved to be out of the question for him quicker than he was hoping for. you were everything he wanted, the only thing he wanted.

so he kept it to himself. he didn’t even tell travis, nor any of the other boys, despite their relentless chirps about you throughout the season. he thought that if he kept it to himself, didn’t say the words out loud, that it would go away. it would make it less real, it would dissipate until it wasn’t there anymore.

and as much as it sucked to not be able to tell you how he truly felt, he still thought that it was better than not having you in his life at all. he made a place for you, and there was no way he could kick you at now.

you heard the chirps about the two of you, sometimes you were on the receiving end of them. you assured them, every time, that you and nolan were just friends. you weren’t looking for anything, and you were trying to steer clear of love all together. romance wasn’t something you were ever successful at, and it was something you’d groan to loathe in more ways than one.

you didn’t think there was anything wrong with your friendship with nolan. sure, you spent a lot of time at his apartment or with him in general, but that didn’t mean you were falling in love with him. yes, you’d spend hours on his couch, playing with his hair when he had migraines or rubbing knots out of his shoulders after a long day at practice.

you’d go out with him and travis, sometimes a large group of people, thought the two of you always stuck by each other’s side. you both knew the warning signs when the other one was ready to leave a group setting, hitting your limit of social interaction for the night. you knew when he was beating himself up during a game and would give him the best pep talk you could muster in order for him to finish the game on the highest note possible.

despite nolan’s feelings, he was able to be there for you in the best way a friend could be. he was doing good at the friend role you’d given him.

until he showed up.

you were walking through the flyers’ facility in the middle of a long day for everyone involved. the boys had a long day of practice, currently on their lunch break as travis and nolan walked along either side of you. you were laughing at something travis said, leaning slightly into nolan as you walked.

until you came to a screeching halt, your heart thudding harshly against your chest as you stared at the man in front of you.

“liam?” nolan and travis shared a look, one that was filled with confusion over the fact that they knew exactly who liam was, but were unsure of why he was here.

liam was the one that nolan had blamed for your lack of optimism when it came to love. nolan blamed for liam for not allowing you to love nolan. the one holding nolan back from being able to express everything he felt for you.

“hi.” liam smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes as he looked between travis and nolan.

“oh, uh, yeah, shit. guys, this is liam. liam, this is travis and nolan.” liam nodded, a sentiment that travis returned. nolan stood frigid in his place, hands shoved into the pockets of his sweats as he stared at liam, void of all emotion.

“what are you doing here?” to nolan’s knowledge, liam didn’t live in the area. you moved to philly as a way to get away from your old life, liam included.

“i was hoping i could talk to you.” your breath caught in your throat, uncertainty coursing through your veins even when you nodded and excused yourself from travis and nolan.

they watched you walk off with liam, falling into step beside him as you walked off in a direction that nolan wanted to veer far away from. so much so that he turned on his heel when he could finally move, walking back towards the locker room with travis lingering behind him.

“patty-”

“don’t.”

he wasn’t. it showed when lunch ended and the boys were back on the ice. nolan’s slap shot was harder than it had been at the start of the day, his feet were faster and his cheeks were redder. he was playing more aggressive than he usually did, and it didn’t go unnoticed by anyone that was witnessing it.

he didn’t talk about it, and travis didn’t bring it up. not even when the rest of the boys asked if there was something wrong with nolan. travis would sigh and shrug, despite knowing the exact reason that nolan was acting like this.

you didn’t see nolan for the rest of the day, and even for a few days afterwards. he steered clear of the hallway he knew you spent most of your time in, and when it rolled around to game day, he ignored your good lucks texts that you always sent him. he played the same way he had been at practice, though it ramped up to 200% when it wasn’t his teammates that he was shoving into the boards.

it was the most aggressive you’d ever seen him play, and it was confusing to watch. you didn’t know what was going on with him, but you chopped it up to being too lost in his own thoughts and channeling it into his game.

what an understatement that was.

when he scored a goal, his celly showed no excitement. he didn’t cheer, didn’t drop down to one knee like he did from time to time. he simply took the slaps on the back from his teammates and lined up for the face off.

the thing that really got you was the fight he got into. it wasn’t like nolan to fight, you’d only seen him fight once since you’d met him. and this fight was dirty.

enough to send him to the locker room after for concussion protocol. travis looked towards your seat when nolan headed off the ice, mumbling profanities under his breath when he saw you climbing the stairs. he knew what you were doing, and he knew it wasn’t going to end well for either of you, but there was nothing he could do with three minutes left in the period.

your feet took you further than you expected them to. you ended up at the locker room without time to think about what you were doing, pounding on the door until it swung open.

“ma’am, you can’t-”

“i need to talk to him.” you shoved past the man with a towel draped over his shoulder, who called out behind you as you stomped through the room until you caught sight of nolan.

“ma’am!”

“what's going on with you?” nolan’s head snapped over towards you, along with a few other people who were standing around him.

“what?” he was confused, along with not fully letting out his anger that had built throughout the game.

“that! what was all of that? you don’t play like that-”

“how the hell do you know how i play?”

“because i watch you play all the time, nolan! not only do i sit in the stands every single home game, but i have to rewatch shit over and over game for my job. i know how you play, and it’s not like that.” the laugh that passed his lips had no humor in it, only venom as it pierced through your chest.

“well then why don’t you go out there and play for me? since you know how i play so well, go do it yourself.” he pointed to his jersey that he’d taken off when he entered the locker room, watching your eyes narrow in his direction.

“why are you acting like such a dick?”

“now i’m a dick? first i’m not playing like myself and now i’m a dick. what’s next, y/n? you want to tell me that i need a new stick to play with? a new number?” it was your turn to laugh now, attempting to bite your tongue as your hands settled on your hips.

“what is wrong with you?”

“you! you’re what’s wrong with me.” your shoulders relaxed, slumping slightly as your hands fell by your side. “why are you even here, y/n? shouldn’t you be at home with your boyfriend or something?”

“my boyfriend? you of all people should know i don’t have a boyfriend.” he scoffed, biting the inside of his cheek when the door to the locker room opened.

“could’ve fooled me.” he mumbled softly, but you weren’t letting the conversation end there.

“is that what this is about? you’re mad that liam showed up the other day? well, i didn’t exactly ask him to show up out of the blue after two years, nol.”

“no? you weren’t ready to go back to how things were back in new york? you didn’t want to run back home and start your brand new shiny life with him?”

“what the fuck are you talking about? why does it matter what i had back in new york? i ran away from all of that, nol. liam asked me to move back with him and do you know what i said? i told him i’d never go back to him. i told him that he doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. i don’t want that shit anymore! i don’t want liam anymore.”

“but you don’t want me either, right?” your breath caught in your throat, your attempt at following the forming lump failing as you stared at him in disbelief. “am i right?”

“nolan.” you sighed, eyes fluttering shut for a moment.

“it’s not like i haven’t tried, y/n. it’s pretty fucking obvious that i love you, but you’re so set in this idea that you were made to be loved or some shit. you’re so set on not falling in love so you won’t get hurt that you’re ignoring the fact that i wouldn’t hurt you.” your eyes fell to your feet, your nerves spiking as you felt like you were shrinking under his gaze. “tell me i’m wrong.”

“nolan, you know how i feel about that shit-”

“you don’t think i know that? i know, y/n! it’s the only reason i’ve been bottling this shit up for months. if you weren’t so fucking headstrong i would’ve told you this months ago. but i can’t take it anymore, okay? so, here it is.” he stood up, standing just ahead of you. “i love you. i’m in love with you, and i don’t want you to believe any of the bullshit that guy’s feeding you. you deserve to be loved, and i can do that for you. i want to love you like you’ve never been loved before. i want to prove that love exists, and that it’s right in front of you.”

his hands cupped your cheeks, cradling your head in his hands and forcing your eyes up to his. he thought maybe he cracked something, maybe the wall of tears building was because you were realizing that what he was saying was true.

but then you shook your head, breaking the dam of tears and allowing them to roll down your cheeks.

“i can’t, nolan.” and his heart broke.

you pulled his hands from your face, gentle hands gripping around his wrists before placing them at his sides. you turned around, only taking a second to acknowledge the crowd of grown men that were watching your exchange.

travis stood at the front, jaw clenched tight as his eyes shifted from you to nolan. he moved slightly, enough to let you slip by him before attempting at trying to comfort nolan.

“pat-”

“i don’t want to talk about it.”

you had the luxury of going home after that, not having to watch the third period as you threw yourself onto your couch and sobbed into your throw pillows. nolan, however, had to play the rest of the game.

he got into another fight in the third, sent to the penalty box with trail of blood dripping from his nose. he broke a few sticks, took a couple of nasty hits but sent them right back without hesitation.

travis drove him back to his apartment, not speaking throughout the drive after being shut down three times prior to getting in the car. he dropped nolan off, telling him to call if he needed anything only to have the door slammed in return.

you stopped showing up to games that you were required to be at, stopped wandering the halls during practice hours. you spent most of your nights on your couch, laptop sat on your lap as you sipped wine while you worked. your phone went unanswered unless it was your boss.

weeks went by without hearing from nolan. you didn’t expect to, but a part of you hoped he’d call or text or something in order to talk to you. you didn’t know what you would say, or what he would say, but you found yourself wishing he was there when you got home.

you found yourself feeling disappointed when he wasn’t hanging around your office during the day. you couldn’t go to games unless you had to, your eyes not being able to leave the number 19 as he skated around the ice. you didn’t know what you wanted, but you knew it wasn’t this.

when your boss called you into his office on a saturday morning, your heart thudded against your chest harshly. you were expecting notes about how you’d been slacking. maybe something about giving you a warning for turning in half assed projects or missed deadlines.

you weren’t expecting to walk into a room with your boss as well as someone from the NHL staff, offering you a job back in new york.

“i’m sorry?” your boss let out a soft laugh, holding a manilla folder in your direction.

“the NHL wants you on their team. we’ve had an eye on you for a few months, and they want to offer you a position in their new york division. it’s up to you, obviously, but we’d be delighted to have you.” the man that you had just met moments ago gave you a bright smile, watching you have an internal battle in front of them.

“take your time, let us know once you’d reached a decision.” you nodded slowly, swallowing the lump in your throat to thank the men in front of you before heading out of the office.

you spent the first two days ignoring it, staring up at your ceiling for what felt like hours as you ran through the possibilities lined up for you. did you want to go back to new york? you were unsure. did you want to stop watching clips of the flyers, nolan specifically, over and over again as you thought about how much you messed things up with him? yes.

it took you five days before you were knocking on his door, tears streaming down your cheeks as your bottom lip wobbled. sure, you’d gone through two glasses of wine before you showed up, but that was hardly the point.

travis opened the door, surprised to see you just as much as you were him. his confusion turned to concern quickly, moving to wrap you in a hug and try to coo you out of your tears.

“tk who is it?” you lifted your head from travis’s shoulder to see nolan standing at the end of the hall, frozen in his place as he watched you unravel yourself from your best friend. “what are you doing here?”

“i got a job offer in new york.” you didn’t plan to lead the conversation with that, but it came out before you could think twice about it.

the silence that fell over the two of you was thick and uncomfortable, suffocating you like a scratchy turtle neck that you feel obligated to wear when your grandparents are in town. travis had fled the scene, finding solace in nolan’s guest room as he hid himself from the awkward conversation that was about to ensue.

“that’s great.” the cold tone he used shot through your heart, making you tug at the roots of your hair in frustration.

“that’s great? after all that we went through you’re just going to say ‘that’s great’ as if it’s a good thing that i might move back to new york?” he shrugged, his own frustration masking the hurt that was thumping in his chest.

“it’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

“no, nolan! it’s not what i want! i want what we had back. i want the late night phone calls and the impulsive outings. i want to come back here and watch a movie after being out with the team all night long.” he stared at you blankly, spurring on your frustration even further.

“that sounds like a relationship, y/n, and that isn’t what you wanted. you made that crystal clear when i told you i loved you in front of thirty people and you just walked out.”

“i’m sorry, nolan. i am, i’m sorry. i just-” you chewed on your bottom lip, trying to keep it from wobbling like it did in the locker room, his eyes burning into yours all the same.

“say it.” he challenged, crossing his arms over his chest as he raised his eyebrows at you. “say it, y/n. because if you don’t say it, i can’t believe it.”

“this isn’t easy for me, nolan!”

“you think it’s easy for me? i’ve never felt like this before, y/n! i’ve gotten my heart broken too, but it didn’t feel like this. it didn’t feel how it felt when you walked out of the locker room, and it sure as hell didn’t feel like this. nothing has ever hurt this much before.

“love is scary, y/n, and i can’t tell it isn’t. i can’t tell you that you’ll feel comfortable every single second of the future. i can’t promise you that you wan’t be scared as fuck, but i can tell you that it’ll be worth it. for every ounce of fear you fell, you’ll feel ten times the amount of love. you just have to trust me, baby.”

your head was in his hands once again, eyes glued onto his as he searched for something intently.

“but i need you to say it.”

“i can’t, nolan.”

it was the same thing all over again. you were breaking his heart the same way you broke it back in the locker room. you built him up just to tear him down again, and he couldn’t handle it anymore.

“have fun in new york, y/n.”

the door slamming in front of you broke the dam, a strangled sob bubbling past your lips. nolan leaned against the door, listening to you try to catch your breath out in the hallway. he wanted you to knock, wanted you to yell at him to let you inside. he wanted you to realize that the words sat on the tip of your tongue, all you needed was a push before they’d come out.

but you didn’t.

he didn’t hear anything for a while. he went on a few roadies, played a few home games before he heard anything about it. he didn’t ask, but he was hoping the information would land in his lap sooner or later.

he wasn’t expecting travis to tell him that you took the job. you were moving back to new york, and while it wasn’t a surprise, it was fucking disappointing. nolan still had hope that the two of you would be able to work through all of the bullshit. he was hoping that everything said and done between the two of you would prove to be too much and too strong for you to forget about all of it.

he wanted you to stay in philly, as selfish as it was. he didn’t want you to live in a different state, but then he came to a realization. it was better for nolan if you left. it was better that you didn’t live him somewhere else, rather than working in the same building as him. he didn’t want to see you if he couldn’t have you. he couldn’t be your friend anymore.

travis gave him updates, letting him know that you were working for the NHL, and how it’d be a great experience for you. he knew when you were leaving, knew that you were packing up your apartment and moving back to new york, despite the bad memories that lingered there.

you were leaving, and nolan would probably never see you again.

and he came to terms with that. well, he thought he did. he was doing fine until he heard your name mixed with the words ‘last day’. then it all came crashing down.

you were leaving philly. you were going back to new york and nolan would probably never see you again. it weighed heavily on his chest, heavy on his shoulders as he left his things in the locker room, completely forgetting about packing his things as he ran through the hallways of the stadium, searching for anything that told him that you were still here.

he needed to find you before you left. he needed to see you, even if it was the last time he’d ever see you. he needed to tell you one more time, even if you wouldn’t say it back. he needed to see you. he needed you.

“y/n!” you turned around, confusion evident in your expression as nolan sprinted in your direction, coming to a screeching halt in front of you, breathing heavily as he hunched over to catch his breath.

“nolan?”

“don’t go.” you stared at him, eyebrows furrowed together as you struggled to find something to say. “don’t go. i know i told you to go, but don’t. you can’t go. you hate it there! new york’s filled with awful people and nothing you can’t find here.”

“nolan-”

“you love your job! and you love the flyers. if you go to new york you’ll have to go to isles games, or the rangers! who likes the rangers? that’s bullshit, y/n! what’s in new york that you can’t have here? pizza? the pizza’s fine but that doesn’t warrant you to move back!”

“nolan-”

“don’t go. i know i said i couldn’t wait, but i will. i’ll wait as long as it takes. i’ll do anything it takes to prove to you that i love you. you can’t go, baby. you can’t leave, because i haven’t been able to show you what love is supposed to feel like. you can’t go, please. baby, i love you, and if you go now i don’t think anything’s going to be able to stop me from following you.”

he cradled your head in his hands, one on each cheek as his eyes burned into you for a third time. the third time he held you like you hung the moon and told you all the right things. the third time he looked for something, anything, that told him to stay right here forever.

“i turned down the job.”

“what?” it wasn’t exactly what he was expecting, but he wasn’t losing hope just yet.

“i turned it down. i’m not going to new york.” a grin spread across his face, hope beaming in the back of his mind as he tried not to topple over the edge again. not yet, anyways.

“why?”

“i can’t leave, nolan. not after falling in love with you.” his heart stopped, his breathing stopped, and he was sure that he was about to collapse in the middle of the hallway.

“what?” you smiled, leaning into one of his palms as you sighed softly.

“i love you. i’m in love with you.” you gripped his wrist gently, trying to bring his head out of the clouds and back down to earth as you smiled at him.

“you what?” you laughed then, finding a light humor in his inability to soak in the meaning of your words.

“i love you. i always have, i think, i just couldn’t come to terms with it. i was stupid to think that this was anything but love, nolan. i shouldn’t have walked away in the locker room, and i should’ve said it in the hallway last time. i shouldn’t have let you believe i didn’t love you.”

his lips came crashing down on yours, leaving a bruising kiss on your soft lips that he was sure he could get drunk off of. he had never felt so lightheaded from a kiss, like his enter being was about to burst into flames from how much electricity coursed through him.

you were sure he was about to knock you off of your feet from the force of it all, but you didn’t mind. you smiled against him, feeling him do the same before separating from you. just enough to press his forehead to yours, keeping his eyes screwed shut as he tried to collect his thoughts.

“is this real?” he whispered softly, hearing you laugh softly. you reached up and pinched the back of his hand, hearing him hiss in pain. “shit, okay, definitely real. i love you.”

“i love you.” you said softly, watching him lift his head from yours to finally look back at you.

“i don’t think i’ll ever get used to hearing that.” you leaned into him, pressing a kiss to his jaw.

“good, because i don’t think i’ll ever get used to saying it.”

tagging @thedemonsimpofcamphalfblood

#nolan patrick #nolan x reader #nolan patrick x reader #nhl #philadelphia flyers #nhl fic #hockey fic

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amunching-potato · 3 years ago

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My opinions on the bosses, in the order that I fought them in my first run;

Cleric Beast: Struggled a bit with it in the beginning because I was still getting used to the controls. And after playing the DLC(in NG+), it is... nostalgic, also, because I got killed by Laurence so much and got used to the fire and lava that Cleric Beast was just a kinda boring. But still a good fight in some way.

Father Gascoigne: Was the first roadblock(pain) in my first playthrough, I didn't know how to Lock-on and parrying was difficult (see the first reason), and I didn't know about the elevator a couple of deaths in (which was a pain to walk through) not to mention that he was hella aggressive was just the cherry on top. He's fun to fight now though.

Blood Starved Beast: Eh. He's ok in all of my playthroughs.

Witches of Hemwick: I have only ever died once to them in all of my playthroughs (first one) and that was embarrassing. Didn't know that they could just lock you in place. Easy fight overall.

Dark Beast Paarl: I stumbled upon his arena and was not prepared to fight him in my first run, somehow I killed him first try. He's fun to fight in the next run.

Vicar Amelia: Brute forced my way on the first run and I wasn't aware that she could heal herself because she didn't get the opportunity to do so. The other runs were another story though. She's alright! (What's up with Vicars having a painful walk of shame??)

Shadows of Yharnam: Me and the boys(Younger Madaras twin and Henryk) just bully them. Not really sure on what to think of them.

Martyr Logarius: Since I was underleveled, an absolute pain, fuck him(first playthrough). Fucker is easy to parry when he's done with constantly spamming AOE attacks, flying swords are my bane. The walk of shame whenever I die to him sucks ass(I don't like the ghosts and that bitch that shoots darts at me when I climb up the ladder.)

Amygdala: Bitch. (I have not fought the defiled version but he's probably not enjoyable)

Rom: My dearly detested ❤️ (screw her chalice version specifically)

Celestial Emesiary: Meh. Regardless of runs, they don't really stick out much. But I remember after killing them in the first run and the lamp glitched out and didn't work, which made the walk to Ebrietas a much more bigger pain than it originally is supposed to be.

Ebrietas: Hhhhhhhhhhh, I don't think I could survive fighting against her if it wasn't for Damian during my first run. Tad bit less difficult afterwards.

One reborn: Meh.

Micolash: Mf keeps running away, after I get him to second phase I just use bone marrow ash and shoot him to death.

Mergo's wet nurse: She's alright.

Gehrman: Parrying and viscerals are my friend, that doesn't really matter because he is hella difficult.

Moon presence: I got my ass whooped by Gehrman multiple times, Moonie doesn't really live up to that difficulty. :/

DLC(NG+):

Ludwig: Maybe it's because of Valtr and younger Madaras twin being there to distract him, but he's a fair fight. Second phase music slaps.

Living Failures: Y'all said that they were easy wtf. They killed me more than Ludwig or Maria did. The next run they were fine but my first fight with them was just painful.

Lady Maria: Parry and viscerals bby! ✨✨ Fun fight!(why is acquiring her Rakuyo so hard ;-;)

Orphan of Kos: Fuck him. It's alright in the first phase but everything goes to shit when he goes to second phase.

Laurence: At least I can parry orphan and dish out damages from it, this bitch is a fight that I hate the most.Fuck his 3rd phase. Which makes defeating him even more rewarding. Valtr is the MVP in every fights that I have with Laurence. Also, fuck that nightmare executioner that guards the door.

BONUS; NPC HUNTERS(not all of them):

Henryk: He scares me, I try to dish out as much damage as I can to him whilst trying not to die in order for Eileen to live and be none hostile towards me.

Djura: I didn't kill him on the first run. But I did shoot him off the tower on the next one.

Yahar'gul hunters(cathedral ward): They're not exactly memorable.

Yurie: She's ok, I guess?

Fake Iosefka: She's surprisingly not as bad of a fight that I thought she would be(she didn't do a call of beyond so that's probably a part of it.)

Bloody Crow of Cainhurst: Bitch.

Yahar'gul hunters (unseen village): I lure them to the doorway of the lamp(working one) and stab them from the wall. Or stab one of them with a Shaman bone blade and watch the show unfold.

Edgar: Eh.

Old hunters(in general): Unless they have a weapon that I want or vermin I will kill them for it, otherwise I usually avoid them since they're annoying.

Female church hunter duo: I don't like fighting them.

Brador: Also a bitch. I just kill the first invading one and then the real one so that I won't have to deal with him again.

Alfred: Fought him in the throne room out of curiosity, he's a meh.

I have not and will not fight Eileen or Valtr. I like crow grandma (*˘︶˘*) and Valtr has helped me many times.

#bloodborne #I also didn't kill Simon because why would I?

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btschooseafic · 3 years ago

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Hey you, what’s your dream?

Pairing: platonic!oc x ot7

Details: manager!oc, predebut/idolverse, partial BTS World!verse

Summary: Aviva meets a dancer called J-Hope. [masterlist]

Warnings: This is a fictional story based on real events. The characters presented here are not the same as their real life counterparts.

Track 3: Enter, Jung Hoseok

A Song to Sing - Kid Quill, Devvnon Terrelll, Mark Battles

“If you can dance in the rain (dance in the rain)

It ain't no thing (it ain't no thing)”

December 2010

Aviva was finishing up her day at work when her phone buzzed. She glanced down at it.

‘(^_^)/ ‘ Soonyoung greeted her. ‘Finished training for the day. I’m gonna grab dinner with some of the other trainees here. Wanna join us?’

‘Sorry, ;_; I’ve still got some work left.’

‘Alright. (>^_^)> <(^_^<) I’ll bring something home for you. Do you have an umbrella? Looks like it might rain later.’

‘I have an umbrella. ^_^ Thanks, I’ll be fine. Love you!’

‘Love you too! <3’

Forty minutes later, Aviva finished work and stepped outside. As she walked to the train, she passed a crowd of people watching a street dancer. She stopped suddenly, recognizing him as one of the recently hired trainees. She watched him dance, impressed by his passion when it started to rain. Most of the crowd thinned out, but he kept dancing just as passionately.

Aviva hurried over to him as he moved to the side, picking a bag up from a bench. He was taller than her, but she stretched to hold the umbrella over his head.

“Careful, you might catch a cold.”

“Oh?” The trainee turned and smiled at her, glancing up at the umbrella. “Thanks... um, assistant-ssi? Ah, sorry, I can’t remember your name.”

“I’m Chen Aviva. No need to address me formally. We’re the same age,” she told him. “You’re Jung Hoseok-ssi, right?”

He nodded. “Ah, how embarrassing you remembered my name when I forgot yours…”

She laughed. “No, it’s fine. It’s my job to remember things about you.”

He tilted his head, blinking at her before grinning again.

“I guess so! You’re doing great, then!” He sent her a double thumbs up.

“You too!” She said. “I’ve never seen anybody move like that… and you look so happy doing it too.” He flushed slightly

“Ah, well… I do love dancing.”

“But why are you dancing on the street?” She wondered.

“Hmm, well, I hit a roadblock with a routine so I thought I’d challenge myself by getting a bit of an audience an doing it in front of them.”

“But the rain...” Aviva glanced disappointedly at the meager stragglers from the earlier crowd.

“It’s okay, okay!” He said brightly. “I had you and a few other people watching, that’s enough for me. Well...” His grin turned to a bit of a smirk. “At least for now!”

She laughed. “That’s a good attitude. I’ll do my best to help gain a good sized audience for you, Jung Hoseok-ssi.”

Aviva walked him to the dorm under her umbrella. He said she didn’t need to, but she insisted. It was only fifteen minutes away, and there was a train station right nearby.

“Ah, watch out!” Aviva grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the way as a car drove close by, sending a big splash up.

Hoseok stared at her. “That was very… manly of you, but why? I’m already soaked… and now you are too.”

She shrugged, pushing her wet hair out of her face.

“It’s fine. It’s just water.”

“Dirty water…” His nose wrinkled. He glanced up at the building. “Come up to the dorm with me—you can borrow the shower and some clean clothes.”

She frowned. “I don’t think I’m supposed to.”

His lips pressed together in a pout. “Why not?”

“There’s a no girl’s allowed rule.”

“That’s stupid,” he thought. He shrugged. “Well, I won’t tell anyone.”

“There are cameras.”

“Are they really going to search the footage and get you in trouble for it?”

“Well…” She chewed at her lip. “I guess, technically, I am an assistant… so maybe that cancels out the rule about no girls allowed?”

“Let’s just say it does!” Hoseok said brightly, pushing her lightly towards the door. “I couldn’t let you ride the train like that—my mother raised me better!”

Everyone stared at them when they got upstairs.

They were crowded around the table eating what looked like sautéed chicken breast, very lightly seasoned.

Aviva frowned. “Is this all you guys are eating for dinner?”

“Namjoonie does his best with what we can afford,” Ikje said, smiling wearily.

“W-who are you?” Yeongman asked her.

“She’s that assistant, Bom-ssi,” Donghyuk recalled. Aviva sighed.

“It’s Aviva, actually. Bang-PDnim just calls me that cause he can’t remember my name.”

“What are you doing here, Bom-ssi?” Hunchul asked her.

“I brought Aviva-ssi here,” Hoseok said, holding her elbow like she was an old lady he was helping cross the street.

“Really?” Hunchul smirked. Hoseok laughed.

“Not like that. I just thought she could borrow the shower and clean off before she got on the train.”

“You’re soaked,” Yeongman noted.

“No shit,” Hunchul said.

“What were you two doing, dancing in the rain?” Yoongi asked dryly.

“He was, I wasn’t,” Aviva said shortly.

“I’ll get you a towel,” Hoseok said. “Ikje-sunbae, maybe some of yours or Namjoon-ah’s clothes would fit her?”

Ikje nodded. “I’ll take a look.” He stood up and moved into the bedroom.

Aviva stood there awkwardly for a moment, her clothing dripping on the floor, the boys still staring at her.

Yoongi stood up. “I want coffee. Come give me a hand, Bom-ssi.”

She frowned as she followed him. “I told you, it’s—“

“Aviva-yah?” Namjoon said, eyes widening. “What are you doing here? Why are you so wet?”

“Rain,” she said briefly. Yoongi snorted. Aviva looked at him. He turned around, busying himself at the counter. "What did you need me in here for anyway?" Namjoon looked between them curiously.

"Hand me a cup," Yoongi said, pointing at a cabinet without turning around. Aviva frowned, but got a cup out and handed it to him.

"You couldn't do that yourself?" She wondered. Then he turned around, handing the cup (now filled with hot coffee) back to her. She stared at it. "For me?"

"No." He rolled his eyes. "I just want you to stand there holding it."

"Hyung has a hard time admitting when he's being thoughtful," Namjoon told Aviva, grinning a bit.

"I don't," Yoongi disagreed. Aviva decided not to mention the pink flush over his pale face. He looked at her. "You were shivering... we don't have any milk."

Aviva opened the fridge, frowning at the single bottle of soy sauce, and a dripping brown head of cabbage. “Frozen vegetables are cheap and don’t go bad as quickly as fresh vegetables. Eggs and dried fish are full of...” Her brow furrowed. “How do you say protein in Korean?” Namjoon shook his head. “Ah, anyway, it’s good for you. A little goes a long way for filling you up.”

“Dried fish?” Namjoon repeated, his nose wrinkling slightly.

Yoongi pointed at the rice cooker. “Did you break it again?”

Namjoon grimaced. “Again?” Aviva wondered. “I can take a look at—“

“There you are,” Hoseok said, entering the kitchen. “We’ve got you clothes and a towel.” He handed them over. “You should hurry before you miss the next train.”

“Right…” Aviva shot the rice cooker a worried look.

“I’ll fix it,” Yoongi told her.

“He’s good at things like that,” Namjoon assured her. He watched her leave and then turned to Hoseok. “Was that my t-shirt?” Hoseok nodded. Namjoon sighed.

#bts #fanfiction #bts world #jung hoseok #hoseok x oc #kim namjoon #min yoongi #bts x oc #manager!oc #idolverse #bts predebut #bts fanfiction #my fics #hey you what's your dream

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they-say-you-go-blind · 4 years ago

Text

Close Around the Campfire | Jack / Davey Fanfiction

Davey and Jack were close. It was different, instantaneous kind of close that neither had experienced until this point. Did either of them intend to find the person they were meant to be with forever at counselor orientation day of a summer camp? Never in a million years.

———————————————

Davey had turned 19 less than a week ago. With one year of Political Science under his belt, but a hearty student loan to pay off, he was desperate for a job. With that first application, and a couple of phone interviews later, and he was set for the summer . However, now that he was pulling into the staff parking lot at Blockwood Summer Camp, he wasn’t so sure. He turned the keys of his beat up car and typed a text to Les.

I made it to camp safe. Going to do some counselor stuff for the next few days so probably won’t be able to talk much. I’ll see ya in a couple of weeks for A.R.K. camp.

He slumped in his seat. 10 weeks of leading campfire songs and doing archery and making sure a weekly rotation of kids stay alive... maybe he hadn’t thought about it enough. He opened snap and took a picture of his bags that were crammed into the back of his car. He looked at the photo for a second, captioned it with ‘I believe I’ve made a horrible mistake’, and sent it to the groupchat with his best friends.

He knew he had about ten minutes until he should start making his way to the Mess Hall, as it said in his Orientation Day email. His best friend, Katherine, was trying to call him and he nearly let it ring out. At the last second, he pressed answer and spoke,

“I don’t think I should be here.”

Katherine and Davey had been best friends since diapers. In Kindergarten, their teachers were convinced they were twins just because of they way they acted with each other (and their aversion to all others). In middle school, the two of them sang and did a choreographed dance number at the talent show. They were the Closet Gay prom king and Queen, most representation that their school had ever had. And now, going into their sophomore year of college, they were honest with one another about everything, could joke about anything, and be trusted with the deepest secrets the other had. It’s no surprise that Katherine blurted out,

“I’m sorry, have you seen your co-workers?!”

Davey was taken aback.

“How the hell do you know what they look like?”

Katherine blushed. Her secret was out.

“You gave me access to your email before you left, in case you got anything important.”

Davey nodded and and whispered out an ‘oh no’. Katherine started to send the screenshots as she spoke.

“I saw your orientation email... it wasn’t hard to find their socials from there...”.

Davey couldn’t believe it as he swiped through the profiles of the three other boys who were his new co-workers. Katherine started to narrate each of her discoveries.

“First off, is Harrison “Race” Higgins. Seems fun and all. Also, I’m sure you can see in the profile picture, but Rainbow Flag!”

“Ah yes, Christian church camp is where I’m going to find my b...”

Davey could barely get the words out. Katherine was the only person in his “real life” who knew that the “you two should just get married” comments about him and Kath would absolutely never happen. Katherine just giggled, like a schoolgirl keeping a secret.

“Just you wait, Davey.”

Davey pondered on Race’s profile picture. Seemed cute, a little goofy, a lot like a best friend. Katherine continued.

“Next is Zachary “Spot” Conlon. Don’t tell me why they both have nicknames. But he is...”

“He looks like he could beat me up with a glare.”

Katherine laughed at that.

“They’re dating, by the way. They give me forever together vibes.”

Davey swiped between the two profiles as she talked. She wasn’t wrong, forever vibes were There.

“Huh, noted.”

“And the last one,” Katherine cleared her throat.

“ and I’ll let you narrate this one yourself, is Jack Kelley.”

Jack Kelly was the most attractive boy Davey had ever seen. His profile picture looked like it was him in a painting class for University. He had a little bit of pink paint on his cheek and a beautiful smile. His eyes were the color of a clear blue sky. It looked that his cover photo was one of his paintings as well,... a landscape piece with the initials J.K. in the bottom right corner. His “about me” was a gold mine, and he would be sure to read every detail later.

“Dibs on this one.”

He told Katherine. It had been their thing, that once they’d both seen someone attractive, the first one to call dibs would have zero roadblocks to them. Davey was so enthralled. He just kept staring at the profile picture.

“He’s just...”

“Perfect? I know...”

She chuckled to herself.

“And, there’s one more thing you should know.”

She spoke and sent him the final screenshot. When Davey opened it, he was confused.

A picture of Katherine’s Facebook?

She nearly squealed, but kept composure to say.

“You really were not observant when you pulled into the parking lot. I expected better from you, Davey J.”

Davey was in shock. She couldn’t have made this up! He got so excited and nervous and relieved all at once. Looking around, he saw her car and waved.

“You’re not pulling my leg, right? This isn’t some twisted joke... really?!”

“Yes! Apparently one of the female counselors was Not who she said she was, so they called me last night and I am here for the summer!”

She spoke quickly, Davey could barely understand what she was saying.

“You’re literally my favorite person in the world.”

He spoke with sincerity. He couldn’t believe his best friend in the world would be spending the summer with him.

“I might have to become your second favorite. If I’m not mistaken, Jack Kelly just pulled in the parking lot.”

Davey turned his head to see him and couldn’t help but stare for a few seconds. Photos did not do Jack Kelly justice. Davey’s head was spinning. He didn’t know if he could manage spending five seconds with him. How was he supposed to survive the summer? Davey’s face grew red as he realized Jack was pulling into the spot next to him.

———————————————

“Kath, holy shit.” Davey blurted out as he snapped his head to the front. “Language, Daves. Christian children’s camp...”

Katherine snorted as she laughed at Davey, who was now flustered and red in the cheeks.

“What are we gonna do?”

He asked, his forehead falling on the steering wheel in defeat. Katherine pondered.

“We? No, you. You called dibs! I’m just along for the ride.”

“You’re an asshole. I’m actually going to die. He is... God Kath-”

Davey stopped mid-sentence as he heard a knock on his window. He lifted his head to see Jack Kelly.

“Good luck with that, babe.”

After making a frustrated noise, and trying to refrain from looking like an idiot, he hung up the call, cranked the window down, and smiled, waiting for Jack to speak.

“Hey there. You must be working here, too?”

Davey nearly combusted as Jack leaned back onto the passengers door of his car, which was nicer than his own. Did Davey care about that? Not really.

“Yeah, I’m David Jacobs. Most people call me Davey.”

“Jack Kelly.”

He stuck out his hand, Davey shook it through the window and chuckled. Jack continued.

“It’s nice to meet ya. You’re radiating ‘camp counselor’, but don’t wanna assume.”

Davey’s brain was all but melted. This boy wanted to talk to him. He got out of his car and made the effort to talk to him.

“Yeah, course. I- yeah.”

“What’s got ya so bothered you can barely form a sentence?”

“No, nothing it’s just- did they have other jobs? Not like I would want one but like-“

Jack laughed. This Davey kid was adorable.

“Sure they do, got my buddy Finch running around as a lifeguard, couple of others do maintenance, and I think they brought on Albert to be a ‘activity coordinator’. That basically means when we do archery, he’s in charge of us not shooting each other in the leg.”

Davey chuckled.

“So you’ve worked here before?”

Jack nodded and looked around. This place was a second home to him.

“My ma’s the camp director. Been goin’ here since I was like, 7 and workin’ for the past two years.”

Jack smiled wide and continued on.

“Speaking of workin, we should probably head in. I usually come early to help set up but she insisted I try to be more “normal” this summer. Famous last words, I guess.”

They both laughed quite a bit.

“You’re very friendly, Jack.”

Davey spoke, metaphorically walking on eggshells as to not mess up the friendship that he hoped was forming. He got out of his car and realized he was the same height as Jack, if only a little bit shorter. They were very close to each other.

“Why thanks, Davey. Tell her you said so...”

Jack laughed with him as they made their way to the mess hall. He explained to Davey the in’s and out’s of Blockwood. Most of the people who worked their had gone to camp in their teens and it was just natural to apply for a job there, too.

Before Jack walked in the mess hall, he turned to Davey. Jack had made eye contact every time he spoke with him. It was nice.

“Just double checkin, because ma ain’t always good with hiring ages, ya 18?”

“Oh, yeah. Just turned 19.”

“Good good. I’m about to turn 21, if that matters.”

“It’s good information to have, especially when we’re about to spend all summer together.”

Was Jack blushing? He didn’t know, and it was hot out. Either way, he didn’t care because Jack Kelly was talking to him and adorable.

“Yeah, Davey. For sure.”

Jack opened the door to see Race and Spot all over each other. He snapped his fingers at them and both looked towards Davey. Jack spoke up.

“Hey boys, we got a new one. Be civil, this here’s Davey.”

Race smiled, got up from his seat, and stuck out his hand.

“Name’s Racetrack. You can call me Race or Racer or Sweetheart. It’s good to meet ya, Dave.”

Davey chuckled and shook it. He really was late to the party. They all knew each other.

“It’s nice to meet you too.”

“That shortie there is my pal-“

Race shot a look at Jack, who shrugged. He continued.

“Sorry, are you?”

Race gestured to his rainbow friendship bracelet. Hoping that would be enough. At camp, they tried not to use the word. Some people had gotten very angry when their child had come home saying, ‘my counselor was gay’.

“No, no, no. I am. Not out, but, I guess I am, now. Yes.”

Race nodded and amended his statement.

“I gotcha, Davey. That’s my boyfriend, Spot.”

Davey gave a wave and Spot nodded and waved back. Had Davey really come out to people he met ten seconds ago? Jack looked surprised. At least you’re not obvious.

Katherine came inside soon after. She was immediately swooped up by Race and told to “lose the good girl vibe” from Spot. She laughed with them for awhile about the instant ‘Davey and Jack’ connection. It wasn’t hard to see for either of their friends.

Jack introduced Davey to the whole gang. Finch and Albert were in the corner trying to decide who was right about a candy from the snack shack. Sarah and Chutchie dancing to the approved “Camp Playlist”, and his mama trying to finalize a little bit of paperwork.

He got to Romeo, trying a pick-up line on Katherine, and stopped.

“Hey there, Miss. Don’t believe we’ve met before. My name’s Jack. Jack Kelly.”

He stuck out his hand and she shook it.

“Charmed. I’m Katherine, Katherine Plumber-Jacobs.”

Katherine and Davey smiled at each other and laughed. Jack looked between the two of them and his’s face was turning red.

“What... y’all ain’t married or something, are ya?!”

Davey and Katherine started to laugh without cease. Davey tried to explain through snorts.

“No... she just uses that line because she wants to be my twin. Kath, here, she’s my best friend.”

Romeo spoke up.

“Oh goodness. Well ain’t that the best of both worlds for ya, Jack?”

Jack narrowed his eyes and shot a glare Romeo’s way.

“Now that I know there’s two of ya, I won’t be so scared to let Davey wander. Thought I was gonna have to be glued to his side!”

“Don’t think he’d like me very much if you stopped leading him around.”

Davey was flustered, but Katherine and Jack laughed and laughed. She waved goodbye, going to talk to Sarah instead of interrupting their “together time”, as she called it while recounting the day with Davey. He tried to apologize to Jack.

“Sorry about her.”

“No way, she’s spunky and loud. She’ll fit right in.”

Davey looked around. He wasn’t wrong. It was chaotic and were Romeo and Race arm wrestling? Was Katherine really cheering them on?

“Yeah, she’s... great.”

“You’re great.”

Jack backtracked as his face grew red.

“Oh shit, um sorry about that. That didn’t-”

“Hey, it’s... you’re great, too. Just cut that language out before kids get here in a few days, Kelly.”

Davey smiled and Jack swears that if this was literally any other setting, he would kiss him or draw him a picture or do anything to see that smile every day. Unfortunately, Jack decided to revert to a Jack that didn’t like getting emotional in front of his friends. Chalk it up to force of habit.

“So, you enjoy it here?”

“Is that even a question? It’s awesome, Jack.”

———————————————

It had been a full day of training. Ms. Medda, as Davey had learned was Jack’s mother, and some of the more experienced staff got newcomers ready for camp. She explained how these first three days were training and that there were still things that needed to be done before kids came on Monday. Everyone did some basic first aid and some get-to-know-you games.

Katherine and Davey worked on learning names and people’s jobs. It seemed that when you thought you had it all figured out, Jack or Race would call ‘em a whole new nickname and the pieces would all fall apart. Maintenance (Elmer, Buttons, and Jojo) and lifeguards (Finch and Romeo) had a bit more training to do. Albert and Crutchie, outdoor and indoor activity coordinators, needed to organize some things for the first day.

That left the counselors. Davey, Jack, Race, Spot, Katherine, and Sarah decided to go on a nature walk. That group, of all people, would be spending the most time together. They took them through the woods, showed them the cabins, made sure that Davey and Katherine were somewhat oriented on the camp property. During the walk, Jack took the lead to explain where they were and what needed to be done.

• “Alright, adventure course- never go there without Albert... or me, I’m more fun.”

• “Cabins- good stuff. We can drive down the path to unpack cars later. But Ma’s got me on a tight schedule.”

• “Swimming house- also doubles as a bath house. None of us are going to smell particularly great until Off Days. But please, for the love of our Lord and Savior, make sure your kids shower.”

Race chimed in on this one, acting as if he were passing down an urban legend as Spot started to chuckle.

“They will try to persuade you, tell you they don’t need one. But they do.”

Sarah and Katherine had instantly been drawn to each other. Davey didn’t know how, but Katherine had already managed to be given two friendship bracelets. She would be just fine. He would be, too.

Jack sighed as the timer on his phone went off.

“Sorry gang, walk’s been terminated. But, now it’s time for my favorite part of camp.

Please don’t say hazing. No hazing.

“Building the campfire!”

Davey chuckled as the others wooed. Jack was the leader everyone needed.

———————————————

Over the past three days, Katherine and Davey had melded into this friendgroup seamslessly. They would roast each other and laugh and exist as a family. Neither were quite sure how they pulled it off. Each now had friendship bracelets from fellow counselors, and likewise made them for others. They had swam in the pool and laughed and sang and, Davey recounted, prayed together. It didn’t make sense how it could all be so perfect.

More than anything else, Jack had instilled the need in Katherine and Davey for a ‘Perfect Cooking Fire’. He knew that, of all things, this would have to be the thing they remember how to do. They built it well, only with a little help from Sarah, as Jack filed paperwork for him mom.

He would do that often. Disappear and reappear like a magician. He knew what needed to be done, and did it before his mother even asked. Davey had tried to offer help, but Jack just took out his reading glasses and said ‘No, no. It’s stuff I gotta do, Dave.”

The final night before campers were here, and all the college kids just wanted to drink in the moment. Race and Spot went to get the food for the “Last Supper” as they called it. Hot dogs, of course.

Davey was relived that Jack came to sit next to him after the food was done. The entire staff was sitting around, laughing and chatting and eating. Jack knew that he needed to talk to Davey, just not with everyone around. David blurted out exactly what was on his mind.

“I really like it here.”

“I’m glad, Dave. You did a great job with the cooking fore, too.”

“Thanks, I thought I wouldn’t. Ya know, in the car that first day, I was convinced that I made a horrible mistake.”

“I’m glad I knocked on your window then.”

“Why’d ya do that? Just to be nice?”

Jack looked around as he grew flustered.

“Can we, talk abou that later?”

“Of course.”

The festivities lasted until “Light’s Out” at 11pm. Medda suggested that everyone should turn in soon, as they would all have to be ready by 8am tomorrow. Race asked her, fishing for laughs, as she walked away-

“What if I just never got to bed, Miss Medda?”

“Then you would be unfit for the job, Mr. Higgins. Get some shut eye!”

The entire fire laughed at her retort.

The gang started to slowly disband. Katherine and Sarah were the last to go, hand in hand, except for Jack and Davey. Davey made a comment.

“God only knows what they’re off to do.”

“God is one lucky son of a gun.”

They both laughed at that.

They both sat there, next to the ashes of a once great fire.

Jack looked around and talked in a low tone.

“Davey.”

“Yeah, Jack.”

“I’m ready to talk about it...”

Davey gulped. This was it. He was going to tell him that it meant nothing that they always say next to each other. That talking until four in the morning wasn’t real. That these past few days weren’t an indication of anything.

“I, whew, that first day you were so nervous. Now look at me...”

Jack’s palms were sweaty and he wiped them on his pants.

“Hey, dude. It’s okay. We don’t have to talk about it.”

“No, no I want to. We need to.”

Davey’s stomach turned and he closed his eyes.

“I- shoot. I knocked on your window, because you’s were the prettiest boy I’d ever seen.

Davey opened his eyes and looked at Jack, who was now near tears.

“God, I’m real emotional about this, sorry.”

Jack took a breath and looked Davey in the eyes.

“Just, you’re perfect. And, I know we just met and all, and it’s highly unprofessional to say this but... I really think these three days have been a dream come true.”

“Oh Jack...”

Davey held out one of his hands. Jack took it with his.

“Honest, ya know... I’ve got so many friends and they’re always dating and everything but, you came along and just...”

He put his head on Davey’s shoulder and kept going.

“You’re just really nice and kind and, I don’t know, make me feel a new sorta way.”

Davey couldn’t believe it.

“You, like me, Jack?”

Jack spouted off, sarcastically as ever.

“No, it’s all an act! I caught ya in a gay lie!”

Davey laughed as Jack lifted his head and squeezed Davey’s hand.

“Nah, I do. And, nothing’s gotta happen, tonight or this summer or ever, especially since there’ll be kids and it’s a Christian camp and-“

“Your mom?”

“She doesn’t care. You’ve seen the way some of ‘em hang all over each other.”

“I know that, just wanted to check.”

“Yeah, but- like, God. You’re perfect Davey Jacobs.”

“C-Can I kiss you?”

Davey didn’t mean to say it, but he did. And Jack did. His eyes lit up and he closed the distance. It was warm. Davey had never kissed a boy before. He was certain Jack had, though.

Jack hadn’t. Coming out to himself was one thing, his family and friends was another, but to kiss a boy next to a campfire when you’re about to spend all summer with him? No, he hadn’t. Kissing girls was one thing, but this? With Davey? Was something he could never compare anything to. Jack pulled away for a second, wanting to be frank with him.

“Did you like that?”

“Do that again, Kelly.”

Davey pulled Jack back in. And that’s how they stayed, for a while. Neither could tell if it had been an hour or just a few seconds when they finally pulled away. Davey wanted to be honest.

“I’m not, out-out yet, if that could be an issue.”

“No, nah... and it doesn’t have to, nothing’s gotta come of this, ya know.“

“I know. It’s, it’s nice, though. I want it to.”

Davey leaned on Jack’s shoulder. He was so hesitant, usually. Jack Kelly might’ve been the only boy in the world who could do that to him.

“God, I was so worried I was scarin’ a closeted catholic boy away.”

Davey laughed. Everyone seemed to get that vibe from him.

“One, non-denominational. Everyone gets thrown off by that. Two, you’re not scarin me at all.”

Jack pressed a kiss to Davey’s temple and started to play with his hair.

“This okay?”

“Yeah, this is wonderful.”

They don’t know when they turned in for the night. But, 8am rolled around and camp was in session. Jack came up behind Davey, right before campers were about to enter and spoke calmly, putting his hand into David’s .

“It’s gonna be a good summer, Davey.”

“Yeah, it is, Jack.”

David gave his hand a tight squeeze as Jack walked away to unlock and the door. Upon opening the door, a boy, while looked to be no older than ten, ran to Jack and threw his arms around him.

“Cowboy!”

“Hey there, dude! How are ya?”

Davey smiled and looked at Katherine, who was standing by with the other counselors. He gave her a nod, and that was all they needed.

This summer is going to be great.

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alexisluthor · 5 years ago

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Deep Dive - Stranger Beside You *WARNING* PSON SPOILERS

Where to start with this ep? Well, much to the surprise of no one at all, Eve turned out to be related to the girl in the box! I think the real twist was how the show handled her morally ambiguous actions. Malcolm manages to keep a (relatively) cool head after finding out what Eve had been hiding. He doesn't fall apart at the seams, I believe, because he saw it coming... he was already preparing for the worst. And I think the audience can't help but sympathize with Eve. From how things played out, it seems like she never intentionally set out to hurt Malcolm. Which is great but...she still...did hurt him.

Putting that aside, there is a bit of contradiction in her words and actions. She had done everything that she did in order to find out the truth about her sister, then later, in Malcolm's loft...says she doesn't want the truth just because she developed feelings for him? That seems a bit weak. If something happened to my sister, I'd turn the world upside down to find out what happened, no matter how in love/lust I was with my romantic partner. To step right up to the finish line and hesitate like that was...in my view...bizarre. I mean, how long has Malcolm been in her life? Not nearly long enough for her to sacrifice the truth for him. For good measure, they also threw in the...but knowing will make it real... BUT GIRL...you only got close to the Whitly's in the first place because you WANTED to know. Also...how did she narrow it down to the Surgeon? Do you know how many homicides there were in NYC in the 90s/00s? But apparently she just made an educated guess that it was him? Okay...I'll take it.

I wonder how old TGITB was when she was killed. She ran away at 16, but kept sending photos and letters...but for how long? Sure, taking TGITB was the 'perfect' opportunity for Martin - the situation fell into his lap. But selecting a victim so haphazardly seems to buck against Martin's intelligence. As a surgeon with a modicum of common sense, you'd think he'd do research, find the right person, make sure they didn't have family, etc. She didn't have family, but he didn't know that. And who knows how many people could have witnessed him helping her back to his house in broad daylight. It's just...not smart of him at all. He did mention to Mal in one of their little sessions (when Mal was in college) that he did improvise. But there's a difference between improvising and being reckless, which is what this instance seems like. I digress though.

Anyway...moving on...Malcolm's little dinner with dad was interesting. I think it shows just how much Martin compartmentalizes. In his mind, he was a great father, he 'just happened' to live a double life. Later, when Malcolm is confronting "da bad guy" he reaches into his own bag of past experience to tell the guy that he'd been hurt, and made to think that was love, when in actuality, it was abuse. I think this was meant to echo Malcolm's own experiences, especially about the bit about being 'powerless.' Malcolm is powerless at times, and certainly was as a child. But up until TGITB, his father had been a great example of a loving parent. Which is where the cognitive dissonance comes into play for Malcolm. He really is torn asunder by the fact that he did have an attentive and loving father...up until TGITB and the chloroforming, etc.

I've read a lot of people's opinions on Martin, seen their hatred for him. But I believe that Martin chloroformed Malcolm so many times, to avoid killing him. I think he was biding his time, hoping to return to whatever his sense of normalcy was. I don't think Martin ever intended to kill Malcolm (he just told him that to get him to stab him, and John likely planted that seed due to his jealousy of not being the 'chosen' murder protege). Let's face it, if Martin (a -what- 190lb something, grown man, serial killer) wanted (tiny) Malcolm dead, he could have killed him immediately after his discovery of TGITB. I think Martin's logic was..."I don't really want to kill my son. Let's see if he has the sociopathic/psychopathic tendencies like I do, Mayb I can get him interested in muuuuurrrrdeeeer." And when that went south, Martin's gig was up. But if you watch these ep's closely, you can see that even though Martin is a conniving, manipulative, sociopath...the only thing he truly seems to care about is Malcolm. What do narcissists love more than anything? Themselves! And what is Malcolm to Martin if not the embodiment of his legacy? He, like so many parents, looks at his offspring and sees an extension of himself.

Anywho... Malcolm finds out the reason his 'lies' were so successful, was because they weren't 'lies' to Martin, but the 'truth.' Fascinating. How has no one written a book about The Surgeon? *whispers, that could be a story line for the future* *coughs*

The dinner scene was great. It was also great that Martin could deduce Malcolm was dating simply from hearing "dinners and plays" over the phone. He seems preternaturally invested in Malcolm's personal life. Malcolm is his only real lifeline and relationship. So how will he react to the fact that not only is Malcolm's girlfriend related to TGITB but that even after 'using' Malcolm and Jess in a way...that he's choosing to remain with her? OUCH. I think that was a twist not a lot of people expected. But the odds of that relationship working out has to be slim to none.

I mean...what do you tell the kids (not that Malcolm wants to have any)? "Oh, yes...well...your grandpa murdered your aunt. Then mommy got close to the murderer's ex-wife and son and fell in love with the son - daddy. And here you are! Oh, and our relationship was founded on a bed of lies and pain, loss and suffering. I got to bitch slap murdering gramps one day, so that was therapeutic." I mean............could that really work out? o_0 Also...what if Eve does want kids, and Mal doesn't? Or what if she decides that she wants a relationship that isn't a painful daily reminder of her trauma? There could be some serious roadblocks ahead. (And taking her to meet Martin...ooof...is that the smartest move? What do you think? I can see Martin just completely losing it in a fit of rage. (Also, Martin clearly ships Dani/Malcolm as well...soo...eeee))

Aaaannnnd of course, there's wonderful Malcolm...my sweet...sweet...idiotic genius who decided to leave a crowded space in favor of a horror-movie-setting, rug warehouse upstairs? Sweetie...no. You need to make better choices.

Overall... Dani not wanting to run the background check and get involved in the Mal/Eve drama - great move. JT ribbing Malcolm about screwing up his kid - quality content. Edrisa's hand on Mal for too long, drawing the attention of Arroyo - perfection. Edrisa dramatically tackling Malcolm - chef's kiss. Malcolm getting beaten up and choked - the fuel for many people's future fanfic's I'm sure. Malcolm not having had a therapy sesh in, what feels like, forever - probably not smart (but boy's busy). All in all, a great episode. And I suppose Ainsley won that little..."who's the better investigator" contest after-all ;)

#prodigal son #prodigal son spoilers #pson #pson spoilers #analysis #episode analysis #martin whitly #malcolm bright #gil arroyo #dani powell #jt tarmel #edrisa tanaka #prodigal son analysis #long post

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duckielover151 · 4 years ago

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Didn’t think this would be one of those shows I rant about, but here we are. I’m not crazy about slice of life romances, and I didn’t particularly enjoy Just Because, but I did get invested in the characters by the end, and boy do I have things to say about the Ena-Eita-Mio love triangle. (SPOILERS)

This comes together in a few parts.

Mio:

I liked Mio just fine as a character, but I always felt her stake in these romances was the weakest part of the show. There was so little substance to her crush on Haruto. It literally existed only to complicate her relationship with Eita-- act as an early roadblock to his equally substance-less crush on her.

For a while, it bothered me that whatever her attraction to Haruto was, it was apparently strong enough to persevere since middle school but then fades away in the space of, like, 5 minutes. She returns the eraser, and it’s like she’s been freed from some spell. Like, “Huh, guess I didn’t actually like him after all.”

It just felt shallow and manufactured for the sake of drama. Only recently did I start to appreciate the potential this plot line could have brought to the series. Which brings us to part two.

Ena:

On the other hand, I found Ena Komiya to be super annoying when she was first introduced. On top of her pushy attitude, she just occupied a really weird place in the story, not really connected to the main group, the only underclassman who didn’t have adulthood breathing down her neck... I was dreading it when the show started to very clearly head in the direction of weaving her into the love web, when she started developing her crush on Eita. I didn’t need any more angst or drama or dumb misunderstandings.

But then something started to shift. And before I knew it, Ena was suddenly the best character in the show.

Let’s be real for a minute. Just Because is pretty fucking dull, like, 90% of the time. Most of the cast is either naturally very reserved and introverted or-- in Haruto’s case-- uncharacteristically bogged down by his romantic woes at least for the duration of this story.

Ena is loud and stubborn and pushy and very blunt. The character who had no trouble saying the thing that everyone else holds back because they’re trying to be polite. She confronts Eita about his crush on Mio and basically confesses her own feelings for him in the same scene. She’s always very clear about what she wants from their relationship but also never hesitates to support him-- even if what he’s working towards is meant to get him closer to another girl. She wants him to be happy, even if that happiness is going to come from being with someone else. Komiya is just great. I love her.

This finally brings us to part three.

Eita:

You want to talk about dull... Eita barely has a personality to speak of. And there could have been some background to his introverted-ness. His dad’s job has always caused the family to move a lot-- and unexpectedly, often in the middle of the semester. So he’s struggled to make friends for most of his life. (Not that the show ever really explores that...) The only thing the writers deemed important enough to really tell us about him is that he’s had a crush on Mio since junior high. ...For no particular reason that I can discern. He admires how hard she works, I guess? He gets one line about how she has a cute, awkward side despite generally seeming put-together. And that’s it. One line.

I won’t pretend that they never had a good moment. They had exactly one of those too, in fact. I’ll admit, the scene where he helps get her to her entrance exams in spite of the snow delays, calming her down by helping her study on the journey there is a really good scene. The first (but also last) time I really felt something for their ship.

The thing is, Eita really comes to life whenever he’s interacting with Ena. (Haruto even points out that they have chemistry.) At first, it was just their bickering pushing him out of his comfort zone. But he also opens up to Ena in a way we never get to see with Mio. The scene where she gives him the good luck charms for his entrance exam-- knowing that he’s only taking a last-minute entrance exam to try to get into the school Mio’s headed for-- was really great. The culmination of a bunch of good scenes between these two. We get to see their relationship grow. With Eita and Mio, the whole ship is kind of just supposed to be carried along on the knowledge of the crush Eita’s had for however long.

Conclusion:

Just Because would have been such a better show if they’d gone for the curve ball ending and had Eita end up with Ena instead.

This is a show about a group of (primarily) high school seniors learning to let go of the past and face their futures. I originally hated how hastily thrown-together the end of Mio’s crush on Haruto felt-- just so she could realize she had feelings for Eita instead at pretty much the same moment Ena did.

I just get the same feel from both crushes. Mio realizes so easily that her feelings for Haruto had likely faded away a while ago, she was just holding onto the past. What feels contrived as is could have been a great parallel to Eita realizing that holding onto his crush on her was also a way of avoiding the future and all the impending changes to his life. It wouldn’t have been the perfect ending they try to make out his finally getting together with Mio to be, but when is romance ever perfect?

#Just Because #Mio Natsume #Eita Izumi #Ena Komiya #spoilers #I can finally leave this show behind now

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blenalela · 4 years ago

Note

Walt for the character asks 😊💜

Thank you!!😊💜

Walt Hasser

favorite thing about them

He’s just a cute little country boy who happened to stumble into the military. How could you NOT like this little bean? I mean, he is a brutal little bean, but STILL. Also, Walt remains one of the people who don’t spout shit or hate all the time and is just a super nice guy, like remember the scene with the gay Iraqi in Baghdad? Our boy Walt didn’t see anything wrong with that and now just imagine Trombley in the same scene. (correct me if I’m wrong there, it’s been a while since I last watched Gk) Again, how could you HATE him?🥺 (actually I know someone and this continues to be the only thing we argue about when speaking of Gk)

least favorite thing about them

When he shot the driver at the roadblock, my guess is that it happened because his lack of sleep. Brad constantly asked him if he wanted to take a break, sleep a bit, but Walt always refused. So he just felt more miserable and ultimately the lack of rest led to the shooting. So if Walt didn’t go on about how he was okay (when he really wasn’t) and just slowed a bit down, I don’t think it would’ve happened. (Only based on the show, I don’t remember exactly how the situation was in the book)

favorite line

„You‘re a messed-up hick. You can’t even eat ravioli!“

OKAY there’s a story behind this: when I‘m looking for pics for the lockscreens, I always take screenshots in the Sky Go app (all three hbo war shows on there, and you can take screenshots!), but the app is always set to the German dub and you have to change it every time you start to watch. But because I‘m too lazy sometimes to do that, I just let the German version roll. Problem: THIS ONE IS HORRIBLY TERRIBLE.

So the total gem of this line in german once flooded my brain and I can’t forget it anymore.

(For everyone who’s interested: „Du verfickter Bauer kannst noch nicht mal Ravioli essen!“ in a Voice that doesn’t fit Walt the least and conveys no emotion or anything)

brOTP

Walt and Ray (prepare for trouble - make it double!)

OTP

Bradwalt (it just fits, though Brad definitely belongs to Nate☝️, but this is also nice to read/look at edits/fanarts)

nOTP

Waltray tbh. I just don’t see ANY romantic between them, I‘m sorry😬

random headcannon

After he quit the military, he founded a country cover band which evolved into a ‘real‘ country band which then continued to get super popular in the states and even Brad (Country Music hater #1) listens to it. Also, Walt‘s the singer

unpopular opinion

Walt got super little screentime and if you ask me, he didn’t really have a personality. At least if I‘m writing him, I have a hard time doing it because I don’t really know how he would act in this or that situation and a lot of his character traits come from fanfic authors themselves in their fics so they vary.

Walt deserved better in the show, but I think we‘re all doing a great job portraying him by giving him character traits we think fit the picture we have of him🌻

song i associate with them

King Of The Road - Roger Miller (I know this is super boring because it literally is the one Walt sings, but it’s the only one I can think of and every time I listen to it, I have to think of Walt)

favorite picture of them (again, there’s so many good one that I love)

#ask game #generation kill #walt hasser #did you notice that i always have to give super long answers

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0poole · 5 years ago

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Some thoughts on Temtem

Because as far as I’m concerned Pokemon games are some of my all-time favorites (as a group, since they’re basically all the same) so naturally there’s a lot to say about Temtem. Considering this is the first standalone Pokemon-alike that got serious attention, especially after the Sword and Shield riots making Pokemon fans just want something else, it’s basically the game that’ll let different developers make their own Pokemon-alikes.

And yes, I am going to call them all Pokemon-alikes because let’s be real that’s the role they’re trying to fill.

But actually, for once, there’s a few major things that I really dislike about the game. Like, seriously dislike. Considering we’re coming from the stuff people always disliked about Pokemon, I feel like it’s easier to be critical about this stuff. Might as well start with them so I can end on a higher note:

Conversations with random tamers. Literally like 95% of all tamer battles start with some sort of conversation with them, all of which require you to press some random response to either skip the dialogue or go through a completely pointless series of dialogue. There’s absolutely 0 chance I’m interested in what these random people have to say, because I know that no matter what, it’s going to end in a fight. Maybe if they made it so you can actually convince some tamers not to battle you, then it might be a fun mechanic (although I still wouldn’t bother, it would just have a purpose). But, no. All it does is make me want to spam click through everything and start the battle as soon as possible. It’s legitimately annoying. When it comes to more important tamers, it makes sense, just because that’s a convention of RPGs and junk. It still feels pointless, but at least it’s the norm.

The evolution system. Unlike Pokemon, where you evolve once your Pokemon reaches a specific level/etc determined by the Pokemon’s species, Temtem instead evolve a certain amount of levels after you catch them. Sounds pretty alright, until you realize that a lot of these level requirements are way too high. Most evolve after like 20 levels, and your starter evolves after 30. This might not be a total issue if the story is much longer than it seems, and the final battles are around lvl 60+, but even then it really makes you want to ditch the unevolved Temtem you caught a while back for its evolved form once you encounter it. Like, you can find Bunbun and Mudrid in the exact same area, so there’s absolutely no point to catching a Bunbun. If they evolved at a set level, you could just catch one, level it up once or twice, and it’ll evolve anyway, since there being others of its evolved form close by usually means it’ll evolve around that level. Instead, if you do that, you’ll have to wait a seriously long time. I’m currently going through this issue with my Mushi. This is even worse for the second reason:

Eternal double battles. For strategic purposes, it’s obviously a major plus. But, even though the difficulty is definitely higher than Pokemon, the battles are still pretty easy, so as long as you switch into the right types you won’t have any issue. That’s not the problem. The problem is that it makes leveling up feel so much slower. Since the EXP from a battle is always split between at least 2 Tems, it’s harder to train up just one of them. It’s worsened because all battles are set battles (where you can’t instantly switch Tems out once the opponent is about to send out another Tem) so that basically means it’ll be split between around 3 Tems each battle, since you’ll be accounting for a new type on the field.

The human names. They’re too out there to be at all memorable. Apart from Max, obviously, I can’t even remember any names because when I first see them I’m just like “I don’t even know what that word is so I’m just not going to bother.” I’m guessing this makes translating names easier, since no name has any obvious tie to some language/region, but it’s still annoying. Mainly because a lot of quests are like “Talk to [character name]” or “Find [character name]” so if you don’t remember the names it makes questing harder to follow. The names of the Tems are kind of in the same boat, but it feels more warranted because they’re weird monsters and not people. Most of them are a pretty normal Pokemon level of naming (Barnshe, Toxolotyl), some even less interesting (Crystle, Mushi).

The roadblocks aren’t any better than Pokemon. It’s still just “You can’t get past here until you get this item.” It’s like the tiniest step above Pokemon, where they just have some dude at an entrance who says “You can’t get past here because [reason],” but effectively it’s exactly the same. It’s even weirder with the Crystal Skates, because they don’t do any sort of slippery puzzle with the Crystal path before you get them, but later you lose the skates and THEN they put in the slippery puzzles in. They really should have just not given you the skates yet and made any reachable secrets a part of a puzzle instead.

The start of the game needs more variety/balance. Ganki is actually OP, and was my hard carry. But, there are so many Wind and Water types early on it gets kind of boring quick. It’s worse, because Wind resists Wind, meaning you’re constantly dealing with Tems that resist your type. But, sure, I guess the variety isn’t the problem and one of the most prominent types resisting itself is. Ganki does need a decent check though, since Crystal types don’t exactly come around until later.

The clothes are WAY too expensive. I’m the character customizer type. I want to buy out all the shops and make myself look snazzy. I can do that while a fucking early-game bikini costs 9000 Tembucks or whatever they’re called.

Then, here are some stuff I’m kinda neutral/iffy on:

The type chart feeling a little arbitrary. Obviously this one isn’t actually a problem, since they probably just did that to make sure Pokemon had even less of a reason to sue, but like I mentioned before, why does Wind resist Wind? When I imagine two gusts colliding, it turns into a giant tornado that destroys everything. That, or they just flow around each other. Considering it slows down the early game, I really wish it wasn’t that way. Another questionable one is that Wind is strong against Toxic. Maybe it’s just because we use vents to clear out toxic air? Considering most Toxic attacks involve liquid that doesn’t help much. It probably wouldn’t be an issue to someone who hasn’t completely and totally remembered the Pokemon type chart, though.

The “representation.” Yes, they tried, and that’s a step in the right direction, but like... it’s really not quite there yet. Like, in the character creation screen, as we’ve all heard from the #gamerrage you get to choose your pronouns. Sure, good. Then they give you the option of the girl body or the boy body, and the girl voice and the boy voice. Really? Still no ambiguously chubby option? Slightly more rounded faces aren’t enough people. Also, I still actually don’t get why they (as well as other game developers) don’t just put in a bald option. Did they just not model the scalp or something? It’s obvious they did because there was a bald option in the beta/alpha, and they just... removed it? Why? It’s not even a matter of reason, It was already there. But yeah, back to the gender representation bit, fused a bit with the conversations, there’s one specific bit of dialogue that really confused me. When big event happens and one girl tells you to go searching for her wife, sure they’re lesbians whatever, but then it pops up with the dialogue options of “Sure, I’ll go looking for him/her/them” but like, as 3 different choices. What’s the point of that? She literally said it was her “wife,” so I just picked “her,” but what’s the point of having the other options? If the first girl’s response is just like “’Him/Them?’ I did tell you she was my ‘wife,’ right?” It’ll boggle my mind even more. Anyways...

The Temtem designs. It’s more like two extremes balanced out to become neutral. I seriously love some of the designs, and I seriously hate others. From what I’ve seen so far, my favorites are Oree, Platimous, Capyre, Valash, Barnshe, Gyalis, Myx, Mushi, Valiar, Noxolotyl, and Kalabyss. My team at the end of the current story consisted of Mushi and Banapi, who I were still training, Gyalis, Mudrid, Kalabyss, and Gazuma, so I only slightly compromised for the sake of my interests. I actually seriously love Valash, but I already had 2 Crystals on my team, and being Neutral wouldn’t be much of a help. My least favorites, though, are Tateru, Taifu, Houchic, Tental, Babawa, Saku, Magmis, Ukama, and Vulcrane. So many Tems have the classic Pokemon issue of “just getting bigger” as the evolve, and a lot of them evolve for the worse, like Vulcrane and Saku especially. Vulcrane, Houchic, Tental, and Zenoreth (who I still sort of like for its colors) look uncomfortably humanoid, where they have almost too much muscle detail on their arms and legs. Pocus is a better example of a humanoid design, because its legs are much more nubby and arms less detailed. Plus, the former Tems’ designs aren’t quite exaggerated enough proportion wise, making them just feel kinda weird I guess. I don’t really know how to explain that yet. Some other designs I think are good, despite me not being into them as much, are Skail, Saipat, Sparzy, Cerneaf, Volarend, Shuine, Adoroboros, Tuwai, Kinu, Pigepic, and Anahir. Overall, Temtem have some good designs, with a few stinkers strewn about.

The evil team/rival. The evil team, as far as I cared to know, are just evil because they’re evil. They’re not crazy, but they’re fine. I definitely think the term “clan” can only be used in an evil context nowadays, so I guess that’s a good thing. Max is just whatever. I’m extremely tired of the stupid rhetoric Pokemon fans keep throwing around, suggesting the only good rival’s an asshole rival. It’s obviously just not true, and Crema’s obviously just catering to that idea with Max. They really just seem like an asshole for asshole’s sake, so that’s boring. The rival’s level of asshole-ness is completely independent of their quality. Honestly I’m like 2% of the way into wanting to make my own Pokemon region so I’ll be able to test my mettle there once it comes around.

The MMO-ness of the stuff feels really minimal, and sometimes I found it hard to find the NPC I was supposed to be looking for because they were in a crowd of random people. I’m pretty sure more MMO-esque stuff will come later, but now you basically just see other people walking around. I obviously didn’t use the co-op function either, but the fact that it exists is good. I guess a good thing to implement later would be an offline mode, so you can choose not to have all those strangers running around if you so choose.

Then, here are the things I really like:

The breeding system. It’s really just simpler, and that’s a good thing. It was kind of annoying to figure out which Pokemon have the same egg group (before I just used a Ditto, at least), but now it’s just based on type. Plus, you can just buy the right items to get the right stats. I do hope they lower the prices though.

FreeTem. It makes actual sense that the people who didn’t want Temtem to fight didn’t go full-on Plasma and become terrorists for their cause. Plus, you get money for cheating their obviously cheatable system. It’s a win-win!

The graphics. This is just one of those cases where people who don’t like it say it’s “bad,” even though they’re objectively wrong. The only “badness” about the graphics are the human faces. Everything else actually looks really nice and polished, especially the animations. I actually died when I saw my Mushi scurry behind me. It’s too cute. Too bad Mushook is losing its luster... But, anyway, it is one of those things that’s just a preference. There’s nothing wrong with the quality. In terms of human designs at least, I was going to say that they look to similar, but for the most part the only characters that looked too similar were the random nobody NPCs, and even then they put together the already existing character customization options in pretty decent enough ways. Some tamers even being not at all subtle references to other things was kinda cute too, although it’s not something I at all care for. That just seems like it’s asking to be reposted every other week on the subreddit...

The music kinda grew on me. The generic themes (wild battle/tamer battle) will never not get old, but the specific themes actually are pretty good. I especially like the theme of the Xolot Resevoir, since it kind of gave me Field of Hopes and Dreams/Scarlet Forest vibes. That might be my favorite kind of video game area song, to be honest. It’s the perfect blend of relaxing, mystical, and trance-y.

The gyms. No one, no matter how good you are, can actually get up to that high of a standing just by using one single type. The fact that Tem Dojos are all based on 2 types is great, especially in how their puzzles/appearance are styled. Obviously the slippery puzzle of the Crystal/Toxic dojo kinda took me aback as mentioned, but alone I liked it. The one problem was that 2 of them were with the exact same types, which kinda sucked, since it also used the same kind of puzzle. That’s the thing about good designs, though; you don’t mind as much if they’re re-used.

The CRYSTAL type. Oh my god, I love it so much. I tried to mask it a bit when talking about the Tems because it’s seriously my favorite thing about the game. It’s the perfect replacement for the Rock type, and it makes any Crystal Tem look so damn cool! The only one I don’t like as much, as mentioned, is Zenoreth/Azuroc, but that’s not at all the fault of their Crystal parts. I seriously wanted to create a whole team of Crystal Tems just because of how universally cool they all were. Gyalis and Valash are easily two of my favorite Tems. I also love how they managed to give the type two signature colors at once, with the bright red and seafoam green. Most other types really only use one or many colors for their part of the Tem’s design, but it seems so solidly both a red type and a green type, even if the icon is red. Since I play Pokemon/these types of games for the cool monster designs, having a whole section of the monsters be this cool is a major upside for me. I love it.

I kinda-sorta tried to arrange this list from worst to best, although really most stuff in between is sort of a crap shoot anyway.

Honestly, I don’t feel like a good source for a “should I buy this game?” kind of review, especially since the game basically just came out of Beta. If you’re into what they’re putting down, you might as well get it now. If you’re not sure, there’s no harm in waiting. The game is clearly making enough money to stay afloat, and since they’ve been at it for so long, there’s really no reason for them to stop now. I remember hearing about this game eons ago... Crazy to think I actually played it.

Now the next wave is Kindred Fates. That’s the next logical step in the genre. I hope this decade is the age of Pokemon-alikes, like how the past few years was riddled with BRs. Every game better have a monster collecting portion to it or else. I want to train my guns in CoD.

#temtem #opinions #rant #rambling #tem #crema #poole #etc #pokemon #thoughts

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writingpaperghost · 4 years ago

Text

I Would Offer It Happy With a Smile On My Face (Chapter 7)

Chapter 7: You Don’t Need a Shooting Star, the Magic’s Right There in Your Heart

Asahi meets an old friend of Tomomi and the three of them talk about a lot of things.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24860734/chapters/60990913

Tomomi ended up working sort of odd hours, so he and Asahi mostly saw each other in the mornings and the evenings. Asahi spent a lot of time during the day running around the city. She wasn’t really the type to stay inside all day, but that had really increased the longer she was in Kurokita. Sometimes, she tagged along with Tomomi, but that was only every once in a while. Still, today, Tomomi had a bit of time today, during lunch, so he ended up dragging her to a cafe.

Asahi had been to this cafe before, it was the one by KPaRS base. It was... well a bit of an odd choice. It was a bit out of the way, Asahi had only stopped there before because she’d been walking in the area. Regardless, Tomomi was the only person she actually talked to regularly, she was a bit... wary about people around the city, so she was fine with spending some more time with him. Honestly, he was kinda like a cool uncle or something. At the very least, he didn’t constantly worry about her whenever she fought a Kaiju, which was kinda nice. Her family worried a bit too much.

They were sitting at a table, a bit before the lunch rush. Tomomi had a cup of what coffee, though Asahi was pretty sure it barely qualified as such, given about half of the coffee was actually just creamer. Alongside that was a salad, which he would passively (aggressively) stab with his fork. Asahi had her, according to Tomomi, “ridiculous sugary abomination” that she’d had before. In front of her was a bowl of soup and a cookie. Despite what Tomomi said, Asahi thought this counted as a perfectly good lunch.

They talked about this and that for a bit, in between bites of food and such. Then, Tomomi, who was facing towards the the main part of the cafe, smiles and waves at someone. Asahi turns her head to see who he was waving at. She watches as a man, the one who Tomomi had waved at, walked over.

“Tomomi,” The man greeted with a smile, a pastry in one hand, what appeared to be a smoothie in the other. He had a KPaRS jacket on, though Asahi noted it was different than the other ones she’d seen. “I’m surprised to see you here,”

Tomomi gave him a smile in response, “Yeah, but I had some time and thought I’d drag Asahi out here.”

The man looks over at Asahi, then looks back to Tomomi, “Hm... Is she you’re younger cousin? I believe you mentioned one of uncles had a daughter about her age.”

Asahi wasn’t sure how to feel about that comment. Tomomi, on the other hand, judging by his face at least, was surprised at the comment. Either he was surprised that the man remember him having a younger cousin, or surprised that she got mistaken for said younger cousin. Asahi wasn’t exactly sure.

“Uh, Kaoru,” Tomomi said, “She’s not related to me. She’s just, uh, staying with me since, she’s a, a family friend.” It would be hard to say that his statement was at all believable. With all the “uh”s and such, Asahi would be surprised if the man believed it.

“Hm... I see, sorry about that.”

Tomomi quickly gestures to one of the extra chairs at the table, “You should sit with us, we haven’t talked much in a while.”

“I can’t intrude on the two of you,” He seemed hesitant, but Tomomi kept insisting, so soon he was sitting with them, placing his smoothie down.

“Oh!” She hasn’t introduced herself yet, “I’m Asahi Minato by the way!”

“Kaoru Matsuoka,” The response is returned with a smile.

There’s a lull in conversation for a moment before Tomomi takes a drink of coffee, prompting Matsuoka to make a comment. “You still drink that with half creamer?”

Tomomi looked at him with mock offense, “I’ll have you know,” he said, “That it is otherwise too bitter. Besides, why are you giving me flack, look at Asahi’s drink. It’s nearly entirely sugar!”

While Matsuoka looks at her drink, Asahi gives Tomomi a look, “What are you talking about?” She asked, “This is perfectly fine. Besides, it’s got fruits, so it’s healthiness balances out.”

“I... don’t think that’s how that works,” Matsuoka commented, “Though I am curious as to how you manage to drink such a thing.”

“Honestly,” Tomomi adds, “I think, what with all the sugar she consumes on a daily basis, she just uses all the sugar to keep herself cheerful.”

“What? That’s not-” Despite her best efforts, Tomomi was giving her an amused smile and Matsuoka did the same, though a bit less noticeably. “Geez, you’re as bad as my brothers!”

“Do you brothers tease you about the amount of sugar you eat too?” Tomomi asked, somewhat teasing though still genuinely curious.

Asahi huffs, “Katsunii always says how I shouldn’t eat so much sugar and Isanii just keeps teasing me about it.” As if to spite her brothers, even from another universe, she takes a long and slow drink. Matsuoka let’s out a mostly hidden chuckle while Tomomi doesn’t even bother trying to hide his amusement.

“Well,” Matsuoka began, “It sound like they care about you.”

Asahi’s annoyance ends at that point, replaced with something else. She gives a small smile, “Yeah, they do.” Her smiles grows when she thinks about not just her brothers but her parents too, “They’re great. Even if they might worry a bit too much for my taste. I always know they care.”

“Having family who cares about you is good,” Tomomi states, “You... You miss them, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” She laughs, “I guess I’m not used to being this far from them and not texting them like twenty times a day.”

Matsuoka hums, taking a drink of his smoothie, “I have to ask you, Tomomi, what sparked that article you wrote? About Ultrawoman Grigio.”

Tomomi quickly and gently (violently) stabbed a piece of lettuce and shoved it in his mouth, if only to buy himself more time before he had to respond. Asahi knew the answer to the question, but it was a bit trickier to answer without outing Asahi as Grigio. As it turned out, most of the people that Tomomi worked with were used to all his slightly unusual Kaiju articles and apparently hadn’t given the one on Grigio too much more than a second glance.

“Well,” Tomomi began, slow enough that he could still think, but not so slow it was noticeable. The wonderful thing about the human brain, is that it was pretty good at improvising on the spot. The downside, was that it usually needed a bit of a preexisting plan. Something that Asahi was pretty sure Tomomi didn’t have. She just hoped he was good at improvising. “She managed to stop that Kaiju and she showed up twice, so I didn’t think it was a one off thing... I figured it would be best to spread awareness, get the word out.”

“Why give her a name? And why Ultrawoman Grigio?”

“Well, we couldn’t keep calling her the grey and yellow giant... So Ultra because she, uh, can do really cool stuff, woman because well, that’s obvious, and Grigio because... Well it’s Italian for grey.” Asahi could tell that Tomomi was doing his best and frankly, she didn’t think she’d be able to come up with a much better answer herself, so she figured it was good enough. Hopefully Matsuoka would believe it.

She couldn’t really tell, but Matsuoka seemed to believe it. He seemed to be mulling over the response before giving a nod, “I suppose that makes enough sense.”

Quietly, Asahi let out a breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding. Tomomi did the same, though she was pretty sure his was a bit more noticeable. If Matsuoka noticed, though, he didn’t say anything.

“What do you two think about all the Kaiju attacks, then?” Oh boy, he was full of questions.

Tomomi responded first, “I mean, it’s not good, all these Kaijus just inexplicably rampaging through the city.”

“Same, really, it’s very not happy... Personally, I think that there might be...” Asahi wasn’t sure if she wanted to finish the thought. She’d been thinking about it for a while now. It was odd that the monsters, at least the ones that didn’t seem to be rampaging for the normal reasons, always focused on her right away when she appeared. That and the Kaiju that appeared in Ayaka before that portal she fell through. She had a feeling that the Kaiju in Ayaka, the portal, and most of the Kaiju attacks on this Earth were all connected. But she didn’t have much proof, it was mostly observation and a sort of gut feeling. But Katsumi always said to trust your gut. Of course, she wasn’t sure if she should voice it to someone who didn’t know she was Grigio. “Well I think that a bunch of those attacks are connected. Maybe their all being controlled.”

“Being controlled,” Matsuoka seemed surprised at her idea, which was fair, it was a bit out of left field. “What makes you say that?”

“Uh, well, in a bunch of the Kaiju attacks, they just randomly start rampaging for seemingly no reason. They can’t be stopped through normal means... and when I-Ultrawoman Grigio shows up, they focus on her right away.” She shrugs slightly, hoping she was believable, “It just... seems like there’s someone else behind it all.” It wasn’t like she could list all of her reasons. But she could list enough of them.

Matsuoka considered her words, “You may have a point, though it’s hard to say.”

“But why would someone even bother? It’s such an odd thing to do...” Tomomi wondered, placing a hand on his chin.

“Because there are things out there that do stuff like that just for the sake of it, I guess.” Asahi sighed, taking a drink. “I mean, it’s not exactly unheard of.”

“Well, I’ve never heard of someone using Kaiju in such a way,” Matsuoka says, “But you are right. There are some people who do horrible things for no real reason.” Oh right, they haven’t had a “fate of the planet” scenario or something here. At least not one involving Kaiju.

“Anyway...” Tomomi seemed to be trying to change the subject, “It’s a real roadblock, but I’m sure given time and effort everything will work out.”

“Yes,” Matsuoka agreed, “Hopefully, after this people won’t just lose all trust in Kaijus all together.”

“You guys really want to see a world where Kaijus and people can really just live peacefully, huh?” Asahi comments, “I mean, that’s pretty cool.”

Tomomi grins, “It’s been Kaoru and mine’s dream for... Geez, I’m not sure how long. That’s what we bonded over in highschool, actually.” He leans back and closes his eyes, a wistful expression, “I mean, we knows it’s pretty unrealistic, but still... I guess that’s what dreams are for.”

“I think it’s good that you two have such lofty dreams. It’ll make every step closer feel all the more happy!” She insisted, “My brothers have... someone they’ve worked with who always says that you should never stop trying to reach your dreams. That even if they seem impossible you should still try and never give up, because dreams can always come true.”

Matsuoka chuckles, “Well, I suppose I have to agree with that person.”

“What about you?” Tomomi asks, poking (stabbing) his fork through his salad, “What’s your dream, Asahi?”

“My dream?” Asahi hums in thought, then responds, “I guess… I’m not sure… Really, I’m just happy if I can be around my friends and family!”

Tomomi chuckles a bit before saying, “I guess you must miss them then, huh? Since you’re so far away from your home and your family.”

She’s quiet for a moment, before answering, “… I mean… Yeah…” She trails off, “ But it’s okay! I’ll see them again soon enough! Worrying about that would be really not happy.”

Matsuoka laughs, not even trying to hide it, “You’re very cheerful, aren’t you?” He asks, then adds, “Well, that’s good. There’s so can be so much negativity in the world.”

“Exactly,” Asahi grins, “The way I see it, you can’t control the world, but you can control how you’re feeling! And I choose to feel happy!”

Their conversation continued on various topics, but Matsuoka had to return to KPaRS and Tomomi had a few other things to do, so they all had to leave.

---

Today’s Kaiju of the Day (a title that isn’t entirely accurate, but neither is Monster of the Week, as monster don’t appear daily, but still more than weekly) was apparently called Gudon. It’s appearance was more akin to a bug than a reptile, though resembled both. Spike decorated it’s body, barring the stomach area and the neck up, with long horns on the top of it’s head. Instead of hands, Gudon had whips.

The most advice Tomomi had given Grigio before she began the fight was something along the lines of “Same as most Kaiju, tail and teeth, but also those whips”.

So yeah, there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly unusual to worry about, which Grigio was pretty grateful for. It seemed, in order to attack her, Gudon would have to get close to her, which Grigio could avoid just by keeping her distances and shooting her arrows. As long as it doesn’t break building’s too much, it shouldn’t have much ammunition to throw at her. She’d learned last time that that was something that some Kaiju’s did (like the one she’d fought, then, which she was told was a Red King).

She’d been doing pretty well with her plan, or at least she thought so. She was pretty sure that it would have continued going pretty well, but, unsurprisingly, there was a wrench thrown into her plans. KPaRS’(... You know, she still hadn’t figured out the best word to describe it. Plane? Jet? She really never knew, she’d have to ask someone later. Maybe Tomomi had an idea. Anyway.) Their jet (That’s what she was going to call it until proven otherwise, because plane sounded a bit wrong) had flown near, trying to assist. In the past, that’d... Well if it didn’t work, it didn’t hurt. Today though, was a bit of a change of form.

When KPaRS got close, Gudon took the chance to try to grab something. That something, being probably the worst possible thing it could have grabbed. KPaRS’ jet.

Crap.

Grigio knew that she couldn’t just stand there and hope for the best. The biggest issue was how to make sure that KPaRS got free of Gudon but stay pretty safe. She honestly wasn’t sure what to do. Should she just launch an arrow at Gudon? Would KPaRS be fine?

KPaRS was trying to pull free of Gudon’s grip, finding little success.

She needed to do something. But she didn’t know what! What would be the best thing to do! She didn’t want to mess up and make things worse! What if instead of letting go, Gudon tightened it’s grip?!

She was snapped out of her thoughts by an irritated Jun, who didn’t even sound like she was meaning to be heard by Grigio. “She’s not really making me think she’s not behind this!” It sounded like a response or maybe just a comment made with the knowledge that Rin would understand who she was talking about.

“Performance anxiety?” Rin offered in response, then let out a groan of frustration, followed by, “I’m sure she’ll do something.”

“Well I’m not so sure!”

Grigio really needed to do something. She needed to stop thinking so hard and move! Do something! Anything! At that point, she hadn’t even realized she was running at the monster until she was nearly close enough to touch it. And then she tackled it. Not her preferred way of attacking, but seeing as Gudon was preoccupied prior, it hadn’t noticed her coming and was thoroughly startled. It released KPaRS as Grigio was left to come up with what to do next.

In something of a panic, she punches it,trying to stall to make sure that KPaRS got a far enough away. Now she needed to put some distance between her and Gudon before- Shit. Okay, new plan. Gudon had a grip on her wrist with it’s whip, using the other to attack her.

She tries to wrench her wrist free, wincing with every hit of it’s other whip, but found that her attempts weren’t effective. Grigio shifts slightly and kicks it in the stomach, causing it’s grip to loosen, at least enough that she was able to practically throw herself away from Gudon.

Her color timer was beeping now, she didn’t really have a lot of time left to finish fighting the monster. With KPaRS flying farther away now, keeping their distance, she was able to use her bow to keep Gudon occupied long enough to tie it up with Grigio Bind.

Grigio hoped that Rin and Jun were alright, she wasn’t sure if Gudon had done any damage when it grabbed them. Although she was sure that it wasn’t going to stop them.

She did wish that she hadn’t panic so much before though. She didn’t have a lot of experience fighting, and as it turned out, there was a lot to take into account when a Kaiju grabs something with people in it.

#i would offer it happy with a smile on my face #my writing #asahi minato #ultrawoman grigio #waiting at the end of the road is happiness

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hopevalley · 5 years ago

Note

What are your favorite and least stories from each Season and why?

Oh man, this is a really thought-provoking question! I’ll try to come up with good answers (even though sometimes the seasons blur together a little bit):

I’ll give some basic thoughts on each season and what worked/didn’t work for me.

Season 1

While I appreciate that they made the effort to have Elizabeth stick out (vs. blending in with all the Poors), she was downright unbearable at times in the early seasons. Her wanting to help and coming up with ideas is pretty decent in terms of story structure and even characterization/character motivation, but holy cow was it intrusive and nosy/patronizing of her sometimes! I think the point might have been to give Elizabeth flaws, which is great, but people just seemed to accept it, and her, too quickly, at least for my liking. A shame because I felt like her struggling to fit in would 1) be good for her character/force her to understand that to be accepted here she has to concede to giving up her former lifestyle, and 2) be a great, GREAT way for her and Abigail to bond and become friends, since this is something Abigail also struggled with!

So basically, the ‘story’ of Elizabeth coming to fit in in Coal Valley? Vaguely rubbish.

So much DID work, though, and could have been expanded upon for even better storytelling!!! This is especially true of the widows/related stories.

Loss of faith/faltering faith

Loss of personal identity

Moving on/past grief

Processing guilt

Protecting the memory of a deceased loved one

We also had some great smaller personal stories.

Genius child has to work in the mine because there’s no one else ot take care of his family

Young man can’t read and has to work in the mine (and even after he does start learning how to read, probably doesn’t get to leave). Elizabeth still taking the time to try and help him still means something!

Season 2

I will never forgive the series for its convoluted attempt at a love triangle, here. Charles wasn’t unlikable, but he was OBVIOUSLY interested in Elizabeth romantically, and I don’t feel she’d be so stupid as to be blind to that, old chum or not.

Basically, it was one of the worst plots to ever exist on the show, because it just wasn’t believable in any capacity and felt like drama that existed to be a roadblock more than anything.

Also, not to whine, but Bill’s whole ‘counterfeit money’ plotline wasn’t very well-written.

The plot itself makes sense, but the way it bounced around seems to have just confused enough people that no one even remembers this was a thing.

That said, I think it was a good plot for the character... It was just not executed as well as it needed to have been to make a difference/really shine.

There are a lot of small things from S2 that were pretty nice, though.

Abigail’s fight to help Clara was meaningful, but I’m not sure how I feel about the addition of Clara from a writing standpoint. I feel like Abigail should have felt something was off about Peter’s trips from the start... The issue is that Hamilton is VERY far away and it’s VERY doubtful Peter would have ever gone there. Union City makes more sense if we’re talking about picking up shipments.

Tom and Julie were entertaining if nothing else.

I couldn’t tell you a single thing that happened in Hope Valley in S2, but I’m sure there were Events.

Season 3

Honestly I don’t think S3 had anything horrible in it. It just wasn’t very inspiring at times? It was like they had all these really good ideas but didn’t want to fully commit to any of them.

Henry Gowen was a star.

Frank was excellent in this season.

The biggest issue I have with this plot is simply that they didn’t take it all the way. Either he’s a dangerous man to allow to stay in town or he’s not. Saying he is doesn’t make it so. A rock through a window? Okay, sure...that’s threatening I guess. But it didn’t feel like enough to turn the whole town.

And again, having him barely doing anything even though he’d definitely be worried for Abigail and Cody’s safety is just inane.

Still, overall the whole thing was pretty good/well-done. Especially that unexpected turn at the end where Henry helped turn the tide. (I still wish that had gone somewhere and wonder even now if they had an idea they wanted to use and didn’t get the chance to.)

Abigail adopting children was nice. I wish Becky hadn’t been a part of it at all though. Like the IDEA is nice, but I can’t imagine she’d believe in it all as fast/readily as she does? This plotline just seemed great for Cody and meaningless to Becky, IMO.

But hey, the thing with Cody is meaningful enough. My issue is just that he’s like, 8 or 9 and remembers his parents very clearly, so I don’t think he’d be that willing to replace them. I guess it could just be his personality, but it might make more sense for him to be like 5-6 years old instead (less attached with fuzzier memories by this point if they’ve been on the run awhile).

Despite my qualms I think this was a pretty good story for Abigail. Just wish they hadn’t dropped her role as a mom as quickly as it felt they did.

Hattie was a good character and I enjoyed her introduction story. It was sad, but it felt good/satisfying.

Bill buying Henry’s share in the café was a great little thing. Maybe too convenient and itching for a story of its own (instead of it just happening), but overall a good idea.

Jack’s mom coming to town was entertaining. She had some really good lines. Lard in coffee. I mean...this was gold.

Season 4

The peddler was a cute addition but I didn’t much care for the overt magical element.

If it felt a little more real/grounded/down to earth I think I might have been more intrigued.

Frank getting his original Bible back was a GREAT story but when they tried tying it into his vaguely stalker-like behavior? It just ruined the entire thing.

For what it’s worth, Frank’s character goes downhill pretty sharply in this season.

There were a lot of cute kid storylines in this one. But they weren’t all...great...

Robert telling the lie about the bear? Nice.

The kid with the knee brace? Ugh.

The storyline itself wasn’t bad!

But after Becky miraculously recovered the previous season it just felt like a slap in the face. I live with chronic pain and it’s just one of those things where I’d like a little representation somewhere.

I still think Becky should have stayed wheelchairbound.

I can’t get over how insulting it was that she just MIND OVER MATTER FIXED HERSELF. The writer who put that in there should be slapped, and the writer who wrote the saME GODFORSAKEN STORY AGAIN with this child should also be slapped.

I really feel that if they were gonna let Becky recover like that, this kid should be living with a permanent disability and this episode could deal with kids helping him play/doing activities he could participate and enjoy.

Maybe it’s too on-the-nose but the hardest part about a chronic illness/disability of any kind is the part where you lose things you loved to do that you considered a part of your identity. That’s an awfully deep storyline for WCtH, but they should have gone for it here.

Phillip was in between.

Phillip and his father were great, but Elizabeth was just SO incredibly awful. This is where she and Abigail started always being right about everything and I felt her involvement was unbearable.

They should have just let Faith take over Elizabeth’s role in that plot and it would have been way better. They could have had the eyesight issue earlier and done something great with it.

Frank and Abigail’s relationship at the beginning of this season was pretty interesting. Even though the whole “danger” thing was a little goofy, it was nice to see them communicating and adjusting.

It felt like a natural issue people would actually have. And it wasn’t smoothly worked out, which is fine.

Also, Rosemary’s interference was hilarious.

RIP to the following:

Frank’s character after his earlier scene, because he doesn’t get anything else that’s actually in character.

Good writing because Carson is now the town hero he’s gonna save Cody from appendicitis because other doctors are just completely stupid!

Also Carson is a surgeon so TAKE THAT, regular doctors!

Doug. You were a real bro, my guy.

I DID like Doug’s role in the story, though. His death made some sense, but it was ill-timed. (How convenient that we only even hear of him moments before his death lol.)

AJ Foster is a highlight of S4 for me. I love her, and for the most part I love her introduction.

She’s such a pain in the neck, but she also talks a lot of sense.

The writing isn’t great for her, or for Bill in these scenes, but at least there was An Attempt™.

I appreciate that they introduced the idea of her much earlier in the season and built up to her actual appearance, which I couldn’t have guessed would be relevant early on.

Considering how the officers at my company hate our IRS auditor, I find the fact that AJ has enemies beyond believable.

Railroad shenanigans were pretty entertaining in this season, too.

Season 5

The last episode at least tried to be kind to the characters, so I appreciate it.

Elizabeth’s conversation with her father before her wedding was a highlight of the entire season.

AJ’s return plot was abysmal.

I’d be terribly embarrassed to have been the one to write this, especially considering how completely whack it feels next to the other plots.

I’ve ranted about this so many times I should have run out of steam but BOY is it cringey. This is the height of Bill-is-a-grumpy-old-man as a Thing in this series and this is probably when it is its worst.

The rattlesnake plotline was contrived as heck, but the only thing to make it worse was how weird everyone acted.

Rhonda was a good character and the plotline, if it wasn’t so rushed, would have actually been really great. I still liked it overall, though.

Frank’s send-off was dumb, but at least he got one on-screen.

I still can’t believe they killed their main romantic male lead off-screen.

What the heck...

Abigail was really, really annoying in this season, and so was Elizabeth. Unbearable.

Also, I still hate the pregnancy oooops~~ ♥♥ plot at the end of the grieving episode. Really? COME ON. I know they wanted to give the fans hope but it was jarring.

Season 6

I still HATE the nativity == baby Jack’s birth parallels.

Why did they feel the need to do that. Why couldn’t we have just gotten pregnant Elizabeth shenanigans?

They put Jack’s DEATH ON THE TOMBSTONE like how is she popping out a baby less than two months later when she didn’t even know she wa---?F?DJSAFLJDSAFHLDSAL?

Abigail?

DELETED.

Thank goodness.

Bill?

Assassinated. Or at least, his character was.

This is bad. :(

On the plus side he gets promoted to the position of JUDGE...and barely does anything worthwhile with it...yet.

GODFATHER BILL. The best thing in this season.

Fiona?

A goddess. I love her.

Lucas?

Slimy.

But handsome.

The 4th Property Brother. He even tries his hand at renovating.

Nathan?

Honest and good.

Pretty cute.

Works together with Bill once in one of Bill’s only good scenes.

The oil plotline is actually pretty good/fun. Jesse and Clara get more scenes finally.

Elizabeth isn’t the focus of everything.

Lee and Rosemary got like, no mention in any of these posts but mostly because it felt like they were never really doing anything before, but I did feel like they were given a little more meaningful lines/places in this season.

How’s this for an attempt? :P I’m probably missing A LOT but I can’t recall everything too easily!

#long post #anonymously asked #answered mail

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