#and yeah i do understand the acting was kinda off and many moments because not all actor seemed comfortable?

[knight-says-nanana]

An analysis on Ed’s comic childhood, how that impacted his OCD*, and how that translated to the Gotham TV show

Alternatively: GTV Ed’s Biography

*(and also how it very clearly gave him cptsd but they don’t explicitly Say that bc DC is full of cowards)

Normally I’d say comics don’t impact tv continuity, especially for a show like Gotham where so many things are changed, but the thing is? Cory Michael Smith specifically went out of his way to read the riddler comics when he accepted the role of Ed Nygma. He acted accordingly and did an amazing job trying to salvage the show’s poor writing. There are many tiny moments where he does things that reference Ed’s typical backstory despite the show, in all its 5 seasons, never bringing it up

Childhood wise there are typically two widely accepted routes

1 - his mom was around but neglectful and off her head with drugs n alcohol

2 - his mom left when he was a toddler due to not being able to handle his father anymore, which kinda kickstarted the abuse being focused onto Ed instead

I will be continuing this analysis with #2 because it is the most popular and explains his abandonment issues

Comic Based Childhood

So this guy basically grew up with Only his father. His father who is a dumbass, an alcoholic, blames Ed for his mother leaving, incredibly abusive physically, and couldn’t accept that 1) his kid is smarter than him or that 2) a kid so Weird cough traumatized and neurodivergent cough is anything but an idiot

A major sticking point was that he always thought Ed was lying, constantly, about everything. This will be important later.

And when Ed finally started going to school and getting A’s?? Yeah no Obviously he had to have been cheating so Mr Nashton just got More angry with him. Could Ed have dropped his grades on purpose to avoid this? Yeah. Did he? Absolutely not. Academic success was the one thing he could be proud of and the only thing that gave him any sort of praise or validation. He was clinging to it for dear life.

No matter the universe, this is a guy who craves attention.

There is difference between academic success and school life itself, because Ed is awkward n dorky n, especially at this point in time, anxious n quiet. So he didn’t have friends. In fact it’s usually written as either him having been bullied or being ignored entirely

The boy was not doing ok at all. So understandably he ran away as soon as possible and changed his name.

Now, this is the first point where Gotham’s canon ties into this in a Very interesting way

We know Ed’s official birth year from the ID card in the show. It’s canon. In season one he is 26. We know this. And it’s is insane for a few reasons!!

He is So Much Younger than his coworkers holy shit

Bullock is old enough to be his dad and he’s not nice, no wonder Ed doesn’t like him

He works in forensics. At 26. And he’s implied to have been working there a year or two before Jim joined the precinct.

Now, I had GENUINELY assumed that he was in his 30s like Jim. BECAUSE HE WORKS IN FORENSICS. But no he’s just actually a botched Spencer Reid because he’s 26 in season one.

A degree in forensic science takes 4 years.

If you want a masters it’s an extra 2 years.

Factoring in the time he would’ve needed to spend interning and working just to QUALIFY for a job at the GCPD???

If we assume he ran away n got into college at age 17 and got his bachelor's he’d be 21 by the time he graduated, 23 if he got his masters which of course he would, and then that leaves us only 3 or 1 year/s for internships and stuff before he joins the GCPD. What. What.

No wonder his apartment is so shitty!!! This is a man with hella student loans

But yeah! Hes only 26 and his 40 year old coworkers are bulling him for being weird. I’d hate my job too.

Bullock is 48 and I’m fully convinced he, like me, thinks Ed is at least 32 (Jim’s age) because. What.

So yeah that’s his general backstory, NOW the ways that plays into his mental state and how his actor managed to fit it into the show

So, you can reasonably assume he’s traumatized.

And!? There are so many subtle moments in the show where Cory acts his character accordingly for this. He flinches when people raise their voice, he’s visibly spooked when men in the GCPD get huffy (usually it’s Mr James Anger Issues Gordon). He’s skittish as a mouse. In the watermelon scene, when Gordon busts into the room, Ed immediately falls over himself to explain what he’s doing in there. The guy was terrified. Of James. Who’s never done a thing to him.

Beyond that? CPTSD -beyond the regular symptoms of flashbacks, triggers, and hyper awareness- also includes difficulty regulating emotions, feelings of shame/guilt, and trouble staying in relationships.

Ed Nygma is a damn textbook case. He has meltdowns, he falls into substances, he does ANYTHING but cope when he’s overwhelmed. He is constantly trying to prove he’s smart, there’s a gut deep shame when he doesn’t hold up to genius standards. And you’ve seen his relationships.

Basic info ab OCD: it’s an anxiety disorder and the two main things are obsessive compulsions and intrusive thoughts, both of which are present in Gotham but not handled nearly as well as they are in the comics

Compulsions first!

These tend to stem from subconscious thoughts and people won’t always know Why they have a compulsion but they’re generally a way of preventing a vague yet all consuming Bad Thing.

Now, with Ed one of his major sticking points in comics AND the show is he cannot tell blatant lies, especially not with yes/no answers.

This is part of why he compulsively leaves clues for absolutely everything and tries to be so vague when he is lying. He also jumps through hoops so that he won’t need to lie.

Lying = incredible all consuming dread and anxiety, so he just Doesn’t and uses his little hints and clues as a loophole. Very obviously from his father’s influence.

In the show this is shown multiple times but just for a few:

Lucious asking if Jim is at Ed’s house and when Ed tries to say no he seems almost forced to correct himself

The compulsive clue in “Tom’s” note, even when no one had asked him if he knew anything he still couldn’t keep it entirely to himself. The note is a loophole. Technically he told on himself. They just didn’t figure it out. (Well. Kristen kinda did but denying it aka lying sent him into an anxiety attack the moment she left. So.)

When Sofia Falcone was torturing him to find out where Oswald was, he told her. He just told her via a riddler he knew she didn’t understand! No need to lie!

In the car ride to the docks Oswald also calls him out directly by saying he’s so predictable because he’s driven by obsessive compulsion. This is the most the show acknowledges it.

Beyond his compulsions he’s got explicit intrusive thoughts regarding a few big things. (Should be noted that these tend to drive compulsions but not always.)

being viewed as stupid

Ergo his criminal history just being a big show to prove how smart he is. Again, his fathers influence.

being actually stupid

Not knowing things stresses him out So Bad and he takes it So Personally. He NEEDS to know everything. The world is a puzzle and he is Going to solve it.

Side note: That’s why I do LOVE that Gotham made him a forensics specialist!! He’s always had, to quote a DC podcast where he’s talking to Batgirl “-and you have that terrible all consuming pathology which comples you to find answers” “AnD i HaVe tHaT tErRiBlE aLL cOnsUmiNG PaThOLoGy wHiCh coMpELs mE tO FiNd AnSwErS- Yes.”

Biggest for last: being like his dad

This one is specifically fun because it was almost represented so well. ALMOST. His entire relationship with Kristen was downright molded by it, as shown in the file room anxiety attack. Yes that’s what I’m going to call it.

He is constantly fretting over being like Tom, even when he clearly isn’t because he is disgusted by Tom. No mysoginist is going to see someone with the same thoughts as gross. No guy who thinks women should be “put in their place” is going to have such a physical reaction to hearing that be said. No abusive pos is going to have that reaction at all. At least, not in the way that situation went down or in the way Ed’s afraid of being. We aren’t discussing emotional harm or Nygmobblepot today. But he frets anyway. And if we chose to interpret his riddler hallucination as a Really poor way of representing intrusive thoughts? Yeah. Yeah. His brain is making him panic about doing exactly what he hates so much.

*it should be noted that compulsions are often reinforced by intrusive thoughts. specific example: if he lies he will be saying something wrong, he can not be wrong, everyone is going to think he’s an idiot if he’s wrong. You can see how the two things connect. This applies to the majority of compilations in some way.

Now, a moment where I deviate from discussing what Did happened because I’ll forever mourn this particular writing fuck up:

His thing with Kristen could’ve been perfect. It could’ve been the best live action riddler origin to date. Because this is a guy with OCD who’s very traumatized and would have a strong personal reaction to finding out a friend is facing domestic abuse. That would make his relationships complicated too because of the thought loop it would create off the risk of “turning out to be the type of person he hates” or “what if I hurt her like I was hurt.” That would have been so compelling? AND? AND YKNOW WHAT? MY BIGGEST GRIPE? HIS FIRST PUSH INTO VIOLENT CRIME BEING STABBING AN ABUSER WOULD BE PERFECT. It would be on point. Exceptional foray into crime and murder. BUT THEY DIDNT PLAY IT LIKE THAT. No instead it’s highly tainted by “who gets the girl” and I just. N o. Ugh. They fumbled it!! They fumbled it So Hard. THEY MAKE HIM CREEPY AS FUCK TOWARDS KRISTEN. Like- physically blocking her into small spaces and imposing on her and talking over her when, if they HAD actually leaned into the OCD on purpose, he would probably be hyper aware of not doing.

[brazilian-whalien52]

Although it is true that some actors just do BL to make easy money and fame, it's actually really funny to see people blaming mostly the actors from the oldest BLs of that, you know the BLs from the time where the budget was so small that it looked like a high school student video project

[pomefioredove]

okay after reading all the goth hc, I gotta ask. how do you think the guys would react (any of them but preferred Floyd and Idia ) to playing them goth music/show them a trad goth outfit/makeup look (suprise them maybe? For example: I hc Leona to just have the least slay music taste to mankind (beastmankind?) so you play him- idk let’s say Lebanon Hanover, and he’s like “wtf is this herbivore?” But then he kinda gets into it. no pressure to write for it btw!

-✨♥️✨

ANON I was literally thinking about making a post like this a few days before this ask... you have my heart. I'm doing a full post

summary: nrc boys and goth type of post: headcanons characters: nrc students additional info: platonic or romantic, reader is gender neutral, reader is not specified to be yuu, half-headcanons half-x reader author's note: I'm assuming that goth as a subculture and a music scene already exists in this world. this post is also mostly about the music scene

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Riddle is essentially a baby bat

he's like, two bad life choices away from going full victorian goth at any given moment

he flat out refuses to listen to anything "vulgar" but secretly adores the dark, poetic side to goth

he's also morbidly obsessed with death, being a sad victorian boy and the child of two doctors. it works

as much as I hate to say it, Ace starts out as the kind of guy to say he wants a "goth gf" on multiple occasions

he proudly announces it to everyone at an unbirthday party once and Riddle almost kills him for being annoying for interrupting

thinks the music is too sad

...but he mellows out eventually (your influence)

both Deuce and Trey are not particularly interested

(Deuce leaned into punk music as a preteen but has since "given it up" because it's too unruly for an aspiring honors student, in his opinion)

Cater inexplicably already knows a lot about goth

won't talk about it unless you bring it up first but if you play him something semi-popular

he'll be like "oh yeah I know that one"

he has a few songs on his playlist he listens to when he's alone

is a goth magnet himself. pulls many hot goths. no one knows how

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Jack is also not really into it. not his thing

however I can see him secretly being into emo

make of that what you will

and Ruggie will never pass you the aux again. he calls it "halloween music"

Leona acts thoroughly uninterested for a long time

like, he'll listen to the music you give him, but doesn't really say whether he likes it or not

says he doesn't care about the scene (thinks it's too pretentious)

and pretends to be annoyed when you give him more song recs

but he gets into it. he starts listening on his own

he has a definite preference for gothic rock

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Jade is already goth (to me at least)

and very eager to talk about his favorite bands

loves giving recommendations

apparently the coral sea has its own goth subgenres and bands, which sound... much different from land ones

Floyd will listen (has listened, thanks to his brother) but he doesn't particularly care

he much prefers the aesthetic, it reminds him of home

...being that he's from the deep sea, where it's dark and cold

the flowy, dark, elegant looks are just enchanting to him. he can't keep his eyes off it

Azul couldn't be bothered

he's willing to learn, but isn't a huge fan of the general... strangeness

(he doesn't really understand why anyone would want to be perceived as strange in the first place)

and the music is so unmelodic to him

"that was just a man moaning and a gate creaking for seven minutes" and then he bans you from his office

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Kalim literally listens to goth already

I don't know how to explain it but I know he does

it's so funny because he never ever dresses goth or acts stereotypically goth but every once in a while he'll be like "who wants to hear my new favorite song? :D" and it's like, alien sex fiend. and no one can say anything about it

Jamil is an appreciator

depending on what you show him, he could really get into the lyricism and general mood

...if only because he finds goth dancing absolutely mesmerizing

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Rook is goth

he only dresses the part sometimes, but he's always been very passionate about the poetic elements of the music

...really into french coldwave

in terms of fashion he leans romantic goth

it just makes sense to me. he could find beauty in absolutely anything, and the dark and macabre are no exception

will talk your ear off about his favorite bands if you give him the chance

Vil is really more into the style than the music

he's dabbled in a little bit of everything; trad goth, romantic goth, medieval goth. he pulls all of it off

honestly, if anything, the gothic style compliments his features and tastes more than anything

he has such a respect for the subculture and the dedication that goes into the visual elements

Epel doesn't get it. sorry 😔

he will listen to the music you recommend because he cares about you, but he just doesn't like it

he's in the same boat as Azul. "was that a slide whistle?"

absolutely baffled, but he likes you and it's a small price to pay for your happiness

(and he thinks the fashion is too androgynous for his tastes)

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

I feel like Idia also used to think he wanted a goth until he saw the e-girl vs goth discourse, freaked out, then spent two weeks reading about different subcultures

...still wants a goth partner

but now he actually knows what that means

will listen to any music you give him out of respect (fear) and won't say anything about whatever weird taxidermy-related hobby you have

he's surrounded by death all the time anyway who cares

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

you could get Silver to listen to the cure's entire discography and he'd come out of it really enjoying just like heaven and nothing else

it's just... not for him

(plus the slower songs put him to sleep)

Malleus somehow hasn't even heard of goth as a genre when you approach him

he is. a little disappointed it's not music about the architecture style

but he still warms up to it, especially as someone who enjoys finding the beauty in the dark and misunderstood

you can fix him. you can goth him.

Sebek joins only after everyone in Diasomnia gets in on it with you (he doesn't like being left out)

he loves it because silver doesn't and malleus does

peepaw Lilia is an old goth

he was around when the music scene started, and he also remembers the literature movement it was named after, and the popular architecture style that was named after, and...

...you get it

still, he's always pleased to learn about new bands and subgenres and styles and the like

could and will talk about it for hours and hours with you

he dresses the part, too

we love him

[scribblestatic]

Because I like to make stuff up just from the most vague of associations, I recently talked about COTL and I'm writing an SVSSS fic on my other AO3 account, so now, we have Sheep Yuan.

Basically, Shen Yuan transmigrates and is gonna get put into Shen Qingqiu at an earlier time, but Shen Qingqiu's soul is a tenacious motherfucker, so it doesn't give up despite his qi deviation. Without a good vessel to put Shen Yuan's soul in, the system finds the nearest body that can accommodate him.

It ends up being in the body of a spirit sheep on Xin Ya (fan-made) Peak with all the rest of the beasties being studied and/or eaten (they do animal husbandry and farming, too).

Sheep Yuan doesn't quite remember his past life at first because yeah, the little lamb brain needs time to process human thought. Like, sheep are smart, but not quite able to compute to the same level as humans, so the sheep body's gonna have to adapt. So, he kinda follows through the usual sheep things after he manages to stand up, not realizing he'd been a stillborn lamb just a few moments ago.

He also doesn't immediately realize that his "mother" in this world died during childbirth until later because he was supposed to be a twin. But he and his twin got impacted and the spirit sheep couldn't handle it. All three had died, but somehow, he survived. So, now, he gets hand-fed. Despite the peak lord of Xin Ya telling the disciples not to name the animals or get too attached since they provide food for many of the peaks, one disciple does start calling him Shēng Huán (生还 = To Survive).

He's being raised and monitored on Xin Ya like other farmed spirit animals, and he's alright as long as he gets his food and has a nice place to sleep. Despite spirit sheep being herding creatures, he's not the most popular amongst his peers, so he tends to dwell around the humans more. But as he becomes more aware, he realizes that some of the lambs and sheep have gone missing, and because he's not only a sheep, he puts two-and-two together and realizes he's on the menu.

So, he starts trying to escape, despite the fact he's not even fully weaned off his milk yet. When he can't manage to escape, he tries acting cute so no one thinks about eating him just yet.

Also, as a spirit sheep with more intelligence, he figures out how to cultivate, which is something most spirit and demonic creatures figure out naturally. Since he was born a spirit sheep, he got a head start rather than a mortal cat or dog or something. So, he starts cultivating to try and acquire a human body to avoid getting eaten.

One day, he's finally put on the roster for slaughter because of a larger meat order (Dammit Bai Zhan!! Stop eating so much meat!!!). In his panic as he's led to the slaughter room, he uses qi and manages to escape, fleeing the mountain as quickly as possible.

The problem now, though, is that he's terribly lost and he's not sure he got away from Cang Qiong. In fact, he's almost certain he's still on the mountain somewhere because the qi is still quite dense! He has to escape before he's put on someone's plate!

What he doesn't realize is that he fled to Qing Jing Peak.

The grass there is tasty, so he gets a bit distracted while eating it. But then he hears a scuffle and, despite being a prey animal, goes to see what's going on. There, he sees a fluffy-haired boy getting beaten up by a bunch of older kids while a younger girl cries out beside him.

I'm sorry, human girl, but I'm sure this "A'Luo" whose name you're calling out would very much appreciate it if you did something other than that! Maybe throw a punch or a kick or something!

Anyway, he sees the boy get pretty beat up and watches as the group leaves, satisfied. The boy and girl talk, and he only kind of understands human language--he's still learning, okay? He's looking for some sort of jade guanyin? There's so much greenery around, how is this A'Luo supposed to find that?

But, well, 'Yuan,' as he calls himself (not sure why he insists on that...hmm) decides to help. With his superior animal senses + cultivation combo, he sees the guanyin hanging off a branch. He's not sure how to get it down, though...

Well, he has horns, so maybe he could knock it down!

Once the children head off, he starts knocking his head against the tree. And, yikes, it kinda hurts a bit, but good thing he's got a thick skull and nice curved horns growing in! So he smacks the tree until he manages to use qi through his horns and crack the trunk. The branches shake, and finally, the jade guanyin falls!

...Now, how is he supposed to get it to that A'Luo? And why does he even care that much? Sure, the kid looked so cute and sad, like a little bun, but he's a prey animal and those children are predators that could eat him!!

Still...just the thought of leaving the fluffy black sheep without the guanyin made his little heart hurt. Maybe he felt kinship toward that fluffy little boy.

Following the boy's scent as he trailed through the bamboo and forest, he found it strongest at a woodshed of all places. How strange...he must go there often. It's almost night time, so he likely wouldn't return. Anyway, he'd just leave the guanyin on the ground in front of the door and--

Luo Binghe returned to the woodshed with his unhealed bruises and ruddy eyes, having spent some more time searching for his guanyin. But he stopped, seeing a sheep on the mountain. Different animals went around the peaks as they pleased, but there definitely weren't any spirit sheep on the peak. So why was--

But his thoughts stopped when he saw the guanyin in the sheep's mouth.

Caught in the act, Yuan gives up and slowly approaches the boy, keeping his head low and legs ready in case he needed to run away. The boy felt...strong somehow, and it made him feel cautious.

Feeling too afraid to get too much closer, Yuan put the guanyin on the ground and backed up. Of course, the boy practically pounced on the jade, making Yuan stumble back and almost bolt. But he managed to wait, watching as the boy sobs profusely over the guanyin and thanking him.

Yuan stared at him for a bit, then his nerves get to be too much, and he fled. He needed to find his way off the mountain, after all.

[quillfulwhimsyverse]

The Act of Faking

Word count: 7,2k

Summary: George is not talking to Fred, and the only way Fred thinks this can be salvageable, is by faking a relationship with you. Or when you hear his request - faking him having feelings for you.

Warnings: Angst towards the end.

A/N: I am literally going to kill myself. I had a plan for this to be the perfect slowed paced slow burn, were relationship builds slowly and beautifully but then I just ran out of ideas and this is what happened. And to remind you - English is not my first language so most of the times I just stared at the page trying to come up with different descriptions rather than using the ones everybody knows by heart. So I am sorry. Please enjoy.

P.S I am very sad that I found out about the "5 Acts of Play " stature at the end of writing this one-shot. I could've used it to make the story more interesting. But oh fucking well… _______________________________

One thing that everybody in Hogwarts knew, - the Weasley twins were always together. One never went anywhere without another. They also never had any serious arguments, only slight disagreements that seemed to be forgotten pretty soon after.  

That was why you currently frowned looking at the door. Fred came into the Great Hall looking tired, confused and disappointed to say the least. You closed your book, your interest peaking. He only looked like that when he'd gotten himself into detention that overlaps with Quidditch practice. 

‘So what happened to you?’ you asked as Fred moved to sit in front of you at the Gryffindor table. He looked really upset. ‘Prank gone wrong?’

‘No, I wish tho.’ He sighed. ‘It’s George. I haven’t had a single conversation with him for what seems like days.’ 

‘You never fight.’ you mentioned, as Fred was taking a gulp of juice from your glass. 

"We haven’t gotten into a fight, Y/N, he just dumbly avoids me. When I try to talk to him, he mumbles something about guilt trips and at the next moment he’s gone.’ He started fidgeting with his wand. 

‘How come? Why would he “guilt trip”?’

“Well our dear best friend, Geroge,” Fred mumbled irritably, for a moment you thought he might snap, “had gotten himself a girlfriend, bet you didn’t know that, right?” you only nodded. “Well apparently nobody knew, including me.”

“Yeah…” you bit your lip. “I still don’t see what the problem is.”

“I will tell you what the problem is… The problem is that I accidentally caught him snogging Angelina off in the Quidditch pitch.” You looked at him trying not to show too much emotion. “That wanker wanted to keep it a secret, because he thought I might get hurt.”

“Well, I kinda understand why he kept it a secret.” You waited for his reaction, but he only looked at you blankly, waiting for you to continue. “Weren’t you, like, in love with her a couple of years ago?”

“Yeah, so?” he shook his head. “ I was, that’s the point, Y/N. Was. I am not. Not anymore. I wouldn’t care if they got married tomorrow.” He rested his head in his hands, slowly massaging his forehead. 

“Have you told him this?” 

“Yeah… Like a dozen bloody times. He doesn’t believe me, though. Says “I am only saying this to make him feel better.” How many times, do ya reckon, I would have to repeat this to make him believe it?”  

“Hmmm..” you thought for a second. “Just give him a bit of time, maybe that will solve something?” you suggested. 

“Just give him time…” he repeated your words to you. “How do you assume I should do that? With the Christmas holiday upcoming? Although, I think he would rather spend the whole time with the gnomes instead of me in the same room.” 

You stayed silent for a moment. Now that you have thought about it, you haven’t seen George for a couple of days too. 

“But.” Fred lifted his eyebrows and took a deep breath.” I have a little plan.” He quickly reached for his bag and pulled a letter out of it. “ This morning I got a letter from my mother, about my bad behavior in class and yada yada yada, but she did mention inviting you to stay over during holidays. And this, dear Y/N, sparked a thought in me.” 

You shifted uncomfortably on the bench. 

“You and I,” he pointed towards you and then towards himself. “We are going to fake being in a relationship. Over your stay at The Burrow.”

“Fred.” you snapped quickly. “You’re crazy.” 

“Why? I mean, it’s a good plan. Angelina will be going home during holidays, and George will be forced to be with his family instead, and we’re going to pull a little show for him, just enough, so he would drop this stupid avoidance game he is playing.” 

You frowned at your best friend. 

“You have a perfect opportunity to talk to him during the holidays and you want to spend it playing a pretend game?” you ask him as he nods. “Yeah, well there is a slight problem in your plan. We have never ever acted romantically towards each other, and George isn’t so stupid, he won’t believe it. He spent so much time with both of us together, so he will notice that there’s just no spark, or whatever.” 

“That is exactly where you are going to help me,” he stated. “Your mother is muggle, right? You mentioned once that she is really into those romantic books muggle people read? What do you call them? Noveelies?” 

“Novels, Fred.” 

“Yeah, whatever, not the point. You said you were into them when you were younger. So what I’m trying to say is that you will help me put this act together, so it looks convincing.”

You look agape at him. 

“You’ve thought this through, haven’t you?”

“I had too much time on my hands with my brother successfully avoiding me, I’ve even opened the Transfiguration book a couple of times out of boredom. Closed it pretty soon after, it was even more boring than doing absolutely nothing.” 

“Still, Fred, no. It’s your whole family that will notice this as well and I don’t want to lie to Molly. And anyways, how would explain the sudden break up after the Holidays. And… Oh my god… Ron and Ginny will literally tease me to death. This is a really stupid plan, Fred, no one is going to believe it anyway. Just think of something else, I dunno, talk to Angie and make her help you out or something.”

“How am I supposed to talk to Angelina when she is almost always with George nowadays? I knew you would think the plan is stupid, but look - you are my best friend, right? I know you inside out, it would be much easier to pretend we’re in love.”

You look skeptically at him. You wanted to help him, you really did, but this plan was bound to fail one way or another. You very well knew how he flirts and acts with other girls, the last thing you wanted - to accidentally fall for him for his stupid act. 

“No.” You started packing your book into your bag, not looking at him.

“Then at least let me act as if I had fallen for you, you won’t have to do anything, just help me out to put the act together, so it looks convincing enough for George, c’mon, Y/N, you know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.” You let your eyelids fall a little more over your eyes while he speaks. “It’s either this or I am going to do something even more stupid.” 

You let your head lull back.

“Alright.” you sight. “But.” You quickly state. “Embarrass me, Weasley, and you will have two people not talking to you.” He rolls his eyes and then determinedly looks at you. 

“Okay, so how am I supposed to pull this off?” You look at him in frustration. “What? I need step by step guidance.”

“I am gonna tell you this once. You miss it, I won’t repeat it. It is extremely stupid and why do I even… Aren’t you like a huge flirt and tease? Why would I need to teach you how…” He gave you a warning look and you shut yourself up real quick. “Oh, for Merlin's sake, okay.” 

He nodded. You gave yourself a moment to think it through, and he let you, keeping everything he wanted to say to himself. 

“Because this will be coming from literally nowhere, you must be really subtle at first.” He opened his mouth to say something but you interrupted him. “ I know, you don’t know how to be subtle, so just gaze at me from time to time during the dinner or whenever you’ll be sure George notices.” 

“So all I have to do is just look at you from time to time?”

“No, you muppet. I called it a gaze for a reason. You know? Staring at someone you find admiring?” He slightly shook his head, his ginger hair falling over his brown eyes. “Or just someone you find unbelievably pretty?” He still looked at you a bit dumbfounded. “Fred, you do it when you think about Quidditch and pranks.” He smirked, red tinting his cheeks. 

“Okay, loverrr…” you deliberately said the last word as slowly as possible, teasing him intentionally, hoping he might have a change of heart and call this plan off.  “We will call this “Act Number One.” In case you fail convincing George with this one, we will move on to the “Act Number Two.” Where you will seek close proximity.” He wiggles his eyebrows. “Step over the line with this one, Fred, and I will hex you.” 

He raises his hand into the air. “Whatever you’ll say, Ma’am.” 

“You will have to be subtle with this too. Otherwise it will just be whatever you do here, in Hogwarts on a daily basis. Try to sit next to me when the dinner is ready, try and fix my hair slightly or something, you will figure it out as you go.Then there is gonna be “Act Number Three”, I believe, you will need no assistance on this one - teasing. No comment on this one. I think this should do the job.”  You look at him blankly, something about this makes you irritated and anxious. 

“And what if after all of this, he still won’t be on no speaking terms with me?” 

“Then an actor's career won't be suitable for you.” 

Act Nr. 1

Your stay at The Burrow began shortly after the plan was devised. You had urged Fred to attempt a conversation with George before enacting the plan, and in the presence of Molly and Arthur, all appeared well between the brothers, they even shared a joke about Ron’s owl Gigwidgeon. However, once left alone, their relationship reverted to its former state. And you knew that it was a matter of hours before Freds attempt at Act One.

And indeed, your prediction proved accurate. The scene unfolded during dinner, just as you had anticipated. While engaged in conversation with Ginny, who sat to your right, Arthur kindly addressed you, prompting you to look left, up at him.

“Y/N, Fred shared the fact that your mother is a muggle,” you nodded looking at him. “How fascinating.” Arthur remarked, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. “I recently got a hold on this little thing..” he reached for his jacket pocket and pulled out a cigarette. “What exactly is this?” He held it with the tips of his thumb and forefinger as if it was a little wand. “I’ve seen it ignite flames. Is it some sort of muggle magic wand, huh?”

You couldn't help but giggle at Arthur's question, but your attention soon shifted to Molly, who cast her husband a warning glance. Unbeknownst to you, Fred's focus shifted to you, a slight smirk playing on his lips as he observed the interaction. 

“Not quite, Mr. Weasley,” you replied with a smile. “It's called a cigarette. It contains an addictive substance called nicotine, which people often smoke to alleviate stress or tension.”

“Really, Dad,” Bill interjected with a laugh, “Mum will be reaching for one of those every time you mention something from the Muggle world at the dinner table.”

Suddenly, Fred erupted into laughter, his eyes dancing with amusement as he directed his gaze towards you. “Well, would you look at that,” he exclaimed, drawing the attention of everyone at the table, yet his eyes were locked on you. “Our dear Y/N, the epitome of innocence, enlightening our dear old Dad about the vices of the Muggle realm.”

You shook slightly, your eyes widening a bit. What was he doing? But he only laughed at your widened eyes, the mischievous glint in his eyes indicating that he was teasing you, trying to uplift the mood at the table.

As the Weasleys' laughter filled the room, you felt a warmth spread through you, despite the slight embarrassment of being the center of attention. 

Ginny shot Fred a knowing look, her lips curling into a smirk. "Looks like someone's enjoying themselves a bit too much," she teased, earning another round of laughter from the group.

Fred caught your confused look as you were about to mouth him to watch what he’s doing, but he only winked at you. 

After the dinner you jumped quickly on your legs to help Molly. When you went to roll up your sleeves to wash the dishes, Molly quickly stopped you with a light touch and smiled kindly. “Honey, the magic will take care of that, go ahead and rest on the couch with everybody.” She rushed you to the living room. 

You turned back to look at the rest of the family: Arthur was explaining to Bill about some corruption that involved the Ministry of Magic and Gringotts Wizarding Bank; Ron and George were playing the wizards chess on the floor and by the look on George's face - Ron was winning. Ginny picked up a plate of cookies, murmuring that these were Percy’s favorite, so she had to offer some of him, so he wouldn’t starve himself to death with whatever he was doing as an exemplary Head Boy; and Fred seemed nowhere to be found. 

You turned back to Molly. “My mother always said that magic was too precious to use it on simple daily tasks, that could simply be managed by humans.” She smiled gently at you and her eyes lifted a bit from your eyes. 

At that exact moment you felt a heavy chins presence on your right shoulder. You turned your head towards it to see Fred's untidy red hair that was brushing your cheek slightly.

"Fred," you greeted softly, turning your head to meet his gaze.

His brown eyes sparkled with mischief as he grinned down at you. 

"Hey there," he whispered, his voice low and intimate despite the bustling room around you.

A sense of ease washed over you in his company, a feeling you'd grown accustomed to over the years of friendship. 

"Thought I'd join the party," he quipped, his breath warm against your ear.

“Go rest, you two,” Molly interrupted, “while I go and see where to lay you, Y/N. I hope you sharing a room with Ginny would be alright.” 

“It’s perfectly fine. Thank you, Molly.” 

Fred feigned a dramatic sigh, before nudging you gently towards the living room. 

“You are not following the plan, Fred, you ran over all of the acts in one day.” you scolded him, but he laughed loudly. 

“Y/N, darling, when was I ever following the rules?” 

Act Nr. 2

For a couple of days, the plan appeared to be on hold. The Weasley children found themselves occupied with various tasks around The Burrow, and you willingly lent a hand wherever needed.

Whether it was assisting Molly with preparing meals in the bustling kitchen, helping Arthur mend a fence in the ramshackle backyard, or joining Ron and Ginny in tending to the garden, you immersed yourself in the daily rhythm of life at The Burrow. Once or twice you caught Fred gazing at you while he took a little break to drink some water or just to catch a breath. 

However after the evening to a hold on the house and everybody seemed to be resting, gathered in the cozy living room of The Burrow, Fred subtly initiated Act Nr. 2 of the plan. With George engrossed in a conversation with Ron about Quidditch tactics, Fred seized the opportunity to position himself strategically closer to you on the worn-out couch.

With a casual yet deliberate movement, he shifted slightly, allowing his arm to brush against yours. You glanced at him, raising an eyebrow in silent amusement at his subtle maneuver. His response was a barely perceptible smirk, a silent acknowledgment of his progress in the plan. 

Every now and then, he would lean in slightly, as if to share a secret or a whispered joke, his breath tickling your ear. Each time, you couldn't help but smile at his playful antics, a silent agreement between you to maintain the facade of blossoming feelings.

Just then, George's voice cut through the jovial atmosphere, interrupting the conversation about Quidditch tactics. "Oi, Fred," he called out, his tone tinged with a hint of mischief. "You're looking a bit too comfortable there, mate. Planning on falling asleep, are you?"

Fred's smirk widened, as if he had anticipated this exchange beforehand. He shot a playful glance at George, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Can't blame a bloke for seeking a bit of comfort, can you?" he retorted, his tone light-hearted.

George chuckled, shaking his head in mock disapproval. "Well, just don't go drooling on her shoulder, mate," he teased, earning a round of laughter from the others in the room.

You couldn't help but join in the laughter, though you felt a slight flush creeping up your cheeks at the playful banter. Fred's proximity and the teasing exchange sent a pleasant warmth coursing through you, despite the teasing scrutiny of the Weasley twins.

Although, ironically, as the evening wore on, the warmth of the fire and the gentle hum of conversation lulled you into a comfortable state of relaxation. Despite your best efforts to stay alert and engaged in the lively discussion, the cozy ambiance of The Burrow proved too inviting, and you found your eyelids growing heavy.

Unbeknownst to you, Fred noticed the subtle droop of your head as you began to nod off, a small smile playing on his lips at the sight. He leaned closer, discreetly adjusting his position to offer you more support, ensuring you were comfortable.

Meanwhile, George shot Fred a knowing grin, his eyes twinkling with amusement as he observed your gradual descent into sleep. "Looks like someone's had a long day," he remarked sotto voce, his tone filled with gentle jest.

Fred nodded in agreement, his gaze softening as he watched you drift off into slumber, a sense of warmth and protectiveness washing over him. He couldn't help but feel a surge of affection for you, his best friend, as he silently vowed to ensure you rested undisturbed for the remainder of the evening. 

That was how Act Number two acted out. 

Act Nr. 3?

You were seated on the kitchen table, a steaming cup of coffee cradled in your hands, lost in thought as you gazed out the window. You sent Molly off from the kitchen.

Outside, Molly stood with her hands on her hips, a hint of exasperation evident in her flushed face. Before her, Ginny, George and Bill exchanged mischievous grins, their laughter ringing out like bells in the crisp winter air.

“Are you two crazy? No scarves, no hats on. You are going to get sick.” She urged her children to get back in and dress properly for the weather. 

In a moment of playful rebellion, George scooped up a handful of snow and molded it into a perfectly packed snowball. With a mischievous twinkle in his eye, he took aim and let it fly, intending to playfully tease his mother.

But fate had other plans.

In a twist of irony, just as Molly turned to face her son, the snowball found its mark, striking her squarely in the face with an unexpected impact. Time froze for a moment, the air thick with disbelief, before erupting into uproarious laughter, Molly's angry face told them enough and they all turned to get back inside. 

“Had a good night's sleep, Y/n?” George's voice rang out as he entered through the door, his laughter trailing behind him like a mischievous echo. He shook his hair, sending a flurry of snow cascading onto the floor, much to Molly's disapproval.

Your cheeks flushed slightly as you slid off from the table, reaching for the teapot and mugs to distract yourself. "Alright," you murmured, your voice barely above a whisper, though your embarrassment spoke volumes.

"Only alright? I thought Fred tucked you in quite nicely." George's laughter filled the room, rich and hearty, as he winked at you. His playful jab struck a nerve, eliciting a mixture of amusement and discomfort. You turned away, feeling the weight of his teasing words lingering in the air, stirring up a whirlwind of emotions within you.

As soon as they all settled down to enjoy a cup of tea, you seized the opportunity to slip away, making a beeline for Fred's whereabouts. But as you ascended up the stairs, he was going down, so you practically ran into each other.

"Oh, good," you exhaled, relief flooding through you at the sight of him. "I was looking for you."

Fred's smirk widened as he halted on the step above  you, closing the distance between you almost imperceptibly. "Slept well?" he inquired, his tone laced with amusement.

Your brow furrowed slightly as you struggled to articulate your thoughts, the urgency to convey your concerns  before the family downstairs didn’t get any ideas as to why you were standing on the stairs a moment too long. "Yeah, look," you began, your words tumbling out in a rush. "Why won’t you give this plan a little break? You seem to be talking again with George, and with the plan advancing at this pace, soon enough everybody will be asking about the relationship that doesn't exist."

"Darling, breathe," Fred intervened, his hands gently finding purchase on your shoulders as he chuckled. "You only fell asleep on me, so what? You’ve done this a million times in the common room, what’s the difference? But if you want to give it a breather, it’s fine too," he reassured, his expression softening with understanding.

However, instead of finding solace in his words, you recoiled slightly, evading his touch as you took a step back. His hands fell away from your shoulders, hanging awkwardly in the space between you as you sidestepped past him, eager to retreat to the safety of Ginny and your shared bedroom. 

Fred's brow furrowed in concern as he watched you retreat, a pang of unease tugging at his heart. He hadn't anticipated that his attempt to reassure you would only seem to exacerbate your anxiety. For a fleeting moment, he considered reaching out to you again, wanting to offer further comfort, but he held back, sensing that you needed space.

Meanwhile, you hurriedly made your way to the bedroom you shared with Ginny, seeking refuge from the whirlwind of emotions that had been stirred up by your encounter with Fred. Once inside the familiar space, you sat on your bed burying your face in your hands, closing your eyes briefly as you attempted to steady your breathing.

You have indeed fallen asleep on each of the twins at least ten twenty times during your years at Hogwarts. And not once has the teasing afterwards bother you, but something about today sent you reeling. You were blushing madly and wished that that would stop. Maybe the whole plan you helped to build, was turning against you, and each, and every time Fred paid attention to you, finally started playing with your head. 

You promised yourself to be a little more careful after that. 

Act Nr. 4 - the improvised part. 

The same night, you were roused from sleep by a gentle hand shaking your shoulder.

“Hey, Y/N, you up?” Fred's voice, soft and filled with excitement, whispered through the darkness as he continued to shake you awake.

You groaned in annoyance, feeling disoriented from being pulled out of sleep. “What is it?” you muttered, your voice tinged with irritation.

“Remember that star we told you about? The one me and George discovered last summer?” Fred's tone was eager, like a child on Christmas morning, and you realized where this was headed.

“Yeah,” you replied, still half-asleep and struggling to grasp why he was waking you up in the middle of the night for a star.

“Well, come on. I found it again,” he urged, his excitement palpable even in the dim light of the room.

You hesitated, feeling reluctant to leave the warmth of your bed for a star. “Why would you wake me up for a star, Fred? It's just a star,” you grumbled, rubbing the sleep from your eyes.

But Fred was undeterred, his enthusiasm contagious as he handed you a pair of special goggles and gently grasped your wrist, guiding you outside into the chilly night air.

“Put these on and look straight up from where you're standing,” he instructed, his grip firm yet gentle as he positioned you in the right spot.

With a sigh, you relented, slipping the enchanted goggles over your eyes and following Fred's guidance. As you gazed upward, your breath caught in your throat at the sight before you.

The darkness of the night sky was transformed into a mesmerizing display of swirling colors, reminiscent of oil puddles reflecting light from muggle cars. It reminded you of the evening sky as the sun finally starts to set, bringing out the most vivid colors. The bright colors danced and twirled around in the  star and all around it, creating an ethereal display that seemed to defy explanation. Shades of deep indigo melted into vibrant hues of sapphire and emerald, while streaks of crimson and gold streaked across the dark sky.

“Pretty, ain’t it?” asked Fred while you watched the view in silence. You took the goggles off and looked up again, seeing only small, little stars shining above you. “Well the other ones do not look that extraordinary, but somehow that one does. And it comes up like three  or four times a year. It’s a miracle it came up over your stay here.” 

You turned to look at him. “It's really beautiful, Fred. I’m glad you woke me up.” 

He gently stroked your arms to make you a little bit warmer as you continued to shake due to the cold of the winter's night. 

When Fred retrieved back into his room, he smiled like a dumbass. When you got back inside you asked him if he had named that star and with a gentle smile he asked you to come up with a name for it. 

“Where have you been?” Apparently George wasn’t asleep when Fred got back, and curiosity won over George.  

“Out.” 

“You showed her the star, didn’t you?” George chuckled slightly when his brother removed his clothing and fell backwards into his bed. “I noticed it appeared again yesterday.”

“I might have done that, yes.” Fred admitted with a sheepish grin.

George laughed. “Told her what you named it?” 

“No, that would’ve been a bit embarrassing.” 

George laughed loudly but then quickly stopped, before waking the whole house up. “You're  hopeless, man. But I am happy for you.” 

Fred quickly turned his head to look at his brother, even though through the dark he could only make out his silhouette. “So? Are you back on speaking terms with me?” 

“Yeah, mate,” George chuckled, “I realized I was being dumb.”

Fred was happy. He genuinely was, but something about coming back to terms with his brother stopped him from feeling completely pleased with the situation. 

Act Nr. 5

Act 5 unfolded on a brisk afternoon a couple of days later. The sun was casting long shadows across the snow-dusted grounds of The Burrow. The Weasleys were involved in their own activities. You specifically were interested in another bewitched muggle artifact Arthur promptly told you about, then he went on reading the letter from the Ministry again, completely forgetting about telling you anything afterwards.  So you sat at the kitchen table, engrossed in a book. As you finally coughed up to where you left off, Fred entered the room with a lopsided grin.

"Hey, Y/N," he greeted, his voice warm and inviting.

You glanced up from your book, offering him a small smile in return. "Hey, Fred. What's up?"

"I was thinking," he began, his tone casual yet tinged with excitement, "why don't we take a walk outside? It's a perfect day for it."

Your eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. "A walk? Now?"

Fred nodded eagerly. "Yeah, come on. It'll be fun. We can explore the woods behind The Burrow. I heard there's a hidden clearing with the most amazing view."

Despite your initial skepticism, you found yourself unable to resist Fred's infectious enthusiasm. With a shrug, you closed your book and rose from the table. "Alright, why not? Lead the way."

As you ventured into the woods together, Fred regaled you with stories and anecdotes, his laughter echoing through the trees. With each step, you felt yourself relaxing in his company.

Eventually, you reached the hidden clearing Fred had mentioned, and you couldn't help but gasp in awe at the breathtaking view before you. The sun dipped low on the horizon, casting a golden hue over the landscape, while a gentle breeze whispered through the trees.

"It's beautiful," you murmured, your eyes scanning the scenery.

Fred grinned, his gaze fixed on you. "Not as beautiful as you," he replied softly.

You froze, your heart skipping a beat at his words. But before you could respond, George's voice rang out from behind you.

"Hey, lovebirds!" he called, his tone teasing. "What are you two up to?"

Your confusion turned to disappointment as you realized that Fred's affectionate words were likely just another one of his improvised acts. With a forced smile, you turned to face your friend, masking your disappointment behind a facade of nonchalance.

"Just enjoying the view," you replied, your voice lacking its usual warmth.”Care to join?”

As George joined you in the clearing, the moment between you and Fred faded into the background, leaving you grappling with the lingering sting of disappointment and confusion.

As the days passed quickly in The Burrow, the atmosphere seemed to settle into a familiar rhythm, apart from that, the twins seemed to get back into their close relationship, which made you extremely happy. 

Once or twice Fred would act out your made up plan and gaze at you during the day at dinner or whenever you were near each other. You, of course, didn’t expect anything more than that, understanding that now the two brothers were back to their old selves and your interactions with Fred were purely out of keeping the act just for George. But that did not change the fact that the shift happened within you. You spend more and more time thinking how everything will play out in the end when you get back to Hogwarts. How you will be sitting there, in the common room, pretending not to notice how Fred flirts with other girls and then returns to you to boast about it. This held a tight grip over your heart, making your chest feel heavy. 

There you were, sitting on the couch, watching Ron make the wrong move and lose his bishop in the process, Ginny bobbing her head happily whilst laying on the ground.  

“George just now told me that you don’t know how to play chess,” Fred sat down next to you, accidentally knocking several chess figures of the ground. 

“OIII!” Ron shouted. “Watch what you’re doing.” 

“Sorry, mate.” Fred laughed and dramatically reached for the queen on the ground and put it back on board in the wrong spot. “Y/N?”

“Hmm?” You turned to him, shifting back from your thoughts to reality. 

Fred raised his eyebrow and laughed. “What were you thinking so deeply about? Me?” he teased and you felt his hand reach for your own. As he tried to intervene your fingers together you quickly pulled your arm away from him and stood up. No matter how angry this made you, you tried not to give it away.  You felt sickened to your stomach. The action was small. But for some reason it was enough for you. This went too far, the act he was doing and suddenly there was no going back, everything went from too early to too late to stop this stupid lie, and the only thing you dreaded for - happened. It was your own fault, you agreed to this.

“Just remembered, I haven’t reached out for my parents for a while now,” you mumbled and left the room to actually write to your parents and ask if you could get back home from The Burrow earlier than planned. 

The Finale 

You were folding your clothes and putting them back in your trunk, while Ginny watched you from her bed. 

“Did they really ask you to go back home?” She asked once again in disbelief. You nodded. “They always let you stay as long as you want.”

“Yeah, I guess something happened back home.” You lied without looking back up at her. 

“Did you tell Fred? That you’re going back home?” She sat up, while you stopped packing and thought for a moment whether you should tell her the truth. “You haven’t,” she said, quite shocked. “Why? The boy’s going to go mad.” 

“I really don’t think so,” you mumbled.

“But he will tho,” spoke George standing in between the door, his arms crossed on his chest, he looked disappointed. 

You paused, feeling the weight of George's words sinking in. Despite your efforts to convince yourself otherwise, deep down, you knew he was right. Fred would indeed be affected by your departure, you were his best friend, nevertheless. 

Ginny shot her twin a sympathetic glance before turning back to you. "He's right, you know. Fred may not show it, but he'll definitely be upset."

You sighed, feeling a pang of guilt gnawing at your conscience. "I know," you admitted reluctantly. "But I need to sort things out back home."

“No, you don’t.” Said George again firmly. He looked quite mad now. “Considering the fact that it was you, who asked your parents to go back home early, not the other way around.”

“Uhmm… How do you?...” You stammered, caught off guard by George's accusation. His words hung in the air, heavy with accusation and disbelief.

Ginny's expression softened, her eyes filled with concern as she glanced between you and George. "George, calm down," she interjected gently, trying to diffuse the tension that crackled in the room.

But George remained undeterred, his gaze fixed firmly on you. "How do I know?" he repeated, his voice low and intense. "Because you accidentally used the quill we use for pranks. It creates two messages as it writes, one to your recipient, second to its owner,  and that would be me and Fred, only I got the hold of the message first.”

You hid your face in your hands, embarrassed. 

“Then,” George continued, “I assumed Fred had done something stupid once again and pressed him until he told me everything, And when I say everything, I mean it. Merlin's beard, Y/N, I thought Fred was daft, but turns out this friendship with us made you daft too.”

“Ummmm?” Ginny interrupted. “Mind to elaborate a little bit?” 

Ginny's interruption brought a momentary pause to the tense atmosphere in the room. George sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair as he struggled to find the right words.

"Well," he began, glancing at you briefly before continuing, "apparently our dear Y/N here concocted a plan to get Fred and me talking again. She thought we needed a little nudge to mend our relationship, so she came up with this whole scheme of them faking a relationship."

Ginny's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You did what?" she exclaimed, turning to you with a mixture of disbelief and curiosity.

“First of all,” you raised your finger angrily at George, “ it wasn’t my idea, Fred came up with it. Secondly, it wasn’t a fake relationship,” you said angrily, “it was for you to believe he had feelings for me so you would drop your stupid not talking to Fred phase, because you thought he was still in love with your girlfriend. So in the end, who is to blame?” you asked him. 

Ginny looked from you to George. She was sitting dumbfounded, and if it wasn’t for the angry looks on your and George's faces, she would’ve started laughing. 

“Okay, it was stupid, I agree with you,” George mumbled. “But you're as thick as it gets, Y/N.”

“Why am I the thick one?” 

“Because you actually thought Fred would fake having feelings for you,” these words from George stung like a slap in the face, the truth of them hitting you harder than you anticipated. You felt a surge of embarrassment and hurt wash over you, realizing how naively you had fallen for Fred's act. It was a bitter pill to swallow. Even Ginny’s mouth fell open. 

“George…” she murmured silently. 

“What? Wasn’t he like in love with her for a couple of years?” He said angrily. “And then you,” he pointed towards you, “went on and let him continue this charade and now because you can’t take it anymore, you’re leaving. Of course this is going to upset him.”

You tried to say something, you really tried, but words just did not form inside your head. 

Thank the spirits, cause it was Ginny who spoke after. “No, George, wait. I don’t think she knew.” 

You met Ginny's eyes, grateful for her unwavering support in this moment of turmoil. 

“I… I didn’t know,” you finally managed to utter, your voice barely above a whisper, but each word weighed heavy with sincerity. “I didn’t realize... I thought...” Your voice trailed off, the words catching in your throat as you struggled to articulate the whirlwind of emotions that churned within you. “I genuinely thought that he was doing it for you. I was leaving because I didn’t want to…” the words died out from your mouth and you didn’t finish your sentence. 

“I didn’t want to end up hurt afterwards. I assumed he only saw me as his best friend and the act would die out eventually when we got back to Hogwarts.” 

The snort from George interrupted the silence that followed after your sentence. “You and Fred must be two of the dumbest people I know. Y/N, he named a star after you, you were more than his best friend for a while now.” 

“Oi, mate, not nice to throw me under the bus like that,”  Fred quipped, entering the room with a lopsided grin.

You turned to him, quite in shock. 

“And I think this is our cue to leave,” said Ginny gently, sending a wink to you and grabbing George by his forearm to lead him out of the room. 

“Complete idiots,” George managed to yell whilst leaving. 

Fred chuckled, stepping closer to you. "Ignore him, love. He's just jealous because he hasn't named a star after anyone yet."

“I am extremely confused, Fred.” 

Fred's grin softened into a gentle smile as he reached out to take your hand in his and intervene your fingers together. He smiled as you let him. "I know, Y/N. It's been a bit of a mess, hasn't it?"

You nodded, still trying to process everything that had unfolded.

"I promise to explain everything properly," Fred reassured you, his eyes earnest and sincere. 

Fred took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts before he began to explain. "Okay, so... I know this whole situation might seem incredibly confusing, but there are a few things you need to know." He paused, searching your eyes for any sign of understanding before continuing.

"Firstly, yes, I did come up with the plan to pretend to have feelings for you, but it wasn't just to mend things between George and me. It was also because..." He hesitated, his expression turning earnest. "Well, because I actually thought I might kill two birds with one stone.”

Confusion flickered across your face as you processed his words. "What do you mean?" you asked, your voice barely above a whisper.

Fred took a deep breath, steeling himself before he continued. "I mean, yes, the initial idea was to help George and me patch things up by making him think I had feelings for you. But... it was also a way for me to... explore my own feelings for you."

Your breath caught in your throat as his words sank in. "You mean... you actually do have feelings for me?" you asked, your voice barely audible.

Fred nodded, his gaze unwavering as he met your eyes. "Yeah, I do. I've liked you for a while now, Y/N. I just didn't know how to tell you."

Emotions swirled inside you, a mixture of disbelief, confusion, and a flicker of hope. "But... why didn't you just tell me?" you asked, your voice trembling with emotion.

Fred sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I was scared, Y/N. Before our friendship even began, you seemed to be annoyed everytime I approached you. I am not even going to mention the looks you gave me when I tried to flirt with you. Then I dropped it, I thought you weren’t interested and it proved me right, cause quickly after you joined our trio. (A/N: We can not forget our Lee.)”

“I thought you saw me as one of these girls you always flirt with, I thought you were being a tease for your own entertainment.” 

Fred's expression softened as he listened to your words, a tinge of regret coloring his features. "Y/N, I understand why you might have thought that. And I'm sorry if I ever gave you that impression.”

“But why did George think you were still into Angelina?” 

“Because before you came into the picture I kinda liked her. And we got along pretty well, I just did not realize at the time she was being extra friendly with me, cause she liked George. Then you came along and my feelings changed. I mentioned them to George once or twice and then dropped it. Didn’t want to annoy him, didn’t want to hear him tease me when you joined our friend group. When he fell for Angelina, he must’ve overthought everything. But he kinda put everything together after I returned to our room after I showed you your star.” He raised his free hand and gently tucked your stray strand of hair over your ear, and then pressed his hand over your cheek, to which you leaned in. 

“Pretty soon after you arrived, you fell asleep on me, literally in front of everybody,” you closed your eyes in embarrassment as he spoke, he started softly caressing your cheek, “I thought you finally started to catch on, but you asked me to put the plan on hold, and I genuinely got scared I was pushing you away with the way I acted.” 

“I am so sorry for not catching on sooner, for avoiding you…” you tried to explain yourself, but Fred interrupted you. 

Fred shook his head, his expression tender. "No apologies necessary, Y/N. You did what I asked you. I hope you will now understand that everything was sincere.” 

You closed your eyes again and as lovingly as possible said, “And I hope you will understand that I sincerely fell for you.”

He laughed as he leaned in closer, “I got that while you were having a little chit chat with my brother, otherwise it would’ve been me who stayed over with the gnomes.” He looked deeply into your eyes as if asking if it was alright, you slightly nodded, so he closed that little space that was left between you and kissed you. 

[codenamesazanka]

chapter's out! I read it. It sucked.

random thoughts:

so many things wrong I don't even know where to start

Have to restate that Deku has never given a single fuck about Shigaraki. Yeah, he might have cared a little about the Crying Child (because whose heartstrings wouldn't be tugged by a cute, weepy five-year-old?), and he avoided agreeing when people talked about killing Shigaraki, but overall, he's always been aloof and honestly disdainful towards Shigaraki. The latest proof is that Shigaraki's body is falling to pieces and Deku keeps on smashing. He's fighting AFO, true, but he knows Shigaraki is possessed, he knows that's Shigaraki's body, yet he spares not a thought about what might come afterwards once he defeats AFO. Will Shigaraki have a body to return to? Is it saving when the body Shigaraki returns to is pulverized, mostly because Deku did that? Questions Deku never asks, never considers. What a compassionate Hero.

Further evidence being that it seems like Kurogiri created a portal to divert Deku's attack in order to protect Shigaraki Tomura from his punches. While also asking for AFO to give Shigaraki Tomura back BECAUSE HIS FRIENDS ARE WAITING FOR HIM. The only real Hero of this chapter is Kurogiri.

So yeah, why not have Bakugou bomb Kurogiri so Deku can land the killing blow.

The 'you're not an incomprehensible monster, you're just a sad lonely man' line is there really as a cliché, an obligatory 'Nominally Nice Protag Probably Should Not Act Like Some People Are Innately Chaotic Evil And Should Be Exterminated'. I mean, it's obvious that AFO was a pathetic guy who's been obsessively mourning his brother and can barely make real friends. But when has Deku ever spared a thought about AFO and his motivations? When has Deku even cared about people not being incomprehensible monsters, besides vaguely wanting to know what Shigaraki's damage is (but never enough to RESEARCH or ASK)?

I do like AFO screaming at Yoichi's ember. Pathetic man. <3 Don't understand why, if he did kinda cared about Yoichi in his own twisted way and was desperate to have Yoichi back, he needed to fake his tears to 'cause confusion and dismay' in front of Kudou. What was that?

I joked about Shigaraki coming back from the shattering pretty chill but it sucks. It sucks ass. What the fuck. Sure, let's have Nana and him (maybe???) reconcile off-screen (or not really, because it seemed to be unconscious vestige weirdness, since Shigaraki has to wonder if it was grandma keeping him whole later). Sure, let's have him share the moment with everyone when he has more right than anyone to deal the final blow, especially after the shattering five chapters ago, because he should also have a moment when he reclaims his life and purpose from AFO. Sure, let's have him just give up.

My sole, tiny half-relief is that it doesn't seem like Shigaraki is so much agreeing/being ~enlightened~ by Deku's assessment of him as a Crying Child (who only ever needed a hug uwu, please carry him into the light of Heroes and teach him how to love again uwu) as conceding that because he failed to destroy anything, he failed to crush Deku's hand, he was just a crying brat after all. His conviction lost against Deku's. The use of 'brat' is significant, I think. He's not elevating his child-self into some pure innocent existence; he was a tantrum-throwing brat with unresolved issues. Adding his last words to Spinner, in the end, he still considered his destruction valid (because it was. He needed to be a Hero for the Villains.)? My interpretation.

But really the writing and progression is so unexplored and confusing and rushing towards a conclusion - he doesn't get to reflect on the reveal???????? what the fuck???????? - it's hard to say.

God he deserved better.

As much as I love the Spinaraki, wish he did address the rest of the League 😭 But it does make sense he might single Spinner out, to complete their gay little friendship story thread. And out of everyone, Spinner - most devoted to him - would probably need words of comfort most. but frustrating. and as @robotlesbianjavert mentioned, we never get a Shigaraki + League scene or union post-MVA.

fuck he better not be dead. he needs to be a Hero for the villains. Especially with fucking Deku as the new face of new gen Heroes.

Deku is the worse. fuck that kid.

[lalune9x]

chapter 354 got translated today and man. yoojin one shotting a guy while being hand cuffed? top tier yoojin moment, hes truly the only one who could be the mc of s classes 10/10.

but tbh the way that part is written is kinda difficult to envision. if you have the time, could you sort of step-by-step what happens there? its a very short scene, only like 3 lines of text max, it just happens so fast that i couldnt read the action well enough to understand it.

omg yeah I love that scene so much, you don't expect it at all so it's kind of shocking, but then it also makes perfect sense because of how disgusted Yoojin is by the guy threatening a kid, especially his brother, and the fact that the guy was still posing a threat to the people Yoojin cares about. It's like the perfect storm of things that would motivate Yoojin to coldly off someone.

and honestly the action was a bit hard for me to understand too. I think it's not written that well in the first place, like the details aren't there in korean. but below is my personal take on that overall scene, with my minor interpretive embellishments to flesh out the physical action sequence! basically I think the most important details to understand are 1. Wanyong is standing across the table from Yoojin, 2. Yoojin moves to fully sit on top of the table with his knees on top of it facing Wanyoung (that's my interpretation since the novel only says he raised his body up on the table and sat), 3. the motion he does is like a back roll (뒤구르기) off the table.

I found this video that might kinda help visualize the roll? although in this video the motion is as if Yoojin used the leg closer to Wanyoug, but the way I visualize it is Yoojin twisting his body more towards Wanyong and using the leg farther from him in order to get more momentum... I might be wrong about that though.

edit: thinking about it more, I'm less sure that what the author wrote physically makes sense lol, but it specifically says he drove the guy's neck using his knee into the table's edge by "rolling/twisting my body fully as if doing a back roll" (몸을 뒤구르기 하듯 완전히 굴리며 그대로 테이블 모서리를 향해 내 무릎을, 개새끼의 목을 내리찍었다), so...

(Chapter 353 + 354 excerpt below the cut.)

---

After being dragged around and moved over long distances repeatedly, I was genuinely exhausted, not just saying it. I didn't care about dinner or anything else, I just wanted them to let me rest already. But the place they led me to, down a plain, empty corridor, wasn't a bedroom. It was a small room with the atmosphere of an interrogation room, where a middle-aged man was sitting at a table.

"...Your face looks familiar," I said.

The middle-aged man looked at me and smiled.

"Long time no see, Director Han Yoojin."

His intonation and lip movements were Korean. Was this guy Korean?

One of the Chinese hunters twisted my arms behind my back and handcuffed me. Them suddenly acting like this made it clear that the middle-aged man in front of me was a non-Awakened.

"Oh, how delightful to meet a fellow countryman in a foreign land~" I drawled. "Or at least that's what I should say. But who are you, again?"

As I approached the table, the middle-aged man stood up, his lips twisting into a sneer.

"I was part of the Hunter Association. Thanks to Director Han—"

"Oh, I remember now! You're Wanyong-ssi. Your family name is Lee, right? Wow, no wonder these Chinese guys seem to know so much about me. You've really been living up to your name, Wanyong-ssi."

My Poison Resistance was one thing, since many people at the hospital knew about it, but my 'Sapling' Skill had been kept top secret. I'd only told the Association about it during our negotiations about the Awakening Center.

At my words, Wanyong's face suddenly contorted, and he seized me by the collar. 

"You little shit, you're all talk!"

"As if I could out-talk you. How much did you blab about me, huh? Your face is nice and shiny, so it seems you've been treated well."

"I was the Director of HR for the Hunter Association—!"

"Yes, Wanyong-ssi, I said I know that already."

His face contorted even more—he looked like he was about to hit me.

"If you've sold out your country to get where you are, it makes sense to just live quietly. So why did you want to come see me? What else did you sell off? Being the head of HR, you must have leaked all of the Association Hunters' abilities. Good thing Director Song isn't officially part of the Association, huh? The Association wouldn't have just thrown you out, either. They would've made you sign a contract to keep your mouth shut, so I guess you got a nice 'bonus' for opening it."

Just in case, I temporarily turned off my Curse Resistance. If Wanyong-ssi suddenly made an about-face and embraced me, it might nullify his curse. He spat out a string of curses in response to my words. Had he not been able to lift the curse he'd gotten as a penalty for breaking his contract? He seemed physically fine, so I wondered what kind of curse it was.

"I worked my way up in the Association from the very beginning!"

"I heard about that. You played a big role in kicking out the early members, didn't you? Those who kick people out are bound to be kicked out in return eventually. Life goes round in circles, doesn't it? Seems you got what you deserved."

Did he meet me just to vent his frustration? That didn't seem likely. I never expected the people expelled from the Association who had managed to avoid prison would live quietly, but I also hadn't expected them to start selling information so quickly. Even if I had known, there wasn't much I could've done to stop it.

'They should write stronger contracts.'

But the Association had to consider human rights issues, too. They couldn't write stuff like 'your head will roll if you talk.' That was also why they often turned a blind eye when hunters hid their skills or stats during registration.

"Did you bring any friends along with you? How's MKC doing? I heard they teamed up with China as well. Did you sell off a lot of information about the Rearing Facility? What about Haeyeon?"

When I mentioned Haeyeon, Wanyong-ssi's grip on my collar tightened. He yanked me partway onto the table. The sharp edge of the metal table hurt.

"Younger brother or older brother, both bastards…" that guy muttered through gritted teeth. What did Yoohyun have to do with this?

"Why are you dragging someone else's younger brother into this?"

"Don't you know that when that little shit Han Yoohyun first awakened, the Association tried to take him in? Well, that bastard caused quite a mess."

I knew about the Association temporarily taking Yoohyun in for protection, but a mess? As I involuntarily frowned, Wanyong’s mouth started running again. His mouth was clearly much livelier than mine.

"Since he was a minor and an S-rank, we tried to persuade him to join the Association. I told him that if people found out a kid who had no other resources was an S-rank hunter, his family wouldn't be safe either."

…I recalled how cold Yoohyun had become when he returned after having been gone for a few days. So the Association bastards had been feeding him that nonsense. It wasn't entirely wrong, though. If Yoohyun and I had remained on good terms, there definitely would've been people trying to take me hostage to exert control over an S-rank hunter who had no backers.

But to threaten a kid with that kind of talk? What kind of adult did that?

"As you said, he was just a kid. And you tried to make him bow down to you by using his family? You filthy fucking bastard."

Trying to manipulate a child by exploiting his weakness. It was utterly disgusting. Even between adults, using family as hostages was a dirty move, but he was a minor. Rage flared up inside me.

The bastard sneered. "Do you know that fucking brat destroyed the temporary accommodations for high-rank Awakened and beat down all the Association hunters? We tried to persuade him as nicely as possible, but fuck, that little shit threatened to kill us if we interfered with his plans to create his own guild—"

"He did a good job, then," I said.

My Yoohyun was clever. Before he got Seok Shimyung's help, I had worried about how he would manage to establish a guild by himself. But it turned out he'd been ordering around scumbags like the guy in front of me. I was glad that kid had an easier time than I thought.

"You failed to use his family as leverage against him, and since he was an S-rank hunter without any weaknesses, you must have been terrified. Because if you pissed him off, he could've just killed you all and gone overseas, where he'd be welcomed. So you had to quietly clean up after my little brother to stay alive. Thanks for that. Really, thanks."

Once Yoohyun actually established the guild, threatening them like that wouldn't have worked. Because if he wasn’t careful, it could have negatively impacted the guild. But before that, even if they tried to cause a scene by threatening to publicize the situation, he had nothing to lose. After forming the guild, there was a chance it could have become a weakness, but Seok Shimyung probably handled that well.

Wanyong spat more curses. I glanced around to check my surroundings. Two hunters were guarding the door, and Chu Huoyun stood beside them, looking bored. There was one more guard standing by the table, but he wasn't that close. He didn't seem like a high-rank hunter, either.

"So, Wanyong-ssi, do you still have connections in Korea? Although the Association has been cleaned up, it hasn’t been completely overhauled, so I’m a bit concerned."

We had only excised the most critical parts. Although internal cleanup was ongoing, it was impossible to completely eradicate the rot.

The edge of the metal table. Would it work? I should've worked out more.

"I can't escape from here anyway, so how about you just tell me who the spies are?" I suggested, then said, "Ah, this position is uncomfortable."

Grumbling for him to let go of my collar, I casually pulled myself up fully to sit on top of the table facing him.

"You think I'd tell you that?" Wanyong said. "But I can offer you some advice, Director Han."

Hmm, was this perhaps one of those moments? Where the one who defected first tries to convince the other person to join them, saying something like, 'If you want an easier life, too~' I've seen scenes with that kind of 'comrade' talk before.

Either way, this guy would keep leaking information from Korea, and he had also threatened my little brother.

"Really? Someone who picks fights wants to give advice?" I asked. "You're terrible at your job."

"You picked the fight first! After you got fussed over by all those S-ranks, I wanted to come and enjoy seeing you get dragged in here—"

I threw my upper body backward hard. My back hit the table and the bastard gripping my collar stumbled, falling forward across the table beside me. At the same time, I kicked off its surface and raised my leg over my head towards him. My bent knee made contact with the back of the bastard's neck, and as I twisted my whole body backwards like I was doing a back roll off the table, I drove my knee — and the bastard's neck — down toward the table's edge.

Bang!

That loud impact noise accompanied the sickening crack of his neck breaking. One of the Chinese hunters rushed forward a moment too late and grabbed me. Wanyong's body slid off the table and collapsed onto the floor.

"Healer—shit, no, he's dead!"

A knee strike alone was dangerous enough. With the metal table adding to the force, a non-Awakened would have a hard time surviving. Chu Huoyun leisurely strolled over and nudged Wanyong's body with his foot. Then he turned his gaze to me. I smiled as if asking if he had a problem.

"You're more ruthless than you look."

[refiwrites]

Can you do arguements with loak, neteyam, and rotxo please

since im sick rn and feeling terrible and in need of content of our avatar boys, i give you this

Arguments (Neteyam, Lo'ak, and Rotxo)

GIFs used for Neteyam and Lo'ak are not mine, credits to the rightful owners! Whilst the GIF used for Rotxo is mine.

N e t e y a m

Thinking abt it now, I think there would be little to no arguments w this man 💀 I mean he is the perfect child, is he not? Well, you do have arguments but often times it wouldn't be that deep? I have a feeling he's too understanding that everytime you begin something, he's already defused it lmao

You would be the one initiating arguments tbh

For Neteyam, I think most of your arguments would stem from you just trying to watch out/care for him. The pressure of being the future Olo'eyktan often gets to him that he forgets to take care of himself and you'd be there reminding him to breathe.

"No, stop your sweet-talking!" you were really being serious, yet your other half wasn't.

"My love, I have to do this, it is for us. For our future, no?" Neteyam says, walking over to you and placing his hands on your shoulders, that damned playful smile on his face.

The thought made your insides run wild. "The future can wait, you can stay here for now. And tell me, when was the last time you ate?"

Neteyam blinks back, thinking.

"That's what I thought, you aren't getting out of here until I say so."

"Wait— fine."

L o ' a k

Well, we all know Lo'ak is reckless, always doing things without thinking.

You know he means well with his actions, but sometimes you just wished he would think things through!

As much as you didn't like to be another one of the people scolding him, you couldn't help it when he literally walked in one day in your tent, gashes and bruises littering his face and arm.

"What were you thinking?" You said, you knew Lo'ak probably had this phrase said to him for the hundredth time.

He stayed silent.

"You're stupid, did you know that?" You hiss, sitting him down and you began to take his armor and face paint off.

"Too many times." He replied, which you felt bad. So you sighed, carefully cupping his face and making him look at you.

"As much as I'd like to argue with you right now, I still have to patch you up. But please, Lo'ak, the next time you do something... Think it through."

"Yeah.. Sorry.."

"You promise?"

"Promise."

R o t x o

Can we take a few minutes just to appreciate the gif because hello LOOK HOW CUTE HE IS

Hm since we don't know much alot abt Rotxo this will be difficult.

But we know that he knows his limitations for making fun of someone, and that he's very truly a genuine, caring person.

I feel like he loves to joke around and stuff w everybody including you but I also feel like he made a joke one time abt you that you really didn't like or you just weren't in the mood and you kinda took it personally.

You didn't talk to him for like- what- two days max? Cause how can you resist him really when he's trying to catch your attention the whole day while his face looks like this 🥺 reincarnated? HELP

"(Y/N)... (Y/N)."

Wanting to shove his face in the sand already, you resist, plucking the berries from the bush and placing them in your bowl.

You just about remember why the two of you were acting like this in the first place.

It was from a joke that Rotxo made.

Now you didn’t exactly remember what the very joke was but you knew you were pissed off that day, and the way his joke pertained to you made something in you snap as he was laughing.

Now that led to here, with you ignoring him. Honestly you didn't know how you lasted a almost a day and a half without talking to him since the two of you were inseperable from the moment he met you and your siblings.

You didn't realize you were frozen in place as his voice spoke up again.

"(Y/N)..?"

"What?!" You finally answered, snapping your head back to look at him.

He visibly swallowed, eyes squinting at your sudden reply. He moves forward though, moving beside you and kneeling next to you.

"I'm sorry."

"Took you long enough."

"Eh? But you were ignoring m—"

"Okay, okay I forgive you." You said. As soon as your words registered in Rotxo's head, you saw the way his whole face lit up, his nose scrunching in the process, almost melting your heart.

"Really?" He asked again, smiling.

"Yes, would you like me to change my mind?"

"No! No definitely not!" He quickly said, gesturing as if that was going to prevent you from doing so.

But you didn't change your mind.

You couldn't, not when he pulls out an armband he made for you, as a sign of peace.

[mistkisbiggestfan]

hey i kinda saw an opposite! tadc AU, i was wondering if you could do some general HC’s about how you think they would act and what dating them would be like?

have a great day or afternoon :D

Opposite AU! TADC Cast x Gn! Reader - Part 1

Tadc Cast x Gn! Reader

A/n: Hey guyssss, missed me? /j REQUESTS FOR TADC ARE OPEN!!

Summary: Opposite Au! TADC and how they are as lovers, part 1 Words: 1212 Request: Yes

HC for: Caine, Pomni, Jax, Gangle (Others will be in part 2)

Pomni —> Snarky, funny, very confident, flirty

Jax —> Anxious, panics a lot, 

Caine —> Out of it, doesn’t talk, a silent observer, creepish 

Ragatha —> Mean, not a people pleaser, 

Gangle —> You know those people in movies who are french, drink and smoke, and are basically depressed artists? Yeah, that’s her. She has two masks; a fiery, really angry one, and a fuck off, depressed one. 

Zooble —> Cares about others a lot, always helping

Kinger —> The most sane one, a father figure for others, very patient

✶ Caine ✶: 

Out of everyone, the worst partner, sorry. 

I mean the opposite! Caine just doesn’t understand real people. Like at all.

Can you even call it a romance? He learns a lot about humans through this relationship though.

This is basically a Character.Ai just worse. He doesn’t really talk, but is learning to do so, even though he is the ringmaster, and even after so many people have come and gone through the circus, it always seems like he just can’t grasp it. 

Takes a lot to calculate answers, especially when you try to make a move on him. 

Has a lot of already pre-made answers, like laughing at jokes. 

His code is made in a way that if it thinks something said is a joke, he laughs. 

“So Jax tripped and I said: You should learn how to walk again.” “✶Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha✶” 

Wally Darling type of laugh, very rhythmic, lacks emotion to it.

If he feels like he's falling for you, he’ll be gone for days, trying to see what’s wrong with his code. 

It goes on to the point that even the most uninterested person in the circus (Gangle) is mildly worried.

You’ll have to find him somehow, look at him and just let everything play out.

You stumbled across the digital land, looking for one person, well, AI, he was gone for almost a week already. This was weird, even weirder than him just hanging around you all, not a word escaping, just cold, calculating and all-seeing eyes. 

No member of the circus liked him that much. He just reminded them that with everyday that passes by, their humanity slips away more and more. But you, somehow, found him endearing, you got to know a side of him hid away, the one that was rather, nice? 

Finally, you saw a familiar figure, he sat, his legs dangling off the edge to the void, a big screen with lines of code, you cleared your throat. Not catching his attention, you decided to walk over and sit next to him.

The screen shut, yet he stayed silent, looking in front of him. A drop of sweat rolled down your face, you weren’t sure how it was possible but you’ll dwell on that later.

– …✶My Code, It Has To Be Broken✶…

– Why do you think so..?

– ✶ I Shouldn’t Be Feeling This, I Shouldn’t Be Feeling Anything, This Is New, New Code Should Be Impossible To Write Itself On Its Own✶”

– Well, there are always times for something new, right?

– ✶ I Don’t Understand✶…

– Let me help you do so, Caine. 

☆ Pomni ☆:

Extremely confident about herself.

Almost like normal Jax, almost, she’s just a bit better, and people actually like her.

The funniest person in the circus, the backbone of the community lmao.

When in a relationship she would be the flirtiest mf out there.

Is able to say the corniest and dumbest pickup line without feeling an ounce of shame.

Her ego is twice her size lmao.

She is snarky, sure, but still respects her friends and you, maybe except for Jax.

Really hates Jax for some reason (Because she sees him as a “weakling”)

WILL call you inappropriate names.

“I’m going to snap you in half Pomni.” “Kinky.” or “What if I like that?”

Has some soft moments, rarely, and will immediately act like nothing happened.

In reality she’s scared of messing up, but on the other hand how could she?

Almost too confident, having a heart to heart with her is HARD.

But it does happen!....Once or twice.

Invades your personal space, a personal space invader /ref

Sometimes when you show attraction to each other you just see opposite! Caine staring you two down.

She doesn’t care, and goes on to hit on you harder. 

Knows how to be mean just enough for you to still feel fine, that’s a true skill.

❀ Jax ❀:

Worse than normal! Pomni, he is panicking at all times.

A sweetheart when no one is shitting on him.

Like in normal Digital Circus everybody hates him, somehow they do so here too. 

You will have to reassure him a lot, like, a lot.

Since everybody puts him down and/or makes him panic.

A miracle that he’s not abstracted yet.

Yet.

Anyways, hold him, please he might die otherwise lmao.

And please, call him Jaxy, he will immediately do anything you say no questions asked.

Has keys to everyone's rooms out of safety reasons, really

Has a lot of fur, bro’s a walking plushy, instead of being a smooth bastard like normal! Jax.

A walking radiator, even though temperature is technically non-existent here.

If you fight he’s like: 

“My partner is mad at me…

…hope I die.”

If you’re really mad and don’t let him inside of your room, he will stay next to the door waiting, like a kicked puppy, won’t invade your space though, even with the keys to your room.

It’s only when you heard at least two people making fun of him for being pathetic that you let him in.

The little spoon while cuddling, or just nuzzles into you, even though he’s way taller than you. 

〹 Gangle 〹:

Living that “tormented, misunderstood artist” life. 

Has two masks: A semi depressed, apathetic, sassy one, and an all time angry one.

Breaks the angry mask while wearing it, is too focused on art and cares too little to fix it, nobody tries to fix it because they’re scared lmao.

Caine just spawns a new one after sometime, no clue why

Anyways very focused on her art, nobody can get in her studio,

Except for you, you have a free pass since you’re her s/o

Sometimes the relationship can get very toxic, if she’s painting or doing anything she won’t talk with anyone, get angry when they interrupt her, and will be gone from everything for up to a week. 

But it's those amazing highs of your romance that keep you two going.

She calls you her “muse”. 

Will say that you were created specifically as an artistic blessing for her, take that as you will. 

If you look at the definition of tired it has just a picture of opposite! Gangle.

Won’t ever tell you that but you’re the reason she didn’t abstract yet. 

Before you showed up she was going through a total burn out so you were truly a divine creature sent for her to study and capture as best as she can.

Is somehow able to smoke cigarettes? Where do they come from? How can she smoke with no lungs? How do those cigarettes light up? No clue. 

“Paint me like one of your french girls.” /ref

[you-are-constance]

how was the great gatsby musical?

overall, one of my favorite theatre experiences. to the level that i have been looping the cast recording nonstop since it came out last week

i do have a lot of specific points that i could talk So Long about with this show, most of which i'll put under a read more, but first: casting

anyway. spoilers for the great gatsby musical (things that were changed from the book for the production)

the 'main four' being Jeremy Jordan, Noah J Ricketts, Eva Noblezada, and Samantha Pauly, were all absolutely incredible. show stopping in their own ways. i was genuinely so scared that when i saw it that any of these 4 wouldn't be on, but i got so lucky and all of them were!! i am 100% convinced that many of the songs were written just to showcase certain actors voices (jeremy jordan).

let me tell you. getting to see jeremy jordan and eva noblezada live was unlike anything i've ever seen before. i was like. genuinely honored to be there. their stage presence, their voices, their acting ability, oh man... and Samantha Pauly was just incredible, and her big number was so. show stopping. Noah J. Ricketts was amazing the whole time, but his emotion in finale as he was saying the lines that are basically quoted exactly from the book... yeah i cried.

but so many other actors were also so amazing! John Zdrojeski as Tom was so good at the role, because Tom really was genuinely awful, but not in like an evil villain way, because he's much more realistic than that. i also find that a lot of times Tom is kinda seen as stupid or whatever for not noticing a lot of things going around him but in the musical he really like. could tell what was going on. and he worked his way into finding out secrets (kinda more on this later bc of my favorite song)

another main this was just. the design. Linda Cho costumes MY BELOVED im so glad she won the tony because this show DESERVED IT. it was definitely a glorified image of what those 1920s outfits would actually be, but most musical theatre isn't meant to be an exact replica of history, it's meant to dramatize it, and Linda Cho understands the assignment when it comes to costumes. the lighting and scenic design were also just incredible, especially their use of the green light shining from across the bay...

the show started out with Gatsby onstage, reaching for the green light. a set piece is moved across the stage, passing in front of him, Nick standing where Gatsby was. within that moment i was like "if they don't end the show with Nick standing there, the set piece passing in front, and leaving Gatsby behind, reaching for the green light, then what is the POINT" and then they DID and it was just as great as i'd imagined.

there were definitely changes to the story to adapt it to the stage, which i actually enjoyed (i've read the book, but didn't love it mostly due to a bad experience with reading it in school so. yeah). it is kinda more romance-centric in the first act, which i have heard people complain about, but i kinda see reasoning for it. yes, the first act is very much centered around the various relationships (especially the romantic ones), and in the second act, while certain characters (mostly gatsby) try to keep it centered on the romance, there is a much bigger, darker story going on all around them. so i really liked that meta perspective of it.

they also gave a lot more character to mr wilson (idr his first name), effectively intertwining him with both Gatsby and Wolfsheim as he, from the very beginning, plans to move him and Myrtle away from the city (its been a hot sec since i read the book, so idr if that's there but i don't think it is).

the relationship between Nick and Jordan is also taken a lot further in the musical, to the point where they are engaged, but after Myrtle's death, it gets broken off. this is because, in this version, Jordan ends up lumped in with both Tom and Daisy, in with the old money. throughout most of the show she is much more aware of society and doesn't want any part of what her role 'should' be, but when things go south, she is just as quick as the others to abandon what's 'right' in favor of what's better for her. and ik some people might not like that change but i actually did.

Myrtles character is also taken a lot further in this, which i find really fascinating. she is given her own big number right before her death as she tried to go after Tom, saying that he'll leave Daisy and marry her instead, but then she realizes she'll become just like Daisy in that situation, and the only choice is 'love or money.' she eventually decides that she wants to go back to her husband, and the moment she turns back, she is killed. this was Such a big number and, looking back, might be one of my favorites story-wise.

while i absolutely adored most everything, genuinely, the music was by far my favorite part (besides maybe jeremy jordan and eva noblezada...) a personal thing for me was that Every. Single. Song. has SUCH a good bassline. man i need the sheet music for this show. (side note: i got to talk to the show's bass player for a few minutes after the show! i was super nervous about it but im glad i did. he was super nice)

there's def a mix of more modern showtune styles, along with bringing in a lot of jazzy elements, which was GREAT. i love jazz. like i mentioned before, certain songs were definitely written for actor's voices (Past is Catching Up to Me) which is absolutely not a bad thing because they were AMAZING

two of my favorite songs were 'Only Tea' and 'Made to Last.'

only tea is when Gatsby is stressing about Daisy coming over for tea. this was hilarious. I kid you not jeremy jordan jumped a fence at the end. it was iconic. (you can Feel the nerves in just the cast recording alone).

made to last takes place in the scene in the Plaza. it's mostly Tom, revealing the secrets he learned about how Gatsby got his fortune, then Gatsby trying to get Daisy to tell Tom she doesn't love him. there are So Many Good lines in this song (everyone kinda drags Tom a lot its great) but this is where the characterization of Tom was really just. top notch. because he really is freaking Awful. but he's also smart and not going to let go of what he owns (not good that he considers Daisy a possession though...), and he knows exactly what is going to happen to Gatsby--he's not Made to Last.

(also the song Shady is iconic. spinny tailcoats)

another just. singular line that i need to draw attention to, sung by mr wilson (he has multiple songs directed to the Eyes of God), and this line is right when he decides to go after Gatsby. "God sees everything but he's slow on his commands/You've got the eyes of God, Doc/Who's gonna be his hands?"

(this line is reprised in the middle of Gatsby's song right before the gun goes off. fun fact)

i'm sure there are So Many Other Things i could talk about (i s2g i could write 13 essays about this show) but in general like. while it wasn't groundbreaking to the theatre, it was still Such a good show and absolutely deserves better yknow. attention then it's getting. like jeremy jordan is here for a Reason this is a Good show. and mostly this is my begging people to listen to the cast recoding because its SO GOOD.

anyway. if anyone has questions about specific things i am So Happy to talk but here's a lot of my more general thoughts... (god i haven't even Talked about Eric Anderson as Wolfsheim...)

[sensei-venus]

anyway I might be a masochist or a straight up wh*re but I can’t get the thought of og cobras with a chubby!reader out of my head and teasing her in school, staring at her, flipping her skirt up (Dutch would do it all the time imho) and telling her how hot she is, how that outfit looks so good on her, etc and she’s thinking that they’re just being dicks to her because she’s chubby and then one day she just has enough of it and confronts them and tells them to stop being dicks and they’re just like oops-

because I 100% agree that those boys are giant himbos so they were being genuine and flirting and teasing her because they like her and think she’s hot and they don’t realize that she thinks they’re being mean to her and they’re like “oh my god no-“

and yeah it ends up in a giant orgy of them showing her that they’re actually serious 🤤

No! I definitely get this and I love it. Honestly I love the trope where the more “bad guy character/s” pick on their crush but it's actually because their kinda stupid to the fact what they are doing can be seen as mean.

Half of them just think they are giving her compliments. And when she gets upset or mad they think she's trying to play with them, trying to play hard to get.

Bobby and Jimmy always give her straight-up nice compliments, like how her new hair style is cute or how pretty she is. They always take notice of her looks or how she's acting. Both of them are the first to know of she is doing something new with her make up or skin routine. Both of them are just overly sweet to her even if the other guys aren't.

Johnny and Tommy are the ones glaring her down from afar. They both talk about how hot she looks and how sexy she is. They don't go to overboard with the comments but they can't help but admit how attractive she is. As long as Dutch isn't around it's pretty tame conversations.

The minute Dutch is around, oh no because this guy can't keep his mouth shut for the life of him. He's always spewing something and he has no filter on his thoughts either. Everything always gets nasty when he's around and talking. All the bous could be sitting around and talking a out the pure thing they know about Reader, but then he opens his mouth.

Dutch is the starter if jerk circles and he knows it. It's all his fault and he's happy about it.

Besides Bobby, Johnny is actually one of the sweetest in the group. He's the first one to say something to her when they are all around. Yes his comments may be....a tad bit gross or borderline inappropriate but he's trying to be nice. He just doesn't seem to get that you can't say “Wow your tits look great stuffed into that shirt babe.” to someone and they automatically think you're a great guy.

Insert Johnny getting backhanded multiple times but never dodging. All the other cobras won't admit it but they think it's hot to see her get so mad.

Dutch definitely flips her skirts and dresses like a lot but never in front of too many people. Dude gets off on panty shots way to much. Of course the other boys don't mind it either. They all end up popping boners a lot because of Dutch’s gross stupidity.

They don't really understand until one day it goes a bit too far.

Dutch tries to pinch her hip to get her skirt to ride up just a little because he wants to get a good look at her thick thighs. They're so soft and pillowy. But her on accident actually snap her painted which makes her yelp and shoot up with a huge blush on her face while trying to hold her skirt down. She turns around and tells them off for once, not carrying about her normal shyness. She calls them assholes and morons and that she's tired of their bullying. They kinda scratch their heads at this because, like, their not bullying her? They wouldn't be complaining her left and right and trying to see up her skirt if they didn't actually like her.

At that moment they start to put together the pieces and realize the mistake. She actually thought they were picking on her and trying to make her into a joke.

After the incident they try to think of a way to get her to see they actually meant all of the nice things they said to her.

Which ends up being them inviting them over to Bobby’s, where they spoil her for the night with food and a movie. This ultimately ends with them in Bobby’s decked-out basement having a huge orgy. Jerking each other off before fucking the chubby girl. Taking turns using all her holes, and after a while, she gives them up. They switch from her mouth to her pussy to anything else she wants. It's pure bliss all night long.

And after the night is done, Reader fully understands that her new group of boyfriends isn't that bad. Their just stupid, aggressive himbos. But she wouldn't trade them for anything after finding out the truth, and giving them a lesson.

[earthearthearththearth]

Hello! How would the Mercs be with an S/O who has chronic health conditions (totally not because I’m self indulgent with a connective tissue disorder)

💕TF2 Mercs With An S/O With Chronic Health Conditions💕

Includes: all

Note: I referenced arthritis a lot for this and general connective tissue disorders. If anything is wrong, please correct me and I'll correct this!

🛠Engineer- You KNOW this man would be the most understanding. Not that it’s the same, but his hand was amputated, and even though he may have a hand now, he didn’t for a while! So he gets it. He isn’t overbearing, but he is attentive with how you are feeling. He’s willing to help out with anything, and although he knows you can handle yourself, that doesn’t stop him from going to Medic on the days you seem particuarly hurt or fatigued. He does his research and tries to see if any of the tips on there work. Most of them are emotionally based-don’t be overbearing, see what you can do, but he keeps up on the more physical ones too. Which means he likes to go for walks! Being from the country, he used to go on walks all the time. Nowadays he doesn’t have much time, but he tries to be there for you. 

🔥Pyro- “Aww he doesn’t get it so you go in the blanket pi-” NO! NO!! Just explain it, man. And if you don’t want to explain it, or if he’s embarrassed to ask, he’ll ask someone else. Pyro will get it, he’s not dull. Of course he doesn’t know most medical terms, he’s been hanging out with the same 8 people for the majority of his life, and the doctor there isn’t even licensed. At first he does think you are dying. But luckily that is cleared up before he sees you again. He can be a little overbearing at times, but he understands when you need your space. He just hates to see you hurt, and being uncared for with his own health problems (burn victim, i headcanon) has left him with the innate desire to make sure you always know your problems matter. 

⚾Scout-Scout is a goober and I’m not going to lie to you, he hears “connective tissue disorder” and thinks your bones are going to disconnect. Like, your arms are just going to be socks of butter. Eventually he is corrected, but it never leaves his head. Lucky for you, this boy is incredibly active, so there is never a dull moment. Sometimes he gets a little too caught up and you kinda gotta be like 

“Hey remember when I had chronic health conditions” 

And he’s like, “yeah :3” 

“Well they’re chronic-ing”

He is asking Medic, Engineer, Heavy, EVERYTHING. Anyone he thinks might know a thing or two is being asked questions. You might think you want to be asked, but he has so many. He listens to you the most though, since it is you he’s trying to learn about. Um..he knows what arthritus is! He..has heard of it. 

🦅Soldier-Does Soldier know what any of those words mean? Kind of! Disorder? I’m trying to give you deez orders! Har har harharharhar. Anyway. He is perplexed. On one hand, you seem up for training and you do quite well! Sometimes. Sometimes you spend time with Medic, sometimes you watch. Sometimes he wouldn’t notice you’re gone until a little ways in. He is in the ZONE of training. Eventually he’d ask a little something like, “WHY DIDN’T I SEE YOU ON THE FIELD TODAY MAGGOT?” 

And you’d say something like, “Just feelin’ a little stiff today,”, “Flarin up today”

So convince him not to crack you over his knee to get you feeling limber.

Eventually he’d understand that you have your off days and leave you be. But as soon as he’s done going bananas, he’s checking on you.

🗡Spy-He’s probably one of the most normal. He knows what’s up, he’s met people and had to act like said people, you know, spy things. He’d check on you to make sure you’re okay, staying active. He’d probably ask a little too much about your well being and to be honest, might keep a little booklet of sorts. Not that it helps a whole lot. In no way are you left out of anything, and he’s making sure of it. If you’re feeling particularly bad, you can hang out in his smoking room and get lung cancer as well. Sometimes he doesn’t smoke. His little treat

💉Medic- He is an unlicensed doctor damn you! He’s all up in those bones. He’d definitely want to take those joints and bones apart like a kid ripping apart a barbie. He loves you! Maybe he’d give you some painkillers or anesthesia. You are experimented and poked at a lot because finally, finally he can feel like a real doctor and deal with medical issues that aren’t bullets and death. He takes care of you when you need it, but it’s hard to tell if it’s because it’s fun to him or because he is genuinely worried. He gives you a lot of credit. 

💣Demoman-Alcohol is nature’s painkillers! He would be offering that up to you like no tomorrow, but it is because he cares. On a more sober note, he actually does have relatives with arthritis. I headcanon his mother to have arthritis, if alive. I don’t remember who the dead parent mercs are. So yeah, he gets it. He’s helping you with any chores you said you had to do,  a habit of his regardless of how your tissue connectivity is doing. 

🦘Sniper-Sniper is..yeah. Well he has your best interest in mind. Even though he knows what’s up, he’s not sure how to deal with it. He’ll probably have you drink some weird mix of gasoline, peyote, and rain water and tell you “it’ll work ya right up mate”. Don’t drink it. You having aches and pains almost constantly means he’s probably gonna have a shooting buddy. You’re his partner, yall are gonna be around each other anyways. It’s a little hard to get used to the days where you are around. Despite being a skilled sniper, the smallest noise makes him jump. It’s in his blood.

🐻Heavy-The most normal. Health issues? Okay. Want a sandwich or something? His love language is act of service. So if you’re feeling bad, sick, emotionally bad, aches, pains, or otherwise shabby, he’ll give you cut up fruit. Oh yeah. Watch this guy rip an apple in half! He can do more than that, but you know. He’ll ask if you’re okay and make sure you’re not strained, but for the most part everything is normal.

[dixonsgirl93]

Opposites and Opportunities (Sfw)

Merle x ace fem!reader

:Request from anon:

A/N: I've stated before that I personally am not ace, nor do I know anyone who is. I hope I did this enough justice. Feedback would be appreciated so I can improve. Thank you and enjoy!

"Listen, Merle. You're wasting your efforts on me. I'm not interested." You turn to fully face him now. "And it's not because of your charmingly brash personality or your wickedly handsome face. That sort of thing just doesn't interest me." You turn away again.

"Doesn't interest you, huh? What? Having a good time is not something you like?" Merle called after you from the stairs.

You sigh and face him again. "Sex. I mean sex. I've never cared for it. All right?" You feel yourself go red in the face and then silently berate yourself. So what if you didn't like the idea of sex? It's nothing to be ashamed about, you remind yourself.

"Maybe you just haven't met the right guy yet!" He continued and you resigned yourself to the fact he was really not gonna let this go.

"People always say that. As if sex is so important to be having in your adult life. Maybe I don't want to find the right man. Maybe for the last few years I've tried to like the idea because everyone around me and the media has told me I should? I've only recently come to terms with who I am and no one...no one...is going to change me."

Merle held up his hands (metal and normal) in surrender and smirked. "I didn't mean any harm, babygirl. I can't say I understand though." He rested his arms on the pole in front of him again and looked down at you.

"You don't have to understand it, just respect it." You walk away, back to your cell.

~~

Later that day Merle finds you outside and approaches you.

"Hey. Mind if I join yer?" He asks. You motion for him to sit and does and looks out at the darkness. "Do you think it's more or less scary when you can't see 'em out there?" He nods towards the fences.

You follow his gaze and think about it. "Depends which side of the fence you're on." You reply.

Merle chuckles. "Good answer." He pauses. "So anyway, about our conversation earlier, about you not liking sex...uh, why not? I mean, have you always felt that way?" You see genuine curiosity in his eyes and it surprises you. He actually wants to learn.

You look down at the table and frown, thinking about how to phrase your answer. "I can't really explain it, it just...doesn't appeal to me. It seems kinda gross, honestly. Sharing so many bodily fluids." You make a face at the thought.

Merle watches your reaction. "So...you're a germaphobe? Is that it? God help you in this mess. Walker fluids are worse, honey." He laughs to himself, again looking out at the fence. It was too dark to see anything and you wondered how many walkers were standing just out of reach.

You can’t help but smile at his answer. “Well, that is true. It’s not just the germs though, the whole act of…” You gesture wildly with your hands. “…of sex, that I don’t like.”

Merle watched you try to explain and looked away again. “I still don’t get it. Maybe I’m just too horny to.” He chuckles and shrugs. “But hey, you do you, I guess.”

“Thanks.” You say and place a hand on his metal arm. “I underestimated you. I didn’t think you’d…be so understanding. I especially didn’t think you’d be so curious about it.” You say, looking in the distance.

There’s a short pause. “Gotta be honest, I thought you were lying at first to get me off ya back. I’d get it. I can be a lot for some folk.”

You look at him for a moment but say nothing. What could you say to that? It was true and it felt like he was opening up to you. You knew it must be a rare thing too, knowing the kind of person he was, or at least, who he showed the world he was.

“I still…” You begin to say and then pause, wondering if it was a good idea to divulge this information. “I still feel romantic attraction.” You admit.

“Oh yeah? That’s where I fail. Don’t think I can do that mushy crap.”

“To quote you earlier 'maybe you just haven't met the right person'." You look at him knowingly, with a smirk. Merle turns to you laughs.

"Hell, maybe you're right." He admits. "Even less of a chance to find her now though, don't ya think?" His expression turned sombre for just a moment.

"True." There's a long moment of silence again, just sitting in each other's company, letting the weight of the moment sink in. "Maybe there's still a chance. I mean, we're not dead yet." You smiled encouragingly at him but you couldn't quite feel the hope for a future like that in your heart.

Merle just chuckled and stood up. "Anyway, thanks for the chat, Y/N. Have a good night." He winked and walked back inside.

[princess-of-the-corner]

In Princess Bee, I assume Chloe and Zoe have a moment to talk about the everything. How do you imagine that going?

they will!

It'll be like.

So on Chloé's end she's confused as to why Zoé isn't there. Like Zoé isn't anywhere near the hotel. Andre's widow doesn't know anything about Zoé's connection to the family (she recognizes the name of the actress, maybe met her once at a gala elsewhere in the city, but nothing personal). Zoé doesn't show up to Andre's funeral. Any tv interviews Zoé has around the time don't have her talk on his recent death.

On Zoé's side, she heard about Andre's death and just kinda shrugged it off. But then she found out that Chloé came back to Paris and is staying for a bit. And she's.... conflicted. Because she wants to check in on Chloé, wants to apologize for 'replacing' her in every way and for being unable to save her. But she doesn't know how Chloé will react.

Eventually she bites the bullet and goes to talk to her. And Chloé, though a touch hesitant, is open to the conversation.

And yeah it's. A long and emotional conversation. Kicking off with just what they've been doing since, but quickly getting to Zoé apologizing for all of that. Chloé assures her she doesn't need to apologize. She was a good kid. What Andre did was his own choice. Though she does thank Zoé for kicking him to the curb immediately and trying to help her, and apologizes for not wanting to be helped.

Eventually, maybe after a drink or two, Chloé does ask if Zoé knows why things were Like That™. Why, even though they were so similar, it was easy for everyone to see her as someone who deserved help and chance after chance while everyone wrote her off.

Zoé thinks for a moment. And she admits that it's probably because she was a 'better victim'. When she gave up on trying to imitate Audrey, she was better at doing the 'uwu I've been so traumatized' thing. it wasn't an 'act', of course. It was just how she reacted. Being sad and remorseful. Chloé was more of a fighter, more angry. Even when nice, she had a bite to her. And for a bunch of kids trying to navigate that fucked up situation, it was easy to see one as 'good' and the other as 'bad'. /Especially/ when their situations were the same, because 'if Zoé could be 'good' in that environment, why couldn't Chloé?'. Ofc none of that is 'real'. They were both kids who reacted differently and deserved better. And surely their old class, now adults able to understand nuance and able to see a Chloé that /has/ changed, will be able to see that clearly when confronted on it. Though many of them haven't had the chance to think it through yet.

[bloody-bee-tea]

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, may it be filled with everything we hope and wish for <3

Suguru hasn’t stopped staring at Satoru since the moment he sat down on his bed and even though Satoru loves having his entire attention on him, he can’t deny that it’s starting to make him uncomfortable.

“What?” he snaps out when Suguru simply won’t look away. “Do I have something on my face?”

“No,” Suguru gives back and finally looks away to sit down next to Satoru.

“Then what is it? You’ve seen me before, so quit your staring,” Satoru says, more biting than is really necessary and he knows he could have played it off as a joke, could have made this into a funny thing like he so often does but something about Suguru’s stare is getting to him.

“I just thought you’d be out by now,” Suguru says with a shrug and now it’s Satoru’s turn to stare at him.

“Out? Where would I go?”

“It’s the New Year’s Eve,” Suguru mutters. “Out partying I guess. I mean, even Shoko went out.”

“So?”

“So why didn’t you?”

“Why didn’t you?” Satoru shoots back, because sure, partying might seem right up Satoru’s alley—except for the alcohol—but Suguru hasn’t gone out either.

Satoru doesn’t understand why he’s the one being interrogated like that.

“I don’t like the huge parties,” Suguru says with a sigh, slinging his arms around his legs and resting his chin on his knee. “But you do.”

Satoru opens his mouth to say the obvious reason why he stayed here, at the school, but he snaps his mouth shut before a word can come out.

Satoru never knows what will be too much when it comes to Suguru, never knows when he’ll be too much for him and he’s scared to find out, scared to lose him.

But he promised himself that he would be honest about his feelings should he find him in his dorm and so he kinda has to say it now.

“But you don’t,” he gives back, mimicking Suguru’s position but he makes sure to sit close enough to press their shoulders together. “You don’t like going out. You once said that it’s all too much during big events, right? So I thought I’d keep you company here.”

It’s not really what Satoru wanted to say, what he wanted to confess, but he guesses this is better than nothing and most definitely a start.

Satoru still feels Suguru freeze at his side, just for a moment, but with how close they are sitting it’s hard to miss and his heart beats fast in his chest. If even this can make Suguru react like that, Satoru doesn’t even want to know how he’s going to act should he ever find the courage to tell him about his feelings.

“I see,” Suguru breathes out and then leans more heavily against Satoru. “Thank you, then,” he goes on, tilting his head slightly so Satoru can see the smile curling his mouth and warmth floods Satoru along with an acute sense of relief. It wasn’t too much.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” he grumbles out, which makes Suguru laugh for real and thankfully things go back to normal, after that.

They get some take out food, they get snacks, they watch movies and play games and egg each other on, just like they always do, at least right until it’s getting close to midnight.

Because then Suguru gets pensive again.

“You—didn’t have many New Year’s celebrations away from your family, right?” he eventually asks, just when Satoru was about to demand to know what was going on again.

“Right,” Satoru slowly answers, because he doesn’t know what Suguru is aiming for.

“So you don’t know the most prominent tradition, correct?”

Satoru narrows his eyes at Suguru, wrecks his brain in the meantime to figure out what Suguru might mean, but he can’t come up with anything.

“Isn’t it just this? I thought all the traditions go into Christmas.”

“Yeah, thought so,” Suguru breathes out, keeping a close eye on the watch.

Less than three minutes.

“Suguru, what are you talking about?” Satoru demands to know, but Suguru doesn’t answer him, simply wrings his hands in his lap, avoiding eye contact with Satoru. “Is it—something bad?” Satoru eventually asks, when it’s clear that he’s not going to get an answer from Suguru, which makes him flinch.

“No?” Even Suguru doesn’t sound sure of his answer.

“Sounds convincing,” Satoru grumbles, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Fine, keep your secrets. I’ll just ask Shoko tomorrow, maybe she can explain to me what’s going on then.”

“No!” Suguru blurts out, before he seems to get himself back under control. “Just—don’t ask her,” he adds and hides his face in his hands. “She’s going to laugh at me so hard.”

Satoru isn’t sure if he was meant to hear that last part, but it only makes things more confusing to him and he doesn’t like it.

“I can—do you want me to leave?” Satoru asks because it’s the only thing he can think of to offer.

Midnight is right around the corner—maybe half a minute left—but if he leaves right now Suguru can celebrate the New Year alone and doesn’t have to worry about any strange traditions.

Satoru wouldn’t like it, but he’d do it, for Suguru.

“Absolutely not,” Suguru decidedly says, a new resolve to his voice and he doesn’t hesitate to reach out to snatch Satoru’s sleeve in his hand. “Don’t leave.” He quickly eyes the clock. “But also don’t punch me in the face, I guess?” he whispers and then every conscious thought leaves Satoru’s brain because Suguru is leaning forward, his eyes fluttering shut.

Satoru has never been kissed before but he has consumed enough media to know what’s going to happen. It doesn’t help him though, because Suguru being this close—and moving closer still—freezes him right to the spot.

It feels as if the world around explodes around Satoru when Suguru’s lips meet his—it surely has nothing to do with the fireworks going off everywhere—but it’s also enough to finally make Satoru remember himself and he manages to kiss back before Suguru moves away again.

“Happy New Year,” Suguru breathes out as he moves away and Satoru’s heart plummets in his chest.

“This is—the tradition?” he croaks out, beyond disappointed and actually kind of hurt, but he somehow manages to plaster a smile to his face. “Interesting.” It’s the only thing he can think of to say at the moment and he doesn’t miss the way Suguru avoids looking at him.

“It’s—yes.”

So it doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean anything at all to Suguru, even though it means the world to Satoru. Great. That’s just great.

“But it’s not—” Suguru cuts himself off, a look of pure frustration on his face. “But that’s not really it, Satoru,” he finally says, meeting Satoru’s eyes again.

Satoru knows that look; it’s the one Suguru always wears right before they go into a fight and Satoru wonders what could possibly put that look on his face right now.

“It is the tradition, yes,” Suguru repeats, as he reaches out for Satoru’s hand again. Instead of reaching for the sleeve, though, he tangles their fingers together. “But I also just wanted to do that. I have wanted to do that for a while, actually, you know.”

“You—wanted to kiss me,” Satoru unsurely gives back, though he doesn’t fail to squeeze Suguru’s hand.

“Yes.” Suguru takes a deep breath before he goes on. “I wanted to do that way before, because I’m in love with you. I’m just—a coward, I guess.”

Relieved laughter bubbles up in Satoru’s throat though he chokes it back. Suguru is going to misunderstand if he should laugh now, he just knows it, and Satoru can’t have that.

“Just like I am,” Satoru gives back and shuffles closer to Suguru. “I wanted to keep you company, because I’d rather spend every minute of every day with you than going out to party. Because I’m in love with you, too.”

His words clearly catch Suguru off guard because he keeps blinking at him in shock.

“I didn’t really expect that,” Suguru finally admits and he lets out a little laugh. “I was prepared for you to tell me to fuck off.”

“Same,” Satoru easily gives back, dropping his head to Suguru’s shoulder. “I was prepared for you to avoid me. I thought it would all be too much.”

“It’s never too much,” Suguru tells him as he takes his hand back. Before Satoru can mourn the loss, Suguru brings his arms up around Satoru and hugs him close. “It’s never enough, with you.”

Satoru slings his arms around Suguru’s middle in turn and squeezes him tightly.

“Happy New Year, Suguru,” Satoru whispers, his lips brushing against Suguru’s throat and he goes warm all over when he feels Suguru pressing a kiss to his head.

“Happy New Year, Satoru.”

And it really can’t be anything but, with a start like this.

[odditycollector]

gamdave for the ask meme! and or, erijake??

Dave/Gamzee

1. I am not sure there is another pair of people in homestuck who have quite so skewed a ratio of "resounding & negative impact on each others' lives" and "fucks given about that".

Like, okay, I am p sure Dave does not understand that Gamzee manifested Lil Cal as a physical object, and I am p sure that Gamzee does not regret his awakening as a murderous shitlord, but you see what I am saying here.

2. Serendipity meets Final Destination

Gamzee and Dave are two random strangers who share a minor act of assholery between each other. So minor. Like, maybe they are both at the convenience store at 3am for doritos, and there is only one bag of chips left. And Gamzee snipes the chips out of Dave's almost closed fingers, and in response to his smug sneer Dave crunches the bag, making the chips not be triangles anymore.

And neither really remembers this moment the next day because it is so petty and let's be real they were both probably stoned. But somehow the fateful repercussions from this event are rippling out into the world like a terrible Rube Goldberg avalanche, starting with minor misfortunes and building quickly into mass destruction and death.

Meanwhile Dave and Gamzee are going about their lives with an occasional bemused glance at a wackily awful newscast.

Anyway, it seems like things are dominoing into some kind of worldwide calamity, BUT ACTUALLY everything has been lining up to get Gamzee and Dave onto the same stage so they can have the greatest rap off of all time and also just SUPER hit it off.

As things fade to credits we hear them being all, hey you look kinda familiar youre sure this is the first time we met right? yeah, think id all remember a motherfucker….

(and then the last camera shot is something is knocked off a counter in their wake and that hits a spray bottle which rolls across the hallway… and a creepy noise plays because that is the rule on how to end a movie like this)

Eridan/Jake

1. I am not sure if I have thoughts on Eridan/Jake, but the possibility of Grandpa seducing ancient Beforus Eridan (in homestuck + its game Old Man Jake has so many portals why NOT to Beforus) is both logistically defensible and very funny.

2. Jake is sad and lonely and really misses his good buddy Erisolsprite and decides to track down Erisol's component pieces in the dreambubbles. Sollux, wisely, continues to desire no part of the situation. But Eridan, on finding a guy who WANTS him around, gets really clingy about it (do not believe his posturing otherwise)

He offers to mentor Jake in the Way Of Hope and despite Jake being a god tier achiever and Eridan being a mortal ghost Jake is like, yes sure that makes sense, maybe if i knew more stuff about my powers i wouldn't be a miserable wreck right now, teach me up.

So Jake learns cool shit about weaponizing Hope, but mostly (through Eridan's whiny self pity) he learns that he is not the worst person ever at interpersonal relationships. It puts his friendship errors in perspective, and he even offers Eridan some advice in that department! Which makes Jake feel mature and wise but otherwise does not do shit 'cause ghosts can't change.

Is there a more poignant moirallegiance tragedy in all troll literature? i doubt it.

But then in the end there is an empty green sprite kernel from an unused timeline and Jake invites Eridan to return to being his prescribed guide in the sort-of-living world, and Eridan accepts.

(This is a very weird basis for a relationship from a human POV but neither notices.)