#buddy i promise half the time i talk about my music and project it on characters and character dynamics on this blog

[almostjollyprince]

100ish Days of Productivity: Getting through the week!

Day 2/100 - Jan 3 2024 Did my time at work writing code with one of the mid-level developers. We got a fair bit of the functionality tied to yesterday's work up and running. Because of some of the code merges, we did encounter some issues but nothing that we couldn't resolve. Also took the opportunity to write up my evaluation and get that sent over to the bossman. After work, I snuck in an hour of gaming. My current zen game of choice is Powerwash Simulator. Gotta clean that boat! Other efforts in the evening included studying some music theory (very basic stuff. I know nothing about writing music so every little bit helps) and certification studies. I also worked on designing some character tokens for one of my tabletop campaigns and various puzzles the party will encounter for the next session.

Day 3/100 - Jan 4 2024 Another day, another story. Half the team was out for various reasons so as the most senior team member present at the office it was a lot of support work to let the juniors grow. Everyone's got a vision for how they want the site to look but it's very easy to get lost in the weeds in terms of making the front end look nice, especially since we have a couple of perfectionists. I don't mind the effort, but there's a time and place for everything and we had to make sure that we had something to show by tomorrow. You can have the most beautiful web page in existence but it's all meaningless if none of the functionality works. Some buttons got remapped and components were consolidated so now there's a clear flow. Hopefully the project lead will be happy with the results when he gets in tomorrow. Oh, and surprise interview at the end of the day. After work, I cleaned up the boat a little more in Powerwash Sim. I finalized my puzzles for the tabletop campaign and started preparing a map for the players. Talked with a buddy about Palworld (it comes out later this month, supposedly). Will I play? I haven't decided yet. 'Pokemon but with Guns' isn't necessarily a new concept, but the development team involved hasn't always come through with their promises. I don't want something like "No Man's Sky on Launch Day" levels of disappointment for a game this hyped up.

Day 4/100 - Jan 5 2024 TGIF. Roads were a nightmare. Thankfully got to work in one piece. The project lead likes the current progress we have, but there's no time to really do any more coding because we have more interviews scheduled for today. Between working with IT to resolve some weird issues and the interviews, the workday went pretty quick. I also got some certification studying in, so that was nice. After work, I've finished designing the map and selecting the audio to use for the session. I'm all set to give my players a 'welcome back where you left off' sorta vibe. I like the campaigns I run (all homebrew) because I have such amazing players who all work together to overcome whatever I throw at them. What matters to me most is that the players have fun, but they'll have to work for their wins. Balancing the encounters is tough, but I have yet to be told that my battle encounters are 'unfair'. When I told my players I was using this 100 days of productivity to better flesh out the campaigns, they were... reasonably terrified. After all, if I was able to create a compelling, continuous story over the course of several years in my spare time, imagine the sort of damage I could do if I set aside some time every day to properly handle the details instead of having to improvise something that the players did (not that I have any problems with this, I'm usually pretty good at anticipating what my players will do to have a contingency plan). I also crammed in some extra studying to make up for not doing so yesterday. I'm... hoping to be all set by around early March for the certification exam.

[mostly-mundane-atla]

Oh no, @aro-ainosuke , mcr is fantastic, and Gerard Way not only looks a lot like Billy Corgan, but was also influenced by his vocal stylings a great deal. Give "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" a listen, then compare to "Vampires Will Never Hurt You" and you'll hear that influence.

At this point it's just a running joke to me that Jet's a little too into the whole MCRmy thing. So Zuko saying shit like Gerard's Black Parade era look with the strong jacket silhouette and skull-like makeup was already done in 1998 in the Ava Adore music video and Jet trying to bite back his frustration is too good to pass up

[furikakyo]

a return to roots | 2

pairing: kita shinsuke x f!reader

summary: y/n is a rising star in the music industry, having almost everything you could have ever hoped for as a small-town country girl. now after releasing two triple platinum albums in consecutive years, you face the dreaded artist’s burnout… in order to recover, your manager suggests, you should return to your hometown in hyōgo for a long-deserved break.

genre: socmed/smau, slice of life

warnings/tags: timeskip!, mutual pining, slow burn? more like rekindling, slight canon divergence

masterpost 

The hardest part is over, then. Suna was wrong. 

Kita rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands harshly before sighing and setting his phone aside. Y/N was returning to Hyōgo. Not only that, but she was planning on returning to her hometown. Their hometown.

Kita stirred the miso paste into the pot of water, deep in thought. The last 24 hours had been spent in a daze. Really, he was supposed to have been sleeping at 12 in the morning, but the notifications on his phone had woken him up. Granny’d said he’d always been a light sleeper. And any interest in sleeping had been completely dispelled when the group chat with some of his high school buddies blew up. Contrary to the others’ belief, he had been up, scanning the back and forth conversation happening in the group chat, read the encouraging texts. How was he supposed to go back to sleep when Osamu had dropped that knowledge on all of them so suddenly? Kita had slept poorly last night, tossing and turning in his futon, his mind only occupied with thoughts of Y/N. Even counting sheep or focusing on breathing evenly had failed to calm his racing heart, to his dismay. 

Y/N was coming back home.

The smell of something burning caught his attention, and he suddenly remembered the mackerel he had been baking. If the gods were truly watching Kita, they would be laughing; enjoying his currently sporadic behavior the way Granny guiltily enjoys watching what she dubbed “trashy shows”.

He ducked and pulled out the pan from the oven, sighing in relief when he saw that the fish weren’t too burnt. Perhaps the gods were feeling generous today, Kita mused, setting aside the miso soup and then ladling out portions for him and Granny. 

“Shin-chan?” Granny shuffled out into the kitchen in her house slippers, peering over her reading glasses at him. 

Kita looked up, a soft smile settling over his features. “Dinner’s almost ready, obaa-san. You can sit at the table; I’ll set it.” Granny Yumie nodded and then smiled sweetly before hobbling into the next room to wait for him.

Kita exhaled softly. If Y/N was coming home and there were going to be hangouts, then he would just have to make time. Yeah, that was it. He’d just have to work hard to prep the fields and sprout the rice this week, so he would have more free time when she came. He would work extra hard, Kita promised, diligently serving two scoops of rice into each bowl. There was nothing to worry about; no need to think any further on it.

Hard work always felt the best, anyways. It made him feel safe. 

“Kuroo?” You wrinkle your nose, remembering how he had left you on read for basically the entire day.

“Y/N?” he mimicked back, making you roll her eyes. After a beat he kept talking. “I thought I should probably call since you were in peril,” Kuroo teased. You could imagine the smirk on his face.

“What, you’re done facetiming Kenma?” You sat back on your couch, in your Tokyo apartment. The living room was simply furnished but had an elegant and tasteful selection of furniture. When you had first bought them, the small voice in the back of your mind had cried over the price alone.

“I am, actually,” Kuroo replied. You could imagine him lounging too, probably changed out of his business suit by now. Life had been kind to Kuroo, as it had been to you. He was living comfortably in Tokyo as one of the higher-ups in the JVA’s promotion division, with a spiffy apartment which was a twenty minute walk from your own.

You rearranged the stiff pillows that were poking your back uncomfortably, and lied back on the couch instead. This was probably the most downtime you’d had in a long time. “I don’t understand why you can’t just hang out in person like normal people,” you muttered, putting your phone on speaker and then closing your eyes to rest them.

Kuroo only snarked back and then began speaking of his recent work projects and his excitement towards them. You only half-listened, slowly falling asleep. Your head jerked back up and you regained a sense of clarity, catching the last bit of your friend’s sentence. “…Kenma and I’s friend, the little redhead with the Black Jackals… uh, number 21, yeah, I’m having him and Kenma do a video collab for a promo.” After a moment of silence and lack of reaction on your part, Kuroo asked “Y/N?”

You struggled to keep your eyelids from drooping down. “…Kuroo?” Your head nodded off, trying to fight falling asleep.

“Yeah?” He seemed to have picked up on the change in your attitude. You could hear soft rustling on the other side, and imagined him sitting up or standing. “What’s up, Y/N? Is anything wrong?”

Your voice was a lot smaller than usual. “…what should I do about Kita? I don’t know if I wanna see him,” you mumbled. “It’ll hurt a lot.”

“Well, Y/N…” Kuroo hesitated. “Maybe you need to confront the past. You’ve never really told me what happened, but it sounds like you haven’t had time to think about it…” He trailed off and said something else, but you hadn’t caught it. You were too busy, already fast asleep.

a/n: the next part will probably have less words idk-

some ~fun facts~

- granny’s “trashy shows” are reality tv like kuwtk or the bachelorette… she gets together with her girlfriends once a week to watch it

- in japan you ALWAYS do two scoops of rice for each person. it doesn’t matter if you don’t want a lot; just do two little scoops. (according to my mom, who is japanese, born and raised)

- kuroo fuckin LOVES his job

- JVA stands for japan volleyball association

- miss rona, like in the haikyuu universe, does not exist here either ❤️

[forthemorefortunate]

Live Like Animals

Nessian Modern AU

Merry Chris-  er, happy New Year to my secret snowflake!  @ncssian 💕😅

I hope you like the fic! I’ll be honest, when I filled out the application for the secret snowflake, I said I could make a fic believing that it was very unlikely somebody would ask for one 🥴🤔 But lemme say, I LOVED writing this, which is definitely something I didn’t expect. More than that, I’ve never been much of a Nesta or Nessian fan, but actually thinking through their characters and interactions for this fic gave me a whole new perspective on and appreciation for them (even if I’m not the best at writing their characters, aha), so thank you!

A few quick things about the fic:

(Ik I already told you this, but for anybody else reading this aha) This is my first fic! So please take it easy on me 🥺👉🏻👈🏻

Okay so this part is kind of weird, but there’s kind of a corresponding playlist 😅 Each part is named after a song. You can play the songs while reading or not, I know for me personally (*cough* my ADHD ass) it’s hard to listen to music and read at the same time. The title is also the name of a song! Except that one is more random, haha (I couldn’t think of a title, so I shuffled my entire library and chose the first song as the title, and it kinda worked so I went with it)

One more quick thing – thanks to @moussescientist @ko0mbayamylord @blxckbeak @chanberry @mikitheswiftie @potatoburp @dead-on-the-inside666 @queenoffortunes and two anons for answering a question, and a HUGE thanks to Skye, @oneoutofamillionbooklovers for all your help and for roleplaying the parts I got stuck on with me ❤️

Part 1: Distant Early Warning (Rush)

Nesta pulled the dress over her head, letting it slide into place over her body. Screw this, she thought for the millionth time, yet she continued to get herself ready, turning to glance at her reflection when she was finished. She raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly at the woman looking back through the mirror. The woman Nesta spied had on a satin slip dress, darkest blue. She wore no jewelry save for the small silver studs in her ears, and her hair was pulled into a neat-yet-simple updo.

Why Nesta even agreed to go to this party she didn’t know. There was nothing different about it, just another college booze fest. The music would be too loud, the air too heavy, the guys too grabby, and the company too... clubby. Feyre insisted that she would fit right into her friend group – her clique – but Nesta wasn’t sure she wanted that. She padded over to the door of her apartment. No, Nesta was quite certain that “fitting in” with Feyre’s newfound friends was something she didn’t care for at all.

Nesta’s phone buzzed on her kitchen counter as she slipped on a pair of black heels, and she picked up to Feyre’s forcibly perky voice. “Hey! We just pulled up, you coming?”

“No.” Response blunt, tone dry. The line was silent for a long moment, and Nesta held in a sigh. “Did I give you the impression that I was interested in coming?”

“Nesta, I’m not in the mood for fucking around,” Feyre said, perkiness mysteriously faded now. “It’s just one party! I promise you’ll have fun.” Bullshit.

“Since when have I ever-”

“And everyone else really wants you to come, too!” Feyre cut her off, “Rhys is excited to meet you!”

Rhys. Feyre’s boyfriend. Nesta groaned inwardly, truly dreading any interaction with the rugby star. Feyre had immediately caught the eye of the local heartthrob, and the two began a serious relationship shortly after meeting. And with one came the others. In high school they would have been labeled “popular.” They were quite possibly the closest group of friends at the college, almost all of them having known each other since childhood. And Feyre had slipped right in among them. Nesta had warned Feyre against making the tight pack of fourth-years her main group of friends, and she had her own opinions about a freshman dating a senior, but Feyre didn’t make a habit of following Nesta’s advice. Rather, she seemed to think she could give Nesta – a third-year – much more valuable guidance. Domineering bitch.

“I don’t give a shit about your friends, Feyre. I’m only coming because of our deal,” Nesta said. Feyre had been pestering her all semester, spewing crap about how Nesta and Feyre should spend more time together. Nesta should get out more. Nesta should tag along with Feyre’s friend group. Nesta should have some fun. 

More bullshit. 

As second semester began, Feyre had proposed a deal: Nesta would go to one party with Feyre and her buddies, and if she honestly didn’t enjoy it, Feyre would stop asking her to join them. 

“I’m on my way. Let’s just get it over with,” Nesta grumbled, and with that, she hung up the phone and opened the apartment door.

Part 2: Can You Afford to Be An Individual? (Nothing but Thieves

Nesta looked around the group of fourth-years–plus Feyre–arranged in front of her. Introductions were unnecessary; you couldn’t attend this school without knowing who they were. Her eyes fell first upon Rhys, his arm around Feyre’s waist. His chin lifted slightly as she made eye contact. Rhys: double major in history and foreign policy. President of the astrology club. Captain of the rugby team, possibly one of the best players the school had ever seen. He was the group leader, though nobody said it aloud. Nesta knew him well. Perhaps she only knew his type well, or her own perception of his type, but that didn’t keep her from holding his gaze a few moments longer than would be comfortable. Then she turned her scrutiny on his sidekicks, so she called them, Cassian and Azriel. The former wore jeans and a baggy black jacket over his rugby uniform in the school colors: black and red. The latter wore black pants with a dark blue button-down shirt untucked.

Cassian smirked as her eyes met his. “Glad you decided to make an appearance,” he drawled. She narrowed her eyes at him, and his smile widened in response. Cocky bastard. Azriel, double majoring in political science and criminology, simply nodded at her in greeting.

After the sidekicks came Rhys’s cousin Mor, an architecture major with a minor in design. She was entirely too peppy in a way that left Nesta exhausted, but Nesta wouldn’t give her satisfaction by scoffing at her cocked hip and half-grin, ostensibly projecting confidence. She held Mor’s stare, matching her asserted confidence with a cool security in her own assets. The half-smile twisted, just slightly, and Nesta moved on to the short girl farthest to the right: Amren.

Amren scared people. As in, people were genuinely freaked out by her. Aside from a few cultish tendencies, her occasional propensity for violence and/or verbal outbursts, and her sharp expression, though, Nesta couldn’t tell why. Amren majored in gemology and minored in linguistics, and was the only one in the group other than Feyre to have not known the others since they were little. In fact, she was studying here from abroad, though nobody actually knew where she was from. Unlike Mor, Amren presented a confidence that Nesta could believe in and respect. Nesta maintained her chilled posture, but let the bite in her expression retreat.

As for Feyre’s introducing Nesta, that was unnecessary as well. They all knew her; most upperclassmen did. Or rather they knew of her, by the name of heinous bitch. If she were being honest with herself, she didn’t mind the nickname.

“Okay,” Feyre started, her voice expectant as she tilted her chin to look at Rhys’s face, “Let’s head in?” Feyre, Rhys, and Nesta had met up with the rest of the group in the parking lot before they entered the party. Fashionably late, Feyre had told her on the drive in Rhys’s tesla. Rhys taught me that the key to maintaining his public image is in making grand entrances. God, Nesta wanted to laugh at Rhys’s influence over her.

As they entered the building holding the party Nesta immediately stiffened, and had to close her eyes for a moment against the harsh blue and purple lights cast by PAR cans. All senses at once were smacked by the presence of weed. The floor was vibrating, and speakers blasted near-deafening music so that all Nesta could really hear was thunder. Jesus Christ, I hate parties, she thought. A mass of sweaty bodies shifted and bounced through the too-heavy air ahead of her, some only silhouettes in the murky haze, through which Nesta saw red solo cups littering every possible surface. Suddenly she noticed Feyre standing next to her, fidgeting with her clutch and looking over expectantly. Nesta shot her a withering look that said, “This is not what we agreed to.” Feyre had the nerve to look guilty.

“Okay before you say anything,” Feyre began, “I know that look, and... I know this is a bit bigger than we talked about-”

“A bit?! This is a rager, Feyre. Do I look like I rage?”

“Okay no, but I promise Rhys and I have a plan.” Oh my God.

Nesta gave her another glare and plucked a cup off a nearby table. Sniffing it, she sighed and took a big swig. “Please, my dearest sister, do tell.”

“We’re going with a buddy system.”

Nesta coughed. “A buddy system – are you fucking kidding me?” She spied Rhys and his dickhead friends in the corner of her eye. “Wow, are arts and crafts before or after beer pong?”

Feyre rolled her eyes, calling a fresh wave of frustration to roll over Nesta. “Can you shut it with the attitude, Nesta? I already apologized for the crowd of people – it kind of got out of hand. Rhys told me before we left but I didn’t want to scare you out of coming.” She gave Nesta a pleading look.

“Tch, whatever. Who’s my buddy? I assume you’ll be with Rhys?”

Feyre beamed at her. “You’re paired up with Cassian!”

“Cassian.” Great. Alpha dickhead.

“Don’t be like that. He knows his way around these things and he’ll keep you from accidentally overdosing or blacking out.” 

“Who said that wasn’t my intention?” 

Feyre scrunched her face up. “Either way, you can’t deny that he’s bigger and taller than half the creepy guys here. He’ll keep unwanted attention away.” 

Nesta watched as Rhys, lead hulking rugby bro dickhead, caught sight of her sister and eyed her with what might have been lust or love – Nesta couldn’t decide. Cassian, approaching from Rhys’s side, cut Nesta a slow, purposeful look down and back up to her face. She felt an annoying tingle down her spine as the crowds parted for them. This was going to be a long night.

Part 3: Inhaler (Foals)

They had been at the party for less than ten minutes and Nesta already wanted to leave. Drink in hand, she aimlessly wandered around the outskirts of the crowd, hoping to find a place to sit farther from the lights that drowned out any rational thought that flashed through her brain. Cassian trailed a few steps behind.

“So, what do you do for fun?”

She twisted around to glare at him. “Why are you talking to me?”

Cassian puffed out a laugh and spread his arms wide, responding, “If you don’t recall, we’re kind of stuck together, darling.”

Right. Nesta rolled her eyes. “How could I forget?” Cassian left the question hanging, still following her, so she forged on. “I like to read. A concept that’s probably foreign to you.” She dodged a young couple parting from the fray to make out against the wall, and paused to reorient herself.

“You might be surprised.” Nesta groaned inwardly and arched a brow. “Oh I have no doubt.”

“None at all?”

“What. Are you on volume seven of Captain Underpants?”

“Volume eight, actually.”

Nesta stopped. She was pissed. Pissed at this party, pissed at Feyre for lying about how big it was, pissed that she was stuck with rugby bro sidekick, pissed that the purple lights suddenly seemed a lot brighter, the music a lot louder, her thoughts a lot fuzzier. “Look, Cassian. I only came here as a favor to my sister. We’re not friends.” He started to cut her off, but she continued, turning so that they fully faced each other, “You don’t have to stay, I can take care of myself.”

He leaned in close, the laughter in his tone suddenly gone. “Listen, princess. You’ve had two beers and you’re already tipsy. I get it, we’re not friends. But there are at least four guys looking at you like they want to take you against the nearest surface and I’m the only man within a thirty-foot radius that has any self-control. There’s no way I’m leaving.” He held her gaze firmly.

“So that’s it – I’m just supposed to trust you? My knight in shining armor, here to protect my virtue? That ship sailed a long time ago.” Fuck it. “I wouldn’t mind taking you for a ride though,” Nesta said, flashing a smirk at the end.

Cassian’s lips twisted into a half-grin, but she could see annoyance rising up in his eyes. “Nesta, you don’t wanna play with me.”

“Brute.” Nesta turned and started walking away again.

“Bitch.” He followed.

Nesta scoffed. “How original.”

“Not all of us are English Lit majors.” 

Somehow Nesta tripped on her own foot at that moment, staggering sideways into Cassian’s path. He lunged forward, arms going around her waist to hoist her upright. Her lip curled and she spit out, “And not all of us are rugby stars,” and shoved her way out of his arms.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Cassian asked, incredulous.

“Cassian, I’m sure there are plenty of girls here that would love your attention. But I’m not one of them.” She turned around to face him, walking backwards, and almost tripped again. “So go on and play with someone else. I don’t care. Just leave me alone.” With that, Nesta thrust herself into the fray, pushing her way through the mass of shouting people, making the crowd a barrier between herself and Cassian.

Part 4: Emergency (Nothing but Thieves)

After five minutes of random college students bumping into her from every direction, her head pounding and thoughts muddled, Nesta realized she didn’t know which direction the exit was in. Fuck. She was disoriented and exasperated, her frustration now showing in her usually unshakable expression. She couldn’t even tell which direction the light was coming from. How many beers had she drunk? Two? Three? She wasn’t usually a drinker, and it hit her then that she hadn’t eaten for hours before the party started. Stupid, she thought. This was why she didn’t do parties.

She was so distracted trying to figure out where the light source was, trying to get her bearings at least, that she didn’t catch sight of a brooding figure wending its way toward her until the man had a hold of her wrist and was pulling her to the side of the room, wherever that was. 

“Hey! Get the fuck off me!” Nesta shouted over the crowd, but couldn’t get a response from the man until they found one of the cinder block walls.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” he asked, his voice cruel as he tried to pull her closer. “We’re just having a bit of fun, that’s all.”

“Excuse me?” Nesta ripped free of his grasp, but he backed her into a corner. He had a drink in one hand. Not good.

“Hey, hey, no need to get worked up,” he drawled, “I saw the way you were looking at me.” Looking at him? Nesta thought. This was the first she’d seen of him.

Nesta tried to step to the side, but the man followed her, his senses keener than hers in her condition. He reached out for her arm again, and Nesta shouted this time. “Don’t touch me!”

He put his hand up as if in innocence. “Come now, I’ll make it fun for you. Just have a drink.” He brought the cup toward her face, his hand now reaching behind her head, which she snatched away.

“I swear to God, can’t you bastards understand that no means no?”

“You-”

“Get the fuck away from me, creep!” She aimed a kick at his groin, but he easily dodged it.

His mouth hardened into a line, and he growled, “Just take the damn drink, bitch!”

The man shoved her into the corner, her head hitting the wall. He brought his hand up to hold her back by her shoulders as he brought the cup up toward her lips and-

“Let me go or I promise you’ll regret it.” Last resort. 

He shot her a crooked grin and began to reply, but whatever response he had in mind was cut short.

A voice from behind him said, “And she never goes back on a promise, asshole.” The man was wrenched off her body by two strong hands, and pulled over to the side to give her an out, which she quickly took advantage of.

And there, dragging the man away from her, was Cassian.

The creep tried to play it cool. “Hey, Cassian, bro, what’s up, man?” he said mock-casually, “I caught your last game! great playing, dude!” His demeanor shifted completely as he turned on his bro mode.

Cassian’s jaw was set. He tightened his grip on the man’s shoulder, his stare withering. “You need to leave. Right now.”

Yet the man kept going with a smirk, “It’s all good bro, we can share.” 

That was a step too far.

Cassian grabbed the man’s shirt, pulling him close. “That’s the thing – I don’t share. I don’t play nice.” Cassian thrust his face forward so they were only a couple inches apart. “You said you caught my last game, right? So you know I don’t go down without a fight. Touch her again and you’ll regret it.” With that, he shoved the guy into a table, and turned to Nesta. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

Part 5: Before We Drift Away (Nothing but Thieves)

Dizzy and shaken, Nesta let Cassian guide her through the crowd to the exit. Once they were outside in the cool night air, he pulled her aside, gaze dark.

“Did he hurt you?”

“No.”

“Did he force you to drink whatever was in that cup?”

“No.”

His eyes closed and relief flooded across his face. “Good. God, some people are fucked up. I don’t know what I would have done if he had drugged you, or taken you away, or...” He trailed off, leaving anything further than that unsaid. 

They were silent for a minute. Nesta looked up at him, a bit of worry still etched across his features. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you care so much?”

He looked over to her, something strange in his expression that Nesta couldn’t place. “I don’t know. You’re a human being, and your safety was left in my hands.” He paused and looked away. “If I’m being honest, when I saw that guy put his hands on you... I don’t know. Something flipped inside me.” At that moment he looked down to her bare shoulders, noticing that she was beginning to shiver. “You’re cold,” he said softly. “Here, take this.” He removed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, even when she protested.

Nesta frowned as she gave in and pulled his jacket tightly around her, annoyed at the way her body betrayed her. “I don’t need protection. I’ve lived a long time without people to care about me.” She started walking toward the parking lot, and he followed.

“You shouldn’t have to live like that, Nesta. You’ve been pushing me away all night, but listen to me – don’t you understand? I’m not just talking to you because I’m bored. I don’t smile at you as a game, as if you’re some prize for me to win. Can’t you see by now that I’m doing literally everything I can just to stay by your side? Damn it, I asked Feyre to pair us together at the party.”

Nesta had stopped walking and was speechless for once.

Cassian stepped closer tentatively, as though she’d back away. He ran a finger over Nesta’s wrist and looked up to the sky. “Please, just don’t make me say anything else completely insane. I promise I’m not in the habit of sharing intense moments with perfect strangers.”

A rush of anger coursed through Nesta, and she shoved him back. “Don’t,” she said. “Don’t talk to me like that. Despite what you must think, I’m not an idiot. I’m not naive. I am well aware that this is all a favor to my sister. Stay with my lame, antisocial sister. It might be fun, right?” She paused, any restraint she had used earlier having completely abandoned her.

“That’s not what I think at all, Nes-”

“Fuck you, Cassian.” She shoved him again, more aggressively this time.

Cassian caught her wrists and pulled her closer. “Try that again.”

Nesta glared. “Bite me,” she spit out.

“Maybe I will.”

And as though drawn to her by some gravitational force, Cassian’s mouth came crashing down onto hers. He wrapped his arms around her waist, seeming to lift her off her feet. Nesta’s bare skin burned where Cassian touched her, and she pushed back against his touch to gain control. Everything, every thought was fading to nothing. Biting down on his lip drew out a low groan from Cassian, and Nesta broke free.

Cassian put his hands up as though to make a barrier between them, as though he wouldn’t be able to control himself without it. 

“So much for being the only man with self-control,” Nesta said. Cassian just shook his head, earning a light snort from Nesta. “I shut everyone out--even pretty jocks like you. Don’t take it personally. It’s just easier.”

Cassian smiled his easy smile, and he reached up to touch his lips with a thumb. “You think I’m pretty?”

Nesta scoffed. “The prettiest.”

He stood there for a moment, just smiling at her, before turning back toward the parking lot. “Okay, princess, allow me to introduce you to the pinnacle of after-party activities.”

Nesta raised a brow, and Cassian let out a bark of laughter.

“Get your mind out of the gutter. I’m talking about pancakes.”

She looked skeptical. “Pancakes?”

“Yes. And after the night you had, you deserve an entire plate of them.” Cassian reached out to her with his big, warm hand, and Nesta hesitated.

“Cassian-” She started warily.

“Hey – I’m not asking you to marry me, it’s just pancakes.”

Nesta waited a moment more, then took his hand. “Fine. But I’m not sharing the chocolate sauce.”

“I wouldn’t dare ask you to. Besides, you already know how I feel about sharing.”

Nesta smiled a bit. “Hey Cassian?

“Yes Nesta?”

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

[staylavendertea]

music, ya know

this is a complete impulse of lying in bed middle of the night thoughts that i don’t even know if anyone’s gonna see that have been stemmed off the experiences of the past couple days, topic of 1:41 am mind boggle:

music and it’s aesthetic and importance in literal every sense cause it’s just that important to me

first experience of realizing this, i’ve always loved film scores and listening to music and the orchestral pieces from movies and shows, but it really seemed to hit me recently, like the fact that this week’s new LOKI episode, no spoilers, has the most badass score and a badass scene with such a perfect mix and musical atmosphere. i literally had one of my best friends over, who has a very small interest in comics, cinema, marvel in general, especially a show about a norse comic god that they know nothing about, and whilst they sat there for my own regard, watching the show like a normal human being would, i sat there clinching their hand, watching in awe as our music is louder than actors talking tv speakers spurted out the most spine tightening world building story and just wandered “jesus that was good” and whilst i will always think about the superior acting, cgi, the amount of different people that just went into those few scenes and like what was physical set and what was computer image and what the hell did i just watch that has my brain running olympic marathon circles right now?

the thought that said brain kept going back to was that fucking score. it was literally tearing apart of every corner of my head and why was it doing that?

second experience, another marvel one, but i digress. black widow (no spoilers i promise), thursday night, movie theater for the first time in i can’t even remember how long now and we set through so many previews just for fucking boss baby to start playing and the reaction of the theater to make me burst out laughing.

however whatever works in that little projection box, gets fixed and the movie is pushed to just a little before it starts, a nice small pepsi ad, the regal rollercoaster intro (if you go to regal movie theaters ya know what i’m talking about), and then i hear it - the marvel studios logo - something so musically engraved into my head that my ass that can’t sing for anything, can harmonize with the sound and makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up around movie theater surround sound. but i can’t think of that now, i’m here to watch black widow, a movie on hiatus with the rest of the world for so long now, a character i didn’t know much about it or truly, didn’t have the most connection with in the first place. yet through that one movie, i seemed to build one of those.

ofc though scarlett johansson’s beautiful acting and world building, but it isn’t until the end of the movie that i even realize why. it was the fucking score again. when i think about it, the beginning of the movie felt like all of black widows scenes in the avengers movies for me, kinda just, there. not really emotionally tugging, not bad ofc either, but just, there. in the present, watching something cool in motion. but then it hits, what i can only describe as a theme that somehow tells the entire black widow movie in one singular composition. something so badass, story telling, but also just singularly black widow-esk. i can tell you that i walked out the movie theater rambling about the composition and looking up composers.

third experience, the most recent as it was literally like 20 minutes ago and sprung one train rail of a thought process that immediately tugged me into typing this brain vomit into a tumblr post. i have playlists. for everything. and when i say everything, i fucking mean everything. i’m a writer and a reader, i have playlists mostly for the young avengers, my most utter comfort characters, and their stories i’m writing. i also have playlists/genre/specific song for about every book i read.

when i read red white and royal blue when that came out, i noticed i listened to one of the drunks by panic at the disco the entirety of the ending of the book and the words and music fit together like puzzle pieces, not only did it make the reading experience better, but i was so fucking emerged in my over hyper-imagitive brain that when i finally actually finished the book, i still never left. rewind present day to the beginning of this past june, one last stop comes out, ofc i get it the day it comes out with my anticipation building like wildfire. i start reading that night and i put on my recents on my liked songs playlist (true to true spotify user) and i slowly over the next day as i read and finish the book, windle down to the genre, then the band, to the album, to the exact song that feels like the carbon copy of the words i’m reading. that song was only ones who know by the arctic monkeys. now go back to this past week, anyone who reads the carry on series knows, anyway the wind blows came out this past tuesday. i waited till wednesday to buy the ✨pretty special addition barnes and nobles copy✨ so that the dear friend that indulged me by watching loki that same day could buy it at the same time and make a cute book date or whateva. i started reading that night and something just felt ,,, off. i didn’t know what it was, but i was living off the pure joy that simon and co give me so i ignored the feeling. until i realized why it felt off this morning. i wasn’t listening to any fucking music, literally nothing, not even queen. motherfucking. queen.

i looked for the snowbaz playlist i made when i read carry on for the first time back in 2016/2017 when i was still a freshman in high school just to remember i deleted that literally forever ago. so i made a new one. like an hour and a half ago. very inspired on how i made the playlists for the young avengers and all their stories. letting the music talk.

the fact that all these rambling thoughts have led to this conclusion makes my head hurt, but for me at least in my own experiences. music talks. a two way conversation. a radio broadcast, turning the peg until you match the same frequency thats being put out and you can hear it and understand it. it’s like when you see comedians on stages or actors on panels, they talk, you have reactions, you talk back, and so forth the loop continues until the last voice, last note, rings out. music and songs and orchestral pieces and bands and composers and lyric writers are telling you the stories in reverse. they don’t know their doing it, obviously they meant something entirely different in their creations, but it’s like literature and any work of words and storytelling. interpretation. to me, the notes, pianos, violins, guitars, drums, singers, cellos, and anything that can make sound you can think of, is telling you something. whispering in your ear as you watch or read. facial features, emotions the characters dont say out loud, outfits, they way their standing or talking or moving or interacting with anything and everything.

when i just made that carry on playlist, i played it, decided to try read some good almost 2 am fan fic as you do, my hanging on by a thread sleep brain telling me words aren’t recognizable right now, and tighten myself into a blanket to see if i can sleep at all. the playlist still plays and my never shuts up head thinks it’s own daydreams, stresses out about anything it can, that is until the song plays. the one that just speaks the carry on trilogy language. the one that i found whilst i was reading wayward son and then would play whenever i re read carry on. the one that started this whole way too long ass post in the first place. cant be alone tonight by atlas. i heard just the first sound and i saw them, as if i were in the same room, like i never even put the book down in the first damn place because i’m actually terrified of finishing it. i could see simon in his oversized hoodies, baz in an outfit that was way too good just to be sitting inside, agatha looking as pleasantly pretty as ever, penelope poking fun at shepherd, and shepherd poking fun right back; bickering, laughing, saying the dialogues i try to remember so i can write them later, existing.

in a way music doesn’t just talk, but it lives. it lives and breaths. a three way conversation you could say. characters, stories, plot, and settings talk to the music, then the music delivers us listeners the message, so that we can send one back. this literally took me over an hour to write and i should point the important note that i do have synesthesia where colors and sounds and colors and words do the association so this entire thing might be me being entirely biased, but alas, i love sound so much and if there is anyone else that feels the same ways as i do as just a simple good film score and song makes anything ten times better, feel free to talk, i will totally be awkward, but i need some music freaks like myself around so feel free to hit me up, also if you love movies and cinema also feel free to hit me up as i need movie buddies and now it’s 3 am and i will be going to bed - peace out 🛸

[deafwestnewsies]

be my first last kiss

You can plan on a change in the weather or time, but you'd never planned on him changing his mind.

jack kelly x davey jacobs

read it on my ao3!

Earnest to goodness, Jack Kelly was going to murder Racetrack Higgins.

No, Anthony Higgins, this was the sort of thing that makes you pull out the tarnished christian name of a friend (or so you thought) you’ve known since he was toppling over on baby-fattened legs. Anthony Higgins would die by the sword of Jack Kelly.

He just had to get this godforsaken Youtube video filmed first.

You’re doing this for the cash, Jack grumbled to himself as he passed through the metal doors of a nondescript building on the Lower East Side- it was the kind of place being slowly taken over by hip and fun corporations promising Asian-fusion bars and eco-friendly thrift stores while edging out the relic businesses built on the backs of immigrant dreams. Jack couldn’t stand areas like this, the air thick with wasted luxury, so he rarely left the barrio. Why would he? Spot Conlon slept in the bedroom next to his. Katherine Plumber and Sarah Jacobs ran the bookstore that bought his baked goods and sold them for decent money. Medda lived down the street with her plethora of children, and Racetrack still beat the known path, doing tricks on the street corner for spare change and internet views. Davey- David. David Jacobs wasn’t there. It was right where Jack wanted to be.

Much unlike the dim studio where he now shuffled his feet, waiting for the perky young PA with bright red streaks in her hair to come back with further information about the video he would be shooting. Jack wasn’t a stranger to this small production company; He participated in a few Youtube videos back before they had millions of subscribers, he played truth or dare with lots of liquor and a complete stranger, he confessed about the first time he fell in love so it could be put to pathetic music.

Cash where you could get it, right?

“Kelly, right?” Cherry Streaks was back with a vengeance.

“Jack, actually,” he corrected.

“So you’re going to stand over there where the little blue X marks the spot and wait until the producer, Adam, starts asking you a few questions. The first one might be a test for our boom guy. Answer honestly, we can pretty much tell when you’re making up a story by this point. After that, the main part of the video will begin. Got it?” She was pointing wildly with a Number 2 pencil that had previously been stuck through her ponytail, and she smelled faintly of jasmine. Jack felt dizzy.

“Wait, I thought this was one of those ‘Choose who’s the best kisser out of ten strangers’ type of deal?” I mean, that’s what Race told me- oh God. Oh Santa Maria. Oh Saint Francis.

The young woman smiled like she was keeping an excellent secret. “Have fun, Jack Kelly.”

Walking off at her ominous dismissal, Jack stood where he was directed. The fluorescent lighting made him sweat under the knowledge that he had virtually no idea what he was doing there, Race had lied to him so that he would participate in some sort of sick, horrible scheme, and for all he knew, behind door number three could be his third grade teacher with a baseball bat and a basic multiplication grudge.

“Jack! It’s nice to see you again.”

Romeo was walking towards him with that easy gait Jack had memorized so long ago- Romeo had shot the original videos on an Amazon tripod and the unfounded hope of human connection, and now he owned the entire shebang. Jack dropped his tense shoulders to give him a warm smile. “Romeo. Boy, am I glad to see a friendly face.” Jack lowered his voice to a stage whisper. “You’ve got a production assistant who actually does work, so I’m assuming we’ve died and you earned a really nice deal in Heaven?”

Romeo barked out a laugh. “If I’ve died, do not resuscitate. I’ll never be able to look at another bodega meatball sub after cooking food bought in a real grocery store.”

“Rub it in, why don’tcha?” Jack punched the shorter man on the shoulder. “Listen, Romeo, you gotta tell me what I’m in for, a buddy totally sold me out for the cash and I have no clue what this project is gonna be like.”

Before Romeo could respond, a tall, lofty man behind the camera cleared his throat. “Darling? We’re ready to begin when you are.”

“Jack, meet Specs. Or Adam, but we all know how well nicknames stick. Specs, this is the old friend I was telling you about.” Romeo ended right above Specs’ elbow, and it was all Jack could do not to laugh.

The man fixed his thoughtful gaze on him. “It’s nice to meet you, Jack. You’ve got a real presence on the camera. Have you ever considered acting?”

“I’m afraid I’m, uh,” Jack flexed a paint-stained hand. “Strictly canvas, as they say.”

Nodding as if that was a phrase people commonly used and not something Jack invented on the fly, Specs then clapped his hands together. “Folks, let’s film this sonofabitch.”

---

“I’m Jack, and I’m a twenty-four year old artist living in New York City.”

“Have you ever been in a relationship?” Specs questioned from behind the camera.

Jack blinked in surprise. “Sure. One throughout high school, another in college and a little bit beyond. I wouldn’t call myself a heartbreaker or anything.”

“Do you stay friends with your exes?”

“One of ‘em, yea. It was more of an amicable thing, you know. She ended up being a lesbian. And I am… not.” His clumsy fingers tugged at a constricting collar.

“And the other?”

“Just because I’m not a heartbreaker doesn’t mean I can’t be a real asshole sometimes,” Jack nervously chuckled. (Davey had laid out rose petals, for God’s sake. Rose petals.)

“Was this girl the high school girlfriend, or the college one?”

“Boy,” Jack quickly corrected. “Man. I guess. He was in college- four and a half years.” (It took him four days to clear away the rotting flowers, the bleeding color slowly seeping into his carpet. Katherine found him delirious with whiskey on the bathroom floor; Sarah couldn’t bear to walk through his front door.)

“How’d you meet him?”

(He twisted in his high-backed blue chair. “It’s habláis in el presente.”) “Freshman year of high school actually. Spanish class. Funny story, actually, that other girl I dated? His sister. Broke her heart for his. He was so mad at me that we didn’t talk for like, months after.”

“It was six and a half months, actually.”

Of things Jack was expecting to see today, Spiderman was more likely than David. A flash mob singing death metal, maybe. Pigs flying through the polluted air.

“I was told to come in. I now see why.” David’s eyes narrowed behind his thin wire frames, different from the heavy Ray-Bans that he had dedicated himself to sophomore year of high school. Jack hated that he looked older, wiser, and all around… better.

Specs cleared his throat before the bewildered set of men (one more angry than the other, both desperately avoiding eye contact) could demand what sort of sick joke this was. “Can you introduce yourself?”

They broke up on a Tuesday, an insignificant, momentary Tuesday. Fourteen months ago. (Yes, fourteen months, like their terrible split was a baby that Jack was nurturing bit by bit. He refused to round down- fourteen months ago, he left David Jacobs.) So when David ran his thumb across his jawline, a nervous tick older than his younger brother, Jack couldn’t fathom why he felt so relieved. Some things never did change. “David. Jacobs.” David’s jaw flexed as he looked into the camera. “I dated Jack for almost five years.”

“Tell us about your other relationships.”

“Unfortunately, I spent the better part of high school and college pining after a total cocksock. Not a whole lot of time for casual dating in between.”

A deep silence permeated the studio as two boom mic operators swapped awkward glances. Jack didn’t attempt to defend himself- he was sort of a cocksock. David Jacobs had asked him to uproot what little life he had in New York and move to Santa Fe for a prestigious, so-accolated-you-could-cry medical school, and Jack Kelly broke up with him over containers of kung pao chicken and scattered rose petals. He was a cocksock, a dickhead, and complete asshole. An ex-boyfriend of mass proportions.

“Okay, so.” Specs was wiping at his glasses with the tail of his shirt. Jack wanted to snap them in half. “Today’s video is entitled ‘Exes kiss for the first time since their breakup’. If you need more explanation…”

“I think we’ve got it.” David snapped, clenching his fists rapidly.

Jack stepped half an inch closer to David and began murmuring under his breath. “Davey, if you don’t want-”

“Don’t call me Davey.” His eyes were alight with flame- Jack’s chest caught fire.

Of all the things that felt domestic when dating Davey Jacobs, kissing him never managed to become routine. Davey kissed like he earnestly meant it. The gears in his brilliant mind would grind to a halt so he could dedicate himself to the lilting curve of Jack’s mouth, a gentle sweep of warmth when the artist’s mouth was otherwise preoccupied with his needless words, and the world would spin on a delicate axis. (Jack’s shoulders rose to meet Davey, the physical ache of being someone’s other half drawing him forward. Davey had avoided him for so long, Jack living on a diet of lingering stares and a brief touch of the hand, that kissing him felt like a dying man knelt at a replenished well. How did they exist for so long without this innate knowledge of the universe? Could he stand to go on a single second longer without the praise of Davey Jacob’s lips?) Of all the things Jack missed about spending his life with Davey Jacobs, kissing him was certainly one of them.

There was a moment where the pads of Jack’s fingertips brushed the nape of David’s neck, a habit borne from the small noise it would draw from the back of his throat, and the steely corporate floor felt more like the worn carpet in the old thirty-second street apartment. Jack could feel his thready pulse with the gentle press of a thumb.

Davey was a fan of the dramatics- he would pull away from a passionate kiss in the middle of a busy New York street to stare into Jack’s eyes, foreheads gently touching and cheeks furiously blushing. Now, he simply drew back. Took a step away. Swiped at his lips with the back of his hand.

Jack felt like he was falling. (“If you ever break up with me,” Jack began. He laughed at Davey’s unexpected shudder, the honest and visceral kind. “Make it quick.”

“What about when you break up with me?” Davey peered over his glasses.

Crinkling his nose, Jack quickly answered before the other boy could detail any breakup preferences. “I’m not an idiot, Dave. ‘M not going anywhere.”)

---

He stared at the limp fifty dollars in his hand. Romeo had apologized, explaining that the people who had organized this got half the cut, and handed them both an envelope- Jack, one with “Tony Higgins” that he planned to run through his shredder, and David, one with “Sarah Jacobs,” which made Jack gawk in disbelief.

Jack didn’t want to walk away; David’s feet were shuffling against the worn pavement.

“It’s funny,” David started. “I listened to a lot of Taylor Swift to get over you.”

He winced. “Sorry?”

“Please. I know she’s been your top artist since 2013.”

(Katherine walked through a worryingly unlocked apartment door. “Is that... Begin Again? Jack, what the fuck are you doing?” She had seconds to worry about the cluster of wilted flower petals her heel had put a hole through before Sarah pointed at the pair of legs sticking out of the bathroom’s entrance.) “Yeah, okay. Fair. But… funny? Did I miss a joke?”

David closed his eyes to roll them, as he so often did when he was trying to be polite, and it hurt to be on the receiving end. “We just had our last kiss. You know, like-”

“I’m Joe Jonas?” Jack interrupted, bewildered. The semi-glare he received in return was all he needed to know- “Right. Dickhead. Listen, Dave- David, why didn’t you tell me you were back in town?”

There was a brief moment where something unrecognizable flashed over David’s face- pity? Regret? Dejection? It was quickly replaced by a soft smile tugging at the edge of his lips, his eyes glazed over with a practiced professionalism. “I’ll see you around, Jack. Have a good day.”

David turned and walked down the street, and Jack just missed the passing moment he chose to look back.

---

Comment on EXES KISS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THEIR BREAKUP by IncredibleKinsey: those two dudes are all mad and then just make out like that????? yeah okay call me when the wedding happens

[imaginesbyem]

BOY - Stiles Stilinski

Summary: (Y/N) and Stiles have a complicated relationship. After she tries to put an end to it, Stiles gets fed up with her treatment towards him, and calls her out on it. 

Based off the song BOY by Charlie Puth

“Hurry up Scott! I’m gonna be late for work!”

“Coming! Sorry, (Y/N).” He runs past me, grabbing an apple and chucking it into his bag. “Oh, and Stiles’ Jeep broke down, so...?” I sigh already knowing what Scott was implying. 

“Yes, I can pick him up.” I say matter-of-factly. “Now, hurry up.”

“Thanks again.” I make my way to my old wagon, double checking I have everything for work. As soon as I close the door I let out a deep sigh. I haven’t seen Stiles for 2 weeks now. Somehow, I’ve been able to avoid him when he comes over, but I knew sometime soon I’d have to face the music. 

The passenger side door opens and Scott excitedly jumps in. He grabs a hold of his lacrosse stick and drums along the pole with his fingers. 

“What’s got you so happy?” I ask, confused.

“Oh nothing, really. I just... everything’s going really good for me right now. For the first time in a long time it feels like the world isn’t out to get me. I wanna enjoy it while I can.” He smiles and I force one back. I turn on the AC, feeling myself heat up when my mind goes back to Stiles and that night 2 weeks ago.

“Stiles” I whimper against his lips as I feel him part my legs and pin me down on the bed. His lips move from mine down to my collar bone, licking and sucking on the tender skin. “Please”

I’m snapped out of my thoughts when I hear the back door close. Stiles ushers his way into the middle seat and pats Scott on the shoulder. 

“Uh, thanks for getting me (Y/N).” 

“No problem.” My lips tighten into a forced smile that appears more like a grimace. My eyes flicker up to the rear mirror and I’m met with Stiles’ face. He’s growing out his stubble, it looks like. My eyes focus on his lips as my mind goes back to that night. But before I can entirely drift away into my thoughts, I see Stiles’ eyes boring back at mine. Immediately, I regain consciousness and focus on the road. 

“Alright, I’ll see you boys at half past three.” I announce as Scott jumps out the car. 

“Thanks again (Y/N)” Scott says as he closes the door. But I realise I only heard one door close and I look back at where Stiles was sitting. Or should I say where he still is sitting.

“I was hoping -uh can we talk?” He almost whispers.

“This is really not the place, Stiles.”

“Please, (Y/N).”

“Later.” I say, looking back out the front window. I hear Stiles hop out and Scott ask him what he wanted, but the door closed before I could hear his response. Stiles was reckless, but not stupid. He knew that telling Scott would ruin multiple relationships.

I quickly pushed my foot on the accelerator, hoping to be far away from my problems as soon as possible. 

“How was school?” I ask Scott as he hops in the car, Stiles trailing behind him.

“Let’s just say, I’m glad I’m actually getting to sit through classes without having to run off and save the town again.” He jokes and I smile. I’m genuinely happy for him. He’s had such a tough few years and to think that I could possibly cause him pain is eating me up inside. And not to mention that he could literally rip Stiles’ throat out. “What about you? How was work”

“Interesting. After finding out about you and your buddies, I’m starting to question everyone that comes through the facility.” I see Stiles physically flinch at the use of ‘buddies’. Once again, I’m teleported back to that night, two weeks ago.

“Wow, (Y/N). That was...”

“A mistake. I told myself I wasn’t going to let this happen again.” I sigh as I sit up on the side of Stiles’ bed.

“Woah, woah, woah. What do you mean?” 

“Stiles. You are such a sweet boy. But I can’t help but feel what I’m doing is immoral. I mean, not only are you still in High School, but you’re my younger brother’s best friend! What would Scott say?” I droop my head, feeling ashamed.

“No. (Y/N), please. You know it’s not like that. This isn’t some fling where I’m excited to be hooking up with an older chick. I really like you. Scott would be happy for us, I’m sure!”

“You and I both know thats a lie. Look, from now on this has to end. You’re just my younger brother’s friend.” 

“Oh, also, Stiles and I were gonna work on an assignment together so you can just drive us straight home. Sheriff Stilinski will pick him up after his shift at about 10.” Scott says nonchalantly. 

“Oh, okay. Mum won’t be back by dinner so I was thinking of making chilli cheese burritos. Is that okay with you boys?” I say, which obviously annoys Stiles.

“Sounds good with me. Stiles?” Scott replies.

“Yep. I’ve been craving something hot.” He says, knowing exactly the double entendre that came with the sentence. I choke on my spit and cough slightly, my heart beating through my chest.

“Can you just call out when dinners ready? We’ll be upstairs.” Scott says.

“Yeah, no worries. It’ll probably be around 6:30ish.”

“Sweet. Come on Stiles.” Scott says as he runs upstairs.

“I’ll be up in a minute. Just gotta pee.” He calls out, walking towards the bathroom. Finally, a moment to be left with my thoughts. I sit on the couch and close my eyes, wishing to be given some great answer from a divine deity that will solve all my problems. 

I really like Stiles, but I feel so uncomfortable admitting that, even to myself. Yes, he’s of legal age, but does that make it right? If it did end up working out with us, I’d want to be having kids when he’s only 21. Thats way too young to be a dad. God, why I am even thinking of that far down the track. He probably wouldn’t even make it that far. I’m sure Scott would gut Stiles if he ever found out he laid a finger on me let alone insi- okay. Thats enough of that.

“(Y/N)? Can we talk now.” Stiles asks. I turn to see his standing awkwardly beside me and I come my a consensus. 

“Stiles! Uh, yeah - lets make this quick. Have a seat.” I say as I pat next to me. “Look, I do really like you. I think you’re amazing and funny and great in bed. But, I just don’t see our lives matching up. And I understand you think this might be a good idea, but I don’t think I’m prepared to harm my relationship with Scott in any way possible. He’s already had to deal with so many people leaving him, how do you think he’d feel if the two closest people to him betrayed his trust?” 

“But what if he’s okay with it?” Stiles pleaded.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not prepared to find out.” I sighed, standing up. Stiles looks at a loss for words. His eyes grow glassy and he rubs his hand over his thigh to calm himself down. “I think I should finish up some work. I’ll grab you boys when dinner is ready.”

“Stop that.”

“What?” I furrow my brows together.

“Calling me a boy. I understand you’re scared, but stop blaming this on me. You might assume I’m not ready to be a man, but you’re wrong. Just because you’re scared, doesn’t mean I’ll stand by while you refer to me as a boy. Because I’ll tell you what. I’m much more of a man than any other guys you’ve dated. And now I’ve come to realise you aren’t scared about losing Scott. You’re scared about losing who you think you should be.” He says, steaming from the ears. Stiles suddenly stands and makes his way upstairs, leaving me standing in the living room in shock. 

Dinner felt like it went on for hours. There was little to no talk with the exception of Scott filling us in on the plan for next week’s lacrosse game against Green Hill. I couldn’t bring myself to eat much as I still felt sick from the conversation with Stiles. I came to realise, he was partly right. Although I am terrified of how Scott would feel, I’m also terrified of reliving the past 15 years over again. I don’t want my children to have to go through what I did; their father leaves, mother is barely around because she’s always working, and then the feeling of guilt always bears heavy on their shoulders. Although I am happy to be helping mum with paying off the mortgage and bills, I don’t want my kids to be subject to that. 

“Dad’s out the front. I’ll see you on Monday.” I hear Stiles say from upstairs. 

“Sweet, yeah I’ll see you then.” Scott replies as I hear his bedroom door close. I hear Stiles making his way down the stairs and inhale deeply. Now or never. 

“Stiles?” I call as I see him make his way straight past the dining room where I’m sat.

“Sorry, (Y/N). I’ll see you next time. Dad’s out the front.”

“I just wanted to say something...” I trailed off. I see the guard Stiles has put up in his reaction. He fight with himself, but ultimately decided to sit down at the table. 

“If this is abou-”

“I just wanted to say you were right.”

“What do you mean?” Stiles asks with a glint of hope in his eyes.

“I mean that I’ve projected my issues onto you and thats not fair. I really am scared of hurting Scott though, which I know you are too. But I agree that I’ve been blaming you when really, I’m the one with the problems. I just-. I’m afraid of having another broken family.” I say, my voice cracking at the end of the sentence. 

“It’s okay to feel scared (Y/N). I’m scared! But I promise you, if everything works out with us, and we get the chance to have kids, I promise you on my life, I’ll be there to make sure they have the happiest, and most loving life you could hope for. I’d probably suffocate them with love if I’m being honest.” He laughs making me chuckle. 

“I’m not saying yes to this. But, I’m not saying no. I need to talk to Scott first.” I mutter out, already scared at the idea. Stiles beams back at me and I close my eyes inhaling deeply. “I’ll let you know how it goes. Tell Sheriff Stilinski I say hi, too for me will you?” I smile, changing the subject. 

“Of course. You know how upset he’d be if his favourite McCall forgot about him.” He chuckled, getting up from him chair. I stared back at him with a soft smile before he took me into his arms in a gentle but tight hug. “Everything will be okay.” he stepped back, a hand still on my arm. “I’ll see you soon then, I guess.” He said before making his way out of the house. 

Now for the hard part.

Hey Guys! Let me know if you want a part 2 for this. I haven’t planned anything out but I feel like theres still more to this story! Also, thanks for your continued support. It means a lot when I log on and see that every single day I’m still getting new readers and new followers even after not posting for a few months. You may not think a like or reblog means much, but it inspires me so much to keep writing for you guys, knowing I can help improve your day, however small! Xxx

[optimistic-dinosaur-nacho]

Bruises - Requested

Warnings: Language, Bullying, Blood, ‘Fag’ comments  Summary: After Jacob had been suspected for the murder, your friends had turned against you. People stared, people gossiped. Even Ben’s friends did the unforgivable thing to you and all that was kept from your protective dad, Andy.

This goes for my good anon friend and I love this request. I’m surprise you thought of this and I didn’t even think of this idea. That means you’re a creative person and I like that. I really love Andy Barber x Daughter!Reader fics.

Thank you for it! Hope you like it! A lot more than you asked for but it’s all part of the plan.

Love you all!

It’s the worst Birthday Gift for Chris Evans but it had to be made.

~~~

You were looking for your folder around your room. Just 12 hours ago you were working on your homework and you couldn’t seem to find it now. Opening your backpack, you searched through your books and binders, not finding your baby blue folder.

A knock hits your door. “Hey, sweetheart, your brother is gonna head out soon. He’s taking the trail,” Your father beams in.

Turning around, you see him in his button up and a tie, ready to go to his job. You inhaled, “He can go ahead, I’ll be behind him. I can’t find my blue folder.” Andy furrows his brows, “Where’d you leave it?”

You shrugged, “I was working on it last night.” Andy nods and looks up to you, “Well, I don’t want you to be late. But I’ll tell Jake he can go on ahead. You be careful, okay? I got to go.”

You nod, “Thanks. Bye, dad. Love you.”

“Love you, too, sweetheart. Be good at school.” And with that he left, heading down the stairs.

You continued on your search and dug through your closet. Maybe about 10 minutes passed, you found it under your bed. You scoffed and shoved it in your bag. You stepped down the stairs and saw Laurie. “Hey, mom.”

She turns around, “Hey, dad told me you were looking for your folder.”

“Yeah, I found it. I got to go!” Laurie stammers, “Honey, let me take you. Driving will be quicker than the trail.” You bounced on your feet, “Okay, okay. Let’s go!” You said. Laurie grabs her bag and coat, taking her keys on the way out.

“Did you pack a lunch?” Laurie asks. You rushed to her car, “I did!” You jumped in the front seat while Laurie got into the drivers seat. She held up a bag to you, “I know you didn’t pack one.” 

You sighed and took the bag into your hands and quickly shoved it in your bag. Laurie glances over to you, “Did you bring your soccer practice bag?” She asked.

You nodded and unzipped the bag to make sure you had everything. “Yeah.” Laurie pulls out of the garage and drove you to school. Jacob was surely gonna be there before you could. Or if you’re lucky. Laurie brought you to the school in time. Still seeing the students hanging outside. 

“Okay, honey. I love you, have a good day,” She says. You take your bags and smiled, “Thanks, mom. Love you too!” You closed the door and walked up to the doors. “Y/N!”

You turn, “Hey, Lindsey.” The blonde girl almost jumps on your shoulder. “Where’s your brother?” She asked. You looked around. “I don’t know. He took the trail but I took the car cause he went on ahead without me.” Lindsey pouts at you, she was one of those popular girls but she seemed to be a nobody at times.

Her mother was a lawyer like your dad. Half the school, the parents were lawyers. “I’ll catch you later at lunch!” She says, you nod and she ran off, heading towards the group of boys. One of them being her brother, Derek. 

You felt someone take your shoulder, “How’d you get here so fast?” Jacob asks. You grinned, “I got a ride from mom! What took you so long?” Jake grins softly, but it quickly went away, “I wasn’t picking my feet up, I guess.”

You grinned as you two walked in. 

Jake shared a class with you in science. It was pretty cool. So, still morning at the moment. You sat in front of Jacob so you two and the other two were working on the tubes. 

“Be careful taking that out. We don’t wanna make a mess,” The teacher says, Jake peers up to you and the others, grinning, “That’s what she said.” You and the two laugh and Jake grinned in acceptance.

You look up to Jake and smiled at him. Then the PA chimed in and you lifted your head up.

“Attention. Archer is now on lockdown, effective immediately. All students are to remain in their classrooms...” Everyone in the room began to stand up in panic, and you did too. Jacob stood up and came over to you, the students began to look out the window.

“Guys, I can’t hear the announcement!” The teacher calls, he heads for the door and locks it. Kids began to pull away from the window and sat against the wall. “Come on, Y/N,” Jacob says, he holds your shoulder and took you to the wall. “What’s going on?” You asked.

He sat you down, “I don’t know.”

“Call dad...” You muttered, Jacob didn’t think twice and pulled out his phone. He scrolled through his phone and pulled it to his ear. You hear Andy answer, “Jacob, you okay?”

“Yeah. The school’s on lockdown, but nobody knows why.”

“I know, it’s... Have you heard from your sister?”

“She’s next to me.”

“Okay. Look, I can’t talk about it right now, okay, buddy? Just both of you listen to your teachers, do exactly what they say,” Andy says. Jacob looks at you and nervously bites his lip. “Yeah, but you do know why. I mean, is there some psycho shooter?”

“No, it’s nothing like that. You’re both safe I promise.” Jacob looks at you, seeing you shake in the corner, fiddling with your hands. “Jake?” Andy asks. Jacob turns back to the phone, “Okay. Dad?”

“Yeah?”

Jacob grips the phone and shuffles in his spot, “What is it, buddy?” Jacob shook his head, “Nothing.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, I gotta go. I’ll see you both back at home though, okay? Keep your sister close at all times. I love you both very much.” Jacob nods, “All right. We love you too. Bye.” Jacob hangs up and pulls his phone down to his lap.

And that day, they were there in the same classroom till school ended. Even your soccer practice was canceled.

.

You were in your room, going on your laptop as Lindsey looked through her phone. “I can’t believe Ben was murdered. Does anyone know who?” She asked. You weren’t sure of the answer. So, you shook your head.

“I don’t know.”

Lindsey grins, “I don’t know. But at least I got to speak to Dylan through the whole class. We had so much in common,” Lindsey looks over, “I think he’s into me.”

You grinned, “Don’t get too excited.” Your door was suddenly knocked on and your parents opened it with smiles. “Lindsey, your dad’s here,” Andy says. Lindsey sits up and grabs her bag, packing a few things, “See ya, Y/N. And thank you, Mrs. and Mr. Barber.”

Andy grins at her, “Anytime.” Lindsey walks out with her brother, Derek to their father, leaving you with them. “Hey, sweetheart. We want to talk about something.” Andy sits by your legs and Laurie stands by. 

“We want to know how you’re feeling about Ben. About what happened,” Laurie says.

All you could do was stare. Ben’s friends weren’t really nice towards you and Jacob. Even without Jacob it was worse. But you barely knew Ben. You shrugged, “I don’t know. I barely knew him.”

“But Jake did. He’s in the same class,” Andy says.

“Ben wasn’t really that much of a kid I would’ve hung out with. He was kind of full of himself. I only saw him in the halls,” You said. Andy looks over to Laurie who just grinned sadly. “Well, if there’s anything you want to tell us, we’re here for you. Don’t be afraid to tell us. Okay?”

You nod, “Yes, I understand,” You say usually, it always gave them the absolute certainly that you understood. So Andy grins, “Okay. Dinner in 30 minutes.” He pats your leg and stands up. Walking out of your room.

.

The next day, you and Jacob were gonna be dropped off by Laurie. She didn’t allow you both to walk down the trail ever again. Police were now on the campus, you and Jacob were seeing your friends out in front. 

Laurie stops in front of the school, “Okay. Love you guys.” Jacob jumps out, only giving her a smile and closed his door. You jumped out and smiled, “Bye, mom. Love you too.” And then you closed your door. Heading over to the school, you spotted Lindsey.

You smiled at her, but she did not. Lindsey turned away and stood by her brother Derek who even looked at you. You weren’t sure why they were so happy at your house but they turn out like this.

Was it something you said last night?

You didn’t say anything that could’ve ruined their moods. You followed Jacob inside, not bothering to talk to him. You hear the bell ring and everyone began to rush through. Making you lose Jacob in the crowd. “Jake?” You called, but he never called your name.

So you were left on your own.

Till someone slapped your book out of your hands. “Oops,” One of the boys said, you look up at them not in anger no. You didn’t know why they did that. But Derek only stared at you as they passed laughing.

You blinked away the tears and knelt down to pick your book up. 

.

Almost three days after Ben Rifkin’s death, you were held after school in one of your classes so Jacob was left to go home on his own. You wouldn’t mind walking back.

“Thank you, Mrs. Ambers,” You call out, the woman grins, “I’ll be looking forward to your project, Ms. Barber.” You smiled and walked out of the classroom to head back home.

You were walking back, playing music in your earbuds. But then, your phone rang, cutting off your music. Pulling it out of your sweatshirt, you see a photo you and Andy hugging while he kissed the top of your head. He was calling you.

“Dad?”

“Sweetheart? Is your brother with you?” He sounded like he  was panicking. “No? What’s going on? Dad?” You ask. He pants, “Just meet me at home, okay? Don’t be scared, everything’s gonna be all right. I’ll be home soon, just stay there okay?”

“Okay,” You say softly. “I gotta call mom. I’ll be there as quick as I can. I love you very much,” He says. “I love you too.” And then he hung up. You continued to follow his orders.

Go home. Don’t be scared.

Scared of what? You began to be quicker than you usually walked. But then you see police cars appear around the corner. You slowly stop but continued to walk up.

They spotted you. You began to walk up and so did the one officer. “Dispatch, we got one of Barber’s kids. She’s walking alone. Not the suspect.” He walks over, “Hey, kid.”

You stopped once you came face-to-face with him. “Where’s your brother?” You looked around to see if Andy would come racing around the corner. “I was held in school, he must’ve been here before I have.”

The officer nods and gestures to come forward, “Come on. We wanna put you inside the car, is that okay?” He asked, you couldn’t even nod as he took you to the police car.

Opening the door, you hopped in, shaking. And just a few minutes in, Andy comes on the street and drives into his driveway. He didn’t see Y/N in sight. “Damn it.” He jumps out of his car and looks towards the officers. “Is my daughter in one of your vehicles?”

“Sir, you know this house is frozen, right?” Andy spots you in one of their cars, “Get my daughter out of that car! She has nothing to do with this!” The officer nods at the other to let you out.

Stumbling out, Andy gestures you to come over. You rush to his side as he raced up to the front door. “Sir! You know the house is frozen.”

Andy turns, “You got a warrant? Yeah, I didn’t think so. It’s my house, I have the right to go inside.”

“Dad, what’s going on?” You say lowly, Andy fiddles with his keys. “It’s okay. Everything’s gonna be okay. Just stay close.”

“Andy!” Someone shouts. The you both turn to see Duffy jump out the car with a paper in hand. Andy only sighed. And that day is when everything changed.

.

“You sure you can walk home? I don’t mind taking you, sweetheart. I just... we can’t take you with us. Not a good look to see your brother,” Andy says. It was day after Duffy had searched your house, destroyed your room that you cleaned up. 

You hadn’t seen Jacob for almost 24 hours. Andy said he was at the department, he didn’t tell you more after that. You did read posts about Jacob having a knife. He didn’t show it to you cause he didn’t just have you at the school.

So now you’ll have to go to school without Jacob.

“Y/N,” Andy says, breaking your thoughts, he lowers his head so he could get a better look. “I can walk, thank you.” And with that, you grabbed your bag and walked out the door. Leaving Andy and Laurie to head to the courthouse.

Once you got to school, everyone had eyes on you. Walking alone. Head hanging low as they whispered and looked at each other as you passed. You needed to get to class before they get to you.

“Watch out!” A boy shouts, you feel someone push you and you crashed to the ground. You hear laughter as Ben Rifkin’s friends walk by smiling. You looked up and saw them walk down the hall.

You look back down and saw a small puddle of blood. You reached for your face and felt it coming out of your nose. You stood up and rushed to the bathroom, on the urge of tears. Slamming the bathroom door shut, you rushed to the stall and ripped toilet paper to clean the blood off your nose.

You choked a sob and stared at yourself in the mirror. Nose was red, including your eyes and cheeks. It was only just day one. Who knew if they’d get worse. But you shook it off and walked out with a tissue in your nose for a while.

Science class was very different. Every class was, each and every second someone is staring at you. Then the PA dings, “Your attention, please. As you all know, last night the terrible tragedy that struck our community was compounded in a way that is truly difficult to fathom. I’m referring to the arrest of Jacob Barber, an eighth-grader here at Archer.”

People began to stare at you. “I want to stress how important it is we not jump to conclusions. This means ignoring rumors and refraining from spreading rumors. That said, if you do have information you feel would be of help to the investigation, the police have ask that you contact them immediately. You can do this directly or through our guidance center. Thank you.”

.

During lunch, you sat alone at a table. One the other side, people sat there. But you were alone, picking at your own food. “That looks good, really good,” The boy says, he grins down at you.

“Would your fag brother happen to carry a knife for you to cut that? I’m surprised he won’t admit it.”

“He didn’t do it. Now would you leave me alone?” You asked. The boy grabs your sandwich and grins, throwing it in the bin beside you. “I bet Ben would have wished it was you who Jacob would kill instead.” He takes the rest of your lunch and dumps it on the ground.

Bringing the whole cafeteria’s eyes to your table.

You blinked away the tears and walked out, heading towards the bathroom again. You could’ve called Andy but he was at court. Maybe you would’ve call him at all about this. You just sat in the corner and crumpled in tears.

.

The school was just about to end and you figured to walk home because you weren’t sure if Andy or Laurie would pick you up. You didn’t even want them to ask how your day was.

So taking the same way you always go. You took the trail in Cold Spring Park. You were listening to music on your way there, thinking you were hearing extra steps behind you but you figured the music was just making you hear things.

You then felt someone push you down. Your earbuds get pulled out and someone grabs your bag and rips it off. You turned to face three boys, Ben’s closest friends at school. They towered over you. “You really think you can get away with this? You think your fag brother would even protect you? Now we have the chance to show what a murderer deserves.”

One of the boys kicked you in the gut and you curled up, shouting in pain. “Stop, please!” You said, the boys just laughed and the tall one pulls you up, holding you by the collar. You tried to push him, only to have his fist meet the side of your cheek causing you to crash into the leaves and dirt.

One last kick was painful than the other. “Let’s get out of here,” The boy says, walking away. The blonde boy unzips your bag and dumps it at your feet. All your work and binders hitting the ground. He kicked your bag and ran off with his friends.

You choked a sob and sat up, touching your cheek. Your jeans were dirtied and your sweater was as well. You sniffled and crawled over to your things and began to slip them back into your bag.

It could’ve been worse if one of them wouldn’t hesitate to kill you. Once you got everything in, you stood up and brushed off the leaves and dust. Your jeans were gonna need a wash, including your Connecticut Law School hoodie that belonged to your dad.

It was already old as it is, but it was one of your favorite hoodies. You carried your backpack by the loop on the top of it, continuing back home with tears. You managed calm yourself so your parents wouldn’t get any ideas what happened.

They would know about the dirt though. You never wore makeup so you can’t cover it up with anything. 

You reached the house and noticed news reporters were standing outside. You threw on your hoodie and hid like a normal kid. They were lucky to not closely look at you as you walked by. Once you took a turn up the stairs, they began to shout questions at you.

You ignored them and walked through the red door, closing it. “Sweetheart?” Laurie calls, you didn’t even bother to look for her. “Yeah?” You called, hoodie still on you see Andy come into view. “Hey. How was school?” He asked.

You were in one of the darkest spots in the hall, so you weren’t sure he could see you. He furrowed his brows, “What happened to your clothes?” He asked. You look down and nibbled on your bottom lip.

“Our teacher made us play a game, a lot of us got our clothes dirty,” You lied, Andy draws his eyes down again and nodded, “Well, you change, your mother can wash them.”

Laurie comes into view and her hands rub against each other, “Did you eat at school?” She asked. Your mind went back to the cafeteria incident. You didn’t eat once they through your whole lunch away.

“I did...” You lied once again. Andy tilts his head at you, “I thought we had rules about not having hoods on,” He says. Having hoodies on, it turns a lot of heads in your home. All you did was turn around and walk up the stairs, finally pulling your hood down so they couldn’t see the bruise once you turned away.

Andy looks over to Laurie in concern and she does as well. Andy looks back and sees your bag on the ground. Laurie heads back into the living room and Andy takes your bag in hand. It was covered in dirt and it had tears in some areas, knowing she wouldn’t do that with her bag. 

Especially it was Andy’s old high school bag. It was always in a good condition in his school year. You wanted to have it since you didn’t want them to buy you a better one, but you insisted on having his and he gladly made you have it.

He knew you wouldn’t treat a bag like this, so he walked up the stairs heading over to your room. He knocked and you didn’t respond. So he opened the door and saw you sitting on your bed. Your hood was on again. Andy sighs and comes in, “What’s going on?” He asks.

He held your bag in hand and looked down at it. “Sweetheart,” He says. He placed the bag on the ground and walks over to you, kneeling down in front of you.

He tried to look at your face but it was so low for him to see your full face. He only saw the tears. His forehead creases in concern, “Y/N, talk to me. What happened?” He reached up and grabbed the edge of your hood, pulling it back over your head, finally having the gloomy light outside beam on your features.

His heart dropped when he sees the dark bruise under your cheek. His thumb reaches up to check it out. Once his thumb brushed over it, you flinched and grabbed his wrist. His eyes were concerning and soft, “It’s okay.” Your bottom lip quivered as he looked at you.

“What happened? Who did this?”

You felt tears rush down your cheeks again, “His friends...” You say. Andy tilts his head, “Ben Rifkin’s friends? They did this?” You nodded and Andy puffs out a sigh again. “I’ll talk to the principal.”

“No,” You say a little too quickly. Andy furrows his brows, “I’m not taking a no for an answer. This is not what should happen to you. You don’t deserve this, sweetheart. We’ll keep you home if it’s gonna keep you from getting beat up for something you or Jacob didn’t do.”

“What if he did?”

Andy shakes his head, “We know he didn’t do it. Don’t think like that, okay?”  You watched him as he keeps his eyes on you. He pressed his lips together and softly smiled, “Come here.” He sits on your bed and pulls you into his chest. Rubbing your back, you gently relaxed in his arms.

You felt his lips press a kiss into your hair and he placed his chin on your head. “I love you very much,” He says, “You, Jacob and mom.” You sniffled and tightened your arms around him. “I love you too.”

~~~

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[tinycaprisun]

a song about it raining somewhere else

title: a song about it raining somewhere else characters: chuck taylor x trent beretta word count: 3822 part: 1/1 warnings: mild cursing, and like that’s kinda it? maybe mild angst? but also i’m a baby and it becomes fluff by the end? a/n: howdy, this is not another i’m back i’m back piece as much as it honestly is. no, see this time- this is actually a gift! 2 days ago was @trentjinshi’s birthday and i wanted to write him something! so i sat down for like 6 hours with my goopy goblin gay brain and spit out this obvious magnum opus. so, like, don’t hate it please. also hugest happy birthday to emil again!! yeehaw... i’ve technically already sent this to u

You know, of all days to have the soul crushing realization that you’ve secretly been in love with your best friend, Trent should have expected it to happen on Valentine’s Day.

The man had garbage luck anyways, and good things seemingly never happened to him. So when Chuck animatedly told him he had a date that night with some girl, Trent’s heart shouldn’t have blown apart like he had been shot. Sure, he pretended to be supportive of his buddy, returning his radiant smile despite the effect never reaching his eyes, And yeah, he wished him all the best, telling the taller man he hoped it went well.

But did Trent mean any of that? Fuck no! He was dying on the inside, mourning the loss of a relationship and love he didn’t even know he wanted! Perhaps he should have considered himself lucky that he didn’t start bawling his eyes out on the spot. The New Yorker had a tendency to wear his heart on his sleeve, so the crying really was not out of the question at that moment. But he contained his feelings somehow, moving on through the rest of that afternoon like he was trudging through a snowstorm. Slow, cold, and slowly dying from the inside out.

So that led him here, sitting in his car as the rain started to come down, refusing to turn the damn thing on. He didn’t want to go back to his hotel room. Because if he did, it would remind him of the obvious. He went home alone tonight.

Chuck wasn’t alone. His friend had a probably beautiful person with a perfect personality sitting across from him at a fancy restaurant. A person who wasn’t him. Why couldn’t Trent be his perfect date? He would laugh at his jokes, softly hold his hand as they walked in from the parking lot, pull his chair out for him, admire him like he was the sun-

A harsh banging came from his left, rhythmically tapping against the glass of his car window in time with the rain drops. Trent’s head jerked up from where it had defeatedly slumped against the steering wheel to see who was trying to get his attention.

It was a security guard, holding an umbrella in one hand and wavering him off with another, politely telling him to leave the premises as the arena building they were at was closing. To be honest, getting a ticket from not leaving and instead rotting in that parking lot forever sounded like a far better time than he was having. But, he didn’t have a choice. Story of his life.

Trent started up his car, quickly leaving off into the vast night with only his thoughts to keep him company. And that was rapidly becoming annoying. The singular thing on his mind was one person, and how all this time, his feelings were so obvious. Every time he even glanced in his friend’s direction his heart rate would spike. Before now, he had chalked that up to coincidence or - considering it was Trent and how his body loved to torture him - underlying health conditions. Evidently, it was neither of those things.

One would think he would catch on to his festering crush sooner; considering he thought the entire world of Chuck and whenever he had to go more than a few days without seeing him, he would get a weird sense of longing to be back in his presence, but nothing ever wanted to work out that way. Life thought it would be much funnier if Trent felt like he was being ripped apart at the seams by a simple sentence.

Between the still processing of what it even meant to have a crush on your best friend, and knowing that right now he was out with some other person having the time of his life, Trent was not feeling great as he drove down the freeway. Grumbling under his breath, he flicked the radio on to fill the car with something other than his problems. A song the brunette had never heard before crackled to life, being about part of the way through.

By the time we get there, everybody will be drunk The chairs will be on tables and the band will be unplugged We're gonna look real good, but we're gonna look real rude I'm sorry I'm not sorry that I'm-

Fucking perfect! The last person to mess with the radio in Trent’s car was Chuck, and bastard left it on one of his stupid country stations. Trent didn’t even like country music! That didn’t stop him, however, from a few days ago when they were driving from city to city and let Chuck put on whatever he liked, even if it was something he was going to hate. He would make tiny sacrifices like that all the time for his partner, because he knew it would earn him one of those sunlit smiles. Trent really would do anything to make Chuck happy, and had been since they met.

Late to the party with you Oh, who needs confetti? We're already falling into the groove And who needs a crowd when you're happy at a party for two? The world can wait 'Cause I'm never late to the party if I'm late to the party with you

It... It was a love song?

“Throw me off a fucking bridge.” Trent mumbled to himself as he exited an off ramp. Seriously, who out there was tormenting him and making him have possibly the worst day ever? What omnipotent being did he piss off? He thought he was an alright dude, not getting into other people’s business and sort of keeping to himself. Most days he made an attempt to be somewhat nice to others and never did any of that vile or cruel shit. And yet, he was cursed to drive home while listening to a love song in a genre that he hated, and only helped to remind him more of his best friend.

Let's promise when we get in that we'll try to get right out Fake a couple conversations, make the necessary rounds These kinda things just turn into "Who's leaving here with who?" But I just want 'em all to see me come in late to the party with you

Wasn’t that a funny line. Wanting others to see the person you’re with because of how much you loved them? Trent understood that. Whenever he would go anywhere with Chuck, he would always want people to know he was there with him- whether he realized it or not.

He could talk for hours about him. It could be the simple telling of a funny story, or gushing about how good he was in the ring. Or how great of a friend he was. That made Trent wonder about what Chuck would be like if they were together. His mind wandered, dreaming up scenarios and infinite possibilities as he pulled into his hotel’s parking garage.

The musing didn’t stop when he killed the engine, happily ending that fucking song that was starting to piss him off with how cute it was. Trent pushed himself out of the car, gathering his singular bag from the trunk and wandering inside through the rain. Which, if anyone was curious, was even worse than it was when he left. It was coming down in buckets now, being slung into the New Yorker’s face by the wind.

Checking in was easy enough, having the briefest of conversations with the man at the desk who happened to have a thick southern accent.

Chuck had an accent, but only when he drank a lot. It took about 3 and a half beers for it to come out, but by that point he didn’t care all that much to hide it. He wouldn’t be trashed, as he was a pretty solid drinker and had made putting strong shit back a hobby over the last few years. Trent knew exactly how it sounded, though. A smooth Kentucky accent that always caused him to punctuate the last word of his sentences and pronounce certain things differently. Never anything like “y’all” or something southern like that, after all Chuck wasn’t that dime store cowboy they worked with.

The thing Trent remembered the most about Chuck’s accent was how he said his name. He would draw it out, almost like he was whining, except it was low in his voice and always accompanied by a wide grin. One that’s toothy like Cheshire Cat, and annoyingly sweet like bubblegum. Trent idly wondered if he tasted like bubblegum too, but the thought turned vivid fantasy was interrupted for a moment by the elevator reaching his floor.

The brunette slowly approached his room, still partially entranced by the ideas he had created in his mind as he unlocked his door and slipped in. From there, it felt like he wasn’t even alive anymore. Not in a morbid sense, but as in he wasn’t participating in the concept of reality at that moment. Trent was so disconnected from his actions, it was almost as though he was outside of his body and looking in from somewhere else. So much so, that when he snapped out of his revere from his phone buzzing, he was lying in bed wearing only his boxers.

Not that what was on his phone was of any importance to him. All Trent saw were notifications for things he didn’t care about, the only thing sticking out was a short text from Orange sending him more condolences over his current “issue”. Damn, he was acting like someone had died, not his friend’s heart being broken. Trent didn’t bother responding, tossing the device back on the bedside table and rolling over to face away from it.

The alarm clock on the other stand read “10:17 p.m.”, blinking at him like the piece of shit was broken. It also only now occurred to Trent that he had never turned the lights on while he was basically astral projecting. So he was bathed in darkness, with the only illumination being that digital clock and the street lights below outside the window.

Was he going to fall asleep at a respectable time? Because deep in his bones he could feel the shroud of tiredness creeping through him from all of the emotional energy he drained today. And with that, Trent grabbed one of the unused pillows and wrapped himself around it, cuddling it tightly and not bothering to get under the bed covers.

Maybe if he tried hard enough, Trent could pretend the pillow was something else. --

Who in the hell was knocking at his door at - the New Yorker stopped his angry brain tirade to peek at the clock again - 11:53 at night? He had only gotten to sleep an hour and it was cut short by who knew what. If this was Orange coming to tell him he had broken another hotel microwave by “forgetting to take the metal spoon out of his mac and cheese”, Trent was going to fucking kill him.

Getting up from where he lay, Trent stumbled blearily across the room to the door. In those few seconds, it processed with him that his hair must have come untied while he was sleeping because it was messily draped around his shoulders. Among that, he was still only dressed in boxers, riding rather low on his hips. Maybe he had a restless sleep even though it was quick?

He didn’t care what he looked like though as he slowly pulled the door open with a yawn and blinked from the harsh light flooding in from the hallway. Trent prepared to open his mouth and berate his shorter friend when he heard a sniffle come from in front of him.

Chuck was standing on the other side of the doorway, soaking wet from the rain. By the look on his face, it seemed as though he had been crying as well, with red eyes and a running nose. His eyes didn’t meet Trent’s as he all but whispered, “H-hey, man.”

Did the longer haired brunette care that his friend was ice cold and drenched from head to toe? No. That was why without words, he dragged his friend into the room and hugged him tightly, letting the hotel door slip closed on its own. Chuck didn’t need to be told twice to hug back, nearly crushing Trent from the strength of his shaking arms.

They stayed like that for a good while, with Trent rubbing soothing circles into his back and letting him rest his head on his shoulder when he began to weep again. That was before he slowly drew back, silently taking Chuck’s hand and guiding him to his bed so he could sit. Trent grabbed the comforter and wrapped it around his friend, figuring he could just use a blanket later when he needed to sleep.

“I... didn’t even tell you- what’s wrong..?” murmured the Kentuckian, slouching in on himself and bringing his knees up so they were closer to his chest. He must have been really cold. Trent paused for a moment, looking with a pained yet sympathetic smile.

“Don’t need to. You’re upset, and I gotta fix that.” He wasn’t sure who hurt him, or even what, but just let it be known he was going to destroy whatever it was.

“Well, uh, t-thank you?”

“Yeah, dude. I-” Love you. “Care about you. You’re my friend and shit. Hurts to see you cry.” With that, Trent carefully maneuvered around Chuck and hopped off the bed to go rifle through his clothes for something dry he could wear. And- probably some pants for himself. When he first opened the door, he couldn’t help but notice Chuck gave him the slightest look up and down, with his cheeks going red afterwards. Trent assumed it was only because he was cold, and the warmth from his bedroom had fucked with his internal body temperature.

While digging through his bags trying to find some of the clothes he always packed for his friend - and if it were any other day than today, Trent would have told you it was because he was just being a nice guy. He knew better than that now. - Chuck began to talk again. “Date ditched me...”

“They didn’t show up?”

Chuck sighed. “No, she did. But- when her ex came around... She would’a rather been with him.”

Trent grabbed the extra clothes and stood, turning around to face Chuck who was staring off into the corner. Considering how already destroyed his heart already was from earlier, he was a bit surprised it still had a few more pieces that could shatter at this sight. Coming back over, he set the pile to one side of him, then sat back down on the other. “Chuck...”

“I don’t know what I expected? Every girl, or hell- every guy, I’ve ever tried to date has never worked out for me. I don’t get it.” Oh, Trent should not have been so happy to hear those words. Well, he wasn’t happy to hear most of them, and was hurting for his friend, but two of them in particular stuck out to him like a sore thumb. Every guy. That meant Chuck had been on dates with men. That meant, even though it was fucked up to think about this at the moment, that Trent still had a chance.

“You just haven’t found the right one, man. None of those assholes from before deserve you anyways.” Chuck brought his gaze back over to Trent, eyes glassy and expression- disbelieving. His hair was matted to his head, still wet in some places, but mostly stuck in small spots to his forehead. Everything else about him was still about the same caliber as that, slowly drying and clinging to parts of his body that weren’t being disrupted by the comforter.

“Or maybe I didn’t deserve them...” Something- came over Trent then. There wasn’t a word for the mix of emotions he felt upon hearing that. But what he could feel were his hands taking either side of his best friend’s face and holding his head up to where he would look him in the eyes.

“That’s not true, you and I both know that. Anyone in the world would be lucky to have you.”

Chuck honest to god laughed at that and tilted his head. “Name one person.”

Fuck. For all intents and purposes, the answer he desperately wanted to give was ‘Me’, but that never came out of his mouth. Instead, it was like Trent was suspended in fear, unable to say what he wanted for the thought of being rejected. Or somehow even worse, him thinking it was a joke and getting upset with him. So, Trent said nothing, trying to think of a different response that would be true, but didn’t give himself away.

That was the nail in the coffin, though. Chuck took his silence as an answer, unable to provide a single person who could possibly want to be with him. The other man shook Trent’s hands away from his face, hurt welling up in his eyes with a grimace as he moved to grab the clothes that were gotten for him.

“See,” Chuck hobbled to a standing position, holding the clean garments close to his sodden chest like it was going to protect him from the pain he was feeling. Trent, just say something, anything, he yelled to himself whilst watching Chuck shuffle over to the bathroom and pull the door open. He flicked his eyes down to the floor for a moment before coming back up and locking onto Trent’s. “No one could ever love me...”

“Chuck-” Trent was too late, Chuck had already disappeared into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. And God damn it, his stomach had sunk to the depth of his being, twisting and turning like he was going to be sick. He should have said something. Even if it meant ruining the only thing he really had left to care about. There was his job, his other friends, his family and that; and while they meant a lot to him as well, he truly believed in that moment, and probably for some while now, that Chuck was his world.

As goofy and kind of bullshit as it was to hear, that’s what he felt like. That this guy he’s known for a good chunk of his life was his sun, moon, and every star in the sky. And Trent knew he’s never felt that way about another person. He knew that no other person on this Earth - or fuck, any other planet - could beam at him when they pull an upset and win a match together like he could. No one else made his chest feel warm whenever they complimented him quite the same way that Chuck did. There wasn’t a soul who had the same giggle, the wit, the determination, the personality- fucking any of it. No one had quite what his best friend had, and that was why he loved him.

Trent had no idea how long Chuck was going to be in there, or if he was ever going to come out. Knowing him, he could stay in there all night, not wanting to face the world again- let alone his friend. Even still, he got up from where he was and placed himself a few paces away from his bathroom door. Within his head, he hyped himself up, vowing that no matter if he got scared or felt like everything was going to go wrong, the New Yorker was going to tell him the truth.

Approximately 4 minutes later - if you asked Trent it felt like 10 years - Chuck finally emerged from his hiding place, dressed in some of his friend’s clothes and with shockingly drier hair. Not sure why he was so surprised that he had run a towel through it or something, but that didn’t matter. The taller man seemed confused as to why Trent was standing at the door, but before he could ask what was happening, Trent said, “I do.”

Chuck squinted at him with a, “What?” but it came out choked off and shaky, like he wasn’t prepared to speak.

“You said no one could ever love you, and that’s not true. Because I love you,” He wanted to protest, but now that Trent was talking, he couldn’t stop. “And I didn’t realize it until today, but I seriously am so in love with you that I don’t think I could picture my life without you. You mean everything to me and I would do anything for you just to see your beautiful smile or hear you say my name. And I know it sounds like I’m lying and that I’m trying to make you feel better, but I’m not. If I think about it, I feel like I’ve loved you forever but never realized it, and I wish I could have known sooner. Because you need to know that you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met, and I would be the luckiest guy in the world to even have a chance with you-”

“Trent-”

“I love the way you purposefully send me a string of those stupid emojis over text because you know it annoys me. I love how you can make anyone feel better with just one smile and your passion for loving others. I love how much you love animals and how every dog you see, you consider kidnapping-'' Trent had become so caught up in his declaration that he hadn’t noticed his friend had moved from in front of him and Chuck’s lips were on his.

Before he could even do anything; not even get a gasp at the sudden action, Chuck was already pulling away, breathing as if he had just run a mile. His face was bright red and his hands were holding either of Trent’s arms as he searched his face for a reaction. Or anything really.

“I- I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-” It felt as though Trent was living in one of those shitty romantic comedies he secretly liked to watch, because he was the one who cut Chuck off while speaking with an somehow even more desperate kiss. He felt him respond almost instant, bringing one of his hands up to Trent’s face to cup it gently as his own arms latched cautiously onto Chuck’s hips. And that was where they stayed, for who knew how long, but every second of it was exactly where they wanted to be.

You know, of all days to have the life-changing realization that you’re secretly in love with your best friend, Trent - and Chuck for that matter - hadn’t expected it to happen on (the day after) Valentine’s Day.

[bluebellhairpin]

As We Can

Thor Odinson X Immortal!Reader

A/N: Am I doing another self-projection fic? Yes. Do I want to get the point across that I love you, no matter what you look like, and I will help you take care of yourself? Hell yes. Some of my closest companions are on the chunky side. I would kill for them. - Nemo

Warning(s): Idk but there’s a hell of a lot of talk about self-worth, and hence self-love. So talk about Insecurities, character Death (very brief - Loki hoes might cry), Angst, but also a buttload of f l u f f ! 

Summary: We all need to give ourselves some care sometimes. Thor is one of those people, so you give him a little help - and sometimes that comes in a many few different ways; words, music, flower crowns. 

Masterlist  

[Gif was a Google find since Tumblr tags don’t have the representation. Creds to the maker, we love your work!] 

Saying you’d lived for a long time was the understatement of the century. 

You’d lived through too many natural disasters to count - Mount Vesuvius one of the more memorable of such disasters - plus hundreds of wars, and as many ‘collenizations’ of ‘new worlds’ to poke a stick at - not to mention the sicknesses that passed by as well. 

By now you were pretty damn tired of it all. 

But then, on top of everything, you could add something that had never happened before. In much more recent years, Earth had taken to being invaded by aliens. The first and most obvious was that of the Chitauri in New York. The most recent was Thanos and his Army in Upstate New York. 

By this point in your life, you’d started to become ‘exposed’. As most immortals do, over time you showed up in different photographs and paintings over the years, and with access to anything from one place - a.k.a the internet - some started to put things together. 

You even had your own online conspiracy club. You were proud of that. 

While it didn’t exactly bother you, you could see it causing some problems in the future - especially if you showed up in more places more often. So you made a decision. You needed to get off Earth. 

Luckily, timing then had you neatly close to Tønsberg, having watched the events of Thanos’ newest attack on the news in your hotel room in Oslo, you fast-tracked your journey there - to ‘New Asgard' - forward a week. 

There you sought out Thor, and through him a passage off into space. 

__________

Days, if not weeks passed - honest to god by now you couldn’t tell the difference - and while he was in no way the worst person to hang around, Thor was acting off. 

You’d never met him before your of-hand trip to space, but you had seen him on the news, online, and in papers. He was nothing like he was then, now. 

If you’d learn one thing in your age-less life it was that everyone needs a cause, a purpose. You’d spent the last three-hundred years - at least - devoting yourself to different causes, including the two World Wars, and it was clear to you that Thor currently did not have one.

So you decided to help him find it. 

Naturally you started with the subtle things. Being on a ship full of delinquents, also known as ex-space criminals, subtlety wasn’t always the best bet if you wanted something. Especially when it came to Drax. Hints went over his head like a frisbee in a hurricane - but you figured Thor wouldn’t be that… Unwittingly ignorant. 

By the time a couple days passed you had your answer. 

He was that unwittingly ignorant.

You didn't know how anyone else felt, but you knew it went a bit deeper than what others might’ve thought.  __________

“Thor, may I pull you aside for a moment?” you asked, appearing behind the Asgardian as the ship floated lazily through space outside. 

He jumped slightly, completely unaware of his surroundings, but nodded in agreement once he saw it was ‘just you’. Luckily no one else was around this part of the ship, either opting to rest or oversee Peter up in the cockpit. 

You fiddled with your sleeve, eyeing Thor as he settled in one of the seats across the room. You decided then and there to not beat around.

“Are you okay?” His eyes snapped up to yours, being me with your ever-so-slight scowl. 

“Am I okay?” he asked, scoffing out a laugh, “I am fine, why? Why wouldn’t I be?” 

You turned your head, taking a couple steps forward. 

“I can tell if you are, or if you aren’t.” He rolled his eyes at that, crossing his arms and pulling up his guard. “Do you remember what I told you, back on earth when I asked to come with you here?” you asked softer, gesturing to the ship and the stars outside.

He grumbled, rubbing at his eye and ruffling his hair before staring at you expectantly.

“I promised I could help.” 

“Look at you, how the hell could you help?”

“I am almost two thousand years old, Thor Odinson. If I know anything it’s how to help you.” He kept his eyes on you, watching as you dragged a chair out and sat in front of him. You took in a deep breath, searching his body language for any signs that meant he didn’t want you to continue.

“Are you really that old?” he asked, leaning towards you slightly.

“Aye, that I am,” you nodded, “Was born in Ancient Rome. The first notable event I lived though was when I was about ten, word spread around about that volcano erupting - not that we knew what it was back then.” you smiled little at the memory, looking down at your hands sadly. 

Apparently he wasn’t too bad a reading body language either. 

“No one else was like you, though - being able to live forever. Were they?” You shook your head no, and he hummed. “Maybe then we could help each other?” 

“Sure thing Sparky.”  ___________

You’d been working together with Thor for a good couple months, and in between searching for Gamora with the Guardians, and - in your opinion - hopelessly looking for Loki too, you thought Thor was doing much better.

He was less recluse, took care of himself a little more, and backed off Peter’s leadership a little (the latter may have been barely noticeable). Even if those things all came under your urging, you still counted them as steps forward. 

Anything positive, no matter how small, was still positive.

“(y/n)!” Thor boomed, rattling you from your bunk in the ship, “Are you ‘Holding out for a Hero’?” 

Nebula and Mantis poked their heads out from the bunk above you, ceasing their game of Paper Football to watch for your reply. You rolled your eyes, sliding off your comfy spot to lumber out to Thor.

“Pardon?” Thor cleared his throat as he held out Peter’s Zune. 

“This song speaks of a hero. Do you need one?” You took the player from Thor, scrunching up your nose at the 80’s song. 

“Not currently, but if I do you’d be the first person I’d call for, you can count on that.” you said, scrolling through the song list, looking for a song you preferred more. You missed the proud grin that reached Thor’s face. 

“There,” you pressed ‘Hold the Line’, and tried shooing him off so you could get back to your cozy corner, “Try that one Sparky.” 

“Much thanks.” He said, turning off with the device in his hands. You made it back to the doorway and watched him go.

Thank goodness Peter wasn’t here, otherwise he would’ve snatched that thing from Thor even before he got hold of it. __________

The planet you’d stopped on to replenish supplies was one of the most Earth-Like ones you’d seen since you left Earth. The only major difference was the inhabitant’s fashion choices, and the large array of flowers - they were literally everywhere.

If Rocket hadn’t  latched onto Groot’s shoulder the moment they stepped off-ship, you’d probably have lost the humanoid among the greenery.

“Great Zeus.” You breathed, slight disbelief at the sheer amount of flowers. 

“Who is ‘Great Zeus’?” Mantis asked, you cast a glance back at her.

“Um, basically him,” you pointed at Thor, “But much older, and more horny.” 

“You are going to be more horny when you are older,” Drax said, clapping Thor on the shoulder, “Congratulations!” 

“I meant a -” you stopped yourself, snickering, “- Nevermind.” You step off into the crowds and mazes of flowers, not waiting for Thor - your ‘Supply Buddy’ - to catch up. It never took him long anyway.

“Is Zeus one of your ‘Roman Gods’?” Thor asked, sidling up beside you as you maneuvered around the crowds.

“Nope. Zeus is Greek. In Roman his name is Jupiter.” 

“And in Norse he is Thor.” he said. You looked up at him, cracking a smile. 

“Mhm, I think I prefer Thor over Jupiter or Zeus though.” you said, eyeing a patch of flowers that was inhabited by a small crowd - and they were making flower crowns. 

Thor had no choice but to follow you as you made yourself comfortable among the multi coloured blooms - distracted and off task as ever. But he made no effort to join you, standing off to the side instead. 

You eyed him as you pulled a few flowers into your hand, weaving them together in the same way you remember your mother doing a hundred lifetimes ago. Patting the spot next to you, you grinned.

“Come over here Sparky.” you said, flicking your eyes down to the flower patch to pick a few more. “I need to make sure this fits.” 

You weren’t taking a no. The nickname you gave him in itself spoke volumes. 

He came over, slumping down beside you in the sunlight. You made quick work of the flowers, tying them together neatly before laying it atop Thor’s half pulled-away hair. It fit perfectly. 

“A crown fit for a king, I’d say.” 

“Pity I’m not much of a king.” he said, reaching a hand up to play with some of the petals.

“‘Ζώμεν γαρ ού ως θέλομεν, αλλ’ ως δυνάμεθα’.” you blurted, not once breaking your stare at Thor. His eyes widened, then moved to looking very confused, so you translated. “‘We live, not as we wish to, but as we can’. A Greek Dramatist said that. It was one of the few phrases we knew it greek, and our father taught it to us. He always implored us to do our own best, not the best anyone else can do.” 

All the while you explained, you weaved together another crown, one slightly smaller than the first, yet still almost identical. Tying it off, you sat it on your own head.

“Our best can sometimes be a lot, or a little even if we wish it to be a lot. But it doesn’t matter. Our best is still our best.” Thor looked between your crown, and your eyes. 

“I don’t think it’s that easy.” 

“Because it takes practice.” you plucked another flower, this time sticking it in his beard. “No one gets everything right the first time. Yet everyone does do their best at the time of their first time. Accepting that they did their best - that’s what they struggle with.” 

You poked in more flowers into his beard - your words seemed to plunge him into deep thought - he made no effort  to stop you, if he even noticed. 

After a time, he looked down at your hands, still piling flowers into his flower-filled beard, and smiled lightly.

“How about you make some for the other Asguardians of the Galaxy.” 

“Flower crowns?”

“Yes,” he grinned, “Your best ones.”

[okskz]

More Secrets.

Mia + Stray Kids

mia goes to her secret buddies, hyunjin and minho, to talk about the project with her and elsy

hope you guys enjoy! and please feel free to leave some feedback because it is always appreciated!

[9th Member of Stray Kids]

It had been a couple of days since Elsy had mentioned about doing a duo project with Mia and the idea was still fresh on Mia’s mind. She hadn’t told any of the boys yet, wanting to tell them when she finally decided what she wanted to do.

But that was the thing, Mia didn’t know exactly what she wanted to do. Half of her was wanting to go for it and accept Elsy’s offer while the other half made her feel it would be wrong of her to do so. Of course, she was still focusing on the comeback but her mind kept drifting to Elsy.

There was no doubt she really liked the idea of working with Elsy, but she kept thinking about her members, especially Chan and wondered how they would feel. But she felt the need to at least tell someone.

It was night, and the group had arrived home after doing their music show. Everyone was going to their room to change into their night clothes. Mia stayed back, walking in the kitchen and getting a small snack for herself.

Passing by Hyunjin and Minho’s room, she noticed the two were alone and it gave her the idea to tell them. Although she would of easily talked to Changbin about the project, she thought he could wait instead.

Walking into the room quickly, Mia closed the door shut and locked it right away.

“What are you doing?” Minho asked with confusion written all over him.

“I... need to talk to you guys.”

Hyunjin and Minho looked at each other then back at Mia. “Changbin still loves you if that’s what you’re wanting to know.”

Hyunjin snorted at Minho, while Mia rolled her eyes. “I know that, but that isn’t what I want to talk to you guys about.” The girl went ahead and sat next to Hyunjin on his bed.

“What is it?” Hyunjin asked.

“Well for starters, how would you guys feel if I did other types of activities outside of Stray Kids?”

There was a small pause, both boys thinking for a moment with Mia’s question. “Like solo activities?”

Mia looked at Hyunjin. “Not exactly solo activities. I would be working with someone else.”

“I mean, I personally wouldn’t care.” Minho started. “You do you, nothing wrong with doing stuff outside of the group.”

Hyunjin slowly nodded. “Where you going with asking us this?”

Mia slowly breathed out. “A couple of days ago when Elsy showed up to our music show she told me of the idea of us two debuting together as like a girl project. She talked to Jyp about it and he agreed. Now she’s just waiting for my answer.”

“Hey, that’s awesome.” Hyunjin smiled. “You should totally do it.”

Mia was a little surprised by his answer. “Really? You think so? You guys wouldn’t be like weird about it?”

Minho snorted. “Why would we be weird about it? You got a great opportunity and you should go for it. We’re not going to stop you, Mia.”

“If anything, we’re going to show our full support to you.”

Mia couldn’t help but smile at the two. She felt a little relieve from hearing their words, which only made her figure out her answer for Elsy. That was until she remembered her other members.

“You don’t think the others would be upset?”

Minho took a second to reply. “I don’t think so. I mean, Jeongin loves you so he’ll one hundred percent show support. Same goes for Jisung, Felix and Seungmin.”

“And, Changbin’s your boyfriend, I think he would be thrilled.” Hyunjin said. “Speaking of him, why didn’t you go to him?”

Mia slightly shrugged. “I don’t know, just needed some friends for now.”

“Fair enough.”

Mia sighed. “What about Chan?”

Both boys began staring at each other and looked at Mia. “I think he will understand if you talk to him.” Minho said.

“Do you think he’ll be upset? You’ve seen the way he got over the rumors of me wanting to leave you guys. Or when Yeji and I talked about me being in her group. How do you think he’ll feel now that I really am going to start doing things outside of the group?”

All three became silence once more. The boys knowing exactly how Chan reacts when it came to Mia.

“Well.” Minho began. “At the end of the day, this is you and your choice. It doesn’t matter how the others, especially Chan will feel. Do you really want to do this project with Elsy?”

Mia wasn’t hesitant to nod her head. She truly wanted to work with the one person she always looked up to.

“Then go for it. Don’t let your thoughts about how the others will feel stop you. Who knows when another great opportunity like this one will come to you again. We know you have a great heart and like to think about others, but please, think about yourself and agree to this project.”

Mia smiled at Minho, while Hyunjin patted her shoulder. “And if you’re scared on how Chan hyung may react, just know we got your back. Just like when he found out about you and Bin.”

“Thanks, guys. That was kind of the reason why I came to you guys in the first place, but please can we just keep this between us three?”

Minho groaned, throwing his head back. “Ugh, more secrets?”

“I could barely survive with you and Changbin and now I have to keep quiet about this?”

Mia laughed. “Don’t worry, it won’t be as long as Changbin and I. I’ll tell them eventually.”

“You said that last time and it became months.”

Mia had grabbed one of Hyunjin’s pillows and threw it across, hitting Minho in the face. “I promise. I will tell them. After Elsy and I get started.”

“When will that be?” Hyunjin questioned.

“After our comeback promotions are over.”

“Sounds good. I can’t wait to hear all about it.” Hyunjin grinned.

“I’m actually really excited about this project now.”

[beevean]

3 years of Sonic Forces, the biggest love-hate relationship of the series

[note: this is the translation of @latin-dr-robotnik​’s article]

Today is an almost special day, today it’s the anniversary of a rather peculiar game in this series.

On this day 3 years ago, the (to this day) newest game of Sonic Team was released: Sonic Forces. After waiting a year and a half since its announcement (and four years since Sonic Lost World’s release), it was finally time to see what the last chapter of the main series had in store for us, and the results were… okay.

There were so many warning signs in the months before the release: a marketing campaign that was noticeably absent until the very last month, opting to focus more on Mania (let’s not forget that we still get videos about Mania even after the game’s release, not so much about Forces), which added to the uncertainty caused by the footage already available at the time, which ended up being confirmed a few days before the release, when some people managed to get the game early and streamed a good chunk of the game. While one of the leakers was just a bad player, the quality of the game itself was put into question…

A harsh reality

I’m not going to soften up my words here: for being the latest Sonic game, in a post-Generations and post-Boom era, Sonic Forces fell short of everything it tried to do (if it tried). Anything positive comes from the roots of something negative, and in the context of this anniversary, after 3 years without knowing a thing about the next game, it only emphasizes the frustration and the disappointment it caused.

Sonic Forces promised a world devastated by Eggman, an epic battle to save the world and win against a powerful enemy. However, of so many promises, not even the first one, the most basic one, was kept: it was an empty takeover, explained poorly (because they didn’t even show it, they told it through text) and developed even worse. All the potential of such an exciting world was thrown away as soon as the game didn’t even try to explain some of its most important questions (like why Green Hill was in the process of desertification); to this day we still don’t know what the fuck does the Phantom Ruby do, in Mania it has some powers, in Forces it has different powers, and it’s not clear where does it come from or if it’s more powerful than the Chaos Emeralds. It is disappointing to not be able to discover all this untapped potential, and it is so disappointing that one of the oldest works on my blog was an attempt to rewrite the beginning of the game, give it more context and a better footing to start the adventure.

This old leak dates back to 2016, when the game was barely announced, and surprisingly it ended up being real, very very real. Even the title “Sonic Wars” is true, and if you don’t believe me you can open the game’s folder and read the names that appear. Source.

The confusion and disappointment don’t end here. If you have read the mess of opinions and emotions that is my analysis of the game [translator’s note: the link is in Spanish], you may have noticed that one of the biggest questions never answered was, what’s up with the order of the levels and why is it so confusing? Between 2016 and 2017, there were some leaks and statements going around places like Sonic Stadium that confirmed that the game went through numerous changes, not just in the plot, but in the levels as well. Right now I can’t find these old posts (I’m surprised that the fandom didn’t archive them), but it was said that the original idea for Forces, then still called Sonic Wars, was to shine the spotlight even more on the Avatar, or Buddy as it was called; the decision was unanimously rejected by SEGA of America and Europe, forcing SEGA of Japan to order that the game was modified. In fact, I remember that the leak that mentioned this meeting between the SEGA branches was rather bad, with a very tense atmosphere and lots of disagreements.

This is the closest thing to a confirmation of the scrapped plot that I could find. At least it’s proof that I’m not crazy and that Forces was indeed more focused on the Avatar. Source.

The mess that is the order of the levels, the questionable presence of characters like Classic Sonic, and some of the details of one of the leaked scrapped scripts such as that apparently they considered to reintroduce Mephiles – all of this shapes the network of a mediocre game, created under the premise of “from the creators of Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations” but taking all the wrong parts of those two games, using an engine that has been proven to be less efficient than Unleashed’s and Generations (and I’m not talking about the Hedgehog Engine, which is the graphical engine – I’m talking about the game and physics engine of Lost World), and with short levels and… polarizing bosses, to say the least.

The result is a game that shows a lot of potential, but in practice it doesn’t live up to it at all, be it for its own limitations (being rushed like hell) or for a noticeable lack of attention to details; it didn’t succeed in creating a cohesive and coherent world, with levels that could be worthy of what has been learned in these years. This is the reality of Sonic Forces.

And yet...

Despite everything I’ve just said, despite all the unacceptable errors that Forces made, and despite all the terribly wasted potential… we still talk about this game.

There are many reasons. On one hand, Forces and Mania have been the latest Sonic games for 3 years now, which is tragic in on itself (Team Sonic Racing disappeared from the face of the Earth); on the other, we still talk about Forces because there is something that still attracts us to it.

It’s not the same attraction we feel for Sonic ‘06, though. Forces is not a complete, almost-franchise-killing disaster like ‘06 was, it’s not a giant meme that spread from the fandom to popular circles and internet figures such as the Game Grumps. People have been trying to fix Forces’ mistakes, but not on the same scale as projects that tries to completely recreate ‘06 with a radically different engine, or fix each and every bug in the original version. Forces is nowhere near as infamous, and so the discussion goes in different directions.

Episode Shadow is still one of the most entertaining parts of the game, and one of the most important as well, as Shadow himself hadn’t been a playable character since… well, Sonic ‘06.

On one hand, there is a cult surrounding Infinite, one that I personally don’t agree with, and I don’t know if it’s bigger than Mephiles’ 15 years ago, but I do know that it exists and it’s still present. One of the ways Sonic Team tried to “go back to its roots” was to introduce a character like Infinite in a plot that was supposed to be “more serious”. Final results notwithstanding, Infinite managed to win the heart of a sizeable portion of the fandom, which still wishes for his return and development.

On the other hand, there is the Avatar, our personal OC with an impressive customization system, which allows us complete freedom, to the point that we could recreate characters introduced in Sonic IDW like Whisper the Wolf. What at first looked like a questionable idea, nothing more than a source of memes, ended up becoming the smartest idea Forces had, with a gameplay style that, in my opinion, retains a little of the old Adventure spirit, and even had some of the most fun levels in the game. While Classic Sonic ruined one third of the game, and Sonic was somewhat mediocre compared to his past feats, the Avatar’s gameplay style manages to keep its quality throughout the game, despite the fact that the plot keeps revolving around their presence instead of focusing on the other aspects of saving the world, which is... well, a little unfortunate.

Even I, who I’m not really into Sonic OCs, had a lot of fun recreating some of the characters.

And finally we get to the best part of the entire game: the music.

Even after three years my opinions haven’t changed much. Forces’ music isn’t perfect, it has its low moments (I feel like I’m the only one who doesn’t like Light of Hope) and some disasters (F*ded H*lls lol), but overall it has good intentions and it has some pretty good highlights.

The use of synths, as overdone and criticized as it is, was an honest attempt to follow a trend present in older games, like Sonic Unleashed, where this instrument symbolized Eggman’s influence. An interesting touch that, while wasn’t completely successful, is appreciated.

I still say that Fighting Onward is one of the best themes of the entire game, and Spaceport as the level benefits from having it.

Then there’s the best part of the entire soundtrack: the return of vocal themes, such as the main theme, the villain theme, and some of the level themes. I cannot explain with enough words how much fans were waiting for this, and it was brilliantly handled by the advertising campaign: a preview of the instrumental version of Fist Bump, a short peek of the Avatar themes, and finally the reveal of some of the major themes. It’s not surprising that it became one of the most appreciated parts by the fans. From the iconic intro of Fading World to the subtle nod to Green Hill in Set In Motion, every theme has something that makes it stand out from the rest of the game.

But even so, the rest of the music in the game has redeemable points as well. Forces in general distances itself from the music styles previously used in the series, especially from the variety of incredible sounds of Unleashed or even Lost World; but from time to time it still recognizably Sonic, like in the half-Megaman, half-Runners Network Terminal, in the extremely epic and underrated Last Judgement, or in the always-mentioned Ghost Town (not the only “good” Classic theme in my opinion, but the first one that comes to mind). Even the remixed Zavok theme sound better in Forces than in its original version.

A love-hate relationship

At the end of the day, the only thing left I could say is that Forces is still one of the most polarizing games in the series. 3 years aren’t enough to heal some of the wounds left by the 4-year hiatus, plus the disappointment of the time, but at the same time these 3 years kept alive the memory of its best moment, the discussions about the music and the uncountable groups of fans reunited to share OCs like the fandom has always done.

In this anniversary, I thought it would be interesting to revisit a bit the peculiar relationship I have with this game, as we wait for a new hype cycle for the next game. And maybe, just maybe, that will be the moment Forces will fade from our collective memory, at least for a decade, until new fans will look back to the good and bad this game has done. And I hope that, in the future, the situation of the franchise will also be different from what it has been these last years, in a good way of course.

This is all we have left of Forces today, a game that did not manage to capitalize on its opportunities, and a game that shames the legacy of the Unleashed-Colors-Generations era; but also a game that had some genuine, interesting ideas, and a different musical direction, one that (with some exceptions) was what the fans wanted. It’s a polarizing game, it’s a love-hate relationship.

[stonerbughead]

Maria watches friday night lights (#36)

5x13, the series finale i have heard nothing but good things about - I made it y’all! *wipes tear* this is a show i will definitely rewatch! It definitely feels like the kind of show that’s so layered that every time you go back you’ll pick up something new. I love shows like that.

i haven’t been on tumblr on my computer in a long time but im gonna go through and add “read more”s to all of these recaps! 

(thanks to anyone who read these nonsense recaps! if you enjoyed these...in addition to my currently-on-hiatus riverdale podcast @bodysuitsforbughead, I have another teen drama-centered podcast in the works, follow @LeftyTeenDrama on Twitter and @leftistteendrama on Instagram to get updates when it launches! I’m taking a break on working on it till i move but it’s gonna be a big part of my 2021 projects. I’ve already recorded one episode with two of my favorite people in the world and it’s gonna be amazing. It will be about a variety of teen dramas, but FNL will definitely be included.)

and without further ado, my final FNL ramblings under the cut:

And we open with one last montage of shots around Dillon from a car, with a “Christmas in Texas” song playing. Amazing. 

Oh wow, I love the “FIVE DAYS TILL THE CHAMPIONSHIP” vibe. The build-up is already here. A shot of Julie in the stands watching practice! 

It’s super uncomfortable that people are talking to Vince about his “future teammates” on the Panthers before the post-season is even over.  “I don’t really wanan talk about that. I want to talk about how the East Dillon Lions are gonna win State.” “Is that a promise?” These Texas sports journalists are WILD. this is a teenage boy whose school’s funding just got cut right before the biggest game of his life! Can we have some sympathy?!

“I hear they’re taking the cream of the crop for the Superteam so I’m gonna be honest with you, what are you gonna do?” EXCUSE ME SIR? I repeat, TEENAGE BOY. Tinker’s response of “you’re an asshole” and storming away was more than appropriate!!!

“No comment”ing his way out of there like a champ.

Ah, the age-old tradition of decorating a Christmas tree while arguing about a five-year football coach contract in Dillon or a dean of admissions job offer at a prestigious Philadelphia college. Julie’s just sitting there with Gracie like ooooh boy 

“Here is where we put our tree, not Philadelphia! It’s a Texas tree.” OMG STOP IT. Lol Julie putting her hands over her ears.

YAY MATT SARACEN IS AT THE DOOOOORRRRR im so excited

Wow I did not expect this proposal to come that quickly into the episode! Like i knew it was coming in this episode but aw. They’re so soft! Just like, oh i’ve been thinking about you nonstop since our perfect Chicago tryst and oh look here’s grandma’s ring let me casually get down on one knee in the town where we fell in love. And after she was just talking about how much she misses Matt to Tyra the episode before? That “yes” she gave feels so certain because of it. Aw.

The grandma’s ring really fucks me up because you know how close Julie and Grandma Saracen have gotten over the years. My heart!

“Oh my God, your dad must’ve flipped.” “...What do you mean?” OH NO Eric Taylor is totally the type to care. “...When you asked him to marry me.” Oh I knew this proposal was too early in the episode, im dying!

“You need to go man to man.” Ugh Julie i liked Matt’s plan of just going and telling them much better. His look of fear when he repeats “man to man.” dead. 

Wow no theme song??? That’s how you know it’s gonna be a long series finale!

Andddd here we are, a bickering Riggins “I may or may not be going to Alaska.” “Is it because you raw dogged Tyra last night?” i literally gasped.

LMAO Mindy trying to say Tim and Tyra are incest now that Mindy and Billy are married and then Tim and Billy immediately being like “nope, no blood lines, that’s not how incest works.” Someone should send that memo to all those anti bughead stans about bughead and falice

“What do you think about me taking Stevie for the day?” “I’m fine with that. There’s no going back, I’m going to get the bag.” LOL Mindy spoken like a true parent also YES to Tim and Stevie spending time together.

Poor Jess not realizing that asking Eric if she can follow him to the Panthers is a much bigger question than she thinks se’s asking.

AWW Tim and Stevie at Grandma Collette’s. How cute. 

“Seven’s back in town?” “Yeah, he and Julie got engaged!” 

Tim/Tyra and Matt/Julie double date?? Aw I love that Tyra knows that Matt and Julie got engaged. I really love Tyra and Julie’s friendship. 

I’m laughing really hard at Matt’s speech to Eric trying to ask permission. This is so funny. 

Eric’s like, “is this kid serious rn?” 

Not to be that northern bitch but don’t kids get married at 18/19 all the fucking time in Texas?? I feel like it’s more common in even more rural parts of like...any state.

“The answer to your question is gonna be no today, it’s gonna be no tomorrow, and it’s gonna be no until the sun burns out.” LMAO wow i didn’t see this coming

“This was really just a courtesy, we were hoping for your blessing.” YES MATT.

OH BOY Eric did not just try to speak FOR his daughter, im not about it. “My daughter’s answer to you is ‘no.’” That’s some patriarchal shit right there.

“We’ll never know if we’re East Coast people if we don’t try it!” “We have a MUCH BIGGER problem.” Dude, it’s Matt Saracen, the softest boy who has loved your daughter for years, i actually think the fundamental decision of where you and Tami continue your future might be slightly more pressing. 

“I don’t know why you’re yelling at me! I think we agree on this!” IM SCREAMINGGGG 

Aw, Tami getting teary-eyed at Grandma Saracen’s ring. “It’s just, y’all are so young.” I know but this is a TV show universe so we let teen marriage slide for the right couples, ok. 

Tami and Eric wanna take Matt and Julie to A CONVERSATION DINNER??? This is gonna be so funny. 

Aw, Vince got his dad a ticket to state? “I want you to be there.” if this fucker doesn’t just come and shut his mouth

Oh wow Becky’s mom is finally coming back? And yay Becky’s finally over her Tim crush. “So friends?” “I say family.” AWWW MY HEART.

“You guys were our age when you got married.” ARE YOU SERIOUS? “It was a different time.” Y’all have no leg to stand on here.

“Marriage requires maturity.” Says the man who won’t let his wife take a huge job offer. What, who said that? (Okay the way Tami’s watching Eric give this speech about compromise, thinking she’s thinking the same thing.)

“You guys got married when you were my age, and how many times did you move? How many different things you’ve gone through and look how you’ve made it work. You guys are my inspiration.” AW. I wish my parents had a stable enough marriage to be able to say that LOL but nope.

OH NO poor Tami getting up from the table because she’s emotional! Because she’s clearly always thought of her marriage that way too but maybe not lately AH

Eric, babe, that’s your cue to follow. 

Oh shit, Jess’s family is moving to Dallas? Well, damn.

Eric saw Vince not take a ticket for his dad and came to his watering hole to hand deliver it? “Young man gets a chance like that maybe once in a lifetime.” and mic drop, walk away.

Luke casuaklly meeting Becky’s mom for the first time while coming by to try to win Becky back. “I love you. I’m so sorry.” AWWW. growth!

YES cheers to Matt and Julie! “Here’s to Mr. and Mrs. Saracen.”

“Always thought you’d be the first person to say that.” AW

Yes halfway through college, go Tyra!

Awwww, Matt being like “let’s dance” and pulling Julie up. So cute. Yes, Tim asking Tyra to dance. 

“I got plans.” “I don’t.” OMG is Tim saying he’ll just follow Tyra? Damn.

Why tf is Buddy calling Eric first thing in the morning to tell him about Buddy Jr.’s cast and “staying here el permanente” and GETTING HIM TO SIGN A CONTRACT BEFORE THE GAME? Y’all are shady as fuck!

I love that seeing the Braemore papers made him stop, tell Buddy off, and not make a decision in that moment. What’s gonna happen???

“I won’t be a part of your Superteam after all.” Hopefully Eric won’t be either! Aw Jess thanking him “for the greatest experience of his life.” “I think it’s been mine too.” AW.

Eric’s gonna give a coach in Dallas a good word for Jess? So beautiful. Yesss!

AW Julie and Matt decorating the Saracen Christmas tree, and Grandma trying to get Julie to wear her old wedding dress!

Emotional at this hug between Julie and Mrs. Saracen. “I love you.” “I love you too.”

Awww Vince finally being glad that Jess is part of the team...at the moment when it’s about to end.

Yess Tyra and Tim picnicking on the land? 

And YES to Tyra going into politics, I could see it! “Along the lines of Mrs. T. Except bigger.” YES GURL.

“I’ve been in love with you since I was five years old.” AWWW that is so precious. 

“I’m gonna build a house exactly where we’re sitting. I’m gonna get a job. And I’m never gonna do anything illegal for the rest of my life.” Oh, Tim. my heart!!!

“Maybe one day, our dreams can merge together.” THAT’S SO BEAUTIFUL. What more does one really want? Oh, these beautiful life-filled shots of them drinking beer on the land where Tim wants to build a house. Art!

Oh shit, Eric’s racing to get to Santa in time to be there with Tami and Gracie?! “You scared me half to death. What’s going on?” 

“I turned the contract down. It’s your turn. I want to go to Philadelphia. Will you take me to Philadelphia with you, please?” YESSSSSSSSSSSSS what they deserve! What Tami deserves!!!! My heart!!!!

Ugh, the imagery as they get to State is amazing. The boys taking in the field, the players suited up praying and getting in the zone beforehand. The screaming in the stands waiting for them.

“You may never know how proud I am of you.” “You changed my life, coach.” AW.

Eric’s pre-game prayer overlaying the image of the Lions bursting out onto the field! Yes yes yes!

The way they slowed everything down with just music, and focused in on the faces of so many characters - Vince’s dad showing up, Eric and Tami saluting one another from stand to sideline, Becky cheering in the stands excitedly for Luke, Matt and Julie holding each other, Buddy on the sidelines screaming, Vince’s mom jumping up and down - just absolute perfection. 

And we’re back in, with actual in-scene sound at 26-21 with 3 seconds left on the clock??? Jesus!

AH and every single character watching the football fly in the air, WOW the DRAMA.

Holy shit, they fast-forwarded to one of Eric’s players in Philly catching a football eight months later in Philly??? THIS SHOW IS SO GOOD. WOW.

Tami looks like such a badass strutting around campus!

YES Tinker is on the Panthers! Take that, bullying reporter! 

Aw, the East Dillon Lions sign coming down. :( feels.

Nooo Luke don’t go to the military! Noooo I hate that. Poor Becky. They’re the exact type of couple who gets caught up in that really sad cycle - too poor to really have many other options, so the whole “free college when i get out!” thing starts to look really attractive. smh.

But i love how they used the championship ring he gave Becky as a way to signal that the East Dillon Lions did, indeed, win the state championship eight months earlier...and that Jess is wearing the ring on the sidelines of a new field where she’s working with the coaches! amazing!

Yay Matt and Julie live in Matt’s beautiful Chicago apartment? Perfection. They really look so good in that city together. 

New beginnings in a new city together for both Tami and Eric AND Matt and Julie? I’m living! It’s what they deserve!

Tim and Billy building Tim’s house and drinking beers! “Texas forever.” “Texas forever.” MY HEART.

“Clear eyes, full hearts.” SILENCE. “Ah, we’ll deal with that later.” LOL

Yesss Tami coming out to meet Eric on the field!!!

“Ready to go home?” “Yeah, let’s go.”

And the lights go off on the field. End show. AMAZING. Truly, an epic series finale! An epic show! I will definitely rewatch and i am so glad i finally did! Thanks to anyone who gave a shit about my ramblings.

[mermaidxatxheart]

Bucky the Ninja Hunter {1/?}

Alright you guys. I’m on the struggle bus big time. So, I’ve decided to post this story in (hopefully) three parts, as sort of a beginning, middle, and end. This is for @captain-s-rogers​ and her Psych challenge. I love this show and couldn’t resist the temptation to write for it, especially since I basically speak in psych quotes. My prompt will be the first bold below. I’ve also incorporated other quotes, simply because I couldn’t help myself. Anything I’ve directly taken from the show will be in bold so there’s no confusion. I’ve had fun coming up with this idea and writing this. (To those that have sent me requests, I am still working on them. I’m trying to juggle all my works at once, so just bear with me. I promise I’ll get them out.)

Pairing: No real pairing, just Sam and Bucky being idiotic best friends.

Word Count: 2846

Warnings: swearing, murder, stupidity, ninja movie references (mostly in the future)

Prompt: “How can you just eat when there’s a dead guy lying there?” “What, is that rude? Am I supposed to share?”

Part One

 The office is quiet, no music plays, just the sound of a magazine page turning occasionally. The afternoon light filters in through a big bay window, illuminating two standard desks across from each other. A kitchenette is towards the back, mostly a sink, upper cabinets, counter and a fridge. There’s a lobby space for people waiting, able to be closed off by a door. 

 The big paper ball sails through the air and bounces off the plastic neon orange ring. Bucky scoffs at his best friend’s terrible shot while he, himself, flips through some food magazine. His stomach is rumbling, their take out can’t be delivered fast enough. 

 “Oh, you think you can do better?” Sam taunts. He should know better by now.

 “Of course, I can.” He flips a page about barbecue, trying to ignore his hunger pains. 

 “Put your money where your mouth is.” Sam challenges.

 “No.” Bucky replies, propping his feet up on the corner of his desk. 

 “Because you can’t do it.” 

 “Sam, I could easily make the shot. That’s why I can’t take your money.” Bucky says with a shake of his head.

“Prove it.”

 “Prove it? What are you? Five?” He pushes himself up anyway, determined to show his best friend wrong. He takes the big ball and lines himself up to take the shot. He knows Sam will do something to try and distract him, so he steels his nerves.

 Just as he shoots the ball, Sam drops a thick book on the floor with a loud bang! The ball sails cleanly through the hoop and Bucky doesn’t even flinch.

 “Alright.” Sam changes tactics. “Sudden death. Trivia challenge. Science-” 

 “Philipp Lenard.” Bucky replies confidently.

 “Damn. How do you always do that?” Sam grumbles. 

 “It’s a gift.”

 There’s a knock at the front door and Bucky pumps his fist. “Thank god, I’m starving.” He pulls open the door and accepts the Chinese food. 

 “Finally.” Sam sighs happily. They both dig into their food and Bucky tilts his head, something piquing his interest. 

 “You know, it’s been a while since we’ve worked on a case together.” He says thoughtfully. 

 “Yeah. Wonder when the police are gonna hit rock bottom to need you.” Sam smirks. 

 Bucky reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his confiscated police radio. “How about now?”

 “Does Strange know you have another one of those?”

 “Probably not. Wanna go? This one sounds interesting.”

 “We just got our food.” Sam complains.

 “Dude, they’re in to go containers. We can eat them on the go.” 

 “Just once, Bucky, I wanna be able to sit and eat.” Sam sighs.

 “Next time.” Bucky promises with a lie.

 ***

 The front of the apartment has been cordoned off with police tape, a crowd gathering out front. Two of Bucky’s favorite beat cops are on duty, keeping the crowd from entering: Clint Barton and Scott Lang. 

 “Hey, Bucky.” Clint says, shaking his hand. 

 “Hey, buddy. What’s good? Mind if we go up and offer our help?” He says easily. 

 “I dunno. Strange is in a bad mood.” Scott chimes in.

 “Oh, it’s cool. He won’t even know we were there.” Bucky says, already heading for the door.

 “Well, I guess they could use the extra help.” Scott says with a half shrug.

 “Good man.”

 ***

 Inside the apartment is a mess. Papers strewn about everywhere, books stacked precariously in corners; and that’s just in the entryway. Bucky and Sam edge their way around the mess, Bucky taking note of every little thing he sees. He never knows what’s going to be important later.

 They move through what appears to be a living room, but the only piece of furniture visible is a faded leather couch. Artifacts and knickknacks are covering every visible surface that are plastered with papers. 

 Crime scene unit guys are trying to examine for evidence but there’s so much junk in the way, they’re having a hard time of it. They move into the office where the body is laying on the floor, ready to be moved to the morgue. 

 Ligature marks around his neck, purplish bruises just under his jaw, catch Bucky’s eye. They’re where you would expect a hangman’s noose to land, but there’s red irritation marks below them, covering the man’s throat. 

 Bucky tilts his head, realizing that they form the shape of a hand. He wasn’t hanged, he was strangled. Sam nudges his arm to get him to move out of the way of a crime scene guy and Bucky spots an open planner on the desk. 

 Dates are marked out and planned. Dinner, dentist, several dates blocked out for a trip abroad. He’s just returned the week before. 

 “Can we get out of here? You know how I feel about dead bodies.” Sam mutters.

 “Relax.” Bucky rolls his eyes, taking a bite of his food.

 Sam glares at him. “How can you just eat when there’s a dead guy lying there?” He gestures.

 Bucky looks down, confused. “What, is that rude? Am I supposed to share?” 

 “Oh, what are you two doing here?” A man grumbles loudly behind them. 

 Bucky turns to see the lead homicide detective, Stephen Strange. He breaks into a wide grin at the man who’s scowl gets even bigger. “Detective.” He nods. And then he sees his junior detective behind him. “Y/N, I’ve missed you.” He says cheekily and you roll your eyes at him. One of the officers hands Strange a clipboard with notes on it. 

 Strange reads over the notes as Bucky looks around, seeing little indents in the wall, all the same size, all equally spaced. Strange bumps past him, probably trying to show his dominance, but it’s just rude. So, Bucky doesn’t feel bad about swiping the pages surreptitiously as he passes. Strange doesn’t even notice. 

 The indents are 15cm apart equally, there are 18 sets of them scattered throughout the apartment all exactly the same. That number triggers something in Bucky’s memory, but he’ll have to break into Sam’s apartment later to be sure.

 There’s only a brief mention on the paper about the irritation marks, they don’t put much importance on it. 

 “What have we got, Detective?” Someone asks and Bucky turns to see Chief Tony Stark. 

 “Dead guy is Peter Quill. The apartment is his, Y/N is gonna look into his background when we get back to the station. Looks like a suicide, Chief. You can see the rope burns around his neck, rope was still around the rafter.” Strange says, pointing to the ceiling. He glances down at the clipboard to check the notes only to find them gone. He glances up and yanks them out of Bucky’s hand.

 “I’m sensing that this isn’t a suicide.” Bucky counters. His eyes wander to the artifacts around the room, most are Chinese and Japanese in origin, and most are replicas. The trip he just returned from being to both China and Japan, the marks on the wall. He has an idea.

 “Oh, are you?” Strange asks sarcastically. 

 “Yes.” He turns to Stark. “If I can draw a picture of the killer right now, would that be enough to get us on this case and keep it open?” He asks.

 “Absolutely.” Stark answers.

 “Come on, Chief.” Strange grumbles. 

 Bucky grabs the clipboard out of his hands and starts to draw while Strange argues his suicide angle. Doors locked from the inside, would be impossible to lift such a big guy into the rafters by himself, yada yada yada.

 “Time’s up, Barnes. Whaddaya got?” Stark asks, crossing his arms. 

 “Okay, it’s not pretty, I didn’t have time to work out all the shading, if I had my prismacolor pencils, I could have done a much better job. Sam, you know what I’m talking about.” 

 Sam nods empathetically. 

 “Barnes!” Stark snaps.

 “Our killer is this guy.” He turns the clipboard around to reveal a ninja, only spot of the face visible are the eyes. “This guy right here.” They all look confused and Bucky can’t understand why, everything lines up. “What? Fear not the weapon, but the hand that wields it.”

 Strange chuckles happily as he takes back the clipboard and Stark points to the door for them to leave. Sam is glaring at him as they start to exit the crime scene. 

 “Oh, one more thing.” Bucky starts, turning back around. “He was strangled before being strung up.” He says before dramatically leaving the building. 

 ***

 Sam slams the door behind them and crosses to his desk. Bucky sits down, getting comfortable. 

 “What’s the matter?” Bucky sighs, watching his best friend storm around the office.

 “You almost closed down our agency with that little act of yours, Bucky.” He snaps. 

 Bucky sits up, offended. “Me? You’re the one spending all your extra time at your little side project.”

 Sam raises an eyebrow, hand covering his heart. “You mean my real job? Soon to be my only job?”

 “Sam, don’t be a gooey chocolate chip cookie. I’m gonna be right. Everything lines up. He traveled to Asia, all that art and stuff is Asian. Practically ties him to ninjas already.” Bucky sits back in his chair. “Wait, where are you going?”

 “I have to finish my route. You’re on your own for the rest of the day.” Sam says, grabbing his briefcase and heading for the door.

 “You can’t go now. What if the Chief calls?” Bucky implores. 

 “He won’t. Not after that stunt.” Sam rolls his eyes and then he’s out the door. 

 Bucky waits a solid five minutes, testing to see if his best friend comes back inside. He doesn’t. So, Bucky is on the move. He grabs his lock pick set and mounts his motorcycle, heading for Sam’s apartment. 

 Sam’s apartment is easier to get into than he thought, although Bucky personally believes he should have his own key. Sam doesn’t trust him, but clearly trusts everyone else by leaving a key in a fake rock outside his second floor apartment. 

 He gets inside and starts searching for the box he knows Sam has. He finds it in his study. Why Sam even has a study, Bucky doesn’t know. 

 He pulls off the lid and inside are a dozen different sizes and shapes of throwing stars. He pulls out his tape measure and measures the distances between the points on all the different sizes. One of them matches exactly to the measurement taken from the apartment. 

 Knew it. 

 Now how to tell Strange that? 

 “Barnes, how do you keep getting into my apartment? And why are you here?” Sam sighs from behind him. 

 “Sam, please. A secret key in a rock is far less effective on a second floor balcony. And I needed your throwing stars.”

 Sam scoffs. “They’re called hira shuriken. And they’re not a weapon of ninjas. They’re used by the samurai.”

 “Huh. So Hollywood is wrong. Who would have thought?” Bucky tilts his head and Sam rolls his eyes. 

 “Anyone who’s paid attention. They get most everything wrong.”

 “Okay, mister know it all. Can samurais move like ninjas?”

 “I don’t see why not. They’re both incredibly skilled.” Sam shrugs. 

 “Great. I need to get down to the station.” Bucky takes one last look at the star before turning back to his best friend.

 “And quit breaking into my place.” Sam adds.

 “If you would give me a key, I wouldn’t have to.” 

 ***

 “Strange, I just got the background report on Quill. It’s pretty interesting, but I don’t think you’re gonna like what it means for us.” You say, leaving a voicemail for your senior detective. “I’ll tell you all the details when I see you next.” You say, hanging up.

 You aren’t interested in making that phone call to tell Bucky he might have been right. There’ll be no living with him after this. Sure, he’s a laugh to have around, and it’s always amusing to watch him get under Strange’s skin. That man is so uptight, it’s always funny to see him riled up. And yeah, sure, Bucky flirts with you, always having this way of making you feel so special. But you aren’t sure you can trust any of it. He’s always such a prankster, everything is a joke to him. So, you take it all with a grain of salt. But he’s not so bad, kind of charming even.

 The door to the bullpen flies open and Bucky comes stumbling in, his eyes unfocused as he waves his arms around so he doesn’t walk into anything. Of course, that doesn’t stop him from walking into several officers, a chair, your desk and swiping all your papers on the floor.

 “Barnes!” You complain.

 “Y/N? Y/N! Thank god!” He calls loudly and you roll your eyes. 

 What was that about him being charming? That’s a lie.

 You start picking up your papers. “What do you want, Bucky?”

 “I’m having a vision! I see something from the crime scene, I need paper!” He reaches out, his eyes rolled up towards the ceiling and before he can do any more damage to your desk, you thrust a notepad and pencil in his hand. 

 He starts scribbling on the paper as you get your file in order again. You debate the merit of tripping him while he can’t see, but that would probably border on cruel. 

 You move your file out of his disastrous reach and he slumps against the column near your desk with an anguished moan. He drops the notepad on your desk and you pick it up, looking at the impressive recreation of a throwing star. 

 “What is this?” You ask, showing him. 

 “I’m seeing them thrown around that apartment. That’s what made those puncture marks in the walls.” He says, pushing himself back up. 

 You feel your pulse rising, getting excited before you slump. “Doesn’t matter.” You hand him back the notepad, sitting back down in your chair. 

 “What do you mean is doesn’t matter? There was someone else in that apartment.” He insists. 

 “So far, it’s been ruled a suicide. We have the murder weapon-the rope he hung himself with.” You shake your head. “We know he traveled to China and Japan a lot. He could have gotten one of those hira shuriken in one of his trips and made those holes himself. There’s no proof that there was anyone else in that apartment.” You shrug. “Sorry, Bucky.”

 He stares at you and you remember why you don’t mind him hanging around so much. He cares about these cases. Maybe he cares mostly about being right, or he just can’t hear the word no, but right now he looks so offended. 

 “What about the handprint on his neck?” He asks.

 “The coroner hasn’t turned in his report yet. We’re still waiting. Ultimately, he’ll make the decision if it’s suicide or homicide.” 

 “Alright. I hate waiting, but I guess I can wait. How long do you think? Like, twenty minutes?”

 “Bucky, it takes almost a day. They have to wait for a tox screen, that takes almost eighteen hours itself.”

 “What? That’s outrageous.” 

 “Just go home. If anything turns up, I’m sure we’ll call you.” You say, patting him on the shoulder. His big broad shoulders slump as he nods. 

 “Sure.” He turns to leave, the wind out of his sails a little. 

 A small part of you wants to believe him. He has a nose for these sorts of things, and he always has such conviction. But you just know that one time you’re gonna let your guard down and believe him and it’s gonna blow up in your face. 

 Better to wait for the facts.

 Bucky

 The industrial lights flicker overhead, the grimy mint green tiles making the dim hallway feel cold and unwelcoming. 

 But then, death is never welcomed. 

 Bucky finds the correct door and pushes it open. The overwhelming, nose burning smell of antiseptic hits him and he wrinkles his nose. The least the medical examiner could do is light some candles, maybe spray some febreeze. 

 “Mr. Barnes. What can I do for you this fine day?” He asks from his office doorway.

 “That body they just brought in today,” Bucky starts. 

 “Ah, the suicide.” He nods and moves over to the coolers, pulling out the right one. 

 “I’m sensing there’s more to it. I don’t think it’s a suicide.”

 “Oh? I’m listening.”

 “I’m feeling a hand around his neck. Would there be any way to see that if there aren’t any marks on the skin?” Bucky asks.

 “Oh absolutely. Hit the lights.” He instructs, turning around to get something from his office. 

 Bucky flips the switch and it gets pitch black in the room. But then a blueish glow is coming from behind him. He turns around as the doc shines the light over the neck of the body. 

 “Oh boy, you’re right.” He looks up at Bucky. “Here, hold this.” He thrusts the light wand into his hands and rushes to get his camera. He snaps several photos while directing Bucky where to angle the light. 

 “Holy shit. I would have missed that.” He mutters, looking up at Bucky. “That’s some gift you have, kid.” He says, clapping Bucky on the arm. 

 “So, it’s officially a murder?” Bucky asks. 

 “Officially a murder.” He agrees.

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[just-dreaming-marvel]

CHAPTER TWO - THE PARTY

LEGACY: A Tony Stark Daughter Story

MASTERLIST

< previous

Word Length: 1,900ish

Summary: Tony hosts a party. Bailey gives Steve the promised dance.

I spent the next few days hiding out on my floor, working on my assignments. I only came out when Nat would force me train with her in the mornings. I tried to get out of it, but she’s terrifying if you don’t do what she’s asked. I also wanted to impress Tony with my work ethic by training and doing homework. I also believed that I needed to socialize and dress up nicely, even if there wasn’t going to be anyone my age at the party. When I had finished everything that was due that week, I worked ahead. Saturday rolled around and my head was hurting from all the homework. It was getting closer to the party, so I went looking for Tony. Of course, I found him in the lab. I quietly walked in, so I wouldn’t disrupt him. It seemed like he was in his head, I had a feeling that it had something to do with the last mission. 

“What did we miss?” He asked.

“I’ll continue to run variations on the interface,” JARVIS responded, “But you should probably prepare for your guests. I’ll notify you if there are any developments.” What is JARVIS talking about? What is Tony working on? Nat told me that him and Bruce had hardly been out of the lab since they brought the scepter back. What was the big project they were working so hard on?

“Thanks, buddy.” Tony said turning around to face the entrance.

“Enjoy yourself, sir.” 

“I always do.” Tony began walking towards the doors, the lights automatically turning off behind him.

“And I really hope I do too,” I commented, popping out from behind the corner.

“Holy crap, Bailey!” He exclaimed, putting his hand over his heart. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“Whatever.” I scoffed. We started heading down the stairs and to our floors. “So, I finished everything and even got ahead. Can I please come to the party?” He gave me a sideways glance and I gave the best puppy dog eyes my green eyes could muster. “I really need to socialize.” 

“You do socialize.”

“I need to be able to socialize with people besides the team.”

“Fine…” He grudgingly gave in.

I quickly wrapped my arms around him and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Now hurry and get ready. You’re going to be my date tonight since Pepper won’t be able to make it.”

I squealed with excitement as I ran off to my floor. I already had picked out the outfit I wanted to wear. I quickly ran into my closet and grabbed my favorite black dress. 

 It was form fitting but not too tight. It had short sleeves and went to my knees. I grabbed my white vans to go with it. Before getting dressed, I looked in the mirror. My sandy hair was not naturally curling the way I wanted it to. I quickly put some dry shampoo in it, brushed through it, and straightened it. I then changed and headed to the main living area where the party was being held. People were already there. 

I paused at the top of the stairs to see what everyone was doing. Steve and his friend Sam were playing pool, Thor was talking to some old Veterans about some adventure he had been on, Rhodey and Nat were chatting on the couch, Helen and Clint were chatting on the balcony, and Bruce was awkwardly walking around trying to get the courage to talk to Nat. They have a thing for each other but Nat is a super spy who hides her feelings and Bruce is a nerd who’s scared of his own shadow. 

 I smiled as I felt an arm link with mine. I looked over to see Tony smiling down at me. 

“You look beautiful,” he quietly complemented me. “You’re not leaving my side all night.”

“We’re at a party, you’re hosting, at our house,” I reminded him, “No one’s going to even get a chance to try anything.” Tony led us down the stairs and began guiding us through the crowds of people. “Plus, I’m pretty sure I can do worse to them.”

Tony smirked and led us over to the bar. He took a drink from the bar tender, as Thor, Maria, and Rhodey made their ways over to the bar as well. They each grabbed a drink and the bar tender handed me a water. Then Rhodey began to tell one of his War Machine stories.

“Well, you know,” he said, already in the middle of the story since I ignored the first half of it. “The suit can take the weight, right? So I take the tank, fly it right up to the General’s palace, drop it at his feet. I’m like ‘Boom. You looking for this?'” I gave him a sad smile and looked over to find Tony and Thor staring at him blankly, waiting for something more from the story. 

 “Boom. Are you looking.. Why do I even talk to you guys? Everywhere else that story kills.”

“That’s the whole story?” Thor asked.

“It was a good story,” I tried to comfort him as I gave his arm a gentle pat.

“Yeah, it’s a War Machine story.” Rhodey stated.

“Well, it’s very good then,” Thor laughed. “It’s impressive.”

“Quality save.” Rhodey said. “So, no Pepper? She’s not coming?”

“No.” Tony answered.

“What about Jane?” Maria asked. “Where are the ladies, gentlemen?”

“Um..” I quietly rose my hand. “I’m here.” Nobody seemed to care.

“Well, Ms. Potts has a company to run,” Tony answered.

“Yes, I’m not even sure what country Jane’s in.” Thor responded. “Her work on the convergence has made her the world’s foremost astronomer.”

“And the company that Pepper runs is the largest tech conglomerate on earth. It’s pretty exciting.”

“There’s even talk of Jane getting a.. um, uh, Nobel prize.” 

Maria and I rolled our eyes at each other, shaking our heads. “Yeah, they.. they must be busy because they’d hate missing you guys get together.” Maria said.

“Testosterone.” I fake coughed. It got me the evil eye from both Tony and Thor. “Oh, excuse me.” 

“Let’s go.” Rhodey turned to Maria. They linked arms and walked away.

“But Jane’s better.” Thor stated as Tony took another sip of his drink. 

“Well, this has been fun boys,” I said slowly backing away from them. “But I’m going to go and mingle.”

I walked away from them and into the crowd. It’s so awkward at events like these. I’ve gone to a few before, but since nobody knows who I really am, it’s always confusing on what to tell people. I usually tell them that I’m an intern at Stark Industries and that I help Tony in the lab. Which isn’t exactly a lie. I tell them that my name is Bailey and usually can avoid giving out a last name. I walked around the room just looking at everything and every one. I saw Steve and Sam up in the loft looking over everything and chatting. I smiled and waved at Steve. He smiled and waved back. I continued my walk around the party, avoiding talking to anyone, for most of the night. There were some men that tried to flirt with me, but as soon as they started, they stopped. Each time, I could tell that Tony was behind me probably threatening them. 

Rhodey ended up telling his story again to a group of guests and got the reaction he wanted. Thor gave Steve some Asgardian alcohol, they’re both lucky that Steve can’t get drunk. I was staring at the group of drunk veterans, trying Thor’s liquor, when Steve stopped in front of me. He tapped his foot against mine and cleared his throat to get my attention. (6&7&5)

“Hey Steve,” I smiled. “What can I help you with?”

“I believe you promised me a dance,” he replied, holding out his hand.

“I did. But Steve,” I glanced around the room, “no one else is dancing.”

“So?” He reached down and took my hand. “Let’s go.” 

He pulled me up and led me to the middle of the open area. People were surrounding us, mingling with one another. There was music softly playing in the background, but not necessarily the type you dance to. Steve turned to that we were facing each other, slipping one hand around to my back and fixing the other that was already gripping onto my hand. I hesitantly rested my free hand on his shoulder. Steve and I had been in close proximity before, but not like this. I was praying that Steve and his advanced hearing, couldn’t hear my heart pounding inside my chest.

“How’s your night been, B?” Steve asked, guiding us gently around in a circle. “The party everything you hoped it would be?”

“It’s been great,” I answered. “I’ve just enjoyed not being locked up.”

“Locked up?” He rose a questioning eyebrow. “You know you’re not a prisoner, right?”

“I know. But my father can be over protective.”

“He just wants to make sure that you’re kept safe.” Steve’s eyes met mine. “As do I.” I looked away as I felt my cheeks began to heat up. “Though I do believe that you’re much stronger than anyone wants to believe.”

“Like ready for a real mission strong?” I gave him a smirk as I eyed him from the side.

“I did already say that, didn’t I?” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t say things like that when I don’t have permission to.”

“You are the Captain of the team, are you not?”

“Don’t try to trick me into letting you on a mission it’s not gonna work.”

“Dang it. And here I thought you wrapped around my finger.” I playfully smirked up at him.

“Don’t doubt it, doll.”

He suddenly spun me out, causing me to shriek in happy surprise, and spun me back into him. Steve laughed as he did. People looked over at us, some of them clearly judging us. But neither of us cared. When I was back in front of him, he held me closer than he had before. My heart was pounding harder. Our eyes met, and I thought I saw his quickly glance down at my lips before he dropped my hand and stepped back. I was hurt a little by the sudden action and confused.

“Thank you for the dance, Miss Stark,” he bowed, trying to defuse the awkward tension by playing around.

“Thank you, Captain,” I curtsied.

He gave me a small smile. “I’m going to go back to making my rounds.” He began walking backwards. “I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah,” I nodded as he turned around. “See ya later.”

As the party started winding down, I found a spot on a couch to continue my people watching. I noticed Nat behind the bar and Bruce with her. She was flirting and he was… well he was trying to. It was cute but also sort of sad. I smirked as I watched Nat walk away and Steve talk to Bruce about what just happened. It was great to see everyone getting along and happy, if only it were to stay that way. 

next >

[deltaengineering]

Spring Anime 2020 Part 5: Doga Kobo is adapting a Kiraralike about fishing

Appare-Ranman!

Oh hey, it’s PA Works, remember them? Their last project (A3) went hilariously awry, but it seemed like their heart wasn’t in it anyway. A-R is closer to a PAW premium product, with very nice production values that even manage to make the ridiculous character designs work. It’s also Wacky Races: A bunch of stereotypes in cartoony contraptions race across the USA. Oh, so it’s more like Cannonball Run then. Except A-R has some surprisingly good character writing in its first-episode origin story flashback, and I’d even say that writing this solid is kinda wasted on Cannonball Run. But wait, Cannonball Run with solid character writing and great looks, isn’t that just REDLINE? Sign me the fuck up!

ARGONAVIS from BanG Dream!

Bang Dream has its own male version now, you guys, and I do like me some Bang Dream (S3 only wasn’t in the season roundup because it finished so late — for the record, first time I’d call a full size Bandori anime “good” 7/10). Now the last time I encountered the male version of a franchise was IM@S Side M, and I didn’t like that, but also I don’t like IM@S much to begin with. On the other hand, I do like IDOLSHi7 a lot, and if you look at that one from the right angle it’s pretty close to a male version of Love Live. Uh, so Argonavis then: It’s Bang Dream with 20 year old guys instead of 16 year old girls. So the tone is similar, though a quite bit more subdued and the characters are a little less goofy. There’s only one (half of a) band so far, but they seem alright. It looks like a Sanzigen anime, slightly worse than S2/S3 in the regular parts but slightly better in the performances. I have no objections to watching this while I wait for Garupico Oomori to come out, because that’s where it’s really at.

Fugou Keiji Balance: UNLIMITED

Fugou Keiji B^U is a police comedy about a cop who solves crimes with the most realistic superpower: Money. It’s a solid comedy too, with a fairly laidback and wry sense of humor, aided by some slick directing and generally good (Cloverworks) looks. Now, the thing about this one specifically is that it’s good right now, but it can’t stay the way it is and remain good, because it’s already leaning close to [The Joke] territory. If every episode of this is going to be “Kambe throws fuck-you money at the problem and everyone goes ‘WHAAAAT’”, it’s going to get very old very fast. There’s some indication that it’s not that simple, notably Kambe obviously being portrayed as a prick (the ostentatious musical sting that plays whenever he appears is extra hilarious), but there’s nothing saying that they can’t just have him be a prick week after week either – he needs some character development or at the very least some getting dunked on, and sooner than by episode 11 too, please. I’m pretty impressed by this first episode and will stick with it for now, but the potential for this to not work out seems much higher than usual.

Houkago Teibou Nisshi

Doga Kobo is adapting a Kiraralike about fishing. Then again, Doga Kobo is adapting a Kiraralike about fishing. Since Doga Kobo is adapting a Kiraralike about fishing, it’s likely that Doga Kobo is adapting a Kiraralike about fishing possibly leading to Doga Kobo adapting a Kiraralike about fishing. I mean, Doga Kobo is adapting a Kiraralike about fishing, how could it be anything but Doga Kobo adapting a Kiraralike about fishing. In three months I’ll go on MAL, select “Completed” and “(6) Fine” and then click “Add”. Because Doga Kobo is adapting a Kiraralike about fishing.

Kitsutsuki Tanteidokoro

Since Pecker Detectives is a novel and not a manga, researching its target demographic is harder than clicking the Wikipedia link to its magazine and as such beyond my means. However, it’s yet another fucking story about historic author’s hanging around together being dreamy, so I have some suspicions. Anyway, poets, yes? Let’s keep them a bit closer to reality this time, maybe? Late Meiji era, yes? You can put your dudes in kimonos or smexy three-piece suits. With HATS. But needs plot, what do? Oh, I guess we’ll just rip off Sherlock Holmes again, that never goes wrong. Murders are always interesting right? Not the fucking way you write them, buddy. This show is just incredibly boring, and no amount of poetry or pastel backgrounds (which do look pretty nice) make it any less so. I can’t scrape together even a fraction of a fuck. At least there’s not a Dazai in sight, but the cast list promises Edogawa Ranpo (the Date Masamune of literature), so lol.

Mewkledreamy

Sanrio is trying to sell some plastic toys again. Since they’re selling to very young girls, well congratulations, you found something even more Not For Me than Shadowverse. Mewkledreamy is obviously a candy-colored, sparkly nightmare, and the mascot voice is just as insufferable as expected. Now apart from this... everything, I do have to say I enjoyed it more than I expected. Good direction can help; this was originally scheduled to be done by Chiaki Kon, but she was replaced by Hiroaki Sakurai, crafter of cutesy/shoujo shit like Cromartie High for three decades. The guy knows what he’s doing, and Mewkledreamy is pretty pleasant when the cat isn’t talking, the character designs are plush and cute, and the writing puts in more effort than strictly required too. If you can stomach something like Aikatsu (which I could not), you could do worse than give Mewkledreamy a spin. There’s just one more negative though: Sanrio character franchises can run for years, the last one that Sakurai did (Jewelpet Happiness) had 52 episodes. Not that I give a shit about how much Mewkledreamy exists, but this makes it very unlikely that we’re going to see a sequel to Sakurai’s last show, Machikado Fucking Mazoku, any time soon. And that’s unforgivable, to be honest.

Zashiki Warashi no Tatami-chan

It’s a flash short with some supernatural critters complaining about Tokyo. It’s bad and it looks bad. Go away.