#but I gotta fill my angst quota >:)

[windor-truffle]

stolen suit

[tacitusauxilium]

Hana blushed, she was switching persona’s show her arsenal for Fuuka. “Yeah, my power lets me switch.”

   “So, that’s why you felt so familiar to me--it’s nothing bad, I promise. I...just get happy and sorrow-filled memories of someone who had the same power as you, Hana-chan.”

[ejzah]

A/N: Well, I’ve probably filled my angst quota for some time with the last several stories. This one is not angsty at all and borders on the slightly ridiculous.

***

Almost Famous, Part 2

Deeks walked back down to the bullpen in a state of mild disbelief. Kilbride had informed he’d be setting up the interview in the next couple days, which felt completely surreal. Even if it was just for a federal project, he’d never imagined his relative success at FLETC would garner any significant attention.

“Hey, how’d it go?” Kensi asked, joining him at his desk, worrying at the thumbnail on her right hand. Deeks shook his head, looking up with what he was sure was a dazed expression.

“Uh, a lot different than I expected,” he admitted.

“He better not be transferring you somewhere,” Callen said warningly, eyes furrowed with an annoyed expression.

“No he’s not.” Allowing a half-grin, Deeks shrugged. “I’m going to be interviewed. By someone from NCIS.”

“What for?” Sam asked, frowning. Deeks didn’t take his less than complimentary tone to heart. Kensi merely seemed surprised, her hand stilling on his arm.

“For my exemplary performance at FLETC,” Deeks replied, directly quoting part of the letter Kilbride had shown him from PR office. “Apparently I impressed some of the instructors and a few NCIS administrators.” He allowed a self-deprecating smile. “You know, for

being ancient and everything.”

“Babe, that’s fantastic,” Kensi exclaimed, finally breaking loose of her stunned silence. She hugged him firmly, squeezing his back. “I’m so happy for you.”

Callen got up to give Deeks his own, less hands-on version of a hug.

“Congrats, Deeks. I never realized you could awarded for being old.” He smiled wryly, glancing back at Sam. “Hey, just think how much they’d want to interview you if you went back to FLETC. You’re practically an octogenarian.”

“You’re hilarious,” Sam retorted. “So what are they going to do with this interview?” he asked after offering Deeks a one-armed hug. “We’re supposed to be under the radar, remember.”

“I asked about that myself. According to Kilbride they’re supposed to use it as some kind of recruitment or training tool.” Deeks couldn’t quite keep a small amount of pride out of his voice. As much of a hassle as this would probably turn out to be, he couldn’t deny that the attention was kind of gratifying. “Remember, I received some of the highest possible scores on my assessments and was honored agent of the year,” Deeks pointed out.

“Yeah, yeah, we remember.” Looking grudgingly impressed, Sam crossed his arms over his chest. “Just for the record, if I wanted to, I could take FLETC again and do just the same as well as I did the first time.”

Callen snorted, chuckling as his back condescendingly.

“You keep telling yourself that, Partner.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sam asked.

“Hey, big guy, I hate to say it, but you’re not as fast as you used to be,” Callen said with the air of somebody delivering terrible news. “It’s ok though, I’m sure Rountree and Deeks will manage alright without us.”

“You’re going be managing without a partner if you keep this up.”

“It’s so sad when they argue,” Deeks staged whispered to Kensi, winking in Sam’s direction when he glared. Standing up, he paused to kiss her cheek. “Ok, I gotta run, see you later.

“Where are you going?” Kensi’s asked, eyebrows starting to furrow again. “Isn’t Kilbride done with you?”

“Yeah, but he wants me to get tailored for a new suit right away. Have to look my best for the interview after all.”

“You know, you’re making if very difficult to like you right now,” Sam called after him as he cheerfully swung the handle of his messenger bag over his shoulder.

***

“It’s here!” Kensi announced loudly, rushing into the bullpen ahead of Deeks with a magazine in one hand.

“Kens,” Deeks said, rolling his eyes at her enthusiasm. She ignored him, squeezing between Sam and Callen, who had taken over Kensi’s seat. She tossed the magazine, more of a small booklet really, and flipped it open, turning the first few pages.

“And there we have it, Ladies and Gentleman, Investigator Martin Andrew Deeks through the eyes of NCIS’s finest journalist.”

Fatima and Rountree wandered over from their desks, joining the little group circled around Callen’s desk.

“Is this Deeks’ interview?” Fatima asked, smiling up at with genuine happiness. “Congrats!”

“Thanks. Yeah, they sent me a couple copies to look over yesterday,” Deeks explained, starting to feel slightly embarrassed again.

The whole interview experience had been more straightforward than he’d expected, but no less weird. Similarly to his pre FLETC interview, Deeks had met the journalist and her team at the boat shed. The Public Affairs Officer, Amy Lieter, made it clear from the start that they were looking for positive presentation of the agency, without focusing too much on his personal life.

“Wow, that’s quite the photo spread,” Callen said, quickly flipping through the pages. He stopped on one that featured Deeks sitting on a stool, one leg propped up as he gazed at the camera, his head angled slightly to the right.

The photo shoot had been the most bizarre part of all, especially when the photographer made it clear that he fully intended to play up Deeks’ physical attributes. He’d even gone so far as to ask Deeks if he’d consider getting a more “professional” haircut. Naturally, Deeks politely declined and Amy, somewhat surprisingly supported him, pointing out that Deeks represented the non-traditional candidates, hair and all.

“Ooh, looking sharp in that suit, Deeks!” Rountree commented, peering over Sam’s shoulder. He reached out for a quick fist bump.

“The outtakes they sent are even better,” Kensi shared with a smirk in Deeks’ direction.

“No, you can’t see them,” Deeks said before anyone could ask. Fatima and Rountree looked briefly disappointed. The desire behind their curiosity wasn’t clear, but Deeks immediately decided he would be burning those extra photos.

“Alright, let’s see what Investigator Deeks has to see,” Sam spoke up, drawing attention back to the magazine. “Ahem. Investigator Deeks, or Deeks as he prefers to be called, is a former LAPD detective. I sat down with him to discuss his experience making the leap to a federal employee.

AL: Deeks, what made you decide to peruse a different position after more than a decade as a detective?

MD: Well, to be honest, I wasn’t planning on leaving LAPD at that time. Unfortunately, there were some staffing changes and in order to stay working with NCIS and my team, I decided to attend FLETC.

AL: I see. How would you describe your training there? You are admittedly older than the average attendee so imagine it was a unique challenge.

MD: It definitely was difficult at first. You know, acclimating to a learning environments, and as you mentioned, many excellent candidates who were significantly younger than me. The first few days were pretty rough, but eventually I figured out how to utilize all those years of experience you talked about. I had the benefit of working in the field, with a team, making split-second decisions when it really matters.

AL: Can you give an example of when your experience was beneficial?”

“Ok, I think that’s enough,” Deeks interrupted Sam loudly. “You guys don’t need to hear all that.”

“I was enjoying myself,” Callen said, snatching up the magazine. His eyes lit up as he scanned through the article. “Ooh, here we go. ‘In addition to his invaluable work as a NCIS Investigator, Marty Deeks is happily married, an avid surfer, and practices law in his spare time.”

“I didn’t realize you were seeing clients,” Fatima said distractedly, sparing Deeks a glance before she returned to perusing the part of the magazine she could see from behind Callen.

“Ok, I never said I still practice law.” Deeks held up a finger. “All I told her was that I got my start a lawyer and still maintain my license.”

“Uh-huh.” Callen grinned at him. “She also says you were charming and a highly stimulating interviewee.”

“Where did it say that?” Kensi asked, trying to peer around him. “I didn’t read that.”

“I paraphrased.”

“And that’s why Kilbride keep having you redo your reports,” Sam joked, tugging the magazine from Callen’s grip. He tossed it to Deeks, who caught it against his chest. “Nicely done, Deeks. I know I teased you a lot about it, but we couldn’t have a better man representing the agency.”

“Thank you, Sam,” Deeks said gratefully.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Kensi said, walking over and kissing his cheek. “The best, sexiest investigator NCIS has to offer.” Deeks grinned, ignoring the various groans and noises of distaste as he dipped Kensi back and kissed her soundly.

***

A/N: I hope you all don’t mind the direction I took this and that I didn’t include the actual interview in whole.

[sunmoontruth-stiles]

Ok this is gonna be long. I’ve literally been slowly working on this for… too long. I’m just in a mood to have a long discussion about ships. I’ll be looking at canon and not, so bare with me. I don’t ship all of these personally. I’m mostly just picking the most popular ones. I chose to leave out a few that I just don’t want to talk about. I tried to keep this loosely chronological, but that quickly went to hell. None of this is meant to be hate towards anyone’s ship, just my personal opinions on each of them.

Canon:

Scott x Allison: True Classic

Scallison is so sweet as it is truly the epitome of young love. Romeo and Juliet, except Romeo is even more of an idiot and Juliet is a badass who dies for a cause. They’re moral and ethical codes are both highly valued by themselves, even if they don’t align with others very often. They loved with everything they had. They were beautiful. We’re they soulmates in the end, or just the first love who will always hold a special place in your heart? Who knows, but I’ll always love these immature kids who thought their love could change everything.

Stiles x Lydia: The Long Awaited

Stydia is as slow burn as you can get. Unfortunately their actual getting together was slightly rushed in my opinion. They didn’t have time to find their own as a couple because Stiles just wasn’t in the show enough at that point. I know the reasons behind it, but it did leave this couple at an awkward stage of official-but-not-shown. The idea that Stiles loved her as a kid, immature and infatuated, and he saw her for who she really was, will always be cute. Then they grew, changed, became friends, and found other people. Them finding each other later on, having real love that’s developed slowly, is a wonderful arc. Though, a part of me will always believe they should have pursued other story lines in the wake of Stiles’ absence from the plot. They’re finally together! …but we don’t get to see it.

Jackson x Lydia: The Image

Oh Jackson and Lydia. Honestly, I love them. Their connection at a time in their lives when they couldn’t open up to anyone else, just hits me right in the feels. I mean, god that HUG. You know the one. Always brings me to tears. I’m so sad their relationship was almost entirely depicted during Jackson’s kanima time when he couldn’t think nor truly act for himself. Those small moments of scared vulnerability when he wanted to protect her from himself… I’ll miss these two. They deserved to find other people and remain life-long friends. I loved their moment in the last episode. I wish they’d gotten to see each other grow. Also they had such bixbi solidarity vibes, and I’ll die on that hill.

Scott x Lydia: Leaders

Ok, I’m gonna be honest here. I ship it. The power couple they would have been?? Also them coming together after they lost Allison would have actually made sense. A part of me kinda wishes the writers had moved on from Stydia as a romantic relationship and leaned into them growing as friends and Stiles moving on from his childhood crush. Scott and Lydia actually would have had good chemistry. They were both very headstrong heroic types, but Lydia would have balanced Scott out well intellectually. They had the history, and I think it could had worked if they wrote it right. Plus, Scott and Lydia would have been a better endgame that Scalia.

Scott x Kira: New Beginnings

These two were adorable. Kira was a badass, don’t get me wrong, but she let herself be soft in a way Allison was always afraid to. This couple was truly Baby. Absolute dorks. I can definitely see the lasting quality between the two of them. They saw things very similarly, and had a ton in common. I do think Kira deserves more characterization outside of their relationship, like more of her friendship with Malia. Overall, her departure from the show will always be sad to me. It was bad writing. Scott was over her far too quickly.

Aiden x Lydia: Pretty People Herd

I honestly didn’t see much between these two other than mutual attraction. The best thing to come out of this relationship was Lydia’s line, “You’re not just a bad boy, Aiden. You’re a bad guy. And I don’t want to be with the bad guys.” Good character development moment.

Ethan x Danny: Step to Redemption

Danny really was the thing that made Ethan look outside of the pack for what he really wanted out of life. They had a few cute scenes. Gotta love Danny’s final remarks, “Dude, it’s Beacon Hills.”

Allison x Isaac: Unexpected Rebound

Ok, I like these two. Isaac could match Allison’s snark in a way Scott couldn’t. They both fought the progression of the relationship slightly. They didn’t expect to fall for each other. They were less willing to let someone in close. I’d love to have seen more… but unfortunately their time was limited. On a side note, sometimes their relationship did feel like ‘we both are in love with the same guy, let’s cope with each other’, but I find that completely valid. I’ll talk about Scallisaac later though.

Stiles x Malia: Anchors

Ok but, them <3 I love what they did for each other. Stiles was able to help Malia connect to her humanity and other people. He never tried to isolate her in their relationship and encouraged her growth. Malia offered Stiles the emotional support he never asked for. She defended him, fought for him, and loved him fiercely. Stiles needed that so much after season 3. I think they were a love that wasn’t meant to last, but the impact of it was forever. I wish we’d gotten to see a real end for them where they agreed that they needed to grow as individuals but would always still care.

Liam x Hayden: Three’s a Pattern

These two’s characterization stopped whenever they had storylines together. Their relationship was built on Scallison references. Hayden’s character could have been interesting, but they never really gave her a moment to shine. Liam has the worst plots when they revolved around her. Cute couple, poor writing.

Derek x Braeden: Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girl Boss

Derek deserves to be happy so much. Kate and Jennifer were just... jeez. Him and Braeden were cute and deserved more screen time. I think her intensity allowed for Derek to let go of control a bit more comfortably. Let Derek Be Soft. Anyway, love them.

Corey x Mason: Gotta Have That Rep TM

These two could have been cute if they were shown for more than two seconds at a time. I highkey forget Corey even existed all the time. Kinda just felt like a relationship to fill TW’s gay quota.

Jackson x Ethan: The Callback

Honestly? Loved them. Loved the chemistry. Loved the dynamic. Best twist. I know it was probably written in like that because Colton came out during his time away from the show, but it absolutely fit his character. Jethan is top tier.

Melissa x Chris: BAMF Parent Duo

Ok, so like, Melissa deserved this plot. She deserved someone to care about her. However... what the hell? Chris? In canon, his wife died like 2-ish years prior? His daughter died 1 year prior?? Is Chris really in a position to pursue a new relationship?? Also, like, Scott and Allison dated and loved each other up to her death. Kinda weird to have their parents hook up. I don’t hate it, but I don’t ship it…?

Scott x Malia: Lead up? What’s lead up?

These two came out of nowhere I stg. Like, 6B really tried to tell us this was something that had been slowly developing in the background? Also, I understand that they are their own people, adults, and completely in charge of their own romantic pursuits: but did Scott seriously never call Stiles? Like, Malia wasn’t just his first girlfriend. She was his first. Like, dude that’s your best friend?? Not even a head’s up? No, ‘hey would this bother you?’ Oof. Plus Malia was way too chaotic for Scott. She existed in gray morality that always prioritized her immediate circle, and Scott was a very black/white type of heroism. I just didn’t feel like they fit.

Non-Canon:

Scott x Stiles: Childhood Best Friends

Ya, sorry, I don’t ship Sciles at all. I get it. Like, I totally understand the ship, and I mean no judgment at all. I just see them as friends. I really value good male friendships in media because I feel like we don’t get enough, and I always liked these two.

Stiles x Derek: Enemies to Lovers. 100k. Angst. Hurt/Comfort.

God these two really are what fanfiction was made for. I could write a much longer discussion about Sterek, and I probably will eventually. I’ll try to keep this brief. These two weren’t always on the same side, but their approach was the same. They were very similar at their core. Plus, wow the chemistry. This should have been canon. Jeff’s a coward.

Allison x Lydia: Powerful.

This ship is so great. They really had a great dynamic, and a romantic plot would have easily fit the established narrative. Lydia’s confidence in herself and Allison’s confidence in her own abilities crossing over to each other because that’s what the other lacked? Iconic.

Danny x Jackson: He Gets Him

Danny really saw Jackson for everything he was and still cared. I wished we’d gotten to see more of them. I  want more background with Jackson’s eventual coming out and his friendship with Danny. Like, they ended up dating the same guy. What did Ethan have to say about that??

Stiles x Jackson: Bastards

Ok these two had a super fun dynamic. The asshole-energy between them was, great. The snark was always so entertaining.

Melissa x Noah: Family

How were these two not endgame? Their sons were practically brothers already. They had amazing chemistry. The flirting? Not to mention, their timeline would have made way more sense. Missed opportunity.

Chris x Peter: The Opposite of Love is Indifference, Not Hate

Ok so like, this was definitely one of those ships that I had absolutely no knowledge of before I was pretty into the fandom. Like, this was not something I would have guessed just after watching the show. That being said; my god the chaos alone…

Scott x Isaac: The Disaster Duo

Okay ya I love these two. Two dumb asses who act like idiot puppies. Such a fun dynamic. Plus?? Chemistry??? Hellooo

Scott x Allison x Isaac: Three Heads Are Better Than One

This ship is definitely one of my personal favorites. I very rarely poly-ship. I just feel like most of them are just love triangles with an ‘easy solution’, when two of them have no real connection. That is so not the case here. I feel like all of them have such great chemistry with each other. They also have a great dynamic as a group. Season 3A was really just Scallisaac rights.

Stiles x Isaac: I Hate You, jk…Not Really

Ok I loved their banter, but I really just don’t see this ship. Idk, I don’t personally ship it. Would have loved to see their friendship develop more tho.

Erica x Allison: Duo that would stab you with a stiletto

I don’t ship it, but I do wish we’d seen them become friends. I feel like they had a very artificial ‘girls fighting over a boy’ dynamic? They could have been such a badass duo.

Stiles x Erica: Batman x Catwoman

Ok I’m not sure exactly how to express my feelings for these two so bare with me. OMG I love their dynamic so much, and they are sooo cute. Their energy? Amazing. Chemistry? Great. History? It’s there and has so much potential. 10/10. Love them. But, no, I don’t ship it lol. Just really love their friendship, but with the underlying history of crushes.

Boyd x Erica: Was This Not Canon?

How can anyone not love Berica? Ugh they are adorable. These two deserved so much better.

Boyd x Cora: Survivors

Honestly I don’t really see it? Like they definitely had a connection, but it never felt romantic. I really feel like they just had to lean on each other and bond to make it through captivity, and it just lasted.

Boyd x Erica x Cora: The Pack

I literally learned this was a ship a couple days ago. Similar feelings towards this as Bora, but with the added hesitancy of we never actually saw Erica and Cora interact.

Cora x Stiles: Slow Build Up

These two were clearing being lined up to be a thing before Cora ended up leaving. I can’t say I’m disappointed they never happened. Kinda felt like they just wanted to straight-code Sterek.

Cora x Lydia: Mean Lesbians

Not much interaction to actually go off of, but yes I 100% support. They have very different approaches to problems, which is fun. Very ‘opposites attract’.

Malia x Kira: “Maybe you could date the coyote?”

Another one of my favorites!! They really complimented each other. Also, how full circle would they have been? They were introduced in back-to-back episodes. Malia stalking her as a coyote? The line from Kira’s dad about dating it? It would have been so funny if that ended up happening.

Malia x Lydia: Beauty and the Beast, but make it wlw

These two were fun. I liked their friendship, but I don’t really ship it. Though, rip Stiles that would have been hilarious.

Parrish x Lydia: The Cop and The Minor

Must I say more? Like, Parrish’s character, so sweet and big rule follower, did not make sense for what went down with Lydia. I love Parrish, but the dynamic just felt off. It didn’t feel consistent with the rest of his characterization.

Parrish x Stiles: The Cop and The Minor, but gay?

Ok, same reasoning as above, but also they had absolutely no connection romantically.

Scott x Theo / Stiles x Theo: Sometimes The Villain is Hot

Ok I’ve put these together because I have the same opinion for both. I don’t ship it. Neither had any rebuilding of trust, and Theo really hurt both of them. I just don’t really think they work.

Mason x Liam: Sciles Puppy Pack Edition

Similar to my feeling about Sciles, I just don’t ship these two. They had a good friendship, from the little we saw of it.

Theo x Liam: Anchors 2: Electric Boogaloo

Another personal favorite! I really don’t even understand why this didn’t go canon?? The elevator scene was just, so intense. They helped each other grow in 6B, and I really loved their dynamic. They should have hooked up.

Honorable Mention?: 

Parrish x Laura: What’s canon?

I’ve seen this in fanfic a lot, and I actually really like it lol. I thought I’d add it in here because I do love the creativity of fandoms.

[taeken-my-heart]

Independent {f} Chapter 14

Summary: Your mom calls you stubborn, your friends call you wild, and the boys you’ve left in your wake call you a frigid bitch.  You’ve built a life of independence and you like it that way. Kim Taehyung, however; seems to be able to change your mind.

Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

Genre: fluff, mild angst

Word Count: 4648

Warnings: This chapter is just an angst fest, I’m sorry! Next chapter gets better, I promise!

**There is a read more linked but it doesn’t seem to be working and I don’t know what to do about it. I’m sorry! TT

                                                    *************

Spring semester was a misleading name. It indicated that it was going to be warm; flowers blooming, rivers and streams melting and warming, getting ready for the impending summer swim parties 

But this, no this was not spring; not yet, at least. A fresh 6 inches of snow greeted you on your reentry to university and after warm greetings to your housemates and giving Charlotte the gifts you’d brought her from Paris, it was back to campus to buy your textbooks and seek out your classrooms in preparation for classes the next day. 

Campus was busy with life, chatter from winter vacation high and the four of you trekked up to the center of campus where the bookstore was, syllabus and book lists in hand. Charlotte asked you all about Paris, insisting that you show her all your pictures and pouting after she’d seen them all. 

“I want to go!” She complained, stuffing her mittened hands into the pockets of her oversized grey coat. “I’m so jealous you got to see all those amazing things.”

“I thought of you the whole time,” you smiled, wrapping your arm around her shoulder and pulling her scowling face next to yours in a side hug as you walked.

The heat of the book store was almost sweltering compared to outside. There were too many bodies and not enough space, but you all needed to be here so there wasn’t much that could be done. Stomping your boots on the carpet and removing your gloves, you began weaving your way through the isles in search of the books listed on your phone. 

“I can’t believe I’m taking Molecular Biology this semester. I’m going to die.” Anna sighed beside you and you turned to raise an eyebrow at her.

“No one told you to go be a forensic scientist.” You teased and she stuck her tongue out at you. 

“You know what, I don’t need your logic.” She sassed. 

“So, what’s going on with Jin?” You asked, turning to glance at Sarah over your shoulder. She smiled; blush high on her cheeks. 

“He’s actually on a plane right now. He spent most of the vacation in California, but he got to spend a few days back home with family.”

“You know that doesn’t answer my real question,” you grinned, “you guys dating or what?”

Sarah laughed, shaking her head and sliding her fingers along a nearby book as a distraction. “Yeah, we started officially dating about a week ago.”

“Well finally!” You huffed, “everyone could see that coming from a mile away.”

“Oh stop!” Sarah blushed and you chuckled, scanning the row of books for the one you needed. H.B. Hawthorne, check. Grabbing the book, you tucked it under your arm and looked back at your list. 

“Go get your books, we’ll chat about this at home.” You waved Sarah off and she smiled, walking around the isle. 

Your class load this semester was a little more intense than last. It wasn’t that you had more classes than before, but that the credit hours were higher. You’d also added a few classes that were required of your major, but if you were being honest, you weren’t sure exactly what they were meant to cover. Like Virtual Form and Space. What even was that?

After scoping out the rest of the books you needed (and finding a basket to put them in because you were foolish enough to believe you could carry them all in the first place) you made your way to the front of the store to wait for your friends. 

Anna came back first, flipping through a page of one of her text books and you grimaced when she showed you the Solving Cold Murder Cases book in her hand. “Can’t believe you actually want to work with dead bodies.”

“To be fair, I want to work more in the lab with test results, but I’m keeping an open mind. Who knows what my true calling with be?”

“Not working with dead people; that’s mine.” You said, nodding firmly and Anna chuckled. 

“Good thing you’re studying Visual Arts.”

Just then you spotted Jimin and Jungkook walk through the door, shaking the snow from their hoods and your heart jumped into your throat. “Jungkook, Jimin!” You called and they both turned to look at you, Jungkook bounding over with a smile and a hug.

“Y/N!” He said, pulling back and Jimin followed behind him, rolling his eyes at his younger brother and chuckling. 

“Hey Y/N.” He said, giving you a quick hug.

“How was Paris?” Jungkook asked, pushing into your personal space and you laughed as Jimin smacked him away. He pouted over at him, rubbing his arm, before turning back to you. 

“It was absolutely amazing.” You said, a little shy from all the eyes on you now that Charlotte and Sarah had also returned. “Biggest adventure of my life. I learned a lot of really valuable lessons.”

“About photography?” Jungkook asked and you looked over at Jimin briefly before turning your gaze back on his over eager younger brother. 

“Yes, and about life.”

“Are all the same guys living together?” Sarah butt in, moving to stand beside you. 

“Yeah,” Jimin nodded, shaking some hair from his eyes, “but this is Jin’s last semester with us so we’re gonna have to find a new roommate next year.” 

“Well you guys should come over for dinner sometime this semester.” Sarah continued, “feels like forever since we’ve all hung out.”

“That sounds like fun!” Jungkook nodded enthusiastically. “This time we could bring something, too, like desert.”

Anna grinned, nodding, “I like the sound of desert!”

Jimin glanced down at his phone as it beeped noisily, lips stretching into a frown. “Ah, sorry to interrupt, but Kook, we gotta grab our books and hurry. We’re on a bit of a deadline.”

Jungkook nodded, eyes widening with understanding. “Ok, yeah. Well we’ll all have to plan something when the semester gets underway.”

You all nodded, exchanging goodbyes before the guys walked quickly into the rows of books to search for the textbooks that would rob their bank accounts of life. “Did everyone get everything they need?” You asked. 

At your friends nods of confirmation, you all worked your way up through the line, paying for your things and bundling back up for a cold walk back to the house.

                                                 *************

The first day of classes were brutal. One, because you were used to not going to classes and restarting an old routine was like whiplash. Two, because you’d made the terrible mistake of choosing an 8am class. There had been later times for this particular class, but they’d been with teachers you didn’t really like or they just didn’t fit into your schedule properly. 

Still, despite the fact that you’d chosen the class that was best timing wisely…it was a terrible decision. Your eyes were screaming from how tired they were as you made your way to the top of campus, scarf wrapped warmly around your face and the wind whipped slurries of snow off the ground and around your head. 

The campus was mostly barren of life, just a few freshmen trudging bitterly to their classes. The joys of being underclassmen. By the time you got to the top of the hill, you were sweating, an interesting juxtaposition to the winter storm raging around your cocoon of coat and scarf. 

You’d worn your coat from Paris wanting to look cute for your first day of school, but now you were realizing the errors of your ways. The peacoat was definitely more fashionable than practical. 

The warmth of the digital arts building was like a welcome hug and you breathed a sigh of relief, unwinding the scarf from around your neck and unbuttoning your coat as you made your way through the empty hallways and into your classroom. 

The professor was already there, unpacking her bag and swishing around the mouse to her computer, and so were a handful of other unfortunate souls. A.K.A, your classmates. 

You chose a seat relatively close to the front in an effort to encourage your attention. It would be more difficult to slack or doze off if the teacher could see you. You nodded a few bleary hellos at some friends you recognized from classes before, before unpacking your bags and getting ready to take notes. 

The class was mostly boring, but it was a quota you had to fill and led you to your 9:30 am photo workshop class, which was far more exciting. Lots of hands on, practical activities that got you into the nitty gritty of what you were even in university for. Because it was just the first day, you spent most of the class going over the syllabus and being introduced to the darkroom and equipment you’d be using over the semester. 

Your last class of the day, an 11am class, was a little more sedated, but you could see it picking up in the weeks to come, once the semester was really underway. The syllabus, at least, promised some exciting material you could work with. 

Your first week followed much the same way; settling back into routine and getting used to the teaching styles of new professors. You had noticed with a sinking feeling in your gut, that you had yet to see Taehyung and for a moment you worried that maybe he’d decided to drop out after all and stay with TTIG in California’s corporate grounds. 

A week to the day after school had once again begun, you found yourself back in the library. You finally had your first real assignment to do and you needed a quiet that your apartment wasn’t currently able to offer. Jin and Sarah were both in the living room, TV blaring while they studied together. You weren’t sure how they did it, but studying with that kind of noise made your ears bleed. 

You chose a desk near the stacks in the back, pulling your laptop from your bag and setting up comfortably behind the comfort of the wooden privacy the desk offered you. Popping in your earphones, you turned on your phone, switching to a station that played the sound of rain for 5 hours straight. A little monotonous, but it soothed you. 

You’d only been studying for around 30 minutes before suddenly needing to pee. You stood up, stretching your legs and making your way to the bathroom. After heading back out once you were done, you paused to glance down at your phone. Sarah had texted to ask if you wanted to go out to eat tonight and you smiled, replying quickly that you’d be done in the library around 4:30 and you’d be up for just about anywhere.

Sighing, you slid your phone back into the back pocket of your jeans before glancing up and freezing. Across the room and standing with a few friends you recognized from his study group last semester, was Taehyung. He’d clearly gotten a tan out in California, the honey glow of his skin making him look even more handsome than you’d remembered him. 

You wanted to go and talk to him, but with all the people around, you knew it wasn’t really the right time. You’d likely just have to go to his house at some point and ask to speak to him. Just as you were about to unstick your feet from the floor and head back to your desk, you watched, almost in slow motion, as Beth walked from around the corner, smiling and running to his side, linking her fingers with his. 

You felt like your heart was going to shatter as you watched him smile down at her before leaning in to give her a quick kiss. Your throat was burning, heavy with emotion. You’d waited too long. 

It had never occurred to you that maybe he would move on. You chastised yourself for even feeling this way; he wasn’t a possession and you were the one to shut him out in the first place, you didn’t really have a right to feel this way. Your heart wasn’t a great listener, though. 

Your eyes were blurry with tears and your throat felt like it was constricting around fire. You walked quickly to your desk, packing your things to go. Screw studying, there was no way you could allow him to see you like this. It felt selfish to cry over him when you’d been the one to ultimately give him up. The walk back to your house was frozen and miserable, your tears leaving icy streaks against your cheeks. If you’d told yourself 6 months ago that you’d be heart broken and crying over a man now, you would have wanted to throw up. Now you really did want to vomit, the emotion so intense as it clawed at the cavern around your heart. 

Slipping into the front hallway of your apartment, you could hear Jin and Sarah’s voices in the living room and you tried to compose yourself before going in. You really weren’t in the mood to divulge how much of a loser you felt you were. 

You tried to slip passed unseen, muttering a quick hello with your gaze focused on the door to your left, but you should have known better. Sarah knew you too well. 

“Y/N?” You could hear the alarm in her voice, hear the shifting of her clothing as she stood from the couch, “what’s wrong?”

You paused in the doorway to the kitchen, shoulders stiff as you willed yourself not to cry again. “Nothing.” You croaked, squeezing your eyes shut in frustration and clearing your throat. “I’m fine.”

“Don’t give me that.” Sarah scolded, coming to stand in front of you, pulling your chin up to look at her. “What happened?”

You couldn’t hear him or see him, but you knew Jin was sitting behind you on the couch and you wanted more than anything to not blubber your eyes out in front of the roommate and good friend of the guy who’d unintentionally broken your heart. 

“I saw Taehyung.” You mumbled, shrugging, and you could feel rather than see Jin’s eyes on the back of your head. 

“Did you talk to him or something? Was he rude?”

“No,” you shook your head and despite your best efforts, you were crying again, “I’m too late.”

“Come sit down!” Sarah insisted, fussing around you as she sat you on the couch, going to the kitchen to grab you something and you dropped your bag by your feet and buried your face in your hands. 

“I feel so stupid.” You cried and Jin scooted close to you, wrapping his arm around your shoulder and Sarah came back into the room, kneeling in front of you with a glass of water. “Did you know?” You asked, glancing over at Jin and his face fell.

“I’m guessing you’re talking about Beth?” He asked gently and you nodded, wiping the sleeve of your sweater across the top of your lip. He nodded, sadly, “I’m sorry, Y/N.”

“How long have they been together?” You croaked.

He sighed, pulling his hands back into his lap, lacing his fingers together awkwardly. “Probably around 2 weeks now. She texted him all throughout his internship and they just really clicked.”

You felt like your heart might give out. It was like you’d been dumped, but you can’t really break up if you were never together, could you? “I just feel so sad.” You admitted, taking the glass from Sarah and twisting it idly in the circle of your hands. 

“It’s normal to feel sad.” Sarah said gently, “it’s not easy to let someone go when you care about them.”

The idea of letting Taehyung go made you feel sick to your stomach, insides churning. You closed your eyes, taking a deep breath through your nose to calm the nausea. You turned to look at Jin and he looked so sad that you almost felt angry. You didn’t want to be the type of person who incited other people’s pity, it only made things worse. 

“Is he happy?” You asked and Jin squeezed his lips together, like he was trying to keep the words inside. 

“Yeah,” he admitted, “he’s pretty happy.” You nodded, standing and grabbing your bag, pulling it over your shoulder. 

“Good. I want him to be happy more than anything; he deserves it.” You walked quickly towards the kitchen before pausing and turning to look back at your friends. Sarah was still knelt on the floor, one hand resting on Jin’s knee as she kept her eyes trained on you. “Please don’t tell him you saw me…you know, crying.” 

Jin nodded, smiling softly up at you. “Promise.”

You spent the next few hours holed up in your room. Between the attempts at study and a few sessions of wailing into your pillow, you were exhausted. Mostly, you were upset with yourself. This was your own fault; you hadn’t been ready or willing to let him in and he’d moved on. You really couldn’t blame him for that. 

At the end of the day, you really did mean what you’d said to Jin. You wanted Taehyung to be happy. He was such a good guy, so deserving of the love he’d been seeking, even if you couldn’t be the one to give it to him. 

You wanted to be able to look him in the face one day and tell him you were happy for him. You weren’t there yet, but you knew someday you could be. He would just have to be a bittersweet memory that you learned from. Growth was pain and sometimes you really did just burn your bridges. 

Around 5:30 there was a knock at your door and you called softly for whoever was on the other side. Sarah opened the door, leaning against the doorframe. 

“Hey.” She said softly. 

You smiled up at her, index finger bouncing against the surface of your desk with nervous energy.

“We were thinking of going to Harvest tonight, grabbing some soup or something. You wanna come with?”

You shook your head, staring down at the carpet, toes digging into the time worn patterns. “I’m not really hungry.” You said. 

“Ok,” Sarah sighed, “you want me to bring you back something and just leave it in the fridge?”  You shrugged, scratching your fingernail across the top of your wooden chair. “I’ll get you your usual.”

You nodded and she walked across the room, kneeling down in front of you and pulling you into a hug. “I’m so sorry you’re sad.” She whispered, “the pain does go away, I promise. Try and focus on doing things that make you happy.”

You nodded, smiling down at her. “Thanks Sarah.”

After your roommates had left the house, you grabbed your camera, bundling warm into your coat, gloves, and hat, and making your way out into the evening. You needed a distraction. You wandered around aimlessly for a while, unsure of where to go. 

Small roads led to picturesque neighborhoods, icicles hanging from rain gutters and porch railings. You hated the winter, but it sure was beautiful. You snapped pictures here and there, fiddling with the settings and trying new angles. 

The sky was mostly dark, but where the sun had set was still a shadow of light blue and purple. You station yourself in between trees, aiming to capture the lighting just right. The stars above were shining despite the pocket of sunlight still left at the horizon and the picture itself was so beautiful that your heart throbbed a little. If only everything in life could be as awe inducing. 

The slush was beginning to seep uncomfortably into your shoes, but your feet had a mind of their own and you followed their guidance, making your way into a small clearance surrounded by trees, quiet and blocked from the lights of the school around it. 

The snow was pristine, beautiful in its natural state and you realized belatedly that this was the clearing Taehyung had brought you to back in November when you’d gone sledding. It was beautiful, fir trees lining the entire enclosure and you lifted your camera to take some pictures, breathing fog into the air. 

It was amazing the power a cluster of trees could have, blocking out the sounds of the outside world. You felt so far removed from civilization, despite being only a tree line away. It was likely a mistake, but you weren’t really thinking straight so you immediately let your knees buckle under you, plopping in the snow and laying back, letting your camera rest on your chest. 

You were wet and you were cold, but the sky was magnificent. Stars winking down at you from their spots in the universe. You sighed up at the view. It couldn’t fix any of your problems, but somehow, it gave you peace, allowing for a sense of hope to build in your chest. 

You weren’t sure how, but you knew things would be OK. Right now, your heart was aching, but you would move on. You’d missed your shot with Taehyung, but that didn’t mean that there wouldn’t be a shot with another guy somewhere down the line. You’d be ready for him when the time came. 

You stood slowly, shivering as your clothing, now wet with snow, sopped through to your skin. You needed to get home quickly and get warm before you caught a cold; it was maybe already too late to prevent it anyway. 

After returning home and taking a nice warm shower, you cuddled up into bed, listening to the sounds of your roommates returning from dinner. It wasn’t that late, but you felt too tired to stay up, so turning to your desk light, you flipped the switch off and allowed yourself to drift into sleep.

                                                   *************

The next morning you woke late. The sun had long been risen and the house was quiet; you supposed your roommates had already gone to class. You only had 2 classes today and your first didn’t start until 1pm, so you took your time, making breakfast, showering, and getting ready. 

You decided to look your best today. Even though you didn’t really feel that confident on the inside right now, you didn’t need to look the part. There was something to be said for building your confidence in other ways, and though you didn’t think it was smart to always put so much stock in the way you look on the outside, today you needed a little pick me up and a cute look was gonna be it. 

After finishing a very lazy morning routine and even watching an episode of your favorite show, you made your way back to campus and into your cinematography class. In general, your entire schedule this semester was pretty promising and you settled into a brief explanation of what to expect in the class and then a video showcasing work done before, some of the famous names who’d taken the class before stardom, and some movie trailers from movies that the school had worked on directly. Last class you’d merely gone over the syllabus and done introductions, so this was a fun twist. 

By the time you’d left the classroom you were buzzing with excitement, chatting away with a classmate and friend about your expectations for the semester. 

“My dad said that Mike Posner took this class when he was here, and look at him now.” Your friend, Adrian, remarked and you smiled lopsidedly at her. 

“But isn’t he a singer? What does cinematography have to do with that?”

Adrian shrugged, checking her phone before sticking it back in her backpack. “Don’t know, still famous, though. I gotta run to class, only got 20 minutes to make it there and it’s across campus.”

“I wish you luck!” You called, giggling as she waved and bounced off in the other direction. 

You yourself had another class in 30 minutes so you stopped by a vending machine quickly to grab a snack before bundling up again and making your way out into the snow to head to your digital art history class. You were really looking forward to this week because now your classes would actually start to get interesting. 

After class you made your way back to the library to catch up on the work you’d avoided yesterday. Honestly, it was the beginning of the semester so it wasn’t like you were behind on anything, you only had that one assignment, but you liked to feel prepared and ahead of the game. 

You shoved your granola bar in your mouth, staring distractedly at your phone as you made your way down to the first floor of the library. You needed a little peace and quiet that the social atmosphere of the 3rd floor couldn’t afford you. Just as you were stepping through the doors to the first floor, you collided with someone, nearly dropping your phone and gripping the bar between your teeth before looking up, apology dying on your tongue.

“Taehyung.” You breathed, pulling the bar from your mouth. 

His dark hair was fluffy, like he’d just blown it dry, flopping messily across his head. He looked cute. 

“Uh, Hey, Y/N.” He replied, scratching at his chin. 

“How are you?” You asked, looking up at him, watching as his dark eyes darted from your face to the walls around you.

“I’m ok; I’m good. How’re you?”

“Yeah, I’m OK.” You nodded, shifting your feet as the two of you plunged into awkward silence. “I heard you had a good time in California.”

He looked down at you, eyebrows rising in surprise. “From Jin?” You nodded and he continued, “yeah, it was a really cool experience.”

You paused; tongue heavy with the words you wanted to say. I miss you, I’m sorry, I was scared. Nothing felt right, but you should have known your mouth would run before you could really think it through. “I also heard about…you know, about Beth.”

Taehyung frowned, jaw ticking as he clenched his teeth. Perhaps Jin wasn’t supposed to say anything about that, but you’d been the first to see them after all. 

“How long have you guys been together?” You asked awkwardly, the words uncomfortable in your mouth. 

“A little over two weeks.” He said and he sounded annoyed with you. Your heart wilted at the thought.

“Oh.” You nodded. 

“Why oh?”

“I guess it just feels kind of fast.” You commented softly, shrugging.  

“It’s been over two months, Y/N, it hasn’t been that fast. We were never even together. How long do you expect me to pine for someone that doesn’t want me?”

“It was never a matter of not wanting, Taehyung.” You insisted.

“Whatever you want to call it, it doesn’t matter; you rejected me so why are you acting like this?”

“Why her?” You asked. 

“Who, Beth?” At your nod he frowned, “I’m sorry, but it’s honestly none of your business. I offered up my whole heart and you didn’t want it so now it’s time we both move on.” He looked into the distance, nodding at someone over your shoulder, “Look, I gotta go. Have a good semester, ok?” He reached up to pat your shoulder but stopped suddenly, staring at you in discomfort before fisting his hand and dropping it to his side, walking around you. 

You wanted to be sick all over again. You’d really messed up. Not only had you lost out on a guy you’d really liked, but you’d destroyed a friendship. Your bottom lip trembled at the thought, but you refused to lose another night of studying to an all-night cry session. You rounded your shoulders, making your way to a desk at the back of the library and sitting down.

Your broken heart would just have to wait.

____________________________________________

Only two more chapters left in this story and I promise they are MUCH happier than these last few! Thank you so much for sticking around. Please let me know what you think. I’m so curious! xx

Chapter 13

Chapter 15

Copyright © 2017  by taeken-my-heart (Nora.) All rights reserved.

[thefancyspin]

Hello again, This is the anon that asked for you to write something to “break my heart.” By that, I meant a lot of angst and no happy ending. I read your writing that ianmahler requested and craved some more sad stuff lol. I kinda hate myself for requesting it but while I love happy endings and happy moments between Ben and Callum, I just want to read something different. Take your time of course. Lots of love from the States. : )

(this made me really sad so hopefully it fills your angst quota, haha, thank you x)

There’d been one scorching hot day last summer - Callum remembers so vividly, the feeling of sweat dripping down his back, the icecream pooling around his knuckles. It had felt like he and Ben were the only ones left in the Square, with everyone disappearing to the pools and rivers and coast.

Just the two of them. It was a good day.

“What’re we doing?” Ben had asked when they’d finished their icecreams and were lounging in the only patch of shade they could find in the park.

“Huh?”

“Lets go home, get naked, take a long cool bath.”

Callum had laughed. “Remember last time we both tried to fit in that bath?”

“Let's try again."

They had. Laughing and kicking each other and ending up in bed still half damp with the cooler angled at them as Callum slowly fucked into Ben, watching the slow lazy grin on his face.

It was a really, really good day.

“You remember that day, last year?” Callum asks now, as they sit across from each other at the cafe. “It was really hot and everyone disappeared.”

Ben seems to think for a moment. “With the bath?”

Callum laughs, but it’s a hollow sound. “Yeah. That was good.”

“It was,” Ben agrees, then pulls a face. “Why? What’s that go to do with …”

Callum’s glad he doesn’t finish the thought. This. Us, now. 

“I just think about … what happened?”

“Cal.”

“It was so good, Ben.”

“Yeah, it was. We was lucky. But it’s done now, aint it?”

Callum knows that as casual as he sounds, it’s not how he feels. Only weeks ago Ben had gotten drunk and come to Callum’s place at 2 in the morning begging to come back. 

It was a bad idea then, it’s a bad idea now.

But it’s still sad.

Callum’s first true love, and now it’s over. Just like that.

“I gotta get back,” he says, downing the last of his coffee. “Jay’ll be screaming.”

“Yeah, me too. I’ll - I’ll see ya round.”

“You will,” Callum tells him, not as a promise but as a certainty. They’re not partners, or boyfriends, and maybe they’re not friends right now either. But one day, maybe, hopefully.

There were too many good days to end it like that.

They were too good. 

[letstalksymphogear]

Symphogear, EP. 4 (Cont)

The gremlin challenges Tsubasa, a Symphogear, whose entire shtick is to sing to channel power, to sing.

It dawns on her, however, that Tsubasa is part Greninja. Tsubasa used Shadow-Weaving! It’s super effective.

“tell me, you jellyfish looking weirdo...”

“hey- hey, time out. are you gonna do what i think you’re gonna do. this is gonna like, kill you. you know that, right? that you will literally die? you do understand you can just retreat now or- or just take hibiki away, right? i even told you that was the whole point of this... uh... oh shit.”

“ARE YOU READY TO JAM”

“tsubasa please i will literally lend you my remaining brain cell to stop you from this really stupid mistake”

Dad has entered the server.

“oh my god. oh my god. oh my god. oh my god. o- ryoko. stop breathing on me. this isnt helping my anxiety over my adopted daughter figure literally preparing to kill herself over my commands.”

“sorry babe its just the asthma, forgot my inhaler”

“i cannot FUCKING believe of ALL the opponents i had to fight i had to fight the DUMBEST one on the goddamn block, you idiot, you absolute dunce, RETHINK THIS”

“OH GOD SHE’S DOING IT! SHE’S DOING IT! THE ABSOLUTE MADWOMAN- FUCK- FUCK! GET ME OUT OF HERE! FUCK! FUCK!”

“just used up my last brain cell for this attack, pal. you’re through.”

“NAH, EAT ASS YOU- YOU GODDAMN MANIAC”

“HAHA YEAH, GOT YOU NOW, SLOW WALKING, DRAMA INDUCIN’, PURPLE RAIN CHANN-”

“OH GOD! YOU TELEPORTED! YOU’VE GOT SV_CHEATS SET TO 1, DON’T YOU! NOCLIPPING LIKE NOBODY’S BUSINESS GET OUT OF MY FACE”

“WHOA WHOA WHOA WHAT THE FUCK WHOA I KNOW I CRACKED SOME JOKES BUT WE LITERALLY JUST MET AND I- I GOTTA KNOW PEOPLE FIRST BEFORE THIS SHIT AND- OH GOD PLEASE STOP”

“OH GOD! THIS... RAW, GAY, REPRESSED ENERGY... IT’S... TOO STRONG...”

The gremlin could not begin to comprehend Tsubasa’s intense love for incredibly well-built redheaded women.

Hibiki can, though.

“SO......... MUCH........... SAUCE...................”

“.................................................”

The gremlin retreats after getting her licks. This scene subtly implied something; the Nehushtan armor she wears regenerates over time, which means no matter how much damage it sustains, it will always return in one piece. The same can’t be said for the user, though.

Hibiki runs to Tsubasa, checking if she’s okay, totally oblivious to the gravity of what just happened.

“i came just as i could and ive brought happy meals for everyone”

Genjuro asks if Tsubasa is okay.

I dunno man, this is a pretty tough judgement call here. I mean, is she okay? Pain is a pretty subjective experience, after all.

“oh my god i get it. i get the joke she implied. she wanted to jam. she’s jammed! cause it- it looks like jam! no, wait, its more like sauce...”

It dawns on Hibiki that people actually do die during this job.

Tsubasa, as it turns out, survived her Swan Song. It makes sense that she would because she was naturally receptive to her relic, Ame-No-Habakiri. Still, the injury comes with great gravity. She’s benched for the next season, and it’s likely she’s gonna miss the playoffs.

Stuck on a respirator on the edge of life, Tsubasa will probably look back at this and go, “Gosh, I was such a wild child. Haha. Almost dying and all.”

Hibiki wraps her single braincell around the idea of death. Most main characters aren’t familiar with the concept of death, you see, because most don’t die. But this is Season One Symphogear. Flirting with death is common.

Ogawa comes in to comfort her.

“dumbass had her opponent bound and the gremlin still escaped anyway”

Ogawa then explains shit we already know. Thanks, Ogawa.

“in summation: i get where you’re coming from, but stop fucking saying ‘im gonna replace kanade’, please, im begging you”

Hibiki FINALLY gets it, and naturally upon realizing, feels really bad for it. A real right and true asshole.

“oh thank god i was worried not even that was going to get to you”

Meanwhile, in Tsubasa’s mind...

“ah fuck me. im trapped in metaphor limbo. see, im falling because i clipped my wing, cause i nearly died, you know, like icarus and shit”

“hold up my gay senses are tingling”

Her senses confirmed. Kanade is in her mind, in probably the most romantic metaphor possible. There is absolutely no way to interpret all of this platonically.

Tsubasa is literally submerged in a sea of her own emotions...

Involving Kanade, and how she strives to be like her and honor her memory.

SHE LITERALLY DROWNS IN THOSE EMOTIONS, SUBMERGING DEEPER INTO THE WATER.

Tsubasa, in her Symphogear Brand Medical Cocoon for the Dumb and Beaten Down, quietly slumbers in her semi-comatose state as she wrestles the water metaphors of her own sexual identity.

The poor thing just misses her girlfriend.

Meanwhile, Hibiki sits and thinks more than usual. In a flashback, Genjuro muses about how The Gremlin wanted to kidnap Hibiki.

“i dunno maybe The Gremlin’s super lonely or shit”

“i mean if thats the case ill just adopt her too”

Since Tsubasa is away, Hibiki has to pick up the quota for teenage angst in the 2nd Division. Unfortunately, she has very big shoes to fill, but Hibiki isn’t one for slacking in the misery department. She blames herself for everything.

“im really going to fire the therapist we have around here for being pretty damn useless”

“can i be the therapist?”

“ryoko i am absolutely begging you to filter your bad ideas given the several teenage crises we’re dealing with right now”

Hibiki then yells out, for what is possibly the third time, out of the blue:

“I HAVE PEOPLE I WANT TO PROTECT”

The flashback ends.

And speaking of girlfriends.

“there is no force on this planet stopping me from having some quality fucking time with my girlfriend damnit”

Miku points out Hibiki has been pretty lonely. Says she heard it from a friend who, heard it from a friend who, heard it from another she was messin’ ‘round.

Unfortunately, Miku is a goddamned chad.

Immediate handholding. Make no mistake. Behind those soft-spoken eyes lies an absolute master.

“o-oh, my hand, you’re holding it, so smoothly”

“hibiki, you’re my sunshine. i want to soak up your rays so hard that every piece of flesh of my body is horribly mutilated from skin cancer.”

“jesus christ miku at least use sunscreen in your metaphors”

“ill use them just for you, hibiki. just for you.”

Their relationship is interesting. When one of them is sad, the other sorta acts as an angst vacuum. You’ll see them flip flop with their points of misery with each other, but when together, those problems always melt away.

Of course, emphasis on being together. Season 1 is the worst with keep them away from each other.

“Just Be Yourself!” Miku Kohinata, Symphogear, 2012.

“fuck me, you’re right. im the protagonist. i cant just eat shit here the whole time. i gotta do protagonist things!”

“was that an invitation?”

“another time. but now... let’s just catch up.”

And so, they laugh together about how the recorded footage of the meteor shower was all black. Truly the greatest couple of all time.

It is this realization of being her own self, coupled with her renewed gay energy, and new perspective on what she must do, that causes everything to go uphill for her from here. Take note.

Here is where a God is truly born.

Tachibana Hibiki.

The end of this episode cuts to a specific dojo.

Genjuro’s dojo.

“i dont fuck around with training, even though i probably should have trained you sooner. you sure about this?”

“dadman either you do this or i will most definitely die next time”

Part of their training involves watching action movies, because Genjuro is so unreal that he should frankly be a fictional character in the very universe he exists in.

Fucking adorable.

“im so conflicted its so clear she’s part of /fit/ now but i cant help but imagine her washboard abs”

Hibiki balls even harder at karaoke now, due to her Symphogear training, and not because she’s secretly Aoi Yuki playing a recolored version of Madoka.

Her significant other is mildly terrified at the superhuman that is slowly unfolding her powers before her eyes.

In the end, things all reach their logical conclusion.

Hibiki becomes a Tekken character, just like Genjuro.

Of course... Miku pushes the fact very subtly that she would never hide anything from Hibiki...

Turmoil brews in the worst way... soon...

[cybrfang]

You're Family

Hey:) can you make a fic or something where the lost boys are new kids at The readers school and they try to recruit her? Thanks :)

Requested by: Anon

Tagging: @thelostgirl-crylittlesister @excusememecouldyoupleaseleave @lionheartmadre @dead-inside-and-drunk-outside @trekmeoutgoodlooking @coffinkin @uwu-ni @any of else that I've missed

Tags: slight angst, cussing, anxiety about school, rude teachers.

Ayy!! Hopefully you like it, I've been trying to work on my writing and make it a lot better lol. I'm thinking of putting all my stories on my AO3 account lol. What do y'all think?

You weren't particularly having a good day so far. First your little brother spills his finger paints on your algebra homework, then you find out you left your Honors chemistry paper at home and now, half of your group -meaning everyone but you and Tanner- are at home sick, or ditching. So, that means you've got to do the presentation on the industrial revolution all by yourself, and let's face it, Tanner isn't going to help you one bit. To top it all off, David and his goons are here to convince you to join their merry little band of men. Well… teenage boys, one teenage girl, and a young boy. But Star stayed home with Laddie. She at least appreciated your opinion on things.

It just isn't fair! You've been doing everything right, being a good girl! You've been going to bed on time, showing up for class, and hell, you've even stopped drinking and smoking! But life still wanted to play the villain in this tale. You try and you try, but evil keeps winning. And by evil, you mean stupid pretty boy vampires who now have access to your night school somehow. Why they were here, well, you knew the answer to that. But, why they decided to actually enroll in your school was beyond you. They've been here for about 3 weeks now. As angry as you were, you had to hand it to them… they were definitely committed to this charade.

The worst part of your day so far though… AP Government. You didn't even know a single thing about American Government. Well… you knew somethings. But, only the things they forced you to learn in middle school, aka over 42 pages a night in the textbooks with annotations to prove you actually studied. You also knew the things that actually interested you, and mattered in your life. Last year's World History class was kinda fun. So, of course you did your work, and got A's and B's (with the occasion C) on your tests. But, the only problem in that was the teacher actually thought you were smart. He told you that you would do really well in AP Government, that you could handle it. And, like a fool, you took him up on his offer. Let's just say, that was probably the dumbest thing you've ever done in your life besides chill with the lost boys. Now to make matters worse, those creeping assholes were in your class. You were currently sitting at your desk, trying to finish the timeline that was due today when you felt something hit your back.

'Just ignore them (Y/N), you have work to do and Ms. Murray won't give you a deadline.’ She probably would if you were being honest with yourself. You always pushed yourself with this class to the point of a break down. Most of the papers you turned in had tear stains on them. One of the boys would find you in your room hyperventilating, curled up in a ball almost every week. That's one of their reasons for trying to ‘save’ you from this place. You had a theory that she had a quota she's gotta meet for the amount of kids she has to break. You figured enrolling in night school would make things a lot easier -you also figured that it would make you too busy to hang with the boys and sorta fuck up and drink David's blood or something- on your poor mental state after last year. But, again… you were wrong.

*Thwack*

God damnit! Can't they take a damn hint or something? You needed to do work, not joke around or skip class, or whatever they wanted you to do. Fucking boundaries people!  With this new distraction you were a little behind schedule. It was irking you to no end that they just up and decided to go put themselves in your day… well night but it didn't matter. You weren't going to take them up on this dumb offer. No way were you gonna stay in just one place for the rest of your life. Besides what if they got bor-

*Thwack*

“For fucks sake, WHAT?!” You turned around in your seat to glare daggers at an innocent looking Paul. Who it so happened, was in the process of balling up another paper to throw at you. Your little whispered outburst wasn't as quiet as you had hoped it was. You heard your teacher's chair scrap on the ground as she stood up. “If you're still working you shouldn't be talking.” You turned back around to look at her, heat creeping up on your face. She must be waiting for a response from you, or else she was just looking at you to make everyone around you know that she was calling you out. You were beyond lucky that you were a decent liar. Many months with those morons at least gave you something.

“No, I'm not done with my work. I just wanted to help Paul with his timeline. He's a bit behind and still working on American Political Ideologies and Beliefs so I wanted to give him a few tips.”

Ms. Murray smiled a bit, looking like she didn't just try to embarrass you and nodded, “Well as long as you can do your work and talk at the same time then.” She gestured down at your timeline which was in need of a bit of color. You snuck a look behind you and felt a childish urge to stick out your tongue. David and his boys were smirking at you, finally catching your attention in what seemed like forever. You guessed that they took your glare as an invitation to join your table with the false notion that you were going to help them with their work, because that's exactly what they did.

“Ugh, what do you want?” You looked up at the teacher, keeping your voice low.

“We just want your help sista.” Dwayne leaned back in his chair, pointing to his timeline, which was just a blank piece of paper with his name hastily scribbled on the bottom left hand corner. All of their papers looked like that, except for Marko's. His had a few facts on it, with a little scribble of a robot cat next to his name.

“Sure. You want my help, and I want jump in the middle of traffic.” Dwayne chuckled at your words, grabbing his paper and balling it up like the ones thrown at your back a few moments ago. He leaned forward a bit, reaching to tuck your hair behind your ear. “We've done that before.” You thought for a moment on that memory of playing chicken with all of them. But that didn't matter at the moment. “What do you really want? I'm trying to get my work done here.” Paul opened his mouth, but you cut him off.

“And if this is about you trying to abduct me into your weird undead cult, then forget about it.” You slammed your colored pencil on the table in a huff, breaking off the tip. Damnit, you needed that stupid color to get this paper over with. If you finished early, you could claim you didn't feel good and leave. Groaning, you got up with the pencil, and walked over to the sharpener. You vaguely heard someone get up and follow behind you. Stopping to stand next to you as you positioned your pencil.

“It's not a cult.”

You snorted rolling your eyes, looking at David. “Doesn't matter what it is. I'm not going to join it.” His face was blank, not letting you see the emotions behind his words, but his voice alone made you realize he was losing his patients “You’re testin’ me kid. I've been nice because of Star, but tell me why I shouldn't just give up and leave you to the wolves.” You felt your body go numb, your throat closing up a bit hearing the threat underneath the words. The threat of leaving. You shoved your pencil in the machine, letting it's loud noise fill the classroom. You looked down at it, needing to escape the piercing blue eyes still studying you. When you pulled your pencil out, you looked back at David. “You’re way too invested in me at this point, and Marko and Paul wouldn't let you hear the end of it if you did.” You took a step back, looking at him still. “Plus, I seem to remember you making a promise never to give up on me. You don't really seem like the type to break a promise, and that promise doesn't really have a loophole in it.”

You weren't going to give that thought up anytime soon. It didn't matter if he was high or you were drunk that night. He promised on his family that he would never give up on you. You even made him pinky promise. You walked back to your table and sat down before he did. Pulling your chair in for him to easily pass behind you, he leaned down by your ear; speaking so quietly it was almost like he didn't even speak at all. “I'm a vampire, not fae. I can break promises if I want… you're just lucky that your fun.” Marko snickered into his hand as David sat down, earning a glare from you. He held up his hands in surrender, a mischievous smile on his face. It wasn't just mischievous though, it was the face of someone who wanted you to laugh too, to bring you in on the joke. That helped put you at ease. You knew they all liked you, it was obvious from the way they treated you and tried to get you to join them. But, you had your reasons and you needed to stick with them.

“Why can't we just go back to hanging out without you guys pestering me all the time? I would love to chill all night and not have to watch what I'm drinking for a red color.” You chuckled a bit, not even that frustrated. “I would love to drink wine again without the constant fear of it being blo-”

Each boy seemed to jump a bit towards you, but with Paul being the closest to you it was his hand that covered your mouth. This wasn't something new to you, but it still pissed you off. But, before you could yank his hand off of your face, you heard the monotone voice of your teacher right behind you.

“Ms. (L/N) if you want to continue this conversation, don't you think it would be wise to just step out of the room?” You turned around to stare at her, the implication in her voice making a dull fire start to burn in your gut. “You obviously don't appreciate the time I'm giving you to finish your assignment, and you would rather just sit around goofing off, holding your peers back.”

The last part of that sentence seemed to pour gasoline on the flame. You pushed back in your seat to stand up, shaking the tables and missing the satisfied smiles on the boys around you. “I'm holding them back? Oh hunny you must think they're here to get an actual education. When was the last time they actually turned anything  in?” She made to cut you off, holding up her index finger as if to scold a young child. “When was the last time anyone in this fucking class actually turned in anything completed other than me?” You stepped forward a bit, your hands curling into fists. She seemed to notice as she backed up from you, her eyes darting to the phone on her desk.

“Oh just fucking…fuck it!” You grabbed your timeline and crumpled it up in a ball, turning to throw it at her. She had moved when you turned around. So instead of hitting the wall near her, you ended up hitting her in the face with a lot of extra force for a paper ball. Your skin burned again like earlier, but your scowl stayed in place. She opened her mouth, her face around it probably more red than yours, but was cut off for the second time. Around 4 more paper balls hit her in the face with a lot more force than necessary. You didn't wait to see what she had to say after that. You grabbed your things and left the room, hearing the boys laughing and following after you.

You made it down the block from the school before what you did truly hit you. “Oh god, oh fuck, oh god, oh fuc-” You felt a pair of hands grab you from behind and spin you around.

“Marko put me down!”

He laughed in response, pulling you in for a hug from behind. Dwayne hugged you from the front, barricading you in an arm prison. A car driving by honked, making you groan. Paul popped his head over Marco's shoulder looking at you while David did the same but from behind Dwayne's shoulder, almost standing next to all of you. “Why are you freaking out babe?” Marko mumbled to you. His lips brushed against the top of your ear, causing goosebumps to rise on your arms. “Why? Did you just ask why dude? Cuz I'm pretty sure I just got myself kicked out of school that's why.” You slumped down defeated in the boys arms, falling between them on the ground. If you looked up at this moment it would look very wrong for all the beeping cars driving by. David pulled out a cigarette and lighter, putting the cigarette in his mouth. He pointed at Paul, and then at you while lighting the smoke.

Paul smiled and weaved his way in between both boys, scooping you up bridal style. You leaned into his chest, not expecting any warmth, but feeling comfortable nonetheless. You sniffed the air, confusion on your face. He smiled, leaning down to speak to you. “We had to take so may baths, spray so much shit on us so we didn't smell dead in our seats for long. The lengths we all went through just to get you to talk to us mama.” You rolled your eyes, a smile tugging at your lips. “None of you thought to call me? At least send me a text?” You smirked knowing the answer before they said it. Of course they wouldn't do that, they didn't like phone. The phones they liked needed a quarter to call someone. Dwayne shook his head, ignoring your question.

“We needed to show you that we were serious.” You were quiet when Paul placed you on the ground in the alley a few more blocks away from the school. You were out of prying eyes from the road. “I knew you guys were serious, but you're just…” You trailed off trying to find the right words. They were wrong for wanting you to join them. They were wrong and you knew it. They just didn't know it yet. Of all of the things they could've asked from you, they choose forever.

“Wrong?”

You looked up at Paul, a small frown on his face. It made your heart ache to think that he didn't truly know.

“(Y/N), the only one wrong here is you.” The ache went away, stubbornness replacing it as David crouched in front of you, turning his head to blow smoke out. “We know what we want. We want you. We know what you want. You want us.” Ugh they could be so infuriating sometimes. “You don't know what I want, if you knew what I wanted you wouldn't be trying to force any of this on to me. You haven't taken what I want in consideration at all!” You pushed yourself off the ground, looking down at David as he stayed crouched. “Then tell us what you want then.” He mumbled, slowly following after you. Looking into his eyes, you felt your own tear up at all of the confusing feelings swarming in your head. After a few moments of silence trying to get your thoughts in order, you felt the tears slip down your face.

“I don't want to be forgotten David. I don't want to be stuck in one place for the rest of my life if all of you find out I'm not what you all thought I was. I don't want Laddie or Star to figure out one day that I'm the worst thing to happen in this family.” You wrapped your arms around yourself, squeezing tightly. You felt fingers on your face, wiping away the tears streaming down it. You looked over to your right, locking eyes with Dwayne. He looked almost disappointed. You would too if you found out that someone was right about something you were blind to. You just wanted to go home, this was all too much and after tonight you might've just lost the only true friends you had.

“Why would we forget you?” You looked over at Paul, confusion on his face. “You're probably the dopest chick we know. What other human wants to try to ride a motorcycle standing on the seat? Or playing in the highway with us? What other human is willing to distract a police officer and a carni just so we can unscrew a horse on the merry go round? Who has the guts to do all of that?” You chuckled remembering all those times and more. “You would find someone like me on that front don't worry.” You tried to back up, the wall behind you making that impossible. Marko reached forward and flicked you on the nose, making a tsk tsk noise. “No we wouldn't. Do you know how afraid people are of us?” You saw Dwayne nod out of the corner of your eye. “You are probably the first human to ever walk up to us in public, and demand that we tell you we're not human.” You laughed a bit more, remembering the shocked faces that night. “Well….none of you are really discreet you know? I mean what normal human jumps off a ferris wheel?” You scoffed as they all pointed at you, “Not so I can scare people! Maybe I would if I was drunk but come on, really?”

David stepped forward, throwing his cigarette on the ground and stepping on it. “As for Star and Laddie, they think the world of you. You're all they ask about when we would get home. I'm pretty sure Star has a crush on you.” You opened your mouth to dispute that, but he placed a finger at your lips, pointing to his head. “Trust me, I know. Okay?” You nodded, but you weren't fully convinced. “Laddie sees you like a big sister. He loves you.” You felt your face heat up, one last time. God, how many times were you going to blush tonight? David reached into his trench coat, pulling out a flask and holding g in front of your face. “Be one of us (Y/N). Come home.” You stared at the flask, so many thoughts running through your head. He noticed your hesitation and nodded, “If you say no, I promise we won't ask again. Just… say yes.” It almost seemed like he had a hint of desperation in his voice. Almost like he wanted you to know that in his own way, he cared. You looked around at the other boys. Dwayne, Marko and Paul. They cared too. Why did it take you so long to really see that? To see that they all love you in their own weird ways.

They were already your family. You didn't need to drink blood to see that now, but…

You reached out, grabbing the flask and watching David's face. He gave nothing away, in case you changed your mind. You unscrewed the lid, narrowing your eyes in the dark midnight. You couldn't see anything, but you would bet from the almost iron like smell, that it was his blood in there. “Sleep all day?” The boys around you smiled, trying not to laugh. Dwayne leaned forward, “Party all night girl.” You let out a deep breath, closing your eyes. A smile tugged at your lips, feeling that you made the right choice. “It better be fun, being a vampire.” You brought the flask to your lips, downing a few swings. You heard the boys around you laugh and yell, almost sounding far away. You opened your eyes, finding yourself to be alone. The flask in your hand was empty, you drank it all. That's weird… you only remember drinking a few gulps. You heard the echoes of laughter around you, the ally way finally giving away that Dawn was approaching. You stepped out, and walked to a place where you could see the sun.

You ended up on the boardwalk, your limbs protesting and asking for sleep. But, you settled on the sand and stared out over the ocean, watching the sun rise. It felt almost sad, with you not knowing how long the sunrises would last for you. You didn't know much about being a vampire, but the main deal was no sunlight. You shook your head, getting rid of the thought. It would be something you dealt with for another time. You smiled as the sun was in the sky, the wind blowing your hair a bit. This was going to be… interesting. You stood up, and began to head home to go to sleep. You were going to have a busy night later.

[takaraphoenix]

I just discovered your blog after binge reading a lot of your Nicercy fanfics and I just gotta thank you for singlehandedly filling my fluff quota for Nicercy. Honestly your writing is so adorable and sweet, even the ones that have a bit of angst are still so fluffy and I love it!💕😍 You’re amazing and I want to thank you for all your hand work!

Aw, thank you! That is so sweet of you ^///^

I’m glad I could fulfill all the fluffy Nicerc ycravings *grins*

[dinoblip]

i found guardians of the galaxy vol 2 a bit shit

I saw it a little less than a week ago and I’m still disappointed.

I prefer to think of this post more of an “analysis” than a rant but itll probably be more the latter.

also these are all just opinions, if you liked it thats fine.

(spoilers ahead)

1. the writing

i mean i wasnt expecting it to be a masterpiece, hardly any sequels are, but the humour of the first film was 100% tied to the clever screen writing. 

and here it felt like the writer was hamfistedly trying SO GODDAMN HARD to be funny and it never really seemed to land except in 1 or 2 scenes (the groot button scene and the scene where groot is explaining why he doesnt like hats).

This might just be my dumb sense of humour here, i know plenty of people who did find it funny but so many lines just left me cold or rolling my eyes.

An example is this fruit gag and the set-up is okay. 

One of the first things nebula says in the film that she wants a piece of fruit which she is then denied because it isn’t ripe yet. This is fine, its humorous because of the casual tone of the question and the somewhat overly stern and ridiculous answer, the outright denial perhaps being because gamora doesnt want to be charitable to her sister at all. It works. 

Then it gets reestablished: theyre now fighting people and the fruit is on the ground in the fray and nebula is still a prisoner. Now she asks Drax for the fruit and Drax yells over his gun “no its still not ripe”. This doesnt work quite as well cause it doesnt make quite as much logical sense and its basically the same conversation as before. So its not funny here.

Then the pay-off doesnt work because its too hamfisted. There is a reveal that nebula has managed to escape and now has a gun in one hand and the fruit in the other. That alone would have been a good pay-off because theres a sense of misplaced priorities, maybe simply because she kept getting denied it she went out of her way to bring it with her. I chuckled at that.

But then the script makes her triumphantly take a bite out of it, spit it out dramatically as if its disgusting and then explain “it wasnt ripe”. And they film it as if thats the punchline. It was too hammy to be funny, it seemed like such a waste of an opportunity. 

Like they could have made it more understated like they could have stretched it out a little. Here’s an idea for what they could have done instead. Shes quite a proud character so her taking a bite in triumph fits her character fine but once she takes a bite, she smiles for a bit that sorta slowly turns into a bit of a grimace but continues chewing determinedly, her face a picture of disgust. that could be the end of the scene or it could continue by then having a ravager break the silence to ask if shes alright. she sorta manages to swallow it down but when she next talks her voice could be a bit claggy and constantly sounding like shes on the verge of coughing which would undermine her authority over the situation. 

This is one of the few times they attempt a recurring joke and it doesnt work at all (off the top of my head i cant even remember one other one and the first film had so many). Other examples of failed jokes include pretty much all lines said by Drax who only seems to laugh manically and insult Mantis and nothing else including one which doesnt even work within his character (this one: mantis is watching all the raider funeral fireworks and she says that theyre beautiful and drax is staring at her and says “yes, beautiful” pause “on the inside” ITS ESTABLISHED OVER AND OVER THAT HE IS LITERAL MINDED SO WHY IS HE SAYING THAT). And I would also say that alot of the jokes with Groot aren’t very good either and neither is his character in this film but dont worry I’m gonna justify that in a second. I plan on giving him an entire fucking section.

So not only did the jokes not work but even the normal conversations felt stilted. And so often it almost looked like the actors werent sure of how they were meant to say lines in a way that would sound natural. Peter Quill wasn’t sounding like Peter Quill all of a sudden, Gamora didnt feel like Gamora.

It made for a confusing experience. I kept having to question myself for not laughing at a joke or feeling emotionally invested in what was happening. i ended up asking myself alot “this is a guardians of the galaxy film, why arent i having fun?”

2. the story

I freaking loved where they went with the character development of yandu and nebula (she and gamora are my favs) but it made me realise how mindless the main story is. The only thing i found exciting about the main storyline was yandu’s backstory and then his redemption AND THEN THEY KILLED HIM. SO WHATEVER. NEVERMIND. Just so they could have a tearjerker ending.

anyway back on track, the main storyline, starlord’s was pretty standard and you could see the fact that starlord’s dad is evil from the beginning, mainly cause he’s shown to be too cool and flawless at first which is a big warning sign. It was more just boring than anything else. Though the cg for Ego rematerialising in really disgusting ways was amazing. But thats hardly a substitute really.

It’s just: chris pratt goes to find father -> turns out his dads a planet therefore chris pratt is Special™ -> oh no his dads bad what a shocker and he’s wanting galactic domination -> now they gotta fight and they do.

Everything else (which is alot by the way, there is so much “everything else”) is basically unrelated except yandu’s story but even then he has this mutiny happening on his ship for a bunch of the film which has nothing to do with most things. And then after a bloodbath he ends up flying his own ship again so none of that mattered and any consequences of killing an entire crew (that you would guess would be around for some reason like, i don’t know, maintaining the ship so it can fly places) simply do not exist. And then after that up til the Big Fight, yandu, yandu’s right-hand man (cant remember his name) and rocket scream into the camera for a while while they warp through apparently too many warp points or something. cause it seems like they had to fill up 3 minutes.

Meanwhile Chris Pratt and gamora have romantic tension or something while he tries to come onto her and stuff and she isn’t into it and then her development is her coming round to him? She doesnt have any other story except being attacked by nebula sometimes and not doing anything in the Big Fight for some reason????? She and nebula fall off a ledge which they cling to for most of the fight while mantis does her mind-fuckery til she gets knocked out and then the dudes take care of it.

Rocket’s character development is mainly yandu telling him not to push people away and that he knows what its like to be in rocket’s shoes yadda yadda. so that gives rocket some time to be angsty cause they need to fill there angst quota somewhere.

like i said i did like nebula’s character development and her backstory but it wasnt really relevant either. it did flesh her out as a character tho.

my main issue with the story was there was an emphasis on these character subplots which ususally I’m all for. But if there was a main plotline which actually tied it all together then it would have worked. It was all well themeatically of having all these characters choosing their families over their bloodties. But having all these subplots almost occur in a vaccum away from all the other subplots AND the main storyline, makes for a really slowww film. in which once a scene ends, more often than not, you have to ask yourself “and what was the point of that”.

And also once you start giving fleshed out character development for the sake of fleshed out character development and not for the overall plot, it makes the fact that some character’s weren’t given this treatment all the more apparent.

Like Drax, in the first film he was a very well developed character. But as i said earlier, literally all he does in GotG2 is laugh alot and tell mantis she’s ugly.

and then there’s groot’s character develop- HA NO

3. GROOT

there is no character development for groot because groot has no character.

groot has ceased to exist and a vacuous void has been been put in his place. that is the only explanation i can come up with for the way he is depicted: he died at the end of the last film, his consciousness vacated his body and then when he was being regrown, no consciousness was left to get put into it.

look

i really dont like being pandered to and here marvel was clearly pandering to anyone who thought little stick groot dancing at the end of the first film was adorable. and i did, obviously. who didnt? but when you try to replace character and motivation with cute, it wont work.

he is dancing and when he’s not dancing he’s misunderstanding information or being near useless in battles. All while he has that creepy vacant smile is on his face.

the camera freaking loves this idiot. to the point that the title sequence just has him dancing to mr blue sky while looking straight into the fucking camera, WHILE A WHOLE FIGHT IS HAPPENING AROUND HIM THAT I WOULD MUCH RATHER SEE.

for one thing, its an injustice to mr blue sky. that shits my jam.

for another thing, there is no music playing within the scene, its non-diegetic. so why’s he dancing?????

in the first film it makes sense cause not only cause the music matters to starlord but also cause it is happening in the scene, he’s listening to it on his headphones and it goes away when he takes them off. it also serves for conveying his character. and also the cinematography is great:the sweeping camera moves and visual gags really make you excited for the film to come.

Here, not only does it not make sense for him to be dancing as there’s no music, it also doesnt make sense for him to be dancing in the middle of a battle or dancing for a camera that he knows the presence off (this aint no 4th wall breaker or it shouldnt be). also the cinematography sucks cause hes too fucking small now so if you go for a wide shot you cant see the fucker. and also youd get distracted from his dancing because of all the action thats happening and WE CANT HAVE THAT. And the animation is good (i mean of course its good its fucking marvel) but they went so out of their way to kid-ify him that his arms and legs are really quite small compared to his head. Which would be fine, but with a dance-number, big arm and leg movements feel very small and don’t match the big music. I really felt a disconnect between what i was seeing and the music i was hearing. it didnt fit (while in the first film it so totally did).

the biggest issue i have with it is that it prioritises the wrong character. it prioritises groot when groot doesnt even have a semblence of a story. he does 2 things in the whole film: unlock a cage and carry a bomb for a little bit (because they realised that he wasnt doing anything so they threw him a bone).

then youve got the other characters getting introduced by telling him off for dancing. which is fair enough but it introduces them as sticks in the mud which is a weird way to introduce the main characters of a Fun Quirky Comedy film. 

like i watched this opening and not only got annoyed at how long it felt but i also genuinely thought “oh i guess this is a groot film”. 

I cannot even begin to explain how much could have gone wrong for me to think that.

I kinda hope the 3rd film (which you can bet your ass Marvel is making right now) is better or at least maybe not as rushed cause i did love the first film and it would be a shame for it to get chewed up in the haste to make make as much money off it as possible before it becomes irrelevant.

C’mon James Gunn. you’re better than this. Sometimes.

P.S. the gold people lol

[bisoras]

since apparently i didnt fill my angst quota w fanille week my brain is making up for it w my seiner fic haha gotta love that internalized homophobia and hypermasculinity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1