#but a part of me misses the pining and the identity shenanigans | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

there-must-be-a-lock · 4 years ago

Text

wings & the way down - part 1

Spencer Reid x Derek Morgan

The Moreid high school AU! In which there will (eventually) be pining, misunderstandings, identity crises, and general teenage shenanigans.

Word Count: ~1520 this chapter.

Warnings: Awkward boys flirting awkwardly.

A/N: Title from a Ray Bradbury quote: “If we listened to our intellect we'd never have a love affair... You've got to jump off the cliff all the time and build your wings on the way down.”

This is shaping up to be long. Oh boy. Please let me know if you want to be tagged in future installments!

Thursday, January 2 - Spencer

“Checkmate.”

“Yeah, I thought so.” Spencer examines the board and frowns before movement catches his eye.

Gideon is pointing out where he went wrong, but Spencer isn’t paying attention any more. Losing to Gideon isn’t a particularly novel or interesting experience, and there’s something — someone — much more interesting walking into the park. Spencer crosses his legs, shifting on the bench to rest his elbows on his knees, and watches.

It’s cold for Vegas, 60ish and breezy, but the guy is wearing short sleeves like this isn’t his usual January. New in town? But Spencer hasn’t seen anyone moving in. Visiting family for the holidays, maybe. He’s got the look of a newcomer: carefully cultivated confidence, studied swagger covering for the unease that always comes with foreign territory.

There are other things, too, things that Spencer tries not to notice: biceps rippling under the short sleeves, long skilled fingers spinning a basketball idly as he walks, a bright white flash of a grin when he sees Spencer staring —

Spencer is staring. Crap.

He looks down at the chessboard much too quickly — there’s no way it comes off as anything other than guilty. He glares daggers at his bishop as Gideon clears his own pieces away.

“Rematch tomorrow?” Spencer offers, trying to keep his eyes on the board. “School doesn’t start until next week.”

“Can’t tomorrow, going up to the cabin. Call you when I get back.”

“Sounds good.”

Spencer sneaks a stealthy glance, only to see the guy grinning in his direction, and he averts his eyes again, blushing furiously.

Gideon barks over his shoulder, “See you soon, Doctor Reid.”

The nickname makes Spencer smile at Gideon’s retreating back, but then he looks down at his lap and remembers he’s sitting criss-cross applesauce, wearing his fraying Converse and his mismatched socks — one covered with yellow dinosaurs, one argyle. He sighs to himself. Gideon treats him like an adult, but most people sure as hell don’t, and Spencer can’t exactly blame them.

“You wanna shoot some hoops?” the stranger calls out, and Spencer doesn’t look up, because he’s obviously talking to someone else, except…“You in the Chucks! Pretty boy!”

That makes Spencer look up fast, because he assumes it’s sarcastic; it’s the sort of stupid thing the jocks at school might yell, right before they ask him if he wears women’s underwear, or something. There’s no trace of malice on the guy’s face, though. His smile is so bright it’s hard to look at.

Something warm and awful curls in Spencer’s stomach.

“I don’t really — I don’t do hoops,” he mutters, averting his eyes again.

The guy takes the seat opposite his, sprawling out, taking up space. Spencer hunches in on himself, poking at the beginnings of a hole on the faded knee of his favorite jeans.

“I could teach you.”

“Given my lack of hand-eye coordination, I really doubt that,” Spencer tells him, which gets a laugh; eyes sparkle, a dimple creases his cheek — he smiles with his whole face.

“I’m Derek. Derek Morgan.”

Spencer raises one hand in an awkward wave. “Spencer. I’m — Reid’s my — Spencer is me. That’s my name.”

Yikes.

“You from around here?” Derek asks, twirling the basketball on his fingertip, showing off casually.

Spencer nods and then blurts out, “You’re not. Morgan — is that like the Morgans on Lake Road?”

“Sure is. That’s my auntie and uncle. I’m staying with them for a bit.”

“That’s roughly zero point three miles from my house,” Spencer tells him, but when Derek raises his eyebrows, he remembers that walking around aimlessly, memorizing the names on every mailbox because you can’t stand being at home, is not a normal childhood pastime. He continues hurriedly: “Where are you from?”

“Chicago.”

That makes sense. He’s cool in the way that Spencer would imagine people from big cities to be. He seems… jaded isn’t the right word for his smile, but experienced, maybe. Sophisticated. Comfortable in his own skin. Sure of himself.

Everything Spencer is not, basically.

Also, Spencer is staring again.

“Do you like it here?” he asks. “It must be… different.”

“That’s an understatement. Toto, we are not on the South Side any more.” A shadow of sadness flickers over Derek’s expression for a moment, like a cloud across the sun, before he smiles again. “It’s good, getting a change of scenery. You know?”

Spencer doesn’t know, because he’s never been farther away than California, but he says, “Yeah.”

He tucks his hair behind his ears and then picks up his castle, turning it over in his hands just for something to do.

“I’ve never actually played chess, but aren’t there supposed to be more pieces?” Derek asks.

“Gideon likes to use his own pieces, I like to use mine,” Spencer tells him. It’s a sensory thing, for him; he likes the feel of the warm ivory, and Gideon prefers his own heavy stone set.

“Gideon?”

“Professor Gideon,” Spencer amends, wondering how to explain that. “I… took a class with him? At UNLV. That’s sort of how we met, but… we play chess.”

That’s the short version, anyway.

When Spencer decided to find a cure for schizophrenia, at the age of fifteen, he started by reading everything the local library had on the subject. When he was done there, he started sneaking into the college library. Gideon was the first person to realize Spencer wasn’t a student, but he didn’t call security; instead he offered to let Spencer audit one of his advanced psychology classes in the evenings. Spencer has taken all his classes by now, and Gideon jokes about him earning his Masters before he finishes high school.

“Want to show me around the neighborhood?” Derek asks, and Spencer blinks at him for a second.

“You were going to play basketball.”

“Sure. But you said you don’t ‘do’ hoops.” Derek gestures at the empty court. “Nobody else to play with. Playing with myself gets boring.” He laughs at his own joke, and then his eyes sparkle, devilish, as he says, “I’d much rather play with you.”

Spencer chokes on nothing, and somehow he makes things even worse by asking shrilly, “Are you flirting with me?”

Derek grimaces. “If I say yes, am I gonna get punched?”

“Like it’d hurt you even if I did.”

“Then yeah,” Derek says sheepishly. “I was flirting with you.”

Spencer stutters for a few incoherent seconds before he recovers from that particular world-ending shock. Then all he can say is, “Oh.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. If I was wrong about — if you’re — do you?”

He cannot possibly be asking what Spencer thinks he’s asking.

“Do I — play for that team?” he ventures. Derek shrugs, and Spencer can barely breathe. It feels like he’s paralyzed for a second before he can croak, “That’s not — you’re not wrong.”

“Just to be clear, we’re not talking about basketball any more.” Derek is grinning again. He has a really nice smile, and Spencer needs to stop staring already.

“Yeah. We’re clear,” he manages.

For a second they just smile at each other, and Spencer has this swooping sensation in his stomach like he just missed a step, except the disorienting moment of uncontrollable vertigo feels good.

“Sorry. I’m not used to — this is new to me.” Derek seems almost bashful now, looking down as he starts to toss the basketball from one hand to another. “Being able to admit when I’m… flirting. With a guy, I mean.”

“I’m not used to being flirted with,” Spencer counters. He clears his throat and adds, “I don’t mind it.”

Derek doesn’t move his head, but his eyes flick to Spencer. His smile is hopeful and happy and more than a little shy.

“Anybody ever tell you you look good in pink?”

“Huh?” Spencer frowns down at his sweater, which is… yeah, still definitely blue.

“You’re blushing.”

“Oh.” He presses his palms to his feverish-hot cheeks. “That makes sense.”

This doesn’t happen to Spencer. Flirting doesn’t happen to Spencer, let alone flirting with someone who looks like that. There’s a bubble of reckless exhilaration swelling in his chest, helium-light, threatening to lift him off his feet.

“So, how about it?” Derek asks. “Want to show me around?”

Spencer nods, way too eagerly. “I could do that.”

And that’s when his phone rings.

He knows what it means, before he even looks at the screen, and all that giddy excitement drains away at once.

He pulls out his phone: Mom calling. He doesn’t pick up yet; he doesn’t want to have this conversation within earshot of Derek.

“I have to go,” Spencer says miserably. He sweeps his chess pieces carelessly into his bag, slings it over his shoulder, and gives Derek a helpless shrug. “I just — really need to go. Can we — tomorrow? I’ll be here. Tomorrow. Same time.”

“No worries,” Derek says, with a rueful little half-smile. Spencer turns, starts running, and he almost misses it when Derek says, “See you tomorrow, pretty boy.”

Spencer doesn’t let himself look back, but he smiles.

He flips open his phone on the very last ring and says, “Hey, Mom. I’m on my way.”

Part 2 is here!

#criminal minds fic #spencer reid #derek morgan #Derek Morgan x Spencer Reid #moreid #moreid fic #cm #criminal minds

54 notes · View notes

peppersonironi · 4 years ago

Note

12, 21, 19

(Is this late? Oops. Sorry!)

12: Favourite character to write about this year

Stephanie Brown, easy. She's my spirit animal, so I might be doing a touch of projecting, but I honestly don't care. She's just pure chaos in the best way. Some of my favourite lines that I've written are for her. Such as:

"What's up bitches? I brought donuts!"

"My waffles await!"

"FEAR ME!"

"Welcome to Steph’s Glitter Bomb Palace, Where Snitches get Stitches™! So don’t tell Bruce or I’ll sic Jason on you."

She's also the character I've gotten the most comments on. People really seen to enjoy how I write her!

A close second would be Duke Thomas. Bliss, a fic I wrote for the 2020 Duke Week, was one of my favourites! Or maybe Damian? His dialogue just comes easy to me.

21: Most memorable comment/review

the batfamily exist:

everyone: is,,is that allowed?

On Code Orange (Batfam/Young Justice Crossover)

*Or*

I have wanted to read a DCU/MCU crossover for a VERY long time. This story is such a delight. Your characterisation (and for me an introduction to The Signal) was fascinating in the extreme. I loved the game playing and the fact that I could watch (open-mouthed) as Bruce Wayne enjoyed childlike fun with his children and Alfred(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) was the cherry on top of the icing on top of the cake. I look forward to your updates in a way that you wouldn't believe.

On Batfam/Avengers Crossover

19: Any new fics to start next year

Oh boy. So many. You know what? Here's a list. It'll be good to get these ideas out. Plus, you guys can tell me what you'd rather see first!

Gen/just Batfam

Crack fic based off this piece of dialogue (came from a convo between my sister and I): Tim reached forward and poked Duke's face. "You're right!" He exclaimed. "You really *do* squish like a block of wood!" Duke Centric.

Based on THIS Incorrect Quotes. Talia moves into the Manor because she's sick of Ra's. Featuring a bunch of good mom!Talia.

Based off THIS Incorrect Quotes. Jason runs for President as Red Hood. I have so many ideas! This'll be really fun.

Loosely based on THIS post. It explores Jason and Cassandra's relationship, and how it evolves.

Duke Thomas Big Bang Fic (can't say much, but it'll be great!)

Platonic (need to be certain you understand that. There were some misconceptions w/ my Discord server) Slow Burn between Tim and Damian. At the beginning the absolutely despise each other. But over time they realise their own insecurities, and how they don't actually hate the other. And by the end they fully admit and embrace their being brothers.

Reverse Robins with Damian as the oldest (I made THIS post talking about it a while back. But I've highly revised it.)

Reverse Robins with Duke as the oldest (I wrote THIS fic, but I think I want to change this into a series!)

Cassandra as Batman. Stephanie as Catwoman. Carrie Kelley as Robin.

5 Times Bette Kane was the mastermind behind the batkids' pranks without Bruce's knowledge, and 1 Time her brilliance was brought to light.

5 Times Duke thought that he couldn't possibly get any more siblings and 1 Time he met the cousins (AKA: Duke meets the extended family)

Birdflash

Birdflash in the JL/JLU universe (based off that one hexagon by @novaviis ! Super fun!). The league is inviting potential members to the Watchtower one day. Except Wally wasn't there during the choosing of said members. So he's completely shocked when his husband Nightwing shows up. They have to act like they don't know each other, which basically involves Dick flirting his butt off with Wally, Wally trying desperately to remain professional, Bruce digging in the corner, the rest of the League in varying degrees of disapproval and confusion (at least a couple have seen Wally's wedding ring. So that adds a while 'nother layer).

Young Justice soulmate au. Dick, and eventually everyone else, knows that Wally is his soulmate. Wally is oblivious. Lots of pining and angst in this one. Slow burn to an extent (depends on how long I make it). But definitely a happy fluffy ending in sight!

Batfam Meets Young Justice

THIS fic.

Duke gets yeeted into the YJ universe, and promptly passes out. He wakes up in the Watchtower, and breaks out of the confinement the Team has set up for him. Pulls shenanigans (some unwittingly) and used his powers. The Team and JL are confused, and panicking. Because this guy keeps muttering things about the Batfam. And he has a bat on his chest.

The Team break into some ancient temple after getting info on a new Supervillian plot. They find purple clothed woman draped across a throne. She talks, and they panic, as she knows all their secret identities. The only one who isn't, is Tim. He looks bored. Alternatively: Steph needs Tim's credit card to take his sister out on a date, and absolutely refuses to text.

While the Team is on a mission to stop Lady Shiva, a dimensional portal opens up and spits out a strange Robin (Damian) and what seemed to be a female Batman (Cass as Black Bat). This new dynamic due promptly defeats Lady Shiva and all the goons. The Team is freaked out, and 'apprehends' the dimensional anomalies, bringing them back to the Watchtower. Where the due promptly break and and start chaos. Featuring "Toxic" by Britney Spears. I will not explain why.

The Watchtower gets a sudden emergency message from the Batcave. They accept, to find a stranger calling himself Signal panicking about Robin being missing. They all look at Tim, who ignores them, and says that he doesn't know where Robin is. Some naming shenanigans occur.

(Not sure if this fits here, oh well) Set in Season One, Bruce is tired of Clark's attitude towards Superboy, and adopts the clone himself. Not sure how far this'll go, but at least goes through Dick's time as Robin. (Based on THIS Tumblr post)

(Also iffy on placement) a continuation of one (not sure which? Probably Damian as older) Reverse Robins fics. It's a retelling of Season One of YJ, with Dick as Robin. Nightwing (Damian) feels protective of his brother, and so takes on the role Black Canary had in the show, training the Team. But as time goes on, he ends up being more of a big brother to the group. Cameos from the rest of the Batfam as well! And an Identity Reveal (including finding out Dick and Dami are brothers) at the end!

Batfam Meets the Justice League

Cass takes over being Batman for a bit, because Bruce was an idiot and broke his leg. This happens to line up with when the Justice League reach out to the Dark Knight, in order to extend an invitation to the league. They eventually meet Bruce as Batman, and are confused as to why he is so tall. And male.

Joyfire

Lian accidentally reveals her three parents' relationship by calling Bruce 'grandpa' over dinner.

Museum Heist

THIS fic

Operation: Seduce Nightwing. Based on a post for an ATLA ot3, Wally and Artemis realise silumaneously “Hey, we kinda have the hots for Dick” and decide together to see if he likes them back. Which involves a heck ton of over the top flirting, and shenanigans. The Team is sighing on the sidelines at their idiocy. Dick is internally combusting and thinking “Do they like me back? I’’m not sure.”

5 times Dick and Wally fought over being the middle spoon, and one time Artemis had had enough.

Set in Season 3 (but ignores some canon), Bart is kidnapped by some mad scientist obsessed with the Speed Force. The Team mobilizes, and gets Bart back from the evil base. But when they get there, they find Wally West freed from the Speed Force. He and Artemis reunite, and everyone is happy. They prepare to leave. Then the Pick-up Squad arrive in the bioship, and Dick gets out. Everyone is expecting Dick to give Wally a hug, because hey, he's his best friend! What they weren't expecting was him to run forward and pull the speedster into a passionate kiss. They go back to the Watchtower, and some more stuff happens.

Soulmate AU where the first thing your soulmate says to you after they fall in love with you is tattooed on your body.

Post Season Two Get Together. Starts with Artemis living with Dick as opposed to Will. Might be Slow Burn? (They come pretty close to kissing) Eventually Wally comes back. Arty and Wally are back together. They both live in the same house as Dick, for convenience. Then some more Slow Burn happens. Maybe some Birdflash moments. Arty tells Wally she kinda had a thing for Dick. Wally admits the same. Maybe a touch more Slow Burn. They Eventually get together.

Batlantern

AU where Bruce met Hal back when he first came back to Gotham. Fic goes through how their relationship evolves over the years (up until current time, when Damian is 13). I'm considering a relationship reveal with the Justice League.

Hal's interactions with Bruce's kids.

Green Lantern Corp acting protective of Hal when Bruce comes to Oa. This was an ask that I got, and I'm holding off on writing it till I get as much into on the GL's as possible, as all I know if their characterization comes from that animated series, and Guy Gardener's (Hilarious!) parts on Young Justice.

Marvel

Like 3 different versions of the Peter Parker Field Trip to Stark Tower Trope.

2-part Crossover with the Batfam (they exist in the same universe), where the Avengers go to a Wayne Gala, and interact with the family. The second chapter involves them heading out the next night to try and contact Batman.

THIS fic.

109 notes · View notes

nextwarden · 3 years ago

Text

Webtoons are good for the soul PART II - ECLECTIC BOOGALOO

A continuation of this.

Sea Salt and Sand by neggut [ongoing]

In the autumn holidays 3 months ago, Brynn and Bailey shared a kiss. When Bailey left, Brynn tried to forget all about her and continue living an unremarkable life, only for Bailey to suddenly transfer to her school! What follows is a coming of age story full of pining, misunderstandings and confusion as Brynn and Bailey question the true nature of their relationship.

It’s cute and a bit angsty but not too much. The art style often feels incomplete or rushed but in a good way, its flaws give character to the characters and the story. One of my all time favourites.

Apathy meets labrador/10

Dragonbourne by Gummy Shark [ongoing]

After a troubled past, Sir Ross Edmund Avery is somewhat content to lead a mundane existence, alone in his house. However, when he stumbles upon a child in the woods on Solstice Night who is anything but mundane, his simple life will be turned upside down.

A scar(r)ed man adopts a feral child, hijinks ensue. Once again, the art style is endearing, full of curves and long lines. Haven’t checked on that one in a while but the first twenty chapters were very promising.

Found family/10

The Last Human by Zack Jordan [ongoing]

She's the galaxy's worst nightmare: a Human. Fortunately, she's the last one. Now her adoptive (alien) mother is realizing that raising a young Human is no easy task.

Basically the badass and child duo trope but the truth may surprise you. Fun, cute, very wholesome, and surprisingly emotionnaly philosophical at times. Spidermom is best mom.

Recommend/10

Vampire Husband by Scragony [ongoing]

The life of Charles the Vampire an Cheryl the human after years of marriage.

What if tragic romance between human and vampire but they had their “happy-ever-after”? This is after. It’s funny and cute.

Relationship goals/10

Blood Stain by sigeel [ongoing]

A story about courage, growing up and finding friendships in most unlikely places... spiced with some MAD SCIENCE!

Haven’t quite wrapped my head around this one yet, but it’s fun and drawn by sigeel (a.k.a. Linda Sejic) so of course it’s beautiful. Enjoyed it a lot, will have to keep reading.

Bloody merry/10

Punderworld by sigeel [ongoing - on hiatus]

Hades' and Persephone's love-struck misadventures.

Another take on Hades and Persephone’s love story. Once again, sigeel, so of course I love the art.

Bumbling idiots/10

The Queen and the Woodborn by Shiniez [ongoing]

Far away behind seven hills and seven forests, seven fields and seven rivers, there lived a Queen... welcome to the queen and the woodborn. a fairy tale romance for the mature readers about the unseen Queen and the Goddess in the woods. a tale of the two forgotten by the world around them who will make the world remember their names. expect gods and monsters and a romance for the ages.

Not many chapters yet but very long ones to compensate. This one is by Shiniez (a.k.a. Stjepan Sejic) so, once again, love the art. The story, the character designs and concepts, and the pace are all amazing.

Very wow/10

P.E.T.S. by Gyxks [ongoing]

Just when Tasha was about to start a new life, she was abducted by aliens. Fortunately, she and other humans were rescued by an interstellar general named Tourmaline. She soon discovered that her body was unfit to return home without endangering life on earth. Join her on her journey traversing this new world and these new feelings for an alien general.

POV: You’re living your best life as a young adult, at the shopping mall at 2am in your pyjamas, when suddenly death aliens rain pain all around and you’re abducted only to be saved by tall buff alien commander lady. Romance ensues. Maybe, it’s slow burn but quite enjoyable to read.

Blush/10

Scoob and Shag by Misterie Krew [ongoing]

Scoob and his best pal Shag are up to their usual hi-jinks, but everything is not as it seems in their latest adventure.

No relations to any character whatsoever. None. None at all. Also no relations to any kind of sense at all either. Can’t quite explain that one except that it’s genius. Just read it.

Is that a gun?/10

Bewitched by peachyytown [ongoing]

The witch who keeps "kidnapping" the princess is actually her girlfriend and they're just going on dates.

Short but cute alternative take on all that witch/monster/princess shenanigans. In the same vein as Our days in Lumain. Also the art is very nice.

Meetcute/10

When the Pink Trees Bear Fruit by neggut [completed]

A sweet love blooms between two women on an orchard in 1973.

A short story, five chapters only, but play devastatingly well with one’s heart. In the same vein as It Stems From Love by Soya S. Holm. neggut ist sehr gut.

Tears/10

Rooftops & Roommates by Zaanart [ongoing]

Jeb is an architecture major at university, rooming with his best friend Todd. There's just one problem... Jeb’s secretly a gargoyle! Between studying, partying, and a bad ghost problem, will Jeb be able to keep his true identity a secret?

Jeb is sweet, Jeb is fresh, but Jeb is decidedly not very good at keeping a secret. It’s funny, slice-of-life, roommate college shenanigans at its finest. With a magical twist.

Ship/10

Everything is Fine by Mike Birchall [ongoing]

Sam and Maggie are a normal couple, in a normal house, in a normal neighborhood. There is nothing strange about their heads, their neighbors or their sweet little dog. Everything is Fine.

I haven’t actually started this one yet, but the premise is very very very interesting. Perhaps not for thos who are faint of heart? Deceptively cute. Or is it?

It’s fine/10

Castle Swimmer by Wendy Lian Martin [ongoing]

What happens when your entire life is ruled by a prophecy – your future foretold by people you’ve never met, who died long before you were born. Such is the story of two young sea creatures. One believed to be a guiding light for his people, a Beacon who will lead them to a bright, prosperous future. The other is a teenage prince for who’s destiny is to KILL the Beacon so that HIS own people might thrive. When both reject the course set for them, it leads to a raucous adventure as big and unpredictable as the ocean itself – and a romance that nobody could have predicted.

It’s fish. It’s gay. It’s under da sea and ya gotta kiss the boy. I haven’t read it all yet but enough to vouch for it and to have some vested interest in the universe and its lore.

Enemies to lovers/10

Demon Highschool by Kiiyoko [ongoing]

After a compromise it was agreed that criminals would attend a "demons highschool" where they would work as slaves for demons And while it was all in good favor, things take a very dark and twisted turn at said, highschool.

There’s something, some kind of twist, about the MC which I haven’t gotten to yet, and which I am very interested to discover. I’m not quite sure how I feel about this one as of now, mostly curious I’d say.

Pet/10

Hooky by Miriam Bonastre Tur [completed]

Dani and Dorian have missed the bus of the school of magic. Now, they must find someone who teach them how to be a great and good witches... Or maybe not.

This one is a strange one about witchery and family. Surprisingly deep and serious at times, very enjoyable. Unfinished on Webtoon but a good start to get into the story.

Siblings/10

Loving Reaper by Jenny Jinya [ongoing]

Animals struggle. Pets and Wildlife alike. The reaper cares for their stories and helps them with the crossover. Short stories about the "Loving Reaper" to raise awareness and collect funds. Breaking hearts for a good cause.

Beautiful bittersweet stories about animals, pets, life and death and love.

Tissues/10

Batman: Wayne Family Adventures by StarBite, CRC Payne, Kielamel Siba, Lan Ma, C.M. Cameron, and Camille Cruz [ongoing]

Batman needs a break. But with new vigilante Duke Thomas moving into Wayne Manor and an endless supply of adopted, fostered, and biological superhero children to manage, Bruce Wayne is going to have his hands full. Being a father can't be harder than being Batman, right?

What if Bat-family but happy? Official comic, barely started, very fun.

Wholesome/10

The First Night With the Duke by MSG, Taeva, from an original work by Hwang DoTol [ongoing]

A handsome, selfish noble falls for a beautiful, kind commoner -- at least, that’s how the story’s supposed to go. When an average college student wakes up as Ripley, an extra in her favorite romance novel, she resolves to enjoy the luxuries of her character’s status while watching the novel's plot unfold from the sidelines. However, her plans are soon derailed when she finds herself in bed with no other than Duke Zeronis, the novel’s hero! Dodging the villainess’ schemes, the Duke’s advances, and her own feelings, can Ripley keep the story on track and survive beyond the first night?

Haven’t read that one but a very dear (and respectable) friend (*cough* @berigolote *cough*) of mine keeps pestering me to give it a try. So here it is, try it.

Do it before me and you get a cookie/10

HEART Anthology by Marvin.W, caw-chan and many other artists. [ongoing]

Featuring stories from the 2020 Short Story Contest! From wholesome stories to tearjerkers, are you ready to catch these feelings?

A collection of beautiful stories on the shorter side, all about the many kinds of love in life, the many beauties of it, and the pains that make it worth living.

Tears that warm the heart/10

In My Heart by Redfield42 [ongong]

Sasaki Mari is a typical delinquent troublemaker whose only goal is to get a boyfriend, but due to her reputation as bully and low grades, all the boys reject her. Then she decides to change her style, and asks for help from the student with the best grades in the class.

It starts off light and fund and progressively seems to delve a little bit more into the seriousness of life. Not a tragedy, however, and very much worth a read still.

I think I have a trope I like/10

My awkward princess by LazyArts [ongoing]

This love story is about a girl named Luna charlotte, and the student council president Alice Evelyn. Luna is a delinquent whom often gets in trouble, as Luna reaches the end of the line she almost gets expelled, now luna has to become a model student with the help of Alice. Will Luna be expelled or will she succeed, read to find out.

Along the lines of Not So Shoujo Love Story, In My Heart, and Susuhara is a Demon. Delinquent/Good Student meetcute, romantinc hijincks ensue.

Seduction/10

RAINBOW! by Rue & Sunny Gloom [ongoing]

This is the story of a girl named Boo. She has pink hair and a vivid imagination and she is about to discover a side of herself that she never considered before.

Okay, so yes, this one is also also a delinquent meets cute nice girl, but - BUT! - there’s an element of story telling that I love about it: the way we see Boo’s anxiety incorporated visually into the story. Just for that it is one of my favourite recent discoveries!

Protecc/10

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

Okay, that’s all for part II. Hope you enjoy those as much as I do. Thanks for your attention, sorry for the length and, please, do keep on reading, they all deserve it! As do you.

PART I

#webtoon #webcomic #comic #comics #recommendations #part 2 #the return of the revenge #wlw #mlm #long post #mega thread #keep reading punk

4 notes · View notes

mikauzoran · 4 years ago

Note

11 and 15 for the meme please!

Thank you so much for asking! ^o^

(The questions are from this list.)

11. What’s a fanfic idea you haven’t done yet?

So, I have a couple ideas floating around my head, but the ones that seem most likely right now are as follows:

An idea that I’m looking at really hard and trying to resist is the idea of Chat Noir barreling into a storage closet at school where Marinette has just detransformed and then his transformation drops, so Marinette discovers his identity. They start hanging out, and Adrien/Chat really opens up to Marinette because now he doesn’t have to have any secrets from her. They get to see different sides of one another and fall in love. I think that sounds like a fun story. Do you? ^.^;

I’m also thinking about doing a Lukadrien companion piece to my Marichat/Adrienette story Serendipity. It would be mostly from Luka’s point of view and would feature Adrien and Luka hanging out and talking about various events mentioned or described in Serendipity. I don’t know if it would be enjoyable to read, though. There would be a lot of heavy discussions about Adrien’s self-discovery journey/sexuality/relationship issues/increasingly ridiculous identity shenanigans with Marinette and a lot of Lukadrien pining. I don’t know. The working title is “Zemblanity”. Does that sound like something you guys would be interested in?

15. Give us a snippet of something from your WIPs!

Oh, gosh. What do I have right now? Hm. How about the Gabriel/Émilie story that I’ll probably never publish/finish? That one’s fun. They’re sixteen and in high school. Gabriel and his mother have just moved to Marseille.

If someone asks for number fifteen again, I’ll give you something else. ^.^ (Thanks for the ask!!!)

+++

A door slammed, audible even in the noisy corridor, making Gabriel and half of the hallway’s other occupants jump.

Some ways away, a young blonde woman had just entered through the door leading out to the fields. Her back was to the room as she roared, “Go to hell, André!”

Many of the other students stopped to stare at her.

Gabriel paused with his Geometry text halfway out of his locker to gawk with the rest, taking her in.

She gave the door a vengeful kick with one of her massive, black leather combat boots and spun away in a huff, her wheat blonde hair fanning out in a halo behind her.

“Who’s that?” Gabriel whispered, unable to keep the blatant curiosity out of his voice. He reached out to put a hand on Olivier’s arm to get his cousin’s attention but missed twice.

“Craaaap,” Olivier squeaked like a chipmunk. “Émilie. That’s Émilie. Crap. Don’t look at her. Whatever you do, don’t look at her.”

“Why? Does she have a boyfriend who will mind?”

“I think she and André just broke up, but that’s not the problem.” Olivier began to squirm as Émilie stalked down the hall, headed in their direction.

“What’s the problem?” Gabriel’s eyes lingered over Émilie’s ripped jeans, olive green tank top, and oversized black leather jacket.

He watched as Émilie wheeled on one of the spectators, feigning a lunge and snapping in his face. She bared her teeth like a rabid dog and barked, “The hell are you looking at?!”

“Gabe, she’s freaking psycho!” his cousin hissed.

The crowd parted, as if on cue, and it became abundantly clear that Gabriel and Olivier were directly in Émilie’s trajectory.

“Craaaap,” Olivier whined again, beginning to tug on Gabriel’s arm. “Come on. We gotta get out of here.”

Gabriel didn’t budge.

The rest of the mob averted their eyes, waiting until Émilie had passed to turn back and gape at her, but Gabriel watched her openly.

Their eyes met, gazes locking.

Her stare narrowed, sharpened, into two piercing, poison green darts, slicing into him.

“Gabe!” Olivier pleaded with life-or-death urgency, yanking on his cousin’s arm more insistently.

It was too late.

Émilie came to a halt three feet in front of them, hands on her hips, head cocked in a way that demanded an explanation of them. She drew herself up to her full, regal height, standing proud, nonverbally issuing a challenge.

She stood a good three inches shorter than Gabriel’s six feet, but she exuded enough command of the situation to make up for each one of those inches.

Her mouth began to twist into a snarl, but Gabriel spoke first. “Good Morning.”

Émilie’s confidence diminished slightly, her anger abating into an unsure frown. Did he not know who she was? Had no one told him about her?

“Your makeup is exquisite,” Gabriel continued, paying the compliment in a way that bespoke honest admiration.

Émilie blinked and gave him a bemused look, as if she couldn’t decide if he was serious.

She had foregone the iconic bone-white foundation, but she’d painted her face in the traditional style of a calavera with the black, vertical lines starting at the corners of her mouth and running across her lips like stitches. Her nose had been painted black to mimic the void at the center of the skull left behind once the cartilage had decayed. Two black circles surrounded her eyes, likewise evoking a skull’s cavities and making the vivid green of her irises pop. Hearts, teardrops, flowers, and coquettish arabesques dotted her face in an iridescent peacock blue, completing the look.

“Did you do that yourself? It’s very skillfully done,” Gabriel insisted.

Her lips twitched, the left side of her mouth quirking up into a not-quite-smile that was every bit as intrigued as it was blindsided.

She attempted a haughty laugh, but it came out as a half-swallowed, fluttery noise, betraying her shaken state.

Was he serious or just messing with her? Was he waiting for her to accept the compliment so he could turn around and take it back, call her a freak? Was he luring her into a false sense of security so that he could pull the rug out from under her and laugh when she ended up on her rear at his feet?

No one just said things like that. He had to be setting her up to be the butt of a joke.

He seemed kind, but kindness was suspicious.

In Émilie’s experience, people weren’t really nice like that. People didn’t say nice things.

Friendliness was suspicious.

He must want something. What did he want from her? What was he getting out of this? What was his game?

Hadn’t anyone told him that messing with Em would get you stabbed with a pencil?

Yet he was looking at her expectantly…earnestly…

She almost opened her mouth to reply that she had done her own makeup, but she caught herself at the last moment.

Instead, she gave a snort and whirled around to open the locker three down from Gabriel’s. She didn’t even put in the combination, as she habitually left it unlocked—pity the poor sap who stole from her or dared to mess with her things. (There had been people who learned this the hard way and people who learned from the people who learned the hard way.)

Émilie smirked as she met Gabriel’s gaze in the small, rectangular mirror on the inside of her locker door. She maintained impish eye contact as she twisted her hair up into a bun on top of her head and then impaled it with two black chopsticks.

His eyes never left hers as she grinned sweetly, taking the middle finger of her left hand and biting it. She grabbed her bookbag out of the locker and turned back to face Gabriel, hip-checking the door shut without bothering to lock it. She pulled her middle finger out of her mouth with a pop towards him, as if blowing him a kiss.

Émilie smirked, tossing her head as she sauntered off.

“…Crap,” Olivier moaned as soon as Émilie was out of earshot.

Gabriel put a hand to his chin, fingers splaying over his lips as he chuckled, “I think I’ve made a friend.”

He kept his eyes trained on her as she made her way down the hall, periodically stopping to threaten and terrify other students who happened to look at her the wrong way.

“Gabe, you’ve been at this school less than fifteen minutes, and you’ve already got yourself on Émilie’s hit list,” Olivier scoffed, shaking his head as he opened his own locker.

“Is it a long list?” Gabriel hummed, gathering the rest of his things once Émilie had disappeared around the corner.

“Let’s just say that it’s well-maintained. If it starts getting too long, she cleans house, if you get what I mean.” Olivier shut his locker with a slam and turned on his heel. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

#Marichat #Adrinette #Adrienette #Lukadrien #Miraculous Ladybug #Gabriel/Émilie #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Chat Noir #Gabriel Agreste #Émilie Agreste #Serendipity: Fifty Marichat and Adrienette Kisses #Zemblanity #Mikau's WIP #Ask Mikau #Story Idea

9 notes · View notes

laughingpinecone · 5 years ago

Text

Press Start letter

I am laughingpineapple on AO3

It’s a long list of character combos so the specific requests aren’t overly detailed, please draw at will from my general likes and general fandom likes in addition or as an alternative to any of those!

All requests are art or fic - for art, the stuff I like is the kind that depicts the characters doing something. I’ll always be happier with a very simple drawing of two characters walking together or sharing a cup of coffee than with an ambitious composition that looks like an Avengers poster. I also enjoy seeing them wear different clothes, getting a feel of what their fashion sense is like beyond their canon outfit(s).

Likes: worldbuilding, slice of life (especially if the event the fic focuses on is made up but canon-specific), missing moments, 5+1 and similar formats, bonding and emotional support/intimacy, physical intimacy, lingering touches, loyalty, casefic, surrealism, magical realism, established relationships, future fic, hurt/comfort or just comfort from the ample canon hurt, throwing characters into non-canon environments, banter, functional relationships between dysfunctional individuals, unexplained mysteries, bittersweet moods, journal/epistolary fic, dreams and memories and identities, canon-adjacent tropey plots, outsider POV, UST, resolved UST, exploration of secondary bits of canon, leaning on the uniqueness of the canon setting/mood, found families, characters reuniting after a long and/or harrowing time, friends-to-lovers, road trips, maps, mutual pining, cuddling, wintry moods, the feeling of flannel and other fabrics, ridiculous concepts played straight, sensory details, sickfic, places being haunted, people being haunted, the mystery of the woods, small hopes in bleak worlds, electricity, places that don’t quite add up, mismatched memories, caves and deep places, distant city lights at night, emphasis on non-human traits of non-human characters (gen-wise, but also a hearty yes xeno for applicable ships)

Cool with: any tense, any pov, any rating, plotty, not plotty, IF, nerdy canon references, unrequested characters popping up

DNW: non-canonical rape, non-canonical children, focus on children, unrequested ships (background established canon couples are okay, mentions of parents are okay), canon retellings, consent issues

Dark Souls

I’m only familiar with the first game+DLC! It’s probably relevant to mention that I think that linking the fire is kind of a dumbass move and Gwyn is an ass, but on the other hand Kaathe has his own agenda and there’s no winning move in this world, or at least no obvious one. Feel free to deviate from anyone’s canon endings, to make things happen that’ll stave off their hollowing. I am interested in any of these people meeting and possibly striking up a friendship, and also in exploring Lordran’s temporal/dimensional fuckery, where it’s possible to meet people who have been gone for ages…

Group: Solaire of Astora & Siegmeyer of Catarina: so much fanart of Sun Bro & Onion Bro being bros, so little fic. And yet, the potential! How’d they bounce off each other, what about the fact that Siegmeyer is apparently a proper Catarina knight after all while Solaire just painted his self-made insignia and left, what would Sieg think of Solaire’s quest?

Group: Alvina the Cat & Sieglinde of Catarina: dunno, kitty. I love them both and I want everyone cool to go on adventure with each other. What’s left for Alvina now that Sif is gone, Artorias’ grave desecrated? For her part, did Sieglinde, you know, (mimics Ash Lake)?

Ghost Trick

I am very interested in various characters finding about the erased timeline, but not getting their memories back, and having to live with being told about what they did but never remembering it. Exploring the ghost lore is great. All what-ifs welcome (what if they managed an acceptable happy ending but didn’t reset the timeline, what if a different party went back to the past and kept their memories, what if Alma’s ghost stuck around…) Also open to AUs here, especially for generic fantasy or sci-fi settings or the Final Fantasy ones I prompted last Yuletide.

For the non-canon sides of Jowd/Alma/Cabanela, please no infidelity? I’d be good with either setting the fic during the game timeline or some what-if thereof when the other spouse is dead or unavailable, or simply keeping them offscreen and not mentioning them (eg Alma/Cabanela beach day, Jowd/Cabanela precinct shenanigans)

For Jowd in general, I do love my big boy and enjoy milking that size difference for all it’s worth. In gen contexts too, it’s neat. him big.

Group: Jowd & Yomiel: I’d love to read about the intimate understanding that comes from their shared memories and the horrors they’ve mutually forgiven (and a penchant for morbidity they’ve gained from such horrors probably). Cat dads things welcome.

Group: Alma/Jowd/Cabanela: maybe once Alma and Jowd have figured out he’s smitten and that they do in fact reciprocate... they tease him to death, slowly and deliberately? Is it even a Jowd romance if there’s not an exhausting amount of teasing involved, I ask?

Group: Alma/Jowd & Cabanela: Cabs’ life is wild; his best friends’ home is a safe haven...

Group: Emma & Pigeon Man: Emma’s unsuspected beta reader...

Group: Alma/Cabanela: (taps mic) legs. And fashion!

Group: Cabanela/Jowd: a recent tumblr post made a convincing argument for Cabs liking to be in charge (the argument is just pointing at Cabanela, honestly). Jowd is... agreeable, by his own admission. But is it that simple?

Kentucky Route Zero

I love the ending and I’d love to see its themes and setting explored. I’m all for exploration of any of the game’s themes and for including any staples from adjacent genres - wanna go full-on American Gothic? Dip into surrealism? Take a leaf from Twin Peaks with tulpa / split narratives to explore the characters’ issues? I love AUs so that’s an option too. Or of course there’s Xanadu at the height of its glory, an infinite what-ifs generator. Were the requested characters part of it, what were their digital counterparts up to? A Xanadu narrative would be great! I’d also love to hear about any new spot along the Zero or the Echo river, or an expansion of some place that’s only mentioned by Will in HATATE or only gets a few paragraphs of text. Mostly, I just love all these characters so much and I’m going through the tagset’s options like a hyperactive cat. Any fragment of their lives will make me happy.

Group: Shannon Márquez & Conway & Conway's Dog: does Shannon get to see them after the ending? Even for a moment?

Group: Lula Chamberlain/Joseph Wheattree/Donald: so Lula went back to Mexico. Joseph is pensive. Did the events of the night shake up Donald, or what will it take?

Group: Junebug & Lula Chamberlain: artists! Outspoken... artists... with a complicated personality. Put them in the same room and...?

Group: Junebug & Johnny: where’s the strangest place they played in, and what did Johnny find there?

Group: Conway & Johnny & Junebug (Kentucky Route Zero): their story is about finding individuality, his is about succumbing and losing it. Would any of them pick up on this mid-Act IV? Or just... talking about limbs and stuff?

Group: Cate & Will & Shannon Márquez (Kentucky Route Zero): a few months later, Shannon finds herself on the Mucky Mammoth again...

Group: Carrington & Weaver Márquez & Shannon Márquez (Kentucky Route Zero): maybe the cousins were trying to bond or reminisce or whatever and Carrington dive-bombed into the conversation, but in the end it was an enriching experience... of sorts?

Group: Carrington & Lula Chamberlain (Kentucky Route Zero): I don’t usually look for college shenanigans but this may be the exception? Or Art Opinions?

Group: Carrington & Clara (Kentucky Route Zero): would she even... get a word in? Maybe with the right topic?

Group: Carrington & Cate & Will (Kentucky Route Zero): Mammoth life! ...what does theater have to say about mushrooms again?

Group: Shannon Marquez & Weaver Marquez (Kentucky Route Zero): at the end of it all, Weaver was waiting. After this end, they can stand side by side again...

Group: Emily & Ben & Bob (Kentucky Route Zero): so what does it mean, like, poetically, that they were temporally displaced and Act I is in their future from Act V? Is it possible they were not aware of it?

Mutazione

The island, the sense of community, newcomers joining the community, gardens and music... I love the mood of this little game. Got ideas for some part of the island we haven’t seen? What stories do they tell each other about Moon Dragon and the first days of the new life it brought? The plants encyclopaedia was great - do Yoké’s archives hide some other cool tome? Please, if Graubert is mentioned, I would much prefer a sympathetic portrayal - he’s got his issues but I felt that the game was much harder on him than anyone else.

Group: Yoké & Karoo: I love the friendship between Yoké and Nonno and filtering it through Karoo feels even cooler to me. When did the big spooky bird first visit, did Yoké know or perceive what was going on?

Group: Yoké & Claire: book club book club book club!

Group: Spike/Claire: they’re so cute! Dinner at Mori’s? Swimming together?

Group: Nonno & Spike: I love Nonno’s role in the community and Spike’s role in the community, and they’re the two people who landed there and decided to stay. Could they bond over this?

Group: Dennis & Nonno: Important Tree Health Business!

Group: Bopek & Jell-A: Jell-A is the absolute coolest and Bopek grew on me a lot. Their friendship is adorable! What could they do together? As a side note, Jell-A’s place has the tightest interior decor in the whole game. How’d that happen, and does Bopek get a flair for vintage shapes and volumes in his weaving?

Group: Mori & Nonno & Yoké: FRIENDS. Friends for a long time, through so much pain. An evening together while The Youths (tm) are at Spike’s bar?

Yoké: catch-all Yoké request because he’s my fave! Doing Yoké things, being a big nerd, caring for books and plants and stuff

Pyre

The burning found family feelings, the revolutionary passion, the tension between topside social constraints and the kind of freedom allowed by the Downside! Thoughts about finding oneself at the end of an age, as everything crumbles down to form something new. I love all the themes, the solemnity, the heart of this game. I adore everyone in that Blackwagon+Dalbert+Celeste, so if you want to add a Nightwing or two to any prompt, please do! I also love all the Scribes and find Erisa a compelling tragic figure. Out of the other triumvirates, I’m “love to hate them” for Manley, Brighton, Udmildhe and Deluge and would not like to see them featured in sympathetic roles. My main interest usually lies in post-canon exploration when applicable, but I’m also into various adventures during canon. Pick a location or a place outside the map and see what happens? As for the ending variables, I’d ask for a peaceful revolution and Oralech alive, but no preferences for who’s up and who’s down, pick whatever works best for any given plot bunny.

Group: Tariq & Soliam: what were Tariq and Celeste like in their earliest days? Were they made or summoned from some sort of preexisting star consciousness? They’re wildly different scenarios! I’m good with either. Does Soliam then see Tariq as a child of sorts, someone he made, or something greater than himself? Did he mean to do that, to have these two immortals around? What does Tariq learn from the First Scribe?

Group: Tariq & Dalbert Oldheart: Any excuse for Tariq to hang out with the Fates for a little while, and treasure and be treasured by dear Dalbert...

Group: Oralech & Vagabond Girl: after all is said and done, Oralech’s view of the Scribes is probably... understandably... dire. So of course I want to see him talk it out with ae!

Group: Celeste & Ignarius: look, listen, if the various triumvirates just camped out near their respective Scribe’s place during the Nightwings’ years-long absence (not the only possible explanation for how you find them all neatly lined up before the first lib rite, but an explanation nonetheless, I think. just let me have my crack), that means Iggy was Celeste’s neighbor for a long time. Neighborly hijinks please?

Group: Bertrude/Pamitha: Pam returning from her travels, again and again, and finding a home in Bertrude’s lab, finding an understanding there... Bertrude’s attitude being thorny in a way that’s just what Pam needs to allow herself to open up... also: snake kisses.

Group: Volfred Sandalwood/Oralech: waking up and remembering that the mourning that’s set deep in your roots is for someone who never died, waking up and remembering that the bitterness that consumed you had made up a betrayal that never was, finding each other through these crumbling walls...

Molten Milithe: that’s the pov for a love letter to the Downside, right? And/or which Scribe did she bond with the most? Or the least for that matter?

Volfred Sandalwood: catch-all Volf’n’anyone request. I want to see our tree interact with any friend and foe you might fancy! Arguing for his beliefs, being a history professor through and through, finding himself in a tight spot and getting unexpected help, verbally tearing Brighton a new one if they ever cross each other’s path again...

group: Volfred Sandalwood/Tariq | The Lone Minstrel: Volfred’s zodiac sign is Cancer and Cancer is ruled by the Moon, so there’s that. I love how they both hold the other in the highest esteem, especially on Tariq’s part since he’s the immortal Herald of the Scribes and Volfred is, all in all, a history teacher, but listen to him and you’d think the roles were inverted. I love my nonviolent canon but could anything happen to either of them that may require a rescue, and/or some good old-fashioned h/c? What’s something that could make Tariq of all people lose it? How’s life 100 years on?

Shenmue

This game cares for the little things. I’d love to see fanworks that try to out-slice-of-life canon...

Group: Qiu Hsu & Xianzi Bei: cormorant kung fu adventure! Do they hang out sometimes?

Group: Hazuki Ryo & Shenhua Ling: any moment, discussion, small adventure from their travels together! I love their bond! For all its waifufication of Shenhua, S3 really sold me on their friendship and a shared brand of dorkiness. Alternatively, sometimes I remember that they’d be 50ish in the present day - how and where do you picture them?

The Silver Case

I‘m all for the surrealism, big things being introduced and never picked up again, Rashomon’ing it up with six explanations for the same thing where no single one can be true, people dying and then popping up again like nbd... maybe the thing I like the most is characters transcending their humanity and looming over the dystopian world like ominous avatars. Correctness’ first ending had me swooning, that kind of mood is unparalleled. I have played TSC, FSR and 25W so far and have vague memories of K7. I’m aware of the “everything’s connected” readings but that’s not my main interest in these games. For FSR-focused requests, I see Lospass as a real island but also a metaphysical place of transformation first and foremost, where strange things happen that don’t make sense elsewhere.

Group: Toriko Kusabi & Remy Fawzil: What’s Toriko up to when she’s not chasing Chris? I think it could be fun to throw her at Remy and see the island from their point of view!

Group: Tokio Morishima & Edo Macalister: since Tokio stayed at the Flower Sun and Rain... I’m interested in peculiar happenings on Lospass that are not centered on Sumio...

Group: Tetsugorou Kusabi/Sumio Kodai: Tetsu picked one hell of a crush, huh! What’s it like in the aftermath of the games, when Sumio is Like That? How does Tetsu grapple with Parade? Is Tetsu an anchor of sorts for Correctness Sumio, who seems (at best) to be existing on a slightly different plane of existence at any given time and could disappear if you blink too hard?

Group: Tetsugorou Kusabi & Shinko Kuroyanagi: I’m joining the “let these two be foulmouthed friends” masses - who’d be more fed up with the other’s nonsense, and in which ways would they be an unstoppable team?

Group: Shinkai Tsuki & Tetsugorou Kusabi: Both of them end their stories in the shadows one way or another, and defending their protégé may have had a hand in their misfortune one way or another. What kind of understanding could they reach? What IS Tsuki up to anyway?

Group: Christina & Catherine: anthro Catherine, as per the Placebo bonus chapter Yami, was unexpectedly charming. What was Chris before reaching Lospass, and did he also have a chat with her on the plane or on the island?

#letter

1 note · View note

rosenrot234 · 5 years ago

Text

explaining Preacher’s playlist

Putting this under a read more break because there’s a lot. I was bored so I finally tried to explain the reasons each song is there. Granted some only have a sentence or two. Not everything needs a giant essay response. Warning though, talks of abuse do take place.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT9aIxp8n042hnvTQMd7vOTVJp2utaZwp

1: Beim Ersten Mal Tuts Immer Weh / The First Time Always Hurts -Just one last time please be nice to me Come over here Just be nice to me and come and sit beside me here Just one last time please be nice to me Come over here One more time again Come on give me just a little bit now Come on let me have a final kiss now Come on give me just a little bit now Fool me please just one more time again -I wanted to start Preacher's playlist with something surprisingly dark rather than edge into the darker parts later on. So Preacher's trauma is right in the listeners face and how in a fucked up way he still misses someone that really fucked them over. -Especially with the last bit of the song "Why don't you want me no more?" Bishop would often ignore him as punishment and it would fuck with Preacher's head a lot and how he just wanted to be in his good graces again.

2: For Your Entertainment -I call this one of his "mask" songs. How Preacher often tries to appear to people. It also ties in a bit with how confident he felt in the past when Bishop was around. I wanted to counter the "wtf" start of the playlist with something boppy. Since once Preacher catches wind that someone is figuring out what happened to him, he's all lies and glamour to distract people from talking about it.

3: You Think You're a Man -I kinda wanted to include this song because the listener would have trouble figuring out "Okay is Preacher singing this or Bishop?"

4: Message in a Bottle -Catchy little song but it helps explain how even if Preacher made a bunch of new friends he still felt isolated due to having to hide a lot as a Tiefling. -Love can mend your life But love can break your heart

5: Mony Mony -I always pictured Preacher singing this with his friends. There's not a lot to say for every single song. I just wanted to get mood music for Preacher's gang of buddies.

6: Out There -More alluding to Preacher's lonliness and how Bishop also used that to have some sort of control over him. With all his friends, Bishops word really was the only word that had meaning / value to him.

7: Medicate -Yeah Preacher's coping mechanisms weren't the healthiest

8: A Penny for a Tale -Mocking the greedy? Say no more

9: Goo Goo Muck -Lore wise I always pictured Preacher making this song up on the spot to entertain his friends

10: Lost Boys -While this song is about vampires I just felt it fit still with Preacher and his buddies. His playlist early on covers a lot of that part of his life.

11: The Rocky Road to Dublin -Yet more "Just singing with friends"

12: Zydrate Anatomy -I mean lorewise he did deal in drugs both real and fake in his mid teens so I wasted no time getting this song onto the list.

13: Open Your Eyes -More mood music to his early teens. Trust me I'll have more to say with other songs

14: Back and Forth -This song screams Preacher when he's scamming people to me

15: Drinkin with Jesus -At first I picked this one because cmon. A Tiefling called Preacher , a song called Drinkin with Jesus seemed perfect. Then I realized "Oh shit the lyrics fit". A lot of the time Preacher had to be completely alone to show just how messed up he was back then even before his assault.

16: Feel Good Inc -A lovely mix of isolation, "The world is corporate bullshit" , and more. You damn right I'm putting this on the list.

17: The Cave -Timeline wise this is a bit of a jump into the future where Preacher is in another down mood and tries to recover from it. -But I will hold on hope And I won't let you choke On the noose around your neck And I'll find strength in pain And I will change my ways I'll know my name as it's called again -That last lyric always made me think of Preacher actually maybe someday going back to using his birth name. Berlyn. And just finding his own identity again. Away from Bishops shadow. This would be around the time he grows his trademark purple mustache. It's a small decision but it was still an important decision since Bishop used to even control how he looked.

18: Devils Dance Floor -CMON. DEVILS Dance Floor. Perfect Tiefling music. I also wanted something to pick the mood of the playlist back up a little after that dip.

19: A Touch of Evil -Aka the most metal "Gay pining" song I'm aware of. The playlist takes a turn of "But I want his attention so bad" and how he wanted to be in a proper relationship with Bishop. Teenage hormones are rough so I'd imagine they'd be double rough as a Tiefling.

20: Skills in Pills -More showing Preacher's distructive habits and drug selling. I wanted to avoid putting Rammstein on the list because it'd be predictable as fuck. So I settled with Lindemann.

21: Jigolo Har Megiddo -Preacher playing up the whole "I'm made from demons" thing for flirty singing.

22: Come Out and Play -And we jump back into more "street punk shenanigans"

23: You Look So Fine -More pining and angst. I really liked sudden dips in mood with this playlist. Like his outer walls are cracking and you're getting peeks at the sensitive stuff going on in his head.

24: I Wanna be Yours -Even more pining because I'm an asshole

25: Sleeping Powder -I wanted something comical to again lift up the mood of the playlist so this song was perfect. Just that "I'm back! Where are we going?" makes me think "Okay I'm done being sad, wait what are you guys doing today?" Also the faint "broken" from 2D in some parts of the song were fitting.

26: Sandmann -Preacher's super protective of kids so this was perfect

27: Deleted this one, moving on.

28: Breaking the Habit -One of the many times Preacher TRIES to get out of his self destructive habits and loops but its left unknown if he got out this time or not. This song fits in pretty much any part of his timeline with Bishop. Adding more to the "loop" of abuse that will be talked about near the end of the playlist.

29: Unzerstorbar ( Indestructable ) -I broke my "no german lyrics" rule with this song but I HAD to. It's such a "FUCK YEAH WE'RE YOUNG AND INVINCIBLE" song that ends on a more quiet note that always made me think "Deep down they know they're not" -As a child I was - I was ahead of all. As a child I was cold and I figured out how much time I have left anyways, because I am indestructible.

I was cool - I was hard and I knew what's goin' on. I was clever and smart and have considered long, Why am I made of steel? What is the meaning that I am indestructible?

This world is so small, so much lesser than I. Super Hero - all alone. Whether I like it or not. Meanwhile, I ask myself: is there someone like me here?

30: Sympathy for the Devil -Again. HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU NOT HAVE THIS SONG ON A TIEFLING PLAYLIST?

31: All I Want -I always pictured this song during a hectic chase either in the sky or on the ground. Preacher is a speedy boy so this was a good fit ( The fact that this song was in Crazy Taxi also makes me think of speed )

32: Action -I thought this fit the mood of Unzerstorbar and wanted to continue the vibe

33: Hit That -More chaotic city vibe music

34: Down the Rabbit Hole -I wanted to include Adam Lambert again since he's early in the playlist.

35: The Heart of the Riding Man -I blame Fennah for getting me into this song. The lyrics were just such a fun match. Preacher might be a Tiefling. But Bishop will always be the "Devil" in this song. -Oh the heart, the heart of a riding man Scarred and cut himself from the devil he ran Oh, from the devil he ran

36: Komm Zuruck / Come Back -DID YALL WANT MORE PINING? Well it's back and much more chaotic this time. -I've missed you long enough asked myself, where exactly you are and if you still bite your nails we planned everything perfectly with false papers and well covered and then suddenly you did it on your own account.

I've had enough, get me out of here don't give up on me now.

Wherever you are (wherever you are) oh, I'm with you Whoever you kiss (whoever you kiss) oh, I forgive you Make your way (make your way) and then release me come back, don't make me wait

37: Sick Boys -Imma be real with you. I'm a slut for Social Distortion so I had to include SOMETHING with them

38: God is a Popstar -One of the first songs I put to this character and it's still such a perfect fit with the religious stuff in Preacher's story. The video is even nice as a helper because you could imagine Preacher is in the place of Jesus here. All dolled up then thrown away.

39: Applause -More flashy "haha nothing is wrong I just want attention" songs since Preacher is a greedy mother fucker when it comes to attention.

40: Trust Me -This is getting to the important part of the playlist. His relationship with Bishop was toxic as fuck. Preacher also did lots of things he didn't want to but the reward was Bishops attention. So with the previous song and this it really shows the leftover effects Bishop had on him. Preacher is one hell of a good liar thanks to Bishop. So in a way. He does have the risk of becoming someone elses Scorpion. Those mental walls I mentioned earlier are breaking at this point.

41: Fireflies -The sad truth that Preacher still misses and thinks about Bishop. The lyrics here are meant to really tug at you as Preacher's barrier is crumbling at this point. -If all you ever get from the sonnet is the count of the fall of man Every call and cost made to your heart You were in the kind of game that put the force in me I was ever chasing fireflies -Sometimes I follow a firefly He takes me into the night Baby, I just survive I got drunk, I'm sorry Am I losing you? Sometimes I follow a firefly He takes me into the night Baby, I just survive I got drunk, I'm sorry Am I losing you?

42: Prison Sex -Probably the most important song in the playlist. I wanted that earlier darkness to come back full force now that the listener is at probably the most vulnerable part of Preacher's head. It's disgusting and that's the point. Preacher finally fully admits to himself about his rape. And the song implies he has a huge risk of continuing Bishops cycle of abuse. Both the abuser and the abused have lyrics in this song.

43: I'm Not Jesus -This is sort of like Preacher is finally saying "No FUCK THAT. I'm not like you." This song is also about abuse so I wanted to include it. He's angry at this point and finally fighting back in his head.

44: You're Gonna Go Far, Kid -In my head this is Preacher sort of mocking himself and his skills at lying

45: Lone Digger -I wanted another song to help "lift up" the mood again since this playlist has a lot of ups and downs.

46: Money -I thought the lyrics were fitting for this part of the playlist

47: I Don't Care -Mood gets a little somber but in a more beautiful way than flat out heartache or suffering. A little more of Preacher rebelling finally against Bishop

48: Creep -But in the end all his rebellion eventually leads to him being depressed. Bishop is gone from his life at this point. But he's clearly still lingering in his head. No matter how much he tries to ignore it.

49: Souk Eye -The finale where Preacher admits he'll always have Bishop in his thoughts even if he also knows damn well to never deal with him ever again. Even if sometimes it hurts like hell.

I wanted this playlist to be able to go on a loop and make sense. His moods are often on a cycle of "Fuck yeah I'm awesome! Fuck you Bishop!" to "Dammit we could have been so good for each other in another life wtf" It just repeats and repeats much like how people repeat their own cycles after trauma or abuse.

#Preacher #DnD #Tiefling

3 notes · View notes

riga789 · 7 years ago

Text

Complicated Mating Rituals

Work on chapter 8 of Won't You Dance With Me is in progress. Meanwhile, here's something else that's been sitting in my WIP folder for a while that should probably see the light of day.

Summary: Zay has been watching the pining and angst-filled drama between Maya and Lucas play out for three years. And though he’s generally a sucker for slow-burn romances, he has to admit it’s infinitely more frustrating in real life than it is in books or TV shows or movies.

In which Zay is sick of watching Lucas and Maya dance around each other, and wants to do something about it. But Smackle counsels patience and non-interference.

Meanwhile, there's one love life he didn't foresee popping into existence: his own.

Read on ao3 | ff.net

It’s the summer before junior year, and Maya, Lucas, Zay, Smackle, and Farkle are spending the last couple of weeks of their holidays at Farkle’s parents’ beach house in the Hamptons. Riley and the entire Matthews clan are vacationing in Maui, and Mr. and Mrs. Minkus are in Europe. So it’s just the five of them in the huge oceanfront mansion that has more than ten bedrooms, breathtaking views from every window, balcony, and porch, and a private beach.

In the week that they’ve been here, they have taken full advantage of the house and its amenities. They’ve devoted most of their days to the beach, lazing on deck chairs under big blue and white striped umbrellas or swimming in the sea, returning to the house for big, wholesome lunches made by the housekeeper-cook, Mrs. Grady (whose husband is the butler. The Gradys are the live-in caretakers at the beach house, and their chaperones for the duration of this vacation.).

The five of them have played video games, pool (where Maya kicked everyone’s collective butts), binge-watched TV shows and marathoned movies, tried their hand at tennis, relaxed by the swimming pool, and gone for midnight walks on the beach. Smackle has spent nearly all her non-group time in the library, Maya is on a mission to draw, sketch, paint, and photograph every view from the house, and Lucas, Zay and Farkle are halfway through a prolonged game of CoD involving a zombie invasion.

It’s exactly what they need: a nice, relaxing, uneventful holiday before the madness of school, classes, and extracurricular activities takes over their lives again for the rest of the year.

At least, it should have been a nice, relaxing, uneventful holiday. So far, for Zay, it’s been anything but. And it’s all thanks to his two best friends, Maya and Lucas.

Zay is usually pretty patient when it comes to his friends. He’s content to sit back and watch the shenanigans ensue, the drama unfold — and there’s no dearth of either with his group, especially when Riley is around. It actually makes for quality entertainment.

But he has been watching this pining and angst-filled drama between Maya and Lucas play out for three years. And though he’s generally a sucker for slow-burn romances, he has to admit it’s infinitely more frustrating in real life than it is in books or TV shows or movies.

So Zay is fed up. He can’t take it anymore. He’s reached the end of his tether. It makes him want to tear his hair out.

“You have mentioned that,” Isadora says, not looking up from the brick-thick book in her lap. “Fourteen times in the last nine minutes and forty seven seconds.”

They are in Mr. Minkus’s study/library, where Isadora ensconced herself a little while ago, and Zay came looking for her to vent his frustration after witnessing yet another bout of stare-at-them-longingly-but-look-away-before-they-catch-you-looking between Lucas and Maya.

Zay has spent quite a lot of time with Smackle in the recent weeks, especially after they arrived in the Hamptons. It’s mainly because Maya and Lucas are being Maya and Lucas, and Farkle is spending a lot of time by himself watching space documentaries. (Zay thinks this is because Farkle misses Riley, with whom he had some sort of a fight before she left for Maui, and now he’s feeling sorry about the fight and sorrier for himself because he and Riley aren’t exactly talking, while she and Maya call and text each other all the time.) In short, Isadora is the only sane one around, not to mention she’s quirky and funny and has a great sense of humour. Zay has always got along well with her, and lately they seem to be getting along like a house on fire, so he’s not complaining.

She looks at him and raises an eyebrow, and he realizes he’s been staring at her. He quickly looks away, thanking his stars that his blush doesn’t show on his skin, (though he’s not sure why he’s blushing), and returns to the topic of his pique: Maya and Lucas.

“That’s because it’s true!” He exclaims a tad dramatically. He stops his circular pacing around Mr. Minkus’s desk and chair (currently occupied by Smackle) to stand and gaze out of the large window behind her.

It’s drizzling outside — it’s been raining for the past couple of days — and after being cooped together indoors for so long, everyone has wandered off to spend the afternoon by themselves as they please. Which Zay is fervently thankful for because he doesn’t think he can handle another minute of Maya and Lucas’s charged silences and tense faces.

“I just can’t see them hurting like this anymore,” he says. “All I’m saying is we should lock them together in the pantry, or in a closet or something — god knows there’s enough of those in this house! — and not let them out until they tell each other how they feel.”

Giving up on getting any peaceful reading done when Zay is so worked up, Smackle sighs and closes the book, leaving her finger in between to mark her page.

“Did you know that when researchers, documentary filmmakers, and wildlife photographers study a natural habitat, they are not supposed to interfere or influence the flora and fauna? They must only observe the manner in which the subjects function and interact, because the deliberate introduction of any external factor will cause a change in their natural response — their normal behaviour — to the situation.”

Zay turns around to face her, hiding a smile. Trust Isadora Smackle to use a science analogy to present her argument. “Don’t you think the natural response of our fauna so far has only been to fuck up their situation worse?”

“They have had a significant amount of external assistance,” she reminds him. “I am sure you are aware, even if you were not present, that on New Year’s in eighth grade my former arch-lovesis and once again platonic arch-nemesis decided he knew the correct solution to the triangle based on the value of only one side, with complete disregard for the values — the feelings — of the other two sides of the triangle when he announced that Riley still liked Lucas.”

Zay winces at the memory of Lucas recounting that night to him. Well intentioned or not, that was definitely a pretty bad fuck-up on Farkle’s part.

“Or Riley insisting that Maya only liked Lucas because she had ‘become Riley’,” Smackle continues, curling her fingers to make air quotes.

There’s no missing the sarcasm in her tone.

“And that putting Maya ‘back in her place’—” (more sarcasm and more air quotes) “—would automatically solve the triangle problem. As a straight A student, Riley should have been aware that such a hypothesis has no logic, and no basis in fact and reality. No individual can become another person. Such a phenomenon is scientifically impossible, even when the individual is cloned, in which case they would be genetically identical but still different individuals. And Maya and Riley have zero genetic similarities. Of course, the only solution to the triangle Riley would have accepted back then was where Lucas chose her and not Maya. And since she correctly perceived that was an unlikely possibility, her brain constructed such an absurd theory.”

Zay has to really concentrate to follow what Isadora’s saying, but when he works it out, he has to admit she has a point. But— “Actions and problems based on human emotions don’t always have clear scientific solutions like a math or a physics problem, sugar,” he says gently.

“I am aware of that,” she replies. “Science does not dictate feelings. Emotions cannot be quantified into scientific equations. I am learning that more and more from you guys every day. But neither Farkle’s nor Riley’s actions in those two instances were correct, Isaiah. You do not disagree with me on that, do you?”

“No,” Zay admits.

“Which is why non-interference is our best and most favourable course of action.”

Izzy is right. Farkle and Riley’s meddling has caused enough trouble for Maya and Lucas in the past. And as much as Zay wants to lock Maya and Lucas together in a small confined space until they confess their feelings for each other, he knows it’s not the right thing to do.

Smackle pats his hand. “I am aware that this frustrates you. But just think of it as observing a complicated mating ritual. That is what I do.”

Zay snorts in laughter at the image her words create. But then he notices her tapping her finger on the iPad she carries everywhere to make notes and record observations, and suddenly he isn’t sure she meant that as a joke. And he’s even more unnerved by the fact that he finds the idea of Izzy carefully documenting their friends’ behaviour quirky and endearing rather than weird (and maybe a little creepy). He briefly wonders if she has a file on him too, and what it might say. Deciding he doesn’t really want to examine that line of thought right now, he turns his thoughts back to the more immediate matter at hand: Maya and Lucas.

It’s just difficult for him not to meddle, he thinks as he starts pacing around the desk and Smackle’s chair again, because he’s the only one who knows both sides of the story. He knows why Maya believes Lucas doesn’t have feelings for her, that he only likes her as a friend (all thanks to some carelessly thrown around words during their ski lodge trip back in freshman year). And he’s quite familiar with Lucas’s constant refusals (that usually have nothing to do with whatever topic they happen to be discussing at that moment) to tell Maya how he feels about her because he firmly believes “she doesn’t like me like that anymore, Zay”. No one can fault him for wanting to get his dumb-dumb friends together once and for all.

But he can’t say or do a thing because both Lucas and Maya made him promise not to tell anyone, especially Maya and especially Lucas, that they still have feelings for the other person. (On the same evening, at the same event, no less: the sophomore year school dance. But that’s another story.)

Since both of them had threatened him with bodily harm — Lucas had gone as far as to threaten to throw him into Tombstone’s enclosure, but Maya’s chilling “You won’t know what hit you, Babineaux!” was far more effective — Zay had agreed to keep his mouth shut even though it’s killing him. (Though he’s quite offended that they think he can’t keep a secret!)

He’s pretty sure the need for secrecy is redundant, though.

For one, neither Lucas nor Maya are anywhere near as successful at hiding their feelings for each other as they think they are. In fact, the only ones supposedly oblivious to the other one’s feelings are Lucas and Maya themselves. Even Mr. and Mrs. Grady, the live-in caretakers of Farkle’s beach house, have asked Zay whether Maya and Lucas are dating because of their constant flirty banter and all the not-so-secret glances.

And neither of their two genius friends can have missed the way Lucas’s jaw dropped when he saw Maya in a swimsuit on their first day at the beach. (And pretty much every other time after that.) Zay had to nudge his best friend to stop him from being so obvious. “Put your eyes back in your head, buddy.”

Lucas had snapped out of his daze. “I’m not staring at Maya.”

“Never said who you were staring at,” Zay smirked. “Also, close your mouth. You’ll catch flies.”

(He hopes no one noticed that he had pretty much the same reaction earlier when he first saw Smackle in that green bathing suit!)

A couple of afternoons later, they’d ended up watching The Longest Ride (okay, Zay had deliberately picked that movie when it had been his turn to choose). It hadn’t exactly worked the way he’d imagined, though. Instead of seeing themselves in the characters of Sophia and Luke, having an epiphany, and confessing their feelings for each other, Maya sat through most of the movie stony-faced while Lucas couldn’t stop fidgeting and glancing at her every two seconds.

But despite his subtle meddling (he can’t help himself! And yes, it was subtle!), Zay knows Maya and Lucas need to figure this out on their own. More importantly, they need to want to be together of their own free will, and want it enough to actively work towards it.

Or more accurately, as Zay sees it, this is mostly up to Lucas, since he was the one who screwed up by telling Maya at the ski lodge that he didn’t like that they tangled without clarifying what he really meant, leaving Maya under the mistaken impression that she’d misunderstood his feelings for her.

Maya isn’t going to believe Lucas still likes her — more than likes her, since by now Zay’s convinced his best friend is more than halfway in love with her — unless she hears and sees it from Lucas himself.

The worst part of Lucas and Maya’s refusal to declare their feelings for each other is the resulting unresolved sexual tension. It usually takes the form of relentless teasing and bantering, but sometimes escalates to sudden, heated fights, like the one they had just a couple of days ago.

Maya made a passing remark about one of Josh Matthews’ college friends being dreamy, which pissed Lucas off enough to make a snarky comment about it. (Lucas’s severe dislike of Josh — despite Maya being well and truly over him — is no secret.) This made Maya snap at him about how it wasn’t any of his business who she liked and to keep his opinions to himself.

Instead of wisely shutting up and changing the subject, (because Lucas is rarely wise when it involves Maya and his feelings for her), Lucas defended himself by claiming he was only looking out for her, which made Maya really blow up. She’d stormed out of the room, but not before informing him that she neither needed nor cared for his protection, and that he could shove it you know where, leaving behind an enraged Lucas, a resigned Zay, two awkward geniuses, and a ringing silence.

Smackle and Farkle had both showed no outward reactions. But Zay noticed that while Farkle had looked on with narrowed eyes, as if he was trying to solve a puzzling problem, Isadora had watched them closely, as if she was observing a science experiment.

That’s when he’d also realized that Isadora’s eyes are really beautiful and mesmerising, the deep, dark brown colour of chocolate brownies. And she has really pretty hair, like a river of the melted chocolate that Grandma Gandy uses while making his favourite cookies. But he should probably stop comparing her features to chocolate because it’s making him hungry.

Smackle’s voice interrupts Zay’s wandering thoughts. “Aha!” she exclaims, staring out of the window behind the desk, which overlooks the courtyard with the swimming pool. “Looks like you will not have to wait much longer after all, Isaiah!”

Zay scrambles around the table to join Izzy, whose face is pressed against the glass. There, standing by the edge of the pool and carrying a giant red umbrella, is Maya. And facing her, unbothered by the soft, misty drizzle, is Lucas.

Thanks to the drizzle, and the study/library being a floor above, Zay and Smackle can’t see Maya or Lucas’s faces very clearly. But the scowl on Maya’s face and the smirk on Lucas’s lips are unmistakeable. Because of the fixed window, the two watchers can’t hear a word of the conversation below either, but whatever Maya says makes Lucas smirk even wider.

Zay knows his best friend, he knows exactly why Lucas is radiating such smug satisfaction.

After their fight, Maya has cold-shouldered Lucas as much as possible. She hasn’t avoided his presence or ignored him outright, but she hasn’t spoken to him directly for two whole days, and Zay knows it’s making him miserable.

Confronting her like this, alone and outside in the rain where she can’t ignore him, is Lucas’s way of trying to get her to acknowledge him, to speak to him. The smug smirk plastered across his face is because he’s succeeded in getting her undivided attention. Plus, Maya seems irritated, which means she’s not unaffected by him. Which is why the smirk is wider.

Zay wants to hide his face behind his hands — he knows goading Maya into reacting can’t end well for Lucas. But he can’t not watch.

Lucas takes a step closer to Maya, and then another.

Zay holds his breath, and suddenly becomes aware that he and Isadora are clutching each other’s fingers. Her hand is small in his, but her grip is firm. He is completely distracted for a moment by how nice it feels, how soft her palm is. And he’s suddenly worried that his own hand is sweaty.

But just as he’s trying to decide what to do, how to react, to think around the way his heart is beating madly fast in his ears, Smackle lets out a huff of frustration. Zay quickly looks out of the window to see that Maya has shifted her hold on the umbrella, angling it in such a way that her and Lucas’s faces and the top halves of their bodies are hidden behind it. He swears (a little louder than he means to; Izzy’s hand is still gripping his, and he’s nervous), cursing the umbrella for obstructing their view.

They can’t really tell what’s going on now. All they can see are Lucas and Maya’s feet. When Lucas’s feet move another step closer to Maya’s, so that the owners of the said pairs of feet are almost standing toe to toe, Smackle lets out an extremely un-Smackle-like squeal that exactly mirrors Zay’s giddy excitement. Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! he wants to yell.

Instead, there’s a blur of motion, a flurry of action. Before they can comprehend what’s happening, there’s a loud splash as Lucas falls into the pool. Maya drops the umbrella and takes off in the opposite direction.

The two watchers just stare.

“Well,” Smackle says, releasing his hand.

Zay watches anxiously (and tries not to think about how he misses holding her hand), relaxing when his best friend surfaces, his hair streaming with water and plastered to his head, while Smackle presses her face to the window pane to follow Maya’s flight. She sees Maya head for one of the doors that leads back inside the house before turning her attention to the sight of a dripping Lucas as he emerges from the pool.

Zay notices her expression, and feels a sudden streak of pure irritation surge through him. “Will you stop ogling at him! You’ve seen him shirtless several times already!”

Smackle looks at him as if she’s pitying his intelligence. “Why would I deprive myself of such an appealing sight, regardless of how many instances I have witnessed it before? And why does it bother you anyway?”

Zay has no answer except that, for some reason, it does bother him. So he just grumbles as he leaves the room.

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

Zay finds Lucas in the bathroom of the room they share. He’s changed out of his wet clothes, but is yet to put on a t-shirt. He’s sat on the edge of the bathtub, drying his hair with a towel, scowling at the floor.

“Must you wander around shirtless?” Zay asks, exasperated.

“I didn’t know the sight of my bare chest affected you so much,” Lucas deadpans.

“Har har.” Everybody’s a comedian, Zay thinks. “That was just to warn you. You’re the one who complains when Smackle flirts with you.”

“Why does it sound like you’re more bothered by that than I am?”

“Pfft I’m not bothered. Why would I be bothered by Smackle flirting with you? She’s been doing it since before I moved to New York. Of course I’m not bothered.”

But it does bother Zay, so he changes the subject. “So,” he nods at Lucas’s state, “What did you do?”

“Nothing.”

Zay just raises an eyebrow.

Lucas sighs. “She’s so—” He cuts himself off with a snarl of frustration.

“Why? Because she told you she didn’t care for your opinion on Josh and his friends? Or did you try to woo her with your horse-birthing story again? Because then if I was her, I’d push you into the pool too.”

Lucas flings his towel to the floor in fury and surges to his feet. “I’m just trying to look out for her, why doesn’t she get that?”

“Why don’t you just tell her you have feelings for her?”

“I don’t have feelings for Maya,” he says sulkily, being contrary just because.

Zay snorts. “Right. And I’m in love with Smackle.”

Lucas gives him a weird look as he pulls on a t-shirt.

Zay notices. “What?”

“You have been spending a lot of time with her lately.” Lucas points out.

“That’s because I can’t take anymore of your and Maya’s drama. It’s more painful than a visit to the dentist!”

Farkle enters, a bowl of popcorn in his hands. “What did you do, Freakface?”

“Maya’s the one who pushed me into the pool.”

“Did you tell her that story again about how you gave birth to a horse, because—”

Lucas growls.

Farkle takes a step back hurriedly. “Just checking.”

“How do you know what happened anyway?” Zay asks Farkle, reaching for some of his popcorn. “I thought you were going to spend the afternoon in your home theatre watching space documentaries?”

“I was.” For a second, Farkle’s expression darkens before clearing up again. “But I went to get a snack, and saw the whole thing from the kitchen windows.” He grins. “Maya’s a lot stronger than she appears. Did you see how she just shoved him into the pool?”

He mimics the sounds of a yell and a loud splash, then grins proudly, as if he’s personally responsible for Maya’s feat of strength.

Zay wants to laugh, but Lucas looks seriously unamused, so he swallows his chuckle. “Lucas here needs advice on how to make things okay with Maya again.”

“I do not!”

“Well, we’re still going give it to you, buddy, because I, for one, am sick of watching you two bicker.”

“Why don’t you just tell her how you feel?” Farkle asks.

“I don’t have feelings for Maya.” Lucas lies with much more conviction this time.

“Sure,” Farkle nods. “You don’t have feelings for her. That’s why you looked like you were imagining ripping me apart with your bare hands for dancing with her at the winter formal.”

“That was before I knew it was you!”

Lucas’s eyes widen the minute the words are out of his mouth. Zay and Farkle snicker at him, and he narrows his eyes.

“Look,” Farkle says after a moment, his tone uncharacteristically sombre, at odds with his lighthearted ragging mere seconds ago, “All I’m saying is that if she doesn’t feel the same way, you can go back to wallowing in your misery like you’re doing right now, except you’ll know for sure that she doesn’t like you. It’s better than being like this just because you’re too afraid to tell her how you feel.”

There’s an awkward pause as Farkle looks out of the window, and Lucas and Zay exchange uncomfortable glances.

It’s obvious that Farkle is speaking from personal experience. And Zay, being as astute as he is, doesn’t need Smackle-level genius to deduce that this has something to do with Farkle’s fight with Riley. He’s not sure, though, whether Farkle is urging Lucas to tell Maya how he feels because he has already done the same with Riley himself (and possibly learned that she doesn’t reciprocate his feelings, though Zay doesn’t believe that for even a second), or because he wishes he had.

Clearly Farkle needs some serious cheering up — whatever has been bugging him, he has hidden it successfully enough so far that no one suspected how much it’s really bothering him. But Zay knows his friends. The easiest way to get Farkle’s mind off his own problems right now is to focus his attention on something else. And how handy that they have a dumb-dumb friend who desperately needs their help.

Except Farkle’s plan has a slight flaw.

“How is telling him that it might be a lose-lose situation supposed to encourage him?” Zay demands.

Farkle turns to Lucas and raises his eyebrows even as he dips his hand into the bowl for more popcorn.

Lucas sighs. “No, Farkle’s right. I should just tell her.”

What.

Zay stares at him. “I’ve been after you to tell Maya how you feel before I even moved to New York, and Farkle’s right?”

“Hey, I’m his best friend, and I know how he thinks.” Farkle beams, seemingly having bounced back to his usual cheerful self.

“Wait a minute,” Zay protests, “I’m his best friend.”

“If you were his best friend, you’d know that sometimes the only way to get Freakface to do something is to call him a chicken.”

“Hey, I don’t need a reason to call him a freak or a chicken!” Zay claps Farkle on his shoulder as they share a laugh.

“Okay, guys. Who are supposed to be my best friends,” Lucas interjects, “Can we get back to my problem here?”

“It’s not rocket science,” Zay tells him, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, listen to him. He hangs out enough with Smackle to know by now what’s rocket science and what isn’t,” Farkle quips.

Zay eyes his two friends suspiciously, trying to decide why that statement sounds like it’s poking fun at him. He doesn’t buy their innocent expressions, especially as Lucas just tried to pass off a snort as a cough, and Farkle is trying (and failing) to suppress amusement of indeterminate origin. (Shit, he must be spending too much time with Smackle, he’s even beginning to think in her words.) But he decides Farkle is merely making an observation, one that is in no way incorrect.

“Exactly,” he says, turning to Lucas. “Listen to Zay the wise! Just take Maya down to the beach tomorrow morning before breakfast, when it’s all calm and quiet and peaceful and fresh, and tell her how you feel about her.”

“Okay.” Lucas takes a couple of deep breaths, like a diver before going underwater, as if he’s gearing himself to go find their blonde friend and talk to her immediately. “Find Maya. Take her to the beach. Tell her how I feel. That’s it. Easy peasy.”

But he looks green, as if he’s going to be sick.

“Perfect!” Farkle finishes the last of his popcorn. “Now, I need to go find my former arch-lovesis and once again platonic arch-nemesis—”

“Why?” Zay interrupts, realizing a second later how abrupt he sounds.

“....Because I want to discuss this hypothesis we have about—”

“Oh, just science then.” Zay holds up his hand, inexplicably relieved for some reason that he does not want to examine. “Say no more!”

“You should come along, it might interest you.”

Zay chuckles. “Since when have I ever been interested in science?”

“I thought you might be, since Smackle’s going to be there.”

“What?”

“Uh.. nothing?” Farkle edges away nervously.

“Damn right it’s nothing!”

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

Zay does go looking for Smackle (and Farkle!) a while later. But he doesn’t find them anywhere until they arrive together for dinner, which sours his mood.

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

Contrary to Zay’s expectations, Lucas isn’t able to lure Maya down to the beach the next morning, or even the morning after that. Consequently, he has to endure two whole days more of Lucas’s looks of longing and desperation, and Maya’s impatience with everyone, but especially Lucas. And if that isn’t bad enough, Smackle seems to have decided that the best way to cover up the awkwardness caused by their two friends’ silent feud is by flirting with Lucas as much as possible.

For some reason, this irks Zay more than anything else. His best friend is supposed to be focused on Maya. Instead, he hangs out with Smackle all day, genially laughing off her attempts at flirting instead of discouraging her like he used to, and joking around with her and Farkle, the latter having seemingly decided to hop on the “let’s-annoy-Zay” bandwagon as well. Only Maya seems to find them just as irritating, something that is evident from the way she glares daggers at everyone.

So, it’s a very grumpy Zay and Maya who make their way down to the kitchen for breakfast a couple of mornings later.

And they arrive just in time to witness Smackle yank Lucas forward by his shirt collar Maya-style and plant one on him.

Zay gapes.

Everything seems to blur around him. All he can do is stare, horrified, as Isadora Smackle kisses his best friend. On the mouth. He can feel a hot wave of shock — and... anger? — and panic (that one he can identify for sure) flooding through him, because all this time, he thought Izzy was only joking around when she flirted with Lucas. But now, Zay’s not sure what to make of the situation at all.

At last, several torturous hours later (though according to Farkle, it was barely ten seconds), Smackle lets go of Lucas, who looks about as gobsmacked as Zay feels. “Huh.”

“Smackle!” Zay squawks, finally pushing past his shock enough to manage to get some words out.

Everything rapidly comes back into focus, and Zay is suddenly aware of Maya beside him, frozen like a stone. In the other corner of the room, Farkle, whom he hadn’t even noticed so far, stands with his brows raised at the scene unfolding before them.

Smackle and Lucas turn, at last noticing that they have an audience.

“Oh,” Maya stammers, “Uh– um– continue– didn’t mean to interrupt...”

Zay is too busy staring gormlessly at Smackle to realize that Maya has left, until Lucas, belatedly emerging from his shocked stupor, calls out her name like a desperate, drowning man, and barrels out after her.

“Maya!” He hollers.

“Come on, I don’t want to miss this!” Smackle drags Zay after them, and Farkle follows close behind.

The three of them get to the back porch just in time to see Lucas catch up with Maya, who has already reached the beach. It’s amazing how fast someone as short as her can move. Even Lucas has had to sprint to catch up with her.

It would have made a pretty picture — Maya with her long golden hair and rust-coloured hoodie, on the beach, a pink rain-washed sky as the backdrop — if it wasn’t for the fact that she’s storming away.

They can clearly hear Lucas from where they’re standing. “Maya! Maya, listen to me!”

He tries to take her hand but she rips it from his, and continues to move down to the shoreline.

“Maya, please! She kissed me, I didn’t kiss her, I swear!”

Maya turns and kicks Lucas in the shin. Hard.

“Oww!”

Undeterred, he hops after her on one foot as she walks away, and manages to snag her wrist. She shoves him away, which, as he’s still hopping, sends him falling on his back in the sand. But he doesn’t loosen his grip on her hand, causing Maya to fall too, right on top of him, and sprawl all over his chest.

From their vantage point, Zay, Smackle, and Farkle have a clear view of the spectacle unfolding on the beach.

In the process of struggling to get off Lucas’s chest and onto her feet, Maya drives her elbow straight into his gut, winding him. He lets out a strangled “Oof!”, but manages to grip her other wrist. They end up rolling so that Lucas is partially on top of Maya, who is swearing loudly and foully enough to make sailors and soldiers blush. Her curses float back up to the trio on the porch.

“This isn’t what I had in mind when I told him to have a nice quiet talk with her on the beach in the early morning quiet,” Zay states as they watch their two friends grapple.

Suddenly, Lucas collapses on top of Maya with a yell of pure agony. Zay and Farkle simultaneously hiss in sympathy. It’s obvious what has happened: Maya just kneed Lucas where it hurts the most. None of the watchers can tell if it was an accident or deliberate.

“Get off me, you big fat oaf!” Maya wheezes. “You weigh as much as a horse!”

She manages to shove Lucas off herself, and leaves him curled up whimpering on the sand as she stalks away. But now there’s less stalking off and more weariness in her, as if the fight has gone out of her.

Impressively, after a couple of minutes, Lucas manages to get to his feet and stagger after her, though he’s clearly still in pain. He reaches Maya and turns her to face him, and she doesn’t resist when he cups her cheek to raise her face. (He doesn’t have to make her look up too much; he’s still hurting badly enough that he can’t stand straight and is hunched over.) His voice is too low for those on the porch to hear what he’s saying, but even from this distance, they can see the earnestness (and pain) on his face.

It feels like an eternity, but he finally steps forward, closing the distance between them. Maya doesn’t protest, and Zay, Smackle, and Farkle watch eagerly as he leans down, closer, closer.... and rests his forehead on her shoulder with a heartfelt groan, clearly still needing a minute to deal with the lingering trauma of Maya’s knee making contact with sensitive parts of his anatomy.

Maya winces in sympathy, but there’s no mistaking the smile on her face as Lucas finally straightens enough to kiss her.

“Yeesssss!” Smackle shrieks.

Farkle lets out a loud whoop and snaps off a couple of pictures with his phone, which Zay now realizes he’s had trained on their friends all along. (He’s sure the videos and photos Farkle has taken are already on their way to Riley, a peace offering and a way to make up after their fight. Riley’s going to be pretty steamed she wasn’t there to witness this historic event in person.)

Zay cheers too, of course he does. He’s happy for his friends, and he’s happiest for himself. His otp is finally together, after three excruciating years. Damn, that slow-burn was the slowest burn to ever slow-burn!

But he knows this was bound to happen sooner or later. (He would have made sure it did.) Which is why, after jumping up and down excitedly with the others for a few minutes, he turns his attention to the brunette with glasses next to him. “Whatever happened to ‘non-interference is our best and most favourable course of action’?”

Smackle gives him a devious look. “I was not interfering,” she says primly, with a smug quirk of her lips. “I was merely testing the practical application of the hypothesis Farkle and I have been discussing for the past few days. And as the conclusive results show, our postulation based on empirical evidence for both sets of observations was accurate.”

Practical application of the hypothesis.... Zay’s mouth falls open. “You’re unbelievable,” he tells the two geniuses, aiming a glare at Farkle.

“And after that, I can safely say I do not comprehend what the fuss is all about.” Smackle grimaces and wipes her mouth. “It was like kissing a sibling. It was worse than kissing a sibling.”

She pushes off the railing and takes the stairs going down to the beach to join Lucas and Maya, who have finally stopped kissing and are grinning up at their friends happily. (Lucas has finally managed to stand up straight, though it looks like he’s trying to avoid moving as much as possible.)

Zay’s eyes follow Isadora, not wanting to examine the sheer relief coursing through him that she thought kissing Lucas was worse than kissing a sibling.

Something she said before tugs his brain, and he replays her words in his mind. “Wait a minute. What did she mean by “both sets of observations”?”

Farkle smirks at him slyly.

Shit, Zay thinks as Isadora turns and gives him a coy smile. He’s in trouble.

#lucaya #lucaya fanfiction #girl meets world #maya hart #lucas friar #zay babineaux #isadora smackle #zaydora #girl meets world fanfiction #gmw fanfiction #gmw #my writing #my posts

40 notes · View notes

prinzenhasserin · 7 years ago

Text

Dear Trick or Treater

Dear Trick or Treater!

Please don’t feel obligated to use my prompts! This letter is just in case you might want to poke at some more of my prompts/likes. Generally, I’m open to a lot, and I will be delighted with any rating from gen to explicit. My AO3 account is here.

If you want to write me a crossover, great! If you need to check if I know the canon please go through the mods.

My prompts are pretty ridiculous in places. That is not a preference to the treat-side, that’s just where my brain goes first. If you want to scare me, then definitely go for the creeping existential horror. It doesn’t even need to be detailed, I freak out really easily.

(If this letter cribs a lot from my other letters, it’s because I’m lazy, and my likes don’t change around that much :D You can find some of my other letters under the exchange letter tag. I hope you have fun creating!)

General likes:

loyalty

odd couples

found family, dysfunctional families that nevertheless love each other

historical stories for same-sex pairings that aren't unhappy but that fit with the society of the time (so like, spinster ladies living together; bachelors-for-life)

cultural differences, age differences, height differences

heists, rescue missions

dragons, fairy tales, magical realism, urban fantasy

competent characters

people not realising they’re the most competent at their job/hobby

people failing their way to success

happy endings, earning your happy ending, open yet hopeful endings

cynical humour

mutual pining

suits, corsetry, fancy dresses

Identity shenanigans (secret identities, mistaken identities)

Blatant Lies

Enemies becoming friends and/or lovers

outsider POV

epistolary

orange/blue morality (that is, not entirely human morality); grey/grey morality

people not usually found in law enforcement solving crimes

non-verbal expressions of affection

Kinks:

wall sex

shifting power dynamics

semi-public sex

lots of foreplay, drawn out orgasms, edging

desperate sex, drunk sex, we-just-can’t-help-it!sex, sex for life-affirming

sex toys

sex toys in public (though I get embarrassed if someone else notices)

General dislikes:

infidelity in mentioned pairings

suicide

non-con (dub-con is totally fine though; as are consent issues due to power imbalances, people not knowing all the facts, or drunken sex-polleness)

The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman

Silas, Miss Lupescu

trick or treat; fanart or fanfiction

I'm very interested in their backstory, alone and together -- how did they meet? What's the purpose of the honour guard aside from killing all the Jacks?

But if you want to explore Miss Lupescu’s death — that would also be terrific (fix it! or make me cry because I will cry; either way is good)

Also here for: what scares a vampire? Other adventures Miss Lupescu went on. Where did she learn how to cook? What's up with the ghoul fighting? (How do Silas and Miss Lupescu earn a living? Do they pay taxes?)

Wynonna Earp (TV)

Xavier Dolls

trick or treat; fanart or fanfiction

Xavier Dolls is (SPOILER ALERT) a dragon. What's up with that? Does he hoard weapons? books? uncomfortable situations?

I'd be very interested in something that explored his supernatural side. Does his dragon-self work like a werewolf? Is he only mostly dragon? does he need to bathe in lava to grow?

Also terrific would be: Xavier Dolls knows that dragons exist, and revenants -- but ghosts?

Alternatively, Dolls hoards a collection of hats. Doc and Wynonna can never know.

Nirvana in Fire (TV)

Consort Jing

Trick or Treat; fanart or fanfiction

Consort Jing is very quiet. She also has a lot of dead friends. Maybe she's constantly surrounded by them?

Or: The real reason nobody stands in her way is that she’s a world class assassin. Or a witch, maybe.

Would also most definitely read a lot of words before anyone died and she was happy. Would also read her mothering her son, or Lin-shu, or quietly helping the other concubines in the palace.

Gokusen (Manga)

Sawada Shin, Yamaguchi Kumiko

Trick or Treat; fanart or fanfiction

Holiday-appropriate fic! Ghost houses! A school trip to the ghost forest where people kill themselves. One of these three is not like the other, but I would read all sorts of stories about these characters. Post-canon would be great, but anything goes really. I'd like additional appearances by any other of the cast, but it would be icing on the cake.

Focusing on just one character would be terrific. Kumiko has adventures with another class, or her minions! Shin goes to Africa, but gets lost in a different universe on the way there!

I ship Shin/Yankumi but gen is delightful also.

10 Things I hate about you

Kat Stratford, Patrick Verona

treat or trick; fanart or fanfiction

Kat and Patrick go to make-out in an abandoned factory. Too bad there's a ghost interrupting them every five minutes.

Would also read: Zombie apocalypse; Kat is a literal witch who devours boys and Patrick is her (virgin?) sacrifice. Obviously, you can probably come up with much better stories :D A look at what they do in ten, twenty years would be great, too! Separately, even!

Miss Marple - Agatha Christie

Jane Marple

treat or trick, fanart or fanfiction

St. Mary Mead’s police is convinced there’s a ghost robbing/murdering people. Miss Marple is convinced they have all been too deep in the bottle.

Miss Marple has always been able to see ghosts. They usually have nothing much to say, and are quite nonsensical, but this one is different.

Or: zombie apocalypse! Or it’s Miss Marple who is the ghost.

Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch

Molly

treat or trick; fanart or fanfiction

Tbh, I just want Molly to be the protagonist of her own adventures. Molly is the best at riding the Folly of vermin like bed bugs, ghosts and the occasional angry spirit. Her cooking is a little bit magic.

Or: She has to fight with the traders at the market for magic ritual ingredients every time, since the Folly isn’t well liked among the demi-monde.

Also, what’s up with her heritage? Fae? Not Fae?

Original Works

Space Traveler, Incubus, Ghost Jellyfish, Incompetent Fortune Teller, Part-Time Ghost Exorcist, Eldritch Abomination In A Human Skin-Suit, Time-Travelling Artificial Intelligence, Long Abandoned Sentient Ship

trick or treat; fanart or fanfic

I think these tags speak pretty much for themselves. Feel free to combine them! I read anything from gen to explicit. Femslash, slash or any other relationships are great, too. If you want to take a look at my likes/dislikes see my letter.

How would a ghost jellyfish be different from a non-ghost jellyfish? Why would it turn into a ghost?

What kind of ghost stories do they tell in space? Space halloween traditions?

Tbh, I would read a story containing all those characters. It is by no means necessary, though!

Space Traveller: Tell me of the Halloween traditions that survive into the space age! Are there new traditions? What kind of scary stories do they tell in space?

Incubus: I have a thing for magical creatures doing totally mundane things, while being supernatural about it. Would also work for me if combined with any of the other characters! Also here for an Incubus dub-conning someone with sex pollen.

Ghost Jellyfish: How would that work? How would a ghost jellyfish be different from a non-ghost jellyfish? Why would it turn into a ghost? Maybe it’s a familiar of the Part-Time Ghost Exorcist?

Incompetent Fortune Teller: Ooh. In what way are they incompetent? Do they tell people what they want to hear, because they are incompetent at telling the future? Or are they incompetent at being a fortune teller, and tell people their future? Maybe they only see two seconds into the future -- maybe they are cursed and nobody believes the truth they are telling ;) Would also read if the Incompetent Fortune Teller was made incompetent by the Time-Travelling AI and was pretty angry about that... or any other combination, really

Part-Time Ghost Exorcist: As I mentioned, I love when the mundane meets the supernatural. What’s the other part-time? Is the ghost exorcising business only hiring part-time workers so they don’t have to insure their workers? (This is admittedly very US centric. Would also love an AU where a part-time job can have a living wage! Or any other setting) Would also love a space travelling ghost exorcist.

Eldritch Abomination In A Human Skin-Suit: Existential horror freaks me out pretty quickly, but this is such an interesting concept. Why is the Eldritch Horror using a Human Skin Suit? Because they can? Is it like, a life-style choice? Is the EA doing it for the experience, or to be edgy? Would also read if the Eldritch Horror is the thing that gets exorcised. Would also read if there’s no existential horror.

Time-Travelling Artificial Intelligence: What is the AI doing while time-travelling? Does anyone find them out? Why is it time-travelling? Does it abide by Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics? Would also read a story where the AI figures out to be human -- or tries having sex with someone, or maybe they get best upon by an Incubus and there’s confusion all around.

Long Abandoned Sentient Ship: How does the sentience work out, did it become sentient through its abandonment, or is the ship even self-aware? Does it model itself on its creators? Is the ship going crazy in a mild way, or in a creepy way? Or maybe the sentience isn’t very human-like, and it doesn’t need contact at all, and is just merrily continuing its mission to map the unknown space? Maybe it collects hitchhikers. Maybe nobody knows how or who had created it, and it’s just there.

#exchange letter

1 note · View note