#but i want em cus i feel like life is a little better when you have a little vitamin to take

[tuxxydo]

I need to buy vitamins.

[restapesta]

Piercings. 5+1 ficlet, but with piercings. I have a problem.

1.

Ian thought he knew pretty much everything about his husband. He knew him, inside and fucking out.

How could he not? Ian's pretty much been with him for a better part of his life, and they've had enough late-night talks to share all their demons with each other, however hard it may have been. They knew each other.

There was no doubt about it.

But, well. Ian should have known Mickey kept secrets.

He also should've known that one of those secrets was bound to put him in the grave one day with the inscription on his tombstone saying that he died from horniness.

Because one of these days, he would. There was no doubt about it.

It wasn't the most conventional way to go, but Ian didn't mind it.

Because, holy fuck, Mickey just admitted he used to have his ears pierced.

"Sorry," Ian balked at his husband who was standing in the bathroom, eyeing himself in the mirror, a pair of black studs in his right hand. "Did you just say you had your ears pierced?"

"I probably still do." Mickey grabs an earring and places it against the healed-up hole that is so faint, Ian needed to come impossibly closer to see it. Mickey had pointed it out to him after he initially said he was getting his ears pierced again. Right after Ian was left with his mouth wide open, staring widely at him, not trusting he heard him right. "And if not, I'm just gonna reopen them."

How did Ian never notice it? How did he never see Mickey, the love of his life, with earrings in his ears? With little patched-up spots of skin that were so plainly visible to the eye, now that he really looked at it.

Mickey grimaced as he pressed the needle against the hole, pushing and prodding against the uncooperative entrance. He eyed Ian in the mirror, eyes narrowing. "What are you staring at?"

Ian was stunned speechless. Of course he was. Of fucking course Mickey was about to bust out some crazy thing two years into their marriage that would make Ian finally break. Like having his ears pierced, making every single yet-undiscovered fantasy come to life.

He couldn't help but imagine Mickey with a nose ring, now. Tongue piercing. Eyebrow piercing.

Nipples.

Holy fuck.

Blood was rushing straight to his dick, and goddamn it, this was it. Ian was about to die.

Because holy fuck, the earring went through.

So did the other one.

And now, Ian was staring at Mickey, who was sporting black studs in his ears. Two dark diamonds that were obviously fake but could've not been, because this wasn't Mickey anymore. This wasn't the Mickey who rolled his eyes at anything gay—except getting pounded, obviously.

No—this was Mickey with earrings.

Ian's mouth was dry. It was dry as Mickey turned away from the mirror to face him. He stood in front of him, a determined look on his face as if waiting for Ian to call him out. Him, in all his fucking glory.

"Did you, uh," Ian finally stammered out. "sterilize the needles? I don't want you to get an infection."

"That really all you gotta say?"

Ian swallowed. "How come I never saw you with," He pointed at Mickey's ears, unable to even say the word. "those?"

"I was really young. I got 'em pierced when Mandy did. Took them out fairly soon, 'cus, you know." He shrugged, feigning nonchalance.

Ian knew.

He gripped Mickey by the shoulders pulling him closer. His eyes were on Ian's, but Ian's were on the earrings, and Ian never really knew he had a kink for jewelry.

Well, there was the wedding ring, but fuck, this had nothing to do with their relationship, and yet Ian was still sporting a raging hard-on Mickey had yet to notice.

"I love them." He said truthfully, mentally noting to get Mickey real studs once he got the chance. Not the cheap grocery-store ones, but actual diamonds that he wouldn't mind spending money on. Not when they would look so good on his husband.

Mickey blushed, pushing Ian away immediately, not getting away far, arms practically out so Ian could pull him back in. And he did, squeezing him tightly against his chest, careful not to place too much pressure on the newly-reopened piercings.

Mickey mumbled something against Ian's shirt, incoherent.

"What? I didn't hear you"

"I love you."

Ian smiled. Pulled Mickey away so he could stare into his eyes.

"You know you gotta let me fuck you with those on. Pretty sure it will be the best orgasm of my life."

Mickey only smirked, eyes lighting up immediately at the suggestion. He looks fucking amazing, Ian thought.

"Lead the way, hotshot."

Ian was right. With the earrings and the smugness—

It took him less than a minute.

2.

When Ian saw the photo, he was pretty sure he was going to die.

No, not pretty sure. One-hundred percent sure. Death was awaiting him now, ready to pull him in. He was already feeling faint, ready to just slip away into unconsciousness. He was going to die, for sure.

Or maybe it was just the loss of all the blood that was heading way down south that was making him feel this way, because holy shit.

Holy shit.

When Mickey took the earrings out after a few days of usage, claiming how they sucked, Ian thought that was it. Mickey was never going to do anything that reminded him of being gay ever again. He had probably been embarrassed and wanted to take them out, and Ian was feeling at such loss when he saw his ears vacant that he was ready to throw hands.

But, oh God.

Ian was now staring at a picture of Mickey—a picture he posted on goddamn Instagram for everybody to see—and it was him.

Him with a fucking nose piercing.

Ian checked the comments first. It would've probably been saner to call his husband and ask if he actually got a nose piercing and if he was ready to be a widow because Ian won't be lasting much longer, but there were a bunch of comments on the photo, and fuck if Ian wasn't going to leaf through them all. This could be a joke for all he knew.

Some sick joke to get Ian's hopes up, just to get them crushed down until he never had any hopes in life ever again.

Mickey with a nose piercing. Mickey with a nose piercing.

Carl said it looked 'fuckin' sick'. Lip was putting 😲 emojis all throughout the chat, sometimes even adding the 😏 one, probably a reference to Ian (at least Ian hoped it was). The other comments were just about how good Mickey look, which was really no surprise, but holy shit, did that mean this was real?

Mickey was out running some errand. Said he had some shit he needed to. That sneaky bastard. Ian didn't care if he was in the middle of the goddamn line at the Costco aisle or in the middle of a drug run.

He facetimed him.

When Mickey's face came into view, the nose ring present and very much real, Ian was lost for words. Mickey was biting his lip to keep from smiling and once he noticed Ian was just going to continue and stare, he scoffed.

"Man, it's just a piercing."

"No," Ian said. "This is much more than 'just a piercing'."

Mickey chuckled. "Well, I figured since I didn't really like the earrings, I could do this. It felt right."

This was the Mickey Ian knew and loved. The Mickey who wanted to try new things, get to know his own style. Mickey, who was finally confident enough in himself, and hopefully comfortable in their marriage, that he didn't even consider this a big deal. Ian was filled to the brim with emotions, and he was ready to explode.

"You need to come home now."

They met each other's eyes through the screen, blue glimmering in mischief. Mickey smiled. "Why?"

"Because."

"This piercing shit really gets you going, huh, Gallagher?"

It did.

It really did.

"If you're not home in ten minutes, I'll get the whip. So better be fucking home." With that he hung up, getting up to ready the supplies.

Mickey was home in eleven.

Ian knew it was fucking intentional.

3.

Ian might've been getting used to the fucking hotness that Mickey Milkovich with a nostril piercing was, but that didn't mean others were.

In the end, it probably didn't even matter that Ian was one million percent down for any types of piercings Mickey wants to get—he might have even been pushing him for a nipple piercing, but the why of it was for another time—what would eventually decide whether or not the earring stayed in was the reactions of somebody other than Ian.

It was unfair, really, that others would be able to affect Mickey's decision to finally do whatever the fuck he wanted to do, despite his ever-growing confidence. Still, Ian had a way of making sure that nobody made him feel shitty for doing something he wanted to do. Something for himself, without fearing the judgment of others like he had his entire life.

He was an arsonist, for fuck's sake. Let them try and eye his husband the wrong way.

Ian perhaps expected it from old, batty women at the grocery store who didn't have a clue what century they were in or Karens who were homophobic pieces of shit—but he never would be guessed it would be his own family poking fun at something that probably took guts to do. Because it took guts to actually get something like a nose piercing if you were a Milkovich with a past of growing up in a homophobic household.

"So, uh, you gone full gay now, Mickey?"

"Watch out, Ian, I think he might out-twink you."

"You look like Sandy now. Don't be surprised if I jump you."

"I think you look cool, Mickey."

"Uncle Mickey, what's that in your nose? Can I have one?"

Mickey didn't seem to really care about the Gallaghers' opinions. It was mostly just him flipping Lip off at the twink comment and winking at Franny for that last one. Ian, on the other hand.

Ian was the one who was getting fucking offended.

What if Mickey decided that all the teasing and sideways glances aren't worth it and he takes the nose ring out? What if Ian's deprived of sexy, liberated Mickey because of assholes like his own siblings?

It didn't matter how selfish it sounded. There was no way in hell Mickey was ever going to feel conflicted over something he didn't need to feel conflicted about.

So, the second Mickey was out of the room, and the Gallaghers were still unrelenting at the teasing, Ian knew what he had to do.

"Okay, that's enough," He said simply after the eight-hundredth joke about how the ring looked like a booger in his nose—what the actual fuck, Lip?—his voice stern.

"Come on," Lip said, despite the others clearly relenting, palms going up with sheepish expressions on their faces. "We're just joking."

"Well, enough jokes. You could be more like Liam. Tell him he looks good."

Lip snorted. "And why would I do that?"

"Because I asked you to?"

"He knows it's all jokes. He doesn't even care."

"I do." Ian narrowed his eyes. "I care whether or not he feels like he's done the wrong thing because you won't shut the fuck up after the joke's not even funny anymore."

That was what made the smile on Lip's face thin. He lowered his head sightly, as of bowing it down in shame. Ian knew he had finally caught on. Finally understood that, sometimes, even jokes could hurt people's fucking feelings.

Maybe Mickey wasn't at all touched by this. Maybe he really didn't give a shit about what Lip or some old-ass grandma at the store thought. Maybe it was only Ian who gave a shit.

But fuck it, he could give enough shit for the both of them.

If it meant Mickey would always feel comfortable in his own skin, then fuck yes he could.

"Okay," Lip said simply, and Ian smiled at him, thankful.

And when Mickey reappeared with a slight frown on his face and a, "what, no more jokes?" followed by a wide smile, Ian knew he had done the right thing.

Because Mickey looked good.

And the ring stayed on.

4.

"What is it with you and the goddamn nipple rings?"

Ian bit at his lip. Okay, he may have gone a little overboard. With all the research and the reference photos and all the places you could get one... But fuck, he had a fantasy, and he needed to see it come true.

Mickey with nipple rings.

Mickey with nipple rings.

Come the fuck on.

"Babe, listen," Ian started, moving so he was positioned against the headboard of their bed. It was almost midnight—what better time to lay it down on Mickey that he would look really fucking good with piercings in his nipples and that it would be Ian's dream come true. "They'd look so good."

"Then why don't you get them?"

Ian made an incredulous face. "Because they wouldn't look good on me. They would look good on you."

Mickey swiped at his nose, diverting Ian's attention once more to the perfection that was his black nose ring. How could Ian not see all the possibilities with multiple piercings when Mickey looked like that with just one?

"Come on," He said again, the image in his head even more vivid than before. "I googled it. It doesn't even hurt that much."

"I have a feeling like that is a very obvious lie."

Ian rolled his eyes. Okay, maybe it was.

He pushed himself back down onto the comforter, shifting so he could have access to Mickey's chest. He trailed a finger from his neck, then slowly down so it rest in between his nipples, laying out his palm so it could feel the beating of Mickey's heart.

"Imagine the sex," He whispered, trying out a new technique. Seduction. It had to work.

"Probably not until it's healed up and stops hurting," Mickey scoffed. "Also, I really don't think I'd like it. I'd look like a bull."

"You'd look like a very sexy bull. Oh, by the way, septum piercing." Ian wiggled his eyebrows. "Don't you see it? Don't you think it'd look awesome?"

Mickey looked like he was on the verge of either laughing or punching Ian straight in the dick. "I think," He began. "that I've created a monster."

"A monster who is extremely horny for your ass."

"Why do you have to have a kink for this? Ian, out of all the things. Just look up porn with a bunch of jewelry on the guys if you need to get off."

Ian frowned at the imagery. "It's not the jewelry, Mick. I've had hookups who wore a shit-ton of jewelry and it never made me all hot and bothered."

Mickey smiled at the hot and bothered part. "Dork. Then what is it?"

"Well, fucking obviously it's you."

Mickey's face lit up. "It's me?"

"Ugh, Mickey, we've been together for a while. Don't make me feel shy over this."

The exasperation made Ian's cheeks pink. Suddenly, Mickey was leaning in and pressing his lips to the heat, smiling all the way through it.

When he pulled away, there was a wide grin stretched across his face. Ian was a sucker for that grin. That grin was everything he needed in life. Nothing more.

"I won't get a nipple piercing."

Sadness. All Ian felt was sadness.

"But maybe we can check out other options." It was Mickey's turn to wiggle his eyebrows. "Tongue piercing float your boat too?"

Happiness. All Ian felt was happiness.

5.

Eyebrow piercing. It ended up being an eyebrow piercing.

And God. Ian was done. He was completely done with everything. This was it. This was all he ever needed to see in life. Now, he could die peacefully.

He was married to the hottest man alive. Ian could pride himself in that fact. Mickey truly was the hottest person Ian had ever laid eyes on.

Especially now that he had a nose and eyebrow piercing at the same fucking time.

Ian knew there would never be another man to get his attention again. Never anybody else to make Ian feel like he need to avert his gaze. Not when all eyes went to the Mickey with the hot body, amazing ass, great face, and perfect piercings.

"Maybe you should get some piercings, too," Mickey said as they sat together at the table, munching on cereal. "I mean, if you act this way over my shit, who knows how I'll act over yours."

Ian smiled. "I can't pull anything off like you can."

"Bullshit. You're hot as fuck."

Ian's cheeks pinked. "Shut up."

"No seriously," Mickey said as he got up to get more coffee. "Hottest guy I know."

Ian licked his lips, slowly running his eyes down his husband's body. "Well then, guess we both got lucky."

Mickey smiled and the piercings come into view again.

Ian really was a complete goner.

+ 1

"No," Mickey said once he saw Ian come into view. "No. No. No."

Ian grinned widely, tilting his chin slightly so he could showcase the tiny diamond—actual diamond—studs in his ears. "You like it?"

Mickey knew then that this was what heaven felt like.

He barely stopped himself from tackling Ian onto the floor.

Oh, who the fuck is he kidding.

He didn't stop shit.

[whomst-art-thou-whomst-whomst]

Texts from The Lost Tomb, part 3

I didn’t mean for this to stray into angst but like the lack of updates with Li Cu in LTR?? I had to do it to em.

Wushanju Crew Chat, 11:05pm

Li Cu: what’s up losers I’m outside

Li Cu: someone come on and open the damn door

Wang Meng: Language:(

Li Cu: fine, someone come on and open the damn door please

Snake Eyes Chat, 7:00am

Wu Xie: hey are you awake? Sorry I missed you coming in:) was finishing up some work. How was the end of your first semester? Did that geology paper go well? Did the food budget work out or do you need some extra money next semester?

Li Cu: yeah about your work

Li Cu: heard a little rumor

Li Cu: about you going through some stuff during ur recent trip

Li Cu: some stuff you maybe forgot to mention

Li Cu: and you told me we gotta check in with stuff, so this is me checking in, okay

Wu Xie: oh? What stuff?

Li Cu: idk just like

Li Cu: THE STUFF WITH YOU ALMOST FUCKING DYING FOR FUCKING MONTHS AND THE WAREHOUSE SHIT AND ERJING AND PEOPLE HURT YOU AND WHAT THE FUCK IS A THUNDER CITY AND NOONE FUCKING CALLED ME ABT THOSE PARTS ONCE

Wu Xie: oh. That stuff.

Li Cu: yeah asshat I’m in the kitchen whenever you’re ready to explain your fucking bullshit. Also you’re out of milk wtf how am I supposed to make breakfast here

Main Chat, 11:14am

Wu Xie: okay so it’s possible I fucked up a little bit.

Wang Pangzi: THERES JUST SO MUCH YOU COULD BE REFERRING TO I DONT KNOW WHERE TO START

Zhang Qiling: What’s wrong?

Honorary Wu Chat, 11:30am

Wang Pangzi: KID IM SO SORRY THAT PUNK IS A TRAINWRECK BUT YOU KNEW THAT

Wang Meng: Welcome home, Li Cu <3 not much has changed, ultimately.

Wang Pangzi: IT DIDNT EVEN OCCUR TO ME THAT HE WOULDNT TELL YOU EVERYTHING ABOUT IT ONCE THE REST OF US FIGURED IT OUT

WAIT HOW DID YOU FIND OUT

Li Cu: it’s okay. not your fault, uncle. Doesn’t matter how I found out. Wait wait hold on what do you mean “the rest of us figured it out” who figured it out

Wang Pangzi: SAY HELLO LIU SANG

Liu Sang: …hello.

Wang Pangzi: SAY MORE THAN THAT.

Liu Sang: uh…so you’re Wu Xie’s protégé, huh?

Li Cu: oh well howdy there homewrecker

Liu Sang: Excuse me??

Zhang Qiling: I think someone on the roof is calling me and I should go find out.

Wang Meng: I would also very much like to be removed from this conversation.

Wang Pangzi: AHAHAHAHA KIDDO IVE MISSED YOU

Li Cu: all I’m saying is aren’t you the little creep who’s obsessed with Xiao Ge

Liu Sang: ???

Zhang Qiling: Li Cu is referring to a brief period of irrational thought on Wu Xie’s part, where he mistakenly believed you to be a threat to our relationship.

Liu Sang: what do you mean a threat??

Wang Pangzi: WHAT DO YOU MEAN TIANZHEN HAD “A BRIEF PERIOD OF IRRATIONAL THOUGHT”

YOUVE MET YOUR HUSBAND RIGHT

Wang Meng: can you please take me off this chat.

Liu Sang: Wait, so Wu Xie told you about me, but…reading between the lines, he didn’t mention the cancer or anything bad that happened? Oh yikes.

Li Cu: don’t change the subject “Liu Sang”

if that is your real name

Like yeah you’re right abt it but still

just saying

heard you got good ears but I’ve got snake powers

kinda

so like no more funny business okay you superhearing harlot

Wang Meng: LANGUAGE, LI CU. IN THIS HOUSE WE SHOW GOOD MANNERS.

Wang Pangzi: LMAO OH DO WE NOW

Zhang Qiling: Li Cu, this is all unnecessary and childish. Please apologize.

Li Cu: you say that now bruh but apparently you weren’t complaining when he was all “idol this” and “idol that”

oh and hey Wang Meng while we’re here can I show you my business class grade report later bc Wu Xie is all “what matters is that you learned and enjoyed the experience” blah blah all eat pray love you know how he gets and I want to actually discuss areas to improve so that when I take over this joint I do better than Wu Xie? Tho that shouldnt be hard lol

Wang Meng: hurtful but accurate. I’ll bring my best red pen:)

Liu Sang: oh my god. I’m too jetlagged to keep up with any of this.

Wang Pangzi: BEST. DAY. EVER. IM SCREENSHOTTING THIS FOR HEI XIAZI.

Not A Homewrecker Chat, 11:52am

Liu Sang: Okay, we started off on the wrong foot.

Li Cu: I agree let’s start over

Start with how your little prank game almost got ppl killed

Liu Sang: And I seriously regret that. But we moved past that.

Wow, he seriously skipped over so much bullshit but didn’t skimp on mine, huh.

Li Cu: AHA so you ADMIT IT

Liu Sang: I’d like to think I’ve grown since then. That I’ve come to see Xiao Ge as a person and mentor, rather than an idol. I count Pangzi and Wu Xie as my close friends. I’m going to be staying here with them right now, I hope you can be okay with that.

Li Cu: see in my head you were going to be a lot less mature about it and I had a bunch of great follow-up insults planned

Liu Sang: I figured. I’d like us to be friends, though. Or at least not enemies.

Li Cu: okay but only bc you don’t know me yet so you won’t judge too much for this and I need to get this out to somebody I’ve been thinking about it for hours and my friends are still in finals and I’m stressing a little bit maybe

Liu Sang: ?

Li Cu: I yelled at dad

*Wu Xie sorry autocorrect

Liu Sang: …uh huh.

Li Cu: I yelled at him earlier. for keeping all that stuff from me. He started crying

Liu Sang: Wu Xie has been pretty emotional since we got back. Not necessarily your fault.

Li Cu: I made him cry right there at the kitchen sink and it felt like maybe the worst thing I’ve ever done

Snake venom and stabbings, no tears

Me saying I wouldn’t have gone to his funeral, all tears

Which I know was shitty to say but I was really mad

Liu Sang: If it’s any consolation, I think Wu Xie can understand the concept of being led by his emotions to make bad decisions…better than most people.

Li Cu: Xiao Ge came in then and looked weird

Like weirder than usual

Like he didn’t know which of us to be more mad at

Liu Sang: A common problem for the iron triangle, I understand.

Li Cu: I just ran out I didn’t have words right then and I feel stupid

but whenever they come back from their walk I’m gonna say sorry and stuff bc i could’ve come home to his funeral and I’m mad about it but also like. I could have come home to his funeral. I can get mean when I’m in a freakout mood. It’s not like I was scared or anything at all I don’t get scared really anymore ever but just like. Freaked out.

Liu Sang: He’s probably going to say sorry, too.

Li Cu: sorry I called you a homewrecker. Didn’t mean to slut-shame either

Liu Sang: I admit that after the initial shock, it was pretty funny. Super hearing harlot, it should be on my business card;)

Li Cu: this situation with Wu Xie is weird but kinda good ya know. And I have these freakouts sometimes that something maybe bad could happen to this situation. So consider this a shovel talk. But like, also not a shovel talk at the same time.

also I appreciate you saving his life and whatnot

Liu Sang: Noted. Now. Coffee?

Li Cu: sounds sick.

Be in the kitchen in 10. You can pick out what we watch for the household tv show tonight. no way is Wu Xie choosing some dry documentary about gravestone rubbings again. Pangzi just watches real housewives reruns and Xiao Ge won’t watch tv after he caught the last half hour of A Walk To Remember. Also i need my phone now to send some $ to Hei Xiazi since I owe him for…providing some intel

Liu Sang: Not even surprised.

[cipheress-to-k-pop]

Being Albedo’s Wife Would Include

Anonymous said: Albedo x Wife Reader HC,,,there aren't many works about him ;w;

A/N: I know right? There are barely any. Glad to fill that void tho, sorry it was so late I had my bio mock final just this morning.

You didn’t get married for love

Nope, never heard of it

Albedo actually dating and falling in love?

Nope

Albedo was nearly 19 and still had no mode of income

Since he was in and out of prison, he never had to really take care of himself

But since his last fight with Ben, he nearly lost all credibility in the villain world

And he went through rehab to turn over a new leaf

And he was trying

But he had no identity, no qualifications and no contacts

Not to mention no money

You were in college and were trying to find an apartment to live in

You found the perfect place

It was close to college, the price was right, it was in a good neighbourhood, fully furnished

Your perfect place

But unfortunately, the place was only letting in couples and families

No single college students because it could obviously turn out very badly

And then you find Albedo

“Are you my prince Charming?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Will you marry me?”

“I BEG YOUR PARDON?!”

And he’s like the answer to all your problems

You manage to convince him to get married to you

Pooled your money together to get him some identification and then get a marriage license

Framing your marriage certificate and placing it on the wall of your brand-new apartment

“It’s not like it’s an accomplishment of some sort or anything. There’s no need to put it on a trophy shelf.”

“No actually, it’s like a reminder. I feel like one day I’ll wake up and think this was some fever dream.”

“Makes sense.”

Arguing over who gets the bed

You offered to share and he said no

You told him to sleep on the couch and he said no

So, you came up with a schedule

Helping him sign up to take get his GED and always scolding him for not studying

But he doesn’t really need to study because he’s very smart

Now usually the time and cautiousness you take with each relationship is gone out the window

I mean you’re already married to the guy

Who heard of personal boundaries?

Now Albedo is not used to this so you always freak him out

The thing that freaks him out the most is when you get into the bathroom while he’s showering to get ready for class

Or when you get undressed while he’s in the same room

Albedo gets all the necessary qualifications and then with the help of the Plumbers, he gets a job as a teacher

Unfortunately, he becomes a teacher of the 1st grade

Does he enjoy it?

Not at all

But you think it’s absolutely adorable

You pick him up from school sometimes just to tease him

And he’s blushing red and just climbs into the car while all the children and leaving with their parents and waving goodbye to him

A lot of the girls having a crush on him

“Wow, looks like I should be afraid of these girls trying to steal my husband.”

“Please stop.”

You force him to have date nights with you

Which is usually just watching a movie on the couch with some chilli fries

But he always complains about it

But then goes through like 4 dishes of chilli fries

The turn in your relationship comes when he falls really sick one day

You obviously take him to the hospital and they give him some meds but you still have to take care of him

You do that whole pressing of a wet towel to his face to try and reduce his temperature

Making him chicken soup and crackers

With tea for his throat

Making sure he’s comfortable and even missing class to take care of him

You stayed awake late to make sure his temperature decreases

He wakes up the next day feeling so much better

And sees you asleep at the foot of his bed with a towel in your hand

And something in him just awakens

The thought that someone stayed awake to take care of him

Made him feel special

Made him feel loved

At first it was kind of awkward

He would blush like a school boy and try and avoid you

But you cornered him one day and forced it out of him

“I think I’m falling in love with you.”

You couldn’t help but laugh

“Well, that’s not the reaction I was expecting.”

“Albedo, it’s okay, I feel the same way.”

“Really? You do?”

“I mean we’re already married; it was bound to happen.”

And then it’s like you’re a brand-new couple

He gets so damn nervous before your first kiss

But you eventually learn to take the lead

He always pays good attention to you

Starts introducing you to people as his wife and very proudly

One day you both are at the grocery store

And guess who shows up?

Ben along with his partner Rook

You’re off in the snacks aisle so you don’t meet them first

Ben gets on edge immediately when he sees Albedo

Reaches for his omnitrix

And when you return it’s kind of tense

Albedo doesn’t really want to reveal too much of his life to Tennyson

But you can see how hostile he’s becoming

Stepping beside him and grabbing his arm affectionately

“Hey! Do you want pasta with chicken and potatoes for dinner? I’m craving some.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m his wife. Who are you?”

It was very rewarding to see their faces of pure shock

But Albedo is done af

And so, he just grabs your hands and leaves

Spends the next few months trying to get Ben off his back

“What are you doing here Tennyson?”

“Making sure you’re not doing something nefarious.”

“I’m buying flowers for my wife’s birthday, you dimwit.”

“Evil flowers maybe.”

And Rook is just pulling him out by the ear cu he’s disrupting business’

Albedo still gets kind of nervous about your relationship

And you just think he’s a cute little bean

But he also surprises you sometimes when he’s really suave

He likes giving back hugs

Drives you to class and picks you up

And a few of your friends are just like ‘damn (Y/N), you sure know how to pick ‘em’

Helps you study

If you’re pulling an all-nighter, then so is he

Totally is the kind to regulate your eating habits

Very observant and knows just how to make you feel less stressed

He’s not very affectionate

But he shows his love in other ways

Like drawing a bath for you when you’re stressed

Or offering to wash the dishes even though it’s your turn because he knows you’re tired

Sweetheart with a troubled past

Forever Taglist: @simonsbluee​

[bokutos-eyebrows]

Hello👉🏻👈🏻 could I perhaps have a daichi or asahi scenario where ur the captain of ur volleyball team(gender neutral or female POV, whichever you prefer to do~) but the opposing team deliberately spikes the ball w intent to harm at ur youngest team member but u move them out of the way and end up getting hit and knocked down, everyone’s super nervous cus you also hit your head(1/2)

(2/2 sorry I’m a lengthy bitch lmao) and asahi(or daichi!) gets extra anxious because you have a majorly bloody nose but you’re a brave and mildly vindictive bean and stuff that nose w tissues n keep playing, winnin n ending in major fluffy caring feels from a mother hen bf 🥺 thank u so much and even if this doesn’t float ur boat that’s totally cool! I just need more daichi and asahi love in my life 😭stay safe and healthy💖

Mother hen bf is like the perfect way to describe those two I love it sm! And don’t be sorry! Being lengthy is always appreciated bc i wanna do my best !!!!!!!! I couldn’t decide on which one so I just did both LOLLL Thank you so much for requesting! I hope you enjoy :3

Azumane Asahi

What had started out as a friendly match with a neighboring team was quickly turning sour. Your community volleyball team had agreed to this match without really knowing much about the other team, thinking it would be a fun game between communities. As it turns out, the other team was known for their rough play, using fowl tactics to win games. Your team had won the first set, the current scores were tied 21-21.

You were tired, running around to receive the extra harsh spikes that felt targeted towards the smaller and younger players was taking its toll on you. Looking down, you saw how scuffed up your arms were, wincing at the thought of all the bruises that would form. It was rough, but you were too defensive of your teammates to let anyone else take the brunt of it.

There weren't many people in the crowd, and even if there had been, it was easy to spot your 6’2, long haired boyfriend. He had a concerned look on his face, brows furrowed. You flashed him a quick smile for reassurance, but his worry did not ease up. 

The opposing team’s ace was sizing up the youngest member of your team. This set off alarm bells in your head. As the setter tossed the ball, you sprinted over to the side of the court your teammate was on. The other teams ace spiked the ball down hard, as if to really hurt your teammate.

A sickening smack noise quieted the entire gym as you fell to the floor. You had barely made it in time to take the impact of the ball right to your face. The silence of the gym was interrupted by the loud noise of Asahi running down the bleachers towards you. As you sat up, blood dripped from your nose, prompting the game to take a timeout for you to get checked out. 

Asahi carried you to the bench where your couch had tissues and water waiting for you. 

“Y/n, you should sit the rest of the game out, that was a really rough blow.” your boyfriend was on the verge of tears after seeing you hurt. 

You gave him a reassuring smile, “Babe, we’re 4 points from winning the game, I have to finish.” You plugged your nose with tissues and got up to go back on the court despite Asahi’s protest. He stood up, flipped his hair over his shoulder and shot the ace of the other team an intimidating look. 

Part of you wanted to tell him to knock it off, but he was so cute when he was being protective. With his support and your teammates backing you up, you guys score the last few points you need to win the match. You snuck in a few power spikes of your own directed at the ace and other players that had targeted your teammates.  

Asahi brought you your favorite fruit and a protein drink. You collapsed in his arms, happy the hellish game was over. Your boyfriend wrapped his arms around you snugly. 

“You really shouldn’t have kept playing, y/n. I was so worried.” Asahi sighed, stroking your hair. 

“I wanted to make sure the game ended quickly! With minimal damage to everyone else.” You pouted.

Asahi laughed, “You’re really something else, y/n. You did great today my little team captain.” He snuggled into you, holding you close as you rested and you in close to make sure you didn’t see him glare down at the other team as they left. 

Sawamura Daichi

Your team had absolutely dominated the opposing team during the first set. You weren’t one to brag or gloat too much but your team was really coming together today and absolutely killing it. It was partially thanks to your boyfriend, Daichi, agreeing to help out as team manager. With his experience, each member of the team learned how to remain level headed in game and play their strengths. 

The second set was going well so far, 20-18 in your team's favor. After scoring another point, you and one of your teammates high fived. You heard a middle blocker from the other team make a loud “tsk.” noise and whisper something to their wing spiker. They seemed to be planning something.

You glanced at Daichi and locked eyes, you could tell he had picked up on it too. You locked your gaze on the wing spiker. The other team had the ball and their setter was about to toss it. The wing spiker glanced at the teammate to your left. It was the youngest player on the team. 

Before you could think twice, you felt your legs carry you in front of your colleague as the wing spiker hit the ball. They were aiming at your friend but you managed to receive the ball, albeit with your face, and the rest of your team followed through and scored a point, not letting your sacrifice go in vain. 

You yelled out an encouraging cheer before you realized your nose was gushing blood. Daichi was calling a timeout and rushing to your side with a towel to catch the blood. You sat on the bench while Daichi patched you up.

“Sit out the rest of this set, y/n.” Daichi said as he handed you a bottle of water.

“No way, babe. You saw the way they tried to target my team.” You took a long drink.

“Y/n that wasn’t a suggestion.” your boyfriend sighed, “I know you want to look out for your team but your nose is bleeding pretty bad.”

“Daichi, I love you,” you said while rummaging through your sports bag, “I know you were the captain of Karasuno but, I’m the captain here.” you smirked.

Daichi couldn't help but let out a laugh, he loved your get it done attitude and knew there was no further room to argue. 

“I love you too, y/n. Go get em,”

You found a tampon in your bag that you carried for emergencies and plugged your nose to stop the bleeding. Too determined to win the game to care if you looked silly, you got back on the court. Your team completely shut out any of the opposing teams spikes and serves, making the win quick. 

After you’d had your team meeting and  picked up your stuff to leave, Daichi picked you up bridal style and carried you.

“You didn’t think I’d let you strain yourself even further after that fiasco did you?” He mused, holding you tight in his arms. “I’m going to take care of you till you feel better, since you don’t seem to care about anything but playing volleyball.”

“Hah, that’s rich coming from you Daichi.” you laughed, pulling your boyfriend into a kiss. He carried you all the way home, complimenting your plays and how cute you look in your jersey the whole way.

[stcky-rogers]

perfect to me || d.w

summary: pregnancy and motherhood is a beautiful struggle dean winchester will never understand. although he notices your lack of self esteem and confidence, he does everything to reassure you that you are still as beautiful as you were the day he fell in love with you.

pairing: au!dean winchester x reader

warnings: minor language, insecurities, low self esteem, body image issues, little angst, fluff, mentions of sex - sexual innuendoes

prompts: 50. “i think you’re beautiful” and 63. “cross my heart and hope to die.”

a/n: we all deserve a dean winchester 

masterlist || taglist

you sighed as you stepped on the scale once again, you squeezed your eyes shut as the numbers on the scale began to appear. you let out another sigh and finally opened your eyes. your eyes locking on the numbers and your shoulders dropped, tears brimming in your eyes as stared at them. you’d been struggling with losing weight lately and for the love of god, you couldn’t figure out why. you’d been following your diet very strictly, even going as far to avoid cheat days. you went to the gym at least twice a week, three times if you had any extra time. you just didn’t understand why you weren’t able to reach your weight goal.  

stepping off the scale, you brushed away your tears with the sleeve of dean’s henley you’d been wearing. you walked over to the mirror, lifting up the shirt, you wanted to cry at the sight. you looked nothing like you had a few months ago. your stretch marks were more prominent and the lack of toned muscle made you want to sob. “let’s go, winchesters! movie’s starting in ten.” your husband shouted from the bottom of the stairs before making his way back into the kitchen. dropping the shirt, you turned away from the mirror. a small sniffle escaped you as you flicked off the bathroom light and made your way down the stairs. you could hear what sounded like a shawn mendes song. you followed the music, the sound leading you into the kitchen. you leaned against the frame the sight in front of you made beam from ear to ear. 

dean, your husband, was standing at the bar with your son perched on his hip as he finished making the snacks for movie night. his body swaying to the music as he sang along softly, colt attempting to sing along with him. 

“and don’t be a fool and wait on me, darlin’. i know you don’t wanna hear this, but i’m always on the move.” dean sang, colt resting his head on dean’s shoulder. dean softly rubbed colt’s back and pressed a kiss to the side of his head. 

“and don’t be a fool and say that you love me ‘cause you’ll find a man who will be by your side and will be there for you.” dean helped colt sing and you chuckled at the two of them. dean turned to look at you standing in the entrance of the kitchen. grinning once his eyes locked on you, “hey, sweetheart.”  

colt perked up at the endearment, another set of sparkling jade green eyes staring at you. you swore colt was a carbon copy of dean, a spitting image of his father. from the blond hair and heaps of freckles to the shining green eyes and give ‘em hell attitude. you didn’t see any of yourself in your son, just dean. 

colt reached out for you, “mama!” he squealed in his father’s ear, dean jerking his head away. you pushed off of the frame and made your way over where dean was standing. you took colt into your arms and he gave you a wet kiss on your cheek. dean chuckled and mocked colt, his lips brushing against your cheek. “everything’s almost finished,” dean turned back to the fruit he'd been putting in a bowl. 

reaching around him, you popped a grape in your mouth. “okay,” you muttered around the grape you’d been chewing. “you mind taking some of this stuff out into the living room?” dean asked and you nodded in response. “mama, can i help?” you smiled, “of course, pea.” setting him down, you handed him the bowl of popcorn before you grabbed dean’s pizza and the bag of candy. 

you followed colt into the living room and began placing the items on the coffee table. dean entered the room a minute later with plates in one hand, a beer and juice tucked under one arm, and the bowl of fruit in the other hand. you were trying to get everything settled on the table before dean was forcing you to sit on the couch while he finished. once he finished, dean was taking a seat next to you before colt dived into his lap. he pulled you in close and the three of you were cuddled up on the couch as you cued up netflix in search of a movie. 

your mind was racing a million miles a minute. you were worried about your appearance. why wasn’t it working? what were you doing wrong? when had you lost your confidence in yourself? did dean notice your body had changed? if he did, how did he feel, what would he do?

you weren’t even ten minutes into all dogs go to heaven before dean sighed, pressing pause on the remote, “alright, sweetheart. what’s going on in that head of yours?” he did his best to turn and face you. colt already asleep on dean’s chest, his fist balled up in dean’s shirt as little snores passed through his lips. glancing at dean, you shook your head before reaching for the remote. dean tutted, swiping the remote before you could get your hand on it. 

quirking a brow, “come on, sweetheart, you haven’t been acting like yourself. and don’t think that i didn’t notice that you were crying when you came into the kitchen earlier. talk to me.” dean pleaded, his eyes searching yours. his features softening when he noticed the tears welling up in your eyes. you reached up and wiped away the few tears that escaped and sighed. “i just, i don’t feel,” you paused, looking for the right word. “pretty,” you whispered. 

“i never had an issue with the way i looked when i was pregnant with colt, my body began to change and i was self conscious. after he was born, i was able to lose the weight and get back in shape. now, i’ve gained like ten pounds and no matter what i do, i can’t lose it. i feel so ugly.” you sobbed, your hand coming up to cover your mouth. 

dean was silent beside you, he definitely hadn’t expected you to say anything along those lines. you were pretty, you were more than pretty. in his eyes you were a goddess, you radiated beauty and it wasn’t just exterior. something about you made other people feel good about themselves, you were so sweet and kind. dean’s heart shattered as he watched you break down in front of him. you were always the strong one, he’s never, ever seen you cry like this before. he’s seen a few tears escape those sparkling eyes of yours and you’d quickly wipe them away, take a deep breath, smile, and say “i’m okay.” or you’d be crying happily over something, but he’s never seen you so devastated before.

“sweetheart,” dean started, his eyes welling up with tears as he tugged you towards him. it hurt him to see you cry like this. dean pulled you into his arms, your head resting on his unoccupied shoulder. you sobbed into his shoulder, your hand clutching his shirt for dear life. his hand rubbed soothing circles on your back, blinking back his tears, dean held on to you tightly as you cried.

a few minutes later, you started to calm down. “sweetheart?” dean muttered. you sniffled in response. dean placed a soft kiss on the top of your head. “you’re not ugly. you are so far from it, i think you’re beautiful. hell, you’re the most gorgeous woman to ever walk this earth.” 

you scoffed, “you’re just saying that because you have to.” dean slipped his finger underneath your chin to make you look up at him. your bloodshot eyes locking with his emerald orbs, shining with unshed tears. 

he shook his head, “no, sweetheart, i mean it. it doesn’t matter to me if you’ve gained ten or a hundred pounds. you’re the love of my life, baby. i’m yours forever, unless i happen to run into daisy duke one day, then you’re on your own.” the sound that you made caused dean’s heart to skip a beat. you laughed, not a chuckle or a giggle, an actual laugh. and, god, he’d do anything to hear it again. 

he sighed, “i’m sorry if i made you feel like you weren’t pretty anymore. i’m so fuckin’ sorry, sweetheart.” you shook your head, “dean, it wasn’t you. i’ve been feeling this way since the waitress was flirting with you a few weeks ago and i got self conscious, i mean she was prettier and a little younger. i thought, you found her more attractive and i don’t know.” dean gave your arm a light squeeze. 

“nah, nobody even comes close to my awesome wife,” dean grinned. “i thought you were leaving me for daisy duke, if you had the chance.” 

dean tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, “honey,” dean paused, a soft smile on his face. “not even daisy duke can compare to you. even in baby food stained sweatpants, with your messy hair, and tear stained cheeks. you’re gorgeous even on your worst day.” you leaned over and pressed your lips to dean’s, the feeling of butterflies fluttering in your stomach as his lips moved against yours. you never understood how after what felt like a lifetime how this man could still make you feel like you were a teenager around their crush, you’ve been together since high school and have known each other even longer. his hand found its way to your neck, bringing you in closer, his thumb tracing your jaw bone. 

a giggle forced the two of you to break apart. “gross,” colt lifted his head from dean’s shoulder and smiled sleepily at the two of you. “well, look who’s awake.” dean chuckled, ruffling colt’s messy hair. colt shook his head, “still sleepy?” colt nodded and reached out for you. taking him into your arms, you stood up from the couch. “you better meet me in our room in five minutes for more kisses, winchester.” dean pointed to you and you rolled your eyes. 

“how can i say no to an offer like that?” you grinned before heading up the stairs.

from that night on, would make sure you knew just how beautiful you were to him. he’d wait at the bottom of the steps for you with a kiss and a hug ‘for the pretty lady.’ he’d send flowers to your job with a note describing in detail just how pretty you looked before you left in the morning. during intimate moments, he’d take his time placing kisses on every spot and cherishing the place you hated on your body and before you fell asleep every night, he’d tell how gorgeous you were and two things he loved about you before you’d finally fall asleep.

currently, you were sitting at a table, your husband by your side, his hand holding yours tightly as you watched sam, colt, and jess on the dance floor. the newlyweds were dancing with your son, his giggles could be heard from where the two of you were sitting. you looked over at dean and he’d already been staring at you, a fond smile on his features. his let go of your hand and stood up, his hand coming back into your view as he held it out. you looked up at him, his head nodding towards the dance floor. 

“it’s only right if the best man and maid of honor get a dance in.” dean smirked.

graciously you accepted his hand, letting him pull you to your feet. dean pulled you to the dance floor as the song was starting to change. he moved through the crowd until he was next to sam, jess, and colt. “mama, daddy!” colt called, bouncing in sam’s arms as he caught sight of the two of you. “hey, buddy!” dean said, ruffling his hair, making him laugh. sam tried to pass colt off to you, but colt wasn’t having it, his hand gripped onto sam’s tux tightly. 

you laughed and shook your head at your son. dean turned to face you, placing his hand on the small of your back and tugging you closer to him. you placed one hand in his, the other resting on his shoulder. he started swaying to the music once the song changed. dean hummed along softly to the song, his green eyes searching every inch of your face as if he was committing it to memory. 

dean’s grip on you tightened as he began to sing along to the song. “and darling i will be lovin’ you ‘til we’re seventy. and, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at twenty-three.” he twirled you around and pulled you back in your back hitting his chest. he lowered his head, pressing a kiss to your bare shoulder as he continued to sway you to the beat. “promise?” you could feel dean nodded against your cheek. “i’ll love you longer than that, sweetheart. cross my heart and hope to die,” you spun in his hold, your arms wrapping around his neck. 

dean smiled down at you, “have i told you how beautiful you look today?” he asked. “hm,” you tilted your head as if you were thinking about it, “yes, you have, about thirty times actually.” you both chuckled, dean shrugging. “it’s the truth, whether you gain one or a hundred pounds, or you could be wearing a garbage bag, and look like you haven’t slept in days and i’d still think you were the most beautiful woman in the world.” you leaned up and pressed a kiss to dean’s lips. dean smiled against your mouth, his hands pulling you in closer. 

you pulled away and peered into those enticing orbs of his and grinned. a loud squeal broke you out of your trance and you looked over, seeing sam and jess tickling colt. 

“look at those two kids we raised,” dean sighed, his eyes softening at the sight of sam and colt. “yeah, i still remember when sam was just a baby.” you muttered, resting your head on dean’s shoulder. he placed a kiss on the top of your head.

you remember helping dean care for sam when john would stay late at the garage. much like john, your parents weren’t around much, you’d only see them at dinner and for breakfast. for a while the three of you only had each other. the winchesters had become your family before you married dean. 

“i think we did great fuckin’ job with him.” you nodded against his shoulder, watching sam interact with colt. he’d been more excited than dean was when he found out he was going to be an uncle. “yeah, we did.” you smiled and dean rested his head against yours.

“do you ever think about having another kid?” dean bit his lip, nervous to hear your answer. you removed your head from his shoulder, your gaze falling on to his nervous stare. “how soon?” you asked and dean’s brow raised, “are you asking to sneak off for a quickie?” dean smirked and you rolled your eyes, “no, asshat,” dean chuckled, “how soon are you wanting another kid?” 

dean’s eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint. “how does nine months from now sound, gorgeous?” dean twirled you once more and quickly pulled you back into his chest, he was sporting a grin when you looked up at him. 

“is six months from now okay with you?” dean’s eyes widened. “wait,” he took a step back from you, giving you a once over, his eyes falling to your stomach. “you’re pregnant?” you nodded and dean gave a whoop of excitement, many heads turning in your directions. his arms wrapped around you tightly and he lifted you into the air, spinning you around, a giggle leaving you. 

dean placed you back on your feet and gave you a bruising, yet loving kiss. you pulled away with a laugh. “my god, you’re amazing.” you gave him a one-shouldered shrug, “you helped me get my confidence back and feel less insecure about myself, giving you another kid is the least i could do.” you joked and dean shook his head, a smile on his face.

“you should never feel insecure about the way you look, sweetheart. you’re beautiful, inside and out.” you were about to respond to dean when you felt a tug on your dress. looking down, colt peered up at you with a toothy smile. dean scooped him into his arms, “hey, buddy. how do you feel about being a big brother?” colt shrugged and laid his head on dean’s shoulder. 

you and dean laughed, “i’m sleepy.” colt yawned. “yeah, me too, pea.” you laid your head on dean’s other shoulder and sighed. 

you were lucky to have someone like dean. someone who made you feel safe and secure. someone who, even on your worst day, looked at you like you hung the moon and the stars. someone who loved you for the person you were and not what you looked like. you couldn’t wait to experience the rest of your life with dean winchester, the man who cherished you deeply.

taglist:

@starkxpotts​ / @breezy1415​ / @multifandombackpack / @deanlenaz​ / @thewinchesterchronicles​  / @tameraneanwxves​ /

[soranihimawari]

where he loved you

you would count on one hand the various times you’ve been in love. their names were “who,” “what,” “when,” “where,” and finally, “why.” those prompting words belonged to different boys throughout your school years since you entered junior high. you had often heard your mother chatting with your neighbor, one of the parents of the twin boys who were curious about the timid kid who lived a few houses down the block. for the life of you, you could not come up with a good enough excuse, even at the ripe old age of ten years old, to remove yourself from eating dinner at the miya household. the twins in your class were always causing mayhem with their crazy hijinks during recess, yet your mother shot you a glare saying you were going with her and that was that. 

so when your mother suggested you wear your “fancy” clothes for the welcoming dinner party you weren’t expecting one of those twin demons to actually compliment your jumper dress. you had your bangs pinned to the side with small fox shaped barretts. you looked up at your mom who nudged your shoulder cuing your ten year old self to say, “thanks ‘samu.” his brother, atsumu, on the other hand, sent you a curious glance, but nonetheless showed you all their lego sets. right before you and your mother left their house, you extended both of your pinkies to the twins (who were surprisingly calmer at home) making them promise to be your first best friends ever. 

at ten years old, you realize you might begin liking living in a new part of hyogo.

-- SEVERAL YEARS LATER: inarizaki high school, free period --

“oi! y/n-san! you got miyas on your three o’clock,” your classmate, nagisa-chan, called out to you and you inhaled a deep breath, then upon the exhale you heard atsumu’s voice reverberate from the entrance to your classroom. 

“hey there baby cakes,” atsumu always had greeted you with wonderful terms of endearment. every day it was something new and rather than make a fuss over the one he called you today, you just went along with it. “listen there was something ‘samu and i needed a third party to settle for us.” 

the sound of his voice seemed to be in it’s jovial range, meaning the now blond-haired twin was feeling a little overly confident. you mentally calculated the amount of steps it would take the twins to approach your desk allowing you to mentally prepare for whatever it was atsumu was going to throw at you. when you reached the holy number of seven (they took broader strides ever since they grew taller), atsumu was walking toward your desk with his brother not too far behind. they were dressed in their athleisure gear for their club while you were still seen in your uniform. you were writing down the last part of your essay on the allusions to nature from the western romantic authors of the 18th century, but you took a break every now and then to enjoy a sip of canned hot cocoa.  

“and praytell what would that be, ‘tsumu?” you folded your arms neatly on your desk. throughout the past six years, you grew up alongside the miya twins, so you were already accustomed to the way atsumu furrowed his brows as a silent tell that he was about say something stupid.

“now i need you to be one-percent honest with me.” 

“miya atsumu, we’ve known each other for the last six years, built dozens of castles made from legos, hell, i even watched you get your first kiss on the jungle gym last year by the park close to home, and now you’re wondering if my honesty is real?” you were enjoying atsumu’s face fall into a panic when you recounted all of the milestones he bragged to you about. stifling a laugh, you glanced behind atsumu’s shoulder returning osamu’s nod of salutations. “see? this is why my other friends think osamu is the better twin.“

“hah!” osamu scoffed unaware of your small increase heartbeat. your brain clearly labeled it as nerves, but the muscle in your chest cavity said otherwise. yes, you did grow up together, so you were accustomed to how each of them grew into their features and you’d have to be blind to the way your circle of girl friends fawned over the volleyball siblings. “see, this is why i’m glad she made us make that pinkie promise.”

“shut it ‘samu.”

you poked atsumu’s cheek with the back of the pen you were using, a useful tactic to discipline him for being rude to his sibling thus causing the blond setter to laugh too.

“now, what exactly do you want me to settle for you two?” you asked, removing the pen from atsumu’s face. 

atsumu turned to face his brother for a moment before shrugging their shoulders as if to say, “just ask her. it’s not that hard man.”

“we was wonderin’ if you prefer sweet snacks over onigiri,“ atsumu stammers. “i said you always liked sweets. you always ate candy whenever you came over.”

“uh-huh. well, that part may be true, ‘tsum,“ you begin. then you let out a short giggle. “but i do prefer eel onigiri over sweets. sorry ‘tsum.”

then, without any forewarning, atsumu decided to spill one of the biggest secrets he was for sure going to get yelled at for at home before he turned on his heels to leave:

“okay good. because i’m pretty sure my little brother is going to make you eel onigiri to go along with his confessing his undying love for you.“

“huh?!“ you and osamu both exclaimed when you jumped up from your desk. all color drained from the younger twin’s face as he recalled confiding in his brother how he really felt about you earlier that school year after you three walked home one spring afternoon in your first year.

when the rest of the class heard what atsumu had mentioned, the girls in your class gave the soundtrack from live t.v. a chorus of “awws,” were heard as you seized both of the siblings hands and politely, yet hastily, dragged them both outside of your homeroom. you dragged them into the music room and immediately shut the door behind you. 

“i never once wanted to be an only child up until ten minutes ago,” you heard osamu mumble when you walked past him. you glanced up at his brother for brief moment before letting out an exasperated sigh.

“atsumu, i don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but you should know better than either of us, it’s not nice to play with other people’s feelings. especially when it involves the three of us.“ you said as you paced back and forth in front of them. “i suggest you leave now before osamu makes good on his promise of wanting to be an only child. i’ll see you after practice, yeah?”

atsumu nodded, he had knowing smirk once he closed the door again, leaning against it to keep watch (aaand to eavesdrop).

osamu ran a hand through his now dark gray hair, his eyes focusing on everything else but you. his secret was out thanks to atsumu, which wasn’t part of how he was going to confess to you at all, yet life finds away. especially when karma presented itself so deliciously in his brother’s lap.

“now that ‘tsumu’s gone, mind explaining to me what he meant by ‘confessing his undying love’?” you inquired. you stopped pacing at that point to study how osamu stood across from you thinking about how to feign innocence prior to abandoning all reasonable excuses. his marble gray eyes visibly softening soaking up the way the sun had decided to shroud you in a golden hue. your hair was brushed back behind your neck since your pacing had caused it to flutter about behind you. 

“’samu, why are you just standing there looking at me like that? do i have something on my face?” your voice brought his thoughts to a screeching hault.

instead, with whatever courage osamu had stored, he gripped your shoulders gently leaning in. 

“you can stop me if this is weird for you,” his words danced across your cupid’s bow. and when your hands find their resting place around his shoulders when you slightly stood up on your tip-toes, closing your eyes you closed the short gap between you and osamu’s lips. if someone were to ask osamu what kissing you felt like, he would tell them your mouth tasted like first of november; warm and bright, similar to the feeling of drinking hot cocoa for the first time that year. when you break the kiss as you returned to standing flatly on the ground, the two of you realize something together. 

“i’ve been in love you since the day you came over for the first time when we were ten,” osamu says, a coy smile finds its way to his mouth. your curious eyes widen at the brazen forwardness of his statement, you close and open your mouth feeling your breath hitching in your throat, so you just nod. osamu instead of releasing your shoulders from his hands, he pulls your body flush against his own; you swear you could hear how erratic his heart was nervously beating. all this was because of you. 

“osamu?“ your voice was timid this time when your hand traces tiny spirals on his shoulder blades in a way to relieve some of his outlying anxiety spewing forth from his confession.

“hmm?”

“count to ten for me, yeah?” you feel him hum again; you remove your left hand away from his shoulder and cup the side of his face. he leaned into your palm with eyes closed as if he were about to cry like the one time he scraped his knee after his bike flipped over at the park when you were eleven, but having you cradle his head in your tiny hands prevented him from doing so. when he reached nine, you gave yourself a mental pep talk right as he finished counting...

ever so slowly, inexorably, you press your lips onto his again. the action was kind, gentle, and chaste. it was then that you both notice that maybe there’s no fireworks or sparks like in the movies you forced the twins to watch with you on valentine’s day, but it’s better than anything the scripts could come up with – there is a wave of passion that fills his mind up with memories of how much he craved for you to return all those stolen glances atsumu would tease him for days on end; it was spilling out from his heart now and you were relentless in letting osamu know how much those mutual feelings were returned by fact you allow yourself to deepen this embrace the further you both plummet in desire.

by the time you exit the classroom, hand in hand with osamu leading the way, you pretend to not notice the way atsumu had this “i told you so” air about him.

you and osamu were sixteen years old when it dawned on you that you had fell in love for the fourth time (osamu would essentially be the one to teach you the lesson of “where you love”) completely unaware that your new lover’s twin brother swallowed his pride for just a second to realize you were the one to teach him the answer for “why he loves.”

—bonus inspiration photo collage below—

disclaimer: I found all these images on Pinterest & used the borders app to collage the images. all content belong to the original owners.

thanks for reading!

[icicleteeth]

So I wrote a tiny ESO AU with @your-holy-mountain​ ‘s Finn and my dunmer Servyn for the laffs and because I got emotional about Finn being a good friend because Tii is a good friend of mine enjoy the trash under the cut...

(Disclaimer though, this isn’t going to be super well written at all, as it’s just an off the cuff little ficlet alsjfdj)

The early morning rabble of Mournhold’s central trading plaza sings with the hustling and bustling of a city which never sleeps nor rests--men, mer, beast, automata, and sometimes tamed daedra fill the streets in a near shoulder to shoulder crowd, all of which with important work for important people to attend to, though none of which called themselves nor anyone else by their real names, as such work wasn’t so important as to interrupt the annual weekly celebration of the Jester’s Festival--an honored holiday amongst all of Tamriel where Khajiiti named Kitty Kitty Bang Bang and Bosmer named Big Meat Indulgence address eachother as such unabashedly, as if it were completely normal and expected to do so.

Servyn wished he could join in on such festivities. He quite hated his name and would usually revel in any excuse to change it (even if temporarily)...but there wasn’t much use in changing one’s name when said one is a street Dunmer. He never had any reason to give anyone his real name, let alone a silly made up one. Most just called him Beggar. He supposed “Beggar” was a better name than “Servyn”, but it would feel odd to share the same name as every other beggar in Mournhold (of which there were many). 

He lies curled up on the ground against the blacksmith’s plaza. Many filter in and out without noticing him much, though this particular spot gave a perfect view of the city’s wayshrine, where those coming in from all over Tamriel will inevitably see him, as the blacksmith’s is right across from the shrine’s entryway. Servyn looks to his tattered cap a few feet away, and makes a heartless effort to reach for it without having to get up (this being for a lack of motivation, he tells himself. Not because he doesn’t trust his legs to give out the moment he tries to use them). He’s able to brush the tip of it, but gives up trying to check it. Probably no coins in there anyway. At least watching the large guild stores haggle with passing knights and mages and trading goods he could never hope to behold in his life brought him some amusement. The aforementioned humorous names exchanged while doing so helped a bit, too.

Something was sniffing--a breathy heavy sniffing--at him. Servyn had managed to shift between laying on his side facing the streets to instead face the wall some time ago, which he’d done so when watching a trader present a whole roasted bantam guar became too much to handle. This seemed like a good idea at the time, though it meant he couldn’t see what was currently invading his personal space; not that this was too unusual. Street animals were just as numerous as street mer, and even they weren’t desperate enough to gobble up filthy urchins with hardly any meat on their bones. Just let it happen and it’ll go away. 

“What’s that you found, Dandelion?”

At the sound of a man’s voice close behind him, Servyn twitches and sweats. Okay, so it isn’t a nix hound. That’s fine. Right? He’ll take one look at me, reel back in repulsion for a few seconds, and let me go--

Before he’s able to finish that thought, he’s suddenly off the ground, for whatever was sniffing at him decided to pick him up and carry him by his shirt. The first thing he sees is the large bear paws--bear paws!--shuffling below him on the ground. The second thing he sees is an even larger Breton man in a black tunic and huge muscles adorned with intricate tattoos standing before him.

This is it, then! This is where I die, right here and right now! Be it by the hands of a strongman or in the belly of a bear...or both! All he could muster is quick desperate breathing, for it was useless to cry for a guard. They wouldn’t care to see a beggar go, anyway.

As expected, the Breton reels back with a look of surprise--though this surprise doesn’t seem like one of disgust.

“Wow! You found a baby grampa, Dandie! Amazing!”

Grampa? He was hardly past his early twenties! Not that he was offended by the mixup--his hair is naturally white, and the unkempt nature of his facial hair could certainly fool anyone into thinking he was an old man. The uncontrollable shaking in fear surely ought to tell the man he was far from a grizzled elder. Now you’re just giving him more reason to see you as easy prey!

“Oh, but will you please let him go, Dandie? Most people don’t like being held by a bear’s maw--I know, I don’t get it either. But it is what it is!”

Just as commanded, the bear releases Servyn, who falls to the ground like dead weight. Were it not for his still raspy and frantic breathing, one could easily assume he were already dead.

“Sorry about that, little elf! Dandie likes magical things, because she’s magical too! But that means you’re magical, right?” 

Not really. He may know a good deal more magic than the average street rat, but it was only simple magic he picked up from beginner’s spell books in the public library. He likely paled in comparison to the city’s many wizards and Telvanni mages. Surely this adventurous looking man has seen a good number of better mages to gawk at.

“Finnegan Stormborne, at your service!” he bows, and squeaks “and Dandelion, at yours as well!” in his best (and frankly impressive) falsetto. The bear still seemed uncomfortably interested in Servyn, but he was powerless to run away. He didn’t want to talk to the stranger, but decided maybe if he engaged in small talk with the man, then he may be generous enough to not let his bear tear him to shreds.

“Is...that your Jester’s name, sera?”

The Breton blinks, though is silent for only a moment before bursting into hearty laughter.

“Ha! I could never be a real jester, no. They’re funny on purpose, you see.”

“I...do?” The intentions of the Breton named Finnegan were lost on him. It didn’t seem like information--which was good, because Servyn wasn’t like the other beggars in that way. It didn’t seem like he simply wanted an easy target to bully, as he hasn’t done so--yet. It couldn’t be money, because surely the last place you’d look for extra gold is--

“Say, you dropped your hat!” 

Oh. Maybe it is money after all. Servyn doubted anything was in it anyway, but on the off chance there was...well. He supposed it wasn’t the first time he’d resigned himself to another night of sleeping hungry, though he didn’t have much time to lament about this, as he feels something placed on his head, and a handful of coins presented to him.

“These were inside it, too. Best hide ‘em, you never know when the gold-eating rats decide to come out...”

The what?

With great effort, Servyn sits up to better address Finnegan (though slightly wilting at the man’s towering height).

“There are no gold-eating rats here, sera. Or anywhere...at least, I don’t think so...” He cuts his own sentence off quickly, fearing the man would snap at him for talking back.

“Oh! That’s just what I call tax collectors. But eh, what does sera mean, by the by? Do you mean to say “serenade”? Cus I’m always in the mood for a song, and I don’t do so well, being tempted with a good time!”

Now it’s Servyn’s turn to blink. Finn, on other hand, seems jovial as a drunken Nord.

“Yeah, you know what? What do you say to a night in, Dandelion? I’ll get you a good roast, sing some songs...hey! Why don’t you join us, Dunmer? Dandie seems to really like you!”

Now the Breton must really be out of his mind. Him? In a tavern? With other people, who will probably sneer at the presence of a vagrant in their establishment? Alongside a stranger, no less!? The worst part was said stranger seemed genuine in his offer--but it didn’t matter. He shouldn’t go. He can’t go.

“Erm! I’d be happy to join you, Sir Finnegan, but my legs aren’t very strong, and I don’t think I will be able to stand...nor do I think tavern patrons would stand me, if you understand what I’m saying. You’d best be off on your own, the local tavern is that way--”

In an instant, Servyn, for the second time, is lifted off the ground; this time in the rock-hard muscular arms of Finnegan (a feat not difficult for him at all, as Servyn’s meager height of under five feet tall and malnourished frame required no more effort to lift than a sack of potatoes). This time he does yelp, though it comes out more akin to a frightened squeak.

“If that’s all that’s stopping you, then I can help with that! By the way, you can call me Finn. Now, where’d you say the nearest tavern was? That way? Come on, Dandelion!”

Servyn wasn’t sure which was worse: watching Finn dance the Lava Foot Shuffle directly on the Flaming Nix Inn’s hot coal stove, or watching Dandelion gnaw at roasted salmon. Neither one helped calm the frantic anxiety for his new friend‘s wellbeing...or the ravenous appetite of his long-unfed stomach. Finn notices this, and hops off the coals for a moment.

“Hey, are you alright? If you tell me your name, I can sing a song about you!”

In truth, Servyn wasn’t really paying attention to Finn. In an attempt to look somewhere else, his eyes ended up settling on the large cauldron of duck soup cooking behind the innkeeper’s counter. He didn’t notice the bit of drool escaping his mouth, but Finn does, with a sad “Oh.”

Before Servyn knew it, a bowl is presented to him, with Finn kneeling down a bit to look him in the eyes. “I’m sorry, friend. I should’ve known you must be famished, being on the streets and all. Do you like this stuff?”

Were Servyn in a different position, he’d beat himself up for such rudeness, as he didn’t wait to ask before taking the bowl from Finn’s hands without a single word and wolfing the soup down in a hunched up ball on the bench. Finn, however, is more than happy to let his friend be, and return to his dancing, only turning around to say: “I paid the chef for as many bowls as you want, so don’t be shy if you want more!”

Three bowls and an unceremonious belch later, Servyn lies sleepily against Dandelion, who situated herself behind the mer and quite enjoys acting as a large fluffy pillow while she dozes a bit herself. Finn, in his never-ending zeal, still happily dances amongst the coals whilst singing a new song about a Nordic king in a far-off kingdom. However, once noticing his ursine companion give a big toothy yawn, he stops singing.

“Ah, suppose you’re right, Dandie. It’s getting late. Hey innkeep! I’ll have two rooms for the night, put it on my tab, will you?” He makes to leap gracefully off the coals, but trips on a particularly odd-shaped stone and falls with a thud and a nonchalant “Ow.” Servyn perks up, immediately worried for Finn, and is not calmed down despite the Breton getting up easily and without distress.

“The second room I bought is for you, Dunmer. You don’t have to take it, but I thought it’d be better than going back to the streets. It’s no big expense on me, either way.”

There wasn’t time to worry about that right now. Struggling to get up, Servyn manages to stand, though with wobbly legs and a belly that felt much heavier than he was used to.

“Sir Finn, your arm..!” He points to a raw patch of skin which endured direct contact with the coals, and is now a large splotch of pink. Finn shrugs.

“Oh, don’t worry about that! I’ll take care of it later. But you look exhausted, friend. I can carry you to your room, if you’d like. Or the streets, I guess...if that’s what you want...”

Without thinking, Servyn trudges over to Finn, half of his energy focused on not collapsing, and the other half dedicated to channeling a healing spell. He all but collapses into Finn’s arms, but is able to cast the spell on the burned skin, and watches with relief as it mends right before his eyes--and Finn’s who stares in awe.

“Say, I knew you were magical! My arm feels good as new!” He hugs Servyn a bit tighter than he’d like, but thankfully the man has enough foresight to not put his usual effort into the embrace. He now cradles his friend, who looks to the floor sheepishly.

“It was just a simple spell, and was the least I could do, given the kindness you’ve shown me...” 

“Simple? I’d say that’s a real talent you have there! Have you tried joining the local Mages Guild? I bet they’d love to have you!”

Of course not. Someplace as prestigious as a guild would turn him away the moment they saw him, with his dirty untamed hair and filthy ragged tunic and patchwork pants. Finn was the weird one for not doing the same. Why didn’t he do the same?

Knowing he expects and answer, Servyn simply shakes his head. Finn makes his way up the stairs, still with the mer in tow, who doesn’t object or ask to be taken back to the streets.

“You should! I work for them sometimes. Sort of. I find these weird books all over the place that they’re interested in, but lots of mages are real stuck up. They complain and say things like “Finnegan, why is it covered in swamp stains?” Maybe because I found it in a swamp! You wouldn’t care if I gave you a book I found in a swamp, right?”

Servyn once again shakes his head, and mutters “a book is a book, sera. It’s not your fault it happened to end up in a swamp.”

“Right!? See, you understand, and I bet you would call me Finn instead of Finnegan. Mages do that to sound regal, but it’s too formal for me! Wish I had a friend in the guild who wasn’t so stuck up...like you!”

They reach a door. Finn pushes it open with his shoulders, and lays Servyn on the single bed. He blushes a bit--at the softness of the mattress and blankets so foreign and long forgotten after years of sleeping rough, and at the seemingly never-ending kindness of the Breton man.

“I’ve got to tuck Dandelion in now, but I’m in the room just across from yours. You can knock if you need me.”

Finn turns around, but before he’s able to leave the room, a soft voice interrupts him.

“S-Servyn! My name is Servyn. So you know who to...um, send the bill to. I don’t know when I can pay it back but--”

“Servyn, eh? I like it! Now I know exactly how to introduce you to the Magister! This is fantastic! Thanks for telling me, Servyn. But I’ll let you sleep now, okay? We’ll need all our strength for tomorrow, after all!”

The door clicks shut before Servyn is able to retort back. He isn’t sure whether he’s decided to give up on understanding Finn or understanding why he let the Breton sweep him up into a tavern room to begin with--all he knew was he was tired, much so that he didn’t want to think about it anymore. He could hear the man from the hallway baby-talking (presumedly to his bear) but didn’t feel at all annoyed by this break in silence. Finn’s voice truly exude a warmth so rarely heard, even from the kindest Temple priests. Servyn couldn’t bring himself to complain, and felt odly...okay with him knowing his true name, and he knowing Finn’s, and this sickeningly sweet okay-ness that he never thought he’d ever feel again lulls him into a gentle sleep. 

But if anyone else asks, my name is Captain Sujamma Guzzler.

[marshmallowprotection]

Considering your probably doing stuff with Saeran’s AE, I doubt you’ll do this match up for my newest addition to my many CMCs, at least not today, probably not until Monday, and thats fine! Do it whenever you like. Cus Sae  takes priority for me as well- I’ll do anything to do with him before all else lol

WARNING: Mentions of depression, suicide, and self loathing.

Full Name: Emmeryn Williams

International Age: 24 (AS) 25 (OS)

Korean Age: 25 (AS) 26 (OS)

Nicknames: Emma, Em, Eryn (Pronounced Like Aaron)

Blood Type: AB-

Sexual Orientation: Demisexual & Romantic (Does Not Care For Gender)

Marital Status: Single 

Ethnicity: American (British & Scottish In Ancestry)

Nationality: South Korea

Religion: Christian (Formerly) Does Not Belong To Any Religion But Does Believe In God And Stuff

Birthdate: February 14th, 1991

Zodiac: Aquarius

Height: 5'9 ft (175 cm)

Weight: 128 lbs (58 kgs)

Status: Alive (All Routes Except in a Custom Bad Ending, Known As “Self Loathers Fate”)*

*In Emmeryn’s custom bad ending timeline, Emmeryn’s mental health because so bad that she ends up giving in to her inner suicidal urges, hanging herself to be discovered by authorities 5 days later. Just to show how little her grandmother cares for her, she honestly didn’t even cry nor care about Emmeryn’s death, and though she never voiced it, she was glad she was gone because Emmeryn was more of a burden to her than anything else.

Occupation: Online College Student 6th Year In Search of Masters Degree in Computer Science, Part-Time Waitress

Hobbies: Playing Video Games, Sleeping, Obsessively Fawning Over Favorite Video Game Characters, Drawing Fanart, Writing Random Ideas For Video Games In Her Notebook, Spending 12 Hours Studying Or More A Day Studying And Doing Schoolwork

Likes: Video Games, Drawing Fanart, Researching Korean Culture

Dislikes: Herself, Spiders, People Forcing The Curtains of Her Room Open, People Mocking Her For Her Height

Affiliations: RFA

Relatives: Father (Deceased)

Mother (Deceased)

Maternal Grandmother-In-Law

Background: Emmeryn is an American girl who majors in Computer Science at her college. Emmeryn’s mother died giving birth to her, and her father committed suicide straight after, saying in his suicide note that he blamed Emmeryn for her mother’s death, leaving her in the care of her maternal grandmother (who was her mother’s stepmother) who was living in South Korea. Since she was young she was always very introverted, preferring the company of her stuffed animals to other people. She was always very awkward when it came to talking to people anyway, and her grandmother decided for the sake of not embarrassing herself she would keep Emmeryn away from other people if possible. Her grandmother overall neglected Emmeryn, forcing her to raise herself, which she didn’t mind at all, as it gave her more time to do what she liked. Emmeryn had always had a bit of self-loathing, mostly due to her grandmother treating her like a burden and often saying things behind her back about how she doesn’t like some part of her whenever she thought Emmeryn couldn’t hear (when in fact she could). After Emmeryn turned 18 she immediately moved out of her grandmother’s place into a small studio apartment, but it was good enough for her. Since she was quite young Emmeryn had always wanted to make video games, and so decided to study Computer Science in college to do so. She chose to do online school to avoid interacting with people. 

In her 3rd year of college (she was 21 at that point) she discovered her father’s suicide note when visiting her grandmother, and her self-loathing skyrocketed immediately (remember, her father said he blamed Emmeryn for her mother’s death and hated her. Also, at that point, Emmeryn didn’t know her mother died in childbirth, and that only intensified her self-loathing 

). She ended up barely leaving her apartment anymore except for work and to buy things from the store. 

Emmeryn is a girl who doesn’t particularly like being around people. She hates the world and most people in it and prefers video game characters instead because in her mind “They can never hurt you” and that they’re “Better than real-life people”. She could be called lazy because she seems so carefree when in reality she works really hard in college and has straight As. she often comes off as apathetic and distant, but when she cares about someone, she is fiercely protective of them and cares for them deeply. However, due to her self-loathing, she’s often very self-deprecating and some people find that annoying. She’s also a bit insecure about her height as she’s taller than most women and many people just don’t like tall women, including her grandmother, who is shorter than her. Emmeryn overall prefers to stick to her little world in her room where she can pretend the outside world doesn’t exist. However, inside, she’s one big catastrophe away from pulling the trigger. 

It’s probably an understatement to say she has moderately severe depression, as well as insomnia (the insomnia is caused by her often stays up extremely late studying and or playing video games.)

Trivia:

Emmeryn has dark brown hair and amber eyes. Emmeryn has literally no friends, seriously. She even avoids talking to people online.  Emmeryn got into drawing and writing as part of her want to make video games one day.  Emmeryn had one friend when she was younger who didn’t judge or care about any of the flaws which she hates, however, they themselves had severe depression and committed suicide when she was 15, heavily affecting her mental health for years to come.  Emmeryn knows both English and Korean. Emmeryn doesn’t actually know that much about Korean culture despite living in South Korea, and so has a desire to learn more about it as she is fascinated by it.  Emmeryn met Rika once before by bumping into her at a grocery store, but they never met again afterward as Emmeryn quickly ran away from her because of her default reflex to run away from everyone she encounters outside of work. — Submission

I match you with... 

Yoosung! 

You’re the kind of person that tends to get a little... unsure of yourself. You have a hard time listening to your own own because every time you find the use of it, someone is speaking over you and making you feel bad for existing. That’s not a right thing for anyone to do to anyone. It’s exhausting and it hurts, but you have ways to cope with what’s bothering you. With that in mind, you need someone who sees you for you and puts you first. I think it would be sweet for you to learn your boundaries and trials with someone who knows that feeling, and Yoosung is the one for you. 

He would know what it feels like to be... unsure and at blame for what’s not really one’s fault. So, I imagine the two of you are the types to sit together and play games as well as talk about what may be bothering you. It’s just easy to talk to him and you don’t have to worry about him being too much for you. He’s just the right amount of sweet and forward. He wants to hold your hand and let you know how great he thinks you are. 

Yoosung knows what she deals with, if not to the same extent. Being with someone who understands him helps justify and work on himself, you know? Get ready to slowly but surely get out of the house to enjoy yourself much, he wants to take you out and show you that you have a right to have fun, too. 

[ruewrites]

We’re Blooming Together Chapter 4: Sweet

AO3

Ships: Solomon/Asmo

Word Count: 3693

Warnings: None

Chapter 1-Chapter 2-Chapter 3-Chapter 4-Chapter 5-Chapter 6-Chapter 7-Chapter 8-Chapter 9-Chapter 10-Chapter 11-Chapter 12

Asmo pulled the covers over his head. His weekend beauty alarm hadn’t gone off yet, why was he awake? He’d just been having another wonderful dream too. It took a while for it to register, but then he heard the rustling . Asmo peeled open one of his eyes. Then he blinked once. Twice.  No. He wouldn’t dare .

Mammon was crouched next to his dresser, going through Asmo’s things.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Asmo growled, tossing the blankets back. Mammon jumped and turned towards his younger brother. He painted a smile across his face and started to pat Asmo’s head.

“I just wanted to wake up my little brother, is that so bad?” he asked. Asmo swatted his hand away and glared at him. Never mind that Asmo’s hair was still messy, he didn’t need Mammon messing it up more. Plus he was already angry. He’d caught Mammon going through his things! What a great way to start his morning. Then he saw what Mammon had in his hands.

“What are you doing with that?”

“Oh? This?” Mammon held up the letter. Asmo’s letter. “You don’t see fancy little things like this around. ‘Specially when it ain’t even ‘ya birthday. And now you’re gettin all defensive-”

“Because I woke up to you going through my stuff dipshit. ”

Mammon smirked and looked closer at the letter, “So you don’t care if I read it?”

“Put it down!” Asmo screeched, lunging from the mattress to his older brother. Mammon cackled and held the letter above his head, while pushing Asmo back with his other arm. He let out a whistle, eyes quickly scanning over the page.

“ Woooow . You gotta lil’ Romeo on your hands right here!” Mammon mused. Asmo could feel his face start to heat up, especially when Mammon started to clear his throat, “Your eyes sparkle and outshine all of the stars in the sky, your lips curl up in the most perfect of arcs-”

“Quit it Mammon! Give it back!” Asmo felt like he was in middle school again. Why couldn’t Mammon just grow up? Seriously! Asmo wasn’t sure whether he was going to die of embarrassment or spend the rest of his life in jail for reenacting the story of Cain and Abel.

Mammon lowered the letter just a bit, “This fella really likes you  a lot, big brother Mammon might just have to get the bat out.”

Asmo growled and lunged towards the letter, scratching Mammon in the process.

“Ow! Hey! Keep those claws away from me!”

“Give me my letter back and I won’t tear your eyes out!” He was holding back only slightly. The last thing he wanted to do was tear one of his precious letters. Each one was special, he could let harm come to a single one of them.

Asmo followed Mammon’s gaze as he looked over to the corner of the room. Asmo didn’t realize he could have become even more livid. His things were upturned, all of his letters and little gifts sprawled out on the floor. “They the person that gave you all of those as well? What? Can’t you bring ‘em home to meet your family? Or are they talkin you outta lettin us meet ‘em?”

Oh now Mammon wanted to play the part of protective big brother. First, he came in and started rooting through his room. Second, he rudely woke Asmo up. Thirdly, he started reading Asmo’s private letters. And now he wants to integrate him? No. Absolutely not. No way.

“For your information, I don’t know who they are, hence them signing off the letters with Secret ,” Asmo huffed, snatching his letter back, trying to crinkle it as little as possible. “And if you even think about telling anyone, especially if you let it slip to our dearest older brother, I swear Mammon-”

“Okay. Okay! Cool it, why would I ever tell anyone?”

Asmo narrowed his eyes.

“Alright, I wouldn’t tell anyone on purpose .”

That was reassuring. Asmo smoothed out the letter and carefully inspected it for any tears or serious crinkles before going to reorganize his gifts. Small candies, a small bunny keychain, cute things that Asmo would enjoy. Mammon watched him for a moment, shifting from side to side. Asmo was happy he didn’t try to take a step closer. He wanted a little bit of space.

“Hey,” Mammon finally said as Asmo went to rehide his things in a drawer close to his bed, “I’m sorry alright? I just want to know what’s  goin on with you guys. You aren’t always open with things ya know.”

“Neither are you.”

“Touche.”

Mammon ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, “Ya don’t have to worry about me goin and telling Lucifer a’ight? Promise.”

Asmo raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, “And going through my room?”

“Can’t promise you that I won’t do that.”

Asmo sighed. Well, at least he knew he wouldn’t go telling Lucifer…  Not that he would in the first place. But if he did, he could always use Mammon going through their rooms as a deflection. Although he wasn’t sure how well that would hold up, or how long it would hold Lucifer’s focus (if it even did in the first place).

“I only do it ‘cus, I wanna know what’s going on in your life.” Mammon mumbled, “And if this asshole hurts ya, I wanna know! ‘Cus no one hurts any of the Great Mammon’s little brothers!”

Asmo sighed, “Well there are better ways to figure out what I’m up to. Like asking me.” Although, the second half did earn a little snort out of him. Even if Mammon could be a complete asshole sometimes, he did still look out for them. Just like how he’d confront bullies for them as kids.

“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t scare them off before I get to know them.”

Honestly. Lucifer’s energy had been enough to make most of his past lovers almost behave (at least when he was around). He’d always sat them down, made sure they understood how his little brothers should be treated even if it made Asmo want to die of embarrassment. If Mammon had been in the same position, all of those partners would have left. Whether it would have been out of fear or from no longer wanting any part in Asmo’s family he would never know nor did he wish to find out.  

Asmo made his way over to his dresser and plopped down. Well, he was awake now. No point in trying to go back to bed, so he might as well get ready. “If you don’t mind brother dearest, I think I’m going to get ready.”

“You goin somewhere?”

“Studying with Solomon if you must know.”

“Ahhh. Studying gotchu.”

“Solomon’s not that type of guy, now shut up and get out.”

“Love you too my dear little brother.”

Maybe he shouldn’t let Mammon go with his secret. It really did seem like a bad idea, his brother walking around with his secret. Sure he had trusted Satan with his secret, but Mammon? Well Mammon had found out on his own, unfortunately. Even if it left a bad taste in his mouth, he had other things to worry about now. He had places to be.

*******

Solomon’s apartment was nice, and he didn’t have to worry about his brothers interfering or being distracting. Not to mention, the living room was also filled with natural light, which not only made it bright but warm as well.

If any situation outside of parties showed how much Asmo struggled with the concept of personal space, it was having his work sessions with Solomon. He never had a problem when it was an assignment that had to do with his designs, but whenever it was something that strayed from his beloved focus his head was on Solomon’s shoulder and he was whining.

“Solomon,” he huffed, putting his laptop down and slumping against him, “This assignment doesn’t even make sense. How am I supposed to write a new groundbreaking paper when everything that could of been said has already been said? Solomon this class doesn’t make any sense.”

He could feel Solomon’s chuckle rumble through his chest. It was a really was a nice sound, like distant thunder. “You didn’t have to take this class with me you know. It’s part of my degree, it’s just credits for you,” he said, placing his things to the side and placing Asmo’s laptop on his lap..

“Demonology sounded really interesting, and you made it sound fun,” he pouted, “Besides, the class is interesting enough. I just hate these stupid papers.”

“I’ll read over it for you, don’t worry.” He always did.

Asmo watched over his shoulder as he made little notes in the margin. He was comfortable next to Solomon. Honestly he hoped that Secret would be okay with him doing things like this. Or that he could do things like this with Secret…. Or that Solomon was Secret.

No.

Nope.

He shouldn’t go there. Solomon was his best friend. He wasn’t going to think of him like that, even if he was cute, and smart, and funny, and attractive…

Even if the best relationships sprouted between the closest of friends….

He really needed to change the subject.

“Is it too late to drop out? I could become a stripper.”

Solomon turned to look at him, eyebrow quirked. He let out a soft hum, letting his eyes look over Asmo for just a second. Then he nodded, “You’d make a cute stripper.”

Asmo’s face turned red, “No! You’re not supposed to say that! You’re my best friend. You’re supposed to either talk about how I should stay in school or that you’d drop out too and join me!” Not compliment how cute he was . While Asmo enjoyed it, it wasn’t what Solomon was supposed to say. Maybe he was joking, but Asmo would think of it as a genuine compliment. “I already know I’d make a cute stripper,” he mumbled.

Like Solomon thought of his body like that. Even if it was true.

“Ah. You’re right. I’m sorry. You’d make a horrible stripper. Stay in school. Don’t drink. Don’t do drugs. More words of wisdom and whatnot.”

“ Solomon .”

Of course he could have pulled his face away. He could move to the opposite side of their workspace and stay there. But he didn’t. Asmo stayed curled up where he was,face partially buried in the fabric of Solomon’s shirt, his cologne flooding his senses. Solomon’s smug smirk was still plastered to his face, but his eyes were trained on Asmo’s paper. He had no right to be so smug, especially when Asmo’s entire body was heating up and he was starting to pout.

Sometimes Solomon could drive him more crazy than his brothers could ever dream of doing. But it was a different type of crazy. A type of crazy that made him want to tackle Solomon to the couch and-

“Pardon me.”

Asmo lifted his head slightly,  to turn and look at Simeon. He was holding a tray of cupcakes in his hands. They were pretty. Icing swirled to near perfection in different pastels and covered in shiny white chocolate pearls. Simeon didn’t often intrude on their study sessions. Sometimes he would join for a bit, but he didn’t want to be a distraction. Well, that and he had to look after Luke.

Speaking of Luke, the kid was not too far behind Simeon, looking anywhere but at Asmo and Solomon.

“I do hope I’m not interrupting, but Luke thought you both might like a cupcake. He made them himself.”

“I had some extra,” Luke clarified, “They have a lemon cream filling.”

Simeon set the tray on the table and Solomon nodded, “Thank you Luke, I’m sure that they’ll be wonderful.” Asmo nodded in agreement. That was another perk of working at Solomon’s. There was always some sort of wonderful treat waiting. The kitchen always smelled like a bakery.

He watched as Solomon reached over him and towards the tray for one of the treats, quickly followed by Asmo’s own hand. They lightly brushed together for just a moment, but Asmo was quick to take one of the cupcakes and yank his hand back.

Simeon’s eyes were fixed to them the entire time.

“Solomon.”

“Hm?”

“I’m going to take Luke to the library. We may be out for a while. Remember to lock the door if you go out?” His eyes flickered between the two of them for a moment. Before settling on Solomon. The look he gave Solomon was unreadable to Asmo.

“Alright, have fun,” Solomon smiled, turning back to Asmo’s paper.

Simeon smiled and nodded, “We will, it was good seeing you Asmo." With that, Simeon turned, graceful as ever, and left with Luke.

Asmo’s nose crinkled, “What was that about?”

“Luke made cupcakes.”

“No no. That look Simeon gave you.”

Solomon leaned back and licked a bit of the icing from the cupcake, “Oh. I don’t know. Maybe I forgot to lock the door last time.”  He wasn’t looking at Asmodeus, gaze transfixed on the wall. Weird.  “Anyways, I think your paper looks fine. There’s just a few things I’d change, but I think it hit everything it needed to.”

Asmo smiled, a little more relaxed now about the assignment. He trusted Solomon’s judgement. Finally Asmo took a bit of his own cupcake. The cake was soft and moist, and Luke’s homemade icing and filling were both so fluffy and light. He couldn’t help but let out a soft moan. It was just too good. On more than one occasion he considered asking if he could move in, just so he could get little treats like this on a daily basis.

The sound of Solomon clearing his throat snapped Asmo out of his sweet-induced trance and over to his friend. Solomon had moved on and was now staring intently down at one of his textbooks. However, he didn’t miss the slight coloration in Solomon’s face.

“What?”

“Nothing. Just… Something in the book.”

“Ooh can I see?” Asmo scooted closer and tried to peak over into the pages below. However, Solomon quickly snapped the book shut and held it out of Asmodeus’ grasp.

“Nope. It’s gone now.”

“Aw come on, please Solomon? If it made you all blushy it must be good!” Asmo asked. He wasn’t about to let himself be left out from whatever spicy romance lied within the book Solomon was trying to keep from him.  Solomon stood little chance against his friend, who  was practically- no, not practically - who was climbing on top of him.

“Asmodeus!” Solomon’s voice cracked as he fell over, still trying to hold the book over his head as Asmodeus fell on top of him laughing. One arm wrapped around Asmo’s waist in an attempt to keep him away from the book.

“Come on Solomon!” he giggled, reaching for the book, only for it to be flung to the other side of the room and hitting the wall with a soft thud.  Asmo huffed and went to stand to scurry after the book, only to be stopped by Solomon sitting up, both arms around him. “Oh you are such a child.”

“I’m the child?” Solomon snorted, “You’re the one who can’t let it go.”

“I call it persistence and knowing what I want. Now let me see!”

Asmo  felt himself try to wiggle out of Solomon’s arms, only to be met with more resistance from him. “Well I don’t even remember what page it was on so you’re just gonna have to forget about it,” he huffed, throwing his body weight against Asmo and sending him to the floor and making him yelp ever so slightly.

“Owwwww, Solomon! That hurt.”

“Ah, sorry.” Solomon sat up but only slightly, he looked worried, hand moving to the side of Asmodeus’ head. “Are you okay?”

Asmo’s breath caught in his throat. The sun from the window outlined him in such a heavenly way. Each shadow on his face traced his strong jaw and cheekbones.He felt his hand stroke through his hair, feeling along his skull.

Asmo never let anyone touch his hair after he styled it.

“Any pain? Are you dizzy?”

“Ah… No…”

Well, not dizzy in the way Solomon was thinking. What could he say? What could he do? Well he could tell Solomon to get off, if he ever found his voice….

Then Solomon’s thumb swiped across his lips, and brought it up to his own mouth.

Icing.

“You could have just told me,” Asmo huffed, propping himself up on his elbows

Solomon was back on his haunches now, wrapped up in the icing, “What? Luke makes good icing.” Asmodeus rolled his eyes and shoved at Solomon’s chest.

“You’re insufferable.”

“Not insufferable enough for you to stop spending time with me,” Solomon chuckled. He got off of Asmodeus and helped him sit up, hands lingering just a little longer than necessary. Then the silence took over again.

It wasn’t the same silence as before though. This time it was a bit more awkward, filled with shifting bodies and uncertainty over what to say next. Asmo’s attention went to his phone. After all, social media made for a wonderful distraction. Flipping to the camera, Asmo decided to look over his appearance. He definitely needed to fix his hair. The lighting was amazing here.

“Wanna take a picture?”

Solomon perked up at the sudden break in the silence and looked at the two of them in the camera. “Do you wanna take a picture?” he asked, chest nudging against Asmo’s back. Asmo ignored the fluttering occurring deep within him, even if it was a nice feeling.  He would be a liar if he said he didn’t lean back into his touch.

“Just pick up one of the cupcakes and hold it up,” Asmo instructed, “It’ll be cute, trust me. Plus showing off my future number one model could be a good marketing strategy.”

Asmo felt Solomon’s chin rest on his shoulder as he tried to find the right angle to take the photo at. “You know, you keep posting pictures like this and people might start thinking I’m a little more than a ‘best friend’ or ‘model’,” he said, resisting the temptation to start digging into the second cupcake.

“And who cares what they think?”

Even as Asmo said it, his stomach sunk a little. Well, maybe Solomon cared if people thought they were together. They were just friends. That was it. Maybe there was someone Solomon liked, someone he wanted to  impress, and Asmo was ruining his chances by taking photos like these. Solomon had gone along with (most of) his ideas for most of the time they’d been together. Maybe he was just too nice to say no to Asmo’s little ideas. Maybe-

“Hey.” Solomon was looking at him, “Are you going to take it?” His face was a lot closer than Asmo realized.

“Oh! Yeah, yes, sorry. Just trying to find the right angle… There!”

Click.  

They both stared at the photo for a moment, Asmo more than aware of how Solomon hadn’t left his position. “I like it. You were right. It’s nice.”

Solomon had the nicest, sweetest smile he’d ever seen on another person.

“Are you going to post it?”

How did he always look so relaxed ?

But before Asmo  could reply, a notification popped up on his phone. Then another and another and another and-

He was used to his phone blowing up, but he hadn’t even posted the picture yet. Looking deeper into the source, he found that they were all from his brothers, mainly Mammon and Levi. Slowly Asmo clicked on the notification.

L3vi : You have a girlfriend?

Mammoney : Asmo I’m sorry

L3vi : Or boyfriend?

Mammoney : Please don’t kill me

L3vi : Why did you tell Mammon and not me? That’s not fair!

Mammoney : I didn’t mean to-

L3vi : I read a manga with a plot like this once-

Mammoney : It just kinda came out

L3vi : I know the perfect way to figure out who this is!

Mammoney : Asmo?

He wanted to scream. He put his phone down, ignoring the rest of the notifications. Yeah. He should have killed Mammon earlier. It hadn’t even been a full twenty-four hours. The only thing he could be thankful for was that he didn’t tell Lucifer… As far as he knew.

Asmo was going to kill him.

“I thought your brothers didn’t know.”

Solomon’s voice brought Asmodeus back to reality, it didn’t stop his fuming, but it did bring him back to where he was.  “They didn’t,” he hissed, “Well, I mean I told Satan, but he was going to be the only one to know. Mammon certainly wasn’t supposed to know and-” Asmo’s words dissolved into a groan. His study session with Solomon had been going so well too. They’d been productive... for the most part.

He flopped onto Solomon’s shoulder and let out a whine. “Just let me move in with you please!” he whimpered, “I promise I won’t bother Simeon and Luke too much and you know I’m neat and clean. My brothers are going to drive me to an early grave, or worse, give me wrinkles .”  

Solomon snorted which only made Asmodeus’ pout deepen. “Rude. This is a very serious matter.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a tad overdramatic?”

All Asmo did was cross his arms in response. Solomon sighed and looked down at Asmodeus. “Well… I can’t say that there’s space for you to move in-”

“Not even the couch? Or sharing a bed?”

Solomon held up his finger, “But, I can walk you home. If you’d like. I can be your human shield and protect you from your brothers.”

Asmo thought for a moment, arms uncrossing and fingers playing with the hem of Solomon’s sleeve. Having Solomon walk him home could be the next best thing (aside from just spending the night), and he would be able to distract himself from the dread and embarrassment that awaited him back home. Walking back home with Solomon was always nice regardless. Who didn’t like to spend more time with their best friend?

[baconpal]

With ARMS being free for the next couple days still I thought I'd talk about it here cus I think it's a pretty neat game. I've included a messy painting for your scrolling pleasure, but from here on out it's all words so strap in for some game design talk.

So ARMS is a fucking video game, it's hard to call it a fighting game just cus it's hard to call anything a fighting game anymore, but it's definitely about fighting and it's definitely a video game so take that as you will. People have a lot of trouble getting to grips with the game, especially the controls, but a lot of that is caused by how much more you can do than you'd initially think, and I really do suggest you try the free trial and mess around with whatever control scheme feels right to you. It was a pretty dark time the first couple months when it wasn't easy to change controls and that definitely hurt arms as a whole i feel which sucks.

It's not the most hardcore complicated video game ever but it makes very good use of the aspects of the game that are simple and loose in order to make a very free-form fighting game, and overall it does a lot of stuff that I personally consider very good design as someone with a big love of multipurpose mechanics and unique mechanics that aren't just gimmicks.

UNIVERSAL ARMS ARE COOL The one part of the game that is universal to all characters is that you got two arms that you throw around and control as they move. How those arms move and how you move around the stage are entirely dependent on the fists and character you pick, leading to very expressive playstyles in spite of every character having the same goal of hitting the other guy with some long-ass slappers.

The different types of arms all fill different purposes based on their shape and trajectory. Some arms are meant for straight forward boxing and clashing fists together, some are slow, heavy arms meant for countering weak punches or putting up defensive walls, some arms curve around the arena to avoid colliding with other arms at all, some have multiple fists to specific defensive options like dodging to the sides, jumping, or sitting in shield, and there's a variety of unique arms for all kinds of weird playstyles, including projectile arms (even though your arms are alright projectiles, they're even more projectile-y) as well as the variety of elemental arms; Elements allow for strengthening your playstyle by increasing factors like arm size, hitstun, arm disabling, movement disabling, knockdowns, knockback, vision impairment and other forms of disruption. 

Overall, each arm carries its own benefits and risks, and switching arm layouts between rounds or matches is very similar to counter picking in a standard fighting game, meaning choosing arms is like choosing a character in and of itself. As a result, the game feels a lot more balanced than a lot of fighting games I've gotten into before, as any character has access to any arm, so no character has directly more damage than other characters, and powerful arms can be adjusted for all characters at once. Picking arms is just one half of ARMS' character building, the actual fighter you use also greatly changes the options you have in game, and for the most part follow a type of design philosophy that divides every action into parts, and puts lots of focus into making sure every little part of a games systems are put to use.

THE FIGHTERS AND DIVIDED MECHANIC DESIGN While the arms you chose determine the way your punches will travel and behave, everything relating to movement is determined by your character, and while most characters have the same general movement, every character has something different to offer and augments a very small part of that overall movement to change what kinds of actions each character prefers. To explain that I'll need to give a brief overview of all the movement options in the game, and split them up into parts to make discussing them easier.

Punching As explained earlier, most of this depends on the arm, but having an arm out causes your movement to be reduced, even more so with two arms. You regain all movement as your arm retracts back.

Grabbing By punching with both arms at once, a green band will connect them, and if that band touches the enemy, you will chuck em across the stage and do a good amount of damage. If the enemy punches the green band it splits and the grab is cancelled, but grabs will land even on blocking opponents, so it forms a standard power triangle of punch > grab > guard > punch, etc.

Dashing Pressing the dash button and a direction will let you do a short dash that's faster than walking around, and holding it allows you to do a longer dash that causes your arms to hang to the side and having more overall lag time. Completing a dash without getting hit or having your hands hit will give your arms charge for a short amount of time, increasing their damage or letting them use their elemental properties. If none of your arms are out, continuing to hold dash will cause a character to stand in place and charge up their arms, greatly extending the length of a charge without changing the effects.

Dashing causes punches to curve much stronger in the direction you're moving, and when an arm is out, you can only do the short dash, and when in the air with both arms in, you can do the long dash in the air, but a bit slower.

Jumping Pretty standard jumping, you commit to a jump arch for the most part, but can slow your decent by punching or change your direction with a dash. Landing from a jump is just like finishing a long dash, you gain some charge and can hold the button to charge longer. Jumps have a very notable amount of end lag where you are just fuckin standing there, with only your hands to defend yourself, so while gaining a height advantage is very useful, jumping is overall a risky maneuver.

Jumps can be short or high depending on the length pressed, though jumping with an arm out makes all jumps short. You can also jump out of a dash to jump further.

Guarding When you guard, you block all punches, even weird ones from the side and shit, but can't move. You can hold guard for as long as you want, and your arms will charge after guarding for a second, and you can cancel blocking into literally anything, as well as dash forwards/backwards out of blockstun. While blocking is useful, grabs go through it, and all damage that hits your guard will build up and damage your arms, which can disable them or break through your guard, you also cannot guard if you have a punch out or have a disabled arm.

Also just a side thing that I can't think where else to mention, while I really like how this game is fairly simple, for some reason there's just not a good place to put block on any control scheme. The default for motion control is very slow and not very accurate, and on controller the default is pushing in the stick, which is super awkward. You can remap the controls to anything that's comfortable, and my control scheme is nothing like the default, but the guard button is still never in quite a convenient enough spot, so sometimes it becomes hard to implement. Pretty much my biggest gripe with the game but it's hard to complain about it cus I can't come up with a better solution myself.

Rush A universal counter/super that all characters share. When you have full meter, pressing rush will deflect any fists about to hit you, and cause your punches to be very very fast for the next 3 seconds. Exactly how each arm behaves during rush is arm specific, but the general use of rush is for very big punishes, generally doing around the damage of 2 or 3 clean hits. It's still very possible to block or dodge a rush or to beat it out by sneaking a hit in or using your own rush.

With the basics explained, here's a general overview of how each character splits the movement into fine pieces and makes use of them.

SPRING MAN The funny spring guy is the first character on the list, and as such sets the standard for everyone else. Even with that in mind he's got a pretty defined style. Similar to ryu from streets, spring man lends himself to a grounded defensive style of fighting. Since all his movement is average and jumping is dangerous, he generally wants to stay on the ground and find chances to punish others.

He has two main differences from other characters, the first is pretty beginner friendly and easy to explain: when below 25% health, spring mans punches are always charged. This comeback mechanic is very helpful to beginners but can come with some disadvantages when using different arms, as many arms are slower or less safe to use when charged. His other mechanic is much more advanced than you'd expect of a main character, and that's his deflect. Whenever spring man is charging his punches (holding a jump or dash) and releases the charge before finishing, he will deflect any punches about to hit him just like a rush. Since new players are hardly ever gonna charge their punches, but may panic and dodge out of a charge before getting hit, it has its place for beginners but allows confident players to charge punches whenever they want and to find better punishes by deflecting the opponents attacks.

I really enjoy taking something as insignificant as releasing charge and making it into a conscious action. These are the types of design choices this game is full of that make me happy.

RIBBON GIRL Funny little air woman likes jumping around, and has 4 jumps of decreasing height, allowing her to stay in the air for a very very long time. Having more jumps also allows her to stay in the air long enough to air dash more than once, giving even more air control. As a kind of mixup/quality of life choice, holding an air dash will make her quickly drop to the ground, making her landings unpredictable, which helps when your main strength is constantly jumping, playing the exact opposite type of game as spring man.

NINJARA Funny ninja guy's air dash is a teleport, making his air movement a bit harder to read. His main mechanic is that he has no form of blockstun; when a fist hits his shield, he will teleport in the direction the player is holding and instantly be able to act, giving him the opportunity to punish attacks on block more easily than other characters. I don't play him enough to act like I know what this means for him, and the community memes him up to do nothing but air dash into grab but I'd assume he's a mobile bait and punish type.

MASTER MUMMY The big funny mummy is this games grappler sort of. He has higher throw damage than every other character, and his wide shoulders means his grabs innately have a wider hitbox, which makes catching rolls and dashes easier, but also makes a big target for punching. His jumps are narrow and his dashes are slow, but he has super armor when jumping, dashing, charging, or punching. I haven't brought up health since every character has the same health, but super armor also cuts damage taken in half to avoid the horrible pain of super armoring through a hit with multiple hits and ending up taking way more damage. This makes master mummy one of the beefiest guys in the game, and combine that with his other ability to gain health while guarding, master mummy generally wants to play a really dangerous punish game where he sits in shield to make you hit him, and punishes you by punching through your grabs or armoring through your punches. He also can corner people more easily since his arms are far to the sides, allowing him to hit people trying to run away from him more easily.

MIN MIN Funny noodle lady deflects attacks with her air dash much like spring man's charge release, her grounded back dash also does this, letting her stay pretty safe while retreating specifically. Her main mechanic is that completing a charge or landing a grab will cause her left arm to remain charged until she is knocked down. The possibilities are pretty wide with what an always charged arm can give you, and mainly depends on what arms you use, but overall it gives min min a strong advantage state while keeping a generally safe disadvantage. She's also pretty cute and I wish she'd kick my head off maybe.

MECHANICA Funny girl in a funnier robot will keep any momentum she has while charging, allowing her to slide across the stage with charged arms, or to hover in the air with charged arms. She also has super armor during these charging slides, giving her very hard to punish air and ground movement, but her large size and laggy movements do leave some openings.

TWINTELLE Funny model girl with twintail fists and a scientifically perfect ass (i don't make the rules her model literally has 2 spheres for a butt idk how much simpler you can get) slows down nearby arms while she holds dash, and also causes herself to float in place if she holds an airdash. This makes her charging safer overall, and generally lets her react to things easier and lets her punish easier, or hold the enemies arms hostage while she throws a punch around them. Also a character I don't play much but she seems to mostly be about limiting the opponent and slapping em. Also horny.

BYTE & BARQ Funny robocop and funny robodog fight together using the dogs predictable AI. It doesn't seem very predictable to the other player but its generally pretty simple. The dog punches a second after you do, the dog will roll under you if you hold jump, and he'll generally try to stay diagonally in front of you. When Byte jumps on the dog it will deflect punches like spring man, and he can high jump by holding jump when bouncing, which also immediately charges his arms. With this, the duo can stay airborne and rain down charged attacks at the cost of low mobility. Also, if the dog gets hit byte is by himself for a while and has absolutely no special traits to speak of by himself, this leads to a character with very strong advantage and abysmal disadvantage.

KID COBRA Funny snake has really wide jumps and very slow dashes, but when his fists are charged he instead has even wider jumps and very fast dashes that slide him around, allowing him to dodge punches very easily. In general his gameplan seems to be getting off a jump to get some charge then darting around like a crackhead. He also has much bigger arms than his skinny body would suggest, and a lot of people hated that about him when the game first came out but I don't hear much about it now so idk if it really makes that much of a difference for good players. Anyway another character with drastically unique movement with strong advantage and bad disadvantage.

HELIX Funny goo guy makes squash and stretch into gameplay mechanics. When he jumps, he actually stretches his body up and doesn't leave the ground until you release jump, and will stand in place, but has complete control of his torso, allowing him to juke punches while throwing down charged punches from up high. His lack of ground movement means you can surround him easily in this state, so he can't hold it forever. When helix lands from a jump or performs a dash he'll squash into a little puddle which ducks under punches, though any punches the opponent throws while helix is already in the puddle will aim down at him, meaning he needs to use it sparringly, but he can move all around the floor with charged punches in this form. Essentially he moves super slowly and is easy to corner, but his movement is erratic and slippery and he has lots of ways to get OUT of the corner once you put him in it, and if he has any distance on you he'll give you hell.

LOLA POP Funny clown and part time Dobson fan inflates while guarding and can walk forwards or backwards very fast while blocking, giving them a safe approach or retreat option. Much like ribbon girl, she can hold her air dash to quickly drop to the ground, except she inflates while falling, giving her a quick shield and making her bounce into the air again, letting her bounce over and over to regain charge on her punches. She's very elusive and hard to pin down, but she's a lot bigger and easier to punch then you'd think because of how much she spreads herself out in her animations.

MISANGO Funny tribal man has the tiki mask from crash bandicoot follow him around and change colors every few seconds. Guarding causes the mask to form a pillar in front of Misango that can get in the way of punches and grabs but also blocks the whole fucking screen get out of the way fuck. Completing a charge will put on the mask giving him some benefits until he gets knocked down. Red mask gives him super armor, blue gives him better jumps and dashes, and yellow builds more rush meter and also gives his rush even more deflecting ability. Not a guy I use much or understand the appeal of beyond being versatile I guess but there are some good as misango players so shows what I know.

BOSS CHARACTERS The next 3 characters are characters who were first in the game as bosses, but became playable characters, and is another thing I absolutely love about this game. Its the first game in a long time that makes the bosses be bosses through their character and not through being objectively broken assholes who roadblock you from playing the game. Their personalities and playstyle exude the powerful presence they have and helps round out the really good cast.

SPRINGTRON A funny robot copy of springman who has mostly the same size, slightly slower speed, and the same deflect on charge ability, but no comeback mechanic. What makes this character unique from the springer is that following through and completing his charge will instead put out a gigantic deflect that disables any punches it deflects, and will charge his arms for 9 seconds, the longest charge length of any character. The big deflect can be countered by just waiting for it to come out and attacking springtron while he finishes the move, but it makes him a very scary version of springtron who can punish you much harder at the cost of some versatility.

DR COYLE The funny mastermind scientist villain makes herself seem bosslike by having a drastically different control scheme from the rest. She floats around, so floating is considered her grounded state, meaning she always has access to short and long dashes, but can't charge by jumping. Holding jump causes her to elivate, forcing the opponent to punch up at Coyle and giving her constant heigh advantage while still being able to shoot around with dashes. Her charge is much like mechanicas but without super armor, and helps to keep her moving around. In addition, when coyle fully chages, one of her arms will duplicate, allowing her to throw out the same punch twice, giving powerful pressure to her neutral. The opponent can see which arm is duplicated before she has time to throw the punch, and her charge time is super short so its really easy to know what she's gonna do, but it still creates a threat simply by existing. Overall a very cool villain.

MAX BRASS Funny fucking CHAD. The guy from the painting at the start and my mans of choice, so I think quite highly of him obviously. The primary antagonist of the game and champion of the sport, Brass is genuinely just a tough guy who wants to have fun, completely betraying the imposing image he gives off and the general idea of "final boss = bad guy". He is a slower, wider character than most, and shares the deflect mechanic with spring man when releasing a charge, but when he fully charges, he will expand all of his muscles to become even wider, move faster, and have super armor and charged punches for 5 seconds. Like spring man, at the last 25% health, Brass will always be charged, which include being buffed up, which has its pluses and minuses.

This creates a character with the defensive strength of spring man, and the cornering ability of master mummy, giving him an overpowering image of beating down the opposition with his strong advantage state, combined with the an imposing "final form" when he's down to the wire. Like most of the cast, he has a tough time in disadvantage as a result, and his wide shoulders cause him problems with characters who can get close to him quickly or who move around too much.

While separate from his actual character, the stage you fight him on takes place at sunset, and the sun shines against his back, giving him a really strong silloute which is even more imposing when he buffs up or is own low health. Really has been a while since i've been so impressed by the presentation of a boss fight, especially for a boss who is actually really fair.

HEDLOK So this isn't an actual character, but is still part of the boss list and is yet another thing I think is super cool and well designed in this game. Hedlok is a robotic head with exaggerated facial muscles that latches onto peoples head and makes copies of their arms. This is used in the grand prix mode to make a rematch with Max Brass where brass has 6 arms instead of 2, and that giant head matches very well with Brass's giant body. He also appears to make Dr Coyle's fight more imposing as she flies around with those 6 arms. While thats all he does in the "story" mode, Hedlok can function on the head of any member of the cast with any combination of arms, and 2 of the game modes online incorporate this by having players team up against a CPU with hedlok, or letting players fight over hedlok to beat each other to death with him. I am really impressed with the design functioning to perfectly that any character can be augmented by the simple addition of 4 more arms without sacrificing any gameplay elements. It's really great how none of the game is wasted, as even the closest thing to a super boss is still considered from a player's point of view.

While just having more arms sounds objectively better, and for the most part it is, the game is still always fair, and as such these advantages still come with downsides for the hedlok wearer, the biggest being that you don't punch the 6 arms separately, they punch in sets of 3 of the same arm one after the other when a punch comes out, and all arms curve the same way. This makes the pressure strong but predictable, and also increases the time the arms stay out after initially punching, leaving a large weak point at hedlok's flank. Hedlok does have a much more powerful rush that can hit for nearly double a normal players rush, but this is to encourage players to block and dodge to the sides around hedlok, as a stationary target is all hedlok can really chew up.

STAGES Much like the characters, the stages are all wildly unique despite not being very difficult to describe, the feature a variety of heights and sizes, as well as various obstacles like pillars and trampolines, and no stage is just a boring simple arena (except sparring ring, whose gimmick is being a literal boxing ring). Stages like Spring arena, Spring stadium, Mausoleum, Sky arena, Ramen Bowl, and Sparring ring all provide different experiences through their minor changes in shape and height. Stages like Ninja college, Buster beach, Via dolce, and [NAME REDACTED] provide long, thin arenas which put more emphasis on height and straight forward defenses. Then there are stages like DNA lab, Scrapyard, Ribbon ring, Cinema duex, and Temple grounds, whose obstacles and weird shapes provide wild and dynamic matches that change with time.

The music for the stages also slaps, there's only really a few melodies that the game uses, but the stages all have such different instrumentation and theming, as well as incorporating original segments that keeps the soundtrack unified without being literally 1 song.

CLOSING THOUGHTS AND DESIGN TIDBITS Reading back most of this I guess I didn't make it very clear what I was talking about with all the divided design stuff but basically I just like how much emphasis is put on every little piece of the games design to pull the most out of it. It's amazing to have a game with such unique characters when all the attacks are universally shared. Some other small things from this game that are good touches for me are.... -Online lobbies are super easy to use, unlike a lot of first party nintendo online shit, and allow changing characters and arms without holding up any action or needing to leave and come back. -Online lobbies also have these cute little bubbles that show you what modes other people are playing and how their doing that update in real time, so while you aren't spectating directly, you do get to enjoy some amount of involvement in others matches while waiting for your own. -The other game modes in the game make great use of the same universal mechanics to offer wildly different experiences with the hoops mode, volley ball, and target breaking contests. -The tutorials are what a lot of people need in a fighting game that they don't think they need, and that's opponents who "spam" and do just one thing while fighting, giving you the chance to learn how to play around those strategies and become better. -You unlock the universal arms for character by playing a fun minigame that rewards your ability to actually play the game. This mode also favors giving arms to the character your playing while also spreading out some of the arms to other characters to encourage you to mess around. It also won't give you an arm if it won't be of any use to you, while lots of other games would love to waste your time with duplicates that mean nothing to you. -You can set controls to anything now, including changing what the motion controls do, and you can have any amount of duplicate inputs to help make your gameplay more comfortable.

Overall, while I talk about how simple the game is, it is still a very tough game due to how much freedom you have in your combat and how deep it can get. I love the game and I still get absolutely shitcanned by the top 3 difficulties, also there's lots of people who are way good at this game, but I'd like to see more from it in general cus it kinda died a sad death due to bad initial impressions, but smash has finally done one good thing and tried to help out a game get another shot, so hopefully things go well for the game.

Thanks again to anyone dumb enough to listen sift through this shit, if you were cool enough to have read it then you can add me on switch and fight me in ARMS or something idk. Here's my code, SW 7001 1122 2464. If you add me without having read this entire post I will know and you will regret it. Regardless, have a wonderful night and stay safe gamers.

[asterekmess]

S3A - E3

Hiya, back with another episode of the rewatch. I am...not looking forward to this episode. *deep breath* here we go.

Read More’s save sanity

Hey, so I know this is a really heavy first bullet point...but isn’t anybody else uncomfortable with the image of a black boy running around out of his mind with fury and bloodlust and going after little...white kids? Am I reading too much into this? I know Cora’s running around too. I just...whatever, I’m just gonna keep my mouth shut.

Straight from way too heavy to way too light. So that girl dropped a big jar of fireflies, but they say that fireflies that actually glow aren’t native to California, which would mean these are part of the whole magic thing going on, and at the end of the whole firefly thing they get rid of all the fireflies. So...what if someone finds that jar and opens it?

...nevermind the jar opened up somehow...

Okay, listen, I have a petty and biased hatred for this moment with Scott. Like...is it so hard to say, “I had to get the kids he was chasing away from him?” It’s not like they don’t have time..they just stand there in silence for a while. I also hate the savior pose he strikes there with the kids clinging to him. Like, I get that it’s a very common trope. I still hate it. I use the anti-scott tag for a reason, let me be salty.

why te fuck does Scott FLOAT in the intro?

Lydia has seriously emptied an entire bottle of ibuprofen? She should be dead. Or at least at a hospital. She’s too smart not to know how dangerous it is to take ibuprofen (even the recommended dosage) for too long at a time.

Lydia...Lydia knows about werewolves now. Did no one tell her about this whole escape plan for the betas? She could’ve helped.

Cue the shitty SFX running. Y’all look ridiculous.

Man, come on. Are you seriously telling me that Derek never played hide and seek with his siblings? Like, they’re werewolves for fuck’s sake. Derek never did fake chases through the woods? He tracked PETER for christ’s sake, all the way across town. He was like yards behind him before he got shot that one time.

This show relies a lot on character’s losing time and just finding themselves places. Jackson losing time, Lydia losing time. Lydia losing time again, but in a new way. Later, it’ll be Stiles losing time. I’m just saying, it happens a lot.

It’s fucking august in California. Does it actually get that cold? Poor Lydia’s nose is always red cus she gets forced to wander around in the dark and freezing. I can see her goosebumps when she kneels next to the pool.

I know it’s gotta be hell on her voice, but I think it’s so interesting the way Lydia screams and how it has to jump around the chords before hitting that one note. I don’t know why I find that so interesting. Guess it just reminds me of a wolf howl. Seriously, look ‘em up. Weirdly similar. GO  Holland!

What do you mean the last memory that she had of her mother, Scott? You should’ve told her RIGHT THEN. Right off the bat. There was TONS of time between her getting bit and when she died. You should’ve told Allison right away. Fuck you, you had all of spring break!

god fucking damn it now I’m crying again. Erica, sweetie...Derek honey...

I’m trying to get past the tears to enjoy this romancey stuff, with the candles and the lil lamps, and the LOTR references. I’m really trying.

This is totally not what I should be thinking about while watching the two of them make out, but like, so does Caitlin not go to their school? She just sort of appears a couple times, but Stiles doesn’t seem to know her. Maybe she went to the same school as Heather?

don’t like bugs don’t like bugs ew ew ew ew

Hi cora!

Isaac! You’re somehow feeling better, even though you were apparently out of commission like an hour or two ago...wait huh?

I gotta say, okay, listen I just can’t help it. I know this is serious, but that lil smirk on Isaac’s face? I don’t think he looks smug, personally, I think he looks like he’s about to go play, go rolling around in the grass and leaves, playing with a pack member. He’s been alone for so long this summer, what with Jackson leaving. he’s had no wolves to play with (cus’ we know Derek’s a grump). As worried as he’s gotta be, I bet he’s having funnnnnn.

I..uh..Cora what sound is coming out of your mouth? That..that does not sound like a wolf. That sounds like a wild cat of some kind. Wolves don’t make that screechy noise. They bark and growl, like the sound that came just before. That doesn’t even sound like a roar. Who gave you cheetah sounds?? You’re canine, not feline. Come on they did SO WELL with Derek’s sounds-- No. NO Do not tell me they gave Cora cat sounds cus she’s a chick. I’m gonna fight someone. (For those of you interested, if you scroll to the bottom of this webpage, you can listen to wolf growl snippets and they’re such good quality (I think the bark snippet is broken tho). Listen to those whimpers and whines too, fucking fascinating. I love wolves. Such beautiful animals.)

Cora with Isaac and Scott attacking her and growling at her: “Fuck you, I’ll bite you!” Cora with Derek just growling at her: “BYE bro!”

Stiles, honey! I missed you! Literally, just the sound of your voice makes me feel better.

Scott, Seriously, Derek just said you haven’t tracked either of them anywhere near the pool. You’ve both been following them all night! Yeah, they’re dangerous, but they couldn’t get to the pool and back in time to fight you! I”M GONNA SMACK YOU. DOn’t use that fucking patronizing tone of voice when Derek is TELLING YOU FACTS.

OUR fault? OUR FAULT? I’m gonna fucking *kicks a chair and storms off, grumbling* *Spins around, cus fuck it i’m gonna yell. it’s my post.* NONE OF THIS is DEREK”S FAULT. NOne of this is ISAAC’S FAULT. Fuck dude, I’ll even say that it’s not Scott’s fault! If it’s anyone other than the Alphas’ fault, it’s Allison’s, but tbf she thought she was helping.

DEREK SHUT YOUR PRETTY MOUTH. I swear to god.

ARE YOU FUCKING JOKING? DEREK WOULD NEVER SUGGEST MURDERING BOYD AND CORA. NEVER. He thought Cora was fucking dead and he just found out she’s alive! HE WOULD NEVER. NEVER. FUCK YOU. FUCK EVERYTHING. *Throws a plate* YOU KNOW YOU ONLY FUCKING WROTE IT SO THAT YOU COULD SHOW OFF SCOOT MCFUCKFACE’S SUDDEN FLIP IN MORALITY BY HAVING HIM SAY THAT “KILLING ISN’T THE RIGHT THING TO DO” OH REALLY Scott? REALLY? Killing is bad? YOU DIDN’T THINK SO WHEN YOU SPENT MONTHS attempting to commit PREMEDITATED MURDER of a GUY WHO WAS ALREADY DYING. MONTHS. Scott. FUCK YOU. FUCK THIS SHOW. 13 minutes in and I’m already about to chuck my laptop across the room. MY CAT WON’T EVEN CUDDLE ME ANYMORE I’M SO ANGRY.

And now I’m really fucking sad, cus’ I hate watching this poor girl get told she’s just hallucinating.

WHY does everyone go shopping at fucking 8 pm in Beacon Hills? What...Chris you don’t even have a day job.

I don’t...I don’t understand this scene with Isaac. Like..what exactly are they trying to imply? That he thinks she’s hot? All he’s seen is her raging around with fangs free and glowing eyes. And yeah, some people definitely think that’s hot. But like...that’s just so...what? I choose to read this scene as him just wondering about Derek’s home life. Like, “Since when do you have siblings? Why don’t you tell me these things? I have an aunt?”

WHAT DO YOU mean “Your world?” CHRIS YOU GREW UP AS A HUNTER. THIS IS YOUR WORLD TOO. He was YOUR dad. You’ve been a part of this WAY longer than Scott! Don’t blame the werewolves for ruining your life! THAT WAS YOUR DAD and YOUR STUPID HUNTER CODE’S FAULT.

OKay, listen, I have so many issues with this I need a therapist to mediate my conversations with it. FUCK YOU TW for bringing in Chris. I dont’ give a fuck if he’s experienced or trying to redeem himself. He is a HUNTER he has Slaughtered Derek’s kind for his entire life. He may want to do the right thing, but the right thing definitely doesn’t involved him Standing in front of Derek and forcing him to listen to hunter PROPAGANDA BULLSHIT. I’M SO FUCKING MAD. This was so inappropriate, holy shit. SO far beyond okay. Even the CONCEPT that werewolves wouldn’t be as good at tracking other werewolves as hunters are is fucking stupid. You said it yourself, Chris they can follow scent up to TWO MILES AWAY. Wolves can track their prey for weeks without losing the scent. Just because Isaac stepped on some footprints doesn’t mean he’s incapable of finding them. And what’s all this shit about them “Being able to rely on their human half”? NO? First off, minor detail. Werewolves aren’t half wolf, half human, dumbass. They’re all werewolf. AND The show has said like Ten TIMES that they can’t access their human form/the thought processes they would normally have during a full moon without an anchor, and Boyd and Cora are effectively anchorless on this moon. This is just utter bullshit and I’m so goddamn angry I don’t even know how to process it. “If you’re not trained like me you have no idea this print is Boyd’s” YEAH THEY DO. THEY CAN LITERALLY SMELL IT.  DEREK ALREADY IDENTIFIED THE TRACKS. FUCK you.

ALSO. Getting REAL SICk of people slicing their wrists every time they need a little blood for a ritual or for bait. YOU CUT THE MEAT of the arm. ON THE BACK. WHERE YOU WON”T HIT a VEIN. DUMBASSES.

WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK DO YOU MEAN NINE YEARS DEREK? YOU’D BETTER MEAN CORA WAS NINE YEARS OLD, CUS’ THE FIRE WAS SIX YEARS AGO. and what do you mean you don’t have a lock on her scent? you’ve been following it just fine all night! Wolves remember human scents decades later.

Booooo, i hate the entire concept of wolves going mad on a full moon. It’s lazy and boring. Wolves are not vicious animals, they’re shy as fuck. THey don’t attack without reason. Werewolves should be the same. Full moon’s enhance their wolfishness, so it should make them MORE SHY. The moon should enhance whatever they feel, rather than just making them mindlessly aggressive.

“Primal apex Predatory satisfaction”? seriously? Shut the FUCK up Chris, I’m really fucking sick of your hunter bedtime stories.

....i hate this woman.

Casual reminder that Isaac wouldn’t suggest Killing boyd. Ever. I fucking hate these writers.

yeah yeah, running scene. blah blah blah.

See, I never really understood those fics where Peter just refuses to give anyone any info. He tells Derek what’s up constantly. He didn’t lie or hold anything back when he helped Derek figure out what was up with Jackson or how Jackson needed Lydia to be cured. He walks right up to Derek and says “Hey, so those Alphas clearly want you to join them and that means they’re trying to make you kill your own pack” Peter helps Derek all the time. He’s just a dick while he does it.

Look, I love this moment with Peter, his “Let Scott be the hero of his morally black and white world. You and I, we live in shades of gray” lines are so good, and they speak so much to his character and personality. And he’s right. But I hate that they built the scene around Derek planning to kill his own pack, and following Scott around doing as he asks. I just hate what they do to Derek here.

The dog whistles suddenly have no effect on their hearing? Love it.

Take a second to bring up a plotline you won’t explain for ages. I vibe with that, so long as it is eventually explained.

OOh, suddenly BHHS has a football field?

Not gonna cry, not gonna cry. FUCK I’m crying again.

I just...dude I’m over here trying not to completely lose my shit and cry like a baby, and Stiles is in the middle of panicking and losing his oldest friend and he still puts the dots together. Like. Jesus christ this boy.

NOW Derek? You choose NOW to take Every Single Step down the stairs? JUMP.

...what is this a cartoon? Glowing eyes in the dark? one too many sets? Yeah, yeah, I get it, they’re supposed to look like fireflies.

Why did you stop to look at each other after blasting them? Just go.

OH, yeah, of course Scott has to be the one to hear the extra heartbeat. Scott. Not Derek. Not the ALpha who’s senses are heightened above the a Beta’s. Not DEREK the ALPHA who has a PACK, which makes his senses even stronger that that. No. Scott. The omega. Because he’s like an inch closer to the door. Yah. Sure. That makes sense. SUre.

Dude I wish my high school had that much backup supplies free for the teacher’s to grab. Also, I hate this woman.

WHy were the lights off in the boiler room if she was in the back grabbing stuff? That..what?

OH. I forgot, so Caitlin’s out of high school? She’s...what, 18? 19? Okay, fine, I’ll take that.

Oh stop faking Jennifer, fuck you.

Crying again. dont’ mind me. This is Derek. Not choosing to kill his beta or his long lost sister. Choosing to die himself instead. THAT is Derek (it’s self-sacrificing and it’s because he gives his own life no worth, but it’s still him.)

HOW IS IT DAWN? THAT WOULD BE like 6 HOURS of standing around! Or did the sun not set until like 10 pm? Hm? This show has no concept of time, and werewolves are very time oriented. Someone take away the show from the writers. They’ve lost their privileges.

I hate this. I hate that Isaac shouts for Scott. Not Derek. That’s just so fucking dumb. I’m so tired of it. I’m just so fucking sick of it.

I don’t even wanna look at this. I hate this woman so much.

YOU REALIZE that the third Virgin was Taken. The third virgin is DEAD. the sacrifices have been made, and now Jennifer has control over people. This is where she starts controlling Derek. Right Fucking Here. He loses his agency the moment they touch, if not the moment they make eye contact or he gets in range. I hate it. I HATE IT.

BOOM. Episode three, and Stiles already has the villain after next figured out. He’s past the Alphas now. 

Final Thoughts: I’m angry, I’m tired, and I honestly got very little joy or interest out of this whole episode. I hate what this show did to werewolves and how much insane Scott glorification there is and how every little thing HAS to be about Scott. Scott’s relationship with Chris. Scott saving the kids. Scott’s the one Isaac calls for. Scott’s the one who hears the heartbeats. I get that he’s the main character. I also hate that he’s the main character. It’s just so sad and pathetic and boring and just....ugh. I’m going to bed. I will try for another episode or two tomorrow.

(I promise I’m okay. Just go listen to the wolf howls for me in that link, huh? Listen to those beauties and imagine how amazing a wolf show could have been.)

[9w1ft]

feels a little early to be writing a year-in review but i find myself in a quiet moment so i thought i’d tap a few things out

in 2019, in all facets of my life, i faced a challenge of some sort and i surprised myself as i held my ground more often than ran away, which felt new. what *also* felt new was this sense of ease i began having professionally, when it came to conceptualizing and making decisions. sorta feels like a lot of things are crystallizing.

in terms of life on here, i didn’t have TSL for the majority of the year (anybody out there remember TSL?!) so i busied myself with crafting fun memories on my own. there were spans of weeks where i’d just get on a tear and run into one new thing after the other and it was all really just fantastic. i gave myself permission to indulge in the most decadent of things and to follow the most mercurial of assumptions to places i thought closed off.

i’m pretty sure i’ve smiled and laughed more over this year than i ever have in my entire life. no joke.

here are some kaylorverse moments that brought me joy in 2019:

it’s nice to have a friend

2018 was my first year being a kaylor and i just sort of was moreover on the contributor or commenter side of things so 2019 was interesting in that when taylor really leaned into the gay imagery leading up to album release, i started getting newer people sending me stuff! and asking me my takes on things! and like, my words suddenly had weight for some reason? it felt weird but i truly enjoyed getting to talk with so many different people and hear their ideas and laugh and such. that was markedly different from last year. from within this, 79-swift reached out to me with the eye theory, the most beautiful and rare of observations by a singularly lovely individual that i have dedicated my life to protecting and promoting. and i feel like i’ve gotten to know many people i knew through 2018 more deeply and have come to accept the role i play, lean in to it, and formulate my own truth of the matter, and that sort of heightened perspective on it has been a blessing and i’m so thankful for this strange sense of camaraderie that has formed with many of you? thank you??? and my conviction, and my wishes, for the girls to find happiness have only strengthened this year... im committed to seeing this through whether people like it or not!! harumph!

block ‘em

i also started proactively curating my experience.. that’s right! i began blocking trolls with reckless abandon, and i turned anons off! 😂 and damn it’s so much more worthwhile of a time on here when you set aside people that only want to ruin your day.

i got over my fear of eyeballs!!

😂 no seriously, body horror and in particular eyes out of context was actually sort of a thing that previously creeped me out BUT LOOK AT ME NOW. i’m gonna do my best not to rehash the eye theory, please read the post and recall the number of times i filipped out 😂 each and every one is precious to me

also

geeking out with bert and ernie gifs with kaylorfossil and making empsmd-blog drop her debit card need a mention.

the ME! music playlist.

i fell in love with so many songs and like, running into eye motifs in so many of the songs, lyrically and visually, was the most hilarious thing. but really just a lot of the songs really tapped at my soul with an ice pick and i even went to go see The Japanese House live in Osaka which was transcendental and i’m just so thankful for having taylor introduce Good At Falling to me because it was a *necessary* album.

i made and collected stuff

i made and amassed many artifacts that one day i can look back on and remember what a wild ride it has been. some favorites are my procuring of the pixel art heart ring from the ME! mv (a nod to my tsl days..), as well as the evil eye ring.. i didn’t physically make this but the eye theory made the taydar podcast and there’s nothing i enjoy more in this world than making someone giggle and i just love that the episode exists. making that kaylor straw was 👌 working on a mock-up of the golden locket has been very satisfying. i started incorporating fun kaylor winks into my artwork as well which was fun, and i also commissioned a collage from the very talented and lovely valheria and i couldn’t have asked for anything better 🥰

wildin in the TS7 tag was the best.

i made this observation that there’s this type of cocoon that looks like a cobra, which transforms into a butterfly over a period of 13 days, and like, the post got so many notes and i just had a lot of swiftie eyeballs all of a sudden on my blog which led to some hilarity. but honestly i just love geeking out over theories and it’s fun to get to do that as fans of taylor at large. things felt warm and effervescent.

my newspaper subscription

i subscribe to the TTB Times and let me just say the submissions and anons this year were overwhelmingly a delight to read through every day. also like, we did get cued in to stuff before album release and i am just thankful that there are people out there both who want to give us that and people who work to help them give us that. thank you ttb for moderating your blog (my newspaper of choice) however it is that you do and to everyone that contributed to her blog.

the whole lead up to the ME! video release

so glorious... but particular the hour before. i was rushing to pick up my kid from school and suddenly i kept getting messages from people that taylor was covering her face and framing her eyes, and i was like oh please yeah sure BUT THEN when the snake in the video had a blank eye like i don’t think you guys understand i had to wait at a bus stop and exchange pleasantries with the other moms but it was a *five alarm fire* in my mind

cause shade never made anybody less gay

stealing away to listen to YNTCD for the first time and hearing Taylor Alison Swift use the word gay in a released song for the first time was a transcendental moment

karlie’s hand in the YNTCD mv.

‘nuff said

daisies. daisies everywhere.

taylor said daisy kaylor rights, and she said it everywhere. *everywhere*. cannot, will not, get over how blessed we are.

gay gay gay gay gay.... taylor’s

sorry not sorry that wiz khalifa collab with elohim on her track FYM was ethereal and i still hope it’s a part of the preshow playlist for Lover Fest

clue hunting in klossy videos and karlie ads

call me a corporate shill all you want like, there’s always a little something in there and i also enjoy the little flickers of goofy karlie that jump out from time to time. and i know this is not the case for everyone but post eyepocalypse, karlie leaning in, winking that eye of hers time and time again was just pique comedy for me and it always made me chuckle. the brands karlie has repped have been really laying it on thick too and it’s been a joy to see. when taylor does it with her music it’s art, and for me karlie’s media presence is a form of art too 😌

oh kaptain my kaptain

kimby liked a comment of mine on her insta which was a distinct honor and privilege 😌 and really she was dropping clues left and right through spring up until she got her snazzy new job and things calmed down 🥰 of which i am so proud talk about an on brand job! also partially clearing the air about my TSL theory and the lead up to clearing that air was quite fulfilling for me and i am forever grateful for the time we shared. and to this point, the seesters in general (and kurt omg) have been quite active all year and we don’t deserve it but they’ve stuck around and it’s been calming.

album cover art release on the livestream

LIKE I HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE NEVER HAD A FOURTH WALL BROKEN SO DULY

i love you forever, thank you for everything

when taylor came to visit tokyo this year i was basically reenacting the swamp scene from OOTW trying to get a ticket to the secret event... i listened to ME! on LINE MUSIC for over 2000 plays, i bought multiple CD’s, it was such an ordeal and then to not have a ticket after all but still putting on my thinking cap and managing to figure out where the event was while i was at disney sea and literally running from disney sea to the venue in high heels with The Man playing on my phone was oscar-worthy and actually *being correct* and the moment i knew i was correct and how i knew i was correct was so amazing 😉 and i play by the rules so i didn’t try to get in without a ticket and i didn’t lurk. but just to have figured it out and validated it was such a thrill. seeing her on TV live was amazing as well ///

lost in japan, reprise

oh and, last year for rep tour there was this theory i had which didn’t pan out but it had to do with the clues i thought shawn mendes was dropping through autumn 2018 and anyway that’s a story for another day but as i was bopping around town, looking for lockets, staying in rooms i have no business being in, drinking lots of whisky...just to know that while i was doing *everything but* successfully meeting taylor, she literally phoned shawn and had him record lines for that eye theory remix like, i will never ever, like, guys. guys. 😂 it’s too perfect for words. the world is weird like that sometimes.

Lover

and omg Lover the album? i absolutely love lover and i loves that honeymoon period of theorizing and parallel unearthing that we did and i love how slightly creepy-cute it is and i love the whole wabi-sabi thing going on and i absolutely love every song on the album, every one, they all have so much meaning to me... and each one is teeming with little blips and bloops and sound samples and seconds of silence and i love all the brass instruments and so many lush moments... i guess my shortlist (in no particular order) would be the archer, lover, i think he knows, daylight, cruel summer, false god, cornelia street, ME! (yea i really like me 🥰). and to think about everything that went in to the album and the thrill of what it might have been and the vastness of what we don’t know, but like, the weight of that potential?? it’s like this vast pastel and black abyss of drowsy and deep feelings and i love every inch of it. it’s a vibe that reflects so much of what this year has been for me and i’m happy to have existed in this time to have had it with me.

jesus this has gotten too long, and i still have like 24 more things to write out but um, basically, as i’m sure you’ve been able to assume? i wanted to say that despite 2019 being somewhat of a slasher film affair for our fandom, i still had a goddamn great time this year and i hope everyone can find some good memories and relive them as well 🥰

[dottie-wan-kenobi]

I loveeee all the songs u chose for Tim!!! Can u maybe do a post or smth explaining why cus it’s so interesting seeing the choice behind these songs

Hi yes I can!! I’m not gonna do all of them here (I can def do the rest if you’d like!!) bc that’s just a Lot all at once lol. Also I might have typos and I apologize but dkjsfhakh I have bandaids on my fingers and it’s hard to type :^/

Disclaimer: some of these songs fit a lot better than other ones

Hard Times by Paramore

I chose this song bc it’s abbout being sad, but the tone is upbeat and happy. Something I’ve noticed abt Tim is that he is (usually) functionally depressed. Like, I read an article about high functioning depression, and it said that a lot of people who have it have a hole in their life – that they can have a job (and Tim does, being either CEO or Red Robin or both), a partner (who I like to think of as Kon), and be part of a family, maintaining this happy/upeat facade, but if you ask them what they do for fun…they usually can’t answer that. And I don’t think Tim can. When he was younger, he could, but what now? 

Fave Lyric: “Walking around / With my little rain cloud / Hanging over my head/ And it ain’t coming down / Where do I go? / Gimme some sort of sign / You hit me with lightning! / Maybe I’ll come alive”

Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons

I chose this bc I can picture Tim, during a low moment like when Kon or Bruce died, just falling apart and thinking he’s not going to survive it, isn’t strong enough, had something to do with their deaths happening,,, etc. Also there’s a line that references anxiety and like lmao that’s Tim!

Fave Lyric: “Tremble for yourself, my man, / You know that you have seen this all before / Tremble, little lion man, / You’ll never settle any of your scores / Your grace is wasted in your face, / Your boldness stands alone among the wreck / Now learn from your mother or else spend your days biting your own neck”

Heroes (we could be) by Alesso feat. Tove Lo

I chose this bc Tim needed a happy song and also because this has such Young Justice vibes !!!! This is Tim and his friends having fun, roaming around, kicking bad guy ass together!! Actually upon looking at the lyrics again, it’s both YJ and Batman & Robin. It just encompasses Tim’s early days of being a hero I think, the happy carefree nature and the bravery and the hope

Fave Lyric: “Everyday people do everyday things but I / Can’t be one of them / I know you hear me now, we are a different kind / We can do anything”

Burn The House Down by AJR

Tbh I mostly chose this bc its a bop and I think he would sing along to it. BUT I also think this kind of represents his life as a public figure/celeb??? And if I wanna go even further, I think it could represent him when he’s older and more confident, with a better self esteem and maybe a lil less depressed (which I hope is in the cards for his future). Also it talks about lying a lot???? I’m sorry, I don’t have a good analysis for this one lmao

Fave Lyric: “Way up way up we go / Been up and down that road / Way up way up, oh no / We gon’ burn the whole house down / Watch me stand in the line / You’re only serving lies / You’ve got something to hide / We gon’ burn the whole house down”

Don’t Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers feat. Daya

I chose this bc it reminded me of Tim and Dick. I’m of the opinion that Tim getting fired from Robin was the right choice and that Dick wasn’t being cruel or anything like that at all, but I also think that Tim probably saw it that way which is valid. So it’s like, to him, Dick was his big brother who was basically always there for him, and then suddenly… he’s not. And everything else going on in his life starts to suck dramatically, and not having his big brother makes it worse, and he feels betrayed. Meanwhile Dick really is on his side, life is just also terrible for him too so they can’t be as close as they were when Tim was Robin. It can also be about Bruce or Kon tbh – just, wanting one of them to be there and they’re not.

Fave Lyric: “Crashing, hit a wall / Right now I need a miracle / Hurry up now, I need a miracle / Stranded, reaching out / I call your name but you’re not around”

More under the cut!!

Don’t Play by Halsey

This…. I chose this bc I really love the celebrity versions of the Bats, and also how competent Tim can be, and this song brings both of those together. Lol this could also be like…what other people think the Bats/Tim think like?? “Don’t play with me, I’m rich and will fuck you up” kinda thing. This is one of the ones that fits less well than the others but I still get Tim vibes from it so I’m keeping it

Fave Lyric: “Tryna take back what you say to me / I don’t give a damn what you say to me / There ain’t no time for games with me”

Over My Head (Cable Car) by The Fray

I get the feeling that after bad shit happens to Tim, he feels the way this song shows. I haven’t read much YJ so I can’t be sure, but I get the feeling that Tim, no matter what the truth is, feels like he’s alone and there’s no one who will help him. Obviously that can be tied back to his childhood and how he had to take care of himself, and so when there are people who actually do wanna help him he doesn’t see it?? And he’s down on himself so he’s probably thinking “they don’t want to help me, and I can’t blame them”

Fave Lyric: “But that’s how it’s got to be / It’s coming down to nothing more than apathy / I’d rather run the other way than stay and see / The smoke and who’s still standing when it clears” 

Icarus by Bastille

Okay not so much the drinking aspect of this song but EVERYTHING ELSE. I even used one of the lyrics for a fic title. Basically my thoughts here are: 1) everyone looks to the Robins and sees how much they do and it’s just A Lot, 2) Tim knows Jason died and so he probably thinks that’s in his future too even if Dick survived, and 3) Tim is doing a lot and feeling a lot and trying to protect himself and his feelings, which is hard work especially for someone so young

Fave Lyric: “Living beyond your years / Acting out all their fears / You feel it in your chest”

Needed Me by Rihanna

Again,,,, the Competence. I love that shit. I love BAMF!Bats, and tbh I think this could apply to more than just Tim, but I picked it for him bc of the first lyric!! This is also one of those ones that doesn’t fit super well but djkhfjkdshah I think this could really fit an AU Tim where he’s like. More morally gray. Not necessarily a bad guy but just more confident, more arrogant maybe, and more jaded from the hero-ing life

Fave Lyric: “I was good on my own, that’s the way it was, that’s the way it was / You was good on the low for a faded fuck, on some faded love / Shit, what the fuck you complaining for? / Feeling jaded, huh?”

What I’ve Done by Linkin Park

Okay I think this fits a lot of different things: his actions after Kon’s death, his and Damian’s relationship, the lies he’s told (to ppl like Steph, his dad, Tam?), his relationship with Bruce maybe?? I can also see it as him thinking on who he was as a kid – a stalker basically lmao, but ultimately harmless – versus who he is now – a skilled vigilante who’s definitely not harmless. Stark difference there. Also he’s forgiving himself, which is something I think is important for somebody with a low self view

Fave Lyric: “In this farewell / There’s no blood / There’s no alibi / ‘Cause I’ve drawn regret / From the truth / Of a thousand lies”

Tell Me You Love Me by Demi Lovato

I chose this because I think Tim is fucked up by the neglect he suffered in his childhood. I think parts of this song can be directed at his parents, the Batfam, his partner(s). He’s afraid that they’ll leave him and he needs the reassurance. Whether or not he gets it is another matter but kdsjfjkdsah. Really, I think this is all just what he’s thinking, and NOT what he’s saying. He needs the reassurance, yes, but he’s not actually asking for it because he doesn’t know how

Fave Lyric: “Bad at love, no, I’m not good at this”

bellyache by Billie Eilish

When I first added this to his playlist I somehow didn’t realize it was about a murderer but dkjfhkjshjkah whatever I’m keeping it. Let’s just go with this is a song about being fucked up (in whatever sense u wanna take that as) and it’s not happy? But like the first one, it’s upbeat and positive. I think the happy sound hiding the less pretty truth is something that explains Tim a lot. Also its a bop and he might sing along to it

Fave Lyric: “Everything I do / The way I wear my noose / Like a necklace / I wanna make ‘em scared / Like I could be anywhere / Like I’m reckless”

Migraine by Twenty One Pilots

Just Another Song About Tim’s Abysmal Mental Health

Fave Lyric: “Behind my eyelids are islands of violence / My mind ship-wrecked / This is the only land my mind could find / I did not know it was such a violent island / Full of tidal waves, suicidal crazed lions / They’re trying to eat me, blood running down their chin / And I know that I can fight or I can let the lion win / I begin to assemble what weapons I can find / 'Cause sometimes to stay alive you gotta kill your mind”

Fake Love by Drake

I hate Drake but kjdsfkjdsfhajh this goes back to a few things. His celebrity and how he’s seen/treated differently by others because of it, his low self view and the paranoia that people aren’t really there for him no matter what the truth might be, how he sees things others wouldn’t, his relationships with people like Damian and Bruce. I think he’s more forgiving than this song would imply, so maybe this is also for that AU Tim I mentioned above???

Fave Lyric: “I’ve been down so long it look like up to me / They look up to me / I got fake people showin’ fake love to me / Straight up to my face, straight up to my face”

Six Feet Under by Billie Eilish

TIMKON TIMKON TIMKON. Post Kon’s death TimKon and Tim is grieving and trying to forget bc it’s so painful!!!!!!

Fave Lyric: “Our love is six feet under / I can’t help but wonder / If our grave was watered by the rain / Would roses bloom? / Could roses bloom / Again?”

Flaws by Bastille

Idek, I feel like this could be how he could view his relationship with Steph, Cass, Damian, Bart, Dick??? Anyone? Just feeling like he hides his flaws and how he feels, and they don’t really (or at least, he thinks they don’t), and he likes that.

Fave Lyric: “There’s a hole in my soul / I can’t fill it, I can’t fill it / There’s a hole in my soul / Can you fill it? Can you fill it?”

do re mi by blackbear

I’m mostly joking when I say this but this is how he feels about Ra’s al Ghul. It doesn’t fit exactly, bc Tim and Ra’s were NOT together ever at any point, but this song is about being annoyed by someone you have a history with and wishing you’d never known them. Which is how I feel Tim should feel about Ra’s. lol

Fave Lyric: “If I could go back to that day we met / I probably would’ve stayed in bed / You wake up everyday and make me feel like I’m incompetent”

Bored by Billie Eilish

I really think this is Tim talking to his parents. Like, when he’s a kid, or when he’s older and looking back, he’s thinking “I did everything I could, it wasn’t enough, and I know it’s not fair but I can’t do anything about it.” I think this song is supposed to be romantic but I’ve never heard it that way skdjfkjsdhakjh I just always think about Tim, home alone and thinking about his parents.

Fave Lyric: “I’m not afraid anymore / What makes you sure you’re all I need? / Forget about it / When you walk out the door and leave me torn / You’re teaching me to live without it / Bored, I’m so bored, I’m so bored, so bored”

Rose-Colored Boy by Paramore

This one is like… everyone else seems to have an easier time being optimistic and positive than Tim does, in his mind. Idk I don’t have much to say kdsjfhsdjkah

Fave Lyric: “Hearts are breaking, wars are raging on / And I have taken my glasses off / You got me nervous / I’m right at the end of my rope / A half-empty girl / Don’t make me laugh, I’ll choke”

King of the Clouds by Panic! At The Disco

This is mostly because it’s a bop and Tim would like it. But also…this is a song about dimensional travel (apparently) and having ambitions that seem lofty, both of which I think Tim can definitely understand!! 

Fave Lyric: “And when I fall to rise with stardust in my eyes / In the backbone of night, I’m combustible / Dust in the fire when I can’t sleep a wink, I’m too tired / This old world, this old world”

[imaginesforthosewhoseekthem]

Hey, I just saw the post and I wanted to ask for a headcancon of the Sally Face crew with a diabetic S/O. (Larry, Sally, Ashley and maybe some Travis?)

((So this one is kind of personal to me because my grandfather is diabetic. I didn’t want to ask him about it because I felt it would be a little disrespectful asking him about it for the sake of a tumblr post. Most of my information is coming from “Madeyewlook”, who is diabetic, but also from some websites. I’m sorry if I don’t get it 100% accurate, but keep in mind, I am not a doctor and I don’t know EXACTLY the type of diabetic to go for here. I’m really just going to the basics.))

Sally Face:

Sal knows the importance of taking your medicine, obviously, he has some too.

He’s often worried if you forget to take your insulin, even when that is NEVER an issue.

Of course because kids are cruel, they think JUST because you and Sal both have medical conditions, that’s why you two are together. This is when Ash and Larry beat the shit out of them after you two leave.

ALSO cus kids are cruel, you tend to be given a lot of crap for your condition, but it’s something Sal can comfort you about given people treated him terribly due to his prosthetic.

If you accidentally use too much insulin and suffer the side effects, Sal makes sure to look after you til you get better. He won’t RANT to you to keep track better in future, but he will mention during and after. 

He’s had to have treatment most of his life and as much as he doesn’t want to suffocate you about yours, he really cares about you and wants to make sure you look after yourself.

Larry:

He’s really damn supportive, look how well he treated Sal. He tries to learn as much as possible about it to make sure he can help in any way possible. Also helps you sneak your pens into concerts ((because I’ve heard some people get them confiscated and some people think its drugs…people are dicks))

Always makes sure that you eat right and that you take insulin. Unlike Sal he bothers you NON. STOP. til you do, he just REALLY wants to make sure. 

Also thinks you’re super tough seeing you draw blood everyday just to check it. He’s all like “Whoa! As much as I love creepy shit, I could NEVER do that like you, babe.”

If the most IGNORANT of people come up to you bein like “You’ll die if you eat sugar!” or “I thought overweight people get diabetes!”. Their asses are getting BEAT! Larry deadass is just like “Babe, hold my backpack.” and goes HAM on them. Beats their asses IN for that shit.

He gets in trouble, obviously. Lisa isn’t THAT mad because her Lar-Bear was defending someone he cares about, but still gets him to apologize. He fakes it…of course. He doesn’t regret a damn thing. 

Rest assured no one DARES assumes shit they don’t know about your condition seeing the way Larry beat that last guys face in.

Ashley:

When you told her, it didn’t effect her. She DID ask questions, but that was so she knew how to be the MOST respectful about it.

She’ll ALSO kick ass if someone is a dick about your condition, but Larry often beats her to it because he’s YOUR friend too. They both play pranks on the jerkface to get back at them even if you ask her not to.

If you’re both girls, she takes you to the bathroom to take your insulin so you two can have some time to yourselves. If you’re one of the boys, she takes the WHOLE GANG outside the cafeteria to just escape all the chatter. Like I said, kids can be cruel and they’d rather spend time away from them starring. If you go by another gander, it’s pretty much one or the other. There’s only so many places in the school you guys can do during lunch.

If you suffer side effects of too much, with Ashley, it’s more of case of “I told you that was too much.” and just LEAVES it at that while she takes care of you.

She always packs spare pens in case you forget yours. Also has one of those little book to keep track of when you’ve taken it. She wants to make sure you’re keeping to a schedule about this.

Once you pricked your finger to test your blood sugar, she carried these cute little band-aids to put on your finger after you wash your hands so you guys can resume eating without any residue getting in there. She really just MOTHERS you to heck and back about it.

Travis:

Similar to before he’s better with Sally Face, he’s kind of a jerk to you about it. However, like with Sal, he feels pretty bad about it afterwards.

He writes a similar letter to you to apologize and slips it in your locker. Still getting over how stupid he must be for not just saying it in person.

Assuming the thing with Sally Face has already happened, he even asks Sal to help make it up to you in some way. If you’re reluctant to see Travis because he REALLY struck a nerve, Sal will convince you eventually to hear him out.

With whatever he makes you, be it food, a card or just something to apologize, you can really see the heart and care he put in it and he’s eventually forgiven.

Kinda like Larry, gets HELLA protective to pricks that make stupid assumptions and gives ‘em a SOCK in the face for it. Sally Face tries stopping Travis while Larry is in the back yelling “KICK HIS ASS!”

He pays CLOSE attention to your medicine and schedule and sometimes surprises you when he reminds you to take it because he memorized your schedule. He’s learning because he cares. Vise-versa when you help him look after his eye. 

[smellycinnamonthundahfudge]

5 gifts peter got for mj and 1 she gave him

im still alive bishes haha. am i really just choosing to participate in a different prompt that i barely have anything planned out for instead of finishing the one i was late in following up on? yes i am. prep urselves for some gift giving spideychelle to develop their relationship pre-ffh hehe

after hoco and peter starts to gain a work spidey life balance, he finally starts to notice that mj apparently... cares... about... him???

it wasn't obvious at first, hidden under a layer of deadpan sarcasm and witty comebacks, but the interest seemed to be there

which was why every time peter would miss a meeting, he'd actually feel bad this time because he really did want to be there this time

he'd feel terrible every time mj would ask him where he was, why he didn't show up. she was hoping he'd show and he let her down.

the first couple of times it happens, mj's understanding enough.

but it happens a couple of times too often and back to back and something snaps

you see, peter and mj have developed a bit of a rapport over the couple of months after hoco.

peter finds out mj likes coffee and tea, she read a stephen king book one time, he noticed, and they talked basically all week about king (and some of the issues surrounding him, his work, and their adaptations ofc)

soon enough their talks extend beyond school and they start meeting up in the library, at their places, at coffee shops, pizza places, an arcade one time where mj managed to beat peter at air hockey. her lil energetic whoop and almost doing a victory dance (before realizing she was in public) was worth losing for.

but admittedly, peter was just a tinge bit stressed and overextended and he unfortunately let his time with mj fall by the wayside.

he'd accidentally left her at seen for days after he completely forgot she sent him a message. she called, he answered, a robber was currently running away from some cops, he hung up on her...

suffice it to say, peter became a bit of a bad friend and he completely understood why mj reverted back to their previous relationship, he did it first

which was why peter decided enough was enough

mj has been a great friend to him, a true one, and an underappreciated one at that

which was why he decided he'd spend as much time, effort, and thoughtful gestures necessary trying to make it up to her

problem was, they were currently on clipped one word reply speaking terms right now. mj barely looked at him, she went back to sitting all the way to the other side of the farthest table during lunch again...

he needed a way in

so he went back to basics, the next day, he knew mj had a 7 am class so peter went to school at 7 am too, just to give mj some much needed caffeine

trouble was, was that mj was running late and when he gave the coffee, she left just as quick as she came

she said a quick "thanks, parker" and swoosh she sprinted to class

and peter was left there with 3 hours to spare til his next class. oh well, at least the effort made her do that quick lil toothy smirk

his efforts would work eventually won't it?

but if an omniscient narrator were watching him for the following days, they probably would have said no, no they wouldn't

one of those days, peter brought a thermos of tea only to find that mj had brought her own

"great, i thought the point of these gifts were to make things less awkward between us" peter thought to himself as he winds up walking away in slight shame from the awkward interaction

he winds up sharing the thermos with ned instead, who promptly responded "wow i get your secondhand gifts, you sure know how to make a guy feel special, peter"

"shut up, ned, do you want some or not?"

"no, come on, give it to me. free drinks are free drinks even if it's essentially just warm leaf juice. besides, i heard this helps with a sore throat."

"well, at least someone's happy with my gift"

they clink their cups together and peter begins brainstorming his next probably bound to fail gift idea

as he was walking home from school that day, and saw mj heading to the library, said idea lights up in his head in the form of bookmarks

those were cute right? and mj would probably use em all the time cus she reads so much and she reads multiple books at a time, so she'd probably use multiple bookmarks as well, right?

bookmarks it was, peter decided

he thought he'd print a bunch of personalized ones. ones that were photos of them, had quotes from significant historical female figures, and of course science puns

he knew mj didn't appreciate them as much as he did, but a part of him thought she'd like them nevertheless and would think of him when she'd use them

peter knew this gift giving crusade would be... heavy on his wallet, but as he stared at the price for laminating a couple of personalized bookmarks. he concluded lamination was a scam and believed mj would be careful enough with her books, and consequently, her bookmarks, to not need some flimsy piece of plastic to protect it

so peter opted for some folders and cardboard to make said bookmarks instead

it's only later after he got tossed into a sewer by a dude in a mechanized rhinoceros suit that he learned a valuable lesson: always laminate bookmarks

ok he was kidding (lamination was still a scam and bad for the environment and you couldnt write on the things after you laminate em)

but really tho, he did learn something. he realized he hasn't had the best of luck keeping his gifts intact in time to give said gifts to mj

so he decided to employ reinforcements

once peter's saved enough money to buy his next gift (a sketch notebook that he saw at a cutesy old crafts store), he decides that he should take ned with him when he buys it and that ned should just give it to mj instead

(better safe than sorry)

but peter still wanted mj to know the gift was from him tho, so he decided to write a letter and insert it within the notebook.

so he writes, or more like incoherently rambles and apologizes really

but peter thinks he got to the crux of the importance their relationship had to him and really, he just wanted to make things up to mj

that's what mattered

here's the thing tho, halfway thru writing said letter, he realized that having ned give it to her was kind of a cop out.

not to mention, not giving it personally but writing this long ass sort of confessional letter?

pfftt peter liked to think he was better than that

talk about sending mixed messages

so peter decided that he would still have ned keep the notebook and the letter, right up until the point that he was going to give the gifts to her.

and finally, peter parker, in this whole gift giving crusade, is finally given a fucking break.

at lunch time, the three of them are now all sitting at the same table

(peter and mj's relationship have mostly improved in the time it took him trying to give all those gifts, but he still felt guilty and he still wanted to show his appreciation for her)

ned "slyly" (mj saw it, how sly could he have been?) passes peter the notebook under the table

and peter braces himself

"i can do this" he repeatedly quietly mutters to himself until he finally approaches

"hey, mj"

"greetings, parker" casually replies mj without so much as looking up from her book

"i uh... got you something"

"is it something ned gave you?"

"what?"

"cause if it is, he can give it to me himself, you know" says mj in a semi shout to ned as well (ned looks at peter with a facial expression that said dude wtff?? how did i get in the middle of this???)

"what? no no no this isn't from ned. i bought you this."

"so why did ned have it?" says mj in her cool suave investigator mj interrogatory tone

"well..."

peter had officially maybe five? six? seconds to decide whether to share his embarrassing tales of failed gift giving woes to mj or to make up something on the spot

screw it, embarrassing failed gifts it was instead. truth shall set you free and all that, right? plus maybe it'd help him practice for when he tells her his biggest secret

peter sighs in defeat and tells mj in an almost quiet mumble "all my other gifts were destroyed when i kept them so i decided to have ned keep them instead"

"i'm sorry what?"

"it's just that the last time i tried to get you a gift, it just wound up getting ruined so i thought i'd just have ned hold onto it until it was time to give it to you."

peter can barely look mj in the eyes, the cafeteria just seems so interesting all of a sudden.

"oh"

that made peter look back at mj cus she seemed... shocked?

mj is.... shocked????

"soo... you bought that... for me?"

and god forsake peter parker because mj just gave him the cutest shyest little happy smile that he never knew she was capable of having.

"yeah yeah i did" and peter finally gets to give mj his gift/s (im counting the letter as the 5th gift cus im lazy af hahaha) and all the other trials and errors and failed gift attempts completely made the end result worth it

until ofc mj opens the damn thing and finds said letter that peter had completely forgotten at the moment was there

"what's this??" mj asks in an overly sarcastic teasing tone that kinda makes peter want to die

as mj opens the letter right there during lunch in the school cafeteria, peter suddenly lunges to block said letter's contents from mj's sight

"petet what the hell are you doing?" asks mj with the sweetest laughter that peter would totally googoo eyes about at any other moment had he not been focused on trying (and obviously failing) to keep his dignity intact

"uhhh can i ask that you just read that some other time, mj? and uh not right here, right now, in the cafeteria? it's just really embarrassing" peter shyly requests of mj, scratching his neck and looking at everything in the cafeteria but her

to that, mj simply has a sympathetic look on her face in reply

"sure, peter" says mj with a reassuring smile

and with that, peter breathes a big sigh of relief and finally lets go of his feelings letter for mj

mj closes the notebook up, keeping the letter safe inside it in the process, and secures the notebook safe inside her bag inmediately

suffice it to say, for mj, that notebook is precious cargo and she shall treasure it as much as she is capable of treasuring something

because peter parker felt guilty over not getting to spend time with her as much as they did and kind of pushing her to the sidelines and so it was just a genuine thoughtful gesture that showed peter valued their friendship/relationship as much as she valued it

PRECIOUS. CARGO.

but speaking of said cargo...

"hey peter"

"yeah?"

peter had gone back to his seat right next to ned

"sooo what was the other gift you tried to give me?" asks mj, getting back to their playful teasing banter ways

mj's question sends peter facepalming himself with the table

"don't think i've forgotten about that, i'm probably not going to stop investigating til i find out so might as well just spill the truth, parker"

peter stops his repetitive headbanging onto the table and sighs

"fine, mj"

and peter goes on to explain his bookmarks idea beginning all the way from the thermos incident

the three of them spend the rest of their lunch looking at the photos peter was going to use for the bookmarks, fondly recalling memories upon looking back at the some of the photos and laughing at all the corny science puns peter had planned on using as well

things were finally back to normal, if not better than ever.

time for some cliche corny af happy end quote ending about how their friendship and the memories they shared together was the real gifts they had buuuttt i did mention mj would be giving peter a gift didnt i? soooo mj pov epiloooggguuueeeee

here's the thing, mj had an inkling peter parker was trying to attempt something

he was at school at the same time as her crack of dawn class and gave her some much needed caffeine

he tried to share his thermos of tea with her

it seemed like peter was trying to make amends and it really was sweet and thoughtful so ofc lil by lil she began to soften back

but as mj was printing the bookmarks peter had planned to give her

mj requisitioned the idea for herself since they actually were good ideas if she's being honest

tho she would never tell peter that, ESPECIALLY the science puns one

she'd reserve those for only when she's at home, the least likely place peter could ever see her use that

ok so back to- as mj was printing said bookmarks, she began to appreciate peter's thoughtfulness

and it is totally not because of any feelings said gifts and gift attempts gave her

but right now, as she had finished printing bookmarks and got nostalgic and reread the letter of peter confessing to her how much their relationship meant to him again, she suddenly had the unscratchable itch of needing to sketch peter

and a balancing of the scales gift idea was born

because you see, rn, peter had the upper hand in terms of the morality of their friendship and mj couldnt have that nooo

mj was sketching a screen cap of a video she took of the class while they were waiting for a professor and peter gave her that impossibly adorkable smile

because she HAD TO

she couldnt let peter hog all the gift giving glory

she didnt do it because of feelings or whatever ppfftt

this was just to balance the scales, mkayyyy???

or at least that's what mj told herself once she's finished her sketch and proceeded to look for all her old ones of peter

just to even things out

and that's exactly what mj told him as she shoved said sketches that were currently inside a plastic envelope onto peter's hands

(1. less likely for them to be ruined that way. 2. she was not going to have those sketches out in the open for everyone to plainly see wtf)

"this is just to make things even between us, no need to make a big deal about it"

peter was in awe for a while, his jaw slightly dropped, but he smiles in adoration of the girl of his dreams and gives a genuine "thank you, mj"

"you're welcome, peter."

mj even smiles a little before the bell rings and she hightails out of there

mj lightly sprints away, still slightly in shock and unsure of what she just did and what just happened

while peter is left looking at mj's direction fondly and looking back at her gift for him

and as he peeked inside the envelope to see its contents and saw all those sketches of him

peter felt like he truly didn't deserve someone like mj

and he felt like all the gifts in the world he could think of and muster up wouldn't be able to make up for that fact

holy fucking shit i cant believe i actually finished one of these things again. it's like pulling fucking fingernails and teeth at the same time, i tell you

but honestly i'm just really really happy i finished it and it's so pure and fluffy imo and nothing im just. i love these two sm.

this fic was supposed to be for 5+1 things day but since they're also a bunch of headcanons i like to think i'm just posting these in advance for headcanons day tomorrow hahahaha

IM BACK ON THE SPIDEYCHELLE MONTH TRAIN BABY TOOT TOOT TOOOTTTT

and i have a couple of fics left in me so whew keep a lookout for those if they decide to come hahaha

all hail spideychelle everybody. i'll be back i dunno haha