#but its been. so long. and i have sooooo many bad memories from then

[doyouknowthischaracter]

RANDOM ASKS GRAB BAG

Putting a bunch of answered asks in one post so I don't spam your dashes too much. Under the cut because it's a very long post. If your ask isn't here, don't worry! The ask box is far from empty, and I'm sorta trying to group them by topic. Enjoy?

Anonymous asked: you mentioned in another ask that there were a few things you were probably going to check out from doing these polls and I was just curious which ones those are, if you don't mind sharing fjdjsj

I don't mind sharing! I had to go through the archive to remember which ones I wanted to check out, but a few of them would be The Walten Files, Red vs. Blue, The Murderbot Diaries, I Am In Eskew, and The Mistholme Museum of Mystery, Morbidity, and Mortality. Many of the characters posted here look interesting, but I'm such a slow watcher/player/reader/etc. that it'd take me decades to go through everything lol

Anonymous asked: Have you considered doing like uhhh idk how to explain properly, but statistics/data from loads of polls in a summary every so often? I've seen some poll blogs do a most known/least known type bar graph every so often. And I would be super interested in seeing this sort of thing for this blog!! It's fair enough if not though, obviously this would create a lot of extra work for you. Anyway, thanks for running this blog :-) Anonymous asked: I just asked a question about seeing the data statistics/ bar graphs - please ignore it! Just reread your pinned and realised I'd missed that bit :'). BUT, last point remains, thank you for running this blog and putting up with repetitive anons I bet aksjskdjsk

I haven't put the data in a graph yet, but if I figure out how to organize that in a way that's both comprehensible and actually tells us something new, I'll give it a try for sure. Until then, we do have the spreadsheet. And no worries, I'm glad you're enjoying the blog! :)

Anonymous asked: *sees a poll blog* "I must answer each and every poll I can"

Godspeed on your journey and remember to stay hydrated! 🫡

Anonymous asked: this is my favorite blog! Every morning I wake up and check the polls like they're the paper, just to say "I don't know them" Truely a humbling experience!

Happy to be your neighborhood paperboy!

@iceice-baeby asked: Are olyou fearing the day someone submits Solid Snake from MGS and you will choose the wrong picture Because everyone always seems to choose the wrong picture

The only difficulty will be in not using this one:

Anonymous asked: Just scrolled back through your blog up to posts from Dec 3rd and I know why those polls are closed now but I cannot describe the genuine anguish I felt seeing Mr Orange and going NO I KNOW HIM - I KNOW HIM!!!! Anyway I found this blog like ten minutes ago and I love it

Don't worry, he's A-OK! 👍

(Also, thanks! I appreciate your dedication.)

Anonymous asked: scrolling through to catch up on the characters and knowing a whole three of them was so bizarre. im not supposed to press the yes i know them button, im supposed to do my sworn duty and vote no with unending confusion. the world has been flipped on its head 😵���💫

I bet the next 30 were characters you've never heard of, just for balance to be restored.

Anonymous asked: Whenever i misclick I feel sooooo bad like im sorry my dear friend for not recognizing you I apologize for my rudeness

No polls so far ended with only one vote difference between answers, so you don't have to feel too bad. For now. 👀

Anonymous asked: this is fun cause i’ve definitely submitted some characters but i’ve immediately forgotten who. so i’ll also be pleasantly surprised to see my beloveds on the blog.

A gift from you to you, courtesy of unreliable memory! Sweet!

Anonymous asked: Devastating. I keep missing the voting for the only characters I know.

You'll do it one day, I believe in you!!

@iceice-baeby asked: Would you consider writing in the tags if YOU know a character or not You have done it sometimes before, but I'd be curious if you do recognise some of those random niche as all hell blorbos Also I can't wait for my Blorbos turn. Because either He-and-she is gonna take most obscure place, OR I will actually find maybe more than two people, myself included, who know him-and-her and who I can ramble at for hours until they block me

Oh yeah, for sure. I didn't think anyone would be interested to know, but I can do that when I remember to!

Did your blorbo show up already?

Anonymous asked: I have been having the opposite problem of everyone else, apparently. I'll see a name and be like, "I don't know who that is". But then I see the picture and realize… Yes I do!

That's why I take the time to include fitting pictures, helps jog the memory!

Anonymous asked: I feel very superior every time I know a character most people don't

Hey, nobody likes a show-off. (<- Joking)

Anonymous asked: Wait, has Beetlejuice not been submitted?? I could've sworn I submitted the musical version! Anonymous asked: Oh wait no I didn't submit musical Beetlejuice to you, got you mixed up with @/every-character-ever-poll lol my bad

Indeed he hasn't been submitted yet, maybe next time!

@thetisming asked: sorry for saying something negative in the replies to a post someone was being a dick about jukebox musicals

No worries, but don't let it get to you. People are allowed to dislike your favorite things even without any good reason. It's a matter of taste, which is highly subjective. It's more constructive to focus your attention on people who do enjoy the same things as you!

@autism-criminal asked: What is your favorite color of the rainbow (red orange yellow green blue indigo purple) ?

Orange! 🍊 What's yours? :)

Anonymous asked: "data is not accurate" bro if ur going to a tumblr poll blog for accurate data you NEED to reassess some things asdfghjkl; anyway this blog is great thank you for running it it's a lot of fun and has resulted in some very funny interactions between me and my fiance. notably "what the fuck do you MEAN 6% of the sans undertale website doesn't know who sans undertale is" and "i'm sorry i simply don't believe that ANYONE doesn't know who DRACULA is"

Different people come here with different expectations, I suppose. Which is fine, I don't mind, but they're bound to be disappointed if they expect 100% accuracy all the time. But anyway! I'm happy to hear I can provide a new form of enrichment for you and your fiancé!

@sweetpollyolliver asked: So many manga and anime characters and I know like 1% of them 😭

I'm ngl, I'm not a big manga/anime connoisseur either, so I'm just as lost as you most of the time lol 🤝 (<- shaking hands in solidarity)

@cringelordofchaos asked: If I go insane one day I am going to try to make an English translation for Mesec Boje Purpura so everyone can know who veštica Noks is

I'm fully behind you! Keep us updated if you do.

Anonymous asked: I scroll through your blog. I don’t recognise any of these characters. ‘No,’ I click, ‘no,’ ‘no,’ ‘no.’ I am content in the darkness of the rock I live under. But, alas, all things must end. I continue my scroll, the glee of the irrelevant rampant in my veins. But what’s this? It can’t be… My shelter is cruelly ripped away and the brutal light of knowledge seeks me out like a bloodhound, it gives me no place to hide. ‘Yes,’ I sob, defeated, ‘Yes, I do know the jjba character.’

A modern-day Greek tragedy, truly 💔

Anonymous asked: was really surprised to vote and see that a character was 100% know them. then I noticed I got there early enough to be the only vote

For one shining, brilliant moment they were 100% known and surely that counts for something.

Anonymous asked: You should make up a character and make a poll for them and see how many people lie or misclick

Well....... I'm not going to comment on that. 🐰

Anonymous asked: I follow this blog and another blog that does smash or pass and occassionally I will come to one of your posts and examine the images to decide and then remember this blog's gimmick before trying to hit smash

Imagine voting smash there and then coming here to vote "I don't know them at all" on the same character. Brutal.

@ink7blot asked: *sees big naturals* I hate that. *reblogs*

A job well done, then 😌

[lucabyte]

HOWDY! *slams pile of papers on the desk* i have Inquiries. OKAY SO-

1.) i know the bridge between infurno and purrgatorio is Ali realizing they cant leave, so like, whats pawradisio???

2.) wtf happens ta Ali durin the 'age ???' section of their design timeline. what type cult stuff do they get involved w and how. its haunting me i needa know

3.) whats with the 3 year memory erasing thing in that one ali purrgatorio relationship chart. Really funny chart ive shared it w a few friends but also im staring intently at it like Huh What O_O

4.) what is mymk's final form? is it gonna be written, a comic, etc?

5.) got any music you associate w any mymk characters/ali? besides like, in canon reasons like Chrome more like any songs/artists/lyrics that remind u of anya em :0??

anyway yeah huge fan! also hope ur vacation's fun!

Hehe hi :)

1. We shall get there when we get there <3 my lips are sealed. Though I will say, there are further books by Dante one can animal-pun the titles of... Though they aren't part of the divine comedy..... (Alludes vaguely to plans that will inevitably take me years)

2. Okay so spoilers for Creature Feature, Ali's home setting (and @samhainian's thing) (because this is all a bit of an open secret) but Ali is, as I've alluded to previously, an Antagonist.

Creature Feature is a real world adjacent setting, set in our modern day, only with all manner of monsters and cryptids living secretly alongside humans. Ali lives in Wraithbrook, a hidden town populated primarily by monsters (albeit, most everyone still upholds a disguise, just in case). Being a (very) small town with an effectively captive population.... The post-high-school ennui tends to set in bad for people. Hope you enjoy the family businesses, kids.

So... This leaves the listless vulnerable. And boy is Ali a bit malleable. A trusted figure in their life takes advantage of this, part of an accellerationist group looking to break these confines, having singled them out as candidate for their most recent attempt to mold a magic user into a weapon to shatter the veil. And, well, if you've got a self-hating isolated guy who is predisposed to a bit of Catholicism already... Why not utilise the concept of the antichrist? They will be bringing a world together, in a way... And when you've been around as long as some immortal librarians have, doing a little bit of time dilation in the later stages of indoctrination isn't thaaaaat hard... Sooooo....

(But don't worry. They get better. Eventually. At least they look it. Everything is A-OK!!!)

(as for if purrgatorio is canon to this timeline....? Yes! But in a fucked up way! Can't make it too easy for the little guy....)

3. Okay so I was coy literally a sentence ago but yeah purrgatorio is set dead on like.. at the exact same time MYMK proper *should* start. Thus, it cannot exist at the same time as the main story... Ali's narrative powers keep them from being subsumed by the universe and just becoming a funny animal themselves.

But should a time come where Ali is *gone*, and the world is similar enough to the moments before they arrived? Well, the narrative can just pretend the time hasn't passed! Just, don't think too hard about your count of how many Halloweens and Christmasses you've had doesn't really line up....

(A normal person would simply name Purrgatorio noncanon, but hey, if Ali's whole thing is that they manipulate reality like a Narrative... Well. May as well use it! So once canon is over for both parties, things can start creeping back in. It's needlessly overcomplicated but I'm having fun)

4. Written with illustrations! An Online picture book, I suppose. I was initially damning myself to a comic, but after playing in the space with Purrgatorio, I realised I prefer prose. I'll probably write the thing in whole and then release it bit by bit as I work on the illustrations? I have a working outline as of right now and it's not a super long story lol. But its likely going to come after some practice with smaller projects like my reworking of Hazeclan and maybe Damonquest (name pending) (the latter featuring a cut main character of mymk lol)

So! ETA: a while. But we stay silly

5. OKAY.... so I can't link character playlists sadly since they don't exist (..... Yet.) and I'll stick primarily to our at present Purrgatorio cast.

I am like. Famously bad with identifying songs (<- usb stick full of songs on shuffle in the car as a kid) but I have been trying to put thought into this recently (my gold standard for this being my friend @teddymedley who's so good with character songs I did ask him for some vibe checks for this even)

So these are messy and some are like, inherited from earlier drafts of the characters so can be a bit off but I'll give a handful and their reasonings. (No links or embeds though I'm on mobile and Tumblr might eat my visibility if I do. I'll reply with some though)

[Ali Alighieri]

1. "Here comes the flood" by the Divine Comedy (self explanatory really, that animatic will exist someday I promise. This is THE big one to me, but @samhainian may have a different top spot opinion lol) Bonus: it has a demo version that also fucks supremely

2. "All the angels (demo)" by MCR. (Ali is not the MCR sibling, they're the P!ATD sibling. But I don't listen to panic lol)

3. "If you could save yourself you'd save us all" by Ween (peak "sorry what was that line just there?" song)

4. "In the meantime" by Spacehog (I like Spacehog. Everyone gets a spacehog song yaaay)

5. "Here comes the sun" cover by Ghost (not their style of music at ALL and you KNOW they're contrarian about the Beatles, but grim irony is such a vibe here)

[Chromium Mono]

1. "Manicure" by Lady Gaga (this is such a flippant "because I said so" choice lol)

2. "Let it grow" by Renaissance (this is such a nice cheesy song. I like to think of this as speaking to the actual nice loving guy chrome can be when he's not being a prickly bitch)

3. Kissing Ancaps by Patricia Taxxon (... GOD this song is way too cool or smart for chrome lol. It's a chrometab song to me because of the big words and cynicism. It's too modern and online for them but I'm attached to it... Also it contains a sample from let it grow)

4. "Run away with me" by Carly Rae Jepsen (more vibes based! Love some ms jepsen. But at least has a coherent theme wrt to eloping lol)

Bonus: oh god I really have to finish the voiceclaim video I was making. Premiere kept melting on me but I should probably let the world know chrome sounds like Donald Glover huh. The marshall lee to live action Simba pipeline.....

Bonus 2: @teddymedley suggested "Ratchet" by Bloc Party, with the phrasing "subject matter younger chrome sound older chrome" which I like!

[Tabitha Boss]

1. "Cable Rat King" by Gem Milsom (this one genuinely feels like a solid choice to me. It's polite and tentative and about depressive spirals, and is from the same album as the Number One Main Labyrinthine song, Pipes. That animatic will exist someday too I promise)

2. "This too shall pass" by OK GO (Preferably the brass band version. I think Tabitha would adore their videos, he'd be delighted by the moving parts and generally light tone. Also, Labyrinthine has a different "this too shall pass", being by Danny Schmidt)

3. "When will you die?" By TMBG (goofy song. But you get it.)

4. "Zeroes" by Spacehog (Spacehog again 👍)

Bonus: Jimmy buffet discography. He is living on island time baby

Bonus 2: @teddymedley assigned "Happy Hour" by Eels and I think the strange upbeat lethargic energy fits

[Lavender Wafeu]

Lavender is really funny because I honest to god don't think she listens to much music. This means I barely associate music with her apparently.

However @teddymedley did suggest "Black Rainbows" from Hawaii: Part 2, and I think that's better than any of my previous notes. Those previous notes being entirely the words "Little shop of horrors". She, Knives and Mafioso do also share an association with "Panda Hero" by Hachi but that's more visual to me?

I have however begun associating some Zelda OST tracks with her though... Hmmm....!

[Markus Felidae]

This poor bastard has shed and gained characterisation recently enough to have shook the MCR out of their system.... I don't have all that much for them.

Now. Hm. I think I'd have to go with some very on the nose musical tracks? My mind immediately goes to the opening track to Disney's Notre Dame, and maybe like, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer from Cats? These are such dreadful picks lol. Sorry buddy, characterisation overhaul syndrome. They probably also would listen to P!ATD same as Ali though so do with that what you will.

Bonus: in Markus' earliest iteration over 10 years ago..hrm. long story short, 121 guns is so fucking unfitting but it's lodged there forever lol

[Lupus Felidae]

Lupus is associated in my head with the kind of dub anime opening best codified by 4kids era Pokémon. Like the ideal song here is that one from Yugioh. "No matter what"? That kind of cheese and boyish power of friendship. "OK!!" From the JP endings of anipoke goes here too it's cute to me.

"I can go the distance" from Disney's Hercules is also up there for the same vibes. She's just silly and having fun!

Bonus: "Don't let's start" by TMBG is a Miao song to me, but in relation to her family. So it's also Lupus and Markus' by association.

[Ess Somil]

The idea of an ess playlist is hysterical to me. I feel like it's a Mother 3 battle theme in that man's head all the time. What's your time signature boy.

Anyway, "Numbers" by Neil Cicierega. Since it is overwhelming enough of a soundscape. Or just "Doctor Worm" by TMBG. For that they live in the soil.

.... And that's probably enough!!! This ask is very long now! Sorry it took a while to answer lmaooo. I've been very busy but it's been nice to chip away at during my downtime! Thank you so much for the questions :)

[madwickedawesome]

ty for the good omens infodumping its actually so interesting pls tell me more im invested

HGGHGHNGHGHHGJDFJDF ok so the general gist of the story is theres an angel (aziraphale)(MEEEEEE) and a demon (crowley) and they r both so repressed theyve been pining for literally 6000 years bc they will never just talk to each other. and in s1 they do their DAMNDEST to stop the apocalypse from happening (there was an accidental swap between the antichrist baby and some kid and it was a whole thing) and be queer on the side. so heaven is this like. sanitary corporate solitary confinement sorta terrible area . and aziraphale does NOT fit in bc the angels r just as huge of assholes as the demons. and hell is a Different very messy very dark corporate wasteland and crowley doesnt fit in here either!!!!! and basically at the end of s1 aziraphale and crowley (after successfully defying heaven & hell) create their Own side which is like the secret little third thing. AND THEY JUST MAKE ME SO INSANE and its sooooo queer and soooooooo autism and i am both of those things! upon explaining it to my friend he said "Christanity but based + old man yaoi" and i found it very accurate so

s2 is seemingly about one of the terrible angels (gabriel)(now jim!!) losing his memory and finding himself naked and amnesic outside aziraphales bookshop and aziraphale has to hide him from Everyone as in Both Heaven And Hell. and a SILLY GOOSE ANGEL named muriel comes to investigate but ends up getting adopted by azi as well!!!!!!!!!! and it looks like theres gonna be more pining but also there was a leak where [REDACTED][REDACTED][REDACTED] so im insanely excited tee hee hee .

also further note aziraphale was written after me fr i will never be able to fully explain how insane he makes me he is THE EPITOME OF MY BEING. he is obsessed with doing the Good Thing and being a Good Angel and he refuses to make many new changes to his life and listens to classical music and loves himself some art and has been deeply in love with his best friend for a very long time and wears suits and is the silliest and and and HE JUST MAKES ME SO CRAZY like he is so me. but thats just that u know how it is

another side note???????? this s2 promo makes me want to DIE I AM SO EXCITED FOR SEASON 2.

theres a theory that crowley is going to betray aziraphale but i SERIOUSLY doubt it (except it he does it will NOT be intentional) bc that guy is smitten i promise u . u just have to watch it i swearI CANT TELL WHY NIER IS TRENDING ON TWITTER.ok i have no idea. sorry that was a little side note bc im word vomiting this but also i am so excited for season 2 it has me using twitter. its bad. ok toodles ejhhejwhklerhkewljer WATCH GOOD OMENS

[boy-bug-ghoul]

Things in take me back to eden that make me go feral

so it's my first time listening to tmbte fully after putting it off bc i knew i would be so excited i wouldn't be able to regulate my emotions HDSKSHD

and my ttrpg discord server had to witness me have very very live thoughts and reviews about the album and vessel's voice and vessel's new mask (which i plan on making!)

so here's some of those under the cut!! (i might continue to edit this as i listen again and again)

(i hope this is how you make a cut this is my first post)

Chokehold:

I was listening to per aspera ad inferi by ghost and plugged my ears so that the music was like fully reverberating around my skull and it was. such a good experience.

my hands over my ears, like rattling my eardrums

i did that with chokehold. fucking incredible bro it was. insane. so good.

the light piano noises?? juxtaposed with the SUDDEN HARDNESS AND THEN THE VOCALS AND AHSKDJHFS

The Summoning:

i don't have much to say about the summoning /pos. it's a classic. i think the first song i listened to from sleep token.

I've been listening to it a little more recently. the whole thing is so good especially like the middle bit where it goes so hard and the guitar goes "bleep bloop" (i read from somewhere,, the blog name evades my memory), THEN transitions into the ethereal flowy bit before iii starts bassing the house down

OH AND MY LOVE, DID I MISTAKE YOU FOR A SIGN FROM GOD

i love listening to the drums in ST songs as well. this is one of those crispy delicious drum songs

Granite:

i sing this pretty angrily. "if you had a problem then you should have told me" etc etc yk?

after that part it's sooooo easy to vibe to because of that underlying melody, its so satisfying i listen to it over and over again

"abstract toxicity" ben says

has been in my on repeat playlist for a while now haha

Aqua Regia:

i'm such a nerd about aqua regia. the first verse goes hard. the second verse goes hard. it all goes hard without having to go musically hard.

BECAUSE THE LYRICISM IS SO GOOD. "between teeth on a broken jaw, following a blood trail, frothing at the maw" "putting down the roses, picking up the sword" "oxytocin running in the ether" JUST TO NAME A FEW

THE ENTIRE BRIDGE. THE ALARM BELLS LYRIC. yeah.

also on my on repeat

Vore:

it's like the "gods" of tmbte yk? (it's because he starts out screaming. and i love it.)

but after that like, "will we remain stuck in the throat of gods" onwards,, it has something to it that makes me want to cry.

"there is always something in the way, i wanna have you to myself for once" there's so much yearning

so good. i feel bad for ignoring vore for a while before tmbte came out bc it really is. so good

Ascensionism:

i like the "oh woahs" at the start of vessel rapping

"half of a rhythm, half deity, glitches in the cold or gaps in a strange dream" HIT ME IMMEDIATELY. I HAD TO PAUSE IT BECAUSE IT WENT SO HARD. because it is basically what vessel is. oh my

"make it real" he sounds so good singing this fml!!!

"lipstick, chemtrails" onwards is SO VIBEY like all the lyrics as well!! the blood references interest me!!

vessel whispering "diamonds in the trees, pentagrams in the night sky" gave me chills. in a gay way? yeah probably

I DO APPRECIATE HOW THE SONG IS 7 MINUTES!! LONG SONGS CHEF'S KISS

Are You Really Okay?:

i had many. many feelings about this one. it's still hard to put it into words right now

i said to my server, "im gonna start violently sobbing actually. bc its SO VERY CLEAR what it. hrgh"

it was a lot. cried, definitely. i bet it hits close to home for a lot of people.

also weird music moment i was like. noticing shdfkd i was like "damn they did this song in C major and I'm still crying" (or at least i think it's C major, it was so odd bc that's one of the brightest key signatures yk)

The Apparition:

gave me twinges of high water in emotion, but it's because i am projecting too heavily onto the first verse sdhfd

the instrumental after the first verse fucks.

the chorus as well!! the lyrics i keep talking about THE LYRICS on this one "let's make trouble in the dream world, hijack heaven with another memory"

i love the instrumental the whole time, again with that underlying melody

DYWTYLM:

THIS SONG MAKES ME SAD GO AWAY HDFSHDF

i read this descriptor on fake out by fall out boy, but i feel like this song is so "grit your teeth and smile"

"can you ever forgive yourself?" comes for my kneecaps.

"i cannot hope to give you what i cannot give myself" wrrrr shut up bro shut up D:

"smile back at me, please" SEE THIS SONG DOESNT GO TOO HARD MUSICALLY BUT THE LYRICS GO SOOOOOOO HARD

Rain:

the first song i listened to off the album! it is. not because it shares a title with a ghost member... i swear...

THE ENTIRE POST-CHORUS. "refracted in light, reflected in sound" really hit me the first time!!

i love how it gets INCREASINGLY HARDER

ben, to his discord server: "darling will you saturate?" 1. CALLBACK TO AQUA REGIA 2. saturate my [redacted] vessel

i listened to rain for an hour on repeat. it slaps so hard.

Take Me Back To Eden:

right off the bat, 8 MINUTES AND 20 SECONDS. AND ALL OF THEM ARE SO GOOD.

the first take me back to eden refrain when vessel does that high note. ascending.

i love the chorus so so much. i had so many feelings relating to the chorus. and the harmonies ohhhh my god.

"THE CHORUS KEY CHANGE MAKES ME LIKE SHAKE" "theres so many key changes im freaking out right now im going insane right now" "THE CHORUS IS SUNG 3 TIMES AND EVERY TIME ITS A DIFFERENT KEY IM GONNA LIKE CRY IM GONNA FUCKING CRY"

i had many feelings related to the key changes. the first time i experienced all three choruses i had to pause. hyperventilate for a bit.

"and i don't know what's got its teeth in me but I'm about to bite back in anger" very high water!!!! the mouth of infinity fr

WHEN I REALISED THAT NOT ONLY WAS THERE A LYRICAL CALLBACK TO CHOKEHOLD BUT THE INSTRUMENTAL AS WELL.

and the ending goes so hard i love it when vessel just starts screaming

clearly. my favourite. there's a lot of thoughts abt this.

Euclid:

the lyrics again. all so good. the night terrors. the yearning and reverence. this is my shit

the "call me when you get the chance" etc. initially i was like "this sounds so much like the night does not belong to god AND OH BOY! WAS I IN FOR A SURPRISE

"euclid is fucking insane,,, and they call back to their first ever ep AND their first ever lp and imlike hrgndnksfnrhsn" this was me before the ending right

when i heard "the whites of your eyes" my jaw dropped. i was overcome with emotion.

"THEY CALL BACK TO THE NIGHT DOES NOT BELONG TO GOD AND I ALMOST STARTED CRYING. THEIR FIRST ALBUM!!!!! oh god oh jesus"

every time i listen to it i feel like crying. I'm like gonna cry. it's so good. what a perfect ending.

good lord. what a trip this album was. thank you for reading i still have to recover from this hahahaha

[oracleofsecrets]

VIOLENCE AND BLOOD AND MAKING EVERYBODY MAD. 1, 19, and 25 >:)

SAE 0W-20. Oh oops. Wrote this in notes app so. Here, have my car’s motor oil flavor

Anyway I think I’ll do ace attorney bc that’s the one I’ve been Most aware of its fandom

1 — character everyone gets wrong

There are several,,, but the ones that peeve me the most are Maya and Franziska

Maya’s often flattened into memester burger queen comedic relief who dispenses Romantic advice to make nrmt happen. It’s such a waste when she’s got So much happening and is pretty damn smart

Similarly, Franziska is sidelined even More and is reduced to Angry Meanie and also a prop to encourage nrmt. I find that the average franziska portrayal is really one-note and is just like “Haha she says fool and whips people” which sucks bc again she has So much unexplored complexity in the games And in fandom that people wouldn’t hesitate to explore if she were a male character instead

And also these tend to combine into really boring franmaya just to make sunshine/grump happen. Or again, they’re off to the side or used only as a vehicle for nrmt development.

Or like… I’ve seen ppl think Maya was head over heels for Franziska from Day One like. No??? Wtf? I think Maya had More Important Things on her mind than like. “Ooh that person prosecuting me is kinda hot👀”

I can’t even elaborate Too much bc I’d be here all day but. Also criminally misportrayed is Phoenix. He is not uwu sunshine bleeding heart heart on his sleeve. And neither is Ryuunosuke.

Ok one more salt. Temenos OctopathTraveler2 wasn’t Madly In Love with Crick. Also he is Not as horny/flirty as many are portraying him as…. He outright said staves don’t need sheaths smh my head

19 — smth I’m mad/ashamed I actually kinda like

My lawyer says I don’t have to answer this question

(jk)

Idk if Shame/anger is the word for it. But I want to study kristoph under a microscope and also purposefully zoom in too far so that he gets crushed when the long magnifier breaks the slide glass

It’s more like… I don’t want to be associated w people who like genuinely think he was just misunderstood 🥺 uwuuu he was in WUV, he had a bad childhood. or the opposite, with ppl who go a lot darker in their interpretation bc that’s just not smth I want to think about

Cuz like. Obviously this guy fucking sucks and I hate him but also he’s sooooo pathetic that it’s funny

And also I think it’s interesting to think about like, what being friends (or “friends”) with someone like that for Seven Years does to Phoenix. Bc I lov putting that man through the wringer ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

25 — common fandom complaint sick of hearing

Any apologism and vehement defense of shitty male characters lol

Godot’s shitty condescending misogynistic remark at franziska wasn’t a mistranslation. He calls her a shrew/unruly woman, basically says “that’s enough princess, it’s adult time” (notably using “-Chan”, where Phoenix calls her Von Karma Kenji [“prosecutor von karma”]). This line was translated to “But you can go now, princess. It's time for the big boys to take the reins.” So like…. Where’s the misinterpretation 🤨

And also he says “I don’t like talkative women”. There might be more nuance there that google translate can’t capture but like. That’s Still a sexist thing to say.

Just admit ur horny for godot and don’t care about women

Mvk doesn’t have lead poisoning; he’s an emotionally abusive parent and shitty person. Like u don’t even have to squint at the games to come to that conclusion. Kin memories and brainless analysis won’t disprove that. Sometimes abusers can even do nice things or genuinely love someone, but that doesn’t mean they’re not abusive

Barok van Zieks doesn’t have a Redemption arc from his Constant Indefensible Racism. You clowns are just horny and have bad taste.

[morningtomes]

*:･ﾟ✧ oce’s really out here makin’ me wanna remake my dark pit for the 84y578785th time

[peach-astrology]

Mercury in the houses

Mercury in the 1st house:

1)Active and flexible in communication and has a cheerful disposition.He is happy to make acquaintances,maintains business and personal connections,easily finds topics for conversation and knows how to joke.

2)I noticed that such people are well versed in the routes of roads and buses.They're good drivers.

3)Bad aspects indicate a gossip and an overly curious person.He is fussy,fickle and hard to concentrate.He talks a lot and does little.They can mess with anyone's brains.

4)The good aspects are indicative of the consistency in the judgments of man.He is very smart,he has a broad outlook,he is an interesting conversationalist.He has many friends who will help him in difficult situations.It is easy for them to express their thoughts both verbally and in writing.

5)Such people are real travel seekers.They have a lot of weird or funny stories.They aren’t boring,but also unsafe.They look younger than their years even without makeup.

Mercury in the 2nd house:

1)Your intelligence is your money.You are eager to learn something new to increase your income.

2)A good position for professions related to constant communication.Such a person knows how to make deals,he knows where it is more profitable and can distinguish a hardworking employee from a lazy one.

3)They are very hard to deceive.Advertising won't make them buy something.They look for practicality and quality in everything.Always carefully study the composition of the product and the reputation of the brand.

4)Bad aspects indicate that it is difficult for a person to choose high-quality products.They may accidentally take expired milk.They have a hard time controlling their spending and want to buy everything.

5)Good aspects point to a person who can wear one thing for years.They have neat shoes.They know the price of each item and appreciate gifts very much.May indicate the needlework.

Mercury in the 3rd house:

1)Mercury is very comfortable here,so a person with this position is very smart,sociable.This is a very good position for scientists,managers and teachers.They like to develop their thinking.They can quickly collect puzzles and solve riddles.

2)This person is very convincing.He is listened to when he expresses his opinion.He is respectful in communication,but can often interrupt the interlocutor and apologize for it lol.

3)He has a good relationship with his siblings.Even if they live separately,they often call or text.Their brothers and sisters could be very interesting or too active.

4)Good aspects indicate the ability to win over.Such people are easy to meet,they have interesting and fun friends(they could have met at school or university).Such a child could start talking earlier,or from the very childhood he talked better than other children.

5)Bad aspects point to a memory problem.They can talk too fast.They have a troubled relationship with relatives.They don't know how to allocate their time.

Mercury in the 4th house:

1)He was able often to visit relatives.His parents instilled a love of reading and learning from childhood.He learned a lot at home.Can be trained independently.

2)He likes to invite guests.This is the same person who was quarantined comfortably.He set up his house in his office and quietly studied,worked or quietly watched series:)

3)Good location for real estate.They can profitably buy a good house,thanks to their friends and acquaintances.A person can work as a realtor.Sometimes I see this situation in people who live with their friends.They like multifunctional furniture,may stick to minimalism in terms of furniture,but they like large rooms.

4)Negative aspects indicate ignorance in your own home.They have frequent disorder, problems with accounts and money.It's hard for them to concentrate on everyday things.

5)The good aspects point to a person who will always help.They are very friendly,respectful even at work and always cooperate.

Mercury in the 5th house:

1)They have a sooooo good sense of humor.They have a pleasant voice that attracts attention.Their sociability is fickle,at some point they are super sociable,and at some point they sit at home and don't talk to anyone.

2)They are very inspiring.If you feel bad and insecure,write to them.They have developed a sense of empathy.

3)Their child will be very curious.It should instill a love of creativity.They will be good parents,because they know how to communicate with children.Perhaps their child will be Gemini or Virgo.

4)The good aspects are indicative of the talent in logical games.They can play chess well, collect a small puzzle,or play monopoly.They love to win and their brain calculates every step to win.

5)Bad aspects can indicate arrogance in a conversation.A person is smart,but tends to underestimate the merits of other people.He becomes too much of a gamble.

Mercury in the 6th house:

1)Very curious in terms of little things.Everywhere he tries to find the reason.His thoughts are logically connected to each other.If you deceive him,it will not end well.

2)A person loves to develop in his profession or hobby.He looks for courses,goes to master classes and reads books.They may not consider themselves professionals,even if they have a lot of experience.

3)Most likely,he is fond of needlework.In any case,he is very neat,if he is taught,he can sew dresses,knit with needles,etc.He treats teachers with respect.

4)Bad aspects can indicate a person's fussiness and nervousness.He is always dissatisfied with his work,too strict with himself and too closely monitors his health and can invent a disease for himself.

5)Good aspects enhance a person's logic.He is better at math.It easily works with information and finds the essence.It is suitable for step-by-step training.May indicate a good memory.

Mercury in the 7th house:

1)Oooh,these people need a lot of relationship talk.They will not throw a tantrum,if they don’t like something,they will calmly tell you this(but you need to look at the sign).

2)They don’t care about the age of the interlocutor.They may have different environments by age.Good organizational skills.He has a lot of ideas and wants to hear everyone's opinion.

3)Negative aspects indicate a problem in the relationship.The person is too critical of the partner.It's like he's speaking a different language to him.It may indicate a divorce.

4)Good aspects indicate the ability to work in a team.The person is very friendly and eager to cooperate,so he has a good reputation and quietly rises up the career ladder.Excellent position for lawyers,salesmen and managers.

5)I find this situation in people whose partners have been introduced by friends;)

Mercury in the 8th house:

1)He's good at keeping secrets.Likes riddles and theories.May be interested in astrology,by the way.He often change the circle of friends.

2)They don't forget their grievances.It is necessary to listen to the inner voice and not give free rein to sarcasm.Often such people are interested in economics,politics and business.

3)Good aspects indicate an internal balance.A person can control their thoughts and feelings.He is able to motivate and support himself.

4)Bad aspects indicate distrust.A person could have an unpleasant experience in communication,so he doesn’t trust even close people.He is afraid of transactions and documents and doesn’t want to spend his money.

5)He seems to feel the mood and thoughts of the interlocutor.He can find information where no one can find it.

Mercury in the 9th house:

1)Such a person will definitely get a good higher education.He is inquisitive,quickly learns information,but can remember for a long time.

2)Any profession suits him.Their thinking is very versatile.This position is often found in the natal charts of writers and poets.

3)Bad aspects indicate a problem with learning.The person is still smart,but he has a problem with self-organization and he always doesn’t have enough time,because of which his health can suffer.

4)Good aspects indicate career advancement through a good education.They may have several degrees or develop and study abroad.They should learn a foreign language for their self-development.

5)He's a very interesting conversationalist.If you talk to him on philosophical topics,you can forget about time.They respect your opinion and listen to you carefully,even during an argument.

Mercury in the 10th house:

1)Simply put,a person can build a good career if they constantly meet and communicate.He needs to develop communication skills.

2)His opinion is highly respected at work,in the family and in friendship.They have authority and demand to be respected(in a good way).They have a good upbringing.

3)Good aspects help a person gain experience and build a good team around the person.That is, they create a favorable environment for its work.Thanks to this, a person can earn more.

4)Bad aspects point to a problem with superiors.They are underestimated by their teachers,their boss is too strict and overbearing,and the person is too self-willed.

5)Your father was on the road most of the time,leaving the house and returning after a while.Either he had a sooooo interesting youth.

Mercury in the 11th house:

1)Huge creative energy that can develop in a good friendly team.A person should find like-minded people for inspiration.

2)Another position indicates an interest in astrology,but the person is suitable from a more logical and practical point of view.Well versed in technology.

3)He understands the interests and needs of different segments of the population and feels the need to help everyone,regardless of their social status,age,nationality and religion.

4)Bad aspects indicate problems with concentration.The person is very absent-minded,he doesn’t know his goals and doesn’t know where to develop.

5)Good aspects indicates a well-developed empathy.A person chooses good people around him.He is kind even to his detractors,which is why they are few.

Mercury in the 12th house:

1)Constant worries,turmoil and stress often lead to serious illnesses.To come back to a state of mental balance,you need to be alone.Silence and solitude in this case are the best medicines.

2)I noticed that they have very developed visual memory.They are easier to remember pictures,people's appearance and events than numbers and names.

3)These people keep a lot of their own and other people's secrets that they will not tell anyone.It is difficult for them to express their opinion,because it isn’t constant and a person can’t formulate it.They need silence to study.

4)Bad aspects indicate shyness in communication and a desire to discuss someone else's life.

5)The good aspects indicate good powers of observation.They see and know how magic tricks are created.They are good at fantasizing and can write fantastic books or novels.

[sapphicwhxre]

tiny pansy rant, cut short so it’s *hopefully* not too long:

i. wanted. to. see. her. change! and in my opinion the reason she never got the chance was because jkr used her character to make fun of people she disliked :/

pretty much all the other noteable slytherins had some sort of redemption arc,, and yeah they’re still mostly problematic people but they got chances: snape, draco, narcissa, regulus, slughorn, leta and technically andromeda? you get the point i just—

like miss ma’am decided to make pansy,, the like slytherin stereotype? and have her want to betray harry? she was seventeen ffs, not bellatrix lestrange. she was in the middle of a war? in my personal opinion i don’t think that she wanted to hand harry over out of cruelty like. it’s possible? but maybe she was just scared? also don’t we know that pansy was terrified at the thought of like. voldemort coming to hogwarts? again: everyone expects all of the children in harry potter to be these selfless brave individuals,, they’re kids :( yes ik it’s ya fantasy but cmon. they were supposed to be stressed about the N.E.W.T exams not the upheaval of their society?

and don’t get me wrong i know that she was. not a good person. she was a bitchy teenage bully who was taught hateful views. but i wanted to see her change even a little– even draco marries someone who presumably teaches him how to treat people equally? like. there was so much room for change: she was a prefect, she was capable of some kindness seeing as she liked draco, or alternatively, we could’ve seen her break away from draco and potentially stop hating harry/all his friends quite so much or develop her own opinions. or maybe her group of friends that she used for validation throughout her school years was uprooted during the war and she had to learn that independency? or her pointing out harry could’ve been turned into trying to be selfless, like she thought they’d be safe that way, or she returned later fighting with reinforcements to show she was on Hogwarts’ side. jkr is always like "well they technically came back to fight, if you squint » but that’s not enough. also? let’s say we did get a glimpse of her during the actual battle: there could’ve been anything, the smallest scene, that showed some sort of support or reconciliation or something between her and hermione, considering how hermione was often pansy’s target. everybody wants to see forgiveness between draco and harry because of minor events/details (i dislike drarry but that’s besides the point), but imagine what could’ve changed with some semblance of apology or assistance from pansy to hermione. there were so many chances for r*wling to give her a smallest redemption

but instead we got her characterized as evil and a stupid, cowardly traitor. she the only person we ever see her care for marries her friends younger sister. she’s the written depiction of jkr’s bitterness and her arc is jkr’s vengeance.

also, another reason that i’m so mad she got nothing is because of the whole slytherin=evil thing. she’s made into a stereotype of a “slytherin”— cruel, selfish, shallow, ugly, and asinine. (also i could rant about slytherin forever, but can we just mention that jkr consistently refers to slytherins as physically ugly and just how fucked up that is? i– wtf). but anyway: to give pansy a chance to change is to give the slytherin house a chance to change its reputation. trying to justify that the slytherin house got its redemption because of the actions of ppl like snape or regulus, etc isn’t possible. because all of those “slytherin heroes” were described again and again as being “different from all the other slytherins”. they set themselves apart by being decent. they weren’t normal slytherins, no, they were set apart, they were brave and smart and kind— not evil. there’s no redemption to be found there. i wish jkr would just fucking say that being sorted into slytherin was being made into a villain. she dodged around it with rhetorical questions and pointing out how not All of them are bad,, and then will go on to mock the other slytherins and talk about how the heroes were Not Like The Other Snakes... again: there’s no redemption of slytherin as a house, as a quality, as a concept there. it’s just the redemption of an individual.

in pansy, however, we could’ve found so much more. like i said, she’s The Average Slytherin: not a hero, not a villain like voldemort. she’s made out to be a depiction of the typical slytherin student, one without a “destiny”, so to speak. and so to give her the chance, to see her change, to have her redefine herself? that would be a starting point for restoring slytherin as a whole (obviously not the best way, and the real best thing to do would be not to make an entire house be the bad guys in the first place, but–) to have someone who’s the figurehead of slytherin (like actually a figurehead,, girl is a even a prefect) show remorse and growth gives the entire house the seed of redemption. it would mean that after over a thousand years there could be peace between the houses. obviously not the only factor in reconciliation but still so important.

and not to just continue to heap on my own issues with it, but look. i know that there are so many other ways to introduce “mundane” antagonists without making them a symbol of anything. pansy could’ve been a bitch without representing slytherin. also pansy doesn’t have to break character and become kind for amends to be made. they don’t even have to be fully made, just started. but jkr chose to:

a.) go with bullying as a minor antagonistic element

b.) create and develop a character around that theme

c.) make this character only based on her own negative personal experiences

d.) turn that character into a representation of a much larger group of people

e.) deny that character any final moment that could begin to make amends for her actions and instead, chooses to make her “defining” moment an act of evil and cowardice

f.) either neglects the character or chooses plot points that would humiliate the character in all the glimpses of the future we are shown (ex. how dracos marriage is)

g.) openly mocks and insults the character repeatedly and never directly comes out and proves she didn’t write slytherins as evil

h.) to the best of my knowledge, ignores that pansy personifing slytherin, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and then characterizing both as “bad” and not giving them a chance to grow, is a summary of her thoughts on slytherin ls and is a possible interpretation of the text (i mean her opinions are already TRASH)

i. ignores the consequences of this or the possible effect it has on her entire fanbase and doesn’t seek to remedy it

but yeah, jkr, it was such a good idea to base a character off of your loathesone memories, take your anger out on her, and that choose to have that character partially represent a large percentage of your fanbase. thank you sooooo much. i really appreciate it!

summary:

I. Pansy— deserved an opportunity to have some character development. everyone else’s mistakes get overlooked to some degree save hers. had so many places to draw inspiration/opportunity from. could’ve progressed other ideas in the book and the analysis of her house while still remaining a “dislikable” character

II. Writing— from a “technical?” aspect, Pansy is underdeveloped and stagnant, used for personal reasons instead of as a plot device. perpetuates the slytherin=bad idea via a sloppy and repetitive characterization and emblem. there are ways around this that weren’t used.

III. I have no qualifications to be saying any of this lmao. Am I reading to much into it, knowing that Rowling tends to be shitty with writing details? Am I being dramatic and repetitive? probably!

IV. Fuck JKR (for everything. she’s an awful person)

anyways this has been: my mini-rant on pansy and her analysis,,, and i am terribly sorry,, i offer my apologies in advance for randomly dumping this into your inbox. it’s long and opinionated and there’s no real reason behind it! i just thought of it and then thought about it some more and then. here we are

ilysm mwah <3 should’ve definitely done something more productive but shh😭 rat brain hours

this is everything, you're completely right. i don't have much to add but i agree all the way. and people give pansy so much shit for the harry thing but she seemed genuinely scared of voldemort coming back and i really think that she believed he would leave them alone if they gave him up. from her perspective, it's either her and the people she cares about get to live or this guy that she not only isn't close to but probably sees as the bad guy considering she dated/was best friends with draco and witnessed their rivalry from his side. did she make the best decisions? no, not at all but i see her reasons and i don't think it makes her this antichrist that jkr makes her out to be. she pulled the “he's just a boy” with draco and had people sympathise with him when he did so so much worse than pansy did so why doesn't that apply to her? she's a kid. they all are. i love harry, ron, and hermione SO MUCH but jkr really said fuck everyone who isn't them ─ especially any girl who isn't her precious hermione. she projected her own pettiness onto fictional characters who are CHILDREN and proceeded to get upset when people connected to and loved other people that she herself made. creating such an underdeveloped character and expecting people to hate her just because she imagined her as her bully is beyond immature and ridiculous. anyways. jkr take a fucking chill pill and leave my girl alone.

[fortheloveoffanfic]

Christmas Lights

John Wick  x reader (A/n- posting two fics in one day cause my phone deleted the notification for the Christmas challenge. A/n2- this one is based on the Coldplay song Christmas Lights, and its for the lovely @toomanystoriessolittletime​ Christmas writing challenge. I had sooooo much fun writing this that I wrote 2 versions, though, the John Wick one won)

Masterlist

Warnings- Angst  (there’s a hopeful ending, no worries.)

Winter in London was cold, but it felt even colder knowing that when he got home, she would not be there. Standing near the window in his room at the Continental, leaning on the beige wall and staring at the huge tree in the nearby square, the colorful, blinking lights taunted him with their cheer, as if to remind John that he had none, he’d given it all up when he walked out the door. If he closed his eyes right then, momentarily blocking them out, he could still see the pained look on Y/n’s face as she watched him get ready to leave again. 

“It’s almost Christmas John,” she’d pleaded, her voice breaking, “Please just stay.”

The hurt in her eyes when John had brushed off her pleas, arguing that he had to take the job because the money would do them good, they were planning a wedding after all, was unmatched. And that was when Y/n broke it to him; if he left, she couldn’t promise that he’d be coming back to any wedding planning. Still though, they’d just had a fight, the worst one they’d ever had and John was so, so mad, that he’d just wanted to get out of their shared home. Maybe he could have gone to the hotel in New York, but hearing Winston tell him that he was in the wrong one was the last thing he needed, so instead, John did what came naturally to him, turned to what he usually did when he needed an outlet; he went to work.

Usually, all it took was a job and a couple days for John to clear his head before he went back to Y/n, apologized and let her take her in his arms and make everything okay again. But John knew that that time, he’d gone too far, and as he brought the remainder of his smoky bourbon to his lips, he thought back on what Y/n had had said as she followed him to the door where the taxi had waited; “If you leave tonight, then I’m leaving too.”

John hadn’t said anything, his mind playing a foolish trick and telling him that Y/n’s threat was empty; she wouldn’t leave, she loved him. They loved each other, and their love had survived so much thus far. But then he’d called her cell the next morning, to try to mend things, disappointed when she didn’t pick up, and then, even more heartbroken when he called the house, where the ringing ended with the voicemail. It had taken days after that for John to hear from Charon that Y/n had dropped off Dog at his desk along with a message for him; she’d left her key to their house, or rather, his house, there too. She had left.

Without as much as an outgoing pleasantry, John had disconnected the call, his jaw locking as tears gathered in his eyes. That wasn’t how it was supposed to go, it was just a fight, one stupid fight. All because she’d asked for one thing; for him to stay home and spend Christmas with her. All Y/n ever wanted was to be with him, the big wedding had been his idea, John’s way of trying to give her something special after she’d promised to spend her life with him. 

Sniffing, John glanced at the lights again, trying not to liken the tree to the one he and Y/n had put up at home. The one in the square only served to dredge up those memories; her drunken giggle between sips of hard cider and moments putting delicate ornaments on the spruce, the way he’d lifted her up into his arms so she could put the star on top, how they’d kissed and then some after she’d slid down his body; safe in his arms. 

Throwing his head back against the wall, John let his eyes slip closed for the briefest of moments as he wondered what it would take to will Y/n back into his life. Christmas was in three days and it would be the first one without her in almost five years and he’d taken to wondering if he could really call it that if she wasn’t there. It was Y/n who’d made the day something special; she’d come into his life and together, they’d made memories and traditions. Opening one present on Christmas Eve after their stroll around the neighborhood to see the lights, making hot chocolate instead of coffee on Christmas morning and spending the day buzzing around the kitchen making dinner after unwrapping the rest of their presents. If only Y/n knew that she was the only gift he needed. 

With a heavy sigh, John pushed off the wall and straightened his back, giving one last glance at the lights illuminating the area around the grand tree, wishing on the glittering star at the top that the past week had been nothing but a bad dream.

Y/n rubbed her hands together, trying to generate some heat as she quickly walked up the sidewalk to a familiar apartment building in Brooklyn. She was all bundled up and though it hadn’t started snowing yet, New York’s frigid winter air was enough to have your fingers and toes icing up if you weren’t careful. She couldn’t wait to get back home that evening and just curl up in her favorite sweats after a long, hot shower. It was Christmas Eve, the first one she’d spent without John in five years, and it went without saying that his absence and the end of their relationship had thrown her for a loop; nothing seemed right anymore and without their usual traditions, the holidays seemed empty.

She missed him. 

Trying to hurry up, Y/n fiddled with her hands again, that time, trying to ignore how bare her finger felt without the engagement ring she’d left behind with Charon. She’d gotten used to it, and moreover, she’d gotten used to being his fiancée. Being the only person allowed to see and care for him when he was at his worst and hold his hand when he was at his absolute best. John, the only person that she’d ever seen as the love of her life, she’d wanted so much with him, but just a week and a half ago, what Y/n wanted the most was to spend Christmas with him, the way they had every other year for the past five. But John wanted to work and even if he’d rattled off some excuse about how the money would be good for their nuptials, Y/n knew otherwise; they’d been fighting a lot lately and he wanted to get away for a while. He’d wanted to run away from the problem, instead of staying home and working things out with her.

Looking back on it, Y/n realized that she didn’t even care about the things they’d been fighting over, it was all so trifling in the scheme of things, a wedding venue, how much money was too much to spend on a caterer and where they would go after they were married. Y/n wanted to move to a place in the suburbs and John wanted to stay put. After they’d broken up though, or rather, after Y/n had broken up with him, she’d come to see that she couldn’t have cared less about any of those things, as long as she was with John, then none of it mattered. 

But he was gone, and Y/n was left, walking along the cold streets of New York back to her old place, trying to come to terms with a life without him, thinking of how she’d take him back in a heartbeat if they’d found a way to work things out.

She was just a few feet away from the building when Y/n started rummaging through her handbag in search of her keys, clumsily getting the little bunch out without much effort. About to turn to start up the short flight of shallow steps, Y/n unconsciously raised her head, stumbling back slightly as a soft gasp escaped her lips in a white puff. Even if he was the person she’d wanted to see the most, he was the last she’d actually expected. Though, maybe the universe, by some wintery miracle, had decided to give her exactly what she wanted; a second chance with John Wick.

He’d taken a cab straight to the place where he’d suspected she’d be, right after making a quick pit stop at the hotel. John had booked the first non-stop flight from London to New York that he could get, all in a bid to get to Y/n before the stroke of midnight, before he could start another day without her. The plane had landed late Christmas Eve and even if it was past ten and even if he didn’t even know if she was still awake, John knew he had to try.

With his hands in his pockets, trying to combat the temperate air, John walked quickly along the barren sidewalk, passing storefronts illuminated with tiny, festive bulbs. They were proving to be as unwavering as the love that was fueling his mission and had added to the spirit that seemed otherwise absent. It hadn’t started snowing in Empire City and even if the lack of fluffy white and icy pavements dared to subtract from the holiday, white Christmases were rare in their neck of the woods. It never felt like winter without snow, just like the next day wouldn’t feel like anything special if he couldn’t convince Y/n that she was all that mattered to him. He didn’t care how they spent it, as long as they were together. If only he’d realized that before.

He was drawing nearer and nearer to the building he’d been in search of, and in his coat pocket, John’s finger brushed the cool metal of a familiar ring; the one that was made especially to be worn by her, the one that had been gone from it’s home for six days too many. If all went well, then maybe it wouldn’t have to stay warm in his pocket for much longer and maybe his heart being stitched back together would be his first present.

As he walked, John had kept his eyes straight ahead, only slowing down when a familiar figure came into sight. She was twisted awkwardly as she’d continued walking, rummaging through her handbag until Y/n produced a jingling set of keys, straightening up, only for them to come face to face. She wasn’t too far off, just a couple feet away and John thought that his hopefulness was mirrored when he matched her gaze.

Unseen to her, he closed his palm around her ring, trying to find the words as they stood there, seemingly the only two out at that late hour. Taking a chance, he finally found the courage to utter one lonesome word, “Hey.”

Y/n seemed hesitant, but eventually, with what John thought to be the first glimmers of a sad smile tugging at her paled features, “Hey.” It was just one mirrored word, but it meant so much more, it was a bridge to forgiveness, and as it left her lips, John glimpsed the first flakes of snow falling between them; white specks descending slowly, some of it getting caught in her hair, and on her clothes though most of it starting to pepper the ground.

As the snow fell for the first time that winter, the two lingered before the steps to Y/n’s apartment, realizing that, as always, they’d be finding their way back to each other.

Maybe it would feel like Christmas after all. 

******

Tagging- @harrisongslimited @magnificentclodpiebanana @keandrews @greenmanalishi  @rdjloverxxx @danceoftwowolves  @planetkt @wheretheriversrunintothesea

[artificialqueens]

Everything Has Changed (Crystal x Gigi) - Ashley

A/N: Crystal has spent years watching her ex-best friend and next door neighbour, Gigi, rise to the top of their High School food chain, never even uttering a word to her as she waits for the bus each morning. What will happen when Crystal’s house floods and she is finds herself sleeping on Gigi’s floor for a week?

Hello again! I finally jumped on the s12 girls band wagon - hope you guys like. This plot really gave me 2013 Wattpad vibes but I decided to embrace and roll with it. Thanks sooooo much to Meggie for beta-ing! Concrit welcome. Xoxo Ashley

The day began as generic as any other for Crystal. 

A spurt of optimism filled her as she slurped down the last of her cereal and made her way outside - failing to notice the big splodge of milk that would be visible on her shirt until the fourth period. The sun was waving down on her, the slight hum of insects and the sight of her neighbour with a pair of shears at hand reminding her that spring was now in full bloom.

“Morning Crystal,” the familiar voice called over the fence.

“Morning!” She waved back at the woman who she would have once called a second mother, the auntie she had never had.

“When’s your mom back?” Maria asked as Crystal neared the end of the driveway. “I’m due a coffee date!”

“A week on Friday.” Crystal smiled back at her, remembering the days when she and Gigi used to join them on their mothers’ meetings, sipping lemonade and pretending to be sophisticated on the opposite side of the cafe. Remembering how Gigi would always make her laugh and she’d end off spitting her soda out anyway and ruining their facade.

Pulling her headphones out of her bag as she said goodbye, she looked up at the girl whose laugh was currently leaping around inside her head like a carousel, whose grinning face was a portrait in Crystal’s brain as clear as the lakes they used to play in.

Only now she wasn’t grinning quite the same.

Taking her usual seat at the bench, she glanced across at Gigi: her dark hair coiffed to perfection, her lips lined just at the right spot, her jet black beauty mark contrasting against her Snow White complexion. She was the type of girl who needed to be painted.

Their eyes met briefly, as they often did on mornings like this, Crystal darting hers away quickly in a chaotic manner and looking at her phone instead: seven twenty-seven. Her bus would be here in six minutes. Nicky would be here in three.

For a split second, she thought she felt Gigi’s eyes looking back on her but she didn’t dare look.

Instead, she tried to think of ways that she could stop herself from reading the freckles on her old friend’s arm as if they were the dictionary definition of perfection. She thought about how Gig’s mascara may have been left on from the night before, of how she’d seen the straight-A student climb out of her window and down her drainpipe like Catwoman herself to steal away into the night. Of how the Gigi she knew in reality was anything but the flawless girl that was adored around the halls.

Seven-thirty. The familiar horn rang before Gigi went to sit shotgun in her best friend’s car. Crystal let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding along with a sigh of relief that the girl was out of sight and out of mind for the day.

Or at least until they had Chemistry together in the third period.

***

“Oh my god,” Crystal spoke aloud, her body frozen for a second as she absorbed the scene in front of her.

Like something from a disaster movie, she watched as water sprayed from the enormous hole in her living room ceiling, her socks already damp through her trainers.

Her flight or fight reflexes kicking in, Crystal did the first thing her brain told her to do which was to run next door and ring their bell as many times as she could, managing to slip on her lawn and stain the knees of her jeans whilst doing so.

“Hi?” Gigi looked Crystal up and down, her nose wrinkling with curiosity as she took in the other girl’s dishevelled state, her greeting more of a question than a welcome.

“Hi.” Crystal paused, trying to think of how she could explain to Gigi that she’d simply walked through her front door after school into a foot of brown water, a smell that matched that description almost exactly, and a giant hole in the ceiling that was firing said brown water at her like an army missile.

“Can I speak to your mom?” 

***

Crystal felt her body relax slightly as she took a sip of the lemonade that was placed in front of her, a twinge of a feeling she couldn’t quite name gnawing at her when she realised that Gigi hadn’t asked what she wanted to drink, simply bringing her what had always brought comfort as a child.

She felt simultaneously overwhelmed and comforted by the sight around her, Gigi sitting in her usual seat as her hands toyed with the couch cushions. Only now an elephant sat between the pair of them, an awkward silence taking over every last air molecule in the room.

Memories flooded back to her as she let her eyes wander: the mantlepiece she had chipped her tooth on, the doors they would prance through as they pretended to be contestants on America’s Next Top Model once everyone was asleep.

Crystal felt her hands starting to sweat, rubbing them against her jeans rather frantically. She’d always managed to cope on a morning or in school - sure, sometimes the sight of Gigi sent her into a spiral of self-doubt and questions, but it was never something completely out of her control, never something that bothered her to such a great extent.

Maybe it was that she’d lost the privilege of her headphones to distract her from her past.

Maybe it was how familiar her surroundings were.

Maybe it was how natural it had first felt as she sat in Gigi’s living room.

Just as she heard the other girl start to speak, attempting to cut the tension that wrapped around the pair of them like thick green vines, they were saved by Maria entering the room again, phone in hand.

“So, your hot water tank has burst!” She looked at Crystal and let out a frustrated laugh. “The plumbers are starting to clear up now but they think it’s going to take a full week. I’m sorry sweetie. I’ve called your Mom and she’s happy for you to stay here with us and is going to try to leave her conference early.”

Maria went on to talk about getting essentials after the day’s work was finished and the logistics of their insurance but it soon became a gust of wind that swept right over Crystal’s head.

“I don’t need to say here, don’t worry!” Crystal smiled at Maria, grateful for her generosity but feeling the prick of tears at the back of her eyes daring to fall. Her eyes looked absolutely anywhere but at Gigi. “I can always go visit my family in Missouri for a week, I haven’t seen them for a while.”

“I dunno how your mom would feel about you missing a week of school, this is senior year now.” Maria placed a tentative hand on Crystal’s, clearly sensing the anxiety that was shooting out of her like flaming arrows. “Don’t stress! Think of it as one long week-long sleepover. Just like old times!”

Crystal couldn’t tell if she was trapped in heaven or hell but she knew one thing for sure, it wouldn’t be like old times.

***

Crystal found it strange how Gigi’s bedroom was so similar to how it was when they were younger, yet simultaneously different in certain, striking ways.

The antithesis to Crystal’s walls of clutter, Gigi’s room had always been pristine and that hadn’t changed. Placed on her dressing table were framed photos of her and her friends, one of her and Nicky catching Crystal’s eye.

She’d never grown close to Nicky. Even though a part of Crystal disliked her for the shit music she blasted from her sports car and for stealing away her best friend - the other, more loving side of her told her that Nicky didn’t really seem to have a bad bone in her body and that she must be fun if Gigi was so fond of her.

Crystal always found herself trusting Gigi’s judgement even though they were no longer friends, even though that judgment was cast badly upon herself.

Her eyes made their way to the other side of the room, a warm, fuzzy feeling taking over her body as she looked at Gigi’s huge world map that hung in front of her.

Pink pins for where she’d been and blue pins for where she wanted to go. Missouri caught her eye, bright pink straight away, Crystal remembering how excited Gigi had been to change its colour after she had joined one of her visits home in the holidays, how interested she was in exploring the lakes that raised Crystal. She knew Gigi would always be an explorer, it was just a shame that she was no longer the trusty navigator that bounced by her side.

Before she knew it, her hands were running across the books on Gigi’s shelves, stopping on her worn-out copy of Emma.

She never hated Gigi for the fact they were not friends anymore. She knew it happened to loads of pairs like themselves, that it’s natural to drift apart at high school and find different interests. Crystal often prided herself on being mature and understanding, knowing that sometimes there were deeper things in other people’s minds that she just had to accept. Yet at that moment, she couldn’t deny that the sight of the last birthday present she had bought for Gigi sitting front and centre, it’s pages worn and dog-eared, happened to sting that tiny bit.

“It’s not a museum,” Gigi snapped at her from across the room, only for her own face to fall a little when she saw Crystal’s - the slap of instant regret bright red on her cheeks.

“Sorry.” She moved over to the bookshelf, pulling the copy out and holding it in her manicured hands as though it were made of papier-mache. “Can you remember I used to take it out at the library so much? You gave it to me and told me it was so I never had to hide it to stop anyone else borrowing it anymore.”

Crystal’s heart dipped a whole centimetre in her chest.

Of course she remembered.

Silence enveloped the pair yet again as Crystal’s makeshift bed was constructed on the floor, a look on Gigi’s face that Crystal couldn’t quite piece together. 

Trying to fight the awkwardness, Crystal pulled out her phone and began to scroll down her Instagram feed aimlessly, no one she could message even springing to her mind.

“Oh my god, we cannot do this all week,” Gigi blurted out what she’d been trying to contain all in one breath, causing Crystal to laugh at the girl’s inability to remain silent for any given period of time. And before she knew it Gigi was laughing too, the pair almost automatically falling back into that lull that once fell so naturally. Chatting more and more naturally as the drama of Top Model made up their background music.

There, underneath the plastic demeanour, was Crystal’s old best friend.

***

At first, Crystal didn’t know where she was when she woke up, her body feeling awkward in her jeans. But her confusion slid away at the sight of Gigi at her dressing table, applying the daintiest amount of blush to her pale cheeks.

Looking down she realised she was in Gigi’s bed rather than the one made up for her on the floor, assuming that she must have drifted off whilst watching their show.

“Good morning, camper.” Gigi raised an eyebrow in her mirror and grinned, never fully turning around to look at Crystal.

“Morning.” She stretched her arms in the air, the fact that Gigi must have tucked a blanket around her whilst she slept hitting her like a tonne of bricks. “What time is it?”

“Quarter past seven.”

“Oh. That’s no good!” Crystal jumped out of the bed and began rummaging through her case quite rapidly, Gigi chuckling under her breath at the way Crystal worked as a poster girl for the chaotic good character, clearly seeing some form of adorable in the other girl’s frustration.

Pulling a leopard print shirt out of her bag, Crystal quickly removed yesterday’s jumper and spruced herself up for the day ahead, finding some blue jeans to match and throwing them on whilst Gigi carried on with her makeup in the mirror, her eyes flickering back and forth.

“I think my Mom made some breakfast if you have time. Nicky’s coming for me soon…” She trailed off almost in a defensive way, her eyes glossing back down to the palette in front of her.

“Yeah,” Crystal responded, not sure on what she was agreeing with, before starting to pack her bag for the day. “I don’t want to miss the bus, I guess I’ll see you later.”

Maybe things hadn’t changed as much as she’d thought.

***

“Ugh.” Crystal found herself longing to throw her pencil across the room in a fit of rage as she failed the seventh time to do the chemical equation in front of her.

“You know, I’m currently sitting at an A in Chemistry.” Gigi waved her hands in the air at the girl from her bed, dog-earing the corner of her book and casting it aside.

“I don’t need you to do my work for me!” Crystal squealed as she moved the paper away from Gigi’s peeping eyes, determined to finish the question.

This was now her third night in the Goode household and she was starting to scare herself at how easily she fell back into place with Gigi when no one else was around. They had spent the past few days catching each other up on their lives, watching crap TV and just being together.

It was safe to say that Crystal was starting to see the beams of a happier Gigi shine through the cracks, a Gigi who wasn’t afraid to be rough around the edges. 

But her hopes were kept low each morning when they parted their usual ways at the social jungle of their high school.

“I’m not saying I’ll do it for you, I’ll just help.” Gigi moved closer and Crystal could feel the warmth of her body on her own. The tiniest contact sending her brain in circles.“Besides, I did this three days ago; I don’t know why you’re hiding the questions.”

“Okay, but only if we do something fun after.”

“Actually.” Gigi paused and gave Crystal the grin of an excited puppy. “I have the perfect game to make up some lost time.”

***

“I’ll start.” An idea popped into Crystal’s head as she turned to face Gigi with excitement. “Number one: where do you go when you sneak off in the middle of the night?”

“Do you spy on me?” Gigi opened her jaw wide, causing Crystal to go into panic mode before releasing she was simply playing. “Sometimes it’s to meet people by the quarry and have a drink. Sometimes I just like to go get some fresh air alone.”

Crystal could sense she wasn’t getting a full answer but didn’t want to pry, preparing herself for what she’d be asked.

“Hmm.” Gigi giggled to herself as she gave Crystal a once over. Crystal could almost see the lightbulb pop out of her pretty little head when she thought of a question. “Number two: do you think Mr. Charles has a crush on you?”

Taking Crystal by surprise, it took her a minute to gain her composure. “What sort of question is that?”

“A genuine one!” Gigi tried to pull a straight face. “I see the way he’s always staring at you, putting his hand in your hair when he checks your work.”

“Oh my god, you’re disgusting.” Crystal smacked the other girl with a pillow resulting in the biggest scene of dramatics she’d witnessed since their school’s production of Les Mis.

The questions began to roll one after the other, starting off as fun and light-hearted.

“Where do you even sit at lunch?”

��

“Pasta or pizza?”

….

“When did you lose your virginity?”

….

“Was Poland as good as you thought it would be?”

…

“Do you remember our time capsule?”

…

But as the sky outside started to darken, their subject matter deepened. It has reached that time of night where boundaries dilapidated and unbreached territory began to be uncrossed.

“Number 10.” Crystal paused, building up the courage to finally breach the topic the pair has shied away from all week. “Was it because everyone called me a dyke? Is that why we’re not friends?”

Crystal watched as her friend winced - wishing so much that she could just pretend that period had never occurred and never to speak about it, but knowing that it was a bridge both she and Gigi needed to cross and it would be much better if they could cross it together, stopping each other from falling between the jagged planks.

“Partly, yeah.” Gigi nodded and looked Crystal in the eyes.

Really, really looked into her eyes.

“I don’t think I thought that at the time, I told myself we just had different interests. But I think that sometimes I just get so caught up in what people think about me, I get lost in what’s right and wrong. I’ve just always wanted to be ‘perfect.’ I lost sight of what that even meant. But I never, ever cared what you thought about me. Not in that way, at least…” She trailed off and Crystal placed a comforting hand over hers, letting her know that she was loved. “I’m so sorry.” A single tear fell down her face. The first time Crystal had seen her cry since they were seven. “Do you hate me?”

“No.” Crystal squeezed her hand tighter.

It was the truth. Even though sometimes she wanted to, she couldn’t have ever hated Gigi even if she tried. 

She knew that her actions were wrong, she knew that she couldn’t make excuses for not being there, for not trying to stop it. She knew that things wouldn’t magically click back to how they used to. But she also knew that Gigi was sorry.

Scars took time to heal.

And they’d still be visible even once they had.

But people say they only make someone stronger.

“If I was you, I think I’d hate me. Feel free to slap me if you want.”

“Do you really want me to slap you?” Crystal raised an eyebrow to the girl.

“No.” Gigi sighed. “And you just wasted your question.”

“Fuck sake.” Crystal found herself blushing for no apparent reason. She guessed that Gigi just brought out the nervous side of her sometimes.

���Number thirteen: what does your tattoo say?” 

Crystal was a deer in the headlights.

Her tattoo - the most genius yet idiotic idea she’d ever had in her life.

Aged 16, still reeling in that high you get from a gig with a fake ID at the ready.

Somewhere nice and hidden where hardly anyone would see, figuring she’d never have to explain it to anyone she wasn’t intimate with, always having the open option to lie about it’s meaning to save embarrassment.

But Gigi had seen it.

She thought of the past few days when they’d both been getting ready for school.

Never really processing it herself, she had peaked at Gigi’s body - slight glances at the way her ribs and clavicle jutted out through her skin.

She didn’t realise Gigi had been looking back.

“One Direction,” she responded after what was probably a longer than socially-acceptable pause.

“One Direction?” Gigi exclaimed back, wrinkling her nose and opening her mouth wide at the girl.

“Yes.” Crystal replied seriously, trying to stop the laugh from slipping through her lips. “One Direction.”

“That is weird on so many levels, Crystal.” Gigi shook her head and started to laugh. “You mean to tell me that when you sit on the bench with that unapproachable look on your face wearing black eyeliner thicker than your wrists, you’re blasting Truly, Madly, Deeply from your headphones?”

“Yep,” she simply stated. Strangely it had never occurred to her before that as she made hidden glances at Gigi each morning, Gigi was taking them back just the same.

“Crystal Elizabeth Methyd, you never fail to surprise me.”

***

“You don’t need to feel bad about leaving me, I’ve got stuff to do,” Crystal pleaded as Gigi scavenged through her closet like an excited child with their first-ever Barbie doll.

It was Thursday night and the end of Crystal’s impromptu vacation in the Goode household. Her typical night consisted of homework, pizza, and reading old fan-fiction until four AM.

Gigi had different ideas.

“How many parties have you been to in high school?”

“None,” Crystal answered, not even attempting to slip out a lie.

“Exactly,” Gigi replied before settling on a pink latex dress and throwing it in Crystal’s direction.

“You don’t have to feel guilty about me missing out, I’ve never wanted to and we have school tomorrow!” Crystal examined the dress, her eyes widening at the thought of how much skin it would show.

“Maybe I just want you there.” Gigi stopped as she settled on her own dress. “Maybe I just enjoy your company.”

Crystal didn’t need to be told twice.

“Fine.” She responded, resulting in some excited squealing and hand-clapping from the other side of the room. “But I just can’t wear this.”

“Sure you can, just undo the zipper, step into it, put your arms through the sleeves and do it back up again. It’s not that hard. I can help if you’d like?”

Crystal tried hard not to give her the satisfaction of a laugh but once again failed. “You know what I meant.”

“At least try! I spent good money on that and it hangs off my body. You’ve got the curves to fill it at least.”

Trying her hardest not to blush, Crystal gave in and tried the dress on, surprising herself at how good it actually looked.

“See!” Gigi motioned her hands up and down at Crystal’s body. “I know these things.”

It was safe to say that Crystal was waiting for the day she’d win one of her verbal battles with Gigi Goode. Yet she was never really that annoyed when she lost them.

***

Although a small part of her wished she was curled up in bed with a bag of M&Ms watching a movie, Crystal was enjoying herself. 

Yes, she had spent the majority of the night by Gigi’s side, dancing like idiots and watching people hook up, but she still found herself branching out in smaller ways, taking as many steps as her size fives could - partly because she wanted to and partly because of the smile she saw on Gigi’s face as she conversed with Nicky and the other girls. Although still sceptical around them, Crystal was happy finding common ground with Gigi’s friends, even seeing a goofy side of Nicky that she didn’t even know was there.

Distracted by her thoughts, she hadn’t even realised there was someone next to her at the punch bowl until he spoke.

“Have we met?” He looked Crystal up and down with a smile.

Yes, she thought to herself. We have around 10 hours of class together each week. But being polite and trying her hardest to make friends she didn’t dare say that aloud. “I think I’ve seen you around, I’m Crystal.”

“Josh.” He took her hand and shook it, holding on for maybe a second longer than normal. “Bit less exciting than Crystal.”

“My mom was really into Pokemon during her pregnancy,” she responded. However, before her joke could be processed she felt the red punch from the boy’s hand splash across her front.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” He looked at Crystal apologetically before rushing to grab a dishtowel. “I hope I’ve not stained your dress.”

“It’s Gigi’s so I think you’d be feeling her wrath rather than mine.” Crystal went to reach for the towel only for the boy to start wiping away at her front.

“Oh, I can do that.” She went to swat his hand away when they were interrupted by a familiar cough.

“God, Gigi, you ought to keep that one on a leash.” One of her friends muttered under their breath, just loud enough for Crystal to hear and take a step backwards.

She watched her friend’s face turn at the sight, watched her mouth open and close twice before she spoke. “Do you mind moving away from my friend?”

“Gigi, it’s fine,” Crystal responded as the boy she was talking to leapt away from her and raised his hands in the air. “I can handle myself.”

“Nicky will drop you off home.” She ignored Crystal’s words before turning to leave the room. “I think I’m gonna walk.”

“Wait.” Crystal shouted after her as she made her exit, just the two of them standing in the large foyer, Gigi haphazardly raking around for her snakeskin jacket. “I was just being friendly, I don’t see the problem.”

“That’s because you’re naive. You let people take advantage of you.” Gigi turned to face Crystal, finally finding her jacket and slinging it over her thin frame. 

“Or maybe you’re just a jealous bitch who can’t deal with the attention being on someone else for a second.” Crystal spat back at her, shocking herself with her words.

It was a word that had floated around a lot since Gigi became popular but it had never quite reached the surface. She knew Gigi wasn’t a bitch - remembering the time she spent seven hours making her a friendship bracelet in all her favourite colours, the time they went to the theme park and they rode all the scary rides even though Gigi was terrified of them, just so her friend would be happy. She knew her intentions were good in scaring the boy away, a part of her just wished that Gigi would stop looking at her like the lost puppy she was in freshman year. But that’s what came out of her mouth, and she couldn’t take it back now.

She watched Gigi stop in her tracks. Bending down and resting her body on the shoe rack below her.

“I’m sorry.” Crystal went to join her side. “I didn’t mean that. I know you mean the best, I just don’t need you to defend me.”

“You’re right,” she spoke, clear frustration seeping from somewhere deeper than their current argument, a small crack in her voice. Once again Crystal had hit the wall in Gigi that she was yet to break down. “I just want you to understand.”

“Then help me to.” Crystal reached a hand out to her, squeezing, once, twice.

At first, she remained still, but Crystal then saw the switch flip. Gigi squeezed back.

“I need to steal a shovel.”

***

The sky around the pair was still dark, their two phone torches shining down on the route that their feet had danced across so many times.

Although Crystal knew that they should probably wait till morning and that Maria would probably realise they were gone, she didn’t want to sacrifice Gigi opening up to her, her heart beating faster and faster as they walked through the meadow.

“I’m pretty sure there’s still another six years till we’re supposed to dig this up.” Crystal shivered, the side effects of the punch she drank starting to wear off. “I can’t believe Gigi Goode is voluntarily breaking rules!”

“Shut up.” She gave Crystal a friendly punch before taking off her coat and wrapping it around her friend’s shoulders, Crystal still feeling a pang of guilt for the way she spoke to Gigi at the party, knowing that she had been nothing but kind to her the past week they had lived together.

“Here.” Crystal stopped, pointing at the signpost marking their spot, remembering the day they buried their time capsule as if it were yesterday.

***

“Is this a report card?” Crystal laughed as she shone her torch at the paper in front of her.

“Oh my god, yes!” Gigi took the paper in her hands. “I didn’t want my Mom to find out I got a C in music class.”

“Classic Gigi.” Crystal sighed.

Pulling out the friendship bracelet she had made years before, Gigi gasped before grabbing Crystal’s arm and sliding it on. “As if it still fits.”

As the girls waded their way through cinema tickets and keyrings, they found themselves falling back into their old selves more and more - getting lost in conversation as the night faded away and the sun started to rise.

“I don’t remember this being in here.” Crystal pulled out a photograph of the pair of them in Missouri, aged fourteen, grinning like idiots on Crystal’s grandma’s porch.

Flipping it over, she recognised Gigi’s sophisticated scrawl on the back::

This week I finally got to go with Crystal when she visited home. It was so amazing because I hate it so much when she isn’t here, nothing is fun. When I’m with Crystal I don’t have to be perfect - I wish we could grow old together, just the two of us in our own land away from everyone else, everything would be so, so much easier.

There was more but Crystal stopped, looking up to her best friend’s nervous face to realise it was blurry. She hadn’t even realised she was crying.

“Crystal.” Gigi wiped her tears away with her thumb, only leaving her hands on her friend’s cheeks once she was done.

They were freezing yet it made Crystal’s whole body burst up in flames.

Crystal thought of all the sleepless nights and daydreams where she’d pictured this moment.

Somehow it was better than all of them combined.

Their lips touched, soft at first, gentle, afraid to hurt each other. Then their kiss grew deeper, it was hungry, passionate, it had been locked in a cage for years and years only finally to be released.

Crystal didn’t know how long they’d been kissing for when Gigi pulled away, but she wouldn’t have minded if it had been forever.

“I was scared. A scared girl who pushed you away instead of accepting who I was. It’s more, Crystal, you know it’s more. It’s always been more.”

Crystal nodded, placing her hands on the girl’s shoulders as she carried on her choked sentences.

“This past week, as corny as it sounds I didn’t just find you again, I found the old me.”

“Well, we’re both here to stay,” Crystal whispered before pulling the girl into another embrace which somehow dared to be better than their last. “Come on, you’re shivering, let’s get you home.”

***

Crystal woke with the sun beaming through the window, her body perfectly entwined with Gigi’s.

At first, she thought she had dreamt it: their kiss at the meadow, the way she went to sleep on the floor and felt Gigi’s arm drop down from her bed, her breasts soft as silk and her moans sending Crystal insane. 

But the way Gigi’s head nestled into her collarbone told her she hadn’t.

She wanted to freeze the moment in a frame and relive it forever - the fear hitting her that Gigi would act cool like it was no big deal.

She lay a kiss on her head before making her way for a shower - the first time all week that she hadn’t woken up to Gigi perfecting her makeup or already dressed- the perfect girl’s routine thrown out the window as she lay in bed.

After returning from the shower, she noticed Gigi was awake, rushing to get ready.

“C’mon.” She looked Crystal up and down. “We’ll be late.”

***

Crystal’s palms became heavy with sweat as she sat next to Gigi on the bench. 

Maybe she regretted it. Maybe it was some sort of sick joke. Why hadn’t she spoken about it? Was she being off with her, or was she just tired?

Crystal felt sick, checking her phone for the time: seven twenty-five.

She couldn’t wait till Nicky got here, the sight of Gigi’s face next to her sending her brain into spirals of existentialism.

She thought about this time on Monday. How much had changed in a week? Or in reality how much it had gone back to the way it was before.

Whatever would happen next she just thanked God/the man who fitted her water heater that at least it happened - the love bite on her neck marking that no one could take this away from her.

Maybe Gigi would go further in denial - Crystal watched her as she tapped her foot on the ground.

“Are you not gonna give me a headphone?” Gigi smiled at her, snapping Crystal’s mind of doubt back to reality, feeling Gigi’s hand fall onto her thigh. “I fancy some One Direction.”

Pulling her phone out in excitement, Crystal’s mood quickly dipped back as she read the time: seven twenty-nine.

“Nicky will be here for you in a minute.” She gave a disheartened smile and put her phone back in her pocket.

“Oh.” Gigi moved her hand over the top of Crystal’s and grinned. “I told her not to come, figured I ought to get the bus today.”

[juvellita]

Genshin Impact theory

So this topic kind of digresses from what I usually post, but I felt the urge to make this post bcs i am too lazy to do my assignments rn.  Jokes aside, I wanted to make this post on tumbler bcs not many ppl posted genshin theory on tumblr ( from what i seen). 

While everyone has been shipping different characters and fangirling/fanboying over them, my friend and I talk way more about the story line and make guesses/theories about what might happen in the future stories. Yes, I have read several theory posts online, and a lot of character related things to come up with my own theory (mixed with what I have read of course).

Spoiler warnings under cut. If you are under AR 29, I suggest you to scroll through unless you want to be spoiled.

Long post below.

Okay this is going to be a hella of messy post. I have made so many theories about the game itself and I am going to organize as I go. 

MC

First things first, lets first talk about twins origin. 

From what has been told so far, it is rather hard to guess what really happened after unknown god (sustainer of heavens) separated them. Who are twins exactly? Well, we don’t know for sure but we can theorize from what we know so far. Let’s list out things that we already know about the twins.

1. Your twin is the ruler of abyss order

2. Your character (MC) possess special power, where you can basically change any element you want 

3. There is a BIG time gap after you got separated from your twin, and before you fish Paimon out of water.

4. MC does not remember what happened during that time gap

Don’t these information raise any questions? 

How did your twin fall “bad” and what is his/her goal? Is she just playing along to achieve whatever her/his goal is or did she/he actually fall bad? 

Why can your character change element? Who is your character exactly?

What happened during those timeframe? 

Another big question is, do you think your character is going to stay “good” until the end? I actually have not thought too much about this until I came across this one vid:

(watch it with captions) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0pkwZVL_GQ

If this vid is really referring to the the twins, maybe it is foreshadowing the future route for our mc. It hints that our mc might turn bad like the other twin (does that mean, the other twin is being brainwashed like what they did with Dvalin?). Was our mc evil before she/he lost memory? or are we just being toyed with?

Characters /Storyline (so far)

There are several character I want to talk about.

1. Paimon

Theres SOOOOO many discussion posts about Paimon and theories about her. The most theory thinks that Paimon is actually that unknown goddess (whom we meet in the beginning) in its weakest form. If this is true, big chances are she is just fooling mc and waiting for the right moment to take over the world. Another theory I read was that maybe she actually forgot all her memories too and she doesn’t know who she is. 

While I think all of these are very convincing theories, I want to put my own version of theory out there: what if Paimon is the Pearl from the video, the one who is trying to make mc walk in the path, believing she is the queen/king of darkness?

Paimon might actually turn out to be good, but who knows? She might be our biggest plot twist. 

2. Childe

Not much of a theory for this guy, but do you guys think this guy can be trusted? After ar 29 story, I started believing this guy has ulterior motive.

There weren’t that many theory about this dude so I will come up with my own:

Theory 1: In lvl 23 story, Childe helps you because he wants you to believe him. It would be way easier for him if there were someone he can “use” , especially when the entire city suspects you (bcs he is a Fatui). He urges you to go tell your version of story to 3 guardian mtn birds (idk what to call them) so that they will listen to your story, before Qixing members got to explain their version (If they believed in Qixing’s story, it would trouble fatui so much). 

Skip to lvl 29, Childe’s actual goal is to take Geo Archon’s Vision (how La Signora took Venti’s). Knowing this, Ningguang and Geo Archon related ppl (adepti) or maybe ever geo god himself, plan to fake death- so that Childe/fatui will give up 

Theory 2. Childe is actually a double spy- he got into Fatui to find their ulterior motives and their goal. 

3. Ningguang (Geo mage)

At first, I thought Ning was a bad person. However, reading about herself, she is just a big business person. I think she is working closely with adepti from Liyue (in secret of course). She knows too well about how letting things out in public is not always good. 

4. Zhong Li

Geo Archon yet to be revealed. Do I need to say more? 

5. Katheryne (Adventure Guild Receptionist)

Theory: she is actually a robot:

*Mondstat and Liyue has exactly same looking Katheryne 

*If you chill out in front of her for long, she murmurs “error” or “rebooting”.

Is someone spying on MC using Katheryn? or are we in a “virtual world” within the virtual world? Is everything in this game “fake”?

Fatui and Abyss Order

My biggest question rn is... Who are fatui?? What are their goals? What do they want to achieve? Are they related Abyss Order? 

One theory is that, Fatui and Abyss Order ARE related (fatui working under Abyss Order). Thats probably why La Signora left MC unharmed, while she attacked Venti. Either mc is/was someone important to Abyss Order (eventually), or maybe the other twin ordered them NOT to harm his/her twin in any way. 

But then this is JUST a theory. 

Conclusion

Well, this is pretty much it. We could go on about different characters too, but that would take forever lol

But what are YOUR thoughts? 

[loseyoutoloveme]

will you do a song by song review for life support? i really liked the ones for sweetener and thank you next!

oh absolutely, i’d love to! thank you for asking and being interested 🖤 all thoughts below.

the beginning:

this was such a great way to open this album, it’s so cinematic and really sets the mood so perfectly. one of my fav instrumental intros i’ve ever heard.

9/10

good in goodbye: “you put the over in lover, put the ex in next.”

the lyrics are so wonderfully corny and i’ll love this song forever, like the chorus is literally just so fun to sing along to.

i do think it feels a little... shallow compared to the rest of the album, and the album being released so long after this song came out makes it feel disconnected from the rest. but i love it so i don’t care.

7.5/10 

default: “i know, i know this must be coming for me, i swear, i swear i will be the end of me, the end of me.”

this song is just sooo...... OUCH!

i’m obsessed with the way the chorus just SOUNDS like an emotional spiral, like her life falling apart, like falling into a deep depression, and then the outro builds like destructive racing thoughts.

also i never noticed the wave crashing and the bubbles at the very beginning until really recently, and i love that little touch. the whole song feels so underwater. cloudy and fuzzy. it does a good job of depicting certain symptoms of various mental illnesses.

8.5/10

follow the white rabbit: “is it haunting, baby, that i’m wanting, baby, that i’m wanting, wanting you?”

i actually was fully not expecting to like this that much based off the snippets she’d shared, but omg this left me WEAAAAK on first listen, which was the best surprise

there are definitely so many layers to these lyrics too, despite it being just a bombastic sexy toxic love song on its surface, particularly when thinking about the album as a commentary on mental illness, and some of the breakup/love songs as metaphors rather than straightforward love songs. definitely about infatuation and toxicity and perhaps knowingly entering a bad relationship as a bad coping mechanism, a way to avoid dealing with your pain or (as we see in effortlessly) a way to just feel anything at all.

9/10

effortlessly: “i hold my breath to breathe, hurt me so i feel, used to do these things so effortlessly somehow.”

oh god this song is just a punch in the stomach

i ALSO didn’t really expect to love this one based on snippets but the lyrics are just devastating and perfect and i hope speak to anybody who has struggled with self-harm and medication.

i don’t even have thoughts on this song, it just makes me go jsn*@(#nkdasdnkasd7*@U#j2k3n

love that this is such a fan favourite. it deserves!

10/10

stay numb and carry on: “truth is it was never love, your fault if you thought it was.”

the reverse “i’ve become emotionless” at the beginning >>>

also love the “i was gin and you were toxic . . . wish we’d just stayed plaTONIC” like a platonic relationship would be the opposite of toxic. it’s such fun wordplay.

also “i don’t feel like anyone” makes me emo, she really just slid the most simple but heartbreaking lines in everywhere and you don’t notice them until they hit you out of nowhere one day and you’re like ...OH

AND THE WAY HER VOICE STARTS TO GO MONOTONE AT “i’ve become emotionless” 

in conclusion, madison beer is a vessel for god

10/10

blue: “you could be as sweet as honey but i knew the darkness in your mind.”

this is my least favourite on the album but it’s still fantastic

the lana influence is clear without being too copycat, like it’s still SO madison. sorta like lana’s video games modernized and adapted into something truer to madison’s vibe.

love love love the whole outro

glad that this wasn’t a single like it was planned to be

7/10

interlude: “would you do that shit for me too?”

VOCODER RIGHTS

this album in general is just not really for people who don’t like vocoders and lots of technical effects. i looove that she leaned into it so hard bc it’s so HER.

this song also has so much depth for an interlude, relaying the experience of feeling SO hard about people, and realizing like you’re putting in way more than you’re getting back.

the post-chorus is like... 🤩🌌💫☄️🌠

7.5/10

homesick: “these humans speak my language, still don’t understand it.”

THIS SONG...... IS MY BABY......

oh god it just breaks my heart on every listen. the image in my head is of a little girl talking to the stars.

and why does the line about her mom and dad make me wanna cry every time? i have no idea.

I BELONG IN SPACE...... FLOATING WITH DEBRIS.......

i’m sure she’s not the first person to ever use this metaphor for mental illness, expressing the alienation of mental illness (especially one as stigmatized and misunderstood as bpd) by talking about LITERAL aliens sdkjfsdfksd, but she does it SOOOOO well and sincerely that it feels like it’s uniquely hers.

the rick & morty sample is so funny and so weird and so madison. i will probably never watch an episode of that show in my life.

10000000000/10 this song is the loml

selfish: “shouldn’t love you but i couldn’t help it, had a feeling that you never felt it.”

my absolute favourite of all of the singles, noooo question about it. it’s a perfect, perfect, perfect song.

two years, alone on new years’, nightclubs, gemini... women writing lyrics with very specific details about the shitty men that the song is about... it’s everything to me.

this song will just NEVER age. every time i listen to it, it’s like the first time all over again.

10/10

sour times: “don’t know what song of mine you heard that made you think i’d want to spend the night with you.”

home with you’s big sister<3 

not the strongest lyrics, but the concept and production are more than strong enough to carry the song.

she came on this bitch mad as hell

also love that this have been another fan favourite, seemingly??

men gross

9/10

boyshit: “don’t know how to talk or communicate, we’re so on and off, to you it’s a game.”

it took me awhile to get into this when it was a single ngl, probably because it came out the same night as evermore sjdknfsfnkjsd, but once i got into it, it became the best song ever

she’s soooo reliable with her “men ain’t shit” songs ugh

8.5/10

baby: “i’m a handful but that’s what hands are for.”

when this came out as a single it was the only thing i listened to for a solid week and a half. just an excellent song. the chorus is evvverrryttthhhiiinnnnggg.

WHAT IS IT SO CATCHY FOR?

9.5/10

stained glass: “my life’s a still fading memory of what i can’t have, and everything ’round me is starting to fade into black, but black and white is so much better, i’m learning how to hide my colours.”

i’m so surprised by how much non-stans seem to love this omg, it’s never been a fav of mine, as much as i still love it

but i’m obsessed with how different and distinctly madison it is

also this is a much more genuine take on the “pls stop being mean to me just bc i’m famous / you don’t know what people are going through” type of song than most of the others i’ve ever heard. her pain is evident, and the soft “i just might break” is just..... </3

the glass breaking and little scream are so good

she loves a good metaphor and so do i!

7.5/10 

emotional bruises: “how do i word this? was about to write you this letter, but it was just curses in cursive, you probably deserve it.”

this was definitely my most anticipated song along with everything happens for a reason, like i listened to the snippet on repeat CONSTANTLY lmao. and the full song definitely lived up.

the scribbling sound is so fun, i love her obsession with little real-life sound effects

10/10

everything happens for a reason: “i still can’t find a reason you’d wanna hurt me so bad.”

THIS SONG IS VERY MUCH EVERYTHING

again, this was for sure one of my most anticipated songs and just kjsadsdkajsm god i love love love it

i think she posted a video one time of the song over a clip of the mermaids from peter pan and it was so pretty and i still picture that video when i hear this song. it’s just soooooo hazy and dreamy and retro and perfect.

also the song on the album where she got to show off her vocals the most. she found her niche with this song, truly.

100/10

channel surfing/the end: “YOU’REBADFORMYHEALTHISHOULDPROLLYKEPTSOMEHELPICANTCONTROLMYSELFIMADDICTEDOTHEHELL”

oh my god i was FLOOOOOORED at the dear society clip. dear society was and is one of my FAVOURITE songs, and i appreciate her reasoning for not including it on the album (just wanting some space for a new song instead of one we’d already had for so long), but it did hurt a lil. i was so happy she found a little way to include it :’) rip to hurts like hell tho since she didn’t get the same treatment sjdnksd.

the channel surfing is also just such a fun concept for an outro.

and her laughing with her producers at the end followed by such a sweet calming tropical instrumental...... oooo it’s so nice, it feels like the calm after the storm.

10/10

overall, this album was just SO worth the wait, it’s so fantastic, it’s the loml, one of my favourite albums ever. i LOVE that it’s helped anyone with BPD feel seen and understood, and as someone who doesn’t have bpd but has a couple of loved ones who do, the emotions she expressed in these lyrics have helped me to understand this disorder more too. just such a special album.

most of the criticism i’ve seen of the album has been that it’s overproduced, and that’s definitely criticism that i understand, bc it IS heavy on the technical side and some people just don’t like very heavy production, buuuut... some people do! i do! madison does! and heavy production does not automatically make an album bad. this type of production isn’t something that i expect her to move away from, because it’s clearly her thing, and maybe that just means her place in the industry will be more with the heavy heavy pop fans and maybe even in more hyperpop circles. i also think it’s SUPPOSED to be overproduced; it’s supposed to be a mess of emotions and sometimes a little chaotic. she executed it very well.

i hope by the time her next album is out, people will stop comparing her to like every single artist out there. some reviewers seem determined to pigeonhole her and compare her to every female artist under the sun, which feels like an absolute disservice to me. she is influenced by many different people and they comes out in her music, as it does any artist’s because everybody has their inspirations, but her sound is VERY much her own. as someone who has liked her for years, i can absolutely feel her essence in each song and nobody else’s.

a 10/10 album and such an amazing, promising debut<3  

[icharchivist]

first: WAHHHHHHHHH 😭😭😭 I got so emotional!!! so emotional!!!! so much that I can’t even do this first second pattern bc I have SO MANY thoughts!!!!!!! I’m writing this in my notes instead of straight into the askbox so u know it’s serious business™

ok so debut night!!! I was like ahah yeah it’s a tragedy whatever it’ll be fun to start out with and then the voice acting was SO good that it knocked me out of the park and I almost cried haha. it’s crazy how good the voice acting in a3 is like I love how the dialogue and voice acting works well together bc like it’s limited but so effective!! u can so very clearly see and understand the style they’re going for. especially like tsumugi’s death scene... the Talent jumped out it really did... uh and ok so. I think I may be a littleeee confused abt the play bc I had always interpreted tasukus last lines as raphael to be like abt his being secretly in love with michael. but now that I’m actually reading the line that’s like oh don’t fall for a human it only ends in misery I know that all too well or whatever... ig the implication is that raphael was in love with another human / the same lady michael was in love with in the play. side note I had to go back and edit the proper names in instead of tasuku and tsumugi lol... but speaking of!! speaking of the voice acting and the play itself I 1) love how blatantly obvious it is when tsumugi goes for that grander, tasuku like style of delivery!! like u could just so easily feel the difference it was wild... and 2) tsuzuru is once again spot on with his writing, lol... I felt that like raphaels inability to save or help michael really parallels how tasuku feels abt tsumugi so well, and it’s wonderful that they r able to resolve things and tasuku can properly compliment him on his acting where the angels fail to do so. it’s very good. and I think the play rly highlights (for me at least) that like. to tasuku, it was tsumugi who was sort of an unreachable existence. like were he to idolize and respect someone’s acting, it would be tsumugi. and I think that like caring carries over into their roles really well, because I think in michael’s love for a human tasuku sees like... tsumugi’s style of acting. the heart that he’d lost while within the god troupe. mb I’m losing my mind a little but ah. the play rly works with their relationship so well!! im very excited to see the other winter ppl get main roles tho—same for all the troupes!!! now this ask is too long so I’ll have to do another part lol

going to start off this second part of the ask abt hisoka bc oh my GOD. hisoka. like I was just thinking “hm where r the winter troupe cgs anyways” and then BAM. hisoka CRYING???? especially since he doesn’t seem that emotional it was a really hard hit!!! and who tf is august.... ok well actually theory time!! skipping ahead to the end theres that note that like mentions December and April and. not to expose my friend but very many years ago (a couple years before a3 was launched, at the very least) she wrote this story where there were like 12 orphan assassins and they were all named after months. I remember the main dude was named dec lol. coupled with my “hisoka is capable of murder” bit? listen.... I’m not saying anything but I’m also not not saying anything if u feel me. also I feel like assassin / thief with mysterious background is a common trope!! that was silver from the pokémon adventures manga too... why is this my reference point lmao. anyways I’m unclear if assassins would make it into a3 but like.... if the yakuza and supernatural stuff makes it in...

okay moving away from conspiracy theories and into emotions!!! the quotes from like EVERY mankai actor before the final production made me SO emo... and yay!!! they won!!!! (though admittedly I almost had a heart attack when no one clapped) but they won!!!! that ending cg!!!! and I adore how sakyo immediately goes after god troupe man (I know his name is reni I just don’t feel like calling him that) for the money lol it’s just so sakyo-like. also I love the lil mixed troupe interactions!! I found the game night ch so fun.... ahh, now I wanna reread that ch since it was so good lol

all in all I was super satisfied ahh!! I am SO excited to start up spring troupe again (HELLO character development!!! and chikage) and I’m even MORE excited to get thru all the act 1 events!!!! as a final note, is there any way to reread or replay the flair conversations? I didn’t want any spoilers for the plays while I was doing the practices for them so I kinda sped thru the first time ahah...

HELLO FRIEND IM SO HAPPY TO GET SUCH A LENGHTY ASK ABOUT WINTER IM LKDJFLKDJFLKFD  Winter makes me feel shrimps emotions (i know the whole “shrimps can see more colors than humans can’t comprehend” thing has been disproved but i’m not letting go of that expression, i REALLY feel emotions humans can’t comprehend anymore and i’m going to make it everyone else’s problem)

1) First about the voice acting, rIGHT this is just so fascinating to me!!! I remember after act 2 i came back to reread the main act 1 chapter and i was so thrown out by how GOOD the voice acting was, especially for the first few troupes having to convince you they’re not comfortable or good at acting yet. Winter whole thing is that they’re more subtle and mature and you really feel that with their voice acting, Tsumugi’s voice especially knock it off the park anytime he’s on screen. 

2) Second: what does it say about me that i’ve never, ever considered your reading a possibility because i was so set on “oh Raphael you’re in love with Michael sooooo bad you see it as a tragedy already because you can see him throw his life away” i didn’t even consider “maybe Raphael went through that too”. Though i guess if we’re going with that reading i can totally see “The Woman” they let themselves consumed by easily be a representation of acting or even more the God Troupe, with Raphael/Tasuku knowing to step away before it consumes him completely while Michael/Tsumugi, by his love and passion, pushed himself until he broke, which fits and it hurtsssss god Winter plays hits so hard.

3) Third: oh god yeah when Tsumugi goes for Tasuku’s acting it’s just. It makes me SO uncomfortable, i’ve experienced this scene like three times by now and the third time i was just “can i skip it i can’t go through this again i can’t Tsumugi i love you i can’t do this”. It doesn’t match the play at all and it just throws everyone off balance, and Tsumu you could have told theM YOU WANTED TO DO THAT.... god

4) Fourth: I LOVE YOUR READING SO MUCH I LOVE IT I LOVE IT YES YOU’RE RIGHT!!! Just as we follow Tsumugi let his passion consumes him until he breaks, Tasuku’s character arc really jumps out in Raphael, like, everything you say!!!  The way Tasuku/Raphael knew how the feelings Tsumugi/Michael felt would hurt him on the long run but he didn’t know what to do about it until it was too late, the regrets and the way Raphael voices his frustrations.... Tasuku struggles to be honest without acting (Tasuku pls i love you) but having such a role really help him expressing all he feels about Tsumugi and i’m HHHH this is so good so so good!!! but yeah i also love that Tasuku finally manages to actually compliment Tsumugi naturally, that he understands he can’t let him destroys himself again and it’s just gnhhhhh Tasuku is so kind and considerate and i care about him so much....!!!

5) Fifth: “i’m losing my mind a little” winter mood, winter mood winter mood- (though every troupe’s mood tbh but Winter is gnhhhhh kdhd hdhjf??? you feel me) (i am BIASED i can’t help it TwT) but yeaH i’m looking forward to see how you react to the others plays because the roller coaster juST BEGUN!!!

Onto part 2... Winter Troupe Chapter Feels... 2!

6) Sixth: DLFJDFKLDF HISOKAAAAAAAAAA I LOVE HIM SO MUCHHHHH. Hisoka crying fucked me up so bad!! so so bad!! Like on my first read i didn’t know what to think of him as he starts out very apathic to his troupe and then the more it goes on the more you can feel he starts to open up and i’m soft for this sort of slow burn, but then this whole scene happened and it HIT ME IN THE FACE, he was crying, i was crying, we were all crying, the Unopening Door opened a flood of emotions i can’t cope with. He sounds SO VULNERABLE during that scene and i know all of the Winter Troupe united on “taking care of him” but that’s really the moment i went “i care you and i will keep taking care of you” and look at me now. Thanks funky little scene for ruining my life. I’m glad you liked it i’m aldhjflkjdfkd Hisokaaaaa.....

7) Seventh: I am not commenting on the theory but 👀 that’s so highly specific your friend has a galaxy brain i love it. and i love the idea of “well we have yakuza and supernatural entity what’s an assassin adding himself to it” dLKFJDLKF i know everyone in Mankai calls Izumi out everytime someone joins but that’d be peak. I’m not going further about what December and August and April are all about but i love this plotline sO much, the few mentions of August when Hisoka regained his memories for a minute still haunts me, the guilt he seems to feel and this pain i’m just... godddd such a good set up. I love this plotline.

8) Eigth: EMOTIONS!!  Oh GOD YEAH THE ENDING WITH ALL THE OTHER ACTORS... I cried so hard it’s just. It really shows you it’s not just the culmination of the Winter chapter but of all the act 1 main plot and it really makes you feel how much of a journey you’ve been onto!! A3 is so good at showing you the growth of its characters that especially by the end of Winter you really saw how all of them grew in their respective chapters and how cozy they felt in their new home in the remaining chapters, and the fact this chap has those defining character arc’s lines really drive home “oh my god that was a journey” i love them sO MUCH.... 

9) Ninth: wE WOOOON!!! They’re all so good i just. i’m gonna cry just thinking about it dlfdjlfk i know like, the game has so many content so you know it can’t end at the end of Winter but the suspense really was there. BUT YEAH LMAO I LOVE SAKYO DOING THAT IMMEDIATLY, man sure has the eyes on the prize and we love him for that.  AND THE GAME NIGHT SCENE they are all sO CUTE and sWEET and they’re a family now and i’m hHHHHH i love a3 a normal healthy amount that isn’t just making me cry thinking about how all of them grew so close even through mixed troupes.

10) Tenth: I am SO happy you were satisfied with the plot so far!! I’m genuinely so happy that you decided to take that journey with us and that you shared all of this with me, and i’m so so happy you liked it!! There is still so much content and all of it is so worth it! 

11) Eleventh: Yes!! The flair conversations are all readable on the Mini-Chat tab! So they’re easily accessible and they’re sorted in a way that’s easy to read so you can feel comfortable skipping the flairs if you want until you have seen the stories the flairs are all about. They’re all kinda set during the rehearsals (except for some crosstroupe conversation that wouldn’t make sense if they were like how the Summer Troupe talks with the Spring Troupe in their Flairs DKLFJDF but it’s okay what is a timeline anyway) so some of them are set pre-development and it’s wild to get back to them. I love rereading Flairs i get emotional everytime.

ANND That’s it for this ask! i had a blast reading through your thoughts and i’m so happy and excited!! i’ll send you the drive now so you can start digging through it whenever you feel like it :3c good luck grinding for act 2, meanwhile i hope you’ll have fun with all the act 1 events i compiled for you!!

(side note i need to update the drive too but it’s mostly act 2 content anyway, the only two act 1 things i need to update on it is Sakuya’s birthday card i think?? i think Itaru’s is already in act 2 so i’ll try to get around to it eventually but it’s so far away anyway) (edit: i forgot that the three cards i got for the latest revival are from act 1 DLKJFD okay so i’m missing three cards -)

The drive has backstages and event stories and it may be a lot and overwhelming ahah. Focus on the event stories for the plot and go back to the backstages whenever you feel like it, no need to read them at the same time, unless you want to in which case everything is set up for you :3c and there’s a file with cards that aren’t associated to events too so... lots of goodies hanging around. I’ll send it to you in DM ;O 

Take care and thank you so much for all your thoughts! my inbox remains wide opened for any others thoughts you may have as you go further into it :3c

[dark-and-kawaii]

Kiwiiii =_= ive been waiting to see if you ever write for any of the kuroko boys again and here we are. As Kiyoshi Senpai would say, let's all have some fun! How would our bad boys feel when their fem s/o asks to do their makeup 🐞

Awh, I’ve honestly missed writing for my basketball babes (^w^)

 EHEHE!!! Kiyoshi is right! Let’s all have some fun, yeah??? This request is making me feel so many things since I myself am a makeup artist!!! Thank you so much for sending this in love bug!!!

Yamazaki:

Bless his heart, because this boy is the absolute best. 

Kicking open his bedroom door -makeup pallets in hand- your eyes are practically glowing with so much passion as you run towards him. “Yams!!! Look!! Look!!!” Pressing your pallets against his face he already knows the next thing you’re about to say… “I just got some new pallets!!” -twirling around your skirt lifts ever so slightly and our sweet bad boy is smiling with how cute you are with all your excitement.- “I already have makeup on…. ~sooooo could i please use your face as my canvas?!” 

Yamazaki will of course say yes. He’s mainly curious to see what you can pull off and he’s never had makeup on before so he’s also curious as to how it feels…. 

Will sit as still as he possibly can but his nerves kick in and his knee begins to bounce around which isn’t the best for you since you’re trying to do his mascara… 

You definitely end up poking him in the eye with mascara since he won’t stop bouncing his knee.. And when you try to reapply it he leans back every time while squinting at you… It’ll take years for him to ever trust such a product again, especially in your hands…

Will sit and make kissy faces at you when you apply the lipstick / cracks jokes about how the team would be gay for him.

When the process is all over and you’ve finished his makeup, Yamazaki can see how sad you look since you were having so much fun with him and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying this time with you as well… Picking up one of the pallets you seemed most interested in, Yamazaki will stand from where he was sitting and tell you to sit down. “I want to try doing your makeup, ___.”

Yamazaki will gently wipe off the makeup you had on previously and once its all wiped off he will then attempt to apply makeup to your face…. 

Just as you did to him… He did to you with the mascara… You and Yamz will never trust one another with mascara ever again.

Hara:

Hara just pops his gum as you sit in front of him silently wide eyed awaiting his reply… He pops another bubble… And you can’t take it anymore. “So!? What’s the answer Hara? Will you let me play with my new makeup with you or not?? It should be at my place by now and i really think it would be fun for us!”

Hara makes an annoyed sound as he pops yet another bubble, “Sure, but only if you give me a blow job after.” You can hardly believe it…. that’s a lie… you can believe he would say something like that…. With disgust written all over your face you get up from your desk and begin to storm out while harshly saying, “FINE! I’ll find someone else!! Someone who doesn’t need or want anything in return except fun memories!”

It takes only 2 minutes before Hara is sitting up from his very own desk going after you. Maybe that was a bit too harsh, you’re always doing for him and unlike his previous girls he wants to keep you around.

Eventually finds you on your front steps holding your new Jeffree Star lipsticks and pallet. Taking one of the lipsticks out of your hand he opens it and applies it best he can before pressing his lips together making a popping noise. Smiling at you he pulls back his bangs from his face and asks you if you can help make him a pretty girl.

Turns out to be a fun night with Hara. Applying makeup to him is easy thanks to his smooth skin and him being patient with you. 

Asks if he’s getting anything in returned like sex or a BJ, you just smack him upside the head though. 

Hara surprisingly likes the feeling of eyeshadow being applied to his eyes, your brush is extremely soft and the smooth swiping motions on his eyes is quite calming. Will ask you questions about what does what and what the purpose is… It’s not that he cares it’s just he really wants to make up for how he acts at times -lowkey hopes it scores him points with you-. 

Once his makeup is complete he will tell you to stay in the bathroom as he goes into your room and raids your panty drawer. No no no. It’s not what you think. Once he’s done doing what he wanted, he will come back to your bathroom and there standing before you is one tall ass basketball player wearing your V-string and sport bra… Popping his gum Hara smirks at you, “Mommy is ready for her punishment daddy ____.”

Hara is cringe. 

Seto:

Seto is so chill my god. 

At first Seto isn’t the biggest fan of the idea and he does tell you no the first two times you ask. However as you lay on his chest looking up at him with teary eyes begging him to let you apply makeup to him he can’t help but smirk. “Someone’s quite persistent, aren’t they?” Placing his hand atop your head he tousles your hair and says fine, but only if he can sleep through most of it. 

Sitting up on his chest you peck his nose and agree to this! Most of the makeup can be applied with his eyes shut and it’ll be easier to apply the eyeshadow! “Thank you Seto! I will even hide that mole of your forehead since you hate it so much!!!” You say with one of the sweetest tones he’s ever heard. 

It’s honestly a win win for the both of you. 1st you’re getting to put makeup on your very tough looking boyfriend who is deemed a bad boy in your school. 2nd He loves the feeling of you straddling his chest as you apply the makeup and he’s gotta admit… the powder brush feels pretty damn great.

Once you’re all finished you hand him your glittery mirror and say “BOOM THATS THE POWER OF MAKEUP BABY!!!” His mole is concealed and the pink eyeshadow you applied pops thanks to his darker skin…. His eyes are wide with a bit of concern, he’s heard horror stories of neon shadow staining eyelids…. which guess what… it did…. And the next day he’s going to school with pink eyes and the guys all laugh. However, Seto shrugs it off. It made you happy and that’s what’s important. 

Furuhashi:

Staring out his bedroom window you watched as the rain continued to tap against his window. Between the roaring thunder, Furuhashi’s soft voice, and dark sky, you were slowly starting to doze off… Until your elbow was harshly nudged by another. Furuhashi was gazing at you with his iconic dead fish eyes… He had been trying to help you study but he just couldn’t keep you focused long enough, “____, if you don’t want to study why did you ask?” 

It’s not like you didn’t want to study, honestly. You were falling behind in your language class and he was the best person to ask… and also the only person he’d be okay with you asking since deep down Furuhashi was a bit possessive… Poking his cheek softly with your sanrio pen you asked in your most angelic voice, “~Ko, could i please apply my makeup to your handsome face? It would help wake me up and change the mood in the room.” Adding the puppy pout you looked so pathetic, it made him want to hurt you… 

With a great big sigh, Furuhashi finally caved. He hated makeup being on his face and this wasn’t his first rodeo which is exactly why he always gave you a blank stare and walked away when you asked in the past. His young sister has done this to him in the past and he absolutely hates the way it feels on his face, not only that but it gives him anxiety. 

Doesn’t look thrilled 90% of the time you’re applying your makeup on him. Will look curiously at certain products and arch his eyebrow at you as you dip your brush into the odd looking product in your hand. Asks questions and will grab your wrists when he sees a color he isn’t too fond about -reminds him of the time his younger sister did it and it stained-. 

Will smile ever so gently at you when you’re turned around reaching for a new product as you ramble on about how it works better than the other brands. Furuhashi actually finds you quite adorable at the moment, he’s amazed you’re so passionate about makeup. And as he turns around to look in the mirror -with you still turned around- he’s even more amazed at just how talented you are at it. It makes him want to continue to protect you so you can accomplish your beauty dreams without any interference, though he’ll never admit that openly to you. 

Hanamiya:

Hanamiya has never been so damn annoyed or tired in his entire life, and he’s been through quite the irritating situations before. However as you continue day in and day out asking him… no, scratch that… begging him if you can put makeup on his pasty face his eyes grow more tired and exasperated. 

Eventually snaps on you and makes you cry by calling you an annoyance and that you’ve been nothing but a pest the past week. Give it about an hour though, deep down he knows he messed up and with a click of his tongue he’s off to find you. 

“Hanamiya! I challenge you to a basketball game!!” With unstable quivering legs, you stood as tall as you can as you throw the basketball at the back of Hanamiya’s head…. Ah yes, this is why he loved you and kept you around, not only were you always pulling dumb stunts around him but you also tried to act as if you weren’t afraid of the consequences. Turning around with a devilish smirk, hanamiya replied to you as he picks up the orange sport ball, “Oh? And what might my little ____ want if she wins?” He knew you didn’t have a chance but this was too much fun seeing you have so much hope just so he could take it away.

“I-If i w-win I get to ap-apply my makeup to you… I- I-” Looking down with sullen eyes your voice became low and Hanamiya could hear the deep dejection in it… “I’m just really nervous because this Salon got ahold of me and asked if i could come in a show them my skills… Th-that they are interested in having me there with them… but i wanted to practice on an actual person… i- This was dumb, gomen’nasai Makoto…” 

Before you could even walk away the basketball had made contact with the back of your head this time. Twirling around holding the back of your head you saw that Hanamiya’s eyes were concealed with his jet black hair but his signature grin was fully on display, “Oi oi, who said you could walk away from me? Let’s play.”

It took a solid two hours but you finally managed to beat Hanamiya… Not that you won by pure skills or anything, Hanamiya had let you win. 

Applying his makeup actually ends up being more fun than you thought it would be, though there were a lot of times where he was making it difficult for you -surprise-. Hanamiya will “accidentally” knock a brush out of your hands here and there along with blowing the eyeshadow right off your shadow brush. You don’t know what overcame you but in the heat of the moment you decided to just dump your loose glitter all over his head since he wouldn’t stop acting out, and with a booming laugh you hold your stomach as you die from pure joy after seeing his face.

The atmosphere in your bathroom has changed drastically and his presence is menacing… “Ha-Hanamiya… i- I-im so sorry i just.. I thought it wou-” 

Grabbing you by your throat Hanamiya pins you against the sink as his mouth gets dangerously close to your ear. You can feel his hot breath as he whispers in your ear, “I think it’s time you learned your place, pet.” You’re frightened and unaware of what to do until you feel loose face powder his your face, “BAAAAKA!” Sticking his tongue out at you Hanamiya proceeds to coat your face with loose powder.

[smolbeandrabbles]

Mine - Killian x Reader (Spies In Disguise)

Well. Here is your introduction to this babe-!

GIF Credit: X

Mine / Blank Space / Feel Somethin’ / Glitter Makes People Happy / Fresh Start Fever /  The Scientist

Author’s Note: Sooooo... I’m using Tristan/Killian interchangeably throughout the series, as I wrote the majority of this part before I watched the movie and really had many more thoughts on him, for now he’s referred to simply as Killian. I have waaaaay too many plot points to work through with this man. So, here we are!

Part 1 of a 5 part movie prequel series. So, there’s quite a lot of set up. As usual, bear with me! Note: Just because I sometimes like talking about my OCs/Readers - this reader was originally created in 2014 - I’ve already used most of her aesthetics elsewhere but... it’s nice to get to use the parts of her I scrapped here. The joys of Killian being cybernetic, I guess!

Disclaimer: I own no characters or plot lines from Spies in Disguise / Lyrics not mine. / Some of this is Ben Mendelsohn in promo interviews’ fault...!

Premise: After a particularly rough interrogation encounter, Killian takes you to safety in order to recuperate... 

Words: 3282

Warnings: N/A. There aren’t any spoilers for Spies... in here, but to be on the safe side, proceed with caution!

_______

I was a flight risk, with a fear of fallin' Wondering why we bother with love, if it never lasts I say, "Can you believe it?" As we're lyin' on the couch The moment, I can see it, Yes, yes, I can see it now Do you remember, we were sittin', there by the water? You put your arm around me for the first time You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter You are the best thing, that's ever been mine Flash forward, and we're takin' on the world together And there's a drawer of my things at your place You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm guarded You say we'll never make my parents' mistakes Do you remember all the city lights on the water? You saw me start to believe, for the first time You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter You are the best thing, that's ever been mine

You said, "I'll never leave you alone" You said, "I remember how we felt, sitting by the water. And every time I look at you, it's like the first time. I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter. She is the best thing that's ever been mine."

---

* System Failure * -> Reboot Required --> Recalibration in progress ---> Reboot whole system? -----> Full system reset in operation -> Standby... 5...4...3...2... Rebooting.

 You opened your eyes slowly, everything hurt. But it was a strange pain that seemed to dull with every second of regained consciousness. Everything was too bright and you grumbled to yourself and shielded your eyes - burying your head into whatever you were lying on. But with your body complaining at you, it was impossible to lie here and fall back to sleep - and even more impossible for a slight feeling of unease to not creep over you.

You hadn't fallen asleep here. In fact you couldn't even remember falling asleep... And the scratchiness of whatever you covered you wasn't sheets. Your eyes opened again and you realised from the polished grey flooring you weren't in a bedroom either. You sat up - grasping immediately for the jacket falling from your shoulders - to keep that warmth around you.

You slipped off the plush couch, drawing it around you, stretching your legs out. they still complained at you, but you were all but ignoring them now.  The simple black dress you were wearing came to barely above your knees - had you even been wearing that? - why was your memory so fuzzy? You took a deep breath - and that helped nothing. Your heart suddenly leaping out of your chest at something so familiar to you; the scent of his cologne. You would have scanned the room for a clue of some kind - shoes? Heels maybe? This was a suit jacket after all...  Dinner? That's what the attire said. But it wasn't what the scenery said. You kept walking towards the bright white reflecting through the window.

 You found yourself staring at a seemingly endless mountain range - pure white snow covered nearly everything. The window seemed to also stretch for infinity, even in its many panels - curved around this side of the house. You stared hard at the breath-taking view for a minute. How gorgeous the blue of the sky was today… You pulled that jacket around you tighter still, looking to the stone below you carved smooth in order to build this base up here. The helicopter stationed on its pad let you know he was probably still home. But as you drew your gaze up, along with your smile, you noticed something else. And had to drop your grasp on the jacket - it lay itself over your shoulders, as if it was just as unwilling to let go of you - and you gasped, examining your wrists. They were faint, but both of them held ligature marks. You stretched them out in front of you. That looked bad - that looked very bad... You rubbed them, as if hoping that would also bring the memory back - but nothing. Holding them close to your chest you bit your lip, hard, and looked out to the mountains again. There was nothing you loved more than being here. But this time was different. And it was the first time you'd ever been fearful.

 The footsteps echoed down the hallway, but you didn't turn until you heard them descend the steps into the living area. Step, step, step. Now you knew there should have been two more - so the pause made you turn. Killian was leaning against the wall, looking you over curiously. He was wearing your favourite deep blue shirt, and the jacket to go with his suit was clearly still around your shoulders. "You're awake. I thought it would take more out of you than that. I'm surprised..." You turned away from the window fully then, "...I can't..." "Remember anything?" He stepped forward, two steps and then across the room in slow strides. Somewhere in the back of your mind you knew you should be scared of this man. That it was something you'd been told often... Or... At least recently; it was just about reachable in your memory. But you weren't. And you knew that you never had been by the smile you felt developing on your face. "I'm sorry..." His voice was soft, "I'm working on that... It's not as easy as I wish it were." "What happened?" "Lance Sterling happened, as ever. It took me about 4 days to locate you - I'm sorry. You kinda got yourself out..." He indicated to your wrists. "But it took a lot out of you, so I brought you back here to recuperate." "Killian..." You breathed, remembering the name, and looked back to the window, "...I'm sorry." You knew it was probably a lot of trouble and time he didn’t have to even pick you up – and if they had found a way to track you, this sanctuary was no longer safe. "Woah..." His footfall now put him directly in front of you - and his fingers touching your skin shocked you, making you step away from him with wide eyes. Killian dropped his hands; "I'm sorry... That's an effect of your recalibration." He tilted his head frowning; “…But you don’t need to be.” Sorry; he meant. Somehow you knew the right thing to do was say "What have you done to me this time?" "I told you - I'm not messing with your tech. But sometimes you're reckless and you drain your human body. Just because your legs can carry you forever doesn't mean they should." You couldn't really remember him telling you that, but you took his hand back in yours - senses running on overdrive, you could feel every ridge in his fingertips; "All you need is rest, Y/N... And you'll be fine. I was just coming to check on you... It'll be the chip..." He indicated to the couch again, "Please sit."

 You inexplicably trusted this man - and you did as he asked with no questions. Killian held out his hand and you knew to put your right in his. Watching him press down for a number of seconds something mechanical clicked, and your right arm lit in sparodic places before a tiny compartment opened up. But something in your head was still telling you this was routine.  He had a small device with him, and he plugged it into the compartment. Immediately it beeped. Brain too fuzzy to decipher the numbers you were squinting at; it didn’t take him nearly so long to sigh deeply and chide you; "Your heart rate is elevated... You don't need to be afraid of this..." "I know." But did you? Killian nudged you as further data flashed up; "No you don't... You're running on your chips; your brain is still dormant. And I told you I wasn't going to run you like this." He shook his head, muttering “I knew those idiots would never listen. The tech is too smart for its own good… And they’re too stupid to calibrate it properly.” You thought that was a little ironic considering Killian had just confessed he’d probably done the calibration wrong himself, but thought better to hold your tongue. Besides, all he did was leave you confused; "Meaning what?" He turned his blue eyes back on you, unsure if he should go on. But gave it to you in its simplest terms; "You're sleep walking." "What?" How was that possible? You were conscious, right? Sleep walkers usually had no idea what was going on. You might not remember anything prior to this, but you were aware this was really happening right now. "You won't remember this when you wake up... But you'll remember everything else." So why should he bother explaining it in technical terms you would actually understand, when Killian knew he would just have to do so again later. "Sleep walking?" "I'm talking to a computer. That's creepy isn't it? I told you - They should never have performed the operation..." "But you're glad they did. Or I wouldn't be here. And then where would you be?" That also felt like something you were supposed to say – that he had told you enough times. "Hush..." Killian brushed his hands over your exposed legs, and you gasped, "You feel this?" "Yes." And this time you were aware of your elevated heart beat, and the heat of his palms on your thighs – test or not. "Then your body will be fine. And when you actually wake up, we're talking about that chip. I'm for taking it out of you. For now, you're going back to bed." You looked to the little device again, more than a little scared. What would he do? Force a system shut down?

"Y/N..." You looked back into his eyes, "Whatever your warning system is telling you, you're going to fall asleep naturally. Don't start thinking I'm using this. You're safe." He unplugged it very carefully, every movement slow so you could track it, before he stood - "But you can follow me..." You did as Killian asked, and walked with him up the corridor. But it wasn’t long before he tapped one of the many doors. "Bed. Rest. Now." Then he walked to places unknown. Your eyes followed him for a little while until he was out of sight, and your heart seemed to sink – you missed him already – before you opened the door and found yourself in a bedroom. Again, something about this was so familiar. And you instantly felt tired. You knew the bed was a soft, warm, safe space and smiled. That man was right.

 **

 When you woke again, you wished you hadn't. And everything hurt. For real this time. Sometimes being cybernetic wasn't all it was cracked up to be - and that was the last time you tried to snap handcuffs in an interrogation room to escape.  Killian was who they really wanted, of course, but you were (on occasion) his assistant, and the H.T.U.V would take what they could get... And… well, you were also a lot more than that. So they probably had surveillance footage of the two of you together in many places. You were never trying to actively hide, an easier target than the man you were with. You sat up, head throbbing. And the next thing you heard was a series of beeps. You turned around; "Oh god. Can't you give me 5 minutes?" Your shiny blue metallic assistant drone, KiTT, whined at you sarcastically again. And you wanted to kick it. "Yeah, I'm aware... Where's Killian?" More beeps "Oh. Figures..." He’d probably sent your drone up to check on you; sometimes that proved less helpful than he wanted. You stood and almost immediately stumbled, having to rebalance yourself; "...Sometimes I really hate my parents..." This hadn't been your decision after all. Everything from your waist down - and a major portion of your arms were now cybernetic. To look at you, you were a regular human, but there was nothing regular about what was underneath your skin (synthetic or otherwise). It had been caused by a lab explosion that should have taken your life, more than ten years prior.  This tech would save it, for a price your parents would pay. And here you were. You took your steps slowly up the corridor as the two parts of your body readjusted themselves to Killian's new calibration. You already didn't like it.  And he would, as always, love your complaining. Meeting a man with as much of a knack for robotics as you wasn't coincidence. But he was something else entirely – he was almost too smart to be just the person he was. Sometimes you wondered why he wasn’t a little more legitimate, or why he wasn’t just a scientist himself. You suppose it ran further back than he was prepared to admit to you. And everything was always so shady when he was out here and you were calling him by a different name… He financed things less than legal, and you were pretty sure he made all his money the same way. Still, it always came back to technology and it was where both of you were most at home. When you reached the labs, all was strangely quiet.  KiTT continued to follow you, a nice dull hum that you had grown used to over the years, and were oddly lost without no matter how damn annoying it could be. You didn’t like the thought of Killian down here alone and left to his own devices, but you supposed this was only for your sake. He would rather be out there with his various factions – doing whatever it was they all did on a daily basis. You already knew none of it was good. When Killian dropped you back in civilisation he’d go off and get Lance and co chasing him around again – and you’d go back to the innovation lab you worked at, until he needed you or you saw him again – sometimes just by happenstance. And that’s how life was. You paused every so often at various research stations and abandoned work benches. Killian clearly hadn’t been alone long, and whatever he was working on seemed huge. Nightly news reels were calling, you could feel that.

 You eventually found him, sitting staring at research. By now your assistant had flown over to another part of the lab, to continue the work Killian had put him on before sending him to check on you. “What have you got KiTT doing for you?” “Nothing you wouldn’t have him do...” You glanced suspiciously from your other half over to KiTT, welding pieces together “He’s not YOUR assistance drone.” Killian kept his blue eyes on his monitor for a moment, “You’re the one who won’t tell me who built him.” “I built him!” You took immediate offence to that, and folded your arms. “Yeah But you said it yourself, he was a kit.” Which Killian always assumed was where his name came from “I modified him a little...” You continued to watch, concerned as KiTT carefully drew out and inserted vials of vibrant liquid into whatever he was building. Killian sighed, knowing that look well “If you don’t want me to use him, I’ll stop. But then either you have to get more involved - and you want to be the neutral one - or I need the name.” “I get worried he’s gonna get hurt!” That was a No, then. “I sent him to look after you.” “So you didn’t have to deal with the sarcasm any longer?” Killian gave a shrug, that accompanied his smile, hitting a few keystrokes - “He doesn’t sass me.” “Yeah I bet-! Too scared!” “Am I scary?” Right now no. But he damn well could be – you’d seen the outcomes of this line of work. “Intimidating. Up there at the lofty heights of... 6...?” “Classified!” You scoffed “As if your height is classified.” “Definitely is.” You squinted at his monitor, now more interested in whether that would tell you what your drone was doing; "What are we stealing today?" He chuckled; "No. I'm just researching." "Yeah, what to steal next." You leant against his desk, eying him; "Do you ever stop?" "Do you?" He turned to you slowly, fixing you with blue eyes that could easily see right through you. Sometimes he made you feel guilty even when you had nothing to hide. You held your hand’s up defensively, knowing he was immediately talking about the interrogation; "I didn't say anything!" "No. I know that." "Going through my memory bank now-!?" Your eyes narrowed in suspicion. If Killian had access to the chip, he could do whatever he wished. "I would never do something like that. I just know you. How are you feeling?" At least you knew him well enough to know that was true, and you appreciated his concern. "...I... Guess I've felt better..." "Well. Yeah, your calibration went wrong - my mistake." "Sorry!?" Killian wasn’t usually one for making mistakes, let alone admitting to them when he did. "I need to take that chip out of the base of your brain, I think." You scoffed, "And kill me? That's the reason all this works!" You presented yourself to him. "I know..." He held his hand out for yours, attention now all on you, voice low, "But I don't like what it's doing to you. I can make a better one." "Ehhh... Should I trust you?" You allowed Killian to pull you to him, and wound your arms around his shoulders. It was really a rhetorical question, if he wasn’t tuning up your robotics you were doing it yourself. "If it's the only thing you do." "Complex operation?" Though you knew the answer before he gave it. "Majorly." He gave a shrug; "I just want that thing out." His fingertips ran up your back, halting at the top of your neck; if he pressed down hard enough he could feel the offending object under your skin. You knew Killian wouldn’t say something like that without reason – you doubted even this man would risk your life, you traced your hand up to meet his, fingers lacing together; "...What happened?" "Well, it can wake you up without you being conscious - that's the stuff of nightmares. And that knowledge alone should be enough to convince you!" You opened your mouth; "Do...I want-" "No." He pulled you onto his lap and tucked your hair back, "I'm going to need to repress it. Your entire system rebooted and took you with it. Not good - probably my fault. But it's not doing it again..." He indicated to his other screen, upon which displayed a schematic of your robotic and synthetic material - "I'm going to put in a fail safe." Killian always explained everything he did to you in great detail, and only tuned you up if you agreed to it.

You narrowed your eyes, sitting back against his chest; "I thought you took the last one off…?" "Yeah... I did. Because that one was holding you back. Whoever made this for you decided to give it one basic function." Killian also only messed with anything if it was going to perform better than what was already there. "Which is?" "To function." You could have finished that for him. They taught you how to use it. The basics. But let me show you how to employ it. The potential of what you have should be realised, Y/N! You weren't sure it wasn't for his own ends. But one thing was for sure, until he showed otherwise, you'd trust Killian and his judgements. "Do it." You weren’t even sure you wanted to hear the what or why – you trusted him implicitly, whatever he would do for you would be for the best. You almost slipped from his grip; thinking the conversation was over – before he pulled you back, hands taking yours; "Hold on. I have to test it all first, I'm not just putting that chip in you..." You turned back to him, "Oh! And here you had me all excited!" “It’ll be finished in a few days. I don’t want to put you through a complete system overhaul twice in one week.” You folded your arms with a smirk; “This is just a ploy to keep me here all to yourself, Killian, isn’t it?” He rolled his eyes, question left unanswered, "Now hush for a minute and tell me which diamond you like best?" You made yourself more comfortable in his arms and studied the screen; "So you are stealing diamonds." "Yes. We're stealing diamonds..." He kissed your hair gently, making you absentmindedly smile and nestle further into him; "Now pick one!"

---

Hit me up - he’s not going anywhere! This is only fic 1/? (All Five parts of this are also started. FYI 😊😉)

Note 2: I had a plot point to do with the drones that I kinda had to kill due to the movie... - but I wanted her to have one as an assistant, so. Here’s KiTT. I’m keeping him.

Who do I even tag?! Are we all interested in animated bois voiced by Ben Mendelsohn fics?  @xxstar-bluesxx​ - Thank you for your patience! 💜💙😊 @3134045126​ - my girl 😉 Just you wait-!

@dennismitchell @happyskywhale @wltz-bby #MendoTagSquad.

[hongism]

No omg it absolutely is important for y/n to go collect those memories but im so sad for her cause I'm sure its gonna completely warp her idea of everything she thought she knew and its gonna be Wild and Hurty. Poor thing already been through so much 😢 but like I said that bITCH JISUNG is under the same roof and we Cannot Have That + her lack of memories and in general knowledge of the type of person it seems Jisung is shaping up to be in this lovely series... you shouldn't feel bad that we're all out for his blood! Unless you have a plot twist up ahead thats gonna make us all feel Horrible for feeling that way lol. Yo 👁 is this chat with Jisung going to be the Out for that agreement to stay with him 👁 she has to have an out right like.. she can't go with Jisung. Just. Cannot. Also I keep thinking about how creepy it must have been for the others to run into the room after y/n pinged their wristbands and find both of the occupants passed out/unresponsive. Or omg how yeo must have felt to finally talk to woo even if he obviously didn't sound like himself.. my heart. Bro the end of the chapter came so suddenly like I was halfway through and it felt like I read two paragraphs and it was over cause I was so entranced it was so good. I'm sorry this is so long I just have Many Thoughts hfkslfldhsl but anyway the main reason I responded was cause of the memories thing and she definitely needs to talk to him and figure out What The Fuck Is Up but 😥 child 😥 sweetie 😥 y/n 😥 I hope someone knocks jisung the fuck out if those lil snippets of lost memories are indeed real. This is so long am so sorry v.v --rolypoly

hohoohohoohoho hold up you’re onto something there “its gonna completely warp her idea of everything she thought she knew” oop- 😶🧐🍵 i can guarantee it’s something completely unexpected and something that hasn’t been hinted at enough for anyone to guess yet but as more pieces start falling into place i don’t doubt that yall will be able to figure out what’s up with that REALLY QUICKLY i love to see yall getting theories spot on it makes me so happy 😢 is this chat with him gonna be the Out 👁 is it gonna be what breaks seonghwa 👁 is it gonna be the Final straw 👁 seonghwa was there with y/n and witnessed her memories with her sooooo surely he’s got something to say about that after he recovers from his own trauma 👁 god wouldn’t that be so creepy like whew i got chills just now thinking about that hot damn that would be Very terrifying and Very creepy ;-; and YEO 😢 finally gets to talk to his woo but it’s through y/n’s body and voice damn that’s heartbreaking a bit :c it felt like it came sUPER suddenly to me too like omg i finished and was like wait what hold on and had to make sure i had everything Wrapped Up properly before editing aodijgodifjg our sweet baby child lovely y/n 😢😢 dONT APOLOGIZE FOR IT BEING LONG THO!!!! long asks give me a 💕serotonin boost💕 and i love them lots <3