#but my big pet peeve is when these types of games set up arcs

[conventofpleasure]

all I want is for grace madison to live a few more chapters and not be a victim of the mean girl death curse

[bigskydreaming]

(Same lightning crashes anon here) thank u for answering my word vomit 😂 one thing I forgot to say in my ridiculous long ask was that I just really love how for once it’s Scott and his pack who know things? Like in the show Scott and his pack were always having to find out information as they had each different crisis (they always seemed at a disadvantage at first I mean), and in fanfic it’s always stiles who somehow knows everything and is just super knowledgeable about everything, or the hales etc 🙃 very petty of me but I love how my fave and his pack are the ones here who know more about the supernatural world, and who have connections with important people, and who know important information about things - Scott is too nice, but part of me is hoping Aiden or malia or someone who cares less would remind certain people that they are not actually the be all and end all of knowledge and should probably get off their high horse before they get shown up.. saw it a bit with aiden and Ethan roasting the whole ‘anything but human sacrifices’ conclusion and it was very satisfying lmao

LOL I honestly love these asks and sorry for not getting to this one sooner. I’ve been sitting on it for awhile because I wanted to respond when I posted the next chapter, which has been my focus like all month, its just because its been literal years I’m trying to make sure when I do post I’m able to get out this whole next chunk of the story out in quick succession, because it makes up kinda its own little arc and I’ll feel better about not having interruptions between it. So I want to get at least up to Chapter 10, which has been written for literal years and is one of my fave bits of the whole story, and its just a couple of the POV sections in between that I’m still toiling away on. Ideally I would love to get up to Chapter 13 and the introduction of Bloody Mary, the queen of the New York vampires as she’s a hoot and a half to write but we’ll see. LOL we’re talking about a good 50K worth of stuff already, it’ll at least double the existing published word count, and I’ve been chafing to post for awhile now.

If curious, the breakdown of the upcoming chapters, done the way I usually style each chapter’s three section summaries:

Chapter 6: Kira confronts Scott at school, Liam encounters the nogitsune, and back in Beacon Hills, another body is discovered. (Kira POV, Liam POV, Allison POV).

Chapter 7: Meredith visits Scott at Otherworld, offering dire warnings in her oh so cryptic fashion, Josh negotiates with the sirens for safe passage for the pack should it come to that, but they demand a favor in return, and in Beacon Hills, a long held secret comes to light and drives a wedge between the twins. (Scott POV, Josh POV, Aiden POV).

Chapter 8: Meredith plays a dangerous game, Theo’s forcibly drafted by a new player on the board and the sirens’ mysterious shipment coming in at the docks has all the old movers and shakers in town on edge and fortifying their places of power. There’s a storm on the rise. (All Theo POV, its a break from the traditional three POV structure and kinda a single long interlude thing).

Chapter 9: Kira continues her investigation as to just who and what Scott really is and what agenda he’s pursuing, Hayden spies on her sister, newly arrived in town, and debates reaching out to her, and back in Beacon Hills, Danny enlists Boyd’s help in preparing some contingencies in case the Hale pack is right to be wary of the twins as the night of the double date approaches. (Kira POV, Hayden POV, Boyd POV).

Chapter 10: The artifact being smuggled in by the sirens on behalf of an unknown third party arrives at the docks while Scott’s pack ensures it gets where its supposed to go, but there are numerous parties with other plans for it - some seeking it for their own designs while others think its best dropped into the bottom of the ocean - and all out chaos erupts on the docks in a many-sided fight for a single prize that ends up missing when all is said and done. (Long chapter, almost 15K, and lots of small subsections from tons of POVs from all different corners of the operation and ensuing fight. Scott POV, Tracy POV, Malia POV, Josh POV, Theo POV, Meredith POV).

And if I do get up to Chapter 13, that would be:

Chapter 11: Meanwhile, back in Beacon Hills, date night arrives while the Hale pack spies unobstrusively from a distance - or at least, that’s the intended idea. But when Julia Baccari is in town, what you see is not always what you get. (Lydia POV, Julia POV, Isaac POV).

Chapter 12: Having fallen into a somewhat comfortable give-and-take routine with Scott, Kira is aware something big is up with Scott and his friends and decides to try a different approach to getting answers, as she sets out to trail Scott after school. Back in Beacon Hills, Ethan tries to figure out just what the hell went wrong at the end of date night and why the Hale pack seems to have suddenly ramped up their wariness towards the twins to DEFCON 1. In New York, Brett has an unexpected encounter with Liam’s new friend Mason, only to be interrupted by an all out alarm from Carrie - someone snatched Scott on his way to work at Otherworld and no one knows where he is or who has him. (Kira POV, Ethan POV, Brett POV).

Chapter 13: Bloody Mary, queen of the city’s vampires, wants to know just who exactly has **** ****’s necklace right now and how worried about that she needs to be, and thinks Scott has the answers. ‘I don’t know’ is not what she’s looking for. Theo’s new employer has made it clear he expects Theo to find it or get it from whoever has it ASAP, which puts him on Scott’s trail and in the unexpected position to play rescuer and curry some favor at the cost of revealing himself.....but another option presents itself when he realizes he’s not the only one shadowing Scott. Back in Beacon Hills, while digging into the how of the nogitsune’s release from the Nemeton, Aiden realizes that the local vet is a druid. (Scott POV, Theo POV, Aiden POV).

Anyway anyway.

As to the subject of your ask......yessssss. That was one of my big aims with this story because its SUCH a pet peeve to me, how often allegedly ‘smarter’ characters on the show are praised for having knowledge that’s wholly situational and has nothing to do with how intelligent the characters are for knowing it? Like.....Stiles knows stuff....that he was literally just shown googling and that’s how he knows it. And Derek knows stuff....because he grew up in a werewolf pack who told him about kitsunes and other supernatural creatures. Etc, etc. And yet so often Scott is labeled dumb for just not knowing stuff that he’s not MEANT to know in the show because on the show he’s meant to fill the role of the everyman kid who was thrust uninformed into a world he had no way to prepare for.....and the show wanted to KEEP him in that fish out of water headspace for a lot of the show, like, it was deliberate? And again, wholly situational?

So that was definitely one of the things I deliberately set out to do differently with this fic, because I was like......this pack has been all over the country, encountered tons of creatures, beings and figures of all types, and are smack in the middle of a supernatural hot spot in New York. They’re gonna know all about the supernatural world and community just by nature of their EXPERIENCES.

And yes, Scott may not be the type to lord greater knowledge or experience over know-it-alls who like to be vague and cryptic to cover up when they don’t actually know as much as they claim to, but as you said, that’s what he has Aiden and Malia for lolololol.

[ayankun]

yalright let’s do this

AGENTS OF SHIELD SEASON ONE REWATCH COMPLETE BREAKDOWN MEGAPOST

hella spoilers for the entire canon up through season 5, but not 6 because I only saw it the once and am having a hard time remembering ANYthing about it.

I cannot determine specifically what it was about this season that caused to be branded “literal garbage” in my mind-hole for seven years.

Best guesses:

there’s some cheesy stuff that probably didn’t sit well with me at the time, and, at the time, there was no way of knowing that that kind of stuff was going to be ultimately eradicated

there’s some good stuff, like character stuff and plot stuff, but it didn’t successfully implant positive emotional responses in my brain-hole, leading me to be frustrated/offended at its own self-importance

there’s some stuff that just Doesn’t Work.  I won’t call anybody out, but there are some main side characters whose casting, in my opinion, leaves much to be desired.  when it comes to acting ability, I feel that it’s important to have the ranges of your entire cast match each other.  if you’re gonna hire B-listers, at least make sure they’re ALL B-listers.  if you’re gonna splurge and get some S-tier talent, pleeeeease don’t embarrass the B-listers by thinking you’re doing them a favor by including them on your project.  Understood, this opinion is highly subjective and I can’t expect everyone in front or behind the screen to buy into it, but it’s definitely a pet peeve of mine that causes strong reactions in me*

some of the plots are tired and/or straight up boring.  I got through them easily this time through because I was able to focus on the things I like, which is largely character interactions and re-learning the backstory for stuff that I know will continue to be important later on.  imagine listening to your grandpa’s stories about his life, but instead of telling you the cool stories about going to the moon or whatever, he’s telling you in great detail about the time he got his shoelaces stuck on like, a rusty nail sticking out of a fence.  It’s not a great story but it does explain why his mom only bought him velcro shoes after that and one time when they were trying on shoes in the store a couple of years later, some other kid started making fun of him for having velcro shoes and long story short your grandpa’s relationship with that kid is what got him interested in astrophysics and also he married that kid twenty-five years later -- but right now the story is specifically about spending forty minutes trying not to get tetanus.

Now that I’m older and wiser, what really surprised me throughout, though, was that not only was I not having any type of reaction that validated my “literal garbage” classification, I was noticing that there was A Lot of stuff that ticked a lot of boxes.

I’m talking technical stuff, the textbook basic filmmaking stuff, the stuff that I subjectively find objectively “Good” because it means that creative decisions were made with intent and were also executed proficiently enough to make that intent clear.

I’m talking SYMMETRICAL NARRATIVE which has to be one of my all-time favorite techniques, one that I personally use a lot, and I’m very biased in responding favorably when I see it, so I think ultimately this is a huge reason why this season cannot be classified as garbage this time around.  Because it shows that they cared!  It shows that they had A Plan!  It’s an emotionally satisfying technique that can be used to great effect when tipping the audience off to how far we’ve come from where we started.  It creates this nice tidy structural loop which I find very appealing.

Just real quick, you see this in individual episodes or even scenes, too.  Here’s a classic A+ example from episode 2:

Simmons has given Skye a bottle of water as a gag because that’s what happens on planes, and that bit is a set up to this bit, where Coulson is talking about how he rebuilt the Bus from the “studs up” and it demands to be treated with kid gloves; ergo:

Only to have the thing completely wrecked over the course of the episode.  In the denouement, “just starting to warm up to this place,” Coulson says ruefully, righting a broken glass as if that will put the plane back together; Skye immediately tosses a coaster down and moves the glass on top of it.

As a callback, it juxtaposes the starting-state and ending-state in your mind and highlights the contrast between the two.  And it’s also a nice character-building beat where you, the audience, get to observe Skye’s character in that she remembers a trivial detail that happened to be important to Coulson.  You also get to see Coulson observing the same, and you understand a little bit more about both of them.  *chef’s kiss*

So this is a pretty powerful and common technique, and I guess you could say that any well-resolved narrative is by definition going to recall you to the specifics of how it started.  Like ep 1 we start with Mike and Ace, their call and response “what are we/we’re a team,” and an understanding of Mike’s desire to be his kid’s guardian and hero and his desperate search for the tools that will allow him to become that.  In the finale, we see the pay off where Ace (via Skye) reminds Mike of this motivation, and Mike is finally in the position to protect his kid by taking out the Big Bad.

But I don’t want to go through the list to demonstrate that everyone’s character arcs likewise left them in a thematically resolved position relative to where they started.  Obviously this is an expectation of all (well structured) narratives. 

(And I don’t really mean to talk about callbacks themselves, such as Fitz’s obsession with monkeys or May’s repeated demand of “don’t call me that.”)

Stuff that only comes up at the beginning and the end.  Here’s the kind of symmetry that I mean:

Skye’s use of GPS encryption and the location of the diner where she first meets Mike.  Both topics come up in ep 1, and are revisited in ep 20 when she’s stalling for time against Ward and brings him to the diner by telling him that it’s the GPS coordinates necessary for decrypting the drive.  It says, last time you were here, Skye, you were living out of a van and fangirling over people with superpowers; now you’re an official agent of SHIELD (fun while it lasted, anyway) and you’re currently doublecrossing your own doublecrosser who was directly responsible for transforming you into the competent spy you are today.

Same thing: the only time we see Lola fly is at the end of ep 1, when Coulson and Skye are heading back to the Bus, and in ep 20 when Coulson rescues Skye from off the Bus.

Ep 2: 0-8-4.  We’re introduced to the very first object with the titular designation, and Simmons idly wonders “imagine what it would do to a person.”  Ep 22, it’s used to evaporate Garrett.  Same ep, we also meet the little, what even is it, that dendrotoxin EMP (??? I don’t recall whether the gadget is named) that Ward uses, and Coulson uses it in ep 17 to incapacitate Garrett.

Similarly, all the cool alien gadgets we spent the first few episodes gathering and locking up, including that first 0-8-4, are all broken out into the wrong hands in ep 18.

Also in ep 2 we are introduced to the idea of being thrown out of the airplane and Skye & co specifically prevent Ward from being sucked out.  We’re introduced to the concept of Coulson’s cellist!  Fury also makes a cameo (”talkin to me about authority”) ! 

It’s a little later on, but ep 6 has Simmons jumping out the plane, and Ward proving his Good Teammate status by jumping out after her (while Fitz is struggling on his way to do the same).  Ep 21, Ward boots FitzSimmons out the plane, and in ep 22 Fitz finally has the chance to properly save Simmons himself.

Ep 19 Coulson has a chance to save his cellist (again)

Ep 22, Fury comes back all Deus ex Machina and relinquishes authority of SHIELD directly to Coulson.

There’s also some dialogue recycled on purpose to make a point, like Fitz-Simmons introductory scene is recreated almost verbatim in ep 21:

Ep 2, talking to Skye about his mission vs ep 18 talking to Raina about his mission

(gotta admit, the man took this role seriously.  check out that cheekbone game he achieved in such a short time)

And again, Ep 1 Ward vs Ep 18 Ward.  They even framed it the same!!

All this to say, Season 1 is Structurally Sound and it has my blessing.

Now let’s move on to the list of things I liked that surprised me:

It’s pretty well polished, visually.  Joss Whedon’s veteran control of the director’s chair is readily apparent in the pilot, setting the visual tone for the series.  There are some made-for-tv shots over the course of the season, sure, and the least impressive compositions tend to involve CGI backdrops, but they do make the most of their interior sets and work hard to dress up various LA locations to, er, inspire the idea of the international scope of the show.  In my last update, I talked about ep 8 The Well in the context of Quality Directing, so it definitely goes above and beyond the basic shot-reverse shot when it wants to.

Ward.  Just for the record, I think Brett Dalton is great at his job and really brought exactly what they wanted to this character.  Eps 1 and 2 are a little shaky and stiff, but everyone’s performances are, as they let these characters coalesce around them.  I remember not liking Ward when I was watching this live, and honestly I think this was intentional.  He’s that character that you expect that you’re expected to like, you know, the traditional cocky savior type that lots of those fancy heroes are.  But because he’s so tropey in his characterization, you’re just ... over it?  And then when they flip the script and you’re supposed to hate him -- WOW.  It’s like two Christmases at once.  They took something you were already doing and rewarded you for it.

I’m not unaware of the “redeem grant ward” phenomenon.  I’m aware that the character had fans who were honestly drawn to and appreciative of the character before that persona was revealed to be a lie.

And honestly, it’s not that I like OR dislike Ward at all.  As a person.  It’s annoying that he’s a cocky bad-boy.  But it’s sweet when he plays nice with Simmons.  It’s embarrassing that he and May have “a thing.”  But it’s cathartic when he opens up to Skye about his past.  And Then, the sequence where we know he’s Hydra but Skye doesn’t.  And Then, the sequence where Skye knows he’s Hydra but he doesn’t.  And Then, his weird yucky confusion where he still wants to pursue something with Skye or doesn’t want to put down puppy-dog-eyed Fitz.

As a character, Ward is a great character.  His set up is so bland that the twist does appear to come out of nowhere, but on a rewatch all the groundwork is there.  His characterization as a baddie is enthralling.  I’m forecasting into season 2 a bit, but you want to follow his nefarious exploits just as much as you want to see his ex-friends smash his face in.  Brett Dalton played it right, A+ good job.  It makes Framework!Ward just that much more of a beautiful thing, to get to see what it would have been like if the Season 1 persona had actually been the man.

Also as covered in the last update, I was really very pleased to see how much character work was being done in this season.  Because I only watch and rewatch starting from the second season, there are important plot points that I’d been grudgingly attributing to this season about which I’d forgotten the specifics, such as, what’s the deal with Gravitonium, howcome we hate Ward so much, where did they get that memory-torture-machine, why are you acting like I recognize Titus Welliver’s character?  What surprised me was how much of a focus there is on character development as well.  A lot of good origin story stuff, like how green FitzSimmons is and how soft and good-hearted Skye is and all the reasons we respect and trust May and all the reasons we would follow Coulson to the ends of the earth.  Watching a found family start to put down roots is worth it, too, ten times out of ten.

The tie-in stuff wasn’t as overstated and stifling as I remembered it being.  They were allowed quite a long leash even this far back.  Centipede is based on Extremis, but helms a a unique narrative.  The Asgardians-of-the-week are just MacGuffins for driving character stories.  Turns out all of SHIELD has been Hydra all along!  Sucks to be you, a show about the Agents of SHIELD ... oh wait, Daddy MCU’s insane twist is mirrored in the DNA of your team’s composition AND baked into your overall season arc?  Well then.  Carry on!

Engaging with Season 1 explicitly as a prequel is a powerful thing.  First time through, I had the distinct realization that “too much of a good thing” was at play regarding Coulson.  He’s everybody’s favorite MCU character in 2013, hands down, but ... getting intimate with him for 40 minutes a week really waters down his mysterious G-man appeal.  BUT.  After spending six+ years with the man, Season 1!Coulson is a precursor to the 3-dimensional Director you’ll fall in love with, rather than a distortion of the one-liner MCU!Coulson you thought you wanted.

So what’s next!  Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and here all all the things I associate with AoS that were not present in Season 1:

Robot hand.

DaISy JoHnsOn

AGENT/DIRECTOR MACK where is he I need him

Fitz’s facial hair

Their underground SSR base with the exposed brick, I miss that place all the time

Hive, Bobbi*, Hunter, Kyle MacLachlan, Maveth (everything** about Seasons 2 and 3, really).  Robbie Reyes.  Aida and Kasius!!  I know these things are temporary, but they’re so important to the best bits and I love them.

Getting to see episode after episode where there are scenes at a time containing a majority (up to 100%) of women and/or POC characters with executive agency, and none of those characters are token or temporary but were placed there with intent to normalize a diversified cast.

My absolute favorite episode of all time, 4x15 Self Control.

Things I am not looking forward to:

**Lincoln.  I’ve seen these seasons four times and just now I had to google his name because I wasn’t sure it wasn’t Logan.  He’s garbage and I’m glad he’s dead.  Other opinions are available.

Misc. Thoughts

*I said I wouldn’t name names but Adrianne Palicki is a C-lister who can swing a B+ if the stars align. I love Bobbi, though, especially the way the character’s reputation precedes her, how her adorableness complements her badassness.  In fact, the character’s a great foil to May, who is also a badass lady and S-tier agent but has a completely different approach to being those things.  Bobbi’s a reminder that badassness and aloofness are not correlated at all.  Also there’s a headcanon out there that she’s non-binary (one of the reasons she prefers Bobbi over Barbara) and that is a concept I can get behind.  Bobbi’s perfect and I’ll fight you if you don’t agree.

Poor Trip!!!!!!!  When you always start from Season 2, he’s really just a flash in the pan, there and gone.  I’ve always been like, “well, he didn’t really have a home here, no carved-out niche, so I guess getting Coulson’d and becoming something to avenge is the best a character like him is gonna get.”  But now that I see that he comes late to the game as a literal stand in for Ward, his story is that much sadder.  He was never intended to BE a character.  He’s introduced with Garrett as a pawn/distraction during this arc’s who-is-Hydra shell game, he’s kept to demonstrate what kind of friend and agent Ward should have been, his defining character trait as a gentle flirt only serves as a catalyst for Fitz’s coming to terms with his feelings for Simmons.  The poor guy is just a walking plot point, up until the bitter end.  :<

I had entirely forgotten and/or never tracked the fact that Fury put together Coulson’s team specifically to monitor him after project T.A.H.I.T.I.  I’d forgotten the distrust Coulson has for May after he perceives that she has betrayed him by being a part of this.  It’s a season-specific reveal that is literally never mentioned again.  It’s important to the fabric of the narrative of that particular arc, offering up May alongside Ward and Trip as fodder for the aforementioned shell game, but the true inciting incident of this entire show just gets swept under the rug and ceases to matter.  I’m kind of :/ about that.

When you’re bi and non-binary, you’ll get a lot of mileage out of wanting to be/be with Daisy and/or Fitz, don’t judge me

In conclusion, Season 1 is the opposite of literal garbage, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is my favorite show and my favorite MCU movie, Daisy Johnson is my favorite Marvel superhero (not related to Season 1 but still true), and nobody had better spoil Season 7 for me pleaAAASE don’t let it happen.

[imagines-dreams]

Blind Date at Seventeen - Tom Holland Imagine

Rating: PG

Warnings: mentions of anxiety, but only a little

Summary: You are a rising star, known for your novels over the past few years. Seventeen has been doing a series of videos of blind dates with celebrities, and you were honored to do one with them. Little did you know, it wasn’t going to be an ordinary blind date video.

Word Count: 3060

“Robert?” You laughed.

“Finally, our guest of honor.” He pulled you into a hug and patted your shoulders. “So, you ready for your blind date.”

You giggled. “Uh, I mean, I guess.” You shrugged. “I’m just glad I get to talk to a fan one on one.” You raised your eyebrow. “Wait, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, I had to shoot something for Seventeen a few minutes ago, and I heard you were next with this blind date thing.” He sighed. “You know, in my day, you just meet people then date.”

“And in my day, you swipe right.”

He shook his head. “Hey, I’d swipe right on Susan.”

“Yeah, but would she swipe right on you?”

Robert narrowed his eyes at you. “Don’t test me, (Y/n). You’re on thin ice.”

“Love you, too.”

“(Y/n)!” Your manager called. “Come on, they’re ready for you.”

“Oh, thank you.” You smiled at Robert. “I’ll see you after?”

“Not if you’re so taken by the man you go on a date with.”

You laughed. “It’s nice to dream!”

The set was put up, simple and pretty. A wooden stool on a pink background. Seventeen wanted this video to be very spontaneous, so there were only written questions for the two of you to ask each other when the time came. No other script necessary.

The director instructed you, “So, your date is gonna come in about thirty minutes, so we just need to shoot your intro scene.”

“Anything I need to say specifically?”

“Basics. Name, what you’re famous for, and what we’re gonna do. And make sure to say you’re with Seventeen.”

“Cool.” You sat on the stool, and when the director called for action, you put on a dazzling smile. “Hi, guys. I’m (Y/n) (Y/l/n), and I’m here in this very pretty studio with Seventeen, and I’m going on a blind date with a superfan of my book series.” You leaned forward. “Let’s go meet him.”

“Great!” The director turned around. “Let’s do that again. Uh, hair?!”

Two people swarmed you and fixed little things about your appearance.

“Ok, (Y/n), just do that again. It was good, just uh, look at the camera all the time, and don’t clap your hands like that in the very beginning, yeah?”

You didn’t even notice you did that, but you smiled and nodded. After a few more takes and a few adjustments here and there, you had the take, and your date had arrived.

You got off the set and watched as they transformed it. Two stools with a curtain between the two of them. Someone handed you a stack of cards, the questions, and instructed you to stand somewhere so you couldn’t see your date.

“Alright, talents, sit down, and we can get started,” the director instructed.

You sat down and heard the director call for the cameras to start rolling.

“You nervous?” the guy asked. His voice was American, and you couldn’t help but feel like you’ve heard it before. Somewhere.

You smiled. “Uh, kinda,” you admitted. “Not every day you sit one on one with another superfan.”

“Really? I meet a lot at Comic-Con.”

“I actually haven’t been in a while,” you admitted.

“Really?”

“Uh huh.” You pushed your hair back and fiddled with the cards.

“Well, uh,” his voice quivered, “maybe we can go together one day?”

You nodded. “Maybe.” You cleared your throat. “Shall we get started?”

“Yes! Of course, the questions.” He shuffled his cards. “Uh, who’s your favorite superhero?”

“Oh, you gotta specify,” you chided. “DC or Marvel?”

“Nope, that’s it, it can’t happen.”

“What?” You laughed. “Come on, DC’s not bad.”

“The DCEU’s not that bad?”

You groaned. “Ok, ok, fine. Uh, for Marvel and of all time, it would be Iron Man. Spider-Man’s a close second.”

“Why’s Spider-Man second?” He sounded almost offended, but you just giggled and reasoned, “Well, I grew up with Iron Man, you know? Since 2008 and all, and for the most part, I think he has a great character arc throughout the movies. Plus, gotta love some mental health representation.”

He was silent for a few seconds. “You know, I haven’t heard many people bring up Tony’s anxiety.”

“Oh, that’s one of the reasons I love him,” you admitted. “I struggle with anxiety sometimes, so to see a great big superhero deal with it was really inspiring.”

“Good point. I might just change my answer.”

“From Spider-Man?”

“I said, ‘Almost.’ Spider-Man’s still the best.” He laughed. “Ok, your question.”

“Right.” You picked up your card. “Favorite book of all time?”

“Book? You know, I do like reading, but I can’t do a lot of it due to work and my dyslexia. Still, I really like one author, really, in particular. I like her books.”

“And she is?” you pondered.

“You heard of (Y/n) (Y/l/n)?”

You bit your lip. “Uh, yeah, she’s the up and coming author, right?”

“Yeah!” He seemed so excited. “Yeah, just anything by her.”

“Anything?” You nodded at the camera. “Really? What about her first solo book?” Your first book wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. The plot was very simple, and the main character didn’t have as complex of a character arc as you could’ve given them.

“Ok, it wasn’t her best,” your mystery date said. “But, if you read all of her books, chronologically, then you see how much she’s grown as a writer. I mean, in a few short years, she has several books out, and she’s become an idol for everyone by just sharing her stories and growing as a writer. It takes strength to be that vulnerable at that age, you know?”

You blinked a few times, the blush crawling up your neck and settling in your cheeks. No one has ever said that to you. He was right. It was always a struggle to have to produce content you were fine with showing the public, but you just never thought anyone would acknowledge that. Then again, you didn’t think you’d get this much attention from a few books.

You bit your lip and nodded. “Yeah, I guess it does.”

“Yeah, uh, what’s your favorite book?”

“Percy Jackson,” you said. “Obviously. Rick Riordan is a genius.”

“Ok, ok, we got a true bookworm over here.” He laughed.

“Your turn, mystery man.”

“Yes, uh, if you were to have a superpower, what would it be?”

You inhaled through your teeth. “That’s so hard, um, maybe super speed? Or super strength? Flying?” You pursed your lips. “Wait, no, healing. I want healing abilities. Final answer.” You slapped the cards on your thigh to emphasize your point.

“So, you’re kind, then.”

You shrugged. “I am a hufflepuff, after all.”

“A hufflepuff?” he said, shocked.

You gasped. “And, is there something wrong with that, hm?”

“No, I just never met someone who wants to be a hufflepuff.”

You huffed. “Such a gryffindor.”

“Hey, I take that as a compliment,” he argued.

You scoffed. “Only a gryffindor would do that.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Next question!” You whipped out another card. The blind date sputtered, but still, you read over his voice, “No, nuh uh, next question is if you were in a book, what role would you think the other one would play? Example, protagonist, damsel in distress, best friend.” You put the card down and said with no hesitation, “He’s a protagonist, the dumb, oblivious protagonist.”

“Hey!”

“You’re a gryffindor, aren’t you? That’s the definition of a gryffindor. Dumb and brave protagonist.”

“Brave?” You could practically hear him puff out his chest.

You scoffed, thanking whatever higher being that he couldn’t see your blush. “So? Brave and stupid. Gryffindor qualities.”

“Ok, well, I think you’d be the best friend.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because, you’re kind and supportive, like some hufflepuff, and you know how to deal with things, like anxiety and stuff. Or a princess character?”

“Princess, huh?” you teased.

He laughed. “Well, kinda like a Belle character, maybe? ‘Cause you like to read. I bet you’re the type of person to run into someone cause you’ve got your nose in a book.”

“Well, you’re not completely wrong,” you admitted.

“Ok, next question.” He cleared his throat. “Biggest pet peeve?”

You groaned. “Oh god, when you have high anxiety and you tell someone and they tell you to calm down. I hate that. I can’t.” You shrugged. “Not the way to handle anxiety.” You pointed at the camera. “This has been a PSA.”

He laughed. “I hate it when people do that. Obviously, if it were that easy, you would’ve calmed down.”

“Exactly!” You shook your head. This guy wasn’t half bad. You knew how these Seventeen things worked. You paid for a date with a fan, take a few photos, follow them on Instagram, and keep in touch for a few months. But, you didn’t expect your blind date to be this great. “Don’t worry,” you said, “if your anxiety’s high, I always think distraction. Movies, Netflix, blankets, ice cream, a dog.”

“Dogs are always the perfect solution.”

You picked the next card. “Oh. This is actually the perfect segway, so gotta say, dogs or cats?”

“Dogs, obviously. They’re the best.”

“Both are cute.”

“Coward,” he teased.

You laughed. “Fine, dogs. You’re right. They’re the perfect solution.”

“Ok, what about your ideal date?”

You hummed in thought. “Ok, I like relaxed dates, not too active, but not too lazy. Like a stroll or a carnival maybe? That would be really fun.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” he said, his voice a little dreamy. “For me, it depends on the day. I travel a lot for work, so if it’s a day off, then I’d actually like to stay in, but if life hasn’t been busy, a carnival doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Gotta ask, carnival games or rides?”

“No, you can’t do that to me?”

“Why not?” You leaned towards the curtain. “This is kinda like an interview, after all.”

He scoffed. “You can’t make me choose between a romantic ferris wheel and winning you stuffed animals.”

Huh, he did have a point. “Ok, you’re right.” You whipped out another card. “Next question!” You cleared your throat. “How do you mark your page when reading?”

“Dog ear.”

You gasped, and you swear your heart broke a little. “You’re kidding.”

“Yes, I’m kidding.” Mystery man sighed. “Come on, my dad taught me better than that.” He paused for a second. “I don’t use a bookmark, though. I usually use something else that’s around, post-it, receipt, something like that. Ok, I really like this question, who is your celebrity crush?”

You inhaled through your teeth. “Just one?”

“Just one?!”

You laughed.

“Wow, I have no chance here.”

You shrugged. “If you’re anything like Tom Holland, trust me, you’ll have a chance.”

“Oh?” He was completely silent for a second or two, not even moving. “Uh, Tom Holland’s your celebrity crush?”

“One of them,” you said. “But, yeah, love Tom Holland and his Spider-Man.”

“Is he your favorite Spider-Man?”

You wanted to tease the super Spider-Man fan, so you settled on saying, “He’s in my top three.”

“What? Wait a-”

“Next question!”

As you took out the next card, you could hear him mutter, “This isn’t fair. Not fair at all.”

You giggled. “Ok, ok, if you were to write a dedication for your autobiography, what would you say?” You bit your lip. “I actually really like this question.”

“Me, too, but it really makes you think. I can’t…” He sighed, and you could almost see him leaning forward or running his hand through his hair. “Oh god, I don’t know. That’s hard. I’m on the spot.”

“We can move on to another question,” you suggested.

“Nah.” He blew his hair out of his face. “I want to answer to this one. It’s a good one. Uh, there’s just so many people I’d wanna thank, you know. Uh, I’d actually just list all of my teachers and the people who thought I was special enough to get the job I have.”

This guy definitely was creative. From his vague job to his unique answers. You had to admit, this guy was surprising you in a great way. “Admirable,” you told him.

“Thanks.” He gulped. “Uh, this one’s kinda scary.”

“Bring it. I’m ready.” You sat up straighter and prepared yourself.

“Ok, what would you hate to be remembered as?”

“Oh, this is scary. You’re right again.” You laughed as you pondered the many things you’d hate to be known for. Selfish was bad, but also vain, shallow? You hummed. “Ok, I think the worst thing would be if people thought I was close-minded?” Still unsure of your answer, you tilted your head back and forth. “Yeah, I think that would be the worst, cause that goes hand in hand with other things.”

“I like that answer! I would never think of that.”

“Well, what were you thinking of?”

“Ugh, I would hate to be known for being big-headed, you know? I’m working really hard to stay humble.”

You smiled. “Wow, that’s also admirable.” So, your blind date was a gryffindor who loved Spider-Man, dogs, your writing. He was funny and humble, and he knew that he didn’t get to whatever success he currently has on his own. He seems to treasure his days off and worked really hard in his creative field. Mystery Man wasn’t half bad. In fact, he was actually really great.

“Thank you,” he said softly.

You giggled and pursed your lips. Yeah, he was really great.

“Uh, do you have more questions?”

“Oh!” You shuffled through your cards. “Uh, no, I think that’s it.”

The director asked you, “So, would you go on a date with him?”

You beamed. “Yeah, I’d go on a date with him.”

He turned to the guy behind the curtain. “And you?”

“Yeah, she seems awesome.”

“You guys ready?”

The two of you stood up and faced the curtain. You crossed your fingers and hoped that he would react well. It would suck if he wasn’t impressed by this blind date. He did like your books, but it’s possible to like the work and not the author. You gulped and shook out your hands. “Ready.”

“Ready.”

“Alright, pull back the curtain, you two.”

You pulled back your curtain. His was still closed when you pulled your curtain back. For a second, you were terrified. Did he not want to see you? It wouldn’t make a good video. You took a deep breath, and just as you exhaled, he pulled back his curtain.

“H-” You paused. Your jaw dropped. You stared at the man in front of you. Same hair, same eyes, same simple style, same smile, same everything, and oh god. “Tom Holland?”

His eyes went wide at the sight of you. He stepped back with a bright smile on his face. “Wait, you’re- how did you” -he laughed- “This is insane. What? You’re” -he shook his head- “You’re (Y/n) (Y/l/n)!”

You laughed, your cheeks already hurting from seeing your celebrity crush and realizing that the mystery man behind the curtain that you were laughing with and smiling because of was your celebrity crush, was Tom Holland, the Spider-Man.

You pointed at yourself. “I was supposed to meet a fan of my books.”

“I was supposed to meet a Marvel fan!” He laughed and opened his arms. “Come ‘ere!”

You laughed and let yourself fall into his arms before pulling away and smiling up at him. “I am beyond confused. I mean… You had an accent!”

“Yeah, I needed to disguise my voice!”

You giggled. “You did a great job.”

“Thank you.”

You glanced at the director, and you realized something. Robert was there to greet you, and he said he was filming something. You blinked a few times before shouting, “Robert! Where is he?”

Tom withdrew from you and pointed at you. “Did Robert set this up?”

You shouted at the ceiling. “I know you’re there, Robert!”

“Everyone keeps yelling. Giving me a headache.”

A hand came down on your shoulder, and you slapped it away and jabbed a finger at Robert’s chest. “You are sneaky, Robert!”

Robert pulled you into his side along with Tom. “For good reason.” He let go of both of you and pointed at the two of you. “You kids have been gushing about each other’s work for nearly a year. This was just inevitable.”

Tom and you cringed.

“Too soon,” you said.

Tom nodded. “Yeah.”

Robert crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. He looked at the camera. “Can you see what I deal with? When I’m not taking care of him, I’m taking care of her.”

You laughed. “Ok, wait a minute, he’s harder to take care of.”

“And why’s that?” Tom asked.

“I didn’t spoil infinity war for an entire theater.”

“Hey! I did that once.”

Robert cleared his throat. “Ok, we’ve been focusing on these two for too long.”

You slapped Robert’s chest and shook your head. “Unbelievable.”

“I know right,” Tom agreed. “He’s so full of himself.”

“Actually,” you tilted your head, “I saw him before I went in, and he changed clothes.”

Tom looked him up and down. “He did change clothes!”

“See, this is better,” Robert said, all smug and happy. “Attention on me, like it should be.”

The three of you laughed, and the director decided it was time to wrap it up. “Guys, let’s film the end card.”

“Right.” You cleared your throat and smoothed out your clothes just for Robert to pull the two of you into his sides. “Hey, guys, I’m Robert Downey Jr.”

He looked to you. “And I’m (Y/n) (Y/l/n).”

“And I’m Tom Holland. And we want to thank you for watching me and (Y/n) go on a blind date-”

“Set up by me!” Robert pointed at the camera. “You’re welcome, internet.”

You laughed. “If you wanna see more videos like this, make sure to subscribe to Seventeen’s youtube channel.” You waved at the camera. “Bye!”

Robert looked to Tom. “Isn’t she so cute?”

He blushed and pushed Robert away. “Stop that!”

Robert feigned being offended and followed Tom off set. “Hey, you can’t walk away from me. I know you think she’s cute! Tom!”

Notes: So… how was it? Do you guys hate it? Love it? I’m really nervous for this one since I don’t do celebrity oneshots, but please tell me what you think!