#does joe look battle-ready? absolutely not.

[non-un-topo]

Outfits of the Guard from an older fic of mine, Tangerine and Roc. Supposed to be a bit of a mix of styles from Central Asia in the late 15th century as they go about their travels, with a little battle-ready touch.

[cowboy-like-moony]

Okay but 33 year old taylor singing never grow up? And then her singing 32 and still growing up now in innocent and in general her being older than the assholes that fucked with her life when she was 19 and singing about them knowing she survived all that and more and is still strong, stronger even then she was before and her singing about Joe Jonas now that their friends. Does anyone remember when the jonas brothers (well mostly nick) where teasing a ts collab like their life depended on it? I mean I think it was a joke, but you never know. (I also don't believe the rumours about Taylor Lautner being involved, but that would be so fucking iconic) Also WILL HER BREATHING IN LAST KISS LIVE UP TO ALL OF OUR EXPECTATIONS? (and is she now thinking about a different joe singing it?) And will she change the lyrics in better than revenge? (probably not right?) And if she doesn't will there be backlash (this seems like a bit of a losing game for her because either way someone might be upset). ALSO HER SINING LONG LIVE I'm going to cry everything I said about her being stronger now, but now it doesn't relate back to some stupid guy, but instead is about her fans and about her being afraid that her career wouldn't last, but oh how it lasted and now she is one of the biggest stars in the world, if not THE biggest and has millions of fans who love her just as passionately like they did back then and are just as crazy and look for Easter eggs and make the most beautiful costumes for her show and who cry to her songs (even sometimes the ones that aren't sad). She came so far since she wrote this album, but it remains one of her best ones being written all by her and having many absolutely incredible songs, seriously I would die for every single song on this album, she better finally give it the respect it deserves and then she'll ad more speak now songs to the set list and everything will be great!! I mean she has to add more songs right? It would be great promo and miss swift is a business woman. Also VAULT TRACKS? They're going to hit so hard I'm telling you!! Speaking of hitting, battle better be one of them. Oh my god and we might get new music videos and she'll probably make enchanted a single and it will have it's own video and will be number one and win a Grammy and an Oscar (I'm not sure yet how the last part will work, but it will happen!!) Also we've got to a speak now (tv) album cover?! OH MY GOD I'M FREAKING OUT, speak now is one of my favourite albums of all time and it might finally get the appreciation it deserves! (outside of the swiftie world, swifties already have great taste) ILYDDYLYSGZKGYDLHG I'M SO EXITED!! OH MY GOD SPEAK NOW WORLD DOMINATION hdhldlydkgdxkgkgzugiuc I'm not ready for this, like I know we all seen it coming, but we're any of us prepared for her actually announcing it? Anyway JULY 7 here we come, I can't wait💜

[unproduciblesmackdown]

oh the broadway world review of summer stock (a) loved it as much or more than anyone (b) has as much or more info than anyone and (c) generally has the most vivacity thus far

Summer Stock made its world premiere at The Goodspeed Opera House to a most deserving enthusiastic standing ovation. Based on the 1950 MGM film starring Hollywood legends Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, Summer Stock is a spectacular production with phenomenal dancing, feel-good music, and a sweet story, all modernized for today’s audiences.

Audiences will recognize and love hearing classic songs by Irving Berlin and from The Great American Songbook, including “Happy Days are Here Again”, “Accentuate the Positive”, “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows”, “It’s Only a Paper Moon”, “Me and My Shadow”, “Red Hot Mamma”, “’Til We Meet Again", and “You Wonderful You”. Summer Stock’s writer, Cheri Steinkellner, takes the original film story to a whole new level that both contemporary and classic theater goers will absolutely adore. Steinkellner provides additional lyrics to upgrade the story to first class. It’s hard to believe that she “got the call” to write Summer Stock in October, completed the workshop draft by March, and had the rehearsal draft ready by June for a July opening. Steinkellner clearly works well under pressure - Summer Stock is a diamond.

In the Writer’s Notes, Steinkellner elaborates on the restrictions of bringing the film to stage (like how heavy farm machinery wouldn’t fit up on the Goodspeed stage) and how she tackled answering the many questions that the original film glossed over: “Why is a Shakespearean matinee idol starring in a musical in a barn? What happens when you make show-people wake up at sunrise to muck out the stalls?” and more. She repositioned and repurposed the film’s original songs like “Howdy Neighbor” and “Dig for Your Dinner”, so the classic elements that film fans are looking for are still there - only, frankly, much much better. Lastly, she addresses the challenge of “crafting a [contemporary] story to support a diverse cast of characters with intention, authenticity, and care.” Steinkellner rose to the challenge, knocked it out of the park, and created a great musical in record time.

The story is simple and sweet. Set just after World War II, we meet Jane Falbury (Danielle Wade), a doting daughter working the family farm with her father, Lt. Henry “Pop” Falbury (Stephen Lee Anderson). The Falbury Farm is in trouble thanks to the devious and ambitious Margaret Wingate (Veanne Cox), who has grand aims for a monopoly over the Connecticut River Valley. Scheming with her naive son, Orville (Will Roland), they will stop at nothing to own the farm. Meanwhile, Jane’s showgirl sister, Gloria (Arianna Rosario), has moved to The Big Apple to make it on Broadway. She wins a spot in the chorus line of Joe Ross’ (Corbin Bleu) brand new show. With his sidekick and music director, Phil Filmore (Gilbert L. Bailey II) in tow and a Shakespearean star, Montgomery Leach, ready to take center stage, they hit a snag when they lose their rehearsal space. Gloria suggests uprooting the show to rehearse in her family’s barn. Jane, who is fresh out of farm hands, reluctantly agrees to let the actors stay in exchange for earning their keep. The company’s tight harmonies might not charm Jane at first, but they certainly had us swooning. I won’t spoil the entire plot, but will say that hilarity ensues, hearts flutter, dreams are realized, and it’s wonderful.

When I first heard about Summer Stock, I cynically thought that it felt too familiar. The show is set on a Connecticut farm whose owners have fallen on hard times and risk losing their livelihood. They turn to their Broadway friends, who are amidst the usual uphill battle of making it big in show business, and agree to put on a brand new production in the barn to raise funds to save the farm. It’s based on the film of the same name, features music by Irving Berlin, and includes incredible tap numbers, and spotlights America’s sweetheart Corbin Bleu. Hearing that alone, I’d think this was a copy/paste of Tony Award-nominated Holiday Inn: The New Irving Berlin Musical, which opened at The Goodspeed in 2014 and went to Broadway in 2016. We’ve seen a number of Irving Berlin musicals, including White Christmas, and the most recent Broadway production Nice Work if You Can Get It, starring Kelli O’Hara and Matthew Broderick. So, what more is there to add to this Broadway subgenre? If you’d asked me before, I would argue there’s “Nothing More to Say”. I was very wrong. Summer Stock raises the bar with phenomenal choreography, clever storytelling and humor, beautiful orchestrations, and unparalleled performers.

Speaking of unparalleled performers, the cast is perfection. There’s not a single throwaway line or character. They’re all exquisite gems and I’m running out of words to compliment them all. The “city mice” dancers and ensemble features Erika Amato, Hannah Balagot, DeShawn Bowens, Ronnie S. Bowman Jr., Emily Kelly, Francesca Mancuso, Tommy Martinez, Corinne Munsch, Gregory North, Kaylee Olson, Jack Sippel, and Cayel Tregeagle. Danielle Wade sweetly croons just like Judy Garland and swept audiences off their feet. As I left the theater, I overheard two ladies praising Wade for her stupendous performance, saying it was perfect likeness of Garland, yet even more meaningful. Arianna Rosario, as the sugary sweet sister, is absolutely delightful. Stephen Lee Anderson, as  the veteran and father, tugs our heart strings. Gilbert L. Bailey II and Will Roland had the crowd roaring with laughter as the feisty music director and innocent corporate heir. Veanne Cox, as the melodramatic mother and CEO of Wingate Agricultural Corporate, had the crowd roaring with laughter from the moment she spoke her first line. Not to be outdone, J. Anthony Crane, as the over-the-top Shakespearean star, brought down the house with his entrance alone. Together, Cox and Crane generate instant heat, which is especially appropriate since they rock the stage with Red Hot Mamma. The cheeky, interspersed Shakespearean innuendo is fast-paced, clever, and had the audience hooting and hollering. I would see the show again for this duo.

Last, but far from least, Corbin Bleu, as the show’s director, gives the performance of a lifetime. Bleu radiates pure joy and leads with heart, inviting his scene partners to shine with him. Audiences instantly fell in love with his gorgeous, velvety voice, and, understandably, swooned. Bleu previously won the Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Male Dancing in a Broadway Show for his portrayal in Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn, and his transcendent tapping in Summer Stock shows he’s not stopping there. Bleu’s dancing is out of this world! You can’t miss his charming and virtuosic spin on Gene Kelly’s iconic solo dance, featuring the world’s most unexpected dance partner. Corbin Bleu is a national treasure.

The 8-piece orchestra, lead by Goodspeed’s resident music director Adam Souza, performs the remarkable orchestrations, by Doug Besterman, beautifully. The score is demanding, but the musicians don’t let us see them sweat. As much as I’m gushing, I would recommend shifting the show to one hour earlier and give it a little trim. Not a haircutter’s inch, but a discreet tidy-up. As it turns out, I was in slight agreement with the obnoxious subscribers behind me, who disrupted a precious moment to voice their complaints, “This is two hours and forty minutes? Way too long!” I nearly turned to fisticuffs in defense of this phenomenal cast, but chose to deliver an icy, yet effective, glare. I digress, but Goodspeed subscribers are truly spoiled with top-rate performers straight from the Broadway stage. In any case, we could use a couple more developmental scenes to fully flesh out the plot, and I’d be willing to sacrifice by shaving a bit off some of the longer dance numbers (“Everybody Step” and “Dig For Your Dinner”) and songs. (Not too much! Just an inch! And don’t dare recast any characters!)

That isn’t to say that the dance performances weren’t epic: Summer Stock has the best dancing I have ever seen, hands down. The virtuosic ensemble, lovingly called “city mice”, perfectly deliver wildly acrobatic displays all with impossibly high-energy and make it look easy. Director and choreographer, Donna Feore, has made an unforgettable, magnificent Goodspeed debut. Feore makes use of every inch of the stage, making it feel larger than life, and her attention to detail is unsurpassed. The choreography is out of this world! Wilson Chin, scenic designer, set the stage beautifully. The Technicolor New England farm-turned-theater is framed with classic red-sided barn, delicate florals climbing the walls, and hurricane lanterns lovingly displayed as accent pieces. Summer Stock is Goodspeed’s best original production ever. The 12, which opens next, has very big shoes to fill. Summer Stock has its eyes set on Broadway. Does Summer Stock deserve a Broadway run? Absolutely. In this critic’s opinion, it couldn’t get there soon enough.  Perhaps my favorite aspect of the production were the many comedic theater flourishes. Broadway audiences will cry with laughter when they watch the city mice (actors) learn how to play the part of farmhands: “What is the farmer’s motivation?” “E-I, E-I!” Frankly, I want an original cast album yesterday. Finally, when it opens on Broadway, you’ll wish you had seen it at The Goodspeed first.

[yesitsmewhataboutit]

Bnha Boy’s Favorite BET/VH1 Show To Watch With You

(Bakugo, Kirishima, Shoto, Hawks, Shinsou)

(Black!reader)

Masterlist

Kirishima

Anything Tyler Perry

And I mean anything

He loves the drama and gets so invested

I cannot tell you how many times he’s watched and rewatch Sistas and Meet The Browns with you

He always had his snacks and blankets ready

You will cuddle and eat with him for hours while watching and being invested to whatever he decides that day

It’s honestly amazing

And the Madea movies?

Watches at least one every 2 days

His absolute favorite thing to do is have a binge day and binge them all

Shinsou

Sistas

That’s it

There’s no explanation

You’ve asked him many times, and he doesn’t even know

But he’s obsessed

He’s share his theory’s and ramble as you watch

It’s adorable

Andrea is his favorite hands down

She’s too much of a baddie for him not to love and worship the ground she walks on

He of course loves you more but it’s a close battle

Hawks

Everybody Hates Chris

He nearly dies of laughter every time he watches any episodes

He loves it so much

He cannot stand Caruso

His blood boils anytime he’s on screen

Keigo always says he loves Tonya even though she’s a brat he hopes your kids will come out looking like her cause she’s adorable

It was the cutest thing you’d ever heard him say

He also proceeded to explain how he wanted at least 2 adorable little girls

And he said he feels for Chris so he’s going to make sure his 3 sons all get along and there will be no bullying or teasing tolerated in his household

Bakugo

Bernie Mac, Everybody Hates Chris, Martin, and the Madea movies

So I even need to explain?

Katsuki strives to be like Bernie

He’s loves the threats and stuff Bernie says to the kids

It’s Katsuki, are you surprised?

He said if his daughter is ever like Vanessa he will “bust her head till the white meat show”

You watched his heart break when he found out Bernie died

Watched his show on repeat for 2 months as he should

If you thought he loved Bernie, his love for Rochelle exceeds that 10 fold

He loves her and is constantly yelling “YOU TELL EM ROCHELLE. HELL YEA”

Makes you laugh every time. You love it

Speaking of Rochelle

He loves Martin so much cause of the shade Martin and Pam throw at each other

He takes mental notes wanting to use some of them cause they’re just that great

Madea is on top before all of them

Shes his literal spirit animal

This man almost died the first time he watched Family Funeral when she smacked Hattie

And he only laughed harder when she did it again to her and Uncle Joe

You thought you were gonna have to take him to the hospital he was laughed so hard

Literally almost coughed up a lung

Todoroki

Martin and Fresh Prince

He loves the humor in Martin

He finds it nice and loves to cuddle and watch him and Gina

He loves there relationship

He’s thinks they’re adorable

He always does the most adorable laughs when Martin and Pam are going back and forth

Or Sheneneh does literally anything

He finds her amusing

10/10 best thing to do: watching Fresh Prince

As you know, he’s not big on… emotions

But he will smile and groove a little with you as you sing along and dance to the Fresh Prince intro

He watches you lovingly when you sit up from his cuddles as a new episode starts and you sing along being cute. He’ll grab your hand and just smiling as he watches you

Literally his favorite thing ever

He also loves Will Smith in general

And will watch any movie he’s in cause he knows it’ll be hilarious

He’d never tell you cause he’s embarrassed but he’d love to have a handshake with you like Will and Jazz have��

Masterlist

For my baddies in the back: @ofblckwriters

[redorich]

this is kinda an au of your hermit!tommy au but what if when phil tries to drag tommy back to dreamsmp he succeeded and everyone keeps asking tommy if he was okay after being kidnapped and he’s angry because he just found his hone and it’s being taken from him. then instead of the big battle in hermitcraft the hermits form a rescue mission to save tommy with the help of techno. hopedthat made sense lol -🎧

An admin can't respawn their people outside of their own server. The hermits know this, and invade the Dream SMP anyway, because risking their lives is worth getting Tommy back. With Technoblade on their side, they know the geography of the server, they know who will oppose them and what weapons they'll have.

Their most important fighters are the elytra squad, led by Grian. Dream’s people (soldiers, don’t lie) are stuck on the ground; at best they can take potshots at the elytra squad using riptide tridents or ender pearls. 

Next is the bow squad, led by Cub. Cub’s group is to be protected by the ground squad until the bow squad can reach the strategic locations as given to them by Technoblade. In addition to sniping the enemy, Wels will shoot the hermits with arrows tipped in healing potions. Once the snipers are in place, they’ll protect the ground fighters. Led by False, the ground squad is comprised of heavy hitters and tanks, such as Doc and Iskall.

Dream’s men don’t expect an invasion of their home turf so soon after their own successful invasion of Hermitcraft; the hermits take advantage of this. Immediately upon spawning in the Dream SMP, Grian, along with Ren and Keralis, take off into the sky. Joe stands tall and takes off running, followed by a massive pack of dogs. In the distance, they spy the imposing black prison as Dream’s men gather. The battle is on.

---

Impulse and Tango, armed to the teeth with gear all enchanted with the Vanishing Curse, are accosted immediately after they finish escorting the sniper squad to their tower. The man that’s fighting them is absolutely vicious; the black side of his face is hard to read, but the white side of his face is visibly scrunched in anger, but more obviously fear.

“Stop fighting!” Impulse says between breaths, parrying the half-enderman’s axe. “You’re a kid, you shouldn’t have to fight. Just put down your weapons.”

Tango falters, nearly tripping over his own feet. This Ranboo guy is a kid?!

Ranboo’s eyes shutter as he frowns. “Since when do you care about how young your victim is? You stole Tommy. Even if I die, I won’t stop fighting you.”

Stricken, Impulse pulls his sword swing at the last moment, slashing Ranboo across the chest in a skin-deep laceration, instead of the killing blow it would have been. With gritted teeth, Ranboo lashes out. Impulse chokes, breathing wetly as he falls heavily to one knee.

“Impy!” Tango wails, rushing to his side.

Impulse huffs, eyes already hazy. “Sorry,” he says, “I guess I failed.”

When Impulse stills, Tango puts him down on the ground gently. He stands. Even though he’s not as tall as Ranboo, he strikes an intimidating figure with a lava bucket in each hand, ready for immolation.

“Impulse died because he pitied you,” he rasps. “I won’t be so kind.”

Ranboo unconsciously takes a step back when Tango takes a step forward. Lava flies, and Ranboo screams. He tries to teleport, but Tango grabs him by the neck and drags him back into the lava. Ranboo thrashes with weapons and bare hands alike, dealing more damage to Tango than he’d care to admit. When Ranboo finally goes quiet, Tango scoops the lava back into his bucket and lays the child soldier’s corpse out on the ground next to Impulse.

Tango breathes heavily, inhaling the thick scent of blood and charred flesh as he sits down between the two bodies. He places his head in his hands and does not weep.

---

Stress clutches her sword tightly, staring down the blonde woman who’s come to confront her. Her friends had been surprised (and worried, though they tried not to show it) when she’d volunteered herself to be a part of the ground fighters’ squad. They should have known better, she thinks. Like hell am I going to sit pretty in a tower somewhere, shooting people down, when one of my friends is being held hostage. Especially Tommy.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” the blonde woman says quietly as she brandishes her axe. This must be Niki, the soft woman with a spine of steel.

“My name is Stress,” she begins. She has no clue what to say, but she’ll say it regardless. “Tommy’s told me about you. He respects you.”

“So you kidnapped him?” Niki demands.

Stress blinks rapidly, taken aback. “Kidnap ‘im? Wot?!”

Niki frowns. “Dream said you people kidnapped him, and brainwashed him into liking you. That’s why we had to get him back.”

“Yeah, well Tommy told me that Dream abused him and lied to him,” Stress says sardonically, “so forgive me if I call bullshit.”

Niki rears back, then raises her axe again. “How do I know you’re not a liar?”

Biting her lip, Stress thinks as fast as she can. This is big. “... Why do you trust Dream?”

“I don’t,” Niki says stonily.

“Do you trust Tommy?”

Niki snorts. “With my life, but not my items.”

“That’s fair,” Stress laughs, more out of nervousness than humor, before affecting a serious, scary look that she doesn’t feel in the slightest. “You’re trusting Dream’s word over Tommy’s. How is Tommy supposed to prove a negative? By saying that Tommy’s unstable, or compromised, or whatever, Dream has automatically invalidated Tommy’s arguments in his own defense.”

Niki’s spine straightens as she listens. “I want to believe you,” she says.

Stress shrugs. “Then believe me.” She holds out a hand to Niki, offering the proverbial olive branch.

The corners of Niki’s mouth quirk upward. “So, what’s the plan? I’ll follow your lead.”

---

“...So.” Dream says.

“...So.” Technoblade responds, staring him down from across the Prime Path.

“I always knew you were a filthy fucking traitor,” Dream says conversationally.

Techno shrugs. “I never pretended I wasn’t.”

Dream draws his axe; Techno uncaps a potion. The two men walk slowly toward each other, until they’re at most ten paces apart. Dream remembers the last time he was on the Prime Path, taking ten paces.

“This is for my brother, you sick son of a bitch,” Techno mutters. The two burst into action.

---

[blasphemous-tiefling]

I think part of the reason why there’s so much discord in the MCU fandom has something to do with the varying directors for TFA, The Avengers, Winter Soldier, AOU, Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame. And really, the backbone of the issue is how the different directors and how the audience interprets Steve’s character. Strap in. Because this is a long rant on a topic that normal people really don’t care about.

Joe Johnston created a Steve Rogers that was eager, begging to go to war. I absolutely adored the line in AOU when Steve says, “What kind of monster would let a German scientist experiment on them to protect their country?” Because I feel that sums up Steve in TFA pretty well. He’s anti-bully. He wants to fight. But his whole life he’s been put down, stomped on. Steve repeatedly enlisting is both selfish and selfless. His conversation with Bucky in TFA is a great example of this. Steve says, “There are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them. That’s what you don’t understand. This isn’t about me.” And Bucky says, “Right. Because you’ve got nothing to prove.” And that’s it. Yes, Steve wants to fight because he’s always been bullied and doesn’t want anyone else to feel that way. Yes, Steve wants to fight because he wants to defend his country. But also Steve wants to fight because no one has ever given him a chance. Steve wants to fight because he wants his life to mean something. Steve wants to die in battle because he thinks it’s honorable. He wants to prove himself. Steve wants it so desperately for both selfless and selfish reasons, which is why he was so willing to take the serum despite the fact that Erskine told him about past failures. There’s even a certain selfishness to his sacrifice at the end of TFA. Many stories that involve sacrifice ride the line of selfishness and selflessness. By sacrificing himself, you could argue Steve is taking “the easy way out.” He’s distraught over Bucky’s death. He’s won the battle he’s been fighting since getting the super soldier serum. By sacrificing himself, Steve can effectively end the troubles caused by the Tesseract and leave without dealing with the consequences of his sacrifice. This point is a bit of a stretch, and not something that I personally agree with, but the thought it there.

Joss Whedon takes that selflessness and turns it into irrefutable righteousness, and it’s disgusting. Steve has a few goofy lines in The Avengers and AOU that I’ll laugh at, but ultimately, everything he does seems so out of character for him. His constant nagging and arguing with Tony is so unnecessary and doesn’t build friendship. His desire to do everything S.H.I.E.L.D. tells him to do is completely incorrect because Steve went against the military and broke the 107th out of the Hydra facility without permission and repeatedly did whatever he wanted without asking. His incessant need to have all the Avengers do as he says is totalitarian and unbearable to watch. Truthfully, this is where I think people misunderstand Steve the most because not everyone watches every solo movie. The Avengers movies are the biggies that most people won’t miss. So general audiences only see this righteous, dictator Steve Rogers and that really pisses me off.

This is one of the only times you’ll hear me praise the Russos, so get ready- Thank goodness Winter Soldier and Civil War follow Joe Johnston’s characterization of Steve. They even dig into his selfishness and rebellious streak, which I adore. Steve isn’t one to just blindly follow orders. Hello? Does “not a perfect solider but a good man” ring any bells? Perfect soldiers follow orders. Good men fight for what’s right even when the world is telling them not to. That’s who Steve Rogers is. What I adore about Winter Soldier so much is that we see Steve attempting to be this perfect soldier, but it’s just not sitting well with him. Something is fishy and weird. He talks to Peggy about her life. She says her only regret is that Steve didn’t get to live his. Steve talks to Sam about possibly getting out of government work. Sam is that representation for Steve- having a hard time finding out why he’s really in it to begin with. The entire film is about Steve going against the government, military, and S.H.I.E.L.D. with both selfish and selfless desires. He knows he needs to do something because Hydra is growing in S.H.I.E.L.D. but he also doesn’t want anything to do with it anyway, so why not tear it all down? Once Bucky is revealed as the Winter Soldier, Steve puts his life on the line to try to get him back. It’s selfish really. When Steve takes off his helmet and drops his shield, he made the decision to die because he wasn’t gonna continue to live without Bucky. Despite the fact that Steve made friends with Natasha and Sam, he didn’t care. All that mattered to him in that moment was James Bucky Barnes. This is very reminiscent of TFA when Steve breaks Bucky out of the Hydra lab. As the world’s only successful super soldier, Steve could’ve been very valuable to the American government and military. He was even doing mild good by helping sell bonds. But that didn’t matter. His country and his military was no longer priority number one. When it comes to Steve Rogers, nothing and no one means more to him than Bucky. Steve and Sam’s conversation that I previously mentioned also parallels this. After Sam lost Riley, he didn’t want to be in the military anymore. He said he felt like he was up there just to watch, nothing he could do. This is a direct parallel to how Steve feels about Bucky.

Civil War, while a trash movie, sticks with Steve’s selfish yet selfless motivations. “What if this panel sends us somewhere we don’t think we should go? What if there is somewhere we need to go and they don’t let us?” Not wanting to surrender his right to choose is Steve Rogers. He just put down S.H.I.E.L.D.- an organization that was giving him demands. Why would he sign his life away to the American government again? Corporations can be run by greed and corruption- something Steve doesn’t want the world to be full of but also something he doesn’t want his world to be ruled by. When Bucky is framed for killing King T’Chaka, Steve knows the Accords will bring Bucky in and possibly execute him. He can’t let that happen. And he asks Natasha not to get in his way because he doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt. He knows how dangerous Bucky can be, but he doesn’t want Bucky or anyone else getting hurt or in trouble due to this sticky Accords situation. Both selfish and selfless. I don’t even want to get into later in the film, but I guess I will. Guys, there’s no world, no universe, no place in time that Steve wouldn’t try to stop Zemo. Tony never even gave him the chance to explain himself. It was either, “Come with us or we fight.” Steve gathered that team together- not to fight Tony but to fight Zemo. It was never his intention to fight with Tony. He was just trying to stop Zemo. Now, when Tony learns about his parents’ death, anger is a valid emotion. Physically fighting and attacking Steve and Bucky to the point of death? Not valid or even remotely reasonable. It makes no sense as to why Tony would be that angry at Bucky- someone who was tortured and brainwashed to do what he did. Steve had his reasons for not telling Tony considering that when it comes to Steve Rogers, nothing and no one means more to him than Bucky. Of course, Steve was going to hide the truth from Tony in an effort to protect Tony, Bucky, and himself. Selfish yet selfless.

Infinity War gives us the glorious lines of “I’m not looking for forgiveness. And I’m way past asking permission. Earth just lost her best defender. So we’re here to fight. And if you wanna stand in our way, we’ll fight you too.” and “We don’t trade lives.” These lines beautifully sum up Steve’s rebelliousness and need to fight while also not risking others’ lives. He’ll always risk himself first. There’s not much to say about this film considering it’s mostly action and Steve shares the screen with just about every other superhero, so we’re not given a lot of time. But overall, the Russos kept that same Steve Rogers.

And then Endgame does a complete 180 and decides to serve us Joss Whedon’s Steve with a conservative, pro-military, unbelievably illogical twist. Steve’s obsession with Peggy in this film is so out of place. She would’ve died seven years prior in the MCU. Steve’s been living in the present with Natasha, Sam, Bucky, Wanda, Vision, and T’Challa. That was his family. He lost Sam, Bucky, Wanda, Vision, and T’Challa in the Infinity War. It only makes sense that he would be fighting for them in Endgame. Yet he’s not. We’re beat over the head about how much he misses Peggy and it’s so unbelievably weird. Steve is never allowed to mourn Sam and Bucky specifically despite the fact that they were his number one companions. He never mentions them. Never has a touching reunion with Bucky. Barely has any reaction to Natasha’s death. It’s disgusting honestly. This is not “I will fight to my death for the people I love” Steve Rogers. And the ending is the most pathetic of all. There’s no world, no universe, no place in time that Steve would willingly go almost a hundred years away from Bucky and Sam, somewhere he wouldn’t fight for others. “Pretending you could live without a war.” I mean, come on. He’s Steven Grant Rogers. It’s disgusting to paint him as this man who would throw away his friendships and a world that is being bullied all for some girl he kissed once and barely knew. No. No, no. Not my Steve Rogers.

I give the directors a little too much crap. I’m fully aware that a whole team of people make these movies, but you can’t deny that Steve changes from movie to movie depending on the director. Endgame is the exception in which the directors were the same, yet they diverged completely from their original interpretation of the character. I’ve heard people say that it had to be an anti-gay agenda- that ending Steve’s story with Bucky would’ve been too gay even if they weren’t romantically involved, but I still think that’s pathetic. Honestly, I would’ve rather seen Steve die than have his character trashed and pooped on like this. From a narrative perspective, what happened in Endgame is not okay. Marvel Studios’ treatment towards “sideline” characters like Natasha, Rhodey, Sam, and Bucky- particularly in Infinity War and Endgame- is not okay. Yeah, I’m aware I get too heated over this fictional universe. But the characters are the only reason I stick around. The stories are lackluster for me. I’ve never been one to watch movies for action sequences. But I’ve always been in love with Steve Rogers as a character- complicatedly riding the line of selflessness and selfishness, dedicating himself wholeheartedly to a cause and to the people he loves. When in the end that character was completely scrapped and shredded in the garbage disposal like crust on bread or the skin of an apple, I’m gonna be angry for a long time.

[spade-riddles]

"Adjusting Expectations" Post

This submission received a lot of responses and 120 notes, so I thought I would compile the comments here.

Anonymous said:

Adjusting expectations anon was so good. If their timetables are right and we do just need to be patient a little longer, can Kaylor please send us a sign? I guess it would be too loud to slip "adjusting expectations" into social media posts, but maybe they could both do something with playing cards? To show they are card sharks right now but they'll find their way home eventually? That would reassure people. And it would fly under the radar.

casuallycruel131313 said:

I agree with a lot of this but I think the main issue right now is that moral and ethical lines have been crossed and there's no coming back from that. In these post-Trumpian insurrectionist times it's unfathomable that they could continue the Kushner narrative I no longer care if or when they come out, I enjoy the music and I'm happy to observe from a distance because I'm interested from a PR/marketing point of view but my opinion of T &K as people has changed irrevocably and I don't see how they can clean the tarnish off.

@theprologues said:

Agree with most of not all if this but I would like to say as a Kaylor the toe Grammy stunt didn’t phase me. I was not crushed by that by any means. I just shrugged and honestly expected it. It was the attributing Betty and exile to him during the LPSS in November that bummed me out and really made me go...really?

rockcrow20 said:

Have to say I also agree with most of this.

I no longer have any expectations on anything changing any time soon and have not been surprised by the recent events its to be expected after everything over the years really

Nothing has really changed (bearding narrative wise) since I fell down the rabbit hole in 2017 (except that great night in nashville 2018 rep)

Honestly I can't say I am as invested anymore about them ever coming out as I was.

I think the wb/Joe thing was the last moment for me and the continual kushner connection just troubles me like many others.

I mean my kaylor motto for awhile now has been hope for the best but expect disappointment.

Low expectations = limited feelings of disappointment.

original-cypher said:

@rockcrow20 the WB was a breaking point for so many. You are absolutely right. There are just so ma'y contradictions that feel like absolute whiplash. (I know I seem to have been the only one experiencing that with Gorgeous but... that was a big one for me, too) But like. You go on a whole PR campaign about speaking up and standing up for yourself. You say you're capable and tired of men trying to take ownership of your success and profit off of your name. And you credit you literal damn work to a bloke? Bitch, 'consistency'? Look it up. It grossed me out. It would have felt iffy if I believed they were real. But since I wasn't born yesterday it just sent me the message "this is how far I'm willing to sacrifice my principles to not be queer".

rockcrow20 said:

@original-cypher exactly why it bothered me and I know alot us so much. Such mixed messaging of being a strong fighting for your rights female and then oh hey let me attribute some of my best work to my pr boyfriend and the pr pics where she is walking behind all the time like 🙄 The Betty thing that was big one for me too!

rainbowdaisy13 said:

This write up and the comments are spot on. I don’t have much to add other than like @original-cypher said, Miss Americana is tainted for me now and seems like at the very least, it was released too soon in the plan. I get we think they have had to pivot but man, that doc, and including her literally saying “gay rights make me me” at the end was such a false flag. To see her wax poetic about not taking shit from men anymore and then see her do the same old hetero weak woman song and dance routine with the WB shit for albums that are of her genius mind has been so disappointing. I still believe Kaylor is real and I hope they get a chance to show the world that. Karlie posting that cardigan pic in the woods before the folklore release cemented for me they are still together. Adding a baby makes me feel all kind of weird ethical things but I hope I live long enough to see it play out and wear my I Told You So shirt 😁

@kellykaylor said:

agree with your post... I dont care about toe stunts but what really pissed me of was hetwashing betty 🤮! beautiful post tho anon!!

roameroo said:

Totally agree with these all comments especially the strong messaging of MA only to turn around & pull that WB = my "bf" crap. I was disheartened by her mentioning him at the Grammy's only bc he's getting credit for sh*t he doesn't/didn't do. That is what irks me the most about this, giving him credit for her life's work.

always-the-last-word said:

Can I throw my pennies in the pool ?? Taylor will put out the big three first Fearless, RED then 1989 that should bring us to about August. This is where the excitement should begin. If Taylor preps and waits for National Coming Out day it's a no lose for her. Lover her money making machine will go through the roof !! If things go bad or good in the public eye she'll have REPUTATION Taylor's Version ready to release. It will be epic and she'll own it and be FREE.

@karlie-what-you-want said:

always-the-last-word I like this take a lot! I try not to be too optimistic but if she wanted to come out sooner rather than later, I think this plan would satisfy both business and PR needs (at least on Taylor’s end). Remains to be seen how Tay will help Karlie dig her way out of the mess they made together regarding the K*shners.

always-the-last-word said:

Always remember that Taylor has a PLAN. Some of her plans are year's old (easter eggs). Taylor's one and only LOVE is her music, everything else comes second. If KK wants to change and be with her full time she'll make moves around the same time frame. That's if she chooses to. In any event Tay will be open and own all her music. I've seen this film before and WE might not like the ending.

chosetherose said:

I’ve been going back and forth for a day trying to figure out what I wanted to say when I reblogged this post. I’m tired. I’m frustrated. I understand I’m owed nothing by Taylor or Karlie. I understand that circumstances out of their control have caused the girls to pivot over and over again.

But, the root of my frustration in the past months stems not from me battling with the trivial (e.g. pap walks, etc.) but with my personal principles. I fiercely believe credit should be given where it is earned and I uphold this in my career regularly. To see Taylor crediting Toe with her art was deeply disappointing. Watch the 1989 and folklore acceptance speeches back to back and tell me it doesn’t upset you. I believe the K******s have blood on their hands and that their actions during the pandemic have killed people. To see Karlie still associating with one of them disgusts me.

I can’t help but think back in frustration - Would you really fall from grace to touch her face? (And in the brilliant words of @9w1ft) But would you die for her in public? I go back and forth feeling like questions like this aren’t fair at all and thinking they are sort of valid. At this point, it sort of feels like Taylor would only fall from grace for her lover if all the stars and facets of her life aligned perfectly. But perfection like this does not happen. Such is life. So why am I here?

I do question why Spade left certain messages in their final days. I am still holding hope a fervent revolution exonerates everyone. I so desperately want Taylor to regain control of her masters or re-records. Maybe this is the plan they thought was best with multiple goals in mind (re-records, having a family, coming out of the closet one day etc). I’m trying to remain patient because Spade told us to trust her endless yearning. But WOW it is asking a lot of us at this point.

Anonymous said:

Despite being a pragmatist kaylor and oftentimes getting into arguments with fellow optimistic kaylors (owner of this blog included) I think it's quite unfair -at this point- to say to the optimists who have patiently sat through the worst kind of stunts with the most terrible kind of people (yes I'm talking about the Kushner's friend group too) that they should have seen it coming. Besides, if it weren't for the optimists we the cynicals would have burned this fandom down by now.

Anonymous said:

Even if we ignore that an insurrection happened partially because of the family karlie's still working for and getting paid from, she literally said before the pregnancy debacle unfolded that j*sh was her last client while talking about cutting hair and doing a cutting gesture. How should we have interpreted that? 😤That a year later she would be more stuck with the Kushners than ever? We don't wake up on day and decide to have unrealistic expectations. She feeds into them. 😠

Anonymous said:

I have no expectation of Taylor coming out anymore. Zero. None. I have no expectation of her dropping Toe or even of Kaylor publicly reuniting. It doesn't even matter that much anymore. But I - do - expect 1 thing. Karlie to drop and completely dissociate herself from the Kushners and this has nothing to do with kaylor. It was everything to do with me being unable to support a person who willfully assists (now using her baby too) and receives money from a family that has made so many suffer.

Anonymous said:

A quick word from an ex-kaylor (who will never become an anti). A year ago, when the Trumps were still in power and untouchable and there was no baby, I was excusing and turning a blind eye to many things Karlie did for the K*shners. Even that dinner in September. I had also made peace with the truth never being revealed. But a year later the Trumps are gone, Karlie is still on full stunting mode now with a baby in the mix, a baby that is already being used by the Kushners, and I've really run out of excuses. Now the only thing that could possibly keep me on board is if I knew there was a good chance that the full truth would come out, so that Karlie's inexplicable and honestly borderline immoral actions could eventually make sense. But as your sub said, this is an unrealistic expectation, thus I became an ex-kaylor and I'm not planning to come back even when they reunite. 😕

Anonymous said:

What baffles me is that Taylor has explicitly expressed her regret about not giving her lover the credit she deserves and her doubt whether fame is worth hiding her true love: "when I walked up to the podium, I think I forgot to say your name", "what's a lifetime of achievement, if I pushed you to the edge". But yet again she didn't do anything to change this. I didn't expect her to acknowledge Karlie, but a nod or at least not falsely crediting her beard would be a good start.

Anonymous said:

1🙁 Let me chime in re: "expectations". I'm one of the kaylors who ever since the pregnancy reveal was trying to tell everyone there's NO way she was gonna dump him soon after birth let alone before that. It would bring too much unnecessary attention and Jerk would have never agreed to something that would make him look like a bad guy/husband. For the exact same reasons, I was also saying there's no way he wasn't going to post about the baby. All the above against the popular opinion back then.

2🙁 So I agree that the day of the birth post was known to T, not the timing though. Simply bc Kushner-leaning outlets made sure to note that detail. If they wanted it to go unnoticed, why draw attention to it? That being said, kaylors would have been more patient with this mess, if Karlie hadn't gone overboard with her freedom "smoke signals" last summer and Tay's "insiders" hadn't been insinuating that the end is VERY near. Both of them SHOULD have known by then how we would react to these.

3🙁 So it's natural that everyone feels played and has no patience for any more bullshit. Another sore point is how Jerk AND the Kushner-Trump klan monopolize the baby news. This isn't just to make it realistic, it's an abuse of Kaylor's baby's name to garner good pr for the worst family in America, with Karlie's blessing. In order for her marriage and split to appear realistic she's putting a LIFETIME burden on her child's back. Unless you believe she's eventually gonna say Jerk isn't the dad.

4🙁 So "we’re in a position we should realistically have been able to see coming". But we did see it coming, that why some made these extreme scenarios, bc this is the worst possible outcome. "Good people try to make it work, even in bad relationships." Ultimately this isn't just a "bad rs". It's a horrific association that should have been resolved ages ago, not one to bring your child into, doom it to suffer a similar fate, and expect people to sit idly and watch. That's what frustrates most.

[contrabandhothead]

Hi! I saw your post about requests! :) could I get some BOB head cannons of what it’s like to date them while also being is easy company? :)

I’m so so SO sorry this took so long, and I hope you like it 🤞🏻also, I couldn’t do all of them because school has been keeping me very busy. If you want to send another request, and i’ll do more for you when I have time 💕 Enjoy!

Dick Winters

generally very private about his relationship

mom and dad™ of easy co. 

 i want to say that he puts you on his team during missions, but i feel like he thinks it’s unprofessional 

so he probably puts you on a team with someone he trusts and that he knows won’t take unnecessary risks *cough cough* Speirs *cough cough* 

doesn’t mean he doesn’t get worried though 

give this man a massage please, he’s stressed af  

you’d never want to jeopardize his position though, so you’re generally okay with it 

however, sometimes you get a little lonely 

Dick notices this and tries to clear out a slot in his schedule in order to spend some quality time with you 

treats you like any of the other men, except when you’re alone

king of stolen kisses behind crumbling walls before a battle

very healthy relationship overall 12/10 would be an amazing father 

secretly wants to get married when the war is over 

i’m not saying he definitely proposed on V-E Day but he definitely did it 

cries at the wedding, especially since it’s been so long since he’s seen you all dolled up because of the war 

also cries because he’s finally getting to marry the love of his life 

drunkenly told Nix at his bachelor party about how amazing you would look at your wedding and then went on and on about the specific shade of your eyes

S I M P 

Nix never lets him forget it 

Lewis Nixon

this man 

let’s be for real here 

he has NO idea how to display affection at all, especially because of his past 

so he does what any rich boy would do 

showers you in gifts that you don’t need 

it’s not that you’re ungrateful for them, you just wish he would understand that you don’t love him for his money 

i feel like everyone forgets that he’s lowkey rich 

can’t relate Nix

he will buy you anything he sees you look at for more than a second

always has them delivered by some random Private 

the men tease you RELENTLESSLY for it 

“hey Y/N, what did that overflowing wallet buy you this week?”

“Shut up Tab”

is always worried about you 

especially since he usually isn’t on the battlefield since he moved to staff

you’re fine 

you can definitely handle yourself after Sobel’s training what a fucking dick

takes you out on small simple dates when you guys actually have weekend passes 

the guys always help you get ready for your dates (they see you as a little sister it’s really cute) 

Ron Speirs 

this man 

oh wow 

the flavor 

never really got to see you until Dog Co. was basically absorbed by Easy Co. 

definitely thinks he’s not good enough for you 

when you first introduced the Easy Co. men to him, they thought the exact same thing (they changed their minds after a while though) 

REASSURE THIS MAN. EVERY. STINKIN. DAY. THAT HE IS GOOD ENOUGH. 

P L E A S E 

secretly is a cuddle monster

will 100% sneak into your foxhole to cuddle and will slit anyone’s throat that mentions it 

this man has arms and legs like an octopus when it comes to cuddling 

will pull you back into his arms even if you need to use the bathroom and will not be letting go 

steals you pretty things for absolutely no reason (Ron, no) 

the man is like a freakin magpie

the men of Easy Co. grow to like him more when they realize how happy he makes you and how he doesn’t hurt you 

he actually values their opinion on your relationship a lot

he knows Easy is like family and you’re like the younger sister 

doesn’t show it though 

pushes you away when he feels insecure 

jealous™

surprisingly domestic 

Carwood Lipton 

wholesome but to the max™

you’re both so in love i feel like i’m going to throw up rainbows

signed up for the paratroopers together

i feel like Carwood is the type of person to marry his high school sweetheart 

so yeah, you guys are that™ couple

best aunt and uncle of easy co. 

Lip worries about you just a littleee more than the other men 

he’s just a worry wart in general 

almost threw hands with Sobel once when Sobel insulted you 

he will not stand for anyone insulting his gal 

isn’t as private as Dick is with his relationship, but is known to hide it from superior officers other than Nix and Winters

aka Sobel

was 100% willing to get kicked out of the infantry to defend you from Sobel 

thinks a lot about how good of a mom you’d be, especially when he sees you caring for the men

is also a cuddler, though not nearly as clingy as Ron

just a loose arm to tuck you into his side, especially during Bastogne 

prefers having you on his team, not only because he cares about you, but also because he admires your skill and accuracy 

you’re a damn good shot, and he’d scream it from a mountain for all to hear 

so proud of his gal 

George Luz

you’re either the jokester and the stoic couple, the shy kid and the jokester couple, or the jokester and the jokester couple 

there’s no in between 

cracks terrible jokes just to see you smile 

still tries pick up lines even AFTER you two are dating (even the guys shake their heads)

you two are the entertainment for easy co. let me tell you 

you’re also the only person that can get George to shut up 

you must thank him in kisses he takes no other currency 

clingy baby™

it’s like dating a 12 year old boy sometimes 

he can be so immature but it’s kind of endearing at times

everyone is immediately accepting of your relationship because it just makes sense and you’re both good for each other

wants a hug and a kiss even if you’re just leaving the dining hall to go to the bathroom 

just give the man what he wants or he’ll pout all day until you kiss his cheek 

you guys once had a match of how long you could ignore each other once 

he was surprisingly dedicated 

but he broke 

he snapped like a twig after everyone went to sleep

he dived into your foxhole and begged you to talk to him

he kept snuggling closer to you until you talked to him again

Joe Toye 

rough on the outside, soft on the inside  

brings you flowers when he asks you out (surprisingly very traditional and respectful when he asks you out)

everyone has a good time when Toye is with you, he loosens up a lot more 

loves when you pet his hair and he can just stare up at the stars while laying in your lap 

he’s just as bad as Speirs when it comes to cuddling 

a cuddle bug but won’t admit it 

actually might be worse than Speirs when it comes to cuddling because he can actually sneak into your bunk while you’re sleeping 

also wants to fight Sobel when Sobel insults you and actually almost threw hands 

he almost got court martialed and was 2 steps away from getting up in Sobel’s face before Guarnere and Luz stopped him

hands down the dumbest thing he has ever done 

you were so mad at him for it 

you didn’t talk to him for a week 

you felt bad because he was always giving you those puppy dog eyes from across the dining hall 

Joe gets teased by the guys for being sweet on you  

“at least I got a broad! the rest of ya’ can’t really say that much.”

will not hesitate to let you win during arm wrestling 

he’s not allowed to arm wrestle with you anymore because the guys know he’s just letting you win 

you’re his #1 fan during arm wrestling 

look at those arms tho

Joe  Liebgott   

y’all thought Toye was soft 

OH BOY 

the way Joe acts around you is definitely bullying material for the other guys 

Lieb drinks respect women juice 

thinks you’re so cool 

would probably walk up to random people and be like “that’s her. she’s my girlfriend. can you believe how lucky i am?” 

thinks it’s so cute when you show off your brand new jump wings to him

you just looked so excited 

he wasn’t even staring at the wings when you started rambling about how happy you were, he was just making this stupid in love face

definitely grabbed your face and kissed you hard after that 

he wants SO many kids???? 

ya know those lists that lots of girls have on their phones and it’s just a bunch of future baby names??? that’s Joe 

this man has 8 names

4 girls names and 4 boy names 

he plans to use every name 

just wants to live the domestic life with you after the war 

will freeze his ass off and take your watch just so you can get some extra sleep 

another cuddle monster (they’re multiplying)

whispers really cute things in german to you until you fall asleep

has also almost fought Sobel for shit he said to you 

David Webster 

you help him fit in more with the other guys 

please teach him the art of socializing  

yes, the men have stolen his journal to read all his terrible poetry about you

still gets shit for it to this day 

shares his chocolate bar with you 

longing stares but from across the room 

doesn’t actually take you out until the war is over because he wants to do it right dammit 

has little to absolutely no relationship experience

please teach him 

or better yet, struggle with him and get made fun of by all the guys 

they actually accept Web more now that he’s with you 

cuz Easy Co. loves you 

sends letters all the time when he’s sent to the hospital 

everyone teases him that he acts like he’s more likely married to Liebgott than to you

you’re the only reason the men will stop teasing him 

definitely more badass then him 

you radiate boss energy and that’s what easy co. likes about you 

especially Web

everyone’s like “that’s my girl!”  

and he just smiles in the corner with the rest of them 

Bill Guarnere 

DID I SAY SOFT??? 

S O F T 

weak for his girl 

arm wrestles just to get your attention (flexes all the time for pete’s sake) 

also wants like a gazillion children and talks about it constantly with Liebgott

this man wants an army of little Italian kids 

no one makes fun of you or Guarnere for his actions to get your attention because they don’t want his fist in their face 

people who have almost punched Sobel for making fun of their girl: let’s add Guarnere to the list 

you didn’t ignore him, you just told him off for being an idiot 

if i could describe it, he sulked like a puppy that got told no more treats

so proud of you when you get your jump wings 

probably makes a toast about it at the celebration 

he was so drunk but it was so cute

literally will do anything for your attention 

chugging three bottles of whiskey so Y/N will pay attention to me??? pass the bottle bitch

not a massive cuddle monster but enjoys PDA and the occassional ass slap

probably has slapped your ass in front of company before

this boy has no morals smh 

don’t worry, you get him back though 

Frank Perconte 

worry wart but multiply it by 1000x 

is always bothering you to brush your teeth 

not because he’s scared your breath stinks, but because he cares about you and your oral hygiene 

now gets bullied about oral hygiene and his relationship with you 

ft Skip. “oh Y/N, take me away my princess. did you brush your little pearly teeth??? i would never want your perfect smile to be ruined.” 

Skip has been chased multiple times around Toccoa for this behavior 

will fight anyone that thinks you’re not a good shot 

is amazed how good you are at darts (knows you’re better than Buck) 

does share a foxhole with you 

is NOT part of the monster cuddler club because he knows when to stop 

has not arm wrestled for your attention but will if so needed 

always needs attention

whiny 12 year old boy P.2

sometimes it’s like you’re dating Luz as well 

Luz has purposefully third wheeled before 

yes, you heard me 

ON PURPOSE

likes spontaneous dates 

would fight Sobel for you but isn’t stupid enough to almost do it 

Buck Compton  

realized he had heart eyes for you before his old girl broke it off with him

WAS RELIEVED WHEN SHE SAID SHE WAS DONE WITH HIM IN BASTOGNE 

the other Easy men were like “dude, what the hell are you waiting for. GO GET YOUR GIRL!” 

let’s you win at darts 

is also stupid and needy enough to arm wrestle for your attention

actually wins though 

wants you to kiss his guns (absolutely not sir) 

jealous and protective 

jealous af around Winters 

gets teased a lot about it by the other men

but they can see why he’s insecure about it, Winter’s could sweep any girl he wanted to off her feet

indeed a cuddle monster 

will only share a foxhole with you in Bastogne 

no one else

radiator of heat and thus a good cuddler though 

will only let you make fun of him without repercussions 

wants you to move in as soon as the war is over

always demands to be in your unit during an attack

will keep you safe at all costs (and one of the reasons why he got shot in the ass again) 

Floyd Talbert 

THE ABSOLUTE SWEETEST BABY 

 people use to bully Tab for his condom shipments

now they bully him for the way he acts around you 

tough guy??? no. absolute stick of melted butter when around you 

thinks you’re a saint 

so does the rest of Easy though, so I guess it doesn’t matter

they had everyone from Easy give him a pep talk just to ask you out (Trigger even barked at him) 

he was actually worried you would reject him 

no one will ever reject that man lol it doesn’t make sense

not necessarily a cuddle monster

DEFINITELY A PDA MONSTER THOUGH 

likes when you sit on his lap 

can’t explain it, it just makes sense

will also arm wrestle for your attention 

will honestly do anything for you 

you need me to bring you Jupiter in a jar??? 

sure babe I’ll be right back 

has specific pet names for you 

his favorites are buttercup, angel, and beautiful

Babe Heffron 

P U R E 

does not get bullied for being in a relationship with you because everyone loves him

not a single person in this company, including you, would hesitate to sacrifice their life for that replacement 

whines a lot to you when you don’t give him attention

will arm wrestle for your attention and loses

has not had the chance to fight Sobel before but I feel like he could if he wanted to 

will tear Dike to shreads if he even mutter one hateful word against you 

cuddle monster #2323293

enjoys being the little spoon and the big spoon while in the foxhole 

shares his food with you during meals 

will not hesitate to get shot in the ass for you 

also will not hesitate to get shot for you in general 

is like an angry 6 year old baby when you don’t pay attention to him

is known to give the silent treatment when you’re too busy to talk to him for days

MAKE TIME FOR HIM DO IT NOW 

wants you to meet his Ma in Philly after the war 

has many hopeful dreams that include you after the war 

will only share chocolate with you and Gene

give him a hug, even when he says he doesn’t need it

Eugene Roe 

HOLY SWEET JESUS 

FIRST OFF 

NO ONE IN THEIR GODDAMN RIGHT MIND WOULD EVER MAKE FUN OF YOU, ESPECIALLY AROUND DOC

this man has so many pet names 

he is not afraid to use them on the battlefield, especially if you’re bleeding out because he’ll know you’ll answer to them

“darlin’, mon amour, ma mie, ma belle, ma chérie” 

 please stop Gene, it’s embarassing but also like don’t stop

get us a defibrillator his heart stopped while he was looking at you and we need to do CPR NOW-

thinks you’re the most beautiful girl ever

is not dumb enough to arm wrestle for your attention

he just makes this grumpy or upset face and you catch on quickly 

he’s also not dumb enough to fight Sobel

BUT HE WILL FIGHT ANY SOLDIER WITH THE AUDACITY TO INSULT YOU 

is always worrying about you

especially in Bastogne 

always jumping into your foxhole to check for any wounds

probably lost his sizzuhs that way

always has extra bandages just for you 

treats you with tender care

Donald Malarkey 

THE CUTEST COUPLE EVER

NOT EVEN SKIP HAS THE HEART TO MAKE FUN OF YOU 

is not dumb enough to fight Sobel for you 

doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to punch him though 

is dumb enough to arm wrestle for your attention 

it lowkey depends on the day though 

i mean 

he doesn’t need to arm wrestle for you to admire his arms 

like, have you seen that gif of him taking of his shirt???

loves cuddles in your foxhole but is not a cuddle monster

he’s a big baby when he gets tired

loves it when you take care of him 

has definitely fallen asleep once on your shoulder during watch 

would run up Currahee with full gear 3 times just to see you smile

he needs a hug. give him one now. 

likes to rest his chin on your head 

also wants you to move in (and maybe get married) after the war

treats you kindly, but he’s still a sarcastic little shit 

kiss his muscles

that was literally so long i can’t believe i finished

[himbowelsh]

(Sorry if you're not comfortable with this I'm fairly new to the fandom so pls ignore if you are) Headcanons that include the BoB guys falling in love, mannerisms and speech and such?

Richard Winters

keeps it to himself.  when dick is falling in love, neither god nor man would be able to tell, he plays his cards that close to the chest.

(or course, lewis nixon is neither god nor man, just somewhere in between. he figures it out in a second, and teases dick mercilessly.)

lots of lingering stares, gentle half-smiles, more patience than he would  ---  or possibly should  ---  have.  dick falling in love gradually becomes more and more tolerant of things he would disapprove of in anyone else.

the sort of person who just...  becomes so unbearably fond of someone that their flaws seem insignificant.  there’s nothing he can’t forgive, nothing they can’t work past together.  he loves everything about them, even their worst parts, at least a little bit.

basically he’s just normal dick, nothing has changed, except...  he’s a softer version of dick.  soft dick all over the place.

Lewis Nixon

he’s...  not very subtle about it, but in a very nix way.

his flirting is obvious.  like, it’s obvious to anyone looking in his direction.  he’s not subtle about it; and while he’s capable of being smooth, he’s also kind of earnest, devoting so much of his attention to his person of interest that he’s able to ignore everything else.

such as responsibilities.  when he’s supposed to be somewhere, and he’s not there, 100% chance nix is with his crush.  when he’s in love with someone, he just wants to be around them as long as they’ll tolerate him; he practically becomes their sardonic shadow.

lots of gifts.  like, things just appear in the person’s rooms, complete with a wry little note from nix.  he never makes a big deal out of it, but he compulsively buys his love interest things when the opportunity arises.

allows himself unexpected moments of sincerity  ---   like a mask slipping for just a moment, when his guards are all down and he’s able to be honest with the one person in the world he’s actually brave enough to reveal himself to.  

when nix loves someone, he slowly allows them to see the messiest parts of him  ---  because he knows he can’t hide them forever, and it’s easier for them to know from the get-out than to stop loving him down the line.

Carwood Lipton

so chill about it, you honestly wouldn’t be able to tell.

lip isn’t even a super private person like dick, he’s just...  able to fuction normally, even when his heart is doing a complete 360-degree flip over someone.  he treats them the same way he always has, doesn’t fawn over them of go out of his way...  he’s just regular old lip.

except for the lingering stares, and the fond smiles he doesn’t bother to suppress.  except for how he’s always got an eye on them, just...  making sure they’re alright whenever he’s around, in case they need something.  except for the fact that if they do need something, he’ll go out of his way  ---  maybe to an unreasonable degree  ---  to get it.  he’ll drive three towns over just to get them a specific ice cream brand they’re craving.

which is out of character for lip, but he’ll do it, because it’s them.  he’d go out of his way for any one of his friends, but wouldn’t move mountains except for this one person.  they’re special to him.  somehow, without him even realizing it, they mean everything to him.

Ron Speirs

well, he didn’t mean to catch these feelings, but now that they’re here he’s just going to have to murder everyone who’s ever looked at his partner wrong

no.  okay, ron...  ron does get a little overprotective at times.  he’s good at being in love, but falling in love is unpredictable.  it’s unsteady, it’s uncertain, anything could happen  ---  his protective instincts are triggered. so when he finds himself falling for someone, he keeps a constant eye on them.   they don’t ever need to worry as long as he’s around; they don’t need to be afraid of anything.  honestly, it can get a little too intense, if he lets it.

if ron recognizes he’s being too overbearing, he’ll back off.  pining from afar is also something he’s surprisingly good at.  gentle stares from across the room, half-smiles at things they say, wry comments meant for their ears alone.  if he can be comfortable in silence alongside them, it’s a big thing for him.

love letters.  this is a big thing.  ron’s not always great at expressing his feelings verbally, so he finds a real release through writing.  this really helps his love interest understand where he’s coming from, and get to know his heart clearly.  when ron bares his soul in prose, it’s difficult not to fall in love with him.

Harry Welsh

eager beaver.  like, he’ll bounce at the chance to do anything for them at any time.  oh, that bag looks heavy, he can get that!  he’s just gonna...  casually hold this door open, you know, like a gentleman.  paying for their own drinks?  oh no, don’t worry, he’s got it covered.

the worst part is, he thinks he’s slick.

can actually be the softest man in the world when he’s in love; he’ll absolutely dote on a partner.  

some of the guys here are actual disasters, they don’t know how to even admit it to themselves  ---  not harry.  when harry’s in love, the whole world gets to know it.  he’ll talk about how great they are to anyone who’ll listen; and if he and his partner are on the same page, he’ll tell them he loves them every chance he gets.  there’s never any question to how harry’s feeling, because he says it.

heart eyes for his partner at any and all times, even when they’re doing something as mundane as reading a book.

Buck Compton

he just glows whenever he’s around them.  it’s not something buck can help.  it’s like...  being in his partner’s presence gives him more energy, more vitality, the drive to do and be more.  he’s fueled by their attention and the desire to impress, to be worthy of them.

not reticent about his feelings.   he’ll freely admit them, but it won’t be, “yeah, i love them”; buck will go on about how much he admires them, talking people’s ears off about their abilities and virtues.  if buck falls in love with someone, he already holds them in the highest esteem, and honestly wants to be able to blab about how great they are.

people don’t give him credit for how emotional he can be; but once he’s fallen for someone, he opens up to them more and more.  it’s a challenge to reveal his vulnerabilities without being afraid, but as he grows to love them more, he trusts them too.

George Luz

if possible, he becomes even more luz-ish than normal.  like...  his regular personality is turned up to eleven.  he craves his love interests attention like a drowning man craves air, and he goes out of his way to seek it out.

lots of flirting, lots of teasing.   if they’re around, most of his jokes are directed towards them, like it’s a battle just to make them laugh.  it’s painfully obvious where his attention is.

yeah, he’s joking around a lot, and maybe flirting a bit too much to be casual, but...  he’s also looking out for them.  if they need help with something, he jumps at the chance to do it.  any favor, any time, george is ready.

he also likes to teach them things.  something as simple as a card game, or how to fix a broken sink  ---  it gives him the chance to show off his skills a little, try to impress them, prove he knows what the hell he’s talking about...  and just to be around them.  he eats up every second he gets to spend with them.

sometimes he gets flustered.  if they’re not in a relationship yet, and his love interest were to question him about his feelings, he wouldn’t know what to say; he’d run a hand through his already-messy hair, chuckling while averting his eyes, and try to brush the question off with a charming deflection.  it wouldn’t work.  he’s lots of things, but not subtle.

Joe Toye

joe toye is so capable of being soft around the people he loves that it’s frankly obscene.

he definitely becomes more protective of them.  like...  love is already an uncertain thing, he doesn’t want to lose it when they’ve barely just begun...  and he’s never forgive himself if something bad happened to them.  Protective Toye Mode is in full gear.

has infinitely more patience, and is able to let his guards down around them more.  he jokes around more, in his understated way.  he watches them when they’re too busy with work to look up, a proud smile on his face.  sometimes he can’t resist reaching out and touching them, surprising even himself.

he’s so soft, guys.  he just wants to be around them and take care of them  ---  honestly, he’d do anything for them if they let him.

Eugene Roe

honestly, he’s not sure where to start.

it doesn’t blindside him.  getting close to people doesn’t come easily to gene; it’s a slow process, and he’s aware ever step of the way that this person is steadily growing in importance to him. it takes him a little while to recognize it as love, but once he gets there...  yeah.

he’s cautious about it  ---  tries as hard as he can not to let it show.   being in love is kind of scary for him, actually.  he’d really need encouragement from the other person, and the feel comfortable around them.   he’d need to see there’s interest there, otherwise he might actually talk himself out of his own feelings.   (jesus christ, gene, why are you like this)

quietly so proud of them, and quick to praise.  his sweet little smile makes his love interest feel warm all over, and when his eyes go soft and unbearably fond like that...

gene’s love is a quiet thing, but it blossoms more every day.   it needs sunlight, nourishment, and kindness to grow.

Bill Guarnere

literally his partner’s hype man.  they are amazing and he wants the world to know it.

like, bill in love isn’t that different from regular bill, but he gets invested.  he becomes ride-or-die.  would murder someone for his partner without question and bury the body together as a sign of their love.

definitely a show-off.  yeah, his partner’s incredible, but he wants them to think he’s just as cool.  bill might get a bit more reckless in pursuit of their attention, push his own limits (and the limits of common sense) a bit more.  his love interest shouldn’t let him go too crazy, because he might end up losing another leg.  

he may still be regular ol’ guarnere, but wild bill ain’t cooking a four-course authentic italian dinner for just anybody.  bill’s romantic side starts coming out in spades.  he feels more compelled to take care of them, do stuff for them.  it gives him a sense of usefulness; he loves feeling needed by them.

Babe Heffron

cheesy pickup lines x1000.  the worst part is, he thinks they’re actually good.

babe’s actually functional when he’s falling in love with someone.  honestly, he enjoys the feeling.  falling in love’s a beautiful thing!  almost as beautiful as the person he loves!  let’s enjoy it while it lasts.

he’s not shy about flirting with them, but can actually act like a normal person, too.  he doesn’t get all tongue-tied and stuttery; he just loves talking to them, having conversations and spending time with them and sharing his own interests while learning their own.  eats up every bit of attention they give him.

lowkey wants to do so many things with them, but plays it cool.   invites them places, like out dancing, to his favorite restaurants, anywhere they might have a good time.  by sharing these memories with them, babe feels like he’s sharing parts of himself, too...  and god, it sure is fun to be in love.

Joseph Liebgott

what are these feelings and who put them there without his permission

lowkey, he’d choke on the love at first.  probably think it was indigestion or something, hope he’d get over it...  but the feeling would only grow, and slowly joe realizes he’s in over his head.  there’s no way out.  somehow, he’s fallen in love, and he wasn’t prepared damn it.

plays it cool.   he’s not in any hurry to admit his feelings; he knows, and that’s what matters most.  he’s not gonna confess to anything until he thinks there’s a strong chance they’ll reciprocate, so he just...  hangs out for a while.

somehow, when his love interest needs something, he’s there.  it’s like joe’s got a spidey sense for when they’re in trouble  ---  even if they just need help opening a damn jar of pickles  ---  because he’s at their side, ready to talk or fight, whatever’s needed.

doesn’t snap around them as much.  actually, he has moments when he’s downright...  soft.  it’s like all his harsh edges are being sanded down; he even lets his guards down sometimes and reveals flashes of emotional vulnerability, which he wouldn’t do for just anyone.  joe liebgott being soft  (when no one’s mortally injured)  is the #1 indication he’s caught the lovebug.

David Webster

he’s not...  unbearable about it.   it’s kind of cute, in a “romeo pining for juliet from the shadows outside her window” sort of way.

webster is very quiet about falling in love.  he...  watches a lot, just observing whenever he has the pleasure of being around them.  he notices all their habits, all their quirks, and can’t help finding them all endearing.  even if it’s habits he usually hates, like talking while chewing or mimicking someone badly...  he gets a little love-blind for a while.

won’t talk about his feelings to anyone, but will write them all down.  his journal reads like he’s a 7th grade girl with a crush.  sometimes he tries to get really poetic, and express the true nuance of his soul being drawn towards a kindred spirit, but he can’t formulate his thoughts as well in the moment.

they become his muse, at least; he can write better when thinking of them, and might even be bold enough to share some of his writing, just to see their reactions.

not about to write love poems himself, but he knows a few beautiful ones offhand, and will share them with his love interest  ---  a subtle way of confessing his feelings to them through proxy, and sharing something special between each other.

Floyd Talbert

tab’s flirty by nature, but when he falls in love with someone...  all that confidence slowly melts away.   he no longer has any desire to present a facade to them, because he’s not trying to woo anymore, he’s trying to love.

he becomes more straightforward and serious around them.  he’s still his normal self, but there’s an earnest sincerity that wasn’t there before.  he’s not making any attempts to impress them.  he is how he is, after all; if he loves them for themselves, they’ll have to love him the same way.

(he can’t breathe a genuine sigh of relief until he’s got affirmation that they do.)

no more super fun, casual dates.  now tab wants to go for long nature walks and talk about their emotions.   he wants to learn more about his partner, to see the parts of them they’re scared to reveal.   nature is also something important to him, and he wants to share that part with them.

floyd in love becomes...  a more genuine version of himself.

Donald Malarkey

a really nice guy, and not in a gross way.

don’s just...  a nice guy in general, but when he’s falling in love, he’s at peak sweetness.  he gets them gifts just for the fun of it, tries to write songs for them  (well, he does his best), and comes up with dates centered around all the things they love to do.  he’s uber considerate, and really sweet about it.

don’s honest with himself about his feelings, and he’s willing to be honest with anyone else as well.  far as he’s concerned, being in love isn’t anything to be ashamed of, especially not with someone so amazing.

the corny jokes will probably be turned up to the max, though, and they’ll be a lot of playful flirting just to see his partner’s reaction.  don dotes on them, but most importantly, he knows how to have fun when it comes to love.

Skip Muck

kind of a tease, but in the best way.  skip isn’t great at flirting when he really means it; there’s a difference between batting his eyes at someone across a dance hall and falling in love, and skip in love feels like he’s in over his head.

he’ll joke around with them a lot, but also kind of fall into a big-brother role  ---  looking out for them, helping them, showing them how to do things if they’ll let him.  

he feels comfortable acting this way, like he’s significant to them.   even if they don’t feel the same way, he enjoys having their attention on him for the moment, and cultivates it.

will definitely have cracks in his armor.  honestly, when he falls in love, he’s not that subtle about it.  suddenly, he can no longer make dirty jokes around them; he can’t pretend to flirt without blushing and tripping over his words; he catches himself watching them for too long, and idly humming love songs after they’ve just left the room.

god, he’s a wreck.   he feels like an idiot around them, and doesn’t know how to deal with it...  so eventually he’s just going to have to come right out and say it.

[thetradeway]

Session 51 Sep 18 2021: “No! Get out of my orifices!”

Right - where were we? Oh yes, we fought some piranha and found some chests and some Duergar statues. We fill Mina in on what she missed; she offers to craft Gideon a new finger.

“No… No, I don’t want your goblin crafts on my body!”

Then there’s some waffle about covid deniers. (Ed believes covid is real; Gideon does not.)

Who wants control of the urine-drenched sorcerer? Sophie, OOC: “You make it sound so appealing.”

She agrees to take Ahleqs, if Matthew will help her out.

Now, when I put a message on the group chat earlier to ask if we were starting at the usual time tonight, our illustrious DM messaged back to say ‘Yep yep yep thumbs up emoji smiley face emoji’ which was far too enthusiastic. We are all now very wary. Ardvack slams a potion before we get started.

Right, where were we going? There is still a strange magical island with a wall around it to explore. There is a boat that leads to it; Gideon advances to Investigate. It looks old but in good shape and water-tight. There are oars. He thinks three will fit in it; he volunteers as do Tarragon and Melaina. Gideon, sternly: “No pilfering, rogue.”

Tarragon rows us across. Do the others want her to go back and pick them up? Apparently not.

Gideon investigates the magical barrier, which is blocking the door, but rolls a nat 1. We make Perception checks - the giant statue of the dwarves god of crafts has an offering bowl at his feet, with something written in Dwarvish. Gideon would read it, but Ed’s buggered off.

“You cannot enter this room.”

Tarragon decides to take this as a challenge. She takes out a gold piece and puts it in the offering bowl; nothing happens so she takes it back out. Gideon covers the ‘not’ part of the carving so it reads 'you can enter this room', but that doesn’t seem to help either.

Tarragon looks at the magical wall. It’s blue, and looks a similar colour to the brazier in the other room. Could we light a torch from the brazier and try waving that at the wall? Maybe. In the meantime Gideon puts some food in the bowl; nothing doing.

Ardvack, shouting across the water: “Have you tried blood?”

Gideon squeezes some blood from his severed finger stump - still nothing. Tarragon rows the boat back to get Kessler, who has hopefully been lighting one of her torches. She has not been able to light her torch from the brazier, however; it won't catch.

Is the bowl loose? Could we pick it up? No, it’s attached to the floor. Could Kessler pick up the brazier? It won’t move either. Time for stupid ideas.

“Hey Carl,” shouts Kessler pointing at the brazier, “put your hand in that.” Carl does not. Kessler gets just such a doggy look from Ardvack; she laughingly tells him she can’t tell because he has no face. Instead he leans down and says snottily, “Carl is precious.” He investigates the brazier. Can he feel warmth coming off it? Nat 20.

There is no heat coming off it. It does create light, but there is no noise. It is not consuming anything physical. He doesn’t think it’s evil or necessarily good; it’s just a spiritual fire. Ahleqs does an Arcana check. It’s some kind of divine magic; he is fairly certain it could be extinguished with a high enough levelled Dispel Magic spell.

Ardvack puts his hand in the brazier; it doesn’t burn him. He puts his whole head in. He’s a bit light-blinded afterward for a minute or so, but is otherwise unharmed.

Tarragon has Dispel Magic, but doesn’t have it prepared. What about Ahleqs? He doesn’t have the spell at all.

Gideon wants to rest his battle-axe on the offering bowl; he does that, but nothing happens. He rescinds the axe. Perhaps crafts, considering the nature of the god? Perhaps something he’s made?

Ahleqs has Ardvack’s leather face mask at the moment; since that was made by Kessler, perhaps we could try that.

Melaina is Investigating the door behind the wall of force. She can see beyond it to a ruined dock. If she puts her hands out to the wall of force, she can feel it though it doesn’t harm her. Would putting the brazier out remove the wall? She rolls a low Insight check and doesn’t know. Gideon rolls a low Religion check as well; he doesn’t know either.

“Alright Goblin, you’re up. Do your thing,” says Gideon. She puts Ardvack's mask in the bowl, but still nothing happens.

DM offers a clue if we roll good on Insight; Ardvack, Melaina and Gideon all do. They think the inscription refers to the desired offering. Gideon wants to put something in the bowl that would not fit in the door.

What about a fish? They breathe air, and so could not pass anywhere above the water. Tarragon steps into the bowl and Wild Shapes into a fish; still nothing happens. She changes back. Is this one of those children’s riddles that we should have definitely got by now? Joe says we will absolutely kick ourselves when we get it.

Ardvack picks a handful of mushrooms - and that bloody well works. You cannot enter this ‘room. Goddammit. Joe removes the wall. If Ardvack had a face, he’d be looking smug.

We go through. Goblin shield goes first. She sees something horrible - it is currently standing motionless. It looks like a huge dwarf in heavy armour, but made of stone, and there is a faint red glow emanating from its chest. There is an open chest next to it full of shiny shinies; Kessler points them out to Melaina, possibly in hopes that she will go first. Melaina, sadly for Kessler, does not fall for this trick.

Ardvack ventures too close and it spots him - initiative time. (Ed has disappeared again. While we wait, we discuss Matthew’s zombie campaign. We will all be level 2 when we return, which gives us an ability called Zombie Grab. Matthew and Sophie order pizza.)

Tarragon Potions and readies a Thorn Whip (which always reminds Sophie of a Walnut Whip. Not the Ann Summers sort of whip, Joe asks? No, but interesting that his mind went there.) Melaina hides and shoots - 24 hits, for 22 damage. Her bow is magical, correct? Yes. Good. Okay. Bits of rock fall off the golem. Hooray!

Does she want to move, say, to run away? (Oh shit.) She moves back so everyone else can get in.

Kessler takes aim with her crossbow. 24 hits for 7 damage, and her weapon is magical as well. She reloads and shoots again for 7 more damage while Matthew and Sophie decide what Ahleqs is going to do.

They decide that he will cast Shatter on the golem. Ba-boom! It has to make a Constitution save - at Disadvantage. “Because you’re made of stone. Like an idiot.” But it gets Advantage on saves versus magic, so that’s just a straight roll. 13. “Ha! You lose!” It takes 19 Thunder damage. Ahleqs cheers, then hides behind Tarragon.

It rushes at us - Tarragon looses her Thorn Whip but misses.

Carl uses his big stick that Tarragon gave him, but misses, almost hitting everyone else around him. He was excited. He doesn’t move, but holds the line.

Gideon is up. “Ed stop eating sausages!”

“… How did you know what I was doing.”

He Acid Splashes it. The Golem fails the save, even with Advantage, and takes 9 Acid Damage.

Like the hero he has proved himself to be, Ardvack does a cautious tactical repositioning to get away from the golem, does Shksdjlsdglsghjkhhbllhh, and then casts Eldritch Blast. It hits, and more stone crumbles off the golem.

Tarragon does Greater Shlgljksdkgjfhl;jjjhh, just to flex on Ardvack, and hits it for 11 Bludgeoning. She bares her teeth at the golem.

Melaina falls back a little, and shoots again. Matthew and Sophie suddenly seem unable to hear the rest of us, so there is a short recess while we sort that out. Their wifi has died. I decide, in my infinite wisdom, to restart my computer; of course, it decides to install something without even asking and so I am still waiting for it long after Matthew and Sophie return. I miss a bunch of stuff; some people do some damage, and the golem does a thing where it forces a Wisdom save - those that fail have their speed halved, and can do an action OR a bonus action on their turn, but not both. Joe makes an attack for me, which hits. Tarragon is pleased. And then I’m back!

The golem is looking ropey. Its light is still glowing, but bits are falling off it. It turns on Carl, even though Kessler has imposed Disadvantage on it if it attacks anyone but her. 14 still hits, as does 29, and he takes THIRTY NINE damage. Carl is now on zero, having had exactly 39 HP previously.

Matthew, sounding worried: “This changes things.”

Carl makes a real death save - and fails. "No! Carl!"

Gideon's turn - and Ed has snuck off again. Or fallen asleep. We skip him for now and move on to Ardvack. “I’ll save you Carl!” Then, to himself as he runs, “Not my precious Carl…” He casts Life Transference. (A lovely, sacred, holy Cleric spell.) He saves Carl, but instantly regrets walking closer to the golem.

Tarragon batters it for 16 damage - the light begins to flicker and sputter in its chest. Does she want to move? “Nope!” She could bonus action dive in the water with the Quippers if she wanted? “… No thank you.”

Melaina does a Scorching Ray - one of the three hits for 7 fire damage total. It’s looking ‘exceedingly ropey’ but is still up.

Kessler gets the how-de-do-dis with her Thunder Gauntlets - she runs up it and yells “Red means stop!” and punches it in the chest. It falls to the ground in a big pile of rubble. We solved Joe’s Golem puzzle!

Matthew, immediately: “Loot its corpse!”

Kessler is holding the gem from its chest; it is no longer glowing. Ardvack sets about the treasure chest. It is open, and there is gold inside. He clicks on the loot chest, and adds 100gp to the 3000cp he finds. (428 cp, and 14gp each.)

Kessler: “Anyone got a Transmute spell?” (That's a lot of coins.)

Ardvack shares out the treasure as equally as possible. Kessler finds herself overburdened. Melaina slyly: “I could carry your treasure for you.”

Kessler: “No thank you.”

Where to next? There was a rope bridge in the room with the brazier that led to an island with a dead giant spider on it; Joe zips us all there for expediency.

Melaina crosses the bridge to approach the ‘very very dead’ spider; it looks like its moving around. Not the legs, but as if there’s something moving under the skin…

A swarm of maggots burst out of the spider, taking her by surprise. They swarm up her legs and over her flesh.

Melaina, equally horrified and furious: “No! Get out of my orifices!”

(This is why Joe was so pleased earlier isn’t it.)

She now has two rot grubs burrowing under her skin. We’ve all heard of these, the subject of adventurer’s tales swapped in taverns. Melaina knows she has to burn them while they’re still just under her skin, or they will burrow to her heart and kill her.

Well shit.

We roll initiative…

Ardvack fails at Eldritch Blast, and the grubs become resistant to that type of damage (Force I think?) for 1d4 rounds. (4. Fuck.)

Ahleqs does a Burning Hands at them. They fail the save and take 6 fire damage. Several screech, and curl up and burn.

Melaina wants to cast Scorching Ray on herself - she can do that. She takes two fire damage, and the grubs die. She can spend the rest of her action to squeeze them back out of the holes they burrowed in through. Delightful.

Tarragon moves to the side and Thunderwaves the swarm - they fail the save and are pushed off the bridge into the water to be eaten by the Quippers. Yay! Everyone wins! We move forward, Melaina at the head.

DM suddenly: “Stop there, Melaina!”

Us immediately: “Oh no!”

She finds a door with a shape carved in it - the gem that Kessler took from the golem looks like it would fit in there. That is not relevant right now, however, as she has charged forward and tripped a trip wire. She fails her Dex save and a giant ballista bolt sticks her for 14 damage. Could have been a lot worse. She decides she’s not doing anything else, even when tempted with a treasure chest; she goes to sit in a corner and sulk.

The treasure chest is on a different island, reachable only via a broken bridge. Kessler suggests throwing the dead spider into the water to distract the Quippers while we jump across.

Do we want to take a short rest first? Yes. Tarragon makes up some Relaxing Bark, allowing everyone to regain a couple of Hit Dice which we roll, and take potions. Ardvack casts Life Transference on Carl again.

We are about to move on when the DM has us all roll a d20. Uh oh. Anyone who got ten or more can get five more HP back, as we burned incense in a temple. Yay!

Matthew, grumbling: “Oh as soon as we get a long rest, you can bet I’m going to be re-summoning Admiral Pancakes…”

Do we want to jump the bridge after the treasure? Is it worth it? Melaina wants to; the rest of us are dubious. How far can she jump with a run-up? Ten feet. She could jump it.

“Alright then, I’ll do it. Whoosh.” Kessler follows her.

Melaina checks for traps - an 8. She can’t see any! Sophie, OOC, resignedly: “Oh, right, okay.”

She checks the chest itself and finds a trap mechanism - some nozzles sticking out of the ground next to the chest. She makes a roll with her thieves tools, and by the skin of her teeth (13) disarms it. It would have been bad; one nozzle would have squirted her with flammable liquid and the other would have set her on fire. She finds a Brooch of Shielding! There is another item, a ring, which seems magical; Kessler takes eleven minutes and casts Identify as a ritual. It’s a ring of Swimming!

Melaina gives the brooch to Ahleqs, as he would almost certainly appreciate anything that would give him some extra protection. We decide to crack on, as it would take another hour for him to attune to it. Besides, the longer we’re down here the more this place sucks so we’re all eager to leave.

Kessler puts the gemstone into the hole in the door and it creaks open; we walk through. We enter some tunnels, which are very claustrophobic after the caverns. It’s very dark. We follow them until we come out into another large cavernous room.

We jump to another map…

There are more islands with about ten foot tall towers with glowing orbs at the top. More water, and a broken stone bridge. (Is anyone reminded of Beverly?)

The bad news is, this room has glowing orb lights, a broken bridge, and more islands. The good news is, it seems quiet enough that we could take a long rest.

Kessler does her Alarm spell, and Carl - not needing to sleep - takes all the watches. We all take turns to watch with him as “his Perception is for shit.”

Kessler takes first, Tarragon takes second, and Melaina third.

Carl and Kessler make Perception checks. A 3 and a 6; oh dear. Kessler thinks she hears water noises, but it could be just the water on the shore.

Then Tarragon and Carl. 13 for Tarragon and a 16 for Carl. We watch some bats flitting about in the light from the strange tower; nothing dangerous, however. Everyone but Tarragon now completes their long rest. She retires, and Melaina and Carl roll Perception.

Carl is on fire tonight; a 17. He makes an Intelligence check - a 9. That’s actually not bad. After about 3 hours he becomes agitated and tries to say something, but can’t. Melaina’s nostrils are assailed with a foul stench; she looks to the water to see something breaking the surface of it. Which means that whatever it is doesn’t get a surprise round…

Melaina and Carl roll initiative. Carl has used all his good rolls on Perceiving. But he’s ready for anything; he’s got his stick.

Whatever is crawling out of the water looks like a troll, but dripping with horrible ichorous black ooze and smelling like a busy harbour at low tide.

Matthew, OOC: “They smell like a bonfire of nappies. No - a burning zoo.”

Melaina hides behind some mushrooms; triggering Kessler’s Alarm spell as she leaves the area (because Kessler didn’t specify otherwise). We all wake, and can roll Initiative next round. Melaina takes aim with her longbow. 19 to hit with Sharpshooter, which does. She gets a nat 1 for her Sneak/Sharpshooter which is only a measly 25 total, plus her bow’s damage of 9 for 34. The thing lets out a howl, which would have woken us if the Alarm spell hadn’t.

It approaches us. It’s wearing a loincloth; small mercies.

Everyone but Ardvack and Melaina makes CON saves as the troll runs a filthy claw down its own forearm for a venom spray attack. Gideon and Tarragon take 18 poison damage and are poisoned. The others take half damage and are not poisoned. Now it does its multi-attack.

It has a bite at Tarragon but misses, then a claw at Kessler and misses. Then it claws at Gideon, and misses again. Ha!

Another one shambles up, but doesn’t attack yet. It’s Carl’s turn; he uses his zombie agility to run up to one of the trolls and give it a good old Slam - “Classic Slam - ” and uses his Zombie Grab to try and grapple it. They make contested STR checks - Carl wins even with a 14. The bad news is that part of the troll’s corpulence is ruptured, emitting a black foul ichor into the air - Tarragon and Kessler take more damage as it, however unintentionally, does an Acid Splash.

“… Thanks Carl.”

Melaina goes first. She goes to move but takes 15 Force damage from the towers. What??? Sophie OOC, to Matthew: “Honey, I’m being shot by the nasty tower.” She was just inside its range. She shoots one of the trolls. She hits, and causes another Acid Splash. Tarragon has just woken up from a Long Rest, and is now under half HP. Melaina does do 34 damage to the troll though.

Gideon, with advice from Matthew, casts Grease under the troll that Carl is *not* grappling. This seems a classic ‘Grease’ situation. It rolls a DEX save, and fails, falling prone.

Tarragon casts Lesser Restoration on herself, ending the Poisoned effect, Rages, and steps out of range of the Venom spray.

Ahleqs screams the incantation for Mage Armour, and steps back also. Kessler’s turn, and she will risk stepping back. One is restrained and the other prone, so no attack of Opportunity. She takes out her crossbow and shoots at the one grappled by Carl. 20 hits for 11 piercing damage. “And I will shoot that sucker again.” 17 also hits for 7 damage. She drinks one of her potions; wise.

Carl takes 18 poison from Kessler’s attacks on the troll, but he’s immune to poison. Carl has the Grappler feat, so even though the troll is a size larger than him it doesn’t get Advantage on the Strength check to free itself. They roll straight Strength checks - Carl rolls a ten, and the troll rolls a 6, even with a plus four modifier.

The prone one uses half its movement to stand up and moves forward, biting at Kessler - 26 to hit. It actually hits her! Even Shield won’t do it! She takes 6 piercing and 6 poison damage, and is poisoned until the start of the troll’s next turn.

It claws twice at Tarragon; “Bring it.”

24 hits, the ten doesn’t. Ten slashing (halved to 5) and 6 poison (not halved). She’s at 19HP now, and hasn't even attacked yet.

Ardvack wakes up to see the trolls attacking. “Ah. It must be Wednesday.” Matthew, OOC: “Im going to do… something… stupid. Or… brilliant.” Seeing the damage Tarragon and Kessler have taken, he heals Tarragon for 11HP. She blinks with surprise, and he backs up.

We call it there as it's getting late...

[kindness-ricochets]

One thing that makes The Old Guard such a quality experience (one of many things, mind you) is not just the emphasis on love but the understanding of it. And what happens when it’s lost. 

This got way ramblier than intended, so I’ve put it under the cut. 

Obviously this is clearest between Joe and Nicky. Their relationship isn’t portrayed as an overtly sexual one--that is, they likely do have a physically intimate relationship, but it’s portrayed as romantic. It’s defined by little touches, the forehead tap, the cuddling on the train car, Joe calmly but emotionally explaining that he just needs to know that Nicky’s okay and Nicky quietly assuring Joe that he’s here. They quite obviously love each other. Plenty of movies opt for the “not showing concern because I know and respect their strength”, which I definitely appreciate. But this one didn’t see any reason to hide their affection for one another, or to show caring as anything shy of the height of human purpose--something I absolutely believe to be the reason Joe and Nicky are more stable and openly affectionate than Andy or Booker. By the same token, Andy’s coldness clearly comes from losing Quynh. As amazing as their battle couple scenes are (and they are!), what stands out to me is the way they comfort one another when they’re being tortured and repeatedly executed. They’re together. Just like Joe and Nicky keeping each other going after they’re captured. (“There’s a TV, Joe!” “Nicely tousled.” And so on.) Andy and Quynh do the same. I can’t help but think she became Andy after Quynh was taken from. How could she hear anyone else use the name Andromache after how Quynh cried out for her and Andromache couldn’t help her? Andy never forgot or forgave herself for what was done to Quynh, and when she said who she was--”Andromache the Scythian, but you can call me Andy”, or something to that effect--she was carrying that responsibility while putting aside the woman she was then.

But as wonderful as the romantic relationships are, it’s not the only love portrayed well throughout the film. There’s the love between friends, bonded companions. When Andy saw Nicky and Joe for the first time there wasn’t a moment of hesitation before they were in each other’s arms. Andy carried that copy of Don Quixote just in case she saw Booker again. Or because she knew he would find her. Nicky had the baklava because he knew Andy would be there. In that very first action scene, before they moved toward much-deserved vengeance, they looked around to check on each other. Even Booker, even knowing what he’s done, was ready to die one more time with his oldest friends. 

For Nile, love between bonded companions is an interesting one, because we see early on that she can handle the impossible, but the loss of love from her bonded companions in the Marines hurts her worse than dying and coming back to life. That could be in part because she has her faith throughout the unexpected, and absolutely understands the rejection. But it’s still significant. As utterly horrific as Andy’s methods were, it’s clear that all of the immortals immediately care for and accept Nile as one of their own. Andy doesn’t have the emotional space to give Nile what she needs, but can bring her to Joe and Nicky, who can and do support her through this. When she starts having nightmares, no one tells Nile to deal with it, just accept it. They can’t help, but they listen to her and respect what she’s going through, they support her emotionally. Even Booker acted out of immediate concern for her. Initially he seems cold for not wanting to recruit her when everyone else says she needs support right now... but Booker knows he sold them out. This new kid wasn’t part of the deal. He’s trying to protect her, albeit from his own betrayal. What stands out to me isn’t just that Nile finds a place among the other immortals. Of course she does, she’s a fighter like they are, she’s smart, strong, and extremely capable. It’s that they don’t make her earn it. They avoid that “haze the new guy” trope. Instead the immortals treat her with empathy and welcome her into their ranks.

Finally, there’s familial love. Booker is the obvious example: his son’s death is what broke him, not just how it happened, but the accusation that he didn’t love his son. This is mirrored in Nile, both in her backstory of how her mother kept their small family afloat after losing Nile’s father, and in her ultimate decision to “die in action”. Her mother and brother would mourn her and it’s clear Nile still loves them, but she makes the choice that hurts her and lets that love live on, instead of risking the pain of them living as family unable to love one another. 

In conclusion, this is a sci-fi action thriller driven by love, and it is beautiful.

[ardentprose]

Cold Brew - Chapter One

Thank you so so much for your incredible patience. I fought sentence by sentence through this writer’s block. My beta reader says she loves it so I hope you guys feel it was worth the wait as well!

Warnings: Language (if more, please let me know)

Prologue

November 5th

Yoongi’s Perspective

As late November creeps in and extracts life with it, a freezing wind arrives to battle manufactured warmth. Pedestrians in search of such heat are bundled up in hoodies, noses and mouths burrowed under scarves and eyes blinking against the harsh wind. Autumn’s bolstering reds, oranges and yellows turn to muted brown leaves crushed underfoot or are the few still hanging from branches that brush forlornly at the cafe’s display windows. 

On the other side of the window, the clock ticks harmony to the melody of glass mugs clinking against wooden table tops. The barren atmosphere outside contrasts the cafe’s interior alive with patrons enjoying hot drinks and pastries. College students sit throughout the place, some lounging on couches, others chatting away at the bar, and the studious few hunch over textbooks. 

“Alright I’m done. I can’t concentrate anymore. The Hangeul is starting to look like morse code and I’m pretty sure half of this is illegible.” 

With something between a sigh and a grunt you close your handwriting book and rest your elbows on top of the cover. Yoongi finishes out his last English word, double-checking it with the textbook’s. 

“Give it to me.” 

He meets your eyes at your words, sending a wayward thought from his mind before it can distract him from your daily routine. Setting his English aside, Yoongi reaches for the coffee housed in a green ceramic mug, courtesy of the cafe’s commitment to a homey atmosphere. Slender fingers rest on the lip and slide it across to your awaiting gaze.

Ever since these coffee shop study sessions had been agreed upon, Yoongi had dedicated himself to enhancing your lackluster taste for coffee whenever the hours started to numb either one of your brains. It really wasn’t out of the blue, studying in a coffee shop and all, for him to discover you disliked coffee and ordered green tea with three spoons of sugar and two of honey on purpose. Not for the sake of your singing voice, but willingly.

He had started you off easy, sliding an iced mocha caramel latte to you on your second session. Confused at the gesture, you cautiously took the drink while Yoongi was adamant you would love it. It wasn’t bad, and you could admit that much to ease his blazing eyes boring into your expression, waiting for a positive reaction. 

The second drink had been slightly less doctored up: an iced coffee with just caramel mixed in, no whip cream or chocolate syrup. At this one, you hummed and chose your words carefully. 

“It’s good.” At this, Yoongi nodded and licked his lips. At which point you returned the drink to his all too eager eyes which lit up like a child on Christmas. 

So forth and so on the drinks Yoongi ordered got less and less sweet. The creative mixes of spices and fine grounds of the bean - according to Yoongi - made all the difference. With these, he enticed you further down the caffeinated path. 

This led Yoongi to right here, right now, in this moment. After months of coaxing you towards quality cups of joe, he was introducing perhaps the best combination of water and bean out there. His absolute favorite: a strong, ice cold brew.

He leans forward as your palms wrap around the cold mug and lift it to your lips. He licks his chapped ones, a smile already brightening his expression. 

“Good, right?” He’s even speaking English, a habit that had just started to become second-nature. 

You take a ginger sip. Your lips curl inwards and your nose twitches for an infinitesimal moment. But he catches the quick flash of disgust if only in the drop of his heart. 

“It’s bitter.” You admit as if you were confessing a sin. Your eyes flicker over Yoongi and he can see the sympathetic regret in them. He bites his tongue, forcing his expression to remain neutral and reveal nothing of his disappointment.

“It’s an americano. They’re meant to be bitter.” He explains as if it will change your mind. But you are pushing the drink back to his side. 

It shouldn’t matter, a simple cup of coffee, but it does more than Yoongi would like to admit. 

He didn’t expect you to like coffee just because he treated it as serious a hobby as his mixtapes. All those nights browsing the internet in a side tab when the beats stopped flowing from his fingertips didn’t matter. Neither did the half-hour morning bus commute scrolling through Pinterest. Yoongi was never meant to make Pinterest boards designated to specified blends of coffee anyways. It was just a time-killer. 

I do it because I’m bored. His fingers hook through the handle and pull the cup back in front of him. What did it say of him if he obsessed over coffee like the last measures of a rap verse? What did it say of his personality if the most bitter, blackest liquid tasted sweetest to him, but not to you? He wasn’t into those personality tests - like that one girl, in his economics class last semester, who tried to force him to take one. But was there something to be said of your coffee preferences? You only drink coffee when he offers the first sip of his own. Your usual tea is faithfully waiting by your elbow, ready to replace the hours of decision-making he spent the night before. Maybe he should give up. Stop trying to force you to like something you so obviously dislike. A part of him you dislike. So where does that leave himself?

“It’s just fucking coffee.” He mutters beneath his breath. 

“Hmm?” Yoongi’s cheeks heat as your eyes flash with concern. He hates that you’re studying him as if waiting for him to break down and cry like a kid. 

“You’re just weak.” He says instead, louder, and lifts the mug to his lips to take a big gulp. His brow furrows. Maybe the drink was off. His tongue runs over his teeth, collecting the aftertaste for assurance. Maybe it was brewed too strong. Or burnt. Yeah, americanos were bitter, but not this bitter. Right? 

The connoisseur in him lashes out, knowing there was not a damn thing wrong with Yoongi’s coffee.

“Am not!” You huff. “You drink that, your taste buds dead.” 

He snorts, setting the mug down on the table. 

“And don’t you dare say another word in Korean, Yoongi. This is supposed to be English time.” You warn as he opens his mouth to do just that. 

He presses his lips into a smirk and takes another sip of coffee, holding your gaze.

“Strong coffee. Weak woman.”

You scoff, but the smile playing under your attempted scowl betrays your amusement. His own statement backfires as his heart skips a beat seeing you try to hold back a laugh to spite him. 

No, she’s not his type either. She drinks green tea and that leaf juice is definitely more bitter than coffee. 

“Can I have a piece of gum at least? The taste is still in my mouth.” You swallow a few times, trying to clean your palette.

“Are you sure you can you handle it?” Yoongi replies in his native tongue just to earn another glare. He’s rewarded with another rebellious heart flip. 

She thinks americanos are disgusting. We’re too different.

“Gum. Do you have it.” You reiterate drawing him back from a downward spiral of pity. 

Yoongi sighs as if you’ve asked him to rearrange the stars in the sky. Which he would absolutely do. But search the chaos of his bag? That was the true exhausting task.

Slumping to his side, he tugs open his backpack and digs through its cavern before coming up with a crushed paper box. 

Peeling back the lid, he discovers one measly piece left. Pathetic he might be, but he can’t help smiling as he plucks it out and holds it up between his forefinger and thumb.

“You have to earn this.” He says. Your eyes widen, lips parting. He thinks you’re about to compliment how well he’s pronounced his words but instead, you narrow your eyes at the last moment. 

“Try me.” 

Damn. Yoongi falters, eyes darting over the collage of books and worksheets spread between the two of you. 

He drops the piece of gum on the table and reaches into your space to grab your Beginner’s Hangeul Handwriting book. 

“If I can read one page of this, you can have it.” 

“English, Yoongi.” You warn again as you nod to his proposition.

“I read. You fail. No gum.” He flips pass the individual character practice and splays his fingers over the most recent page. There’s a paragraph in Korean of what the words should look like. This he ignores in lieu of deciphering your handwriting scrawled over the provided lines below it. 

After just five words he looks up at you again. 

“Your English hand words more bad than mine.” 

“Your verbal English sucks worse than mine.” You shoot back. Yoongi raises an eyebrow at your tone. You hold his gaze until his eyes drop back to the book. 

His brow furrows, then he squints, holding the book further away and mumbling the words. He must admit, you have the scrawl of a kid, but it is legible. Eventually. Your characters are wide, unevenly spaced, and some lines are flying away from their pairs. It was as he said. Your English might as well have been the written form of an abstract painting. 

Even if your handwriting was mediocre, a step between terrible and acceptable, Yoongi could not help himself when it came to pissing you off.

“You take my notes in English, okay? Mine better.” He teases. You roll your eyes for what must have been the fifth time. Yoongi was going for at least ten. 

“Your notes are not wor-”

“Korean.” The word comes from his throat in a resonating base.

You stare at him so long he starts to think you may have gone catatonic. 

“You’re n-notes not good for s-study. You wr-write three word a-all.” Your cheeks flush and even if Yoongi couldn’t already tell, the stutter shows your embarrassment. He corrects you quietly, in a softer tone, before responding. 

This was the established custom between the two of you if the sentence strayed more than five words from the grammatical rules. Despite the petty argument, you’re mouthing the correction to your memory as Yoongi hands you the book back. 

“My notes...are...small...mammalistic.” Your outburst of laughter gives him a heart attack. One, for it’s loud volume disrupting the peace of the cafe. Two, for how it electrifies every nerve in his body. 

“Minimalistic?” You smirk and he hates how he loves it.

“Min...m-mal…” He rolls his eyes in defeat. 

“My notes are minimalistic. I only write what’s needed.” Humming, you begin to pack up your things and Yoongi takes the cue to do the same. 

“You only need ten words to remember the professor’s hour and a half lecture?” The jab is quickly returned with his own sharp wit.

“Genius.” Yoongi shrugs, winking when you meet his shit-eating grin. 

“Gum. Now genius.” You hold your palm out, grinning almost as widely as he is. 

Yoongi stands, sliding his packed bag over his shoulder. 

“Careful. Mint is bitter.” He tosses the piece of gum at you and sprints to the bus stop before you can kick him in the shin. And he thinks as he comes huffing the short distance to the glass sheltered bench, if being so bitter brings about this much laughter between you two, perhaps it wasn’t so bad and maybe opposites can attract. 

They must, the way you’re grinning as you approach him, despite the way he abandoned you in the cafe.

“You want one?” You uncurl your fingers and hold out a caramel candy to him. Yoongi’s fingertips brush over your palm as he accepts it and deftly unwraps the candy before popping it in his mouth. 

“Why?” He lifts an eyebrow at your beaming expression. His jaw works overtime to break down the hard caramel, drawing a look of concentration over his features. 

“In return for the gum.” You click your tongue at him, the flash of white wrapped around your pink tongue a contrast that does not go unnoticed. 

An intrusive desire, among the many he gets around you, breaks through his resolve. 

Does she taste like peppermint? What if I kiss her right now and take back that piece of gum? 

Before he can contemplate the question any further, his teeth snap the caramel in half and a horrible sensation of sour blooms in his mouth. 

“Fuck! Shit, what the fuck?” He spits the caramel candy on the pavement to the tune of your unabashed laughter. He spits twice and wipes his palm over his lips. The split caramel has a sickly yellow liquid leaking out of it’s center. 

Yoongi glances up at you and if he wasn’t so horrified at what was just in his mouth, he would have time to admire your eyes shut tight, squished cheeks, and exposed teeth cracking up at his confusion. 

“Why?!” He shouts, disregarding the older couple walking by. The older man glances between you and him with a frown.

“They-They’re from Halloween! My friend from my singing class gave me them.” You wipe your eyes, finally revealing them to Yoongi who barely has time to respond before you see his painful pout and burst into a new round of joy.

“What the hell are they?” The bitter after-taste sits on his tongue. It’s so strong he doesn’t even want to swallow. Is this how americano tasted to you? 

Americanos taste like sweet nectar compared to this ungodly taste in my mouth right now.

Was Yoongi still bitter about the coffee? Yes. But now he’s even more frustrated at how you’re still giggling at him like the cat who swallowed the canary. And looking cute as fuck doing it. 

“Hey.” He snatches your water bottle which just so happens to be dangling from your other hand and flicks the top open with his thumb.

“Yoongi!” You try to reach for your bottle, but he turns his shoulder, causing your palm to slide over his back instead. He shivers, hoping the wind picking up is enough of an excuse should you notice. 

Swallowing an extra gulp than necessary, Yoongi pulls back with an exhale and licks his lips. 

“You’re a bad girl.” He mutters. 

“Y-Yoongi, chill. It’s just a joke.” You roll your eyes, accepting your water back with shaky fingers. 

“Cold?” Yoongi asks as your fingers tremble accepting the water back. 

“No. No, I’m fine. Here comes the bus anyways.” You say, hoisting your bag up and turning to the approaching bus. Yoongi studies the back of your head at this angle. He shoves his hands in his pockets. You’re oddly silent. Did he seriously offend you by taking the water bottle? 

He tilts on to one foot, trying to catch the side of your face. Imperceptibly you turn further away. 

Yoongi chews on his lip. I didn’t mean to seriously piss her off. 

The bus rolls up, releasing a long, drawn out squeak of the breaks and hiss as the engine slows. 

“Y-you’re not really bad girl.” Yoongi offers in hopes of earning your attention again. 

“I know.” You send him a wink that steals any further response of his.

Silently, he gestures for you to get on first with an awkward nod of his head. You grace him with an even brighter smile, trudging past him. 

With one last look at the auburn sky above, he almost debates walking back to campus. Surely the winter air is good for the heart. Moreso than your quick smiles and lavender shampoo enticing him to stay near your presence.

“Yoongi, c’mon! The backseat is open!” You exclaim hitting the top of the stairs. The look of pure joy on your face does him in completely. 

“Grab it. Hurry.” He mutters, fighting the smile on his own lips, and races up the stairs behind you. 

November 12th

You were the sweetest person Yoongi had ever encountered in America. Every day he regretted the way he had cast judgement on the students around him because they had done the same to him. If it weren’t for you, Yoongi might not have ever learned how to socialize with his classmates - which was essential for group projects with pass or fail grades. It was more than school work Yoongi exposed himself too, however. Agreeing to Hoseok’s pleas to attend spirit weeks and home games was the miracle Hoseok never thought he’d see. The first time Yoongi said yes to going to a party with Hoseok, the dancer nearly choked on his can of Sprite. Hoseok was so thankful the next day that he found you on campus and bought you lunch.

Ever since you had mercifully forgiven him for his unnecessary comments, you had only continued to show the cold-shouldered boy patience. In the beginning, your sessions were rough. Yoongi knew more than he could communicate and hated practicing any words aloud. But you coaxed him out of his educational shell by mispronouncing a dozen Korean words yourself. 

Before he knew it, Yoongi was earnestly studying English any chance he could get in order to surprise you with his newfound knowledge. If it wasn’t your weekly Thursday study sessions on language, it was the conversations that took place beforehand. Not overwhelming him with rules and facts about your native land but gently guiding him when he got confused. Answering a dozen questions and nodding in agreement at the absurdities he found. Your laughter was a welcome sound to his ears, and your eyes were his reassurance when he was lost. 

Those same eyes were hidden from him now as he watched you with the most lovestruck expression a boy like him could conjure. 

You fell asleep. On your textbooks. In the cafe.

The patrons’ lively conversations around you had not been enough to keep you awake, nor the unspoken rule of taking naps in cafes. Not even the responsibility of being Yoongi’s tutor had kept your eyes open. After a measly ten minutes of chit chat you swore you were going to rest your eyes and promptly buried your face into the crook of your elbow. But Yoongi could study even when his English teacher fell asleep. He would rather you get your rest because heaven knows you escaped it each night. 

Although he was no better, yawning as he turns the page in his journal. A glance outside told him there was about fifteen minutes left. Yoongi would give you more if he could, but it would be a long walk back to campus in the night if you two didn’t make the bus. 

With a stretch that cracks a few inches of spine, Yoongi heaves a sigh and slams the textbook cover shut. He rolls his neck and clenches his fingers into fists. As he starts to put away his things and think about how he’s going to wake you up, his eyes catch the book you had used as a makeshift pillow. 

Is that Intro to Music Theory? Yoongi scans your sleeping form. Your shoulders heave in a steady, deep rhythm and your hair has been sitting on your nose for the past minute but you remain fast asleep. 

Judging the right way to go about this, Yoongi decides to do it the magician’s way. As gentle as the wind, he uses his left hand to ease your head up while his right snatches the book. Letting your head settle on the table, Yoongi holds his breath. 

You shift, whining slightly but remain asleep.  He sets the book on top of his and flicks open to the correct chapter. Picking up his pen, Yoongi sets up to do the entire assignment again. Every now and then his eyes flicker over your sleeping form, a smile lifting the edges of his lips.

 “What time is it?” Your groggy voice scares him out of his wits. 

“It’s 5:52.” He says, breathless, and drops his pen with finality.

You sit up slowly, eyes red, cheeks swollen and the indent of your sweater pressed into the left side of your face. Hair sticks to your chapped lips completing your picture of fatigue. But you couldn’t be any more adorable in Yoongi’s own weary eyes.

“Don’t worry. Bus is late.” Yoongi mutters, closing your book and sliding it back across to you. He tucks his hands under the table and massages the cramps out of his wrist. He finished in the nick of time, dotting the last period as you gave a huge yawn to signal the end of your nap. 

“Oh.” You yawn for the third time, your eyes processing slowly the image in front of you. 

Yoongi smirks, reaching over to flick your forehead. “Wake up.” 

You wince under his fingertips wrinkling your nose at him. 

“Stop.” You groan. “I am awake. You should have woken me up sooner.” 

“Drink some coffee.” He says in lieu of an excuse. There was no way he would confess you likened to an angel while you slept, your face free of stress and forehead clear of tension. Even if you did snort once or twice, Yoongi found it endearing that you trusted him enough to fall asleep in public.

“Gross.” You roll your eyes with a sleepy smile and a few strands of hair fall between your eyes. You brush them away with the back of your hand and run your finger over the table in front of you. 

Frowning you meet Yoongi’s eyes, “Why did you have my textbook?” 

Yoongi shrugs, fighting an awkward smile and looking anywhere but at your face. “I was bored.” 

“You did my homework?!” You raise your voice, causing Yoongi to glare and hush you with an index pressed to his pouting lips. 

“I need the extra practice anyways,” Yoongi says, fighting his blush with a grimace - as if that made a difference in his pink cheeks, “since my tutor fell asleep.” 

“It’s your fault for not waking me up. I told you ten mintues...not...an hour!” You mutter as you check the time on your phone. Releasing a sigh you lock the device and toss it on the table. 

“Thank you, Yoongi.” You say sincerity written in your expression. His blush deepens under your gaze.

“It’s not a big deal.” 

“It is though. You have a ton of your own homework you should be doing. I don’t want you to fail a class because of me.” The look of worry on your face twinges his heart.

“I’m not gonna fail any classes. And even if I did, college doesn’t make or break you.” 

You scoff, crossing your arms on the table and leaning over them.

 “Oh really? Then why fly across the world to come to an American college in particular?”

Yoongi draws his bottom lip between his teeth, eyes skirting the table. You laugh, deep and raspy with sleep. The sound entices his heart to thud harder, sending a renewed blush to his cheeks.

“Even s-still!” He shoots back, fighting said blush on his face and the thought of earning another laugh from you. “Grades aren’t everything and if I fail I’ll find another way to become a producer.”

“How are your classes going, by the way?” You tilt your head, eyebrows furrowing slightly. “Are you able to write a lot of music for your assignments?” 

Sucking in through his teeth, Yoongi shakes his head. “Not really. But I write plenty on my own.” 

“Do you have a soundcloud account where I could check it out?” 

“You want to listen to my music?” The surprise is apparent in the English words earning him a look of offense.

“Of course I do, Yoongi!” 

With a twinkle in his eye, Yoongi leans across the table to meet you halfway. He tosses his head to flick the blond streaks from his eyes and levels his gaze with yours. 

“Hm. Let me listen to yours.”

“No way. You do not want to subject yourself to that.” You wince.

“Show me yours, I show you mine.” Yoongi points between you two while saying the English phrase.

Blushing, you shake your head vehemently. 

“No. Never. My voice isn’t worth listening to.” 

“What?” Yoongi blinks thinking he misheard your native tongue. “Are you kidding me?” 

“You’re one of the top students in your Vocal Ensemble class. Every music student talks about your voice. And you had to audition to get into this school in the first place. There’s no way you’re working as hard as you are for your voice to be like anyone else's.”

“You understand what they’re saying?” You ask in a soft voice to the passion spilling from Yoongi’s lips.

“Yes, and they love your voice!” Yoongi exclaims. 

“Someone’s improving in their English.” You mutter, cheeks heated, eyes lowered. 

“I know your name.” Yoongi says waiting for your gaze to meet his. 

When it does he hopes you only see sincerity in his eyes.

“C’mon. It’s time to go.” You whisper and all but shove your things into your bag. Yoongi follows behind you out the cafe just as the bus reaches its stop. 

Climbing the stairs after you he follows blindly to the usual spot you two sit each day, third row from the back. You take the window seat and Yoongi claims the aisle spot, insisting that he needed the room for his legs but knowing full well he liked being the center of your attention. 

As soon as Yoongi collapses into his seat, the fatigue of the day, as well as the extra strain of two English assignments weighs on him. Leaning forward with a guttural moan he rests his forehead against the seat in front of him. 

“Are you alright?” Your hand slips onto his shoulder with concern. Imperceptibly, he shivers. 

“M’tired.” He whispers. 

“C’mere.” Turning to look at you through his bangs, Yoongi’s eyes widen to find you tilting your head towards yourself.

“Lay on my shoulder so you don’t get a crick in your neck.” Yoongi wanted to ask what a ‘crick’ was but he could assume you didn’t want him sleeping on his neck the wrong way and earning a cramp for it. 

“Are you sure?” Still the thought of leaning on you was so intimate to him that he finds his fatigue melting away into nervousness. 

“Of course, Yoongi, it’s not a big deal.” That’s all you have to say on the matter, pulling your headphones from your backpack and sliding out your phone. If Yoongi wasn’t as tired as he was, he would have fought the idea. But the greater side of him, the side that craved every ounce of contact you gave him, won. 

Slowly and still waiting for you to cringe away or slap him, he slumps in his seat and rests his head on your shoulder. You lift your shoulder to meet his temple signaling him to rest his full weight on you. Still, Yoongi remains tense as he closes his eyes, working his jaw and wondering how in the world he would manage this bus ride. 

After a minute of contemplation, sleep falls upon him like dusk into night, erasing any further doubt from his mind.

November 19th

Cafe closed. Go to this one?

Your texting might just be cuter than your mouth actually forming the words. With your voice echoing in his head, Yoongi taps the message bar and sends back an affirmation. Then he taps on the location you’ve sent which is a block in the opposite direction from the route you two usually take from campus. 

Choosing to walk in the winter air rather than take the bus, he slips his coat on, coming back from the bedroom into the kitchen where he had been writing for his latest assignment. He grabs his textbook off the dining room table and slides it into his backpack. 

The shower head turns off in the other room and accompanying the sound of wet, padding feet, Hoseok emerges in a towel barely doing it’s job, soaking head to toe. One hand is scrubbing a toothbrush around his mouth and the other is opening a cabinet for a snack. Which is a little paradoxical if you ask Yoongi.

“Wh’re y’ goi’g?” Hoseok mumbles. 

Yoongi zips up his bag and stares at the trail of water Hoseok has left behind him. One of the first conversations he had with his roommate, Yoongi distinctly remembers, was Hoseok dictating the rules of cleanliness they would keep in their shared space. Now, only three months later, Hoseok hardly bothers with a towel as pools of water trace his way around the kitchen. 

“Coffee shop. To study.” Yoongi offers a noncommittal wave and hikes the bag onto his shoulder. A thousand-watt smile lights up Hoseok’s face. He rips the toothbrush out and drops it on the counter.

“With Y/N? To study English? How’s that going by the way?” 

“It’s going.” Yoongi answers, tugging on the heel of his sneaker. He turns away from Hoseok, hoping the exhortation of bending over counts enough for the heat on his cheeks. 

“Ah,” Hoseok releases a guttural sigh, “I’m so glad you found someone y’know?” 

What does he mean by ‘found someone’? 

The sound of a chip bag ripping open and a groan of satisfaction gives Yoongi an excuse to change the topic. 

“Are those my fuckin’ Cheetos?” Standing up straight, Yoongi narrows his eyes at his roommate who’s running his tongue over his lips, not an ounce of shame in his eyes.

“Oh?” A look of surprise crosses Hoseok’s face. He turns the bag around to face him. 

“Fucking Cheetos? I don’t think so. These are just Cheetos.” Sparkling with amusement, Hoseok levels his gaze with Yoongi’s fiery eyes. 

“Your ass is lucky I have to go, but you should sleep with one eye open tonight, Jung Hoseok.” Yoongi mutters, finger pointing at him threateningly. 

Hoseok smacks his bare chest, leaving orange dust over his freshly washed skin. “Me? Sleep? I would never.” 

Yoongi huffs, choosing to walk away before he’s late, throwing over his shoulder, “Whatever, Ho.”

“Stop calling me that!” Hoseok calls after him. Yoongi opens the door. 

“Stop eating my shit!” 

“I don’t eat your-” Yoongi slams the door shut, effectively ending the conversation with a smile on his face.

___

The moment Yoongi swings open the door of this new cafe, the pungent smell of pumpkin floods his nose. Like a punch in the face, the atmosphere is laden with heavy cinnamon and pumpkin spices provided by candles on high shelves and no doubt aided by the steady out pour of pumpkin spice lattes. 

The decorations are just as hard a blow to his eyesight. Strings of paper pumpkins are strewn across the ceiling from wall to wall creating a garish, obnoxiously orange spider web. Little men and women dressed in black hats and cut from paper are splattered on the glass walls along with what Yoongi assumes are turkeys. Every table either has a small plastic cornucopia or one of those paper ovals cut to open like an accordion. The entire scene is likened to a kid’s birthday bash of oranges, reds and yellows in various objects. 

Trying to conceal his gag reflex - the pumpkin is really strong - Yoongi shuffles in surveying the room for a spot to study. It’s fairly larger than his cafe and so is the late afternoon crowd filling out the space. 

There’s one table among all the scenery blending into one another - a small circular piece that Yoongi can see from here is slanted. It’s shoved into the corner as if in punishment from the rest of the functioning tables. But, it’s the only one available, so he walks towards it and claims one chair with his backpack. Per usual, he is the first one to arrive. 

After setting up his English materials he pulls out his journal to rest on top of the textbook and flips open to where he left off. 

This cafe is fuckin’ loud. Yoongi notes with distaste. There’s a TV hooked in the corner of the room and a group of rowdy college football fans cheering in victory. Despite their clear disregard for social niceties, they are not the only main distraction and therefore no one is telling them to respect the peace. 

A short distance behind where the group is gathered on couches are a crowding of tables and here sits a chattering group of women in their mid-to-late thirties having some kind of tea party that requires obnoxious laughter every five minutes. 

Yoongi pauses the note he was carving into the paper, glancing across the room at the way one woman continues to slam her mug on the table in the most un-ladylike way. It’s not that he has a problem with women being loud, it’s just what he knew from tea parties...weren’t they supposed to be quiet? 

His attention is drawn from the boisterous women and the rowdy fans to the third section, to his left, where most of the average patrons sit. Among the normal chatter and clinking of glassware, Yoongi catches one couple sharing enough kisses to qualify as a make-out session. Swallowing back his disgust he quickly drops his stare back to his page, his eyes scanning for where he left off. 

It feels like ten more painful minutes drag on before you collapse into the seat across from him, panting with flushed cheeks. Yoongi is ready to scold you as he finishes off the last measure but as his eyes catch the beam on your face and the excited glimmer in your eyes, he finds his mouth hanging open in silence. 

“Hey! Isn’t this place amazing!” You exclaim, those wide shimmering eyes of yours looking all around you at the decorations. Yoongi bites his first response into the bottom of his lip, not wanting to risk your wrath for immediately shooting you down.

“It’s...popular.” Are the words he finally settles with. 

“Why are you late this time?” 

“Oh sorry, I was helping Taehyung and Jimin - they’re from my Vocal Ensemble class - work on their upcoming solos.” You explain all this while setting up your things, tossing your book haphazardly onto the already unstable top. Yoongi grips its edges, hoping the weight of two textbooks won’t topple the entire thing over. 

But if the table breaks, we can always go somewhere else to study… Yoongi reasons. The cafe is bustling at full capacity. There was no way you could find another table in time before one of the standing patrons snatched it away. 

“Jimin was actually the one who recommended this place.” You say, finally settling down with a friendly smile shot his way. “I’m so glad he did! I love how they decorated for the season.” 

So are you tutoring the entire Korean community now? 

Yoongi pushes the spiteful thought away, knowing you were just a sweetheart who loved helping anyone, regardless of their English abilities. Then again, he also knew Taehyung and Jimin. They were the top singers in both their ranges and had done solos on repeated occasions. So there was no way your guidance to them should have taken over half an hour thereby cutting into his time with you. 

“Ready to begin? Tell me what you see around you in English.” You say, moving on to the lesson without allowing him to respond. 

Yoongi blinks, catching up in reality from his jealous thoughts and gazes around the cafe. The place had so many colors going on it was hard to pick out any one item. However the most eye-catching decoration was the birds on the windows which puzzled Yoongi. 

“Birds.” He starts out, leaning back in his chair and gazing at one near his shoulder. You nod encouragingly. 

“Turkeys, yes.” 

“Tur-keys.” Yoongi tests out the word before frowning. 

“Turkeys are birds for the season?” 

“Hm? Yeah, for Thanksgiving.” You say while you scribble down notes. 

“Why?” 

“Why? I don’t know. It’s just what we eat on Thanksgiving.” 

“Sanks-Than-ski-bing.” Yoong grits his teeth trying to focus on the words forming in his mouth correctly. 

“Thanks.” You offer, nodding for him to repeat after you. “Give-ing. Thanksgiving.” 

“Thanksgiving. What is it?” Asking that question was the most native English Yoongi sounded. 

“Wait...You don’t know what Thanksgiving is?” You question, your eyebrows raising in disbelief. Before Yoongi can answer the obvious you smack your forehead, taking him off guard. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Don’t answer that! Of course you don’t know about Thanksgiving.” You say at the same time as Yoongi leans forward, almost touching your pink forehead before he catches himself. 

“Thanksgiving is an American holiday where families come together and remember what we’re thankful for.” You explain as Yoongi nods.

 He rests his elbows on the table, leaning on his folded hands. “A holiday for thankfulness?” He asks. 

“Mmhm. But you knew this already because we’re going on break next week.” 

The resounding silence at your table rivals that of the cacophony around you. 

“Yoongi...we’re going on break next week.” You say slowly. Yoongi breaths in through his nostrils, cracking his stony facade with a twitch of his eyebrow.

“We’re going on break.” 

“Yes. We are.”

“Shit.” Yoongi groans, sliding his palms over his face. 

“What? What’s the matter?” You ask, leaning over to grasp his forearm. Yoongi whips his head up, your fingers like fire dancing over his skin. He doesn’t move a muscle, hoping to keep your ginger touch there as long as possible. 

“I’m in the middle of my project. Why do we have to take unnecessary breaks? Just to say thank you? Can’t we do that after school hours? I’m thankful I’m in college working my ass off. Why are they taking it away from me?” Yoongi gushes in a heated rush. 

You frown processing the rushed Korean slower until you burst into giggles. 

“Yoongi! Don’t be bitter.” You smack his arm lightly. He hides his blush against his hands and peers at you between his knuckles. 

“Thanksgiving is important too. We have to learn to stop every now and then to rest. Plus, you have an excuse to eat like a pig.” 

“Pig? Me?” 

“No, not you, you! I mean everyone. Even me.” You say before rolling your eyes with a chuckle. “Especially me.” 

Yoongi quirks his eyebrow at you. “You? No way.” 

“Hey. Shut up.” You shake your head, but Yoongi follows your bashful smile with his own teasing one. “But no, you should come home with me to my family’s Thanksgiving. My mom makes insane mashed potatoes.” 

“Hmm.” Yoongi pretends to debate it for the sake of not looking like the desperate fool he is, following you off a cliff if you asked him to.

“I’ll go. Show me your Thanksgiving.” 

“Great! I’ll text my parents right now and let them know you’re coming. My mom and dad will be so excited to meet you.” 

Mom? Dad? It wasn’t as if he was your boyfriend or anything but if Yoongi didn’t pass as just a friend, there was no chance in hell your father would ever let him be more. 

Looks like I did agree to jump off that cliff.

Shit.

[iridescenceoflove]

"I love you, of course I fucking care!" (7) with Ladynoir♡ (I just found the anwer box, sorry for send this twice!)

Prompt 7 (”I love you, of course I fucking care!”), Ladynoir, for @morademorada.

Send me a prompt and Lovesquare side. 

AO3 + FFN

Summary: When Chat Noir divulges Hawkmoth’s identity, Ladybug doesn’t think she could be more horrified. She’s wrong.

"We need to talk."

It's said with the eminent tone that always accompanies the phrase—the one that normally has people on alert for something coming down the pipe—but the fact it's coming from Chat Noir of all people? It carries a much more foreboding quality than before, and Marinette's already running through possibilities in her head.

"Okay," she breathes, willing her mind to settle down. He doesn't appear hurt from what she can see, so that's something off her mental checklist.

But he does appear agitated; his posture is ramrod straight, his tail is lashing frantically behind him, his ears are twitching, and his knuckles are clenching and unclenching at his side. If that doesn't already worry her, it's the fact that he won't meet her eyes. She can't name a time where he's ever avoided eye contact with her.

"I...I need you to know that I truly had no clue, okay?" he begins, gaze moving erratically from somewhere on her face to somewhere on the ground and out to the city lights. "And—and Plagg didn't either, but I should've because—well, I can't say because—but I didn't know, even when you'd questioned it that one time and I ignored the signs, and that's part of why I need to do this and—"

She takes a step forward. "Kitty, you're rambling," she says.

He takes a deep breath, gaze finally meeting hers. "Hawkmoth is Gabriel Agreste."

The air that leaves her is like the popping of a balloon—sudden, sharp, and loud. "Oh god," is all she can manage.

"And I think you can guess that Mayura is Na—his assistant."

Her hand automatically moves to cover her mouth in horror as she shakes her head. "Poor Adrien!" Chat doesn't look to be faring well either, even if he's had more time to process this than her. No wonder he'd looked so distressed. "Do they know you know?"

He quickly shakes his head in the negative. "You're the only one."

"This is huge," she says, rather redundantly, because she knows Chat is aware of the severe gravity this information has caused and what it entails. They both do. "This isn't just a hint— this is the entire bomb. And we need to be extremely delicate with it."

"I know. One wrong move, and it could all blow up."

"Yeah," she sighs, shifting her weight as her mind turns at the thought of Gabriel Agreste's power and money and abilities to shield himself with his position; she thinks of Adrien, stuck in that desolate mansion with the two people who've caused Paris' despoliation for nearly two years, all alone. It makes her skin crawl. "We need to keep an eye on Adrien. Who knows what Gabriel Agreste is willing to do, especially if he catches on and gets desperate."

"Probably throw his son off a building," Chat snorts derisively.

"Oh god, don't say that, Chat!"

"He let it happen before."

"I…" She can't deny it. She remembers the moment with overwhelming clarity, has played it on loop in her mind from her extensive list of mistakes and almost-tragedies. And there are many other moments, she thinks, where Gabriel Agreste would've been willing to do a lot more at the expense of his son's life. "We can't let Adrien get hurt any more than is necessary."

"Too late," he mutters.

"What?" her eyes snap to his. "I thought you said none of them know."

"They don't," he answers brusquely. "Look, that isn't the only thing I need to tell you."

Her mask creases as her brows furrow. "There's more?" she asks in trepidation.

He nods. "I…" He's avoiding her eyes again and nibbling on his lip with such dedication, that she's worried it might begin to bleed. "I need to give up my Miraculous."

If the information of Gabriel Agreste's nefarious doings had been like a douse of ice-cold water, this is like a subsequent hard slap to the face. She stumbles back in surprise, as if such has truly happened. "What?" she jaggedly gasps.

"I can't be Chat Noir anymore," he says.

She shakes her head vehemently. That doesn't make sense. "You're not making sense. Of course you can be Chat Noir." He'd always be Chat; saying otherwise is the equivalent of saying the sun doesn't rise. It isn't possible.

But that isn't what Chat wants to hear, as he looks at her in such abject misery that she's ready to have her heart broken right then and there, atop of the Eiffel Tower. "I can't," he desperately repeats. "I—I'm telling you now so you have time to find a replacement—"

"Replacement?" she spits out, feeling the bitter taste of the word coat her tongue like poison, the utter disdain the mere thought of the prospect brings over her. "Why would I look for a replacement—you're not making any sense."

"I can't tell you," he says, running a clawed hand through his hair, the state of his mane matching his agitation.

"So that's it? We find out who Hawkmoth is, and—and you're just going to leave? To run away?" It's harsh, but the thought of him leaving her…

"You don't understand!" His voice rises a decibel.

"No, I don't!" Her voice matches his in volume as she unconsciously takes a few steps closer. "You can't just give up and expect me to be okay with it!"

"Give up?" he shouts incredulously. "You think that's what this is?"

"I don't know, you tell me!"

"I can't," he says for what feels like the nth time, putting up the roadblock that has her lashing out in frustration and determination. "And even if I did, I'm sure you'd be much more willing to find my replacement—"

"Stop saying that!" she demands. "There is no replacement, and I sure as hell won't ever look for one."

"You have to," he says, still offering her no explanation except cryptic answers and pleadings. "Look, I'll be your partner until you find someone else but in the meantime, you have to start looking. There are plenty of amazing people out there who'll make great Chat Noirs."

She scoffs. "Yeah, because all I need is to find the next amazing Joe Blow off the streets and ask him to be my partner, right?" she snaps. "Sounds fantastic to me!"

"I'm serious," he shouts in frustration, moving in closer, and she can see the desperation and anguish swirling in his eyes. "I don't want to give this up—give you up, or-or Plagg!"

"Then don't!"

"I have to! You have to understand that," he implores.

"Then help me understand," she begs of him, feeling her own desperation match his. "We're partners for a reason, Chat. Let me help you!"

"This is my own problem that I have to deal with on my own. If you care enough, you have to let me do this!"

"I love you, of course I fucking care!"

He recoils back, as the echoes of her frantic confession resonate between them and out into the cool, thin night air, to be carried away by the wind. Her eyes widen in surprise, her breath short and harsh.

The day she ever dreamt of telling Chat Noir she loves him involved him looking ecstatic; but now— now he shrinks in on himself, looking absolutely miserable. "Please. Please don't make this harder than it already is, My Lady," he whispers.

She wants to understand, wants to help him, wants to take whatever is causing him this pain away from him forever. She needs to. Inching closer, she takes his hand, and looks at him straight in the eyes: "I love you. You're my partner, my best friend. You're my Chat Noir," she promises. "Whatever is wrong, we'll face it together. Like we always do." She holds onto his hand like it's a lifeline; like it's the only thing tethering them. "It's you and me against the world."

She can see the emotions battling for dominance across his face as she stands before him, beside him, with him. She squeezes his hand in hers.

He closes his eyes. "If I tell you, my identity will be compromised," he murmurs.

"I don't care," she immediately replies.

"I'm serious, Ladybug," he intones as he opens his eyes. "You'll know who I am. The kind of person you've had by your side all this time."

"I already know who you are. You're just giving me a name." She can see the warring of decisions play out in his eyes, see how he's struggling.

"I… I can't," he finally says. "I can't, My— Ladybug. It's best if you just find somebody else."

Giving her hand one last squeeze, he steps back and launches away with his baton in one fluid motion. Leaving her standing alone on Paris' beacon, in numb shock.

[howtohero]

#296 Return of the Starter-Villain

Hello How To Hero Heads! Today we’ve got some exciting news to share with you, we’ve finally hired a new supervillain correspondent: Everyone’s favorite lameo starter-villain, Smuggles. Say hello Smuggles. ||Hello Smuggles.|| Sheesh, this guy. I know, I know you must be shocked that I even allowed this to happen. Many of you will recall that I never signed off on, approved of, or got along with our last supervillain correspondent, Dr. Brainwave (don’t pretend you didn’t love Dr. Brainwave like a son, I seem to recall you being incredibly broken up when he died.) but that was because Dr. Brainwave was like, a credible threat who posed an actual danger to us and who once genetically engineered a giant monster that ate me. But Smuggles isn’t anything like that, he’s like the lowest of low-tier supervillains. ||It’s true, I was once hired to smuggle several objects into America, including a TSA uniform that was my exact size, and I never even once thought to put on the uniform to make the rest of the job easier.|| You may recall how in our original post on starter-villains we mentioned that he was on the rise ever since he teamed up with fellow low-level supervillains, Perry the Pirate and Charlie the Fish-Whisperer to hijack a canoe. But we’re both please and dismayed to say that our prediction was wrong. In the past three years, Smuggles has made absolutely nothing of himself. ||I once accidentally turned myself into a bowl of ice cream on a hot summer’s day.|| That starter-villain team didn’t even last past that first job, Charlie the Fish Whisperer went on, as you know, to become one of the most feared supervillains in the world and we all live in fear of the day Chuck the Fish Whisperer uses his awesome powers to escape the prison dimension the world’s heroes trapped him in. And Perry the Pirate became a lawyer I believe. But Smuggles, man, Smuggles. He’s no threat at all, so I was thrilled to see his application among the many we received following Dr. Brainwave’s untimely demise. So, welcome aboard Smuggles. ||Thanks! I’m excited to share my villainous insider knowledge with your read-|| Yeah yeah, that rocks man. So, anyway, in honor of our new staff member, we’re going to take a look at what happens when your starter-villain returns. 

A starter-villain is, of course, the villain you fight on your first night out as a superhero. The costumed jaywalker whose swift defeat you use to springboard your career as a respected crime fighter. They will undoubtedly be the easiest villain to defeat that you come up against. As you become more experienced and proficient in superheroism, you’ll look back at your first fight fondly and laugh about all the ways the fight could have ended even quicker than it already did now that you’ve learned and grown a whole bunch. As time goes on and you fight more and more supervillains, eventually meeting your one true nemesis and a whole slew of other villains that you’ll tango with on a regular basis, you’ll even forget who your starter-villain even was. ||I’ve been a starter-villain to over 30 superheroes, and even though I send each of them a holiday card every year, I’ve only ever gotten one response.|| But, as Smuggles just demonstrated, your starter-villain will never forget you. And soon enough, once they’re ready, they’ll ensure that you never forget them again. ||The one response was from Hatman and he just sent a card saying “New phone, who dis?” Like, it was a postcard, a signed postcard. A signed personalized postcard. It said “Hatty Holidays!” and everything!||

It’s very possible that the starter-villain you defeated was also just starting out their costumed career. A crushing defeat on their first night is sure to sit with them, (supervillains being notoriously obsessive, dramatic, and good at remembering how they got their various scars), and they’re going to stew with that for a good while. Even if it wasn’t their first night of attempted-villainy, a defeat by a rookie superhero is sure to make them a laughing stock in the supervillain community. And you know what that means... ||Years of unanswered holiday cards||... revenge. 

Your starter-villain will soon come to see you as their nemesis. Even though you’re perfectly happy with the eternal battle of good versus evil that you’ve already got going on with your actual nemesis. They aren’t going to care that you’re already seeing somebody (off to prison in handcuffs). They’re going to want you for their own. They’re going to spend every waking moment of their life plotting against you. Taking the time to really learn everything there is to know about you. This is just one more reason why it’s so important to to make sure your secret identity is ironclad before you start your superhero career. Because as soon as you defeat your first villain, there’s going to be someone out there working to uncover who you really are. ||Honestly, most superheroes don’t even bother trying to keep their secret identity from me. Many of them have just walked up to me and introduced themselves like “Hi, I’m Joe.” It’s kind of insulting.|| 

For that reason you’d do well to keep tabs on your starter-villain after you defeat them that first night. Their quest for revenge will start immediately and their scheme is just going to grow more and more protracted and elaborate the longer you let things lie. If you’ve already lost track of your starter-villain and it’s been a few years since you’ve been a superhero, I’d start shoring up your defenses. The longer you go without hearing from them, the worse it’s going to be when they eventually rear their ugly ||that’s just rude|| heads again. So put out some feelers, try to find out what they’re up to. If you can’t track them down through your superhero network of contacts, you can even try reaching out to your nemesis to see if they can help. Depending on how obsessive and vindictive your starter-villain is, your current nemesis might also find themselves in your starter-villain’s crosshairs. If you literally have no idea who your starter-villain is, sorry, you’re just going to have be on high alert all the time. 

You may discover that your starter-villain has since turned over a new leaf and is actually now operating as a superhero or working with a superhero-adjacent organization such as the OPG. On the surface that makes sense, I mean, they were barely a supervillain to begin with. So the jump to superheroism is not as extreme as it would be for say Al “Da Boss” Marconi, or Karallaxus destroyer of worlds. But even though it might make sense for a starter-villain to have become a superhero, you must not believe it even for one second. Even if some part of a starter-villain truly wants to be better, you can be sure that an even bigger part of them actually just wants revenge on their starter-hero and joining the superhero community is just one of many increasingly inane steps in their protracted revenge scheme. 

The only way to truly dissuade a returned starter-villain from dogging you forever and always is to either die or pretend you did. Otherwise they will track you down and hunt you to the ends of the known universe. ||And don’t forget the multiverse, Chuck the Fish Whisperer may be consigned to another universe, but that doesn’t mean his hatred has diminished one iota.|| Exactly! A starter-villain will stop at nothing until they’ve repaired their reputation in the form of destroying the person or people who tarnished it in the first place. 

Defeating your first supervillain is an important milestone in the life of any superhero. Unfortunately, it is also an important milestone in the life of that very supervillain, whose life will become utterly subsumed by their embarrassing defeat at your inexperienced hands. Smuggles here is really the exception that proves the rule. ||Wait what?|| Normally, starter-villains become exponentially more dangerous by the time you next encounter them. So you must never underestimate a villain just because you beat them when you were a little kid wearing garish tights and you happened to be doing parkour near your convenience store right when it was being robbed. So why don’t you all take a moment now to check in on your starter-villain and make sure that you’re still able to beat them! 

(All right, that’s a wrap on How To Hero #296. Great job everyone, we’ll see you next week.)

||Um.||

(Oh hey, Smugs. Good work today I guess. In the future we all prefer it when the supervillain correspondent kind of harasses Zach a bit, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re a bit lackluster compared to Dr. Brainwave.)

||Oh well-||

(You know, I didn’t even want to hire you. I was gunning for Snipey McSkullface. That guy has style.)

||In the form of a skull face-tattoo, yes, I’m familiar with him.||

(Anyway, did you need something from me?)

||Er, yes. I was told that this position came with housing?||

(Oh yes definitely it does! You get to move into our super sweet basement! Right this way, follow me.)

||Thank you, it’s tough out there for a costumed smuggler. So I’m kind of in between homes at the moment.||

(Oh yeah? Wearing a distinctive bright costume makes smuggling more difficult? Who would’ve thunk.)

||Sigh.||

(Did you just say “sigh”?)

||So this basement...||

(Oh yeah! Dr. Brainwave used to live there, you know before he exploded, so a lot of his junk is still down there, but don’t worry we did our best to clear out the mutant alligators.)

||What do you mean you did your best?||

(Listen Smugs, at the end of the day mutant alligators will be mutant alligators if you catch my meaning.)

||I’m not sure I do...||

(Ha! Classic Smugs, anyway enjoy your new digs I’ll see you around.)

||Sure... thanks||

||Wow, they really left everything just as it was. All of Dr. Brainwave’s equipment and machinery is still here. This couldn’t have gone better... Now if I just fire up this thing ah, nope, that’s just a feed that shows what everyone else in this building is thinking about. Not what I’m looking for, but I’ll come back for that later maybe... Oh gross, you know what this thing should be burned. Now let’s see, shrink ray, precarious stack of explosives, ah! Here it is! The interdimensional warp gate generator. Excellent. Now, if I just power it up, and set it to the proper frequency. Yes... Yes! Yes it’s working! Oh now they’ll rue the day they disrespected Smuggles. Each of them will pay dearly for how they treated me... now that you’re back old frien-||

Hey, Smuggles? Oh good, Parenthesis Guy got you settled in, just wanted to thank you for your great work today and to check if you needed anythi- What are you doing.

||Oh Zach! Hello! What do you mean?||

Why is there a warp gate open in my basement? What are you doing with that thing?

||Taking my foul revenge on you and everybody else who ever slighted me! The world will crumble before me and my ally!!!||

Listen, if this is about the jokes, I’m sorry about that, but you really don’t want to do this. Trust me, this isn’t going to end well for any of us.

||It certainly won’t end well for you and all of your superhero friends. Ah, there he is. Welcome back, Chuck the Fish Whisperer.||

Oh... this is bad.

[katoninefandoms]

I wanna share something about Endgame, friends. This is what Quarantine is leaving for me to think about.

First, I need to tell you a li’l bit about me. My parents have done community theatre for years and even met because of our local community theatre, so I have been involved in theatre basically from birth. For a long time, I thought I wanted to be a professional actress. I worked hard in my theatre classes in high school to understand how to get into a character’s head and how to analyse a scene or a whole play. My senior year of high school, I got the chance to student direct and stage manage and TA for my theatre teacher. So as I got into college, I realized that maybe acting wasn’t the way I wanted to go. I did some soul-searching, and decided that, instead, I wanted to teach theatre. I’ve been taking classes that are all about analyzing plays, and I’ve been in acting and directing classes at the collegiate level.  All this is to say, I’m at a point where I cannot watch a play or movie or TV show without analyzing the piece as I watch. Sometimes it’s annoying, but sometimes I love it because I feel like I have a better understanding of what is going on. This has been especially fun the last couple of years watching Marvel movies. A couple of my friends in my university’s theatre program who are also nerds had a conversation with me about Infinity War. We talked about how a lot of the movie is just suspense and buildup until the final battle in Wakanda, and at the end, there is no pay off because we don’t win. The heroes don’t accomplish their goal. This is when my good friend, Nor, pointed out that sure, from the hero perspective, it’s a lot of buildup for no payoff and therefore unsatisfying, but from Thanos’ perspective, it’s a totally satisfying narrative. If you analyse the movie with Thanos as the protagonist, then there is a clear, complete narrative structure. We have a Stasis A where he is without the stones, an Inciting Incident where he collects the first couple stones, the Rising Actions are him collecting the rest of the stones, right before the climax there is the Crisis (the moment where the protagonist is at their absolute lowest) where Thanos has to sacrifice Gamora for the soul stone, he snaps his fingers as the Climax, and then the Resolution and payoff is that the snap works and Thanos can retire to “the Garden” satisfied. Bam! Full narrative structure.  So as you can see, I have a good time analyzing works that I love. I did this with Endgame, too. For the record, there were things I was unhappy with, but overall, I think the endings all made sense in some way. Were they perfect? No, but that’s always the case. Someone will always be unhappy and present reasons why something doesn’t make sense with franchises like the MCU. But my favorite scenes to analyse in Endgame were Tony giving Steve back the shield in conjunction with Tony ripping Steve a new one at the beginning and their discussion at Tony’s house. I thought I really had their little arc in this film together figured out. 

That is, until this week. Robert Downey Jr. did this live stream thing with Joe Russo, and said of the Endgame scene where he gives the shield back to Chris Evans, “it was about him [Steve] forgiving me [Tony] for not forgiving him... burying the hatchet and taking up the cross together.”

I had not considered this before. In the beginning, when Tony yells at Steve, Steve doesn’t argue with him much at all. He takes Tony’s frustration in stride and for the rest of the film doesn’t seem to begrudge it at all. He even shows up to Tony’s house years later to ask him for help, and he may not be happy with Tony’s answer, but he doesn’t bother him with it or push him too hard once Tony says no and changes the subject. I interpreted this as a sign that he had already forgiven Tony. Tony then investigates time travel of his own volition, and then arrives at the compound, telling Steve, “Turns out resentment is corrosive and I hate it.” I saw this as Tony letting Steve know, in true Tony fashion, that he had finally forgiven him. He gives back the shield, and they can move forward. 

RDJ was in the scene, he and Evans and the directors did their own analysis of the scene and filmed it with that analysis in mind. So while I, a viewer, might see something different, it doesn’t mean than either of us are right or wrong, it just means that I missed something that they were trying to show the audience. This piece of information really does change how I interpret this scene. 

As a character, Steve Rogers has an incredible capacity for forgiveness. This is reflected in every official piece of media I’ve seen his character in; movies, television, and the few comics I’ve had the chance to read. Still, just because someone has a the capacity to forgive and move one doesn’t mean that it’s automatic for them. RDJ made an interesting point in saying, “forgiving [Tony] for not forgiving [Steve].” While I may have been correct in interpreting Steve as having forgiven Tony for their disagreements in Civil War (and perhaps all those before that), he had no way of knowing if Tony would have the same forgiveness for him. 

As it turns out, Tony doesn’t. He accuses Steve, yells at him, tells him he doesn’t trust him, and labels him “Liar.” Steve looks incredibly pained by Tony’s outburst at the end of that scene, and he even begins to look a little... well, angry isn’t the right word, and neither is defensive. But he’s definitely upset. I’m looking at the scene now, I have is paused. Credit where credit it due, Chris Evans plays Steve very well, and keeps him consistent. In this moment, after Tony says, “Liar,” Steve'a expression is very close to that “eyebrows of disappointment” face that we see in previous films. He also looks guarded, like he’s putting up mental walls against Tony’s onslaught. When Tony thrusts the arc reactor into Steve’s hand, his fingers don’t close around it, and his arm tenses. Tony’s upset him, hurt him again. Somehow, I overlooked this as something new that Steve would have to forgive Tony for. 

It seems that they may be on a little better terms when Steve, Natasha, and Scott show up to Tony’s house to ask him for help. However, Tony looks apprehensive when Steve gets out of the car and only relaxes a little once he takes a cue from Natasha. Steve does ask him about helping, but then Tony spends most of their conversation talking to Scott and Natasha. Not that Steve really attempts to interject in the conversation until the end. He makes it clear that this isn’t a personal request (entirely), and that it could be helpful to a lot of people. Tony maintains that it is personal to him. He invites them to stay for lunch if they don’t “talk shop” and the next shot is of Steve, Nat, and Scott getting back in the car. We can’t know for sure they didn’t stay for lunch, but it seems obvious to assume so. Either they are very eager to find a time travel solution, or there are people in the group who are not yet comfortable being around the Starks in a friendly capacity yet. (Steve. I’m implying that it’s Steve.)

So then Tony does some of his own research about time travel. He figures it out in one night, and Pepper convinces him that he should use it to help people that are less fortunate than him. He drives up to the compound and sees Steve standing outside. He stops, a little past Steve. And Steve? Doesn’t bother to walk up level with the driver’s side door, something that I could otherwise imagine him doing. Tony has to back up to talk to him, and Steve asks, “What are you doing here?” He previously said he wasn’t going to help, and Steve doesn’t sound all to pleased to see Tony. Why is that? Well, in the next few lines, it seems to give us the answer. “Somebody could’ve cautioned you against it,” Tony says. Steve, having heard that kind of remark from Tony before, is apparently no longer willing to argue with him about it and says, “You did.” “I did? Oh, well, thank God I’m here.”

I had a director tell me once, as another actor and I were practicing an argument, that you don’t argue with someone unless you care. That’s where the passion in the argument comes from. So far in this scene, Steve doesn’t look too happy to see Tony, and I didn’t really pay attention to that before. He’s been let down by Tony before like this, and that pattern hasn’t changed yet. He has no reason to expect Tony to do anything but tell him he’s doing it wrong and then maybe take Natasha out to lunch (or something). That seems like a relatively Tony Stark think to do. 

But then Tony reveals that he fixed it. He figured it out. That makes Steve smile. Honestly, Steve looks relieved. His walls come down a little. He can let himself believe that Tony is there to help, as opposed to, “I got nothin’ for you Cap. I got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options, zero, zip, nada. No trust. Liar!” In fact, this time, Tony admits, “Turns out, resentment is corrosive, and I hate it.” Tony’s forgiven Steve, and that’s his way of saying, in his own way. I find that a lot with Tony’s dialogue, which is cool, because RDJ plays him so well and you can always tell what he means. To that, Steve says, “Me, too.” 

However, the way he says it doesn’t sound like forgiveness just yet. I think it’s his inflection, or the way he says it with a blank face, still, but it sounds more like he’s letting Tony know that he’d already come to that conclusion. Remember, before, at the beginning of the movie, Steve is trying to work with Tony and gets upset when he goes off. He’d already forgiven Tony for things that Tony hadn’t yet. Steve had already let go of a lot of that resentment. He’s got a huge capacity for forgiveness. But even those of us who can forgive easily can also hold back when we’re hurt one too many times. Steve is still not quite ready, or not quite convinced. 

I notice that Steve doesn’t move at all during this scene. He’s planted. Tony is the one to bridge the gap and approach Steve as he agrees to join them, saying he needs to keep what he’s found. Steve shakes his hand, saying that is a “deal.” That’s business, not friendship. He’s still not smiling or relaxed with Tony, and simply shakes his hand. Tony is no idiot, he can tell he doesn’t fully have Steve’s confidence yet. He goes around to the back of the car, and Steve follows a little. He’s warming up, there’s at least some of the damage healed. 

Tony takes the shield out of the trunk and holds it out to Steve. “Tony, I don’t know.” His voice thins, breaks off a little at the end. This is more than just getting the shield back. The last time they spoke to each other before Endgame, Tony was screaming at Steve that he didn’t deserve the shield, that it didn’t belong to him. Steve, in Civil War, drops the shield, and, effectively, drops Tony. Taking the shield back will mean, symbolically, accepting Tony’s apology and forgiving him, taking him back as a friend. The shield is Tony’s olive branch, but Steve “[doesn’t] know” if he can accept it. 

“Why? He made it for you.” Tony holds out the olive branch a little further. Saying that, he’s taking back what he said before. He knows he was wrong, and he’s admitting that to Steve -- which is something he hardly ever seems to do. He turns it over so that he can fit it on Steve’s arm, and Steve lets him. “Thank you, Tony,” Steve says. His voice is still low, soft, but it’s warmer. He’s forgiven Tony again. He’s accepted the olive branch, the shield, and they are now on even ground once more. Tony asks if they’re getting the team together, and Steve immediately answers, starting to get Tony filled in on their progress. 

I didn’t think I could love this scene between the two of them more, but I do. It’s so easy to forget sometimes that Steve can be hurt by people, too. He forgives so easily and takes the high road so often that even when someone he obviously cares about, like Tony, hurts him in a way that isn’t physical, I think the viewers tend to miss it. We like to put Steve up on a pedestal and act like he would never hold something like that against a person, never not forgive them for it. Seeing this scene, Steve and Tony’s relationship like this, I think we can realize that Steve isn’t as perfect as people like to believe he is. He can be hurt and upset when people don’t treat him with respect and fairness. 

Anyways, if you stuck around long enough to get to the bottom of this: Thank you for taking the time to read this. I love being able to share analysis about these babies. <3 

[xxfanfiction-emo-trinityxx]

Cancelled Scene - Patrick Stump x Reader

Requested Reader: actress (female) Warnings: fake blood, fake screams, all that Young Blood Chronicle stuff, you know? Word count: 1 660

The cold material of the scissors felt weird and slippery in your hands, the sticky substance of the fake blood almost making them slip out of your fingers when you tried to cut through the thin material of the t-shirt the singer was wearing. Patrick was strapped to a table, writhing, while pretending to sing along to the music in the background. Honestly it almost scared you a bit, having a pair of scissors so close to his face while he was throwing around. But you had to pretend not to care, and so you did. As soon as the sequence was finished, someone yelled “cut”.

You stepped back from the table, and Patrick relaxed along with the other actresses on set. It had been mere luck that you had gotten a role in the new music videos Fall Out Boy were shooting for their upcoming album “Save Rock and Roll”. You had been a fan of their music for almost ten years now, being just a little younger than Patrick and Joe, and when your agent had told you that you had gotten the little role as one of the antagonists in the videos, you had been extremely excited.

Now, that you had already spent a couple of days working with everyone, the initiate excitement had luckily died down, enabling you to focus more on your work. But that did not mean that you did not get butterflies in your stomach, when you had to work with Patrick. Admittedly, back before the break Fall Out Boy had taken, you had never really paid extra much attention to the blond man. Of course you had known who he was, and god forbid anyone would have forgotten to list him as a member, but since the first meeting with everyone to discuss the process of shooting, he had caught your eye. He was always incredibly nice, to everyone, polite and sweet, and he made sure to always ask everyone how they were doing, and if they were feeling ready for the shoot.

“Great, well done everyone,” the director complimented after checking the recorded material, “that concludes this scene. (Y/n), Mel, Patrick, take a break, were gonna do the prison scene next. Everyone else can go home for tonight.”

You sighed quietly, and tried to relax your shoulders. A couple of people already helped untie Patrick, so you figured if you tried to help, it would only end up in a big mess. Instead you moved off the set, and started to search for a sink to rinse off the sticky fake blood that covered your hands.

Once you had cleaned and dried off your hands, you started looking for the other actresses. Most of them had already moved to the changing rooms, happy to get out of the tight and restricting leather costumes. Only Mel, who you had befriended soon after the beginning of filming, was hanging around a little buffet that had been prepared for the crew members. It was already late in the evening, and you had been working for several hours already, so it was no surprise that you suddenly realised how hungry you were.

Joining Mel at the buffet, you quickly grabbed a sandwich, and shot her a smile before you started eating. Honestly, right now you did not care what you looked like, munching on your food; you were too hungry, and hoped that getting something to eat would make it possible for you to battle your tiredness, and finish shooting today.

“Good?”

Confused you looked up, and found Patrick smiling at you. Quickly you swallowed and nodded.

“Yes, really good,” you grinned a little embarrassed, “The ones with salad and tomato are great.”

Patrick smiled again, and grabbed one of the recommended sandwiches.

“So, looking forward to the next scene,” he asked, starting to eat too while leaning against the table.

His face and hands had been wiped clean of the fake blood, and without the make-up you could see he was tired too.

“You mean if I’m looking forward to dragging you down a corridor,” you laughed, thinking about the upcoming scene, where yours and Mel’s character would break the struggling Patrick out of a prison cell.

“Doesn’t sound like much fun if you put it like this,” he shrugged.

“At least you get to wear some comfy jumpsuit, not this,” unhappily you pointed to the tight leather outfit you were wearing.

“If it’s any consolation, it does look good,” he grinned.

You rolled your eyes and shook your head.

“I should hope so,” you joked, but added more seriously “thanks, though.”

For a while you stood in silence, both of you munching on your sandwiches. You were not exactly sure if the silence was a comfortable or an awkward one, but whenever you turned your head, to look at Patrick, he was already smiling at you, so you concluded that he at least did not mind the lack of conversation.

Patrick had just cleared his throat as if to prepare to say something, when suddenly voices grew loud on the other side of the set. It took you a moment to understand what it was about, but apparently there was something wrong with the set for the prison scene, and the equipment for the lights was not in place.

Patrick and you exchanged quick glances before carefully making your way into the direction of the noise.

“Then we can’t shoot the scene,” the director concluded, almost shouting, while throwing his hands up.

“What’s going on,” Patrick asked concerned.

“We gotta finish the scene tomorrow, sorry guys,” the man apologised.

“Oh, okay,” Patrick did not exactly sound disappointed, and you did not find it in you to care much either.

“I’m just gonna do a quick announcement, then everyone can go home,” the director assured you, and hurried off.

“Oof, so we actually get to go home before midnight today,” Patrick joked, and turned to you.

Indeed the past couple of days all of you had always stayed until long after midnight to finish all the scenes in time.

“Wow, I could be in bed in time, today,” you laughed, pulling the black hair tie out, and allowing your long hair to fall freely over your shoulders, after they had been perfectly tied back the whole day.

“Or you could go out for dinner with me.”

Patrick’s voice sounded bold, but when you looked at him in surprise, you saw that he looked terribly nervous, his cheeks flushed adorably pink.

“Or, you know, like… not today, but some other time, or just coffee? I mean I’ve wanted to ask you for a while and-“

“I’d love to,” you smiled shyly, interrupting Patrick’s worried babbling, “maybe not full blown dinner, since we already had sandwiches, but a drink or two if you don’t mind?”

Patrick looked at you wide eyed, and nodded, a smile starting to spread over his face.

“Sounds amazing,” he agreed.

Before you could answer anything else, your conversation got interrupted by the voice of the producer, who, over the speakers, announced that the shoot was finished for today because of technical difficulties, and would be continued tomorrow according to the schedule.

“So… should we go,” Patrick nervously smiled, and gestured towards the exit.

“I think we should get out of our costumes first, some people might start to panic when they see you,” you suggested, nodding towards Patrick’s orange jumpsuit, which he had put on before joining you at the buffet.

“Oh, yeah, that might be a good idea,” he agreed, blushing again.

Together you walked back to your changing rooms, and agreed to meet back outside.

The room was empty except for Mel, who was also getting out of her costume right now. Quietly chatting, you dressed back in your normal clothes, while listening to Mel complaining about tomorrow’s schedule being all messed up now because of the delayed shoot. You did not mention that you were glad the last scene had been cancelled and therefore gave you the chance to go out with Patrick. Instead you just nodded along, took off your make up, threw on your warm pullover and the cosy jacket, before pulling your beanie over your head, and saying good night to her.

Patrick was already waiting outside, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, covered by a leather jacket again, but this time the clothes were not stained red with fake blood as in the scene you had finished shooting earlier. As always he wore the dorky fedora again, and shot you a bright smile when he spotted you.

“Ready,” he asked, sounding both nervous and excited.

“Ready,” you agreed with the same excitement, returning the shy grin.

“Great, then let’s go,” Patrick offered you his arm to take, which you did after hesitating shortly.

Was it really okay to just... link your arms while you were still around your workplace? But when you saw how nervous Patrick reacted to your short hesitation, you decided that you did not really care about what the other people thought, and took hold of his arm, allowing him to lead you towards the exit.

“So, any idea where we’re going,” you decided to ask on your way out.

“I have absolutely no clue,” Patrick admitted, “I thought we could just… like wander off into the night and see what we stumble upon.”

“Sounds good,” you smiled, already aware of how much you adored his spontaneity.

Holding open the door for you, Patrick and you left the huge building in which the sets were located. The night was cool, and refreshing after the stuffy air inside, and the sky was clear allowing you to see the stars. Actually you probably would not mind if you would not find anywhere to get drinks at, just walking through the streets, side by side would be enough for you. Taking a short look at Patrick, you had a feeling he thought the same.

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