#hard to pass this offer after rejecting origins plus

[latin-dr-robotnik]

Frontiers Update 2 is sooo good. It added a ton of content, a lot of physics tweaks, the spin dash and more. Surpassed all my expectations, and I'm very excited for what's to come in Update 3.

Like I said last year, by the end of this year Frontiers is going to be a wildly different game, and for now it's absolutely a better experience.

[angelsdevils]

Eren Yeager

Title: This Moment 1.2 Fluff Word Count: 1600 Words

You were never the one for parties, but your friends decided to drag you out this time. Especially Eren, after your messy breakup with Reiner. You loathe being here, and it didn’t help that your freshly new ex was here with another girl that he cheated on you with. You stood off to the side, staring at your cup, not talking with anyone. 

Eren noticed this and felt bad because he swore that Reiner wouldn’t be there. The host of the party had reassured him that Reiner wasn’t coming. Reiner’s original plans had changed, which allowed him to show up at the last minute. Typically Eren was confident, arrogant, and a flirt. But that changed when he first met you. He was totally in love with you. 

~ Flashback ~

Eren was skateboarding down the street as he was arguing with Jean about something. Armin tried to break the argument up since Eren wasn’t paying attention. That proved to be a huge mistake on Eren’s part since he crashed into someone. He fell off his skateboard and landed hard on top of you. You grunted in pain as your head hit the concrete. 

“Shit, are you okay?” Eren asked as he sat up. He looked at you as you also sat up, and he noticed your head was bleeding. 

“I-I’m fine.” 

“You are bleeding. Here let me check your head.”

“Way to go, Yeager. Look at you crashing into ladies.” 

“Shut up. Here let me look.” 

“No, I am fine.” You said. You got up but stumbled since you felt light-headed. 

“I don’t mean to call you a liar, but you look like you are in a lot pain. Plus, you are losing a lot of blood.” Armin said. 

“I’m fine, just need to~” you were so light-headed that you fell into the arms of Eren. 

“You killed her….” 

“I didn’t kill her, shit. What do we do?” 

“The school nurse, though she left for the day. We are going to have to stop the bleeding,” Armin said. Eren picked you up and carried you to the nurse’s office as Armin called Mikasa. Mikasa had rushed to the nurse’s office as you surrounded the group. 

“Seriously, Eren? You weren’t paying attention?” She scolded, and Eren held his hands up. 

“It was an accident, honest.” 

“Luckily, I know her. She is in my class. Let me call one of her friends.” 

“Thank god. You are a lifesaver. I hope one of them can come and stay with her.”

“No, Eren. You did this. You have to stay until she wakes up. You need to apologize to her. Jean, Armin, let’s go.” 

“Wait, what? What about her friends?” 

“I will see what they say or if they have her mom’s number. You stay.” With that, everyone left, leaving you and a confused Eren. He looked down at you before taking his seat again. 

You woke up after a few hours and made a small noise. You began to sit up, but the weight of someone lying on your lap restricted your movement. You looked down to see the guy who ran into you earlier. He was sleeping, and you were confused before looking outside. It was pitch black outside, and you realized you must have passed out. 

“Oh, you are awake. That’s good.” You looked down to see him sitting up from your lap, and he rubbed his eyes. 

“Oh, yeah. Uhm… sorry.” 

“I should be the one, sorry. How is your head?” He got up and gently touched the back of your bandages. You flinched slightly and looked up at him.

“Sorry, I didn’t….”

“No, it’s okay. Thank you, I should head back to the dorms.” 

“Let me walk you. It’s late out. Plus, you just woke up.” 

“Okay, my name is (Y/N).”

“Eren, nice to meet you.” He offered his hand, and you took it. 

~End of Flashback ~

That was a few months ago, and not long after, he confessed his feelings, but you rejected him. He understood that you were still dating Reiner at the time, though he wished you two weren’t dating. He got his wish, but not in the way he had hoped. He didn’t like seeing you quiet and upset about anything. 

Eren took a deep breath and made his way to you. He saw the way Reiner looked at you, and he hated it. It was like Reiner was making it known he didn’t need you. 

You were so focused on your cup you didn’t see Eren coming up to you. That was until you felt his arms around your shoulder. You looked up and met his eyes, and he leaned down to your ear.

“Did you want to leave beautiful?” Eren asked. He made it a habit to call you beautiful, angel, or any other pet name he found cute.

“No, it’s fine.” 

“I don’t like how he is looking at you. So, let’s go somewhere else.”

“Eren, you don’t have to leave the party for my sake. I appreciate you, though,” you said. You met his eyes, and he pushed your hair behind your ear before sighing. 

“Fine, but he is doing what he is doing to upset you. You know that, right? And I can tell it’s working. I hate it.” 

“I know. It just hurts. But I will be fine.” 

Eren cupped your cheeks as he met Reiner’s eyes before looking down at you. You blinked, confused, before he leaned close to your lips and whispered.

“Can I do this, at least? So he knows you don’t need him?” 

“But~it won’t work. He won’t care~ plus you like me. That’s not fair for you.” 

“Who knows, maybe you will realize I am a better kisser than him. Maybe the kiss will be so amazing. You will fall for me,” he said in a joking manner. You couldn’t help but laugh, and that was what he wanted. He grinned as you pulled away and covered your mouth as you continued to laugh. 

“Eren, that’s an embarrassing hush.” 

“But you are laughing, and it’s not a fake smile. So I win.” You glanced at him before nudging his side with a smile.

“Thank you, Eren,” you said. You leaned up to kiss his cheek, and he grinned widely. You parted from his cheek, and he looked at you before cupping your cheeks lightly. He leaned down slightly, and your breath hitched slightly. 

“No, but seriously, let me kiss you just this once. Don’t think about it. We can assess the damage tomorrow. But right now, ignore him and think about this moment.” 

“Eren, I- I don’t know what to say. What if we regret it in the morning?”

“Don’t say anything, don’t even think. Just let me help ease the pain, even if it’s just for tonight,” he said. You stayed silent, and he pressed his lips to yours gently. Your eyes widen before finally closing. 

Eren was gentle at first, testing the waters to ensure you were okay. Once you started to kiss back, his kiss became more passionate and heated. He moved his hands to your waist and pulled you against his chest. 

All of Eren filled your senses. His smell, taste, and touch. You completely forgotten about your troubles as you wrapped your arms around his neck and stepped closer. Eren gently pushed you against the wall, not caring that you both were in a public area making out.

He licked your bottom lip, and you gave him entrance. His tongue swirled around yours before he sucked on it. Eren couldn’t get enough of you. He didn’t want to get enough. He never wanted this to end. But you both needed air, so he was forced to pull away. 

Eren leaned his forehead against yours, panting. His breath fanned over your face, and you gripped his shirt tightly. You took a couple of deep breaths.

“Wow.” That was the only thing that left your lips. Eren let a small chuckle out before pressing small kisses to your lips. 

“Yeah, that was amazing. I have wanted to do that for so long.” 

You looked up at him and noticed that his eyes held nothing but love. You moved your hands to his hair to push it out of his face. Eren smiled before glancing back at Reiner, who was glaring at him.

“I think we pissed off your ex.” 

“Huh?” You asked, and he nodded his head towards Reiner’s direction. You followed his movement and met the eyes of Reiner.

“I guess we did.”

“How about we leave together to piss him off?”

“But the party?”

“I’d rather spend time with you, and you don’t want to be here.”

“Geez, Eren, okay if you insist,” you smiled at him. He stroked your cheeks slightly before grasping your hand. He told the others that you both were leaving, and they understood. 

After leaving the frat house, you both walked in silence. Eren glanced at your face before wrapping his arm around you and pulling you to his side. You leaned into him a bit before looking up at him. 

“Eren?” 

“Hmm?” 

“Thank you for always being there. Really. It means a lot. I don’t know what I would do-”

“(Y/N) stop. You don’t need to thank me for anything.” He turned to you and wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you to his chest. 

“I told you this before, but I love you. So much, and I would do anything to see you smile,” Eren said. You met his eyes, and he smiled warmly at you. He leaned down and pecked your lips once more, which surprised you. 

“What was that for?” 

“I told you, tonight is only us. Tomorrow we can assess the damage but tonight, let’s not think about anyone or anything, just us. So that extends outside the party as well. Now let’s go.” He grabbed your hand again, walking you to your dorm room. You couldn’t help but laugh slightly, shaking your head.

© [@angelsdevils] all rights reserved. none of my posts or stories should be modified, reposted etc. I do not own the character, but I own the plots to these stories.

[vs-redemption]

I JUST CAME UP WITH THE CUTEST THING EVER!

Okok so UA prom night. Bakugou and reader have had secret crushes on each other but like it’s obvious to everyone except each other. Prom is prince/princess themed ok? Everyone goes in groups rather than singles bc no one wants to be left out right?

Bakugou and Reader are crowned prom king and queen!!! And they get their own dance while everyone watches — the song is the Beauty and the beast (a perfect fit for the two). And I think it’s adorable and maybe maybe they kiss 🤭

-🐱❤️

From Cindy: Okay so... lol inspiration for this suddenly smacked me in the brain and it ended up being so long (1,761 words). I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t stop. I had so much fun writing this so thank you 🐱 anon for another great idea.

Prom (Bakugo x Fem!Reader)

When your friends decided to attend your senior prom as a group rather than go through the trouble of finding dates, it was both a blessing and a curse for you. On the one hand, going with the social circle that you’d spent every moment of your high school years with provided the guarantee that you’d have a good time at the prince and princess themed dance no matter what. Plus, you wouldn’t end up in the awkward situation of either being rejected or getting stuck trying to make conversation with a single person the entire night. The downside though was that you had a very specific person in mind who you’d been dreaming of going to prom with ever since he’d caught your eye during the entrance exam to get into UA.

That person was Katsuki Bakugo.

It wasn’t as if you thought you had a chance with the explosive boy in question. He was in the same class as you after all, and although you had formed a weird sort of friendship over the years, he’d never shown any signs that he might return your feelings. And boy, did you have feelings. Through all the intense hero trainings and group study sessions, you’d really been able to get to know the ins and outs of his personality. You knew Bakugo came across as arrogant and abrasive at first glance, but somehow you’d never been able to see him that way. In your eyes, he was the most hardworking and passionate student in the whole school. You couldn’t help but admire how confident he was in his own strength and determination. Ever since his admittedly wild behavior during the sports festival in your first year, people had doubted his choice to pursue a career as a hero and criticized the way he interacted with other people. Never once did he waver in his goal though. He just continued to blaze forward, studying and training hard with that same unwavering persistence that you both loved and envied.

“You look amazing in that dress!” Mina winks and throws you a thumbs up as you all crowd in the dormitory bathroom to help each other get ready.

“Yellow really is your color,” Momo agrees with a smile. “People might actually mistake you for a real princess.”

“Stop!” You were blushing a little from all the attention and from the way your thoughts ran wild with fantasies of Bakugo finally noticing you as more than just a fellow hero course student. “We’re all going to look amazing tonight.”

“Good,” Hagakure chimes in, her pink dress fluttering around her invisible body as she twirled in front of the mirror. “We can’t make it too easy for the judges to pick the prom king and queen!”

Once everyone was ready, the group made their way down to the common room where all the boys were waiting. They all looked handsome and uncharacteristically dressed up in their suits, but you only had eyes for one of them. It was almost unfair how good Bakugo looked. His spikey blonde hair and fiery red eyes were already enough to give you butterflies, but the way his dark blue suit jacket fit perfectly over his broad shoulders and tapered down to show off his narrow waist had you feeling even more flustered.

“You idiots finally ready?” He asks, shoving his hands into his pockets casually. You couldn’t help but smile, remembering the way he’d carried on about dances being lame and how there was no way he’d go. You knew from the start that it was all talk. There was no way he would’ve allowed himself to disappoint his friends like that. He cared about all of them more than he’d ever admit.

The dance coordinators at the school had gone above and beyond when decorating the gymnasium which now looked like a scene out of a fairytale. Everywhere you looked had twinkling lights and cutouts of castle towers and horse drawn carriages. You and your friends made your way inside, smiling and waving to familiar faces from other classes and taking in the atmosphere created by the lighting and music. Finally, you noticed the platform set up in the back of the room where two empty thrones sat for the prom king and queen.

“All right! I’m ready to dance now!” Mina cheers once most students had arrived and the DJ, also known as Present Mic, had started to play more upbeat music. You followed her and the rest of the group to the center of the room and jumped right into the action. Time passed quickly as you got lost in the music and dancing, taking breaks every now and then to get something to drink and rehydrate. Never once though did you lose track of Bakugo’s presence. Whether he was on the dance floor, or off to the side talking to one of the others, you always seemed to know where he was like there was some sort of magnetic pull. It didn’t stop you from having a good time, but it made you wonder how much more magical the night would be if you could just steal even a single moment alone with him.

“All right! It’s that time of the night kids!” Present Mic announces later in the evening. “It’s time to announce this year’s prom king and queen!”

The room quiets down and everyone huddles together, feeling the building anticipation over the big reveal. You knew it was only the popular and good looking people that usually got chosen, but you were still excited, hoping that someone from your class might get the chance to wear the symbolic crown or tiara. Present Mic holds up a note that he must’ve gotten from one of the judges and looks down to read the names.

“And the results are in!” he says overdramatically, “Everyone give it up for your king and queen.”

The first name to come tumbling out of the man’s mouth was Bakugo’s, making you freeze up a bit and turn to look at him in shock. Of course he deserved it, but you couldn’t help but feel jealous already of the girl that would get to have the one on one dance with him after being crowned. The noise in the room seemed to fade out as you watched your crush turn and start walking right toward you, suddenly offering you his hand.

“Wh-what?” You didn’t understand, especially since the rest of the girls were suddenly squealing in your ear and patting you on the back.

“He just called both our names, dummy,” the insult comes out as a term of endearment which was normal for Bakugo, but the slight pink blush covering his cheeks was definitely new. He takes your hand into his and you awkwardly follow him up to the platform almost in a daze. You hadn’t even heard Present Mic call your name, but suddenly he was placing a glittery tiara on top of your head and a crown on top of Bakugo’s.

“Are you two ready for your dance?” the teacher asks. Truthfully you weren’t but you find yourself nodding anyway, your mind still trying to catch up with your body.

“You all right?” Bakugo asks, sounding just as uncomfortable as he pulls you into the middle of the room which was now clear of people. You were kind of surprised he was going along with all of this so easily, but before you could think about it any further “tale as old as time” starts to play over the sound system causing your face to heat up in embarrassment. You nod wordlessly again, answering his question. Suddenly he’s pulling you closer, one hand holding your own and the other sliding cautiously to the middle of your back.

For a moment, you are way too caught up with wondering how you’d ended up in such a situation to actually enjoy the way Bakugo starts to gently sway you back and forth to the music. A quick squeeze to your combined hands forces you back to the present and you look up at him nervously. “There you are, princess,” he lets out a short laugh. “I was starting to get worried for a second.”

“P-princess?” You stutter out the nickname. Bakugo’s confidence slips for a second and he averts his eyes, the pink on his cheeks becoming more pronounced.

“Well… it fits the situation, doesn’t it?” he mumbles before glancing up. “We’re royalty now.” Some of the tension leaves your body at his predictable behavior and you let out a small laugh.

“Only for tonight,” You point out, your lips forming a sad smile as you both continue to move across the floor to the music.

“It… uh… it doesn’t have to be,” he blurts out, his eyes continuing to look down.

“What do you mean?” your question comes out sounding breathless and the intensity of his gaze when it meets yours makes your stomach do a flip.

“I mean, this is kind of how I originally pictured prom to go before all those idiots suggested coming as a group.” He was still mumbling a bit but you heard every word.

“You were going to ask me to be your date?” You ask, your voice laced with shock and disbelief. He swallows thickly and then nods his head. The simple gesture fills your heart with happiness and you lean closer into him and tuck your head into his chest. All too soon, the song comes to an end and you’re forced to pull away. You don’t get too far before Bakugo is tugging you back and pressing a warm kiss to your cheek.

“If it’s all right with you,” he says softly while lifting up your hand in his, “I’d like to hold onto this for a little while.” You smile happily and lean forward to return his kiss.

“Bakugo, you can hold onto it for as long as you like,” you tell him honestly. His eyes light up at your words and he looks very much like the prince you had always imagined him to be.

After a moment, a new song began to play and the dance floor filled up with students again. You and Bakugo go back up to the platform to sit in your designated thrones while all your friends crowd around the two of you, congratulating and teasing you both. Surrounded by your closest friends with Bakugo’s hand clutched firmly in your own, you couldn’t imagine a more perfect ending to your prom night fairytale.

[9worldstales]

In reply to this post @woodelf68 said:

The jr. novel having Thor say that Loki stole the throne twice is ridiculous. He was lawfully given the throne when Odin was Sleeping and Thor banished, as he was next in line of the succession. And he offered the throne to Thor in TDW and Thor refused it! What was he going to do, abandon Asgard? Loki was the one who stepped up and took on the burden of rule, and yet got none of the credit. And Thor was the ‘savage, chaotic, lawless’ one when he stormed Jotunheim, breaking the peace treaty and gleefully slaughtering Frost Giants. The only time that description fit Loki was after he’d been tortured and was under the influence of the Mind Stone.

My apologies if I reply to you in a separate post but this got too long for the comments...

I’ll try to keep this as impartial and objective as I can, please, everyone, forgive me if I fail.

For start, oh yes, you’re absolutely right, as I said the whole bit of the junior novel contains canon mistakes in regard to both Thor and Loki.

Going in order:

Thor never demanded the throne, the throne was ALWAYS meant to be given to him by Odin, nor he refused it when Asgard needed him the most. He refused it when Asgard just won the war against the Dark Elves and, after Thor refused it, Asgard went through 4 years of peace. Things got worse only because Hela came back after 4 years, something no one had an idea would happen except Odin.

As for Loki yeah, the first time in “Thor” he ABSOLUTELY didn’t steal the throne. He was also a heir to it and with Thor banished for something Thor did (I’ve a long meta digging into how it was Thor who caused his own banishment if someone is in doubt about it) he was the next in line and rightful heir to it. There was ABSOLUTELY no stealing of the throne in a cut scene we see Frigga herself telling so to a surprised Loki.

Loki: What hope is there for Thor? Frigga: There's always a purpose to everything your father does. Thor may yet find a way home. Loki looks troubled by the revelation. He rises, heads for the exit, when they hear the clatter of ARMORED FOOTSTEPS hurriedly approaching. THE EINHERJAR GUARD Enter the room, block his way out. Loki tenses, prepared for the worst, but the guards just stand before them. Loki is baffled. Frigga: (cont’d) Thor is banished. The line of succession falls to you. Until he awakens, Asgard is yours.

And it’s worth to mention Thor accepted Loki as the one inheriting the throne. When Loki tells him the burden of the throne has fallen on him, Thor doesn’t say ‘no, nope, the throne is mine’. He just asks if, since his brother is now in charge HE CAN COME HOME. He doesn’t ask for the throne he just wants to come home. And when Loki tells him nope, Thor doesn’t accuse him of stealing the throne either, he accepts it.

It’s also worth to remember Loki had no idea they would pass the throne to him when Odin fell into Odinsleep. As it apparently happened before, likely Frigga took regency in those moments and Loki had no idea Odin would fall into Odinsleep back then anyway. There was no plotting whatsoever for Loki to take the throne. The movie and the side-material make clear Loki never expected the throne to pass to him, when he let the Frost Giants in Asgard, he merely aimed to stall the coronation for a bit longer.

“Thor: The Dark World” is actually a bit more controversial. Loki has been sentenced by Odin to lifelong imprisonment. This implies he has lost the rights to the throne so he’s no more a legitimate heir to it (in the comic “Thor: The Dark World Prelude” n° 2 written by Yost (scriptwriter for “Thor: The Dark World Prelude” and Kyle) which was likely written prior to Joss Whedon writing the scene for the meeting between Loki and Odin in “Thor: The Dark World” whcih was later added into the movie, Odin even rejects him as a son, telling him the boy he knew is dead and what remains is a creature he doesn’t recognize and calls him ‘Loki Laufeyson’).

The moment Loki takes Odin’s place, he technically steals the throne.

Yes, he offers it to Thor, which implies he didn’t plan to keep it, but it wasn’t his to offer in the first place and although Odin always meant to make Thor the next king (and in the first ending of the movie it’s implied that’s what he would do as soon as Thor was back in good shape) he had no idea if he meant to make him the next king right then.

What’s more he doesn’t return it to Odin when Thor refuses it. So, since Loki wasn’t anymore a legitimate heir and the throne wasn’t his to take yes, in this case he stole it from Odin, not from Thor because Thor refused it.

Now yeah, I know Feige left open the possibility that Thor refused due to what Loki said to him in the guise of Odin…

Feige: That last scene needed to work for people watching the movie for the first time, who believed that it’s Odin talking to Thor, and then the surprise, but it also needs to work a second and third time. Why is Odin saying those things? Why is Loki saying those things to Thor? They’re very nice things, they’re very caring things, that he says to him. Is it partly because he loves his brother? I like to think so. Is it also because that’s what his brother needs… to leave? Perhaps. [“Kevin Feige: It was always the plan to have Loki have a redemptive death. It was always planned that he wouldn’t really be gone.”]

But this is the first exchange Thor and ‘Odin’ had in the movie after Thor returns:

Odin: You once said there would never be a wiser king than me. You were wrong. The Alignment has brought all the realms together. Every one of them saw you offer your life to save them. What can Asgard offer its new king in return? Thor: My life. Father, I cannot be king of Asgard. I will protect Asgard and all the realms with my last and every breath, but I cannot do so from that chair. Loki, for all his grave imbalance, understood rule as I know I never will. The brutality, the sacrifice... It changes you. I'd rather be a good man than a great king. Odin: Is this my son I hear, or the woman he loves? Thor: When you speak, do I never hear Mother's voice'? This is not for Jane, Father. She does not know what I came here to say. Now, forbid me to see her, or say she can rule at my side. It changes nothing.

Thor went there specifically to tell his father he didn’t want to be king and that he wouldn’t change his mind not even if Odin were to forbid him to see Jane or allow him to marry her.

So no, Loki’s words weren’t what Thor needed to leave, Thor didn’t need to be persuaded to leave. So maybe Feige should re-read the script before talking.

So yeah, Thor refused it on his own. Loki didn’t manipulate him into doing it.

(The script of this part is messed up though, because it starts with a reference to what Thor said to Odin at the end of “Thor”… and Loki back then wasn’t around to hear it so really, Feige isn’t the only one who should re-read their script but whatever, this was a bit they rushed to put together when they decided to toss away the original ending of the movie for this new one.)

But there’s more that’s wrong with that bit.

Thor says: “My point is that our self-centered conflict over Asgard has ruined our kingdom. We have been so focused on fighting for the top we’ve forgotten there’s a middle and a bottom.”

There was no self-centered conflict over Asgard that has ruined the kingdom. The kingdom wasn’t ruined, it was perfectly fine until Hela attacked and Hela’s attack is due to Odin and how he raised her and handled her when he couldn’t control her any longer, not due to Loki and Thor.

Also the real problem wasn’t a ‘self-centered conflict for the top’… more like Odin’s screwed up parenting.

So yeah, if the Junior novel is based on the old script there’s a lot of questionable material and not just in this scene. But let’s talk a bit about Eric Pearson, the guy who wrote the script.

As I said in another post about how people came to think Loki is a serial betrayal this guy never worked on a script with Thor and Loki previously and the most he did was to be involved in the “Marvel’s The Avengers Prelude: Fury’s Big Week” in which Thor and Loki have some cameo appearances.

To continue that’s what he says about working on the script:

Fun sells, especially in the Marvel Comic Universe. Did you have a hard time balancing how hilarious the film had to be with the high stakes it has going on? Pearson: I did, yeah. It was tricky. First of all, it took a couple of interactions with Taika before we got on the same page. He’s such a different guy with a different sense of humor [he says fondly]. After I pitched the scene that happens first in the movie I got a sense of his sense of humor and going forward that was really helpful. The first draft was really about nailing the structure and the character arcs, and having our skeleton. That was when I started working more closely with Taika to get his little comedic flourishes in there. Plus, on the day during shooting, he’s bound to do anything. Suddenly there will be a weird prop in the scene and you have to be like “Ok, there it is! We’re gonna move right along!” He knew what he was doing from the beginning. He was going to rob the bank and get away with a ton of comedy, so I was just trying to keep the story together for the most part. And keep the characters honest and true to the world and their respective journeys. [“A Talk With THOR: RAGNAROK’s Eric Pearson”]

The Junior novel has basically no humour. I would say the script used is, if not the very first one, something like the second… which is also hinted by how there’s no mention of Hela being Odin’s daughter.

Let’s talk about Hela. There’s been a certain spoiler going around about her lineage, and we’d love to hear how that came about. Pearson: The decision to make Hela Odin's banished daughter came really late into writing my first draft. We had discussed her backstory as someone from Asgard's past, the Goddess of Death being a weapon of war that Odin used to conquer the Nine Realms and build his empire, but as I was writing and getting closer to the end, knowing that a Thor-Hela face-off was imminent, I felt like we needed more. More connection between the two, more depth to their ideological conflict. And it was one of those late nights, probably 11 pm working at Marvel, and I expressed this concern to Brad Winderbaum (producer). I basically told him that I'd been thinking about it, and I thought that making Hela Thor's sister made the most sense for the story and had the most impact to a shared history. He agreed and told me, "Don't pitch it to anyone because it'll be more likely to get shot down. Just write it into the script and let everyone discover the connection the same way that Thor will." Ultimately it was the right move because, after I wrote the ending and retconned the earlier scenes to reflect the family relation, everybody who read it was surprised, and pleasantly so. [“A Talk With THOR: RAGNAROK’s Eric Pearson”]

And this guy clearly has no idea what the relationship between Thor and Loki was previously and not only because he needed Chris Hemsworth to point out he wasn’t handing them correctly (how Hemsworth’s input helped or worsened the matter is up to debate)…

Pearson: For introductions, working on Thor’s voice was really great just because Hemsworth is great with the script. He actually pulled me aside one morning to talk to me about the Thor and Loki scenes. He pointed out, correctly so, that what I had was retreading a bit of what had already happened in Thor, Thor: The Dark World and The Avengers. We needed to have their relationship exhibit the amount of awareness that it should have after the audience spent so much time with them on screen. So, the Thor and Loki stuff is also some of my favorite. [“A Talk With THOR: RAGNAROK’s Eric Pearson”]

But that’s how, after Hemsworth’s tips, he describes Loki and Thor’s situation:

As the villains in the cinematic universe go, Loki is far and away considered the best by fans. Now you’ve got to bring forward his humor a little more with Hela acting as the main antagonist. What was it like reconciling all the history that Thor and Loki have while there’s another big bad threatening their world? Pearson: We find Loki in a different headspace at the beginning of the movie. Since Thor: The Dark World he’s been ruling Asgard as Odin as he’s always wanted. He’s on sort of a villainous vacation while in a role that plays to his narcissism. So, he’s mostly off his world conquering villain agenda already at the beginning of the film. Plus, Thor and Loki have had so many interactions, and alliances, and betrayals. They’ve been each others’ nemeses for so long that even they’re a little exhausted by themselves. It’s almost like the fatigue of dealing with each other allows this terminator like force of Hela to just walk in. They’re divided so she conquers. [“A Talk With THOR: RAGNAROK’s Eric Pearson”]

Thor and Loki has been each others’ nemeses for so long?

They started having an argument in “Thor” that’s placed in 2011 and that lasted basically 1 day before Loki fell into the void. They saw each other again the following year in “The Avengers” and argued for what? 2 days? Then Loki gets jailed for a year and in “Thor: The Dark World” they’re on the same page, allied against Malekith! Thor believes Loki dead and discover he’s not in 2017, when “Thor: Ragnarok” takes place!

(Now, whoever is about to say they actually have a story of Loki trying to kill Thor and tries to mention this scene to me:

Valkyrie: He did try to kill me. Thor: Yes, me too. On many, many occasions. There was one time when we were children, he transformed himself into a snake, and he knows that I love snakes. So, I went to pick up the snake to admire it and he transformed back into himself and he was like, "Yeah, it's me!" And he stabbed me. We were eight at the time.

...can either accept the short explanation that this scene is a retcon of Thor and Loki's relation or read the long explanation with all the official sources that explains how this is a retcon as prior to “Thor: Ragnarok” the canon was that Thor and Loki were loving brothers until “Thor” happened. That movie is meant to be the start of their fighting, for crying out loud.)

They have a total of 3 days of actively being on each others’ throats. This exhausted them? Even if we consider the full year in which Thor was aware Loki was alive and jailed, we’re talking of people that lives for centuries and a jailed Loki can’t really be considered at Thor’s throat.

So no, if “Thor: Ragnarok” had followed the original script, it wouldn’t have been canon compliant all the same… but Marvel wasn’t interested in protecting canon from the get-go and let Waititi free to create ‘his own thing’…

Waititi: I was lucky enough they didn’t force me to acknowledge things- there were certain things in the film, like the play, which makes fun of the scene in The Dark World where Loki dies, but there’s a point to that play, sort of to recap what happened, but also to tell the audience, “This is not what you think it’s going to be, this film is not going to be a continuation of that. It’s its own thing, and what you think you expect from this film ends at this play. [“Empire Podcast Spoiler Special: Thor: Ragnarok with Taika Waititi”]

…so really, I doubt the pressured Pearson into keeping the old scripts into consideration when writing his own.

As for Thor… the guy in the first part of “Thor” was presented as someone who absolutely loved fighting for the sake of fighting, which, I think, would have made him thrilled to fight in Sakaar, hadn’t it been for the fact they wouldn’t have paid him proper respect.

However, credits when it’s due, the second part of “Thor” is all about him abandoning this mindset. There were cut scenes in Thor which even showed how Thor refused to start a fight over being called ‘princess’ by an earthling just to show he had grown up and wasn’t anymore someone who would jump at the first chance to have a fight. “Thor: The Dark World” is also about him trying to avoid involving Asgard in a fight. So in theory Thor has stopped being someone chaotic and savage by… 6 years.

(I’m trying to preted “Thor: Ragnarok - A New Story” which is a tale included in the Junior Novel at the hands of Steve Behling and that, among other things, depicted Thor as a warmongrel again, is not part of the canon.)

On the opposite side Loki has never been savage or chaotic, he’s elegant, well organized, plans forward and, unless he’s in a deep emotional storm, remains calm and controlled.

I would argue also he’s not lawless either as, although he has broken some laws, he doesn’t wish for a world with no rules. Even when in charge of Asgard he didn’t let it turn into nobody’s land but still organized and ruled it. So really, that improvisation was mostly out of nowhere.

“Thor: Ragnarok” merely decided to retcon Loki and Marvel allowed it because they wanted to kill him in “Avengers: Infinity war” without fans to make the same fuss they did in “Thor: The Dark World” that forced them to change the ending.

Not that they succeeded as fans rejected the “Avengers: Infinity war” death too, but whatever, that’s Marvel for you.

[lovenona]

LONG ask ahead, sorry T^T

*arrives in a hurry after 2-3 days* *slow, appreciative clap at the ted talk* sweetie, have you got any idea how much i adore hearing you ramble about the creation process??? seeing the whole love and dedication you hold for the odyssey makes my day! (and nooo, i'm totally not reading it again bc i want to have all of it in mind for tomorrow and bc it inspires me to no end hahaha what do you mean :) )

here comes yet another question: what kind of powers do you possess to write so beautifully. your writing literally punches me in the gut every single time, even the simplest of things!! it's hauntingly beautiful and i'm living for it!

(and another one) how did you find out how the odyssey was going to end?

also, it's rambling time because i've been thinking. (i do that sometimes.) each chapter title is a reference to a greek myth, and, in particular, odysseus' myth (no clue if i've written his name right, i've always knew him as "ulysse" in my mother tongue ^^;). and so my brain went: oooh nice, greek lore ^^ and then: yo wait. hold up. which brings me here: analysing the chapter titles. (bear with me please, and feel free to ignore my enthusiastic rambling/correct me if i'm wrong which i probs will)

so first, we have the prelude. david and calypso. while i'm sure david has his importance it's almost 1 am as i'm typing this so i'm going to focus on calypso. poor nymph is stuck in an island because of the will of gods for a reason i've forgotten. but here's the catch: while she cannot leave, others can come to her (good ol' odysseus for instance) until they leave her all alone again. and the cycle unfolds again and again. which brings us to a nice parallel with reader's situation at the beginnig. she, after all, is stuck on an island with no way out but stories. comes the dilf supreme toji aka an odysseus of sorts, until he leaves her. so she's alone again. calypso there illustrates a passive state of sorts. she cannot leave, or so she thinks: while she wants to, we don't see her try per se until sukuna comes in.

ah yes. sukuna’s arrival. chapter title: neptune’s hands. Neptune, god of the seas, all powerful, also known as Poseidon absolutely terrifying if provoked — which is something Odysseus did! well, man is smart enough not to do it to his face. but he did stab a cyclope, which happened to be neptune’s son. son who swore to a haughty Odysseus that he’d pay for it. in consequence: instead of going back to Ithaca without that much of trouble, Neptune goes: nope mate, and promptly sabotage his return (with a storm who leads his ship astray if my memory is correct). Neptune serves as a catalyst in here, to properly start the action. and it so happens to be sukuna’s role! he is, as well, the one who starts reader’s journey — well, odyssey in this case ;) — by making her this offer. plus, if we consider reader as being calypso, a nymph, and sukuna as being Neptune, a god, it shows their difference in power. sukuna is a fearsome curse, captain whose name is enough to strike fear in the cruellest pirate, who can and will kill reader should he get bored of her. reader is but a printer’s apprentice, so weak compared to him it hurts.

ah, yes. the narcissus pool aka siren gojo, aka me simping so hard for this man I might squirt with the mere mention of him. yes, siren gojo is that powerful, feel free to lure me in with them baby blues sweetie *blows him a kiss* hem. anyway. long story short, an oracle said: if narcissus sees his reflection, he’ll die. people prevent him from seeing himself. ofc man is so handsome it hurts and has women and men alike running after him, including a nymph named echo. he rejects her. hera is somehow involved in the mess and makes it so that he stumbles upon a river and sees himself. entranced by his beauty, he desperately tries to reach himself and stays near the river until he dies. this one is a bit trickier (especially considering I’m writing this as I go with no coherent preparation whatsoever but damn if I’m not having fun). but. *proceeds to read it again* *sighs in ‘why the hell ain’t siren!gojo real pls sir take me’* anyway. it’s never mentioned in narcissus’ myth, but I’m pretty sure he was tempted to look at himself. at least once, considering he could wonder why on earth all those people kept falling for his looks. (or he could be pretty dumb. let’s say he isn’t) so he’s tempted by his own reflection. just like reader’s tempted to follow segsy siren gojo. he doesn’t up until hera is involved and ends up seeing his reflection. he falls. not literally, but in love — with his own self. here it’s different (and the reason why i’m strugglingTM to gather coherent thoughts). gojo is the very embodiment of this temptation — so he acts as narcissus’ reflection here. he’s the one seducing reader, the one luring her until she falls in the waters, just like narcissus did. she didn’t die though, unlike him. (thank you sukuna. I guess. yes I would’ve given my life for gojo to consume me in both ways and??) now, this is very simp-tainted (sorry bout that ^^;) and the thing I’ve noticed is this: narcissus isn’t a character in the og odyssey. could it be bc to my absolute despair, gojo’s not as much of an important character as sukuna and toji? only you know!

(the hades, psyche analysis comes in tomorrow *looks @ time* *sees it's 1 AM* well, later on! have a lovely night/day!)

- the LRE (who's very happy tumblr allowed her to do paragraph breaks/to have a pirate history book recommandation! thanks about that one btw, it'll come in handy for a ff of mine (yeah it involves pirate gojo))

wait this is so precious n thoughtful oh my gosh 😭 thoughts n vibes under the cut :’) 

first of all THANK U!!!??? ur making me blush out here omg my hEART 😭 

as for ur first question, ur SO SWEET n IM LOSING IT bye i genuinely don’t know i just scream and throw a bunch of commas and metaphors everywhere and somehow things happen 💀 i read a lot (english major vibes) and it’s very helpful because i tend to imitate writers/phrases/books that inspire me while i'm figuring out how i want to write !! 

secondly: how did i figure out the ending of the odyssey??

answer: i think i just stumbled across this one 😭 i was brainstorming w my bestie (@/suedebunn) n she originally suggested a different version of the ending that i was like “oh wait” and then i played with it for awhile until i arrived at the version i have now ! i want to tell u more about how i arrived from point A to point B and what the process was but i will withhold because i am not giving anything away >:)

onto ur TITLE ANALYSIS!! this is SPECTACULAR! ur pretty much on the nose for all of them god damn i don’t have much to add :’) i’ll give u some of my takes tho!!

david and calypso – ur absolutely on the nose for the calypso aspect; david’s just a passing nod to the pirates of the caribbean portrayal of davy jones and the doomed relationship between him and calypso (mirroring the doomed relationship between toji and reader since he leaves them) 

neptune’s hands – yes! yeah! sexy! pirate sukuna is being compared to a sea god!! also a minor teaser but sukuna’s hands are important symbolically ;-) 

narcissus pool – ur brain is so big here god damn 🤲 narcissus is more of a loose reference to the idea of pride/ temptation and also hollowness/mirages (the emptiness of a reflection versus the tangibility of the real thing) so it’s not immediately a reference to the odyssey itself or even the myth (i'm taking creative liberties bye homer) but probably the best entity to use when describing gojo – the dichotomy between pride/emptiness is a lot more apparent in part 5 

gosh thank u sm for this!! excited to see what u have next!!!!!!

[thiswasinevitableid]

70 for sternclay, nsfw please :)

70: you’re planning my best friend’s wedding which we find out the day after you drunkenly hit on me at a bar and I reject you.

“God I hope this guy isn’t a jerk.” Dani plays with her hair as Aubrey fidgets with her phone.

“Hey, if he is, you’ve got me as back-up.” Barclay pats her shoulder reassuringly, “plus, like, you two are the brides. You’re the bosses of the wedding.”

“If we really were the bosses, we wouldn’t be working with a wedding planner in the first place.” Aubrey grumbles. 

There’s a knock on the door and Barclay stands, “I’ll get it, you two finish mentally bracing yourselves.”

He opens the door to find a tall, dark haired man with bright blues and a well-cut suit staring at him. Their expressions morph to shock and recognition at the same instant.

“Hi, hic, big guy, what’s your name?” The man’s blue eyes are noticeable even in the dim light of the bar. 

“Barclay.” He turns on his stool, giving the man a once over that he can’t help but notice. 

“You, hic, here, hic, with anyone?”

“Nope.”

“Want to, hic, be?” 

The man is clearly built under his v-neck t-shirt, and Barclay would dearly love to get a closer look at his ass. Trouble is, his ass is having a hard time staying balanced in that chair. 

“Sorry, blue eyes, not tonight.”

The man slinks away before Barclay can even ask if he wants him to call him a ride. 

“I’m looking for Aubrey Little’s residence?”

“You found it. She and Dani are in here.” He ushers blue-eyes inside, doesn’t envy him the look of suspicion he gets from both women. 

“Good afternoon, Ms. Little and Ms. Coulice, I’m Joseph Stern, and I’m here to help your wedding go off without a hitch.”

“Great. Let’s get this over with. Honey, can you go get the notes AH Dr. Harris Bonkers put that down!” Aubrey dives off the chair, grabbing a phone charger from the jaws of the ten pound white rabbit. 

As one bride opens up her laptop and the other re-cages a disgruntled small mammal, Stern turns to him.

“And, um, how do you know the brides to be?”

“Dani’s been my best friend since middle school, so I’m her man of honor and helping with the wedding planning.”

“I see. Oh, thank you Ms. Coulice.”

“Dani is fine.” Dani returns to her spot in the loveseat while Stern sits down in a nearby chair with her laptop. He reads for several moments without comment, Aubrey trading worried looks wh Barclay and Dani as he does. 

“Are these the specific venues you have in mind, or just examples of the type of location you’d like?”

“Mostly examples.” 

“Got it. Would you mind sending me these files? That way I can have them as reference when I’m looking into possible venues.”

“You’re not gonna, like, try to talk us into the Yacht Club or something?”

Stern looks at Aubrey with a warm, polite smile, “Ms. Little--Aubrey--, your father may have retained me, but my job is to make the wedding as close to what you want as possible. I’m not here to undermine you.”

“O-kay” Aubrey still sounds wary, but she and Dani relax as Stern goes over his planning approach with them and works out a tentative schedule of meetings. When he’s done, Barclay offers to walk him to the door. 

Just as he steps outside, he turns, “I, um, I would appreciate it if you didn’t mention our exchange last night to either of them. Or to Mr. Little. It’s not a habit of mine, I just had a bit too much, um, liquid courage.”

“You got it. Kinda feeling like I dodged a bullet myself.”

“Oh?” A dark eyebrow arches playfully. 

“Rather not sleep with the enemy.”

“Wh-did you miss the part where I said I was here to help them?” 

“Nope, but you and I both know it’s a lie. You’re here because Aubrey’s dad has a bug up his butt about this wedding causing a scandal or not being fancy enough or some bullshit, so he called you in to make sure it stays bland.” He sighs, “Look, Mr. Stern, I’m sure you’re a nice guy, but Dani is like a sister and Aubrey is one of my best friends; I’m here to make sure the wedding is actually what they want.”

Stern pinches the bridge of his nose, “is there anything I can to convince you I’m not trying to make them miserable?”

“Yeah. Quit.”

“Not a chance.” Is the immediate reply. 

“Well, there’s your answer then.” With that, he shuts the door. There’s a frustrated huff on the other side, and then footsteps fading away.

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

Stern sighs, checks his appearance in the front window as he waits for Dani or Aubrey to open the door. He’s been working with them two weeks now, and while both women (and Dr Harris Bonkers) have warmed up to him some, Barclay remains polite but distant the times they’ve crossed paths. Lord almighty Stern can’t believe he almost slept with him. 

Yes, the man looks like his wet dreams made flesh and yes, Stern would like to ride him like a show-horse, but what a nightmare it would have made this whole assignment. Even if Barclay’s reasons insult him, he’s glad they’ve settled on keeping their distance.

Maybe this more casual look will help the other man see he’s not some stuffed suit out to ruin his friend’s wedding.

“Oh, you’re early.” Barclay opens the door with his usual pleasant but cool expression.

“No, I’m not. It’s three.” 

“Wait, shit really?” Barclay pulls out his phone as they walk inside, “damn, I must’ve lost track of time when I was cooking. Oh. Uh.” He looks at Stern, apologetic, “and I have a text from Aubrey saying she and Dani had a change of plans and won’t be here until seven.”

“That’s not great, but it’s workable. I can leave and come back.”

“Don’t you live kinda far--uh, huh, she says for us to just test out the menu together and leave her and Dani some for dinner.”

“I guess we can manage tha--why are there ingredients and pots everywhere?”

“Because...I’m…Cooking?” Barclay glances sideways at him. 

“What happened to the entire conversation about caterers? When did they change? What’s-”

“Hold on.” Barclay raises one hand, voice calm and deep, soothing over Stern’s rising worries like waves over hot skin, “think you’re mixed up; we’re trying out the food for the rehearsal dinner today. The one I’m cooking. Not the reception.”

“Oh thank the lord.” Stern slumps forward on the counter, “I thought I was about to have a whole day of calling disgruntled employees to tell them to nevermind about a quote.”

“Nope. Now have a seat, look like you’re gonna pass out on Dani’s floor. You want something to drink? We got water, beer, iced tea…”

“Water’s fine, thank you.” He tracks Barclay through the kitchen as he retrieves a glass from an upper cabinet, shirt riding up to show a patch of a dark, fuzzy belly that Stern instantly wants to feel pressed against him as it’s owner pins him to the nearest flat surface. 

Cooking seems to relax the other man enough that he actually chats with Stern, rather than keeping their conversation focused on the wedding. Stern learns he’s a personal chef and cookbook editor, though his original background was in baking. 

“Okay man, I gotta know” Barclay stirs something cardamom scented over the stove, “what’s with the shirt?”

“It’s from the radio station that first broadcast the story of the Michigan Dogman.”

“The what?”

“The Michigan Dogman, it’s a cryptid, um, nevermind” he curses himself for choosing casual clothes, “it’s niche and nerdy, you don’t want to hear about it.”

“Wrong, now you gotta tell me everything.” Barclay grins at him over his shoulder.

So he does, gradually at first in case Barclay regrets pushing this geekery button and needs to change the conversation, but the other man simply listens, really listens, as he cooks while Stern talks about his journey to the radio station and his talk with the DJ who accidentally started a legend. 

They keep talking as they eat, swapping travel stories and book recommendations, Barclay laughing when Stern shares some of the more ridiculous requests he’s gotten while working as a wedding planner. 

When Aubrey and Dani arrive home, they take one look at him and Barclay, stopped mid-anecdote and smiling at each other, and trade a surprised glance. 

All Stern can think is you and me both.

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

The planning goes more smoothly after that night, Barclay beginning to trust Stern more and more. Stern also learns that he trusts Barclay’s judgement , and the other man is invaluable in helping him narrow down options to present to the brides, both of whom are overall pleased with his work.

He’s particularly proud of his find for the wedding venue. The Madonna Inn is perfect, brightly colored and fancy but still just a bit kitschy, like the locations Dani originally showed him. Both brides were overjoyed, which is why all four of them came down for the weekend to make preparations and start scoping out vendors for the food and flowers.  Dani and Aubrey went back up to the city Sunday night, but he and Barclay are staying at the inn the rest of the week, Stern in hopes of having everything scheduled and coordinated and Barclay there in case he needs a second set of eyes (he’s working on a new cookbook and his clients are traveling, so taking the week down the coast is no trouble). 

Today has been a work day, but Stern is taking tomorrow off basically because no one has time to meet with him. So after a late afternoon spent lounging on the beach, the two of them go out for a leisurely dinner. On a whim, Stern lets Barclay select and order his meal for him. He doesn’t mean for it to be flirtatious at first, he just trusts Barclay’s culinary instincts and is tired of making decisions. But one look at Barclay’s face, his widening pupils and sudden blush, tell Stern all he needs to know. 

“You gonna be good and eat whatever I give you?” Barclay murmurs, so low he’s almost inaudible under the clank of silverware and hum of conversation. 

“Of course.” Stern puts on his sweetest smile, shores up his defenses against the self-doubt curling up his spine. He’s not fast enough, and so orders another cocktail. 

Halfway through the meal, he notices Barclay watching him, and another piece clicks into place; the cook keeps eyeing his lips and throat as he eats, often shifts in his chair if Stern makes a delighted noise after a bite. When dessert comes, the accidental sounds are replaced by deliberate ones and he luxuriates as he eats his tiramisu, licking the fork to be sure not a drop of cream is wasted. 

Barclay asks for the check, and two more slices of cake to-go, without ever taking his eyes off of Stern. He’s feeling confident, and a bit wobbly, as Barclay drives them back to the Inn, taking the larger man’s hand and pulling him towards one of the beds before he can even get the lights on.

A large, gentle hand on his shoulder, “no can do, blue eyes.”

“But I, hic, we, hic-” the world goes sideways as Baclay unlinks their hands. 

“Go get some sleep, Joe.”

He changes while Barclay’s in the bathroom, huddles under the covers and faces the window so the other man can’t see him burning top to bottom with shame. 

Things get worse in the morning; he’s awoken by a phone call saying the florist has an open slot to meet with him in an hour and so he throws on the nearest nice clothes and dashes out the door. That meeting is followed by a phone call from Mr. Little who is none to pleased with the location choice and Stern spends forty-five minutes convincing him that the Inn is perfectly tasteful and also it’s what the brides want and that counts for a great deal wouldn’t you agree?

His nerves are firing full-strength when he gets back to the room. Barclay, freshly showered and clothed, looks up at him from the bed where he’s thumbing through Cooks Illustrated, reading glasses perched on his nose. 

“Rough morning?”

“ Yes.”

He shuts the magazine “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“No.”

“Do you wanna talk about last night?”

“Also no.”

“Well, I do.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. You simply aren’t interested in me that way and I’ve made an ass of myself twice by misreading the situation.”

“You’re wrong. You’re my type, blue eyes-”

“Clearly not, since-”

“-When you’re sober.” Barclay sits all the way up, “which is why I wanna know why you only flirt with me when you’re so drunk neither of us can try anything.”

“Because...because approaching people like that makes me nervous. I’m already under enough stress as it, running block for Aubrey and Dani against Mr. Little without getting myself fired, and the thought of trying to flirt, it’s, everything starts going wrong, it will all go wrong and-” the panic is back, his composure leaving him and taking whatever respect Barclay had for him with it. 

“Joe, breathe.”

“Breathing is not the issue here!” 

Barclay stands, face calm, and walks over to him. Instead of stepping in front of him, he circles behind, and a hand rests at the base of Stern’s neck.

“Let’s try that again. Inhale, blue eyes, a nice long one.” 

Stern complies, Barclay’s voice carrying no threats but leaving no room for protest. 

“Breathe out, count to four while you do.”

Stern exhales, nerves diverting energy from panic to desire, Barclays fingers on his skin and dominant baritone in his ear. 

“Good boy. Do it again.”

Stern takes another deep breath, then another, over and over as Barclay leads him to the bed and slips off his jacket, followed by his shoes and socks. 

“That’s it Joe, you’re doing so good.” He sits beside him on the bed, stroking his hair and Stern follows his touch, “what do you need? What helps when this happens?”

“Something to, to focus on, until I calm down. Just not work related or too complicated.”

“Hmmm” a thumb brushes over his lips, then down his chin, “I got a few things in mind, but they’re pretty damn dirty. Should we try something else?”

“No, please, I, I want that, want, want to be good for you like that.”

“Okay blue eyes, we can do that. You gotta promise me you’ll say ‘stop’ if something doesn’t feel good, okay?”

He nods, heart shaking his ribs, and Barclay leans and kisses him once, tenderly, before laying back on the bed, hands resting beneath his head.

“Get my dick out, yeah, there we go, good boy, I want you to use your mouth, can you, OH, ohhhhyeah.” His cock bumps Stern’s cheek as his hips tilt, a response to Stern lapping teasingly at the base. He drags his tongue all the way up the shaft, takes the head into his mouth, doing his damndest to lock eyes with Barclay the whole time. 

“Babe, fuck, that’s it, oh fuck you look good like that, knew you’d look good with my dick in your mouth, been thinking about it since that first night.”

Stern whimpers, hungry for more and pushes his head down. Having Barclay’s cock in his mouth forces him to keep his breathing measured, and so he savors it, senses filling with salt and skin and lingering hints of soap. 

“That’s it babe, nice and slow, we got all day. Long as I get to cum sometime before noon I’m happy.”

Stern rolls his tongue over the tip as he pulls off, switches to kisses and licks as he slowly jerks him off. Occasionally he skates up, nudging Barclay’s shirt with his nose--his hands uninterested in leaving his cock--so he can leave deep, longing kisses across his stomach and hips. Every movement elicits a groan or a sigh, every kiss and suck earns him praise. It’s only when his hands are slick with pre-cum and his own saliva that Barclay bucks his hips more intently, growling when Stern takes him back into his mouth. 

“Shit you’re good at this, not, fuck, not surprised, look like you would be, like all you need is for me to take care of you and you’ll open that fucking perfect mouth whenever I ask FUCK, oh you like that, don’t you babe? Fuck, shit, like the idea of taking what I give you?”

He whines, rubbing his thighs together as Barclay’s cock bumps the back of his mouth.

“You got three seconds to decide how you wanna take this.”

Stern locks eyes with him again, and dips down the barest bit more. Barclay’s hands tangle in his hair as he groans “good boy” and cums, bitter and warm, down Stern’s throat.

His hands flop onto the bed, allowing Stern to sit up. 

“Did...was I good?”

“So fucking good.” Barclay thwacks a hand dramatically onto his forehead to wipe it, “do you want to keep going? Or do you want to stop?”

“I want” Stern presses his hand against his cock, as if this will help rather than make him wetter, “please, can we keep going?”

“Yeah” Barclay sits up, kisses each cheek, “pants and underwear off, leave the shirt and tie.”

By the time Stern is appropriately undressed, Barclay is back on the bed with the to-go box and  a plastic fork. He reclines on the pillows, box on his upper chest, “come straddle me, knees about here” he pats the bed near his waist. Stern scoots up into position, Barclay licking his lips as he does. 

“Good boy. Now, you’re gonna show me how you get off, so I can know just what to do tonight to make you cry into the mattress.”

“Fuck.” Stern gasps, fingers already rapidly stroking his dick.

“Mmmm, look at how slick you are. Think that deserves a reward.” He spears a piece of cake, “open.”

Stern opens his mouth, leaning forward so Barclay can more easily feed him.

“You do like being spoiled. I can work with that.” Barclay rumbles, pleased, when Sterns fingers work frantically after a second bite. 

“Please, Barclay, I want to kiss you, please say I can kiss you.”

“Not until you finish.” 

“The, the cake or myself.”

“Yourself, blue eyes.”

He’s panting now, sweat soaking through his shirt, and slowing his hand and hips to take the bites Barclay offers. When he cums it doubles him over, and as he’s bracing his hands on the headboard, trying not to collapse on his partner, Barclay moves everything aside and cups his face, gently guiding him down to kiss him. They stay like that as Stern slowly explores his mouth, tastes leftover cake and laughs when a coppery beard scratches his neck. And when he begins to drop, breath shallow and fingers shaking, Barclay rolls them onto their sides, holds him close. Tells him over and over that he’s proud of him, that he did so well, that he’s right here and he’ll take care of him, give him whatever he wants. 

“Honestly, breakfast sounds better than anything else right now.” Stern mumbles against his chest. 

“I’ll order us some. You still need me to dom you, or are you ready to start calling the shots again?”

“I don’t call all the shots.” 

“Just most of ‘em. Don’t tell anyone, but I kinda like that about you. You’re good at what you do.” Barclay kisses his forehead. 

“I...I think I’d like to rinse off while you order breakfast.”

Barclay offers one more kiss before they roll out of bed, has Stern’s robe waiting for him when he gets out of the shower and brings him the room service tray as soon as it’s delivered. They lounge together on Stern’s bed, watching the Inn come to life as the afternoon draws near. From here, they can even see the spot where their friends will get married.

“The ceremony is gonna be perfect.”

“As perfect as I can manage, yes.”

“You got a date for it yet?”

“No.” 

“You want one?” Barclay smiles at him, the sunlight making him look as if he stepped out of a daydream and into Stern’s bed. 

“Depends; would that date be you?”

“Yep.” Barclay kisses his shoulder.

“Well then,” Stern grins, tips his chin up for a coffee-flavored kiss, “there’s your answer.’

[zestycompress]

Ultimate Duo! Ch. 1

ok so BASICALLY... giorno & kars being homies and it’s a fic

here’s the ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25085071/chapters/60765478

For a few minutes, Kars didn’t realize he was back on some solid ground. He believed he was going to spend the rest of his immortal life in the cold dark emptiness of space. That caused him to stop thinking, why would he want to be aware of nothing? Kars was frozen, his muscles refused to budge no matter how much of his strength he tried using. It was all useless.

Eventually, his body returned to its normal state. Kars stretched his limbs, listening to the satisfying cracks and sighing. His mind was still a bit foggy, but he was able to remember some names and moments in his life. There were a few painful memories like losing his allies Esidisi and Wamuu and losing to that damn Joseph Joestar. Then there were better ones like becoming the ultimate lifeform. (Which he still is…)

Everything else was simply a blur, which annoyed him greatly, but that wasn’t something he was going to concern himself with. He was back on Earth and the first thing he was going to do is get revenge. Unfortunately, his legs were wobbly when he stood. They gave out and let him fall back onto the ground.

Kars let out a low growl before attempting again. He didn’t fall this time, but his legs still weren’t steady.

“Excuse me, signore.”

The voice startled him, almost making him fall back onto his knees. Turning around, a blond human was staring at him. He looked pretty young too despite his serious expression.

He recognized the language he spoke. It was Italian, wasn’t it?

“What do you want?” Kars hissed, giving the boy an intimidating scowl.

“Well, I saw you had a few difficulties standing and I just wanted to know if-”

“You wanted to know what?”

The teenager blinked, he was caught off guard. After clearing his throat, he began talking again. “I just wanted to know if you were alright, signore, that is all.”

Kars let out what seemed to be an annoyed sigh. He spent a few seconds in silence before speaking again. “Tell me, what is your name, human?”

“I am Giorno Giovanna, and you signore?”

“...Kars.”

Giorno hummed, examining the Pillar Man’s horns right above his forehead and the bizarre lack of clothes. He cocked an eyebrow, curiously tilting his head.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking this, signore Kars,” he pointed at him. “But are you even human?”

He only laughed in response.

~~~

It felt weird letting a stranger live with you, especially when you have such a small room. Giorno could tell Kars was judging everything in his room, probably saying “damn, you live like this?” in his head. He felt a bit nervous. He picked up books and flipped through the pages. It didn’t seem like he stopped to read anything written. Most of the books Giorno owned were about botany or zoology. When there was a picture, Kars spent a few more seconds longer on the page, then moved on.

Kars was hard for Giorno to read, he revealed little to no emotion.

The Pillar Man placed the books back to their original spots, then continued to explore the rest of Giorno’s room. As he did so, the young boy awkwardly stood near the doorway.

“I don’t have a place for you to sleep, but I could let you have my bed,” Kars immediately rejected his offer.

“Don’t bother, I don’t need sleep like you.”

...either he was really dedicated to pretending he’s not a human or he truly isn’t one. Honestly, he couldn’t tell. Giorno was never given an answer.

The teen glanced around, trying to figure out what to do next.

“Would you like me to get clothes for you? No offence, but I think you need some,” Giorno said.

“Go ahead, do whatever. But if you bring me something ridiculous, I’ll slice your head off.” Kars responded with a glare.

Giorno didn’t doubt it one bit.

When he went out, he made sure to pickpocket from a few strangers, hoping his new roommate didn’t have expensive tastes. He didn’t plan to buy much anyway, just a shirt and pants, maybe another thing if it matches the outfit. Giorno’s definitely not going to buy any undergarments for Kars, the man can do it himself. He bought a white collared shirt and black pants, Giorno may or may not have stolen some other clothes as well. As he walked back with some newly purchased (and stolen) goods, he spotted a slightly worn novel. When Giorno moved closer, he noticed it was something about history. Should he bring it back to Kars? After a moment of pondering, he snatched the book and left.

If the stranger liked the book, they wouldn’t have left it out like that.

~~~

“I’m back.”

Kars glanced at him while Giorno stared back at him with wide eyes.

His hand was gone, instead replaced with a plant. Not just any plant of course, but the pluchea glutinosa. From what he’s read, it was presumed to be extinct since the 19th century.

Yet, here it was, right in front of him.

“Are you a Stand user?” Giorno practically blurted out, summoning Gold Experience right after he asked.

“A Stand user? I don’t know what that is.” Kars’s gaze turned to the book. He flipped the page and the plant turned into a strange green goo, then became a different plant.

Was this not the power of a Stand? Or is Kars playing dumb?

“MUDAAA!” Gold Experience dashed forward, a fist inches away from colliding with the Pillar Man’s skull.

He didn’t even flinch.

Of course, the Stand didn’t even hit him, though it was quite close to doing so. Kars lifted his head up, turning his head to Gold Experience. He frowned and looked around with a puzzled expression on his face.

“Giorno,” He said. “Do you feel that?”

Curious, the teen moved forward and replied. “Feel what, signore Kars?”

“There’s a presence here,” Immediately, he stood up. “I can feel like, but there’s only us here.”

Kars searched around in Giorno’s room, opening his closet and checking underneath his bed only to find nothing. Giorno stared at Gold Experience and allowed the Stand to move closer to him.

He wasn’t a Stand user, but he could feel the energy of a Stand?

“Signore Kars, I think that presence your feeling is Gold Experience.”

His little exploration came to a halt as he turned to Giorno with a bewildered expression. It only remained there for a second before it changed, perhaps to rage.

“What the hell is Gold Experience? Are they human like you?” Kars yanked on Giorno’s collar, his face uncomfortably close to the teen’s. It felt like his ruby red eyes were burning holes through him. “No, that can’t be. It’s something else, isn’t it? You know, don’t you? Giorno Giovanna, if you don’t tell me right now-”

“It’s my Stand!”

Slowly (or probably hesitantly) Kars loosened his grip on Giorno. His gaze stayed on him, but it was less intense, but filled with suspicion.

“Explain it to me.”

~~~

Giorno explained all that he knew about his Stand and how only he was able to see it. Kars appeared to be fascinated with the new information. It was something that was worth caring about, but he wanted to know more. It disappoints him that Giorno’s knowledge was limited. He considered doing experiments on him, but he was the only Stand user he knows. It would be a shame to have something unfortunate cuts his life short.

Plus, it would be a waste as well.

He has lived for millennia and has never seen such a phenomenon. Maybe the hunt for the Red Stone of Aja prevented him from learning about peculiar things such as Stands. Now that he has achieved his goal of being the ultimate life form, Kars could explore other things in the human world. His expectations for humans are usually pretty low, so he’s not going to be surprised when they disappoint him.

A few hours had passed and it was that time when humans needed their rest. It took awhile for Giorno to fall asleep, he felt Kars’s eyes on him as he turned to get in a more comfortable position. It didn’t exactly help when the Pillar Man got up and walked around or tinkered with the pens and pencils he had on his desk. Occasionally, he would even hear drawers being open or his chair lightly scraping against the wooden floor. Giorno found it annoying, but didn’t bother with telling Kars to be quiet or stop doing whatever.

“Signore Kars.”

“Hmm?”

“I want to become a Gang-Star.”

“...Don’t let anybody get in your way.”

After the little chat, Giorno didn’t hear anything else. Seems like he managed to get some peace and quiet. Soon, he was fast asleep. Kars glanced up at the sleeping boy, then turned to the clothes he bought. He should try them on later.

~~~

When Giorno woke up, he noticed Kars on the floor with the random book he took. The Pillar Man didn’t bother giving him a “good morning”, he was too focused on the old novel.

“Buongiorno, signore Kars.”

In return, he just got a grunt.

...Good enough.

Giorno got ready for the day, putting on his clothes, brushing his hair, making the little curls, all that stuff. Finally, he tied his hair into a braid and headed out the door.

“Where are you going?”

The blond teen paused. “...Out?”

“With anybody? Or are you going alone?”

“I’m leaving by myself, why?” Giorno turned to face Kars, who had his book closed and right next to him on the ground.

Silence.

Kars picked up the book, opening to the exact page he left on. “If you meet any more Stand users, bring them to me.”

...Alright?

The way he speaks annoys Giorno, it's like this man has never been told no, or he’s used to giving commands to people below him. He turned back to the door and twisted the doorknob.

“By the way…”

Good grief, what did he want now?

“...Where are you going?”

“The airport, to scam tourists.”

“Ah.”

Giorno quickly left without another word.

“...What the hell is an airport?”

[lonelyandlovelorn]

Starving

A/N: Hey, I just want to mention that while I am familiar with the feeling of being touch starved, I am by no means an expert in touch starvation. Marked as gender neutral, let me know if you think it isn’t.

Genre: hurt/comfort, fluff

Warning: nah

Word count: 2600

Pairing: Dean Winchester x touch starved reader

Summary: The internet called it touch starvation or skin hunger, but you had learned to live with it. 

Masterlist

You grew up hunting. Travelling constantly and leaving people behind left you a little lacking in the friend department, and without any siblings to help, you were familiar with loneliness. You knew your parents loved you, but like most hunters, they weren’t exactly affectionate. You gave up trying to make friends when you stopped somewhere by the time you were 13, realizing the futility. The only people you saw consistently growing up were the Winchester brothers. They were a little older than you, but they were nice enough when your families saw each other in passing. You didn’t really think you could count them in the friend category, though. 

Your parents died hunting, the way they expected. It hurt, but you were an adult when their times came, and while you grieved, you knew that had been inevitable. After a few days of moping, you pulled yourself up and kept hunting on your own. Sometimes you thought about your family, the hunting friends they had had when you were younger, but you never reached out to any of them. You were on your own for years. 

You were on a hunt, doing some digging into a missing person when you ran into them. You truly didn’t recognize them at first, seeing as they had grown to be giants, and the last time you had seen either, they were just getting out of the worst of their teen years. Now, they were two inhumanly attractive men, but both seemed to realize who you were as they slid into a booth with you. You were looking over some papers on the table when you felt it rattle. You looked up at them questioningly, before one of them said your name. That just confused you further as you quirked an eyebrow. The one with longer hair smiled at you. 

“You probably don’t remember us, it’s been about 20 years since we last saw you, but we heard another hunter was working the case.” Something about his voice and his features finally clicked for you as your eyes widened.

“Sam?” His smile got bigger before your eyes turned to his brother. “Dean?” 

“Hey Y/N,” Dean greeted, sending a smile your way. Your inner 13 year old was admittedly swooning, knowing the boy she had followed around like a lovesick puppy had grown into such a handsome man. You were surprised, to say the least, but made quick work of catching up with them. Of course, you weren’t a complete hermit. You knew some of the things they had done (and fixed). You all ordered food and spent the rest of the evening talking, sometimes about your lives, sometimes about the case. 

You worked it together, thrilled to know that someone would have your back if things went awry. When all was said and done, as you were mustering up the strength to say goodbye to the only people you had ever gotten to make connections with, they invited you for a drink in the bunker, since it was only about 45 minutes away. You accepted their offer, following Dean as he drove. When you joined them inside, you all plopped down in chairs, exhaustion seeping into you as you enjoyed the calm of the bunker. 

After a few drinks, they asked where you were headed back to. You shrugged and simply said, “Wherever the next case takes me.” Hearing that, they offered you a place to stay for the night. You insisted that you didn’t want to be a bother. 

“Y/N, this place has like 20 rooms in it, I promise you wouldn’t be imposing.” Dean flashed another charming smile in your direction and you couldn’t find it in you to refuse. A bed that wasn’t in some gross motel room sounded like heaven at that moment, so after a moment of hesitation, you conceded. 

You spent that night there. And then, with some persuading, the next night there. Then you were joining them on hunts. They you had your own room. And then you realized that you were living with the Winchester brothers, and you couldn’t find anything wrong with that. 

Now, you had learned sometime in early adulthood that you just didn’t really like being touched. You knew for some hunters, one night stands were a great way to relieve stress. Being a virginal 20-something, you went out to try it out after a rough hunt. You were naïve as to how it normally worked, but you figured it couldn’t be that hard. You found an attractive guy, flirted a little, and decided he would do. You were fully set on that decision until he touched your arm lightly. Your body jerked away, and you were confused as to why. The man, seemingly rejected, politely said goodbye and left you alone. 

Later that night, you tried googling what was wrong with you, only to find that the most likely thing was being touch starved. Great. On the plus side, no matter how much you wanted to touched, there was really no one around to touch you, so you didn’t have to worry about flinching away from anyone. 

This was a secret you kept to yourself. It didn’t seem like an important detail for anyone but you to know, as you had long since accepted the idea of dying with no one to call your own, given the way it usually went in this life. 

When you moved into the bunker, you didn’t think about it much. You had grown accustomed to ensuring there was space between you and anyone else. The first time it was noticed, Sam brushed your shoulder as you busied yourself in the kitchen, completely unaware of his presence. On reflex, your body jerked away from him as you turned to look at him. He held his hands up and left a distance between you. “Sorry, Y/N, I was just trying to get your attention.” He genuinely looked apologetic, and you didn’t know how to explain that it wasn’t his fault. 

After wracking your brain for an explanation, you simply stated, “I just don’t really like being touched.” He nodded, considerate enough not to say anything else before moving on to what he had originally tapped you for. 

Sam was careful to call for your attention when he needed, and you were incredibly grateful that he respected your boundaries without question. 

As time went on, you grew closer to the brothers. You and Sam were good friends, and after meeting Cas, you were fast friends as well. You weren’t sure what to call your relationship with Dean. You were close, like you were with Sam or Cas, but there was more to it. Neither of you had acted on anything, but you were sure he had flirted with you a few times. However, knowing your strange aversion to physical contact, you didn’t try pushing any further on that front. 

You were watching a movie with the boys. You didn’t even care enough to know which one, you just knew you were tired, and Dean was warm next to you. You managed to share a blanket with him without touching him, curling up against the back of the couch, and quickly drifting off. You woke up a few hours later, still on the couch. Some part of your brain freaked out at the feeling of a warm body next to you, skin touching yours. The tired part of your brain however, calmed that by pointing out that you knew exactly whose warm body it was. Lulled back into sleep by the comforting sensation of a coziness you hadn’t felt in years, your eyes shut once again.

When you woke up the next morning to find Dean still soundly asleep next to you, the alert part of your brain warned you that you should be freaking out. The thing was, you weren’t freaking out at all. In fact, even though you were fully conscious this time, some part of you wanted to snuggle back into him. You shook your head of that thought, slowly extricating yourself from Dean so as not to wake him. He didn’t seem to notice, shoving his face into the pillow you had been using. You smiled softly down at him before making your way to your room, where you got ready for the day. As you wandered into the kitchen, you nearly bumped directly into Sam. He greeted you before sending a curious glance your way. You looked back at him before asking why he was looking at you like that. 

“I just- you said you didn’t like touch a while back. I was just wondering about how your sleeping arrangement affected you.” He didn’t sound hurt or judgmental, he actually sounded a little concerned, like he was worried that his brother had made you uncomfortable. You sent him a small smile before it dropped from your face to be replaced with confusion.

“I don’t usually like to be touched. But when I woke up… I couldn’t find it in myself to mind.”  A slightly wistful expression crossed your face before your eyebrows scrunched up again and you looked back at Sam. “I’m as confused as you are, but don’t worry about it.” He gave you a hesitant nod before he continued on his way. You hummed softly to yourself as you got your breakfast, pausing for a second to take yourself in. You couldn’t remember feeling this content in years. 

Life moved on. You didn’t shy away from Dean as much and you got a little closer. After a couple of weeks of making no effort to avoid him, touching Dean felt like a drug. For the first time since you could remember, you initiated touch, resting your head on his shoulder, your hand on his arm, your legs in his lap. You were suddenly completely enthralled with the feeling of human contact, and you couldn’t make yourself stop. 

While you were in this state of euphoria, you didn’t notice Dean looking at you funny. While he might not come off as the most intelligent, Dean was a smart guy. His skills were usually in reading people, so when he saw in the beginning, the way you separated yourself out a little from other people, he simply accepted that and went with it, not wanting to push any limits you had. So Dean knew you weren’t fond of being touched, which was why he was super confused when you suddenly began initiating physical contact with him. He wasn’t about to complain, but he certainly had some questions. He had woken up alone on the couch that morning, but he knew you had fallen against him in your sleep. He figured when you woke up and realized, you tried to take yourself out of that situation without hurting his feelings. Why then, if that was the case, did that seem to be a catalyst for you reaching towards him any chance you got?

It was a testament to how long you had been staying in the bunker, the way you walked into the war room wearing a flannel that obviously wasn’t yours and pulled out a book before settling in to learn some more from the impressive library. The elder Winchester noticed fairly quickly that the shirt you were wearing had come from his closet, though he hadn’t noticed its disappearance. He side-eyed you for a moment before deciding that he needed to talk to you about whatever was going on. His feelings towards you aside, he was pretty sure that it had nothing to do with attraction. 

One night, as you sat in your bed wearing a shirt that had come from Dean’s room, you were reading a book when you heard a knock. You bookmarked your page while standing up and walking towards the door, pulling it open to greet Dean. You smiled at him and invited him inside. He glanced around your room before sitting in a chair that you had placed in the corner. You sat down on the edge of your bed, watching him in quiet worry. The voice in the back of your head was on worst case scenarios. This is it, this is where they tell you that you’re annoying and kick you out. You’re just in the way and they’re tired of having you around.

As these thoughts ran through your head, Dean was trying to figure out how to start. When he finally glanced up at you from where he had been staring at the floor, the corner of his mouth twitched up. “Is that my shirt?”

You glanced down, your cheeks heating at being caught. “I’m sorry, you can have it back, I shouldn’t have-”

“It’s okay,” he placated you. “I really don’t mind. Although, I guess that is kind of what I’m here to talk to you about.” He scratched the back of his head awkwardly before finally letting out a breath and beginning, not looking at you. “So when you first moved in, I saw you had this thing with people being too close to you. You kept personal space between you and everyone else, which is totally fine. But then, you started sitting closer to me and reaching out to me and putting your hand on my arm, and I guess I just kind of want to know what’s going on? You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to, but I’m here to listen if you need.” With his speech delivered, Dean prepared himself to stand up and make his exit. 

“You’re right.” Your voice was soft, but in the silence, of course he heard it. He finally looked at you to see you fiddling with the hem of your shirt. His shirt. Whatever. You sighed before continuing. “I really don’t like being touched normally. Sometimes I flinch away, I did with Sam. When I looked it up, I think the best fit I could find was touch starved? Like, the idea of people touching me sounds great, I didn’t get a lot of it growing up and I think I missed out, but at the same time, I just really don’t enjoy it when people touch me.” You mulled over your words for a moment before speaking again. “But then… then I woke up on the couch with you, it just felt… nice. Like… I had finally been touched and it wasn’t scary. But after that, all I wanted was to feel that again. I just wanted to be around you and touch you and god I sound like freak.” You cut yourself off as you took in a harsh breath of air, staring at a point on the ground in front of you.

Dean watched all of this and hesitantly placed a hand on your shoulder. You looked up at him as he pulled you into his chest for a hug, something you hadn’t realized you were missing out on until that moment. As you held onto him and released shaky breaths into his shirt, you could hear his words of reassurance. “You’re not a freak, and it’s not your fault. Hunting isolates all of us, you just got the worst of it.” He pulled back to look at you, relieved to see a smile gracing your face. “If you ever need this or anything else, you just let me know and I’ll be there.” You pressed your face back into him, grateful for how kind and understanding he was being. 

And if there was a little flutter in your stomach as he touched you that had nothing to do with touch and everything to do with him, you would deal with that when you had to.

Tag(s): @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce

[wondersbeyondcompare]

Finally finished up Kodi’s profile and a simple character sheet! ( ´ ▽ ` ) Berenice might take a bit longer... most of her first profile was filled with ??? after all...

Full Profile+Additional Sketches are below!

(Before I get into anything, just wanna say that the main inspiration behind this boi was this one Twitter post about cuttlefish that I found really cute back then  (altho he’s not venomous lol). Plus (・_・;) Youtube recommended me an hour long documentary on the animal, and I ended up watching all of it, so then I became even more attached...)

Full Name: Kodi Sepiama

Name Meaning: Tbh, I just read this sentence from the Wikipedia article on cuttlefish: “The "cuttle" in cuttlefish comes from the Old English name for the species, cudele, which may be cognate with the Old Norse koddi (cushion) and the Middle Low German Kudel (rag)”,and the rest was history; His last name is a combination of the scientific name for the giant cuttlefish (Sepia apama)

Dorm: Octivanelle

Twisted Off Of: Nothing (He’s based off of a cuttlefish though)

Year: 2nd Year

Birthday: April 07 (Aries)

Age: 17 years old

Height: 1.77m/5’10”

Place of Origin: Village of Harvest

Voice Headcanon: Miwa Takahiro

Personality: 

Tends to have delusions of the grandeur when it comes to imagining his ideal school life. A very expressive boy who wears his heart on his sleeve. As a result, he has significant trouble hiding how he feels, both on his face and through his actions. Due to his unique magic Kodi has a very weak presence compared to most people, and, although he’s eager to make friends with everybody, he mostly goes unnoticed by his peers. As with most Octivanelle students, he’s often tasked by Azul with one errand or another, but he manages to keep up a (mostly) optimistic attitude in spite of all his work. 

Will carry out any of Azul’s orders no matter how questionable they may seem, acting as a pawn to the dorm leader’s chess board by gathering info on other students around the school undetected. He’s a smart guy when it comes to academics, but since people like Azul and Riddle are in his grade, his ranking isn’t as high as he would want it to be. His common sense, however, is a different story.

Likes: Akashiyaki, tending to both animals and plants, anything that keeps him busy, basketball, art, buying new watercolor sets, aquariums, his friends, crossing things off his to-do list

Dislikes: The cowardly part of himself, his unique magic, oranges, disappointing others, when people forget about him

Background: 

Despite being an Octavinelle student, Kodi grew up in an environment where most spent their days tending to the land: The Village of Harvest. The boy was a result of his mother having a romantic summer encounter with a cuttlefish merman on one of her rare trips to the beach, therefore his father wasn’t really in the picture when he was growing up. However, his mother didn’t hold any resentment towards his father, often speaking fondly of the man and the memories she held of him. 

He was raised by his mother and her family on a small farm in the area. Because of this, Kodi never really felt lonely when he was younger, having been surrounded by his many relatives most of his life. It is from them did he learn practical skills when it came to both farming and everyday life, such as how to take care of plants and animals, how to cook healthy meals, etc. The village in general was a tight knit and welcoming community, so it also wasn’t uncommon for Kodi and his cousins to play with the children of other families and even stay over for dinner at different houses once they ran out of steam. One of his best friends was Epel, whom Kodi happily regarded as a little brother figure since most of his cousins were older than him. 

As a child, Kodi was much more stoic than his current self, taking after his mother. It wasn’t as if he were shy or traumatized into being emotionally guarded, but rather it was physically difficult for him to show emotions. His face nor his voice would hardly change regardless of how strong of an emotion he was feeling. It was because of this did some of his peers think he was cold, especially when it came to situations that involved sympathy, but his personality didn’t hurt his reputation that much. 

It is only when his magical abilities began to kick in did Kodi notice a drop in attention being paid to him. Since his unique magic involved blending in with his surroundings, this caused his overall presence to become weaker as well.  Sometimes his friends would forget about him during their games (especially if they were playing hide and seek), other times his relatives would forget to set a plate for him at the dinner table; it wasn’t as if he was forgotten about completely, but these little hiccups really hurt his self esteem. It was because of this did Kodi begin to act out to get a little more attention, but he still went unnoticed. Eventually Kodi gave up and resorted to learning different ways to improve himself. He thought if he worked hard enough in a variety of areas, then surely he will get the recognition he deserves. Maybe he might even get lucky and get to go study at Night Raven College, becoming a famous magician after completing his studies at the magic school. He upped his athleticness by playing basketball with his cousins, created arts and crafts with Epel, and studied hard in school to pass his classes. 

When the carriage came to take him away to NRC, Kodi was overjoyed. Well, it didn’t really show on his face because, :/ y’know, but he was shaking a lot from excitement when they placed him inside his coffin.

He didn’t really think much of which dorm he wanted to be placed in. Despite having little to no expectations, Kodi couldn’t help but be a little surprised when he got sorted into Octavinelle. He was aware of his mother’s encounter with the merman, but he thought she was telling him some sugar coated story to explain the absence of his dad. In fact, he was still skeptical of his mother’s tale until he accidentally fell into the large tank just outside the dorm’s lounge after he was done feeding the fish. Having grown up in a place not near any large bodies of water, Kodi didn’t think he needed to know how to swim, and, boy, did he regret it as he sunk deeper and deeper into the water. He blacked out once he ran out of oxygen, but when he came to, Kodi found himself as a cuttlefish laying on the tank’s floor. It took him an embarrassingly long time to figure out how to turn back into human afterwards.

Kodi came in contact with Azul early in his first year since they had a lot of the same classes, as well as the same dorm, together. However, it wasn’t until the start of his second year did Kodi decide he'd had enough of being ignored and that he wanted to sign a contract with Azul to fix his circumstances. His exact wish involved being able to express his emotions more freely as he believed that was the root of his problem. Azul agreed to help him out so long as Kodi did him a little favor that would “better acquaint him with the students on campus”. Thinking nothing of Azul’s vague wording, Kodi accepted his offer and became the overly expressive boi he is today. In exchange, he was to gather information on all the students on campus and create a basic profile on each person that was to be put into a catalogue held by Azul, just so this octopus man knew the type of clients he was going to be dealing with. For the first time, Kodi felt what it was like for fear to contort his face. 

As of now, Kodi wears two mood bracelets around his wrists as physical proof of his contract. The bracelets change colors depending on what mood he’s in, but he tries to hide them under his sleeves out of embarrassment (you could still see how he feels on his face tho… (￣^￣) ). In addition to bending to Azul and the Leech brothers’ whims, he found himself helping out in a little smuggling business within the school, sneaking in certain outside goods that are hard to get on campus through a network of students. Kodi was assigned to deliver the packages in a secretive way, usually using his unique magic to his advantage. At first he was skeptical to join, but after being convinced that it wasn’t technically against school rules and that it wouldn’t take up much of his time, Kodi was on board with the idea. 

Kodi also tried to keep in touch with Epel once the latter joined NRC, but the first year often regards him with disdain, thinking he’s become less cool when he entered his second year. But they’re still decent friends and sometimes have lunch together when their schedules match up. Kodi has attempted to befriend Majid due to him being a first year like Epel, visiting Scarabia to have a chat with him every once and awhile. Majid initially tried to reject him, but eventually became placated when Kodi began to bring snacks he made whenever he came to visit. Kodi doesn’t know how to act around Berenice and is lowkey kind of scared of her since she’s part ghost. He still acts friendly enough towards her though.

(Side Note: I kinda came up with his story before playing Chapter 3, and I’m not entirely sure what would happen to Kodi after all of (･_･;) that happened with all of the other students’ contracts. If Kodi’s contract had the same fate, his mood bracelets would probably become inactivated and go back to those cheap ones you get at souvenir shops. Kodi would still be expressive as always, yet would go back to having his old RBF when he’s not thinking about anything in particular. Or we could pretend that his contract was forgotten about in the chaos (￣∇￣) continuing with the running theme of him being forgotten…).

Powers: 

Unique Magic (Hide-Away): This ability enables Kodi to seamlessly take upon the appearance of his surroundings, whether it involves becoming a part of the wall or a large potted plant. His generally weak presence enhances this ability as well. He has tried to imitate the appearances of other people, however, his unique magic doesn’t seem to accomodate for that type of mimicry. :’) Back to being a part of the wall he goes.

Cuttlefish Transformation: Due to being a quarter cuttlefish, he can only become fully human or fully cuttlefish. There is no in between. Gets kind of jealous whenever he sees Jade and Floyd switch into their merman forms during their visits to The Sea of Corals. Sometimes customers can catch a glimpse of cuttlefish Kodi swimming around the huge tank in Mostro Lounge, testing out his recently discovered form. 

Stunning Hypnosis: Doesn’t really use this ability until he’s forced to. Whenever Kodi finds he’s in a tough situation, he can make his eyes mimic the hypnotic light show cuttlefish would normally display on their skin, his irises quickly shifting between different colors as he does so. This ability temporarily stuns his victim for about one to five minutes, giving him enough time to do whatever he needs to do.   

Trivia: 

He had curled all his hair for his high school debut, but somehow half of it got flattened during his time in the coffin on his way to NRC. Kodi tried to frantically fix it before the entrance ceremony in the bathroom until a random upperclassman complimented his “daring” hairstyle. He was so flattered that he kept doing his hair like that for the rest of the year. 

Both Jade and Floyd tend to tease him about him not being able to turn into a merman. It didn’t bother him that much until they started tossing him around in his cuttlefish form like some terrified beach ball on one of their ocean visits. 

Was tempted to join the Magishift club at first but decided otherwise when he fell off his broom in the first meeting. No one noticed, but he was embarrassed all the same. Switched over to the basketball club because he was more familiar with the sport. (*wheeze* kodi no basuke) 

The shirt he wears with his Octavinelle uniform was given to him by his grandmother, saying that he would look so nice and sophisticated wearing it at school; he was personally reluctant to take it at first, but you can’t say no to grandmama

He so desperately wants to be relied upon that he’s willing to do almost anything to gain others’ respect; this often leads him to being a huge pushover tho

Can be scarily protective over the people he cares about; works from the background to make sure offenders get some kind of karma for what they’ve done

A good majority of his peers and upperclassmen who he knew in his first year became genuinely concerned when Kodi did a complete 180 in his second year; some worried he hit his head the wrong way and offered to take him to the hospital; others just gradually  accepted this new Kodi; besides, it’s nice to see a huge smile finally cross his face when he gets excited about something for once

[strawhime]

[Disclaimer: There is foul language in this story. But other than that, this is pretty mild. <3 Like it says up in the picture. This isn’t my storyline. It’s actually a friend of mine and she gave me permission to rewrite her work~ You can find her on Tumblr and read the original story if you want <3 Thank you and I hope you enjoy it!]

I never really had any friends growing up. I was always a shy, quiet nerd in school. I only started to make friends when I got to middle school. Some of the kids at the school would bully me. One time, during lunch, two girls came up to me and started pushing me. One of them even poured a bucket of dirty water on me. I wanted to cry. Hearing them laugh at me, while I stood there. I only stopped when I heard another girl start talking, “You think this is funny? Are you not tired of picking on others?” I heard the voice say.

There was silence before I heard the stranger scoff, “Nothing to say? Typical.” 

Not soon after she spoke those words, I felt hands on my soaking shoulders, and I was quickly guided out of the cafeteria. we finally stopped walking once we were in the bathroom. I slowly looked up to see who this mysterious person was. My eyes wide as I was met with a soft smile and a napkin.  

“Sorry I didn’t jump in earlier. Lunch and I are in a committed relationship, food before anything else.“ She nodded seriously. Face stern before she broke out into a huge grin. It was infectious. I could feel a smile form and I started laughing at her lunch comment.

“It’s fine. Understandable… You didn’t have to help me. I could’ve handled it…” I quietly responded. She shrugged, reaching to grab more napkins to help wipe off the water.

“I didn’t. But I wanted to. Plus, I need to do one good deed once a month, so my chances of going to hell is a lot smaller.” Her jokes weren’t that funny, but I couldn’t help but chuckle at her words. 

“Ah, I see… Thank you. For helping. I’m y/n.” I put my hand out towards the other for a handshake. Smile bright as she takes my hand, giving it a small shake. “Bri~”

From that they on, we’ve been best friends. It wasn’t long after that when I met Wendy and Yuta. Both were friends with Bri. They were just as nice as she was. Always looking out for each other. And to be able to call them my friends, was amazing. We were inseparable. Always going to each other’s house after school or going on trips during school breaks. We even worked hard to get accepted into the same college. 

Even though we were in college, I was still one of the nerds in school. I always had my head buried in my books. Studying day and night to get the best grades. I would hide in the school library to finish my work, study, or try to read the book I’m currently obsessed with now. Since we were college freshmen, my friends always made it a point to try and get me to socialize more. 

“Amazing that you can still hold your head up from all the constant studying. Big brain hours.” Bri teased as she finally stopped scrolling through her phone. 

“…What?” I squinted at her, “Speak English.”

“Big brain hours. Cause you got a big brai—” She was quickly cut off by Yuta.

“No one accepts your stupid lingos, Bri.” He rolled his eyes at the whines of protest. “But! Bri isn’t wrong. You do study a lot. Why don’t you take a break?” I know they were concerned. Their expressions genuinely concerned about my lack of social skills, save for Bri. She constantly always looks confused.

“I can’t. If I take a break, I won’t be able to pass any of my exams coming up…” 

“Oh my god! It’s just a small break. You don’t even have to do it often. Just every so often.” Wendy chimed in, “You’re already smart~ You’ll be fine~” 

Yuta nodded in agreement, “Just come get coffee with us at least!” 

“Ok! Ok!” I’ll go get coffee…” I sighed loudly. “You guys are relentless.” 

“Bitch—We literally stayed over last night to study.” Bri made a noise of disbelief before she earned a slap to the head by Wendy. 

“Stop complaining. You’re the number one person who needs study sessions because apparently, you’re too busy staring at that guy in your hist—”

“We do not speak of that! Stop! Zip it! I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re crazy—” We all stared at Bri as her face turned red from embarrassment, shaking our heads as we watch her make excuse after excuse. Wendy had to slap a hand over the other’s mouth to shut Bri up. 

“Shut up, idiot. I was just teasing. But now I’m thinking otherwise but we can ignore this for now. Because y/n said she’s willing to get coffee with us~!” Wendy grinned as she happily grabbed her stuff and started to skip towards the direction of the coffee shop. Followed by a red-faced Bri, who was grumbling to herself about what horrible friends she has. I glanced at Yuta, who only sighed and shook his head. 

“We’ve truly been blessed with such a friendship, huh y/n?” I couldn’t help but giggle before trying to put a serious face and nod. But it only lasted for a split second before we started laughing hysterically. Getting up with our things and quickly trying to catch up with the other two. Our laughter gets louder when we notice Bri pouting and rubbing at her head. Complaining that the slap to the head was uncalled for and that one of these days she’s seriously going to get brain damage. I shook my head with a smile. Glancing at all my friends. I’ve been blessed with such an amazing friendship.

We arrived at the coffee shop that was down the road from our campus. Taking a seat at the table in the back of the shop. Where it was a little quieter. We all had our drinks, talking about our classes or just anything that came to mind. I could feel my body relax, the stress leaving. It actually felt nice to take a break. The atmosphere calming… That is until I saw one of the girls who bullied me my whole life, Ashley. My body tensed when I saw her gaze. A small smirk forming on her lips as she made her way towards us. 

Bri was the first to notice the sudden change in the mood. She looked at me, confused. Before she followed my gaze. Her expression turning serious when Ashley came up to the table. 

“Can we help you?” Bri asked, voice clearly laced with annoyance. 

Ashley smiled. She was clearly amused at the tone. “What could you possibly help me with? Especially since you hang out with a low life like her~” 

“What is your problem? You’ve been a bitch to me ever since middle school. What have I ever done to you?” I could feel my anger start to boil, my fist slowly clenching. 

“Are you going to play fucking dumb?” She crossed her arms with a brow raised. 

I was starting to get annoyed, “I seriously don’t know!”

“You stole my boyfriend!” Ashley stomped her foot like a child. Now I was even more annoyed. “Jeffery!”

Before I could say anything to Ashley, Bri started coughing. Almost choking on her drink at Ashley’s words. I watched as she hit her chest a few times before taking a y/np breath, “The fuck?! You weren’t even dating him!” 

Now that helped me relax. I bit my lip a little to stop me from laughing. Instead, I cleared my throat and leaned back in my seat. “He asked me out. How was I supposed to know that you liked him? It’s not my fault!” 

“Well, it is your fault! He rejected me because he was with your ugly ass!” There was a gasp from the right of me. Most likely from Yuta. And I was right because he started to speak. 

“That was in middle school! Why are you still hung up on it?” He asked, clearly upset at what she had just called me. But instead of an answer, Ashley knocks over my coffee. Spilling it all over me. 

“Oops~ My bad~” She shrugs innocently and starts laughing as she walks away. I only stared down at the mess on my clothes. 

“Just my fucking luck…” I muttered to myself as I pushed my seat out. Hearing the slight shuffling from my worried friends. “What a fucking mess…” 

None of us noticed there was another person who was quietly watching the scene unfold. The stranger got up from his seat, grabbing a bunch of napkins and headed towards us. 

“Hey, are you ok?” He asked kindly. 

I huffed in annoyance, “Does it look like I’m ok—” I stopped mid-sentence when I looked up at the source of the voice. My heart skipped a beat as I stared at him. He was extremely gorgeous. Even if he was only just wearing a plain white t-shirt and jeans, his black hoodie draped over his arm. He made the outfit even more stunning. 

My train of thought was cut off by Bri, “Um… She’s fine. Just a coffee spill…” She squinted suspiciously at the guy. “And who are you?”

The stranger smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck briefly. “Oh! Sorry. My name is Jaehyun. I was sitting right over there, and I saw what happened. I came over to offer some napkins and maybe my jacket to cover the big wet stain on her shirt.

“Nice to meet you, Jaehyun. This is y/n, Yuta, Wendy, and I’m Bri.” She gestured to each person as she introduced them. Noting that he never took his eyes off me. Only briefly to glance at my friends. 

“It’s nice to meet you guys. Here y/n, take this.” He handed her the napkins and his hoodie. 

I blushed slightly, slowly taking the items. “Thanks… You don’t have to.”

“I know but I don’t think it’d be fun for you to walk out of here with coffee all over you. You can always give back my jacket anytime. You go to the college right up the road from here, right?

Yuta pursed his lips for a bit, waiting to see if I would respond. But I didn’t have anything to say. I was mesmerized by how gorgeous this guy was. 

“She does. We all do. Why? Do you also go there?” Yuta tilted his head slightly as he stared at the other male. 

“Yeah, actually. I’m majoring in music.” Jaehyun smiled as he stood up straight, sliding his hands into his pockets. “I’ve actually seen you guys around the campus often. And I have math with y/n.”

My eyes widen in shock at his reply. ‘He’s in my math class? Why have I never noticed him?!’ I thought to myself. Clearly confused and shocked. “Really? Math?”

Jaehyun laughs softly. The back of his hand coming up to cover his mouth slightly. “Yeah, sorry I haven’t introduced myself sooner. But you’re usually focused on your work. So, I couldn’t really bother you.” He caught a glimpse of the time on his watch. “Ah, I have to get to my music class soon. I’ll see you in math.”

With that, he waved to all of us and left. Heading out of the shop and back towards the school. I was still shocked to know that we had the same math class. How could I not have noticed such a handsome guy? Well, I did hate math. So that could be why I never noticed. I also have Ashley in that class. So, I was always smart and kept my distance. Sitting far from her. 

“Come on y/n, lets head back so you can wash up before your next class.” Yuta got up with Bri and Wendy, smiling. 

“I mean, unless you wanna sit here and think about your knight in shining armor~” He cooed sweetly, only to start laughing when my face turned red and I reached out to slap him. Then towards the other two because they had also started to laugh. 

“Shut up! I don’t even know him!” I huffed, slowly putting the hoodie on. “You guys are delusional!” 

“Ah! We are not! You couldn’t even tear your eyes away from him~” Bri sighed dramatically. Her hands clasped together as she leaned against Yuta. Batting her lashes at him. “He even handed her his jacket~ That’s so domestically sweet~ I’m jealous~”

I groaned and rubbed my temples as they both attempted to pout cutely at me. ‘They’re fucking idiots. I swear’. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my stuff, leaving the three idiots laughing behind me. 

“Wait for us!” I heard them yell as I smiled to myself as we all left the shop. Their teasing stopped once we made it to the school. Teasing turned into an argument between Wendy and Bri.

“Listen here, dumbass. You cannot drink peanut butter. It’s not possible! It spreads like butter! So that’s why it's peanut butter!” Wendy pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

“Aight. But have you actually tried to drink peanut butter?!”

“HAVE YOU!?”

Yuta and I both groaned in unison. Clearly, we had reached the part of the day where Bri’s brain cells (whatever left of it) stopped working properly. Because here we are. Listening to her and Wendy argue about why peanut butter isn't called a peanut smoothie. I quickly interrupted the argument to tell them that I was going to head back to my dorm to change and wash Jaehyun’s hoodie. Since I had about an hour or so until my next class. Yuta shouted protests of me leaving him with the two idiots. But I only waved and quickly made a break for my dorm. I was not going to stay around for the next dumb question that Bri decided she was curious about. 

I got to my dorm and quickly went to go wash up, taking my clothes and the hoodie down to the laundry room to wash them. I sat there in the laundry room, waiting for the clothes. I couldn’t help but think about him. ‘why was he so nice to me?’ I sighed softly, rubbing my face to clear my head of these thoughts.

“He’s just nice. Don’t overthink it. It’s probably nothing.” I groaned once more, slouching in my seat. “I have math with him later. Oh god…” 

I puffed out my cheeks as I stared up at the ceiling. “It’s fine. I’ll return his jacket and if he talks to me again. I’ll talk. That’s it.” 

I patted my shoulder, a solid plan as the clothes finish. I grab them and head back to my room. I fold his hoodie and put it in a bag to give to him in class. I checked the time. Noticing that I should leave now so I won’t be late to class. I gathered my things and headed out to the class. Walking in, I saw him sitting by himself. I walked over to him and placed the bag, with his hoodie in it, down next to him. 

“Thanks again for letting me borrow your jacket. I washed it so it doesn’t smell like coffee.” I smiled shyly.

“No problem…” He smiled back. I hesitated before turning on my heels to go to my seat. I stopped in my tracks when I felt him gently grab my hand. My cheeks started to heat up and I quickly turned my attention back to him. 

He notices what he did and he’s quick to pull his hand away, ears turning red from such a bold move. “Ah! Um… Did you wanna sit with me?”” 

I bit my lip slightly, “Um… Su—” I was rudely interrupted by Ashley. She came in and shoved me to the side, taking the seat right next to Jaehyun. 

“Excuse me. That’s my seat.” She gave me an innocent smile as she set her bag down. “Thanks~”

“Oh, y/n was gonna sit there…” Jaehyun looked at Ashley with a confused expression before he gazed back at me. 

Ashley stared at me, her gaze piercing. Telling me to get the hint and get lost. I shook my head and smiled nervously, “N-no…~ It’s ok. I’ll just sit in my usual spot. It gives me a better view of the board.” 

“See, Jae~ She’ll just sit in her usual spot~” I quickly made my way to my seat, pulling my books out and quickly burying my face into my arms until lectures started.

It was going to be the longest lecture of my life. Once I heard the teacher walk in, I sat up straight and got ready to take notes. I casually glanced around, the feeling of someone looking at me was bothering. My eyes stopped at Jaehyun, catching his gaze as he looked at me and smiled. My cheeks turned pink as I quickly went back to looking at the textbook in front of me. From time to time I would steal glances at me. And every time he would catch me and smile. I couldn’t help but smile back every time. I couldn’t believe I never noticed such a perfect person in my class before. At some point during the lecture, I could feel eyes on me again. I thought it was just Jaehyun but when I looked up, it was Ashley. Her eyes staring daggers into me. I quickly ignore her, looking down at my book. ‘Did she see me looking at Jaehyun? No… That can’t be it…’ I lightly shake my head from the thought. Pretending that nothing was wrong. I took more notes down and even wrote down the assignment before packing my stuff up and heading out of the class. 

“Hey y/n…!” I stopped at the sound of Jaehyun’s voice. My eyebrows raised as I turn to look at him. “Where are you off to now?”

“I’m heading back to my room to get changed into my clothes for dance class…” I quietly answer him. 

“Oh? Are you majoring in dance…?” He tilts his head as he asks, curiosity filling his eyes.

“Oh no! I just love dancing. I don’t have any classes right now, so I usually use this free time to either study or dance in the empty dance rooms downstairs.”

“That’s pretty cool. You mind if I j—” He was abruptly stopped when Ashley came by and linked her arm around his own. Pulling him along with her.

“Let’s go have lunch together, Jae~” She cooed at him, dragging him down the halls towards the cafeteria. 

I puffed my cheeks out slightly before letting out a breath. Deciding on just making my way back to my room to change into more comfortable clothing for dance. It was much needed since I couldn’t study properly from everything that happened today. 

I got to the studio in about an hour or so, setting my bag down and moving to the middle of the dance room to start on my stretches. As I sat there, stretching. My mind kept thinking about Jaehyun. I couldn’t get him off my mind since I first saw him at the Café. His smile made my heart beat quicker than usual. How sweet he was when he offered his jacket for me after the whole ordeal with Ashley… I frowned. Ashley. I can’t believe she would hold this stupid grudge over me. I didn’t know she liked Jeffrey. She never used to bother me in elementary school. Only until we reached middle school and I got asked out by Jeffrey. After that, she has been nothing but a tyrant to me. 

I closed my eyes to take small y/np breaths, clearing my mind, then opening them to stare at myself in the reflection. I got up from my spot and walked over to the speakers. Playing the first song on my playlist. The beats started to pulse through the speakers, my head starting to bob along with the song as I slowly walked back to the center of the room. I stretched out my arms before I let the music completely take over my body. My movements were fluid but sharp as I danced along with the song. 

Song after song, I would dance through them. Getting all my frustration and stress out. Helping in clearing my mind more. It has been a while since I danced. I was caught up with studying for the upcoming exams.  The music was loud, my mind now lost in the music as I finally felt myself floating. As if everything around me had disappeared. Like no one else existed in this world but me. 

After some time, I felt my body start to ache, the sweat dripping down my face as I use the sleeve of my shirt to wipe it off. I stopped, panting harshly from dancing for so long. I jumped at the sudden sound of clapping from behind me. My hand clutching my chest as I quickly turn towards the sound. It was Jaehyun, smiling brightly at me. ““Holy shit—!”

“Wow! That was pretty amazing, y/n~!”

“How long were you standing there? You scared me!” I pouted at him, causing the other to laugh. 

“I didn’t mean to scare you! I wasn’t here long. I got here maybe… twenty minutes ago?” He looked at his watch and nodded in confirmation. “Yeah. Twenty minutes ago. But that was really good.” 

“Oh… Um… Thanks…~” I smiled shyly as I quickly walked over to my bag, sitting down as I grabbed my water bottle to get a drink. 

He followed me over, hesitant but sure enough he takes a seat in front of me. His legs crossed and he leans back on his hands. “How long have you been dancing? You’re pretty amazing.”

“Mm, since I was able to walk. My mom would tell me stories about how I would dance every time there was music playing and the only way to get me to stop, was to stop the music.” I chuckled, recalling the countless stories of how my mom would smile at her every time she would dance. It always made her happy. 

He smiled gently, “That’s really cute.”

I couldn’t help but blush a little, smiling at the comment. As we sat there, we started talking about other things. It felt like hours had passed and I felt like I had learned so much about him. This was the first time I was so open about myself to anyone that wasn’t my 3 best friends. Jaehyun was genuinely interested in me. Someone who would listen to me. Make me feel like I was worth something. I was sad when we had to part ways. I had to head back to my room to wash up and get started on my assignments. We said our goodbyes and left. 

I quickly made a beeline towards Bri’s dorm. I needed to talk to her. I didn’t know what I was feeling or what I should do. I was so scared of falling for someone so perfect. Especially if Ashley was involved. She would make my life 100 times worse than what it already is. I lightly knocked on my forehead. Trying to will the thought away as I finally made it to Bri’s. I hurriedly knocked on the door. ‘I know she’s there. She doesn’t have classes right now. And she’s usually asleep but this is an emergency!’ I kept knocking until I heard a loud thud followed by a string of curses and grumbling. I tapped my foot impatiently until the door swung open. 

I was greeted by a sleepy Bri who was in the middle of rubbing her eye, frown on her face before she finally noticed it was me. 

“y/n? Wha--?” 

I push past her before she could finish her question. Dropping my bag on the floor as I dove straight onto her bed. I waited until I heard the door close and then the sound of her feet padding towards me and then I’m being shoved towards the wall, so Bri could climb back into bed.

“You better have a very good fucking reason for waking me up…” She grumbled, rubbing her face into the pillow. 

I stared up at the ceiling of her room, smiling when I start thinking about Jaehyun again. About the conversation we had. Bri probably noticed that I wasn’t paying attention since there was a lack of response on my end. She turned her head to squint at me. Probably noticing that I was smiling like an idiot at this point. She propped her head on her hand. 

“You smiling like that is probably the scariest thing I’ve ever witnessed… And that’s saying a lot. Cause I accidentally walked in on Yuta. Naked.” She shuddered at the thought. 

I snap out of my thoughts and quickly turn on my side to look at her. “That’s haunting. Please don’t share that with me.”

“Fair enough. I won’t share it if you tell me what’s got you smiling like you’ve committed the perfect crime.” 

I slapped her arm at that, eyes rolling when she whines and rubs the spot I hit. “It’s nothing.”

“What? Oh, fuck no—bitch you better fucking tell me what happened or I’m dragging your ass out of my room!”

“How rude! I thought we were friends!” I feigned hurt. Gripping my chest dramatically as if I was in pain.

“I can end this friendship as fast as I can end your life, y/n. Now tell me!”

“Fuck--! Fine! Jesus Christ… Why are you so mean?”

“Because if I was nice, the world would combust.”

I shake my head before giving up and telling her everything. That happened in the dance rooms earlier. How Jaehyun had shown up out of nowhere and they spent hours just talking about our interests and other things that came to mind. I could tell I was smiling a lot as I was speaking because Bri was staring at me. Her eyes were soft, and she could only laugh at my words. 

“You totally like him. Don’t you.” It wasn’t a question, more of a statement from her. 

I could feel my face heat up, “W-what?! No, I don’t! We were just talking! How did you come up with such a ridiculous thing!?”

“What a fucking liar! Look at you! You’re red as a tomato!”

“It’s not!” I quickly try to cover my face, trying to hide my red face. 

“I’ve known you for years~ I know you like him~ Just admit it.”

I groaned loudly, rubbing at my face before a sudden idea came to me. “I’ll admit it if you admit you have a thing with that guy in your hi—” 

“Y’all got some nerve tryna bring his dumb ass up! No. I do not like him. He’s an idiot—Like a giant idiot!”

“Oh, come on! That’s a total lie!” She quickly covered my mouth, squinting her eyes at me. 

“I will end you. Last time I checked. This was about you. Not me. So, let us get back to you~” I waited till she pulled her hand away. Grinning at her.  

“You like him. “

“…And you can now take your leave.” 

“Ok! Ok! Ok! I’m sorry! I’ll let it go~” 

“Thank you~”

“Until my crisis is over~!” I laughed at the glare I got from Bri. Her face made me double over in laughter. 

“I have the worst taste in friends. Seriously.” She stretched out before hugging her pillow. “But what are you gonna do. Are you gonna tell him?

“Tell him? What? Why would I do that? I don’t even know if he likes me back!”

“You wouldn’t know until you tell him.”

“Forget it. It would be impossible. Ashley would kill me if she ever found out he was with me during free period.”

“Why do you let her run your life like this—”

“Can we just… Can we let it go? I just wanted to tell you what happened today.”

I watched as Bri pursed her lips in contemplation. She slowly nods, “Yeah. Ok. Fine. I just want to say. The way he stared at you at the coffee shop today… I could tell there was something more than him just being nice.”

I stayed quiet. Moving to lay on my back to stare at the ceiling as I thought about her words. ‘Does he really like me…? What’s the point… Ashley would really destroy me if I go near him again.’ There was long silence, my brows furrowed as I slowly glanced at Bri. Asleep. I shook my head with a soft smile at the sight of her sleeping. 

“She really doesn’t let anything stop her from sleep.” I murmured to myself before I slowly got off the bed and head back to my room. “I’ll worry about all this tomorrow…”

The next morning, I woke up to a loud knock on my door. I groaned at the sudden loud knocking. Dragging myself out of bed and trudging over to the door, opening it rather quickly. Revealing Yuta and Wendy, with large grins on their faces. My face pales at the sight, “Oh no… She fucking told you—”

“Of course she did~ We knew you weren’t gonna do it. So she did the responsible friend thing and told us~!” Wendy happily sang as she strolled past me and made herself comfortable on my bed. 

Yuta patted my head before following in. “Honestly you’re going through a crisis. And we’re here to help.” 

“It’s not a crisis—”

“y/n~ It’s a crisis~ You definitely like the guy~ You should do something about it~”

“Wen! It’s not that easy!” I whined, huffing as I go to sit on the floor. 

“Because of Ashley~? Forget her~ She’s just ugly and bitter~” Wendy responds, Yuta humming in agreement.

“For someone who’s that pretty, she has such an ugly personality.”

I sighed exasperatedly. Defeated. “You guys don’t have classes with her. She’d ruin me!”

“That’s what you said in middle school, but she stopped picking on you, right?”

“When you guys were around. You guys can’t protect me all the time. The moment you’re out of sight or where she’s a little gutsier, she’ll do something! The whole café thing was just a small taste of what she could do.” 

There was a long pause before Wendy spoke up. Her tone was a lot calmer than usual. “You can’t be afraid of her forever. And really. From what Bri has told us, he sounds like he really cares about you. And you care about him too…~”

“Yeah, y/n. Think about it. We’re not trying to force you to do something you don’t want to do. But you light up when you talk about him.” Yuta leaned over to grip my hand gently, “You deserve happiness. Just remember that.”

I could feel the tears well up in my eyes, I quickly wipe at the tears that fall and laugh. “You guys really are the best. I’m so glad to have you guys…”

“And we’re glad to have you~” Wendy happily bounces on the bed, “Now we have another crisis~”

We all looked at each other, all of us smiling smugly with each other before we all spoke at the same time. “Bri~!”

We spent the rest of the morning talking about Bri and her obvious crush. Along with finding out about any upcoming events. After Wendy and Yuta left my room, I couldn’t help but think about all the advice they’ve given me. I stared at myself in the bathroom mirror and gave myself a pep talk. “Just tell him. Even if he doesn’t like you back. Maybe Ashley would leave me alone when she sees me get rejected?” 

I sighed dejectedly, still staring at my reflection. “That’s stupid. I should just get ready for class.”

With that said, I make my way out and towards the library to meet up with my friends. I wasn’t feeling so well so I had to skip chemistry. But since I have that class with Bri, I could ask her for her notes and homework. I see them all in the front, talking and laughing. Yuta notices me first, smiling brightly and waving. “y/n!”

I slowly jog over to them, smiling. “Hey guys~ What’s up?”

“Thank god you’re here. Settle this for me. Can you drink strawberry jelly?” Bri asked, her hands making a gesture for me to agree with her. 

“Um… I’m confused… Where did you even get that idea?” I respond, head tilting slightly. 

“Because it’s made out of strawberry juice!” Bri yelled, hands flailing slightly.

Before I could speak, Wendy groans loudly. “That doesn’t mean you should drink strawberry jelly!! It’s technically a solid, idiot!”

“Fight me, Wendy! You don’t know that!”

“I don’t need to know when it’s a stupid idea~!”

“I will end you!”

“Do it, bitch~! I’m waiting~!” Wendy threw her arms up. “Come at me~!”

Yuta quickly pulled Bri back before she could pounce on Wendy, as I started laughing at the sight of Bri trying to swing at Wendy, Yuta struggling to hold her back, and Wendy making random faces at her. I wiped at the tears that started forming from all the laughing before I noticed something odd. 

I cleared my throat to catch their attention. Crossing my arms over my chest as I waited for them to stop. 

“What? What’s wrong?” Yuta asked curiously. 

“Oh, nothing. Just… noticed…. Bri~ When did you get a new hoodie~?” I sang, watching as Bri’s eyes grew wide and her cheeks started to turn red. 

“H-huh? Oh! Um! I just bought this—yeah! Like last week or something. I can’t remember…!” She stammered. She shoved her hands into the pockets of the hoodie. 

As we stared at her, we noticed the hoodie to be a lot bigger than her other hoodies. She was practically swimming in it. “So, you’re saying it’s your hoodie? You bought it?”

“Yes—Why are you questioning me so much??? Can’t I buy a new hoodie??” 

“Why’re you getting so worked up~?” Wendy sang, a smug grin on her face. 

“I’m not! I’m just being interrogated. I’m out of here! I have a class to attend!” She flailed her arms before she quickly walked away.

We all started chuckling, shaking our heads as we watched her figure disappeared in the crowds of the campus. We all looked at each other like we did earlier that morning before we spoke in unison again. “Johnny~”

We all started cracking up laughing. Bri will kill us when she finds out we pretty much know. She would forever continue to deny it, even after death. 

Yuta started to calm down, rubbing at his cheeks. “The funniest thing is that he’s my friend. And he hasn’t once shut up about her and how she’s very… Tsundere~”

“She’s gonna murder us. You know that, right?” I tried to calm my breathing, shaking my head. 

“She will. But she wouldn’t really. She loves us too much.” Wendy and I both nodded in agreement. 

We continued to talk a little more after we stopped laughing about the fact that Bri would ignore us for a week because of how embarrassed she got today. I checked the time and saw that it was almost time for math, and I excused myself from the group. Telling them that we’d meet at the cafeteria around lunchtime to eat together. As I walked down the halls towards math class, I didn’t notice Ashley was waiting for me. 

“Hey, slut!” I jumped at the sudden insult. I looked up and saw Ashley there, smirking.

I clenched my fists as I saw her. “What did you just call me?!”

“Are you suddenly deaf? I said… HEY SLUT!!!” 

“What is your problem? Why can’t you just get over the past already?!”

She scoffed, amused. “Oh, sweetie. No~ I’m not mad about that. I saw you hanging out with Jae at the dance studios yesterday~” 

“What—” My jaw dropped, ‘she was there?’

“You think he likes you back? A loser? A nobody?”

“What makes you think I like him?!”

“Don’t try to lie to me~ I know you like him. But too bad you’re fucking delusional and think he likes you back~”

“Why is that hard to believe that he might actually like me? Huh? I mean Jeffery asked me out over you!”

“You’re fucking dead, bitch!” She then knocked my books out of my hands and shoved me against the wall. As I hit the wall, I ended up scraping my elbow and hurting my hand. 

She towered over me, but I refuse to look up. I was praying that maybe one of my friends were around. Or someone who could help me. But that was impossible. It was like middle school all over again. I could hear the snickering of the students in the hall. I felt my eyes started to sting, tears welling up as I sat there. 

“Don’t ever go near Jaehyun again. You stay away from him or else!” I didn’t respond, gripping at my arm. Feeling the pain from the push. 

Ashley smiled triumphantly before she froze in her spot at the familiar but angry voice, “What is going on?”

“Oh! Jae—”

“You. What do you think you’re doing? Did you really think I would want to be with someone like you? When all you do is hurt other people because you think it’s fun?”

“N-No…!” Panic settled in her brain, watching as he pushed past Ashley. 

I tried to get up slowly, not paying attention to her surroundings. Wanting to get my stuff and leave. I reach out to pick up my books, but before I could there’s someone else picking them up. “Ah… Thank you… But you don’t hav—” 

I look up to see that it’s Jaehyun. ‘When did he get here?’ I thought to myself. He looked angry. He didn’t even say anything to me. He just quietly picked up my stuff. I never knew there was this side of him. 

“Are you ok?” He softly asked, his expression slightly pained as I notice his gaze on where I’m holding my elbow.

“Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine…” I didn’t get a chance to hide the scrape before he wraps his arm around my shoulder and took me to the same practice room we were in yesterday. He sat me down on one of the chairs in the room. 

“I’ll be right back, ok? Stay here.” 

I nodded quietly and watched as he disappeared. Moments later he’s back with a first aid kit that they had stored in one of the instructor’s rooms. “Here. Let me see your elbow.”

“I’m fine, really.” I shift slightly in my seat, biting my lip just a little. 

“No, you aren’t. Come on. I won’t hurt you.”

He then moved my hand to take a better look at my elbow. The scratch was a little more than what it started off as. It had gotten worse from me trying to hide my cut. I watched as he took out the saline and start to clean out any debris that had gotten into my wound. Then he takes out the disinfectant to properly clean the cut. My eyes widen when I see the disinfectant, I was never good with the stinging pain that comes from the disinfectant. I pulled my arm back suddenly, which scared him. He smiled softly and gently took my hand. 

“I know it’ll sting. But trust me. We need to clean it properly or you’re gonna get a scar. I promise to make it quick and make sure it stings less. Ok?”

I stared at him skeptically before slowly relaxing and nodding my head. I clenched my eyes shut as he put the medicine on my cut. He noticed my face scrunch up and he gently started to blow on it to dry the medicine a lot faster and lessen the pain. I peeked an eye open to glance at him, noticing the pain was subsiding and I slowly relaxed once again.

“Do you do this often?”

“Oh. Mm, yeah. My friends get hurt all the time when we have showcases for our classes. So I learned a few of the basics for first aid.” He smiled as he placed the band-aid onto your wound. “There we go. All done~”

“Oh—Thank you… Again.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Um… Did you hear… Everything?”

“Heard what? The conversation that Ashley had with you?”

“…Yeah…”

“Did you not want me to hear it?”

“…That depends… Does it explain why you helped me back there?”

He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his neck nervously. “Well… That’s because... I got tired of seeing someone I love get hurt.”

  I lift my head up to look at him in disbelief. “I’m sorry…?”

“Ah… I got tired of seeing Ashley do such horrible things to you. And after the first day, I got the courage to walk up to you and talk to you. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I used to get so frustrated, every time I tried to get close to you, she was right there. Yesterday when we talked in the practice room, it felt great. It was amazing to finally meet someone who I can just talk to and who would listen to me. You like me for me. And not just because of my looks.”

“O-Oh… I see…” I smiled shyly at him, moving to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear. “I feel the same… I never met someone in my life who genuinely cared about my interests. Who actually listens to me, I’ve only had three people in my life who would do that. But it has been years since I’ve met someone who makes me smile as much as you do. My friends kept telling me to tell you how I felt. But… But I was afraid. I was afraid to tell you because of Ashley…” 

We were silent for a few minutes as we sat there in the studio. Then as I was about to get up, he came over to me and pulled me into a hug. I looked at him with confusion. Before I could question him, he had already leaned in to press his lips softly against mine. It was a quick press of the lips but it felt like a lifetime. My heart raced as I stared up at him. 

“You don’t have to be afraid to tell me anything. Ever. I’ll always be here to listen to anything you have to say. And be with you for as long as you want me to.” 

I smiled as he kept me in his arms, burying my face into his chest. I never felt these feelings before, and I wasn’t scared of them. He was like my music that I would put on full blast to make the world disappear but us. 

[wingedarrows]

Small Text of Wanderer’s Journal Is Hard to Read: Let’s Transcribe! (Pt 1)

You can pre-order the Wanderer’s Journal on the fangamer website! It’s officially released May 31st and is $29 plus shipping. I very much want it but alas I have no money so must content myself with deciphering what I can from the preview images for now, or at least as much as I can! Feel free to add in your own suggestions to any words I can’t figure out.

The Town of Dirtmouth

Sly’s Shop Adventuring gear

Bench Take a load off!

Stag Station Travel the kingdom with speed

Map Shop Maps of [____] [____]

Bretta’s

The Well

Graveyard Dirthmouth’s Departed

Nestled in the valley between the Howling Cliffs and Crystal Peak, the once-breathing village of Dirtmouth offers a respite for weary travellers on their way to or from Hallownest.

In the glory days of the kingdom, visitors came from far and wide to set eyes upon the king and his shining palace. But a devastating infection claimed the lives of much of Hallownest’s society, and all paths to and from the kingdom were sealed in order to prevent it from spreading.

Now this little village is all that remains of that glorious kingdom.

With all other paths closed off for generations following the calamity that destroyed the kingdom, a dried up old well now serves as the only way into or out of Hallownest.

Memorial to the Hollow Knight

In the city square, the rainwater overflows a fountain with a sculpture depicting a large, intimidating knight surrounded by three smaller figures.

Perhaps this has something to do with that ominous temple near the surface, but few seem to remember this mysterious knight, and even[?] [____] recall what sort of “sacrifice” it might have made.

Hornet

A red-cloaked bug with an imposing aura, and speed and skill to match. She wields her needle and thread in battle with grace and finesse; these tools also allow her to expertly navigate Hallownest’s terrain.

I was sure she noticed me, but she seemed not to care. I suppose I’m not the one she’s after right now.

Quirrel

Little is known about this self-proclaimed wandering observer; he himself seems to have no memories prior to his arrival in Hallownest.

But the way he handles a nail suggests there is more to this mysterious character than meets the eye.

Deepnest

A dark and fascinating place deep below the kingdom, full of twisting tunnels and nasty crawling things; the only light in most of its passages is the faint glow of a bioluminescent fungus that grows sparsely.

The creatures of Deepnest completely refused the Pale King’s rule, choosing instead to live as they always had, cloaked in darkness. Even so, the infection seems to have just begun to take hold here as well.

Huge, terrible monstrosities called Garpedes burrow their way through extensive networks of tunnels in the rocky terrain, trampling any bug who would carelessly wander into their path. The incessant rumbling is enough to drive any decent bug insane.

Keep rising[?], and watch out for disturbances in the soil . . . Those horrible dirtcarvers are everywhere!

Rows of decaying husks line carved out holes in the cavern floors, their fangs and pincers creating insurmountable spike pits. The web walking critters seem to have little trouble traversing them, though.

Temple of the Black Egg

A short distance from the bottom of Dirtmouth’s well there stands a temple, fashion from the colossal shell of some ancient bug. It’s ornately framed windows cast a pale light onto the road outside that hints at some historical importance, but all anyone can remember is that it’s called the Temple of the Black Egg. Upon entering the temple, the origin of its name becomes clear.

The temple has such a [____] [____]

True to the name, a gargantuan black egg sits silently in the centre of the temple. No one seems to remember its purpose, nor the identities of the three masks that adorns the sealed door on its face. But the whole temple exudes an ominous air; perhaps some things are better left unknown.

Were the three beings depicted by those masks somehow involved in the building of the temple, or even the egg itself?

In any case, they clearly bear some significance here. I hope to learn more about them during my journeys.

The Hive

In the early days of the kingdom, as the king spread his influence across the land, there were those who chose to reject his rule and separate themselves from Hallownest’s society. The Hive is one such [____]. To this day, the bees maintain their isolation, unmarred by the spread of the infection.

HIVE HUSK & HIVELINGS

A few husks have wandered into the hive and somehow merged with small hives. The little bee warriors they carry will fiercely protect them, as well as the rest of the greater Hive.

HIVE SOLDIER

Ferocious warriors who attack by spinning their compound stingers into a threatening drill.

HIVE GUARDIAN

These large, lumbering bees put all of their weight into fending off intruders, and have been known to crash right through walls and other structures in the process.

Hive Knight

The queen’s most valiant and skilled knight, commander of the Hive’s forces, and its last line of defense against invasion.

During Hallownest’s reign, the bees sealed up all of the Hive’s entrances and exits, erasing every trace of the Hive’s existence from the outside world save for the occasional Hiveling patrol. In the intervening[?] time, the queen passed away in solitude, leaving her bees to fend for themselves.

Her knight continues to stand by her side, ready to shut down any who would intrude upon her throne, though seemingly unaware of her fate.

His speed and technique are impressive, as is his ability to call forth[?] a seemingly endless rain of Hivelings!

Zote the Mighty

A diminutive bug with a big mouth and a penchant for getting into trouble. He boasts of his many victories against ferocious beasts, though the simple fact that his nail is made of shellwood and therefore ineffective as a weapon calls the legitimacy of his claims into question.

He seemed to be in quite the pickle, but he refused my help several times.

Nailmaster Sheo

One of the three famed Nailmasters, and the keeper of the ancient technique known as the Great Slash. He may have traded in his nail for a brush and canvas, but his skills have surely not dwindled; he’ll pass down his knowledge to those who dedicate themselves to the art of the nail.

Strewn about his moss-covered hut are canvases and sketches of various objects as well as portraits of a number of different bugs. Perhaps some of these are bugs who’ve braved the thorny path to visit his home and learn his technique.

Who could this powerful-looking little fellow be?

Fog Canyon

An exotic region that strikes a delicate balance between wonder and danger. Electricity arcs through the air on the wings of Lumaflies while bubbles filled with explosive gas and lakes of acid make for treacherous travel. The scenery is both beautiful and terrifying.

And I think the humidity is beginning to make[?] my [____] [____]!

FAMILIAR TERRAIN

Some of the natural geological features of the area strongly resemble those in Greenpath, suggesting the two regions might have been one at some point.

A guard outpost lies abandoned, populated now by only the lifeless husks of a few guards; the inhospitable environment seems to have claimed the few bugs left here in the wake of the infection.

Pockets of swirling gases easily become trapped in bubbles, leading to interesting acoustic[?] effects through the area.

Be wary of bubbles with a strange glow within them. I [____] this the hard way!

[b4ku-h03]

scary movie (bakugou x fem!reader)

A/N: Is this idea original at all? no. I’ve never actually written anything before, and I had the thought of what would happen if bkgo’s quirk accidentally went off when he held hands with someone, bc feelings are hard so he’d just get nervous and sweaty, which would make him more nervous and more sweaty and then..... the inevitable. anyway this is literally the first thing ive ever written and i didn’t know how to end it so here we are! if this is bad plz forgive me lol

Warning: Swearing

“Hey Kacchan!” Midoriya called out to Bakugou, who was headed to the elevators from the kitchen to catch some early shut eye on a Friday night.

“We’re all gonna watch a really scary ghost movie, do you wanna join us?”

Some of the residents at the Heights Alliance dorm had spread out the couches and pillows in the common area in front of the TV, ready for a movie night.

“We’re bonding!” Uraraka gleefully exclaimed.

“Tch.” Bakugou scoffed, glancing at who was present in the current company. Deku, Uraraka, Kaminari, Ashido, Kirishima, Sero and Jirou. A bunch of nerds that he was not in the mood to tolerate.

Kaminari looked over the back of the couch from his spot on the floor, “Cmon Bakugou, I heard this movie’s supposed to be pretty scary! None of that baby jump scare stuff.”

Bakugou shoved his hands in his pockets, annoyed that these people had the nerve to interrupt his peaceful Friday night.

“Hell no, I have much better things to do than hang out with you losers.” Bakugou continued on to the elevator, when the door dinged open before he could press the “up” button.

The elevator doors opened to reveal you, dressed in your comfy pajama shorts and a tank top. You were holding four empty water glasses that you had been hoarding in your room.

“Oh!” Your cheeks flushed from suddenly being face to face with the blond. “Um.... don’t mind me!” You slid past him, embarrassed that you were caught doing the empty cup walk-of-shame by the hot-headed boy.

Bakugou watched you head to the kitchen, hesitating a moment to take in your figure in your skimpy pajamas. “Tch.” He scoffed again, remembering his goal of sleeping for the rest of the weekend, and headed into the elevator.

“Hey (Y/N)!” Midoriya called out. “Do you wanna watch a scary movie with us?”

Bakugou suddenly stopped in his tracks and stepped back out of the elevator.

You set your glasses in the sink and walked over to the group settling in to their seats. “What kind of scary movie?” You perked up now that you were no longer carrying anything.

“A really scary ghost movie. Plus we’re watching the director’s cut that they couldn’t show in theaters! I heard there’s so much blood in it, it made one of the cast members throw up!” Kirishima said, raising a fist in the air in excitement.

“Oh... well, I was gonna go to sleep but...” you trailed off.

Ashido scooted over on the small love seat she was sitting on, “Here, (Y/N),” she patted the empty cushion on her right. “You can come sit with me and we’ll be scared together!”

You reluctantly agreed and sat down. It could be fun, even though scary movies really got to you. You had an overactive imagination and scary imagery in movies stuck with you for a long time, continuing to freak you out long after you finished watching said movie.

Kaminari was sitting on the floor in front of your and Ashido’s couch, in between the two sets of legs. “If you guys get too scared, you can just grab on to me and I’ll protect you!” Kaminari flexed, trying his hardest to look cool.

Suddenly Bakugou walked into the living room and smacked Kaminari in the head. “You can’t protect anyone, you Pikachu reject.” He pushed Kaminari over to the side, plopping down and stealing his seat next to your legs on the floor.

“Uhh Kacchan, I thought you didn’t want to watch with us?” Midoriya looked over at Uraraka, both confused about what made Bakugou change his mind.

“Y’all convinced me, so this movie better not suck or you’ll owe me for wasting my Friday night.” There was a slight blush in his cheeks as he adjusted in his seat and accidentally bumped into your legs hanging off the couch. You didn’t want to piss off Bakugou by accidentally bumping him one too many times, so you pulled your legs up under yourself, although you could still feel the warmth emanating off his body due to the close proximity.

Everyone started to settle in as Jirou and Sero tried to fix the old DVD player that was giving them issues. Midoriya watched Bakugou closely, realizing exactly what changed his mind. He had to tell Uraraka, but didn’t wanna draw any attention to the two of you.

He started typing out a text,

Deku: Ochako!!! Kacchan changed his mind bc of (Y/N) being here!! Look at him, he even went out of his way to sit near her!!”

Ochako: omg I think you’re right Deku. Tho I didn’t think Bakugou was even capable of having romantic feelings towards anyone

Deku: I mean same but deep down I think he’s a nice guy. He clearly wants to sit with her, should we do something??

Uraraka looked back up at the two of you, where Ashido was talking to you about her latest trip to the mall. Bakugou sat at your feet glaring angrily into space. She looked back at Midoriya and motioned towards Ashido. The couch you and her were sitting on was only big enough for two people. She pulled up her phone again and opened up her text conversation with Ashido.

Ochako: Mina!!!! Get off that couch and sit with us instead

Ashido’s phone dinged, and she stopped mid-story to check the text message. You weren’t really listening too intently anyway. It was too distracting sitting this close to Bakugou. He made you feel so nervous and quiet, even though compared to how he treated everyone else, he was very kind and calm with you. Plus he was really cool, and talented, and super cute... but you could never tell him that. His rough exterior and harsh personality made it impossible for someone like you to talk to him.

Ashido read her text from Uraraka, and looked up at her and Midoriya. “Huh? What?” Uraraka and Midoriya were silently motioning to you and Bakugou, trying their best to not capture your attention too. Ashido looked to Bakugou, who let out an over the top yawn, and stretched his arms up over his head, accidentally bumping your legs again. His face flushed as he quickly pulled his arms down and crossed them again. Ashido then glanced back to you, you were covering your face with your hand to hide the blush from the little physical contact you had just had with the boy.

She looked at Midoriya and Uraraka again, and mouthed an excited “oh my god” at them.

Mina: wow they’re pathetic lmao

Ochako: I know!!

Mina: what should I say?

Ochako: Just get up and say you’re gonna sit with us and offer Bakugou your seat!!! Nonchalantly though plz!!! Don’t embarrass them!!!

Ashido stood up suddenly and got off the couch, getting your attention again. “Um,” she hesitated, looking at you and glancing at Bakugou, who was pretending not to listen. “(Y/N), I’m gonna go sit on the bigger couch with Midoriya and Ochako.”

You looked at her, confused. “Oh, okay. That’s fine.” You smiled softly. Ashido looked to Bakugou, who had slightly turned his head towards her.

“Bakugou, you can have my seat if you’d like.” She winked at you and walked away towards the other couch. A sigh of relief came from Midoriya and Uraraka. 

A wave of fear rushed through you as you realized what was happening. Ashido sat down next to Uraraka, and Bakugou continued to sit on the floor. What felt like the longest minute in the world passed, and Bakugou stood up and scoffed. “The floor was uncomfortable anyway.”

He sat down on the small couch next to you, sitting as close to the arm rest as he possibly could, resting his arm on it and leaning his head into his palm. You also embarrassedly scooted farther away from him so as not to bother him, since he seemed to want to keep his distance.

“We’ve just about got the DVD player working! Now that I’ve gotten Sero to stop trying to use his tape to fix everything.” Jirou announced to the rest of the group. Sero whined, “Hey, my tape fixes ~most~ things. Ya can’t blame a guy for trying.”

Bakugou reluctantly turned his head towards you, looking at you with lidded and bored eyes. “So um... do you... like scary movies?” He hesitated a lot between words, his tone low and almost nervous, it seemed. For once he didn’t sound annoyed or angry.

You smiled at him, hoping your face didn’t noticeably twitch from how nervous you were while talking to him. “Yes and no, I like watching scary movies, but I hate being scared. Do you like these kind of movies?”

Bakugou rolled his eyes, “I don’t like any movies. They’re a big waste of two hours that could be used to do something productive.” He glanced at you to gauge your reaction, which seemed disappointed. You didn’t know what else to make of this conversation since he already seemed in a bad mood. His expression softened a little, “if you don’t like being scared, why be stupid and watch the damn movie in the first place?”

You shrugged, looking down at your hands in your lap. “I guess I like the excitement of it, if that makes sense. Even though I’ll probably cover my eyes during the really scary parts, and try to bring myself back to reality, ya know?” Bakugou looked at your hands, you were nervously twiddling your fingers.

“Well,” he lowered his voice, speaking in a calm tone, making sure only you could hear him, “even though it’s stupid as hell, if you get that scared and need help getting yourself back to reality, you can... grab my hand or something. And then you’ll realize how dumb it is to be scared of something that’s not real.” He sounded annoyed by the end of his sentence, but you could tell the sentiment was still there. His face flushed a little, and he looked away from you.

“Okay, it’s ready! Someone turn off the lights! Jirou had finally fixed the DVD player and started the movie. The opening credits started, and everyone stopped talking amongst themselves.

You didn’t respond to Bakugou, you were too surprised by his kind offer. When the lights turned off, you could see him in the light coming from the TV. He had relaxed a little in his seat. In fact, he looked like he might’ve scooted a tiny bit closer to you. You let yourself relax a little too, and turned your attention to the movie.

The movie you were watching did a really great job at setting up the scary atmosphere, and everyone seemed incredibly sucked into the story. But you were having trouble focusing. Every time Bakugou shifted in his seat, he ended up moving closer to you, bit by bit. He smelled like firewood and caramel, and he had so much warmth coming off of him, most likely from his quirk. You were generally always cold, but just from sitting next to him, you felt at a comfortably warm temperature. His right hand sat lazily on the seat between the two of you, so it seemed like he was sticking by his offer. The thought of grabbing his hand made your stomach knot, even if it was supposed to make you feel better. You didn’t have to make it weird, you were sure he meant it as a regular old nice gesture, with no ulterior motives. You didn’t know what was scarier, the movie, or the thought of holding Bakugou’s hand.

As the movie went on, you had started to get sucked in and forgot all about the boy sitting next to you. The music in the movie was building up into something that was clearly a jump scare. Every person in the room watching sat tensely and silently, anticipating the scare.

“AHHHHHH!” The protagonist of the movie screamed as a horrifying ghost popped up on the screen, making every single person watching jump and scream as well. Even Bakugou jumped in his seat a little. The scare really got you, you covered your eyes with one hand and then without thinking, you quickly grabbed hard onto Bakugou’s right hand. He looked over at you in surprise as you were leaning into him and holding onto his hand, trying not to look at the ghost that was on the screen. He smirked a little at how pathetic you looked, and then he finally took a moment to appreciate your presence. You smelled good, sweet like vanilla, and he couldn’t help but feel intoxicated by the smell. He started to grow nervous, realizing that he had never been this close to you before. As you continued to hold his hand, he could feel it getting sweatier by the second.

He tried not to pay attention to how gross and sweaty his hand must’ve felt to you, but that only made him more nervous and even more sweaty. As the sweat and nerves built up higher and higher, his heartbeat got faster and faster, he started to lose control of his emotions when...

*BOOM*

A small explosion caused everyone in the room to turn around, surprised by the sound and sudden smell of smoke.

When everyone found the source of the explosion, they saw you and Bakugou sitting very close to each other, with you holding your wrist and coughing, your hand blackened by the soot, and Bakugou’s right hand smoking. The look of fear on his face was a tell all, as everyone slowly realized what just happened.

“Ow...” you lightly exclaimed, shaking the pain from your hand, the small explosion in your hand came as more of a shock rather than real pain.

Bakugou looked around at everybody that were all still staring at the two of you, and then he looked to you in a panic, unsure of how to play this off, but also worried that he had hurt you when he accidentally let his quirk off.

“Bakugou...” Kirishima broke the silence amongst the group, “Were you two... holding hands...?”

Bakugou, in a panic, reacted the way everyone expected him to, he stood up on the couch with an accusatory finger pointed at everyone.

“SO WHAT IF WE WERE, ASSHOLES? NEWS FLASH, I’M A NICE GUY AND WAS COMFORTING HER IN HER TIME OF NEED!!” He pointed his finger at you, and you smiled nervously at your classmates. Bakugou pointed his finger back to everyone else. “YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT??!! FUCK YOU” Bakugou was nearly breathing fire with how red and embarrassed he was, but he would not let that get in the way of his pride.

Bakugou jumped over the back of the couch and headed once again towards the elevators, refusing to make eye contact with anyone “This movie sucks anyway, now I’M GOING TO BED, YA LOSERS” he screamed, fuming as he walked away.

Once Bakugou had left the room, everyone relaxed a little in their seats. “Um...” you started, smiling at everyone again, “back to the movie?” Ashido, Uraraka and Midoriya sighed, “That’s the last time I do any favors for Bakugou.” Ashido huffed.

Everyone muttered to themselves as Jirou pressed play on the movie again. Everyone’s attention was back on the movie and away from you, which finally gave you a chance to breathe.

Your phone dinged, and you checked to see who had texted you,

K. Bakugou 📛: hope that didn’t hurt your hand too badly... Lmk if you want me to make it up to you later. GOOD NIGHT

You giggled to yourself at the aggression from his text.

(Y/N): Okee, next time I hold your hand, be sure to wipe it off first :)

You sent the text, and another moment passed before your phone went off again.

K. Bakugou 📛: OK WHATEVER GOOD NIGHT

You couldn’t help but smile to yourself through the rest of the movie, so much that you didn’t even notice anymore that it was supposed to be scary.

[sol1056]

if you promise peaches, deliver peaches.

After S7, the asks have been piling up. A few examples:

I was so confused in ep4 when Acxa disappeared, I thought she’d stuck with the team after ep3 and maybe I just missed the scene where she left, but others have brought that up, too.

Funny how the majority of the problems in s7 are because they tried to force BP Keith to the detriment of the story, and ironically, Keith's story, too.

I thought Lance’s family reunion would be much more emotional and be a part of his arc, since he was the most homesick, but then they gave that to Hunk?

Shiro got tossed aside in the most ableist, racist, and homophobic way, and Allura could have had a cool storyline mixing her paladinship and her castle storyline with a new altean mecha, instead of Shiro becoming a bad Allura 2.0 and Keith becoming a bad Shiro 2.0.

Srsly tho, am I the only one who finds it extremely bothering that in writing Allura and Lance they don't bother to show Allura coming to view Lance in a romantic light after her breakup?

Why even bother in S6 to make such a big deal of Shiro/Kuron saying his dream is to be a paladin over and over? Until he was revealed a clone some of us thought he was Shiro, so it's even harder to accept Shiro not being BP anymore.

The EPs seem to be so stuck in their initial idea and salty they couldn’t do it exactly as they want that they just ignore the story itself?

The EPs have spoken of being determined to get the VLD gig out of fear it’d be given to someone who'd wreck the story. That's understandable, but we're talking about a 78-episode, six-season, space opera mecha series. This genre practically demands a sprawling world and a massive cast, and it's far beyond the scope of anything either JDS or LM have ever helmed on their own. 

My guess is that JDS and LM didn’t realize the enormity of what they were taking on, or they (and their bosses) seriously underestimated the degree to which they were wholly unprepared.

Behind the cut: what I meant when I said these EPs are not storytellers.

I’m not surprised the EPs over-estimated their skill, really. People will look at a creative process like art –- where you often start young, practice daily, maybe study it formally, apprentice or intern (especially in animation), and gradually work your way up -- and they see the effort. They know it wasn’t an overnight thing. 

Too often, the very same people won’t accord that respect to the art of storytelling. It’s treated like divine inspiration, something that just happens. We’ve been hearing and reading and watching stories all our lives; how hard can it be to do it ourselves?

It’s goddamn hard, is what it is. I would love to tell you otherwise, but that’s the truth. You can rock your dialogue but you gotta track character goals, too. Complicated backstories only get you so far if you don’t understand how to modulate tension. You can have a great premise but you still gotta resolve the damn thing. A story has a hundred moving parts; scale up to a space opera’s necessary levels of epic and we’re talking exponentially more.

In my experience, the hardest part of storytelling — not the technical aspects of writing, but the art of storytelling — is holding the shape of the story in your head. The entire thing, all at once. You have to, if you’re to see how a choice at this point will echo down the line, or a motif laid here should reflect there, how the theme shifts but stays true from start to end, how these secondary arcs weave together to undergird the main arc.

I’d say a lot of what we learn in our first few novels is how to see — and hold —the story’s shape in our head. I’m not talking dialogue or voice acting or choreography. I’m talking about the overall shape, the vision and theme it establishes, evolves, and eventually resolves.

If we cannot, we will find our stories promise peaches and deliver pine cones.

Looking back, there are too many clues --- almost all given by the EPs themselves --- that they didn't have the experience to do this story justice. What they did have was a certainty that their vision was the best, an inability to deviate from that one story they'd devised, and a continual low-grade frustration at being held back.

Let's go back to the beginning. S1 starts a little rocky (to be expected as a team finds its groove), but S2 builds on S1 quite deftly. It’s not perfect, but in a storytelling sense, it’s the strongest season, and it's much too self-assured to be a beginner’s. It moves swiftly but steadily to a pivotal midpoint, and from there snowballs gracefully into its finale; it balances nuanced characterization with plot movement, and its opening promises bear fruit by the end.

In those earliest interviews and panels, the EPs are often casually vague about basic details, like character ages or relationships. At least twice their answers change, giving the impression they hadn't known and had needed to confirm with someone else. Generally, though, they're low-key and hopeful, possibly leaning on the borrowed confidence of that other storyteller’s influence.

By S3/S4, their tone shifts to a peculiar kind of non-ownership. They joke about having no idea what's going on, tossing out guesses as though they'd be the last to know. They offer head canons, rather than insight. They wear their frustration openly, alluding to the story they'd wanted, chafing at what had been decided for them.

As the story moved into the split-seasons, it's clear that whomever lent that guiding hand in S1/S2 was no longer present. Someone else’s fingerprints are on S3, and my guess is it’s mostly Hedrick, at least on the script-level. The word choices change, the cadences change, the beats change. From S3 on, VLD has all the hallmarks of a muddy vision. 

You can see that in the story’s shape. It holds together, but barely. It darts forward, then sideways, then treads water for a bit. It’s erratically paced, dropping plot points and introducing new ones, only to drop those as well. It can’t settle on a driving antagonist, and when it finally does, it can't keep the antagonist’s goal consistent. It sacrifices nuance for one-note characterization, and shoves most substantiative character growth off-screen.

This continues to S6, which generally continues the focus on plot coupons over character goals, exposition at the cost of emotional beats, and neglecting established characters to introduce left-field swerves in the guise of plot twists. On the plus side, it does manage to rally enough to end its multi-season prevarication, and put to bed questions hanging around since late S3.

It's worth noting that both EPs have only a single writing credit each, for the pilot three-parter. That makes it doubly striking that JDS chose to write the Black Paladins episode. After the season aired, JDS complained in passing about rewrites on his episode. If that seems odd, remember that an EP has final approval on every script. If it bothered him to have his ideas rejected in favor of keeping Shiro, it must've burned to have his writing choices countermanded.

From the timing and the episode credits, this must've been around when Tim Hedrick left the team --- and the EPs took full ownership. 

It shows in their post-S6 interviews. Gone are the ambiguous expressions or vague promises of doing their best. Their wording is declarative: what Kuron had been, what Shiro would be, the resolution of Shiro’s illness, the nature of Shiro’s past relationship. None is equivocated, nor couched as head canons. They’ve taken control of the narrative, and their interpretation is now the deciding one.

This change was important enough to them that they had to make sure we’re aware. There’s simply no other reason to tell us S7 had been written in its entirety, let alone tell us the original outcome. Nor is there any other reason to tell us they petitioned for — and got — permission to rewrite.

When I look at S7 with my writer’s hat on, everything tells me this is where the brakes came off. With Hedrick’s departure, there was no one left but the EPs themselves to steer the story. By whatever means, for whatever reason, VLD went from a crafted vision, to a conflicted one, to none at all.

Set aside the larger controversies for a moment, and just think about the shape of S7. It’s almost three seasons in one: the first part skips from event to event, then abruptly timeskips to reset the entire playing field. That second part in turn is divided from the last half by a two-parter that halts momentum for an overlong flashback with an entirely new cast, followed by a finale that mostly backseats its protagonists in favor of letting that new cast dominate.

There’s a common pattern in the way beginner writers react to critique, and I see that all over the EPs’s responses, from the beginning. It’s only grown worse since S6. They can’t quite juggle the story they think they’re telling versus the story they’re actually telling.

I’ve had these conversations too many times to count. I ask, how did this character get from here to there? The newbie storyteller is quick to explain, usually in great detail. I ask, but then why did this happen? The more I dig, the greater the chance the newbie will get angry that I don’t seem to be reading the story they’re so obviously telling. If I keep pushing, they’ll get defensive.

They’ll confidently assure me this is exactly the story they’d intended to tell, and if I don’t like it, that’s my problem. (They may not be able to hold the shape in their head, but they’ve probably already taken to heart the adage that one must stay true to one’s ‘artistic’ vision. The part about listening to critique even when it’s uncomfortable… that takes a bit longer to learn.)

My reaction almost always boils down to: you’re telling me this amazing story, but that’s not the story you’ve actually written.

Sometimes the best description of the shape of a newbie’s story is that of a house after a tornado’s swept through: the front door is on the chimney, the roof is half-off, and the windows are shattered in the front yard. Most of the pieces are there, but it’s all so jumbled the newbie storyteller can’t see what’s missing. They can’t hold the shape of the story in their head, so even when they know here’s where something goes, they’re too overwhelmed to remember the door they need is still on the chimney.

An epic story is no cakewalk, and boy do I give credit for that effort, but it’s one thing to learn by noodling in a fandom on AO3. It’s quite another to do it at the scale of a television series, let alone one with the expected scope of a space opera spanning galaxies. This is not the place to learn as you go.

Here’s why the shape of the story — and holding that in your head — is so important. 

Think of a story’s resolution like a fresh peach. You want the reader to bite into the peach as the culmination of everything the story has been, from start to end. But you don’t get a peach by planting pine trees. You must start with the proper seeds, and make sure what grows is a peach tree, such that your final act bears the right fruit.

I touched on this before with the promise of the premise. Themes, backstories, world-building, and motifs are facets of the seeds planted in the first act. Everything you need to resolve the story must be present when the story begins; that’s where your premise lies, and your promises are made. 

Through the entire second act, the tree must grow. The storyteller’s task is to trim as needed, bind this to that, shore up the roots, add water and nurture: this is where the theme expands, the foreshadowing laid, the questions reveal answers that lead to further questions, narrowing the outcome, each outlining the tree’s shape in sharper detail.

By the time the story turns the corner into the third act, the readers should be reasonably certain they’re going to get a peach tree. This is not a bad thing! You want them looking forward to plucking the peach and enjoying it. You want everything planted at story-beginning to come to fruition, at story-end.

That is why you must hold the shape — the vision — in your head, always checking against where you began and where you plan to end. You cannot throw out the entire tree at the end of the second act and start over; if you ignore the fruit your story is producing and insist on serving up pine cones, you’re going to have confused and possibly angry readers.

You promised them peaches, damn it.

The story is now midway through the third act. Everything planted in the previous seasons must now be coming to fruition… but it won’t. The EPs are openly (even proudly) reversing course on everything that’s come before. That means directly violating every motif, every thematic element, every bit of foreshadowing in word, image, or sound.

And at the same time, the story’s scope is simply too vast, and they haven’t the experience to juggle all the thousands of moving parts. The result is the most slapdash season, yet. Characters simply drop out of sight, only to reappear again with no warning. Themes and motifs built up over so many episodes are tossed aside as if they mean nothing.

The hand-to-hand fights are visually striking — the EPs’ strengths are in storyboarding, after all — but emotionally hollow, bereft of dialogue that could finally give us closure. Characters that would’ve once spoken openly with each other barely exchange a word; character-distinct dialogue is uttered by someone else, as though the VAs mixed up the scripts in the recording booth.

To achieve the emotional heft required for a meaningful resolution, there must be echoes of the story’s beginning. But when the beginning is negated—underscored by a timeskip that resets the entire playing field—there’s nothing to refer back to. The events now are happening in a void, divorced from the themes and motifs that created the emotional context in the first place.

This is by design; the EPs’ vision has never matched with the story as it was told to this point. They can’t go back, so they’ve rebooted. Once with the timeskip, and again with a two-parter episode that introduces new characters that can be entirely their own. Compared to the protagonists, these secondary characters have been lavished with attention to the point of overload: full names, backstories, designs. All of of that, and the time required to introduce them is to the detriment of the actual protagonists.

Whatever story VLD ostensibly set out to tell, that story is gone, now.

This is no longer a matter of losing track of the story, such that the promised peaches have transmuted into pine trees. We passed that point somewhere in S6. The EPs have burnt down the orchard to plant new seeds, while doing their best to ignore the charred stump of the story we'd been promised.

I would've preferred peaches, myself. That was the story I was promised, and that was the fruit I expected from everything I saw onscreen. But now? 

I hope you like carrots.

[dat-g-man]

Voltron au with drag queens and Shance! Inspired by Rupaul’s Drag Race Part 2

Got him a lot of momentum, and creating content for those marginalized groups like a weekly youtube channel with skits written and produced by them. Later on there is a reality tv show opportunity when the queen of queens requests lance to help screen those that will be competing in a drag competition (like Ru Paul's drag race but in this fake universe) and should he know anyone to send them the link to the application as they will remain open for a while giving them enough time to iron out the contract details and negotiate a guest appearance as Ms. Blue is another great icon. Lance agrees and emails some of the queens he has kept contact with but Keith is the only one he calls.

Keith is in the bathroom but knows its lance as he is the only one who has that ringtone. He makes Shiro answer but did not realize the events that would set in motion. Lance is surprised but remains his flirty self and tells the smoldering voice to let Keith know to call him back as soon as he is available.Shiro is blushy but stutters out that Keith is finishing something in the kitchen but will be with him momentarily. He is just answering on Keith's orders so that he wouldn't miss lance. Lance is like how sweet of him to leave me in such great company making Shiro blush but then Kieth is out of the can so Shiro tells him bye and nice meeting you over the phone as he passes it back to Keith. Keith is kind of catching his breath as he rushed it and lance is teasing him about the mysterious melty voice but then checks himself as he has a great opportunity for Keith. 

Keith is amazed and somewhat unsure but Lance tells him do it bitch. I have seen you grow so much and before you say that's because of me, it is not. Our drags may include technology but yours is all you. Since you made yourself a profile you have exploded and this is the next level. I signed a nondisclosure agreement, but I can tell you I will be a very small part of the show. The worst that can happen is they reject you, but I am positive you will make it to the end if not win it. I sent emails to some other queens, but I called you because I am a big fan and want to see you slay on national television. Keith is touched and agrees to send in an application. Time passes and receives notice that he is one of 10 selected to compete and that they look forward to meeting with him regarding the terms and conditions.

His hotel and travel will be covered and he is allowed to bring 2 guests. He is glad and picks Shiro and Pidge. The whole process is like a lunch orientation vacation. They gave them extra days so they can explore the area before and after the paperwork time. Because they do not have the queens finalized, they are not scheduling them together but individually. Lance is a part of this process and bumps into Shiro while out and about. More like Shiro steps in as the cashier of the juice bar was being a butt to Lance. He was going to step in either way but the fact that its Lance makes him angry. 

After Keith started drag Shiro started doing some research. He found the one who inspired Keith and was enthralled. He became a follower but never went to meet and greets. He occasionally joined as Keith's plus one for competitions but usually it was Pidge who went with him. He was also unlucky because in one of those competitions Pidge met Lance and his main tech support Hunk and they had a blast and shared contact info. Shiro took that as a cosmic sign that Lance was too good for him and left it at that but The Call reminded him of the charisma Lance always has and he fell for him again. 

He is a lawyer so he is all about them fancy words. His fists are just back up according to Keith. So he puts a hand on Lances shoulder and asks if he can step in. Lance is dazed by his beauty and lets him. Shiro tears into the dude in a way that emphasizes how much of an asshole he is and that he will make sure to contact the franchise to see if he is representative of their view on Queens because that is what Lance is. They will be taking their clientele elsewhere and he offers Lance his arm before walking out with him. Some person recorded and posted it making it go viral with many being outraged at the employee for treating a potential customer that way but the fact that its their lovely queen made them out for blood. 

Others are like get that momma Blue, what a man, wishing somebody can make me feel like a queen, meant take a lesson from a true gentleman, if you don't want him can i keep him, etc. And the juice franchise company speaking out because this got A LOT of attention and that ex employee/manager reflected real bad on them. But back to Lance and Shiro, Lance thanks Shiro because he was very close to doing something his friend Red (Keith) would do but thanks to his new hero, he remained the classy lady he is.

Shiro is positively charmed and let him know he is welcome. The two introduce themselves with Lance teasing Shiro like, Shiro the Hero, were you named after your occupation my good sir. Shiro is blushing again. But tells him nothing like that. He is just always ready to fight against inequality and that his brother is always inspiring him. Lance eyes twinkle and he asks about the identity of said brother and Shiro tells him about Keith and recognizing him as his brothers charming friend. Lance is like I knew it was you! I recognized that voice the moment you stepped in. Shiro is like wait you remembered my voice? 

Now lance is the blushy one and confessing that he has a really nice voice that could read audio books or have its own podcast/radio show. Shiro is pleased and asks if it's not too forward of him, to share contact info and get to know each other better as he is simply charmed by Lance and always wanted to meet his brothers other greatest support. Lance is floored and agrees. Shiro is not only charming and a hunk, but he was respectful and broadcasted his intentions. 

Shiro also lets him know if I am reading this wrong I apologize as I did not want to make you uncomfortable. He was also serious about the lawsuit because that manager was an asshole and needs a lesson before he continues to share his hateful rhetoric. So the sparks fly and practically have a date. Lance pays for as he wants to thank his hero with Shiro paying for dessert as he wanted to sweeten their meeting. They lament meeting before the official meetings as they will have to be professionals but will meet up after everything has been wrapped up with Keith.

The meetings end up taking longer as Shiro got into lawyer mode with Pidge and Keith being like we need these materials to be available as supplies and any other requests. They were unable to get all their demands, but most of the supplies provided by the studio would do. Two companies are pending as the studio reached out to them and are negotiating sponsorship, but seeing as one of them already sponsors Keith and Lance, they are hopeful. Shiro was also able to negotiate a higher wage/payout (idk), as Keith would be missing 1-4 competitions to appear on the show. The grand prize is not guaranteed but with his reputation of consistently being 1st place he would be losing guaranteed money. 

As such, they should try and meet that. The studio is hard presses to find an argument but concede as they were told by The Queen that Keith is one of the high priority candidates and that provided the nda is signed, they can add anything in the contract with the exclusion of being able to cheat or having 1st place guaranteed. So they negotiate the sum as Shiro is correct, but one must also consider the level of exposure. Shiro responds with exposure or exploitation? And the studio team is impressed again and concede with a 10% or something reduction of the originally proposed amount. They all agree, sign, and before they walk off exchange business cards so that they can talk about having Shiro consult is he is unavailable to join their team.

Shiro lets them know he will consider the offer and the legal team walks off. Lance is waiting for them at the lobby with Hunk to see how the talks went and is happy when he hears how Shiro arm wrestled the team for Keith's supplies and compensation. The group is together for the first time nut they all click as if they were long time friends. Also, I am debating Lotor as The Queen. I was initially gonna have him be the loser from Keith's first competition but then he is meticulous in the show so he would not be in character as a loser. I mean Keith's is not in character, but i wanted to avoid the initial rivalry and change it into a mentor ship. 

That is not say they are instant bffs but that just like in the show, Keith is a natural and Lance has worked his way to that level. He was initially envious of Keith's start, but then got to know him and talk after a few hang outs with alcohol and had their heart to heart because at that stage Lance was in a rut and seeing Keith running made him feel inadequate. Afterwards they became the brohoes we have now.

So, they all hang out while Keith is there but the group notices the sparks between Lance and Shiro so they conveniently forget something back at the hotel and leave them together. I need to cut this short but Keith slays the competition and wins the grand prize. Shiro has his own following after the juice bar incident and they have joined with Lances following to create The Blue Paladin Squad. They refer to lance and Shiro as paladins because both are advocates and do a lot for the lgbtq community. Even before lance Shiro was active so the internet is invested in them.

The end

[muridiola]

Is Jorginho Pinning reliable for Caicedo?

With the introduction of Caicedo blocked, Arsenal had to switch targets in the last two days before the winter window closed. In the end, Chelsea midfielder Jorginho joined Arsenal with a transfer fee of 12 million pounds. The completion speed of this transaction is comparable to the Gunners' previous introduction of Trosar from Brighton, and it also means that the Gunners' reinforcement work in this winter window has officially come to an end.

The 31-year-old Jorginho joined Chelsea from Naples in 2018, and his contract with Chelsea is now in the final six months. The Italian midfielder's name was first revealed by the English media on Monday afternoon, when speculation arose as to whether the Premier League's top-flight team would make a club-record offer after two bids for Caicedo were rejected by Brighton. However, well-informed English media revealed at this time that Arteta and Edu have now switched their targets and started to attack Jorginho, who is also in London.

This news was once considered to be a "suspicious tactic" used by the Gunners to lower prices, but as a result, at 10 o'clock on Tuesday morning, many media received confirmation from the two clubs: A transfer agreement was reached. Considering that the player's contract is less than half a year, the transfer fee of 12 million pounds is enough for Chelsea. On the other hand, Arsenal also cautiously offered an 18-month contract, plus the option to automatically renew the contract for one year. Both parties are happy.

Arsenal coach Arteta actually intends to introduce Jorginho as early as the summer window of 2020. He has always admired this Italian midfielder with excellent pass control. In the club's official announcement, the Spanish coach also spoke highly of Jorginho's ability: "Jorginho is a midfielder with deep football intelligence, and he also has excellent leadership skills and sufficient talent. Premier League and international experience."

And Jorginho himself admitted that he himself was a little "surprised" by the transfer, but he regarded joining Arsenal as a "challenge". In his first interview with the club, the Italian midfielder revealed that Arteta exerted "significant influence" in the transfer and finally convinced him to make his final decision: "I know he tried a few times before to sign Me, but it's not that I'm not interested, it's because of various reasons that I can't make it. I can't wait to play for this big club, everything is moving so fast these days, I will do my best here Work hard and help the team with your positive energy and experience!"

After winning Jorginho, Arsenal also began to further optimize the existing lineup on Tuesday afternoon. Lokonga, who was originally the only substitute in the midfield, was loaned to Crystal Palace by the team. The Belgian midfielder just replaced the injured Thomas in the FA Cup against Manchester City last Friday, and his performance was disappointing. And it was that game that made Arteta determined to upgrade the midfield alternatives to deal with the severe test of the two-line battle that the team will face in the second half of the schedule. Even if Thomas' injury is not serious in the end, Arsenal's midfield signings did not end up as insignificant as before.

As the main lineup for the first half of the season is gradually determined, 캡주소 believes that Jorginho is unlikely to get a stable main position for the rest of the season. He will play more when the team needs it, especially when the team needs his pass control to consolidate the lead. In addition, in the league that requires the intensity of double matches a week, and the upcoming knockout stage in March, Jorginho will start as the main rotation player.

[personality-slate-blank]

More Momo headcannons (+ a ficlet)

Maybe her mother works as a tailor/designer for celebrities and the rich that pay for a specially made design or perfect fit. She uses a similar creation quirk and has even been commissioned by top heroes for specific materials and such.

She didnt inherit her father's quirk, but he has a quirk which allows him to sense impurities. He uses it for selling gems and such. Like engagement rings with flawless diamonds

They both came from rich families and only continued with the wealth they were given and made more off their own backs

They support momo's ambition to become a hero and admire her creative use of her quirk. They encourage her to use her looks for a side job in actressing or similar though. While she doesn't outright reject the idea of a second job to earn more money, she thinks teaching might be better, taking inspiration from Aizawa-sensei.

She sets her sights on becoming UA's top student, and being a versatile hero, rather than focusing on one specific area like rescue or stealth. Her goal is to own a large hero company in a city where she can teach aspiring heroes and have a range of people under her, to be able to send the best people out for the jobs

Once she graduated from UA, she intends to join a hero agency to get her name out there as a versatile hero with a wealth of knowledge and after a few years, some good experience to back it up. She works with many different heroes over the course of her years after graduating. But the age of 21 she has set up a small hero agency. Her sidekicks at the moment consist of 3 experienced heroes looking for a change of pace, and 2 new graduates who joined her after hearing about her from the heroes they had internships with. She has a good name with a lot of heroes, plus her classmates recommend her, as they are starting to get set up too. So with her group they have a rota to patrol

One of the first things she tried to set up was a communication device with different wavelengths.

After a bit of tinkering and contacting a lot of support companies, their headsets work can properly in sync with each other, one wavelength for updates on the teams and rota, one for conversation and an emergency frequency that flashes and has loud alerts when not on someone's head. Meaning help is always on hand and Momo finds it easier to coordinate the team together on short notice.

Those headsets dont flash unless there is an emergency though, so when they ring, almost every one answers every time.

It is important that they have that trust and it is not abused because, they face a wide variety of villains, if someone didnt pick up when they were needed, someone could die. Through hard work and dedication they have a lot of success, promoting the growth of the agency over 10 fold in the next 2 years.

Momo has recruitment days now, those that pass the application process are invited down to the agency to be interviewed and if they still want to join, they are given a trial period where they are assigned an older member to ghost, when said older member is called out, the recruit goes with them.

How the calls work, is the first call is given straight to Momo, as head strategist when she is on duty, including details of the scene, opponents, allies and how fast they are needed. As much detail is needed as possible so the headsets were updated to record audio and video footage which is sent along with the call. Momo reviews this and quickly (the average response time is 5 minutes) contacts all those that are nearby with useful quirks on patrol. The call is kept online, with the 1st person and they respond when backup reaches them or if the situations changes while they wait, Momo can also tell them where to lead a villain to in order to reach allies faster. Depending on how dangerous the situation is, the call may go out to more agents. Off duty, further away, or with more specialised quirks, any and all will be called in the most dangerous situations.

By the time she is 28, her team if strategists has increased from just 2 to 14, they manage calls and have enough influence over the area that if there is a hero agency that is struggling against a reoccurring villain or a large force, they contact Momo's organisation to send out specific agents, for their versatile quirks.

Momo is still heavily invested in the agency and plans to expand to other areas, her force is now over 250 strong, giving the hero agencies around the area help when needed. They have good holidays and are normally undisturbed on days off because of the hard work put in initially. There are specific cases where someone's quirk is necessary or someone lives nearby and the patrol needs help, but for the most part, the heroes that work for Momo have a great time. The criteria for applicants is fairly high though, you dont need a flashy quirk, just good control and cooperation. Ideally a good understanding of the limitations of your quick would help, and the flexible working hours mean you dont have guaranteed work at all times but it pays well.

Getting together a meeting off her entire agency is hard because it is always active, some people on patrol, on call or on nights all the time. So instead she contacts them via the non-emergency line of the headsets. She asks them what they think to opening another branch in the next biggest city, she is asking them all before contacting the pro heroes in the area, to make sure they could handle a few less staff, less breaks and a higher work load for a little bit while the other branch would be set up. She also mentions that they would have less impact from her personally, as she would be focusing on the other agency for now. Although they have other, experienced, strategists who do the same job and she assures that their fundamentals woulnt change. She would still lead the holidays, and the recruitment days. Plus making checks and ensuring the business is running smoothly.

The overwhelming response was positive. A few people even offered to transfer with her to the other base. After contacting the local heroes and getting some good recommendations, she was able to set up the 2nd agency leaving just over 200 at the 1st and around 150 at the 2nd base along with a new wave of applicants and transfers it wasnt long before both of the bases where full operational within their own rights. The commute was fairly far between them, but she would make it work.

One day, after checking in with the 2nd agency for the morning, and stopping a few crimes in the surrounding area with the help of the small hero agencies nearby, she decided to check on the other base, meet up with some older colleagues. After all her original group had been together for, damn, 10 years, that was hard to believe. She definitely needed to pay them a visit then, she grabbed her bike, pulled on her helmet and sped off down the roads, dodging lunchtime traffic. She pulled off down a small road and stopped outside a shop to pick up some flowers, and a bit of chocolate, just to say thanks. As she lined up to pay for the bouquets to be sent ahead of her, the TV in the corner blared -"AND DONT MISS THE UA SPORTS FESTIVAL COMING UP! See young heroes aspiring to show their stuff and compete for a medal!! This Saturday!" It sparked a memory in her of her time at UA. Remembering her classmates and the trials they faced. It was a beautiful time. Wait, time? Shoot, she had to get back before 2. Hurriedly paying for the flowers she saw them sent off, putting the chocolates delicately in her backpack she rode off at high speed.