#his friend was chatty at least so i tried to pres him to ask if they dbeen drinkig and were high LOL

[bakuraryxu]

he showed up high i think with a friend who i have never heard of or seen before and my brother did a sweep of the house introduced everyone and he was looking for mum then he left

[bakugohoex]

“probably married to this dumbass”

pairing: katsuki bakugo x female reader

cw: pro hero (aged up) fluff, language, implied 18+ and kissing 

word count: 2600+

a/n: i was in the mood to write some bakugo i have three requests atm so if you guys want to send in more i’ll write someee

summary: in which you and bakugo get interviewed on a talk show on what it’s like being pro hero, what turns into a simple where do you see yourself in five years leads to your relationship being announced on live tv

↞ back to my hero academia masterlist

You and Bakugo were in love, you knew it, your friends knew it. The people of Japan however had no idea, you were seen just as partners on patrols when out and about. They had no idea of the lewd things Bakugo whispered in your ear as you tried to make sure there was no crime going on. His aim of being the number one hero was becoming a reality, his personality from UA had changed, he may still be the loud explosive man, but he was sometimes kind to civilians. You stress the sometimes.

He would help people get up and tell them off for falling, his logic made sense, but you still loved him even if half the time he was screaming. You had both been asked to be on a talk show that aired at night so nothing you and Bakugo ever saw as you spent many hours at your shared apartment fucking.

It was a love language for the shouty man, and you wouldn’t lie and say you didn’t love coming home to be pinned against a wall. Feeling ever so small under his gaze filled with lust and love.

“You’re telling me, me and Y/n have to be on a fucking show.” He hollered at one of the girls who was currently interning.

“Don’t shout Katsuki.” You mutter giving a more sympathetic look to the poor girl. “It might be fun.”

“Fun.” He raised as eyebrow shouting, as he dragged you to a secluded area of the hero agency. “Fun would be making you beg for my dick; this is not my idea of fun princess.”

You rolled your eyes at his comment as his arm rested on the wall, he leaned further and further towards you. “If we go then tomorrow we get the day off.” You move your finger up his arm to his shoulder, “we can do whatever you want to do.”

You were taunting him; he gave a smirk however falling right into it. You couldn’t lie you wanted to get dressed up and gain some attention. “Whatever I want yeah.”

“Whatever you want baby.” You cooed as he smirked, he watches as your hands moved to his hero costume, his exposed neck as you brushed your finger across it about to move it to his lip to brush against.

He quickly walks away as you huff as the lack of contact, not even a kiss goodbye. You followed as you saw him storm to the girl who looked scared for her life, he must’ve said an okay as she gave a small smile to you. You smiled back before Bakugo came back.

“It’s at 7, they want us to look nice for the reputation of the agency or whatever.” He crosses his arms leaning against the desk you had leant against.

You were all giddy now, happy that you were able to look pretty, even with your very much exposed hero costume due to your quirk needing more skin contact, you still wanted to feel pretty in something that you didn’t associate with hero work. “I know you’re happy to look all amazing, but even if you turned up in a bin bag you’d still be the prettiest girl in the room, dumbass”

When Bakugo spoke you instantly blushed at his comment, he was never one to outright praise you with hero work, but as soon as it came to your relationship and making you happy he was always one to compliment you, even with it ended with him calling you dumbass. But at least you were his dumbass.

You had been made to choose from a couple dresses as they wanted you to look drop dead gorgeous, you chose a red one that matched Bakugo’s eyes as it hugged your body and went to the ground, it had thin straps and you couldn’t lie and say that if Bakugo saw you in this he would want to tear it right off.

You had been told someone would do your make up at the show’s base, and to Bakugo’s dismay the two of you had been separated. Being guided to the base, you sat down eagerly as you saw women and men surrounding you, they did your hair and your make up effortlessly making you look like an absolute goodness. 

They were really pulling out the stops for this one thing, it was rare for you to do talk shows as you were more into interviews that were pre recorded and edited. Live ones were more Deku’s and Bakugo’s thing though.

“You look gorgeous.” The same girl who had told you about the talk show spoke as she held the dress out.

“Thank you.” You smiled back as you put the dress on, you had worn the necklace that Katsuki had got you which had the letter K on it assuming people would think it was anybody’s name and not the man who in a couple minutes would walk out with you.

A red bracelet wrapped around your wrist as you wore a couple rings on your fingers, the promise one encasing your ring finger, it had a small gem in the middle of the gold band and you had refused to take it and your necklace off as it meant so much to you.

Before you knew it was nearly time to go and you saw as Bakugo huffed walking in with a man, Bakugo was for sure not paying attention as the red button up adorned his chest and black trousers clinged to his legs. He had left the top two buttons open, wearing similar rings to you with the black ring you had gotten him around his own ring finger. It was small and thin but inside had your name inscribed in it, he loved it and would wear it with anything, the feeling of it around your throat always sent shivers down your spine.

As soon as he noticed you standing in front of him, he was dumbfounded, he couldn’t even speak, looking at you up and down. He walked towards you putting his arms around your waist, “You’re too gorgeous to resist princess.” You blush as he turns you around so he can get a better view of you.

He loved the sight in front of him, your confident nature was brought out through the dress, everything about the way you looked defined you and it made him fall even more in love with you.

The girl from earlier had gestured for the both of you to go in, Bakugo let go of your waist, missing the touch of your hips on his ever-irritated cock. You both smiled as you saw that there was even a live audience. Bakugo walked in like he owned the place as you just kept straight not wanting to trip in the heels they had made you wear.

“Welcome both of you, come sit, sit.” She gestured as there was a long couch waiting for the two of you, Bakugo let you go first as you sat closest to the host and Bakugo sat beside you, your legs touching as his arm wrapped to the back of the couch, ever so relaxed. “So, we have Pro Heroes Dynamight and (your hero name), better known as Katsuki Bakugo and Y/n Y/L/N.”

You smiled at her as Bakugo didn’t speak or look at her, he had been dragged in this due to thinking with his downstairs brain at the heat of the moment. But seeing how happy you looked in the dress how could he ever have said no to you?

“So, first off we need to know what got you to want to become heroes.”

“Katsuki.” You mutter if he wanted to talk first, you noticed that in a lot of these live stuff he liked talking a lot, but his normal chatty nature had changed as if he was in a trace and the cause was most definitely you. “Okay well, it’s probably the most basic reason but I saw a hero save someone and I instantly fell in love with the idea of saving and helping people.”

You knew it was common for many heroes to have this sort of epiphany, you heard Bakugo speak as he sat up right, “All Might of course, from seeing him I knew I wanted to be number one hero.”

He had a calmer demeanour trying not to shout or get as pissed off as he usually did, you smiled at him as he looked down at your body again. “Do you have any advice to any kids out there who want to be heroes?”

“Work hard and even if it doesn’t work out at first you’ll still be a hero in your own way.” You smile out.

Bakugo laughs at the comment, he knew you were being nice for the show as he knew what you’d have really said, “If you suck, you suck, get strong or you’ll die.” Your eyes grow wide at his bluntness.

“Katsuki.” You scowled at him as the host and the audience laugh, you hit his chest feeling his hard muscles underneath.

“It’s the truth Y/n, you started to sugar-coat stuff.” He raises an eyebrow as he leans back again.

The host continues to ask questions as you answer enticingly as Bakugo makes remarks that lift the comfort of the room, you had finally becoming comfortable, the host asking about UA. “So, we heard that you two went to UA together, were you two friends, did you get along?”

Bakugo was the first one to speak, you two had been dating since UA and had kept it a secret from everyone except for Class 1A, as soon as the dorm system had been implemented it made it a lot easier to be around each other and one by one the class found out. Even with continuing dating after graduating they all knew you had remained strong together and it was a surprise nobody had found out on the amount of dates you two went on.

“Yeah we were friends I guess; we were in the same class and spent time with the class together.” He smiled as he thought of the days were you’d both sneak into each other’s rooms to be able to cuddle at night. His taller frame always encasing you in love. “She was a pain back then though.”

You glare at the boy before you interrupt up him, “me a pain, I distinctly remember you pissing off everybody.”

You laughed as he glared back at you, “seems like you two really are the best friends everybody talks about.” You nodded as to try and not blow your secret relationship. “Now for the finally question of the night, where do both of you see each other in five years?”

You had never been asked something like this, you were only in your early twenties and five years is a substantial difference now then it was in your teens. Where would you be? Would you and Bakugo remain strong with you still be partners would Bakugo be the number one hero. You carefully thought trying to get a satisfactory answer out.

Well you had clearly been thinking because Bakugo blurted out the words nobody had expected, “probably married to this dumbass.”

Your head shot as he had his arm around the couch still, his legs spread as if he was waiting for you to sit on his lap. “K…Katsuki.” Realisation hit him as it made his mouth went dry.

The host looked before the two of you noticing, how Bakugo’s arm moved to behind your back, your legs touching, the K necklace around your neck and the look of love that surrounded the two of you.

“You two are dating?” She asks.

He gives a look to you as you nod at the idiot, “Yeah since our UA days, isn’t that right princess, you were always obsessed with me.” The nickname rolling off his tongue as your face flushed a bright pink.

“Katsuki you liar.” You mutter, the mic still picking up on it as you could hear it play on the speakers.

“That is adorable, you two are such a cute couple.” The host coos as you smile at her.

“Yeah we might be cute but dating his is like dating a kid.” You laugh as you were trying to get back at Bakugo for embarrassing you.

“I expect it would be” The host smiles as the audience still hadn’t said anything only watching at you two. She wrapped the show up as you could almost hear your phone go off in the other room.

The host said goodbye to you both as the audience watched intensively as they walked out, “you and your big mouth.” You mutter to Bakugo as he grabs your hand walking you to the side.

“But now we can go on dates anytime we want now, idiot.” He laughs.

You shrug as he still held your hand, not bothering to change he grabs your bag and clothes as he takes his own, passing you your phone as he remained holding hands with you. “Twitter has gone mad.”

“Yeah cause two sex god’s have been dating and they never knew.” He smirks as you push into his side.

“Mr and Mrs Bakugo, there’s a car waiting outside for you.” You almost choke on the name as you look at one of the producers.

“It’s Miss Y/L/N.” You spoke softly but she hadn’t heard as Bakugo grinned at the thought.

“Come on Mrs Bakugo, our cars waiting.” You wanted to rip his throat out, as you both walked outside.

Fans around the both of you as Bakugo put an arm tightly around you, he didn’t want this to happen, but he basked in all the attention. “You’re enjoying this too much.”

He grins looking down at you as he goes to you ear, “It’s because tomorrow you won’t be doing any walking at all.”

Your face reddens at what he said, the sex addicted Bakugo was too comfortable and having said that in front of fan only made your face blush even more. He opened the door for you as you got in, he followed as he sat right beside you, the driver taking you to your apartment.

“We could always have some fun here.” You watching his hands move across your thigh, slowly getting higher and higher at every touch.

“You’re such a perv Bakugo.” You hissed slapping his hand, his quirk created little sparkles as he lifted your dress up, putting his hand inside as he grabbed your thigh. The hotness making your legs shuffle at the closeness it had to your pussy.

“Your perv though princess.” His antics continued and before you knew it you were inside the elevator to your apartment, his hands around your waist as his chin rested on top of your head. “I love you.”

He spoke calmly for once without any snideness or ulterior motive. “I love you too.” You reply back as you turned to face him, your hands wrapping around his neck as you leant in and kissed him, his arms wrapping around your waist, the kiss deepening as he pulled you closer towards his body, he groped at your hips as he moves to your ass, squeezing it through the thin material. The elevator opened up as his teeth bit into your bottom lip as you retracted, the feeling of him remaining on you.

You knew what was going to occur for the next day and you knew you certainly weren’t prepared for losing the ability to walk for the next week. But as he watched you look gorgeous in the dress you watched over him with the same love and lust. You were perfect for each other and nothing would ever change that.

If you guys want to be a part of a tag list, just reply to any post and I’ll add you xx

@samusimp @alaina-rose13

[jaskicr]

reverse!au but geralt, eskel and lambert are all bards

(probably bardsexual) witcher!jaskier and his merry boyband of bards consisting of geralt, eskel, and lambert, featuring vesemir as their tired dad, with future additions of yen, ciri and coën (and some valdo bashing)

bard!geralt talks a little more than in the show, he’s sassy and witty in the way we only see bits of in canon, he’s slightly less emotionally stunted but he‘s still dumb

he has curly auburn hair (bc that’s adorable ok) and green eyes, he’s very squishy and pretty and adorable, also he has freckles and blushes easily

he and eskel and lambert were all orphans, taken in by vesemir, a gruff but kind-hearted professor at oxenfurt

they grew up in oxenfurt as brothers with vesemir as their father figure and now they travel the continent as a band (bard boyband that i have dubbed kaer morons courtesy of @kaermorons)

vesemir gave up his position as professor to travel alongside his sons bc they’re really chaotic and he needs to make sure they don’t get themselves killed (but also he’s a tired dad who loves his disaster sons)

ok so one day they split up because they’re competitive bastards and they’re competing to see who first writes a song that gets popular across the continent

this is when geralt travels to posada and spots a witcher in the corner of a tavern

jaskier is a witcher from the wolf school and he goes by julian of kerack

he’s not as chatty as in canon but he’s definitely chattier than a normal witcher

it’s just a normal day on the path when he meets a bard called geralt in posada

geralt is intrigued by the witcher in the corner, takes one look at jaskier’s distinctive silver hair and golden eyes and scarred face and exclaims, ‘oh, you’re julian of kerack’

jaskier is surprised - this human knows who he is, and yet chose to approach him. he doesn’t even look afraid, merely curious, so jaskier decides to see where this goes

‘my friends call me jaskier,’ jaskier returns wryly. ‘at least, they would, if i had any friends’

geralt is stunned. the witcher is funny! and he has a very cute nickname to match a very cute face (even if it is slightly intimidating. but he’s cute)

‘well, nice to meet you, jaskier. i’m sure we’ll become great friends’

then they get kidnapped by elves, and geralt is taken aback by this witcher’s surprising eloquence as he talks them out of the situation

geralt wants to know more about him

also, it’ll be a good way to get a new song, what with his witchery adventures, so geralt decides to follow this witcher for inspiration for his songs

he can easily beat eskel and lambert if he sings songs about a witcher’s adentures

it’ll also improve the reputations of witchers in the process, so it’s a win-win

but also, geralt finds this witcher deeply interesting, and what better way to get to know him than to travel with him?

jaskier is bemused at the bard who decides to follow him. he almost leaves the bard behind, but well, he’s lonely, he’s missed talking to people, and geralt is kind of adorable, so he lets geralt follow him

the bard makes good music, jaskier notes. usually, most sounds grate on his enhanced hearing, but geralt’s music is low and pleasant, and jaskier finds that he doesn’t mind

geralt’s view that all witchers are taciturn and silent is quickly overturned. while jaskier rarely starts a conversation, once geralt asks him questions, he actually talks quite a lot, rambling a bit

geralt finds it quite endearing, and jaskier’s smile when geralt engages him in conversation lights up his face, and oh the witcher is really gorgeous

geralt tells jaskier about his band with eskel and lambert, and sheepishly admits that he partly tagged along with jaskier to win the competition

jaskier isn’t mad. he’d suspected that the bard had an ulterior motive, so he shrugs it off. geralt’s been good company after years of loneliness, and jaskier isn’t about to chase him away

geralt is relieved - jaskier has grown on him, and he finds himself reluctant to leave the witcher’s side

geralt’s version of toss a coin is debuted 2 weeks later and the humans eat it up

within a month it’s spread across the continent like wildfire and geralt knows that he’s all but won the little competition against his brothers

during this time, geralt has, despite jaskier’s insistence that he stay back, joined jaskier on several hunts. there are around 3 more songs in the works, ready to be debuted with his band

a tentative friendship has grown between them, a comfortable banter unlike anything jaskier has had over the long years of his life, and geralt finds himself becoming attached to the witcher

one day, geralt asks jaskier to travel with him to meet his band

they meet up with eskel, lambert and vesemir in oxenfurt at their planned meeting time

eskel and lambert have resigned looks on their faces as geralt turns up with a smug grin and a scary witcher trailing behind him

‘you found a witcher,’ lambert grouses, ‘that should be cheating.’

‘that was never in the rules,’ geralt replies, still high on his victory. ‘suck it, lambert.’

but the wolves take a liking to jaskier very quickly after a chat over a meal, and they collectively decide to follow him

jaskier is very confused (poor bby is confused throughout this whole thing) because he’s a big bad scary witcher?? and somehow all these bards have decided that they like him and want to follow him??

but it’s not like he can stop them so they tag along on his adventures, singing his praises

whenever jaskier gets a contract, he tries to make the bards stay behind in town, but it’s 4 against 1 and jaskier can’t do anything but give in

so the bards huddle some distance away from the fight and watch

the first time, they’re tense and on edge, fearing the worst, and only geralt is relaxed, knowing that jaskier is more than capable of taking down some measly drowners

by the third time they follow jaskier into a fight, the bards are totally chill and start a running commentary about the fight

‘bet you our next meal that jaskier’s gonna run to the left’

lambert snorts. ‘please, eskel. he’ll definitely jump on its head.’

‘as if. he’s gonna roll under it and stab it,’ geralt argues

‘HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK HE JUMPED INTO ITS MOUTH’

they all lose the bet

theyre panicking until jaskier casually slices his way out of the corpse, covered in guts but unharmed

their bets become wild after that

‘he’s running at it is he getting ready to do an aerial somersault’

‘he’s gonna grab onto its wings and ride on its back’

‘he’s gonna igni that nekker and toss it into the rest of the nekkers’

theyre never able to predict what jaskier does because jaskier is just a very skilled witcher and he also delights in how annoyed his bards get when they guess wrong

the bards are also very feral especially when it comes to defending their witcher

someone insults jaskier? they get assaulted by 3 snarling bards while their dad nods approvingly

someone tries to cheat jaskier out of his payment? lambert mysteriously has a knife and jaskier has to physically hold back eskel and geralt from jumping on the person

eventually word spreads around the continent that julian of kerack has 3 very feral bard protectors and a their scary father who looms at anyone who dares speak a word against julian

this is based on a post i made a few weeks ago, there are more ideas for this in the reblogs of that post - if you want to check it out, i’ll put the link in a reblog!

there are definitely more headcanons for this that i’ve already written and i will post them soon!! hopefully one day i’ll get around to writing this because i LOVE this concept a whole lot

i have more headcanons featuring witcher!jaskier disguising himself as dandelion the bard, his rivalry with cat witcher valdo marx, his friendship with pre-transformation yen and coën, and how ciri fits in with it all - thank u @brothebro for bouncing ideas with me<3

[famouskittychild]

Cheeky Mandos - ...and we're off

(Sorry I had a terrible writer’s block in the past 6-ish weeks - I went from reading fanfiction and being inspired by other’s visions to “I’ll never be able to write anything like these and I’m useless” in a single day :( I’m getting back into the groove finally, so I’m hoping to post more soon.)

There will be 18+ content (in the coming chapters soon) so if you are a minor, please don't read further.

Also the characters will be quite open and relaxed about things like gender, attraction, sexual activities, relationships etc, so if you prefer your Din (and their partner) possessive and/or monogamous , this won’t be a good read for you!

***

This pairing is  Din Djarin x gn reader / tall reader.  I’m short (and cis and woman). There’s so many short (and female) reader stuff out there, I wanted to write for people on the other end of the “why is your height not normal” / "definitely female" spectrum. If I make mistakes or you have advice, or ideas you'd like to see, please tell me!

Word count: 4267

Summary: You’re an armourer and some shiny guy just showed up.

First full piece/chapter/course! In which people seem to catch things. Thoughts? Viruses? Dropped facts? Who knows!?? Also contains a dilettante’s attempt at space electronics and some barely-canon-reminiscent Mando world-building. Still no spiciness sorry, marinating is a long process :P

Rating: T for some mentions of heavier topics.

CW: Mentions of mandalorian history, playing somewhat loose with canon lore (as in, my SW knowledge is patchy. sorry.)

Author’s note: I tried to find more info but it seems like the mandalorian alphabet doesn’t have names for the individual letters so I used aurebesh (also I liked the little Dorn(e) meta in there). And sorry for the bad puns. They’ll keep coming.

Prologue

One - ...and we're off

***

You aren’t worried about taking a stranger on board, you’ve done that plenty of times before. You hope he’s willing to put in the effort himself, too, just as he promised at the assembly.

The stranger leaves behind his ship, saying a friend will come to pick it up together with whoever might want to join the cause. You spot him from the cockpit as he walks over with a repulsor pallet in tow. He stops for a moment when your droids surge past him, busy at their pre-flight tasks, before moving on towards the ramp.

All his baggage is a satchel at his hip and a small bag on his shoulder, and two large crates of weaponry. You put him up in the spare cabin, the one that had been Sal’ee’s, your former apprentice, before she went on to be a journeyman. He stands in the middle of the room, staring at the two cots on opposite sides of the room, the lockers, the fresher in the corner.

“All mine? Where will you sleep?”

You don’t understand the surprise in his voice.

“Over there” you show him, pointing at the cabin opposite from his. It’s much more lived in, some of the blankets and trinkets and pillows visible through it’s open door. “There’s a third cabin that I mostly use for storage but has more fold-up bunks in case I need to transport more people. That’s rare though.”

“Ohh.” He nods, then turns to look around his room again. “Okay. I thought all of these rooms were cargo space.”

You smile, and quickly think through your to-do list. You’ll have to rearrange your schedule somewhat but it’s not that big of a bother.

“Come on, I’ll show you around the ship.” Before he gets lost in its cavernous interiors, you might add - but you don’t. If his reaction to a separate cabin and his current ship - an old ARC170 - is any indication, he must be used to very cramped quarters.

***

Your trusty Brick, a beat-up YV 929, is armed to the teeth and ugly, just as you like it. The ship is a scavenged one, gutted from most of its original factory issue armaments, engines, and even wiring. It was perfect for your former master when she found it at a scrap heap: she wanted to rebuild it herself, deliberately piecemeal; panels sourced form here, engines from there, concealments added. She modified the inner workings of the engines so that the power lines could be redirected to a concealed forge.

That forge is your pride and the main reason you haven’t settled at a permanent place yourself. When your master retired from travelling, the ship passed to you, and you continued her mission of offering your knowledge and expertise to those of your people who otherwise had no access to an armourer.

…

The next standard month is spent with adjusting, both for yourself after getting used travelling alone again since Sal’ee left, and for the stranger who found himself a passenger on someone else’s ship. Apparently he used to live a very similar life to yours, with the exception that he was a hunter not a craftsman.

You travel together, share meals, research the places you are directed to. He joins in the effort that is maintaining the ship. Still - he is very taciturn at the beginning, keeping his words to the bare minimum. The first few days it feels as if you are still on your own aside of your droids. By the middle of the month, he progresses from short answers, through sharing information, to willingly starting to tell stories; but you know that chatting will never be his defining feature.

His armour seems to fill the spaces of the Brick’s corridors. You feel as if it’s not him who has the presence, but that set of glinting, perfectly made handwork of an armourer you already admire. Some of the pieces were sourced elsewhere, you can tell by the different shapes and designs; they seem haphazard and mismatched compared to the rest. Most of the set is the work of a single person. On those, there’s not a single uneven line, a broken curve, an edge at the wrong place. The angle of the panes of the metal, the ridges, the simplicity and elegance of them all - you have to hold yourself back from touching them, to admire them. You would give a lot to hold those pieces in your hand, to study them, to analyse them with your eyes and hands and with your tools.

You’re a master, yes. But so much knowledge was lost. So many masters gone, with their knowledge and their workshops. Apprentices became heads of Forges in the absence of the more skilled. The survivors still to this day have to piece together half-remembered lessons and forgotten details, experiment with techniques that were known before but the methods got lost as decades of civil war and occupation and murder kept eroding your heritage.

Sometimes a set of armour comes along that is just made in a way you never had an opportunity to learn. Often the person who forged them is long gone. Not the stranger’s armourer though. As far you can tell, she’s alive. Or at least was, when he last saw her. Not too long ago; though your usual method for guessing forging dates is mostly useless as it is based on the condition of the suit’s paintwork. Which he doesn’t have, so you can only guess from the small amount of scratches. You try to ask once, but whilst he’s forthcoming with general stories, he doesn’t go into details.

It’s a common theme with him. He talks about people and planets and events, and leaves out a lot - and you don’t even notice it first. Only when you try to glean information about his armour do you realize how well he fuzzes over those facts and nuances. It’s only up to the peculiarities of Basic and its use of gendered pronouns that you know his Armourer is a woman, or at least he considers them so. He doesn’t even tells you his own name, and when you ask your Elder in one of your communications, she tells you he didn’t gave it to them either. You keep introducing him as a friend, and that is the end of it for a while.

***

The visits to this first few coverts with him are… interesting. You can see him fidgeting from the corner of your eye. He always follows half a step behind and off to a side, as if not wanting to be in your way. He keeps quiet and doesn’t mix much, and around small children and droids, he is positively withdrawn. He only comes alive when he talks about his mission.

You had learned early on during your apprenticeship that keeping the helmet on is a safe bet when meeting with unfamiliar mandalorians. That led to later getting in contact with his type of believers too, despite their notorious secrecy even from the rest of the People. When you tell the stranger about that, he immediately showers you with questions, but you can’t give an answer to most of them. You never met with anyone from his particular covert, or heard of it. No name, no description seems familiar. It’s painful to watch his shoulders slump after daring to hope.

During the course of the month spent travelling, he gradually comes to be more social. He starts to stand and walk beside you. He doesn’t withdraw to the background anymore; he can actually be quite chatty if approached the right way. Droids still make him stop, though he warms up to kids in his own way. He’s good with them, at least in your opinion, though you know some would still call him aloof and distant. He isn’t a cuddler, nor does he crouch down to ask cutesy questions. He juts sits nearby them, and in that way of children having a good sense about adults, they know he’s trustworthy. They go up to him to chatter, to hand him a toy to hold, to ask him to fix a latch on their boots; than they go back to play.

He teaches you too, inadvertently at first during everyday conversations and later by his own volition, about his Way. About his Creed. It keeps throwing you off how much it differs from most that you had met before. Not even meeting briefly with people who followed the same Way as him could prepare you for the details that he does share. The degree of strictness, the loyalty, the barest bones Old Tradition beliefs and their willingness to follow them is very rare amongst the People as far as you can tell. Their devotion earns your respect.

At other times, your jaw hangs open and you can’t believe you are talking to an adult roughly around the same age as yourself, who by his own admission had spent three decades living as a follower of the Creed - not knowing about things children are thought through plays and songtime. His ignorance is so staggering, your admiration towards his unknown Armourer wavers. How could she keep so many things hidden from them? Why not talk about your own history? Your greats? Your artefacts?

About the many other who would call them vod’e, siblings?

You are an armourer, a craftsman, a person who makes a living by making things with your hand. You’re not a leader, or a scholar, or someone who decides what to tell your people. You do have a status within the community, but that is a status of service. From what the stranger says, their Armourer was a leader in every aspect: elder and lorekeeper and moral guide and more. All in one. It is something you can see developing from the old songs and histories amongst groups who take tradition more literally.

You are good at observing people, even at copying their habits to make them feel more comfortable with you, but less good at determining their underlying motives. The reason you think of him as “the stranger” even after travelling with him is because it’s so hard to figure out what drives him. There’s a melancholy to him that overrides the more typical mandalorian fight-readiness or aggression. You see how he gazes off to the distance sometimes, turning his head to the side and freezing. How he keeps to himself when he can. But you can’t tell why. Grief? Regrets? Determination to change? Planning something greater and being preoccupied with that?

He doesn’t pick fights to test you. He spars with you when you invite him to, he helps when you ask, and often even without it. He’s polite and considerate; he keeps conversation to practicalities and interesting stories, and doesn’t bother you with anecdotes or insistent questions about trivialities or your private life. He even does the dishes.

He’s deadly boring in his reliableness.

You are used to being on your toes around people all the time. When you meet a new group, it’s all unknown people. With ones you had already visited, the problem is having to remember them. They remember you of course, the ‘wandering armourer’; and surely you remember them too.

What is worse, when people stay the same but you don’t remember them, or when they change and you just can’t place them?

He becomes a good excuse after you’ve been to several coverts together. It’s interesting to notice how your dynamics change even further once you two get into a comfortable routine. You start to retreat to your forge and tools, and let him take all the attention. And he doesn’t just talk about his mission anymore, or lets little ones play around him whilst he’s quiet. He converses with people about news, about their children, about weaponry. You have more time to focus on your work.

Sometimes, people ask you what do you think of his mission. You tell them that you will follow what your clan decides, and that’s mostly true. It is something people don’t often debate, at least.

He quickly becomes a part of your everyday life. You are content with your usually solitary travels. You know that your family, your clan and your friends wait for you at home. They message you and you can find the time that suits you to message back. You don’t miss the constant hubbub of the covert most of the time. But now that you have someone that is not a droid, someone who is your equal in every aspect, on board again, it’s not even lonely anymore.

***

“So what’s up with you and droids?” you ask one day, after you got back from a covert and are safely in hyperspace to the next destination. You tinker with your astromech’s navigational systems. Poor 2-T keeps bumping into walls and crates. Again.

The stranger looks at you and your droid, than over at Mouse who for a change isn’t zooming around at foot level.

“Bad memories.”

“Gunk sat on you?” You tease. You hope it’s just something silly and not him having some sort of snobbish organics-are-better philosophy. He is quiet, and you focus on your work. He’ll talk if he wants to, that much you know already about him.

Inside the body of your astromech, a rivet from stars knows where is stuck between two circuit boards and blocks the access to a short-circuited piece of wire.

“Kriff. Toots, this will take a while, sweetie. Can’t access that kriffing panel.” He chirps back something and you read the translation on the small display. “No, it’s not that. My hand can’t fit in that small space. Let me find those pliers… should be in that other drawer somewhere.”

You search in the chest of tools, and despite your usually good organization, you can’t find them amongst the droids’ tools where their place is.

“Let me help.” The stranger’s voice beside you makes you jump. He can be awfully quiet. “Sorry. I think I might’ve put them back into the wrong drawer. I used them the other day when I fine-tuned that scope.”

He points at another drawer, where you keep your fine electronics stuff. No wonder he mixed them up. He stands beside Tootee a bit awkwardly until you find the tool.

“Here! No problem by the way. “ You turn back to him and to the droid, than have an idea. “Do you mind a bit more help? You can say no if you don’t want to work with the droid, I’ll understand.”

He doesn’t object yet, so you go back to 2-T and show the stranger the area you’re working on. You see him lean closer in your peripheral vision.

“That’s where I need to get that burned piece of wire out and install a new one, but first, I need to get that rivet out of the way.” You point at the root of the problem, than explain your plan, pointing out each part in turn. ”If you could hold those using this, than I could get here, remove this, with that tool, than have to get those bundles out of the way too, so than that wire there could come out. Easy.”

You look up at him, and his helmet is way closer than you expected. You can almost see your reflection in that black visor as it stares back at you for a second, and you almost apologize again, when the stranger starts to speak.

“Just have to hold the wires to the casing, or pull them like…” he moves his hand in the air, showing what he means.

“Hold them to that panel, there, with the pliers, so I have room to access the rest.”

He thinks for a moment, than he starts to tug one of his gloves off.

“You don’t need to take that off, just hold the pliers” you tell him, but he shakes his head.

“No, I can fit my hand in there, I’m pretty sure. If not we can try it with the tool.”

You realize that this is the first time you see his skin. Than it occurs to you that he might very well misunderstand this whole situation. You just asked him to hang his hand inches from yours in an enclosed space; inside a droid nonetheless, just after you basically told him you noticed he has a problem with them. It would be so easy to get caught up in there, to touch his hand, and hush it up as coincidence. Especially now that he took his glove off as well. He might even think that it was a careful plan of yours: have an area to work with were your slightly larger hands don’t fit but his might.

Your fingertips already tingle from knowing you can’t make mistakes. Which means you’ll probably do. He reaches between the panels and gets to the part where you got stuck. He wiggles his fingers a bit and scrapes around.

“Ha, found some wires. Are these the ones you need out of the way?”

You peer down into the quagmire of electronics, trying to find the best angle to see everything.

“Yes, those are the ones. Just hold them like that.” You try to focus on what you are doing, but after those earlier thoughts, your hands are jittery. You somehow manage to remove the obstructing rivet, than find the burned out part and replace it without accident, the stranger patiently holding things out of your way. You direct him here and there, occasionally stumbling as it’s a lot of instructions, or at least a lot of “could you please” and “thank you”. It gets particularly awkward when you stumble over the lack of name spectacularly.

“Could you pull those the other way, so they aren't that taut, please? Thank you, you. I mean thank you.”

“Din. Din Djarin.” Your head snaps up while the rest of your body freezes. “I should have told you my name sooner, but I’m so used to not telling it… and it just became more awkward to bring it up as time passed. I apologize.”

You close your mouth that of course was hanging open in surprise, than shake your head.

“I thought at first that I missed it when you said it so I was ashamed that I didn’t remember.” That did happen before, and it was one of your greatest worries about meeting new people. “I actually asked my elder. Sent her a comm. So when she told me you went nameless, I didn’t wanted to demand it.”

He doesn't answer right away. His voice is softer when he speaks a bit later.

“Thank you. For being considerate.”

You smile and try to wave it off. Which results in your hand slipping and pawing at his, still motionless and stuck in the inside of the astromech.

“Oh shucks, I’m sorry… didn’t meant to.” You withdraw your hand quickly, and start to look for your tools to cover your mistake.

He doesn’t seem bothered, luckily. You calm down, reminding yourself not to behave like you drank one too many glasses of your cousin Ree’s home-made tihaar, and finish the repair.

“You can let those go now, I’ll finish from here. Thanks for your help.”

“You’re welcome, any time.”

He sits back on a nearby crate and watches you work for a while, ignoring Mouse zooming around the room. You’re surprised a bit: you didn't expected him to stick around. And than he starts to ask about 2-T. How long you had him, is he temperamental, can you install a vocoder on astromechs, and why not. His tone is somewhat cautious, his voice stiff, like someone asking about a dangerous predator. You remember how you asked him about his distance with droids, but don’t want to push that question. He already told you his name today.

…

By the time you finish with the rest of the repairs, clean Tootee up and tidy around your workplace, interrupted by having to leave hyperspace and land at a spaceport, it’s the middle of the night in local time. You planned to have a nap and search out the local covert just before dawn.

You go to the galley to have a bite before turning in, and the stranger - Din, you remember, although his last name is less clear - is cleaning up some dishes. There’s another bowl in the middle of the small table, covered by a plate.

“That’s for you, if you’d like to have it. Used up the last of that spice mix we got” he tells you as you enter. You sit down and stretch your legs out one side. As you take the plate off from the steaming bowl, you think about how nice it is to find warm food on the table and not having to cook your own all the time.

“Thank you.” You pull the bowl close and take the spoon that he put beside it. You swirl the soup - it looks very good: clear broth with lots of veggies and other fillers in it - and gather your thoughts. “So ummm… I want to ask something before it gets awkward again.“

He finishes piling the bowls and cups and sits down on the seat opposite. You blurt the question out before you might change your mind.

“What was your name again? Din, that was clear, but the rest… sorry but it sounded something like “jarring”?”

He chuckles, and it’s a clear sound even with a vocoder, no snort or sigh to distort it.

“It’s Djarin. Dorn-jenth-aurek-resh-isk-nern. Djarin.” You nod, a bit embarrassed, and he continues. “Don’t worry, you aren't the first to ask. Probably not the last either.”

“Thanks for being patient. I’m not the best with names, to be honest.”

He tilts his head.

“Is that why you are always so focused when someone introduces themselves? I can ask them to repeat their names for me too if you want to, than both of us can try to remember them.”

You blink at him.

“That’d be…” Unnecessary, and don’t bother, and it’s not your job, you think - but stop yourself. That would actually help. No shame in accepting it. ”That would be nice. Thanks.” You are good at a few things, like making things with your own two hands. Not gaping when something surprises you, or remembering faces or names, any names, not just people? Nah.

You tuck into your soup, and the two of you sit in companionable silence. You wander if Djarin sits there because he wants to, or if he’s waiting for more questions from you. You asked a lot from him during the last few hours, and he was really kind with all his help and telling you his name and not being bothered when you misremembered it.

You are halfway done with your meal when he stirs. He leans forward with his lower arms on the table, and takes a deep breath. You wonder what his question will be - you commit to answer whatever it might be. He deserves that after today.

“So you asked earlier about me and… droids, right?”

Your hand with the spoon stops in the air. You weren’t expecting this question, at all.

“Yes…” You want to say he didn’t have to answer. But you already told him that. You’re sure he remembers that too - since he brought the topic up again. “Yes, I did.”

He shuffles on his seat a bit, and looks out to the side like he sometimes does. You lower your spoon and eat, letting him gather his thoughts.

“When I was a kid… I don’t know how old you were then, but during the war. The Clone wars.” You nod, understanding what he’s getting at, and he continues. “We were… the place I lived came under attack. Some separatist battle droids. Mandalorians saved me.”

You swallow your soup. That was the shortest possible description of someone having their entire life and probably everyone they knew ripped away from them and finding a new way of life for the decades to come.

“I’m sorry” you say, because really, what else is there to say. He nods, and gazes off again. Than he shrugs his shoulders, as if he wants to shake the weight of the past from them.

He gets up, and walks around the table on his way out. He stops beside you for a moment and hesitates, and you almost turn towards him to ask what he needs when you feel him squeeze your shoulder. Than he straightens and steps away.

It’s warm where he squeezed it, and you remember how long ago it was that someone touched you.

You need to talk to your friends asap, and hug at least some of them. He turns back from the door.

“Get some sleep before dawn, all right? Have to be sharp to remember all those new names.” You don’t see him wink but you’d bet he does behind his visor. You scrunch your nose at him and pout before smiling, and he dips out of the galley.

Your hand is still hovering in the air, holding the spoon, while you listen to his footsteps getting more distant as he walks down the corridor to his cabin.

It’s just your luck that you don’t need your wits the next place. It’s only two people with the same, simple name and you met both of them before.

[a3hastakenovermylife]

Ok, I really, really want some quality interaction between Kazunari and Taichi.

Like I know that we all joke about them because they’re our energetic, adorable, puppy pair, and yes, that is who they are on the surface. But, when you simplify their whole character arcs down to just that, you’re flattening their characters and you lose the depth that the game hints at for the both of them.

The game did a really great job at letting Taichi flush out a decent sized character arc, and concluded that story in a satisfying way during the Autumn Troupe arc. We see our sunshine boy upset, withdrawn, and separating himself from the others out of guilt. Then we see him distraught over the things he’s done and being comforted by Omi (honestly my favorite interaction in the whole series, second only to Juza and Banri high-fiving). Then we see him confessing to the others, and they all retell their portraits to one another, and Taichi finally gets to accept that he’s been forgiven, and more than that, that he’s been truly accepted into the troupe. For the first time, he gets to understand that he will get to act, he’s going to have the opportunity to do what he loves and he’s going to be able to do it with people he’s come to care so much about.

Taichi is in a much better place at the end of the Autumn Troupe arc, and we can see the potential for that to grow in the future.  However, I do not feel like we get to nearly the same place with Kazunari.

With Kazunari, we begin to understand that he puts on a front with other people, that he acts all happy and tends to agree with everyone as to not ruffle any feathers.  He’s never had a group of real friends before the Summer Troupe, and when confronted with the fact that he not only doesn’t have to pretend to be neutral, that his friends don't want him to be.  Kazunari made some real progress here, he did stand tall and give his opinion, but he isn’t shown to make any other significant changes.  Nor, can we tell whether this was a permanent change.  

He’s still the same energetic Kazunari, friendly and fun-loving as always.  I can’t help but feel like his character arc was left mostly incomplete, we know there's a problem, but we haven't taken many steps to fix it, nor does it seem like Kazu has had any change in attitude.  He’s still bottling most of his emotions up, refusing to show anything other than his cheery smile.  

Here’s where we get into some of my own characterization here, because as a freshmen art major myself, I know, I know, that college isn't easy.  On top of all of that, trying to pretend that everything is fine, is like putting a band-aid on a stab wound.  The longer you hold everything in, the more mentally isolated you make yourself.  Even surrounded by kind, loving, caring people, you can feel totally alone.  On top of that, place his pre-existing tendency to hide any and all of his real opinions and feelings, which isn't the kind of mental behavior you can fix overnight.  

What you’re left with is a ticking time bomb.

No human being can be happy all the time.  It's just not possible.  

When a human being is upset, they will need help eventually.  Especially, a college student, stepping out into the world for the first time on their own, a pseudo-adult who likes to pretend they've grown up already.  

Kazunari needs that character arc of his to be finished, because right now, he's sitting in a limbo within which he can never truly be happy, or relaxed.  Simply because he hasn’t taken the time to learn how to open up to his friends. 

Now, here's where my Taichi and Kazu interaction comes in.  

(Ok, I started this just as an idea post and lo and behold it became almost as long as a fic. This is literally just my word vomit, so I apologize in advance for any poor grammar, spelling mistakes, and unclear transitions that occur, but please enjoy and tell me if you want me to make this a proper fic)

Taichi has for the most part evolved through his character arc, he's in a good place now and is growing closer to everyone in the company.  Meanwhile, Kazu seems to be falling out of sync with everyone, he’s way less chatty, he spends most of his time by himself, and while when he's actually in the room with them he is acting relatively normal.  Every single time anybody asks him if something is bothering him, he laughs and brushes the concern off easily.  However, his troupe mates can hear how forced the laugh sounds.

It’s something that happens over a few months, but Summer Troupe is very worried.  They’ve taken to having weekly meetings in the common area while Kazu is doing his homework to try and puzzle out what’s been going on with him.  The others share their concern as well, the point is that now the whole company is determined to get to the bottom of whatever is up with him. 

I bet you anything that Omi notices the similarities right away.  This is way to eerily similar to the way Taichi was acting during those last few weeks before everything came to light.  He probably approaches Kazu to talk several times but is shut down at every turn by a forced laugh, or an easy excuse like ‘I’m just a bit tired.’ or ‘Just been super busy lately, that's all.’.

Taichi, himself, probably notices too, but he really doesn't want to stick his nose into something that felt so incredibly personal.  He lets it go because he knows how helpful it was when his troupe mates let him talk out his troubles, and listened, and accepted him for all his faults.  He feels if he buts in now, he’ll just take that opportunity from Kazu, and he’d never do something that.

The Summer Troupe keeps trying, and one night they all approach him at once, determined not to let this go until he fesses up.  They all corner him in his room and start to ask questions, and Tenma and Yuki are almost certainly going to be coming off as being a bit harsh, but who can blame them Kazu has been worrying the both of them senseless for months, and neither of them are the type to mince their words.  

Muku is especially emotional throughout the whole thing, he’s had a front row seat to this slow motion train-wreck this whole time, living in the same room as Kazu.  He sees how late he stays up, and how often he gets no sleep at all, he's the one who sees the cracks beginning to form in the persona Kazu has built up for himself.  He even mentions one particularly horrible night when Kazu was crying in his sleep.  By that point though, Muku is relatively incomprehensible through his own crying.  

Misumi is mostly watching, agreeing with the others, saying supportive words, but mostly standing aside, looking and feeling a little helpless.  

This is Kazu’s breaking point.  Kazu has been spiraling for months.  It started with feeling horrible and stressed about his classes, then evolved to worrying about how he always hid that fact from the others, then to feeling guilty about being so dishonest about his feelings, then to feeling even more guilty about pushing them away when they were clearly worried and not being able to reciprocate their kindness with even the most basic courtesy of honesty.

Seeing all of them like this, pouring their hearts out to reach him, it just made him feel worse.  He wanted them to understand, but some part of him was certain that they never could.  That even if he could speak right then, that none of it could make them understand.  There was also a traitorous part of his mind that heard Tenma’s frustrated shout and Yuki’s sarcastic drawl, and only hear accusation and condemnation.

He knew it was stupid, that his friends would never actually feel that way about him.  He knew that.

That didn’t stop that little traitorous voice in his head from taking the steering wheel though, it didn’t stop it from completely taking over.  He was on his feet and pushing past them out of the room before he even knew what he was doing.  He vaguely recognized the feeling of someone grabbing a hold of his shoulder and he forcefully pulls away, running faster than he even knew he was capable of out of the dorm.

The voices calling for him to come back, concerned, worried, crying.  Concern for him, and he can't even turn around to look at them, he can barely even hear them.  He keeps running, longer than his body should have been able to run, faster than he ever thought possible.  He tripped more than once and was left with scrapes from each time.  The others tried to follow him, but in the darkness, it seems that none of them had succeeded.  

Or maybe, the same voice whispered. They’ve just decided to give up on you.

Meanwhile, the Summer troupe meets back at the dorm, and they get the others to come help them look for Kazunari.  To say the least, Summer Troupe is pretty distraught, all things considered.  Muku is an even worse than he’d been earlier, having given up entirely on trying to talk, Yuki has made it his responsibility to keep Muku from falling over, having to prop him up through most of their search, and he’s become oddly quiet as he does so.  

Misumi actually does cry for a few minuites for Kazu, he's so incredibly sad that he can’t seem to do anything to help.  However, he doesn't let it keep him down.  It's no more than five minutes before he stands up with a half-smile to help search for him again. 

Tenma, is just oddly quiet, like way too quiet, more quiet than even Yuki.  Only speaking in clipped one-word sentences, and mostly even then, only answering questions addressed to him.  He's clearly frustrated, but more than that, he almost seems remorseful.  By this point, he’s feeling pretty guilty and useless himself.  He is the leader of this troupe after all, and it is his responsibility to take care of stuff like this isn’t it?  

It’s early in the morning, and the whole company has been searching for hours when it starts to rain.  It's at this point that the director just says that they should head back and get some sleep.  Tenma does not take that order well. After a very loud and long argument with Tenma, the most that he’s spoken all night, he finally gives in when he sees the state the rest of his troupe is in,  Muku has practically fainted already, Yuki was on the verge of tears himself and Misumi was just staring blankly into space dejectedly.  

So, with that everyone heads back to the dorm to go to sleep.

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

It’s only after they're back inside, dried off, and the lights are off that Taichi realizes that he can’t sleep.  He was close with Kazu, they’d always meshed really well together and got along really well.  When he’d seen a reflection of himself in Kazu, he'd let it go, and now he was really starting to regret it.  He should have realized, that just because Taichi had had Omi to help him work up the courage to confess what he’d done to the rest of the troupe, and to help him sort out his feelings.  Omi was practically an adult, he was so mature and always seemed to know what to do.  

Summer Troupe didn't really have an Omi.  Kazu was actually the oldest of the bunch of them.  He should have spoken up sooner, tried to help Kazu through it, if he’d just said something earlier, the situation might not have gotten this far out of control.  Taichi had desperately needed someone to give him the courage to speak up when he’d been in such a dark place and, something told him that Kazu needed the same thing, and that nothing would change at all until he got that much.

He might have school in a few hours, and it might still be raining, but Taichi honestly didn't care.  He couldn't sit still any longer.  He got up from the covers, and grabbed his jacket and was about to open the door to their room when he heard Omi sit up.

“You’re going to go look for Kazunari aren’t you?” He asked.

Taichi blinked and stammered, trying to come up with some other excuse, and epically failing.  It was too hard to lie to Omi though, especially after everything that had happened between them.  Omi just chuckled, and told him not to worry so much.  Omi stood and opened his own closet, pulling out a spare backpack, and placing a large towel, an oversized poncho, and an umbrella in the bag, then handed it to Taichi.  Then silently lead Taichi along to the kitchen, where he pulled out a large thurmace and heated up some hot cocoa to put inside, then handed that to Taichi as well.  

“I think that you might be one of the only people who can get through to Kazunari, you realize that too don’t you?”  Omi said softly, as to not wake the others.  Taichi nodded emphatically, a little stunned that Omi was just letting him go no matter how irresponsible of an idea it was. “Alright, then.  Good luck, and bring him home.”

Taichi nodded and just as soon as he had gotten outside he started running.  It was still dark and rainy, but at least there were plenty of streetlights.  He called out to Kazunari and he called and called.  Mostly though, Taichi was looking, looking for any sign of a person, anywhere.  By now, he was pretty sure that Kazu wasn’t going to reply to the call, but he did it anyway, just in case.

Eventually, about an hour in, his voice got raw and he needed to take a break.  He stopped talking, and sat down on just some random street corner, not caring one bit that his pants were now wet.

It wasn't any good, he wasn't going to find him was he?

He sat dejectedly on the concrete, just listening to the rain and feeling his pants begin to get soggy.  He didn't know how long he sat there before he heard it.

It was faint, so incredibly quiet, that even the light sound of raindrops nearly drowned it out entirely.

Yet, if he listened hard enough he heard crying.  He hoped he wasn't just his desperation getting to him, making him hear things.  He stood up eagerly anyway, staying silent and trying to follow the sound before it stopped.  It was hard, really hard, and the sky was starting to lighten just a minuscule shade when he finally made it to the mouth of the alley.

There Kazu was, Taichi could just barely make out the top of his head poking out from behind a stack of abandoned boxes.  He was absolutely drenched to the bone, there was no way he wasn't going to get sick after this.  He was crying softly, his head ducked and his arms hugging himself.

Taichi carefully approached Kazu and found himself at a loss for a moment.  The very last thing he wanted was for him to run off again, and he really didn't want to startle him either.  What he settled on was taking the umbrella and the towel out, and holding the umbrella with one arm, while he dried Kazu’s head off to the best of his ability with only one arm to work with.  Kazu stiffened but didn't move, his crying coming to an abrupt halt as he held his breath. 

“Hey, Kazu.  It’s just me, Taichi.”

Kazunari gave a shaky sigh of relief at his voice. “Damn, Tai-chan don’t scare me like that ok?  Thought you were gonna mug me or something...”  It was clear that Kazu was trying to put up his barriers again, and not quite managing it.  

“Sorry, about that.”  Taichi apologized, more than a little relieved that Kazunari had actually spoken to him right off the bat.  That was farther than the rest of Summer Troupe had gotten.  Taichi fumbled a bit before he decided to sit next to Kazu, after it seemed clear that he wasn’t too keen on moving.

Silence settled between the two of them, Kazu seemed to be trying desperately to reign his emotions back under control.  Taichi was just trying to think of how to start this, what to say.  He thought about how Omi had approached him, but something told Taichi that Kazu wouldn't connect well with that.  

It didn't help that he had no idea why Kazu was so upset, or what had caused this, or if anything really had caused it.  There might not be one cause.  It was more than a little overwhelming, Taichi really really really didn't want to mess this up.

He couldn’t do nothing again though, that wasn't an option, he had to say something, anything.

He decided, to just say whatever came to mind.  To say how he felt, and hope to every god out there that it reached him.

“You know, it’s impossible for a person to be happy all the time, don't you?”  Taichi asked.  Kazunari didn't respond, and Taichi decided that was ok.  He’d just keep talking for now.  “I won’t pretend that I know why you’re so upset, because I don’t.  It’s ok if you don't really want to talk about it right now, I get it.  Though, if you’re up to it, I would really appreciate it if you listened to my story.”

Taichi waited until he saw Kazunari nod, the other teen seemingly relaxing a bit beside him.   Taichi smiled at the sight, and began to speak.

(Authors note: in this story only Autumn troupe and Yuki (+ the director)  know about the fact that Taichi was a mole.  Not because they're keeping secrets, just because the others never asked and nobody thought to tell them.  Mostly, I don't know for sure if any of the others know, and I like to imagine that they don't know, or at least not the full story.)

Taichi essentially performed his portrait for Kazunari, by the end the other teen was actually looking up at him.  Taichi continued though, even after his story normally ended.  

“You see, whatever you feel so upset about, guilty about even, I doubt it'll be worse than the things I've done.  Even if it is, I know that your troupe mates would listen and try their best to understand why.  No matter what it is, no matter what might have happened.  They care a lot about you, and the only reason they got so frustrated is because they hate seeing you hurting like this, they were only trying to help, you know...”

“Yeah, I know that...”  Kazu looked away again.  Though, this time he didn't curl in on himself like before, he leaned back and looked to the sky, which was already beginning to lighten in color. “How did you know I was feeling guilty?”

“I guess, I can just tell?  I don't know, it's a bit freaky actually.” Taichi gave a nervous chuckle, then his expression softened a bit to match the sincerity in hie voice.   “I saw your expression, and it was almost like I was looking in the mirror, I got this weird sense of de ja vu, and I could just tell.   That probably doesn’t make any sense does it...”

“Never experienced it myself, but I get what you're talking about.”  Kazu replied with a sigh, closing his eyes.  The two of them stay quiet for a minute, Taichi got the feeling that Kazunari was just on the verge of telling him something, so he was patient, giving the other teen the chance to gather his thoughts. 

“You know, hearing all that you just said, it almost makes me feel a bit silly.  This is such a stupid thing to get so worked up over, ‘ya know.”  Kazu shook his head at himself. “It’s always been stupid, and I’ve always known that but I can't help it.  I’m always terrified of what others will think, if I don't keep a smile on my face.  More than that, I’m so used to pushing all of my worries aside that I don’t even know how to face them anymore.  I just ignore them, until I can’t anymore.”  Kazu swallowed thickly, leaning forward again and running a hand through his still, thoroughly damp hair.  “I don’t want to keep hiding my real feelings, it's just that each time I get even slightly uncomfortable, it's easier to just put the mask back on.  I can’t help it, and that’s terrifying, ya know.  I want the others to know when I’m stressed or upset, its not like I want to keep hiding it from them, but it never seems like the right time to let the facade fall.  They're so used to me being happy, that I don't think they understand how much of it is fake.  What happens when I let everything out, and they realize that I've been lying to them?  Will they even be able to stand me, as I am now?  They’re friends with the energetic, fun-loving Kazunari Miyoshi, not me.  I don’t know if any of them have ever even met this side of me, I'm hardly even the same person.  I really don’t want to ruin this place, I really really love it here.  I’m happier living here than I've ever been in my life, I don’t know what I'd do if everything fell apart...”  Kazu trailed off.

“I don’t think anything is going to fall apart, Kazu. Things’ll change a bunch, but nothing will be ruined. You don’t even need to do anything more than just explain this to your troupe.  Even if they don’t get it at first, they’ll do everything they’re capable of to help you, I just know it. Also, I think that you’re more likely to push them away continuing on as you are, than you are if you just tried to explain.” “You don’t have to try and handle this all by yourself. Please, try and explain this to them. Trust me when I say that you’ll feel better afterwards.”

“You really think it’ll turn out alright?”

“I know it will.”

Kazunari gave a breathy chuckle. “How can you be so sure?”

Taichi smiled wanly and thought about earlier that evening...

“’The hell?  How can you even say that?!  You really expect me to just go back to the dorm when Kazunari is out here somewhere, all by himself!  If we don't find him soon, who knows what’ll happen!  Who know’s what’s already happened?  He could have been mugged in an alley somewhere by now, and we’d have no idea!”

“Tenma...”

“I’m not going back.”

“Tenma, please stop and listen for a second.  Everyone is exhausted, we aren’t going to make any progress like this.  If we sleep for even an hour or two and get back to it, we’re more likely to find him, ok?”

“There’s nothing ‘ok’ about any of this!”

“Alright, maybe ‘ok’ wasn’t the right word for this situation, but Tenma...”  The director leaned in to whisper something into Tenma’s ear.  Immediately the teen star glanced over his shoulder and saw the state of his troupe mates and his stiff angered posture melted. Tenma silently nodded and sighed.

“I really fucked up this whole ‘troupe leader’ thing, didn’t I?”

“Kazu, your entire troupe is convinced that they've failed you in some way or another, especially Tenma-kun.  He was so upset earlier that he actually started yelling at the director, like a real argument and not his usual antics.  They want to help you more than anything else, and the entire company feels the same way.  This isn’t because they want they want you to go back to how you were, its because you’re in pain and they want to help you.  Whether that means that you stop putting on that mask entirely, or just start by learning not to rely on it too much, I know they'll be willing to support you no matter what you decide to do, so long as you’re beginning to get better.”  

“I’m here too, if you ever want to talk to somebody who gets it a little better.  It's hard being yourself, and it's easy to hide so you won't get hurt when someone rejects you. I get that, Kazu, and I do it too sometimes.  So, if you need to talk to someone outside of your Troupe, and maybe even get advice on how to make them understand, I’m here too.” 

“Kazu, you’ve got so many people waiting for you at home who want to help you, all you have to do is open up and let them.  Try and help them understand, and let them do the rest.  That’s all you can do, and I guarantee you, that nobody will be upset if you admit that you’re only human, that you can't be happy all the time.  Nobody in the troupe has ever expected that of you, even if they’ve gotten used to your antics, they won't judge you for the fact that you can’t keep them up.  The only thing, that you have to decide to do for them to accept you as you are, is to explain this to them.  That’s all, and nobody can take that first step other than you.”  Taichi said seriously.  

“I also happen to know how hard it is to take that first step, by yourself.  I had Omi to help me along, he pushed me to tell the others what I’d done, even when I was convinced they could never forgive me, and even that I didn't deserve to be forgiven.  He’s the one that helped me take that first step, and I’d like to do that too, for you.”  Taichi looked up at the sky which was rapidly changing to a much brighter shade of blue.  

“The others will probably wake up again soon, if we head back now, we might catch them before they leave the dorm again.  Please, let me take you home, so we can talk to your troupe mates and sort this all out.  I know that probably sounds impossible right now, but I know you can do it, and I’ll be right by your side while you do it.  So, what do you say?”

Kazunari sighed shakily and nodded, looking absolutely exhausted. “I think I can do it, if it's just my troupe and you I think I can try and explain all of this.  I just hope they understand.”  

Taichi grinned brightly, feeling a wash of relief rush over him.  “Really?!  Wow, thank you for trusting me Kazu!”  He let out a short bark of laughter.  “I’ll be honest, was really floundering there for a while.  I didn't know what so say at all, I’m so glad I didn’t make things even worse...”  Taichi let out a sigh of relief. “Sorry about that, I ended up just spewing my feelings all over you there....”

“You said all the right things Tai-chan, at least I think so.  I feel a lot better, if you'll really be with me I think I can manage this.  Even if I still don't know if this’ll turn out alright, I'm going to trust your judgement over mine on this one, because clearly my judgement is all out of wack, today...”. Kazunari paused and shook his head to himself. “Actually my judgment has been out of commission for a while now, I think. The point is, I cant really trust myself right now, so I'm going to trust you, ok?” Kazunari’s voice was a bit shaky, but he put some effort into sounding reassuring for Taichi’s sake.

———————— ok POV switch heh

Taichi blinked and stared blankly at Kazunari for a solid minute before he seemed to gather himself, the words finally having settled in. With a mighty sniff Taichi wiped his eyes and dashed away the tears that hadn’t even had the chance to fall. “Thanks Kazunari, that means a lot. I won’t let you down, I promise.” Taichi grinned brightly, his voice gaining a steelly determination behind it. Taichi then, handed Kazunari the umbrella to hold and turned to pull something from the backpack he’d been carrying. Kazunari stared as Taichi placed a thick plastic poncho on his lap and a large thurmace in his other hand and took the umbrella from Kazunari once again.

“You actually managed to run pretty far away from the dorm, so you should put that poncho on, and there’s hot cocoa that Omi made in there. Even if you don’t want to drink it, just open it and hold it. At least the heat will warm you up a bit.” Taichi said, and he almost sounded like director, the way he was fussing over him.

Kazunari was certain that his cheeks were flushed red, but he was equally sure that was only because he was freezing. It definitely wasn’t because he was embarrassed or anything.

“Hey do you want me to call us a ride? I think that might be better than walking all the way back. Plus, it’ll give them a heads up so nobody leaves to look for us.” Taichi asked, and Kazunari almost immediately shook his head.

“I’m soaked to the bone and I seriously don’t need a lecture from Sakyo for ruining the apoulstry of his car, right now.” Kazunari laughed at his own joke, too bad the joke was too close to the truth. He really didn’t want to soak up and ruin anyone’s car by getting inside it the way he was.

Taichi’s smile wavered, he didn’t laugh. Then he took out his phone and was engrossed in typing for a minute, before Kazu realized what he was doing. He propped himself up against the wall and stood, and was shocked to see how hard it was to do so. His vision almost immediately started blurring and darkening as Kazunari leaned against the wall for support.

“Hey, wait! I can walk I swear, don’t call anybody here, I’m fine!” Kazunari blurted just as he heard the message send.

“Sakyo isn’t the only adult in our troupe with a car, you know.” Taichi replied, a little softly. Then, he nervously tapped his foot for a moment before he made eye contact with Kazu again, and spoke. “You said that you were going to trust me earlier, didn’t you? You can’t get all the way home like you are now, and unfortunately, I’m not strong enough to carry you all the way back.”

Kazunari blinked, and sighed.

He did ask for this after all.

He however, refused to sit down. He was gonna lean right against that wall until the ride came, whoever they were. That thought didn’t last more than five minutes though. Kazunari blinked furiously to clear the spots from his vision to no avail. Then, sighed in defeat and leaned against the wall to slide back down to the asphalt.

Taichi gave him a concerned look and Kazunari tried to ignore it, it was just then he was saved by the appearance of a vehicle, and almost immediately Kazu recognized it as Itaru’s. The car parked and Itaru opened got out of the car to join them.

Kazunari had to look away, because a part of him still couldn’t stand the wave of guilt when he saw the worry in his gaze. So, he fiddled with the hem of his shirt, like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

“Thanks, Itaru, for coming to pick us up.” Taichi said extra cheerily, though there was a dash of genuine grstitude hidden in there.

“It’s no problem. I’m glad you asked me, the others were already waking up and getting restless. They were almost about to start searching for you again when you texted me.” Itaru said with a wan smile of his own. “So, let’s get you two back to the dorm. Do you need a hand there Kazunari?”

“Nah’ I’m fi-“. Kazunari was about to say when Taichi pulled him up and propped him up.

“Yeah, Kazu, my buddy, nobody is gonna fall for that.”

“Alright, ok!” Kazunari sighed, and said “I’m super woozy and can barely stand up, yes I’d love some help.” He was too tired to keep up with this. Let the others do what they want, he’s taking a nap when he gets in that car.

Kazunari could hear Itaru let out a relieved chuckle, Taichi did the same not long afterward. When did he close his eyes?

“Happy to help, then.” Itaru idly commented as Kazu heard a car door open, he was gently shuffled into what he assumed was the back seat and his head was definitely resting on Taichi’s shoulder.

Someone strapped his seatbelt on, he assumed it was Taichi, and he heard the drivers door open and admit someone as well, probably Itaru getting in.

Kazunari was definitely getting sleepy and the last thing he remembered hearing, he wasn’t even sure he was dreaming yet or not. But the last thing be remembered hearing, was Taichi whisper.

“Sleep well, everything will turn out ok, I promise it will.”

[smartguyreviewed]

2x4 - Dateline

Original air date: Oct 1, 1997

Anyone who was holding their breath for me to get back to this, thank you. Been going through a lot like most people right now but I had to remember this blog is a good distraction because I get to write about one of my favorite shows growing up. Anyways, enjoy. :) 

Let’s talk about cock-blocking or to be more gender inclusive...actually, I can’t think of a term similar that utilizes both a male and female part. Anyhoo, let’s talk about it.

I’ve done it (unintentionally). You’ve done it. We’ve all had it done to us as well. Like the night you finally got a chance to be alone with your dipshit crush and your annoying friend tried to insert herself until she finally realized what was going on and left you two alone so you could have your first kiss ever at age 19.

TJ is an extreme cock blocker. He will break your shit up and then pout because he’s still just a kid. Normally, TJ only wants to punish Marcus by enacting this cruel tactic but in this episode, he shifts gears to the person who is both a mother and father to him: Daddy Flody.

We begin this episode at a supermarket. Tj is checking out cereals and Floyd is checking out dat ass.

TJ catches Floyd staring and in his precocious little way, starts asking him questions about women. It kind of reminds me of Frank from Milk Money. which is a horrible movie that I adore and you should watch it because despite a little kid befriending a prostitute, it’s still a decent 90s coming-of-age tale. And Alex DeLarge is in it.

After TJ makes his dad sweat further by asking what body type gets his penis erect, TJ comes to the conclusion that Floyd is lonely and could probably benefit from some female companionship.

Cut to TJ on an unrealistically chatty PC barking at TJ to fill in the boxes for Floyd. I don’t know about you, but if my computer kept talking to me, I’d throw it out of the fucking window. I am so glad websites that talk at you are obsolete. Apparently, this computer is also sentient because TJ pauses for just a moment too long when Marcus comes in and this impatient computer bitch asks for the rest of the info in a more demanding tone.

But because TJ was distracted, he inputs his own height instead of his dad’s and the computer announces that she’s transferring him to their little people’s section. Hey, they gotta find love too!

Marcus is skeptical of why TJ is trying to set Floyd up. Just then, Yvette walks in and asks who is using her eyeliner to write down phone messages, which I totally expect a straight man to do. After fessing up, Marcus asks Yvette to dissuade TJ from setting up his dad. Yvette then uses her soon-to-be psychology degree on Marcus and reasons that he might be a little salty because he doesn’t want another woman to replace his mom. But no, Marcus is a teenage boy and completely lacking depth until certain episodes call for it. Instead, he says he just wants the car on weekend evenings so he can try to bang his latest girl of the week. Of course, he could just be deflecting to avoid a heavy conversation but I’m gonna go with the former because Marcus is the horniest boy on the show.

Yvette decides to help TJ since Floyd has few dating options. Her plan is to beef up his personal ad by making him younger and a fan of soul food and Maya Angelou. Marcus is still not with the shits and says that nobody wants to date an “old guy with three kids.” Completely forgetting about the fact that his dad is an attractive man, this happens instead:

TJ and the gang are now making final cuts on the 130 prospects Floyd had. I mean, that’s great and all but I’m sure at least half of those women were catfishes. Then again, in the 90s, maybe there was more legitimacy since there wasn’t enough technology to hide behind? I dunno. But Floyd definitely has some options.

While deliberating who will receive the clock from Floyd, Marcus makes what would be considered a transphobic comment questing if some of them really are women and how he doesn’t want Floyd to end up like Eddie Murphy. Mo, on the other hand is questing if this is even legal. Mo is a teenage boy and is probably likening it to what Tinder now is: a place to meet horny individuals.

Yvette thinks the ladies are good picks but then begins nitpicking their flaws, among one of them being that one of the ladies has breast implants. Because women who get surgeries to help boost their self esteem apparently don’t deserve love? Yvette is such a hypocrite as we’ll see in the future. Mo then begins taking the rejected pics because he loves older women, especially ones with perceived low self esteem. Just then, Floyd comes in the room and the gang has to cover up their dirty work. Floyd makes a bad joke and then dips out.

They eventually settle on a light-skinned natural woman named Jamie. They agree to meet at the grocery store, sot hat’s where we end up. Marcus is acting like he’s never seen pretty girls outside of school and leaves to spit game at women who just wanna be left alone so they can buy their frozen pizza and wine in peace.

Jamie sees who she thinks is her suitor and immediately is pissed because she, you know, thought she’d be meeting Floyd and not a little boy. Yvette comes over to smooth things over and convinces Jamie to meet Floyd. Well, TJ’s cute face convinced her after she was understandably freaked out. They go to meet Floyd. 

Jamie shows up and explains what happened and that she was pre-screened to make sure she wasn’t a guy. Floyd actually even gives her an up and down look before she says she passed! Pretty sure this also wouldn’t go over well today. Jamie and Floyd, however, hit it off and leave to go on a date. When they get back, Yvette and TJ are spying on the new couple to see how it went. Floyd was actually bigging up TJ and talking about how smart he is to Jamie when they got in. Aww. Floyd is proud of his son for hooking him up. Yvette is noticeably annoyed at how he gets all of the credit, but I mean, it was his idea. Yvette just helped him out. 

Upon completion of this totally selfless act to get his father some love, TJ is happy at first. Yay TJ! You’re on the right track to becoming a thoughtful human be--

Sike! TJ immediately regrets this decision once he realizes that his father having a personal life means that he won’t see him as much. TJ has a basketball game coming up that Floyd won’t be able to attend now. Yvette offers to take him but it’s not the same because Yvette is a girl and girls aren’t fun. And just like that, TJ the petty, cock-blocking asshole comes back.

The next day, TJ and Floyd are playing basketball when Jamie comes home. Floyd invites her to play but TJ is all like “bitch, wait your turn” and then Floyd puts her on TJ’s team. She then bribes TJ with the food she’s about to cook for them. He agrees but then Jamie and Floyd start flirting because duh. TJ leaves in a jealous fit, upset that this woman he hooked his father up with has the gall to want to spend time with him. He simulates what he wants to do to her body on a bag of Funions.

I have to say though, how long was the frame of this episode? Days? Weeks? Jamie has essentially become their stepmom. She’s even giving Marcus advice on how to treat a girl like a human being instead of a meat popsicle with titties. Yvette and Marcus then leave, allowing Jamie and Floyd their Blockbuster and Chill time with The Preacher’s Wife.

But TJ is a boner detector because as soon as Jamie and Floyd are about to mash faces, TJ whimpers for his pa because he doesn’t feel good. We think Floyd banished him to his room but then TJ comes over and pushes the two would-be lovers apart so he can ruin their night. Jamie eventually decides to leave, even though it’s clear she was holding out in case she could get a piece of Floyd but TJ completely squashed that possibility. Floyd actually whines when Jamie says she’s leaving. Aww. Floyd is lonely. Does TJ care? Of course not. 

TJ sounds perfectly fine when he says he’s sorry he ruined the night. Father and son decide to just watch the movie together instead.

The next day at school, Marcus is spitting his game at the girl he went on a date with. Turns out, treating women like actual people has been working well for him! He’s even going on a second date. Yvette comes by to let TJ know that she’s picking him up again. TJ is, of course, pissed because Jamie had come over to the house the night before, albeit dick-less. Yvette has to explain to TJ that when you date someone, the goal is to see them frequently and that he’s the reason their last date sucked. She then shatters Marcus’s dreams by letting him know that Floyd is taking his car on his date. Guess Marcus is gonna have to make out on the bus.

TJ’s lips are all puckered because he’s losing his father to another woman. He’s so distressed that he actually picks a fight with a senior. Mo steps in and literally drags TJ home. No, seriously. He carried TJ like a bag of groceries all the way to the Henderson house during school. Then he transformed into a therapist to get to the root of TJ’s outburst. This is during school hours. Mo skipped school to bring TJ home and give Floyd advice. Mo is amazing.

TJ is playing basketball with himself when Floyd comes in and then he spills that he’s sick of Jamie. Floyd reminds TJ that he’s the one who set them up and I guess TJ didn’t know things would actually change. Now would have been a good time to mention if he feels some way about another woman besides Yvette playing a maternal figure in the wake of his mother’s never explained death. But Floyd does a good job as usual and says this is temporary because when TJ is a teenager, he won’t want anything to do with Floyd. TJ finally stops being a prick and Floyd offers to be careful about how he schedules his time and then continues the basketball game he let Jamie interrupt previously. Aww Floyd. Too bad TJ is probably going to hold onto this for a while because he was giving his dad a lot of shit in the end credits. This isn’t even the last time he does this to Floyd and we never see Jamie again, so I guess it’s safe to assume that TJ killed Jamie. 

Things I noticed:

- Can we just take a moment to appreciate how hot Floyd is? How could Marcus ever think his dad wouldn’t be able to attract women?

- This brilliant cover for the gang if Floyd came in during the date deliberation:

- Marcus doesn’t want Floyd to go out on dates because he wants the car to himself on the weekends. He says if Floyd starts going out, he’s making out in the back of the bus. Yvette then says, “No, thanks to Rosa Parks, you can make out anywhere on the bus.” Brilliant retort. I really hand it to the writers of this show.

[orokin-made]

It’s Wednesday time for some proper introductions chummers

Name: Elehal

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Gayyyy literally a flaming homosexual whoops

Race: Fire Godlike (aumaua body type)

Class: Chanter

Culture: Deadfire Huana

Background: Explorer, sailor, amateur ethnomusicologist

Highest Attributes: Intellect, Resolve

Highest Dispositions: Benevolent, Diplomatic

Preferred Weapons: Poleaxes, Quarterstaffs, and Pikes

Notable Physical Traits:

·        7 ft. tall

·        Skin has the texture and appearance of hammered bronze

·        Carries a lute slung across his back

·        Wears primarily warm colors

·        Most of his clothing has at least one scorch mark or tiny hole burned into it somewhere, because fire.

 Favored Gods:  Abydon, Wael - tentatively, Berath, Magran but in a complicated sort of way

Family: An only child, his parents were kuaru craftspeople for a small northern tribe

Fears: unintentionally hurting people while trying to do the right thing, disappointing his friends, also wizards, ironically

Hobbies: Singing, sailing, ruin diving, interviewing people about their local traditional folk songs/ballads, camping, reconstructing ancient Engwithian musical notation, getting chatty with random people in taverns, general music nerd shit

Alignment: Neutral Good with significant Lawful tendencies.

Sins: …Pride? Ambition? Plain old bull-headed stubbornness? Being physically unable to chill the fuck out.

Virtues: Charity, kindness, loyalty and dependability

S/O: Aloth groundbreaking, I know

BFFs: Kana, Tekēhu, Durance in some ways but again it’s complicated

  Pre-Game History: Godlike are generally well received among the Huana and the larger Deadfire, and while Elehal did experience his share of –mostly unconscious and unintentional—exclusion for Being Different, he was never feared or reviled by those around him. His village mostly just didn’t know what to actually do with one of Magran’s children, particularly one as disinclined to sit still or stay in one place as Elehal. After wandering off to go “exploring” and getting hurt one too many times, his parents approached the village stormspeaker about taking him on as an apprentice, in the hopes that ballads and legends would satisfy some of his curiosity and sate his wanderlust.  It did, to an extent, and it kept him busy and supervised if nothing else. Elehal turned out to have both a good ear and a good memory for music, as well as a nearly obsessive interest in the world beyond the island. He often spent entire days with his teacher, practicing vocal techniques, proper breathing, memorizing phrases, or simply listening to her tell stories, and the two of them developed a very close relationship.

When he came of age and finished his apprenticeship Elehal signed on with the first ship that would take him, eventually working his way from local trading and fishing vessels to larger foreign ships making longer, more exciting voyages. While he had no particular talent for wind or weather shaping, he was a capable and reliable sailor, and his singing boosted morale considerably. His ultimate ambition was to study at the Lore College of Rauatai, but he would need money first, and wanted to have something to show for himself when he arrived. He continued to work as a sailor, but also began to branch out into more land-based adventures and exploration, collecting as much information as he could on the musical traditions of the places he visited as he went. It was during one of these expeditions that he joined up with a particularly ill-fated caravan headed for Gilded Vale, throwing the world’s largest wrench into his plans for the future.

Personality/Demeanor: Elehal is an extremely gregarious and outgoing person, and a lifetime of living and working with a truly astounding variety of people during his sailing years has made him an expert at ingratiating himself with virtually everyone. He is, fundamentally, someone who likes people: talking to them, being around them, listening to them. Also, while he can hold his own in a fight simply by virtue of being Big and On Fire, he’s much better with words than with blades, so he tries to talk his way out of conflicts as much as possible. Many of the Huana cultural values he grew up with have stayed with him as well, a keen sense of civil responsibility and strong belief in cooperation chief among them. People should take responsibility for the well-being of their community and help those around them, dammit. (He would be a huge proponent of housing co-ops and mutual aid programs in a modern AU. Probably belongs to like six volunteer groups.)

He’s also very aware of the fact that he’s very large compared to most kith and also very on fire all the time. He feels things intensely, likes to get up in other people’s business, has a voice that’s loud and carries very well, and can be an overwhelming person to be around, in general. As a result he’s become hypervigilant of both his internal emotional state and how he presents himself to the world, leading to him often coming off as more stoic and reserved than he actually is. He’s particularly cautious in romantic relationships, being near constantly concerned about moving too quickly or coming on too strong.

Partly because of the influence of Magran’s chime and partially because he’s just… Like That, Elehal is loath to ask for help or admit to struggling with anything. He can take care of himself and solve his own problems his own way! Handling things very well thank you! He’s definitely not coming apart under the incredible weight of his own standards and expectations! Sleeping just fine thank you let’s move on!

His fear of wizards stems from the fact that he’s used to being able to easily navigate and steer the course of conversations, except with like, archmages, because he never knows what the fuck they’re thinking or if they’re going to suddenly get tired of talking and decide to turn him into a pig or open a gaping hole full of tentacles under his feet or WHAT. They’re constantly one step ahead of or in a completely different conversation than the one he thinks they’re in and he hates it. Also, they just… always getting up to some whack shit. Don’t trust like that.

[renewlucifer]

reverse!au but geralt, eskel and lambert are all bards

(probably bardsexual) witcher!jaskier and his merry boyband of bards consisting of geralt, eskel, and lambert, featuring vesemir as their tired dad, with future additions of yen, ciri and coën (and some valdo bashing)

• bard!geralt talks a little more than in the show, he’s sassy and witty in the way we only see bits of in canon, he’s slightly less emotionally stunted but he‘s still dumb

• he has curly auburn hair (bc that’s adorable ok) and green eyes, he’s very squishy and pretty and adorable, also he has freckles and blushes easily

• he and eskel and lambert were all orphans, taken in by vesemir, a gruff but kind-hearted professor at oxenfurt

• they grew up in oxenfurt as brothers with vesemir as their father figure and now they travel the continent as a band (bard boyband that i have dubbed kaer morons courtesy of @kaermorons)

• vesemir gave up his position as professor to travel alongside his sons bc they’re really chaotic and he needs to make sure they don’t get themselves killed (but also he’s a tired dad who loves his disaster sons)

• ok so one day they split up because they’re competitive bastards and they’re competing to see who first writes a song that gets popular across the continent

• this is when geralt travels to posada and spots a witcher in the corner of a tavern

• jaskier is a witcher from the wolf school and he goes by julian of kerack

• he’s not as chatty as in canon but he’s definitely chattier than a normal witcher

• it’s just a normal day on the path when he meets a bard called geralt in posada

• geralt is intrigued by the witcher in the corner, takes one look at jaskier’s distinctive silver hair and golden eyes and scarred face and exclaims, ‘oh, you’re julian of kerack’

• jaskier is surprised - this human knows who he is, and yet chose to approach him. he doesn’t even look afraid, merely curious, so jaskier decides to see where this goes

• ‘my friends call me jaskier,’ jaskier returns wryly. ‘at least, they would, if i had any friends’

• geralt is stunned. the witcher is funny! and he has a very cute nickname to match a very cute face (even if it is slightly intimidating. but he’s cute)

• ‘well, nice to meet you, jaskier. i’m sure we’ll become great friends’

• then they get kidnapped by elves, and geralt is taken aback by this witcher’s surprising eloquence as he talks them out of the situation

• geralt wants to know more about him

• also, it’ll be a good way to get a new song, what with his witchery adventures, so geralt decides to follow this witcher for inspiration for his songs

• he can easily beat eskel and lambert if he sings songs about a witcher’s adentures

• it’ll also improve the reputations of witchers in the process, so it’s a win-win

• but also, geralt finds this witcher deeply interesting, and what better way to get to know him than to travel with him?

• jaskier is bemused at the bard who decides to follow him. he almost leaves the bard behind, but well, he’s lonely, he’s missed talking to people, and geralt is kind of adorable, so he lets geralt follow him

• the bard makes good music, jaskier notes. usually, most sounds grate on his enhanced hearing, but geralt’s music is low and pleasant, and jaskier finds that he doesn’t mind

• geralt’s view that all witchers are taciturn and silent is quickly overturned. while jaskier rarely starts a conversation, once geralt asks him questions, he actually talks quite a lot, rambling a bit

• geralt finds it quite endearing, and jaskier’s smile when geralt engages him in conversation lights up his face, and oh the witcher is really gorgeous

• geralt tells jaskier about his band with eskel and lambert, and sheepishly admits that he partly tagged along with jaskier to win the competition

• jaskier isn’t mad. he’d suspected that the bard had an ulterior motive, so he shrugs it off. geralt’s been good company after years of loneliness, and jaskier isn’t about to chase him away

• geralt is relieved - jaskier has grown on him, and he finds himself reluctant to leave the witcher’s side

• geralt’s version of toss a coin is debuted 2 weeks later and the humans eat it up

• within a month it’s spread across the continent like wildfire and geralt knows that he’s all but won the little competition against his brothers

• during this time, geralt has, despite jaskier’s insistence that he stay back, joined jaskier on several hunts. there are around 3 more songs in the works, ready to be debuted with his band

• a tentative friendship has grown between them, a comfortable banter unlike anything jaskier has had over the long years of his life, and geralt finds himself becoming attached to the witcher

• one day, geralt asks jaskier to travel with him to meet his band

• they meet up with eskel, lambert and vesemir in oxenfurt at their planned meeting time

• eskel and lambert have resigned looks on their faces as geralt turns up with a smug grin and a scary witcher trailing behind him

• ‘you found a witcher,’ lambert grouses, ‘that should be cheating.’

• ‘that was never in the rules,’ geralt replies, still high on his victory. ‘suck it, lambert.’

• but the wolves take a liking to jaskier very quickly after a chat over a meal, and they collectively decide to follow him

• jaskier is very confused (poor bby is confused throughout this whole thing) because he’s a big bad scary witcher?? and somehow all these bards have decided that they like him and want to follow him??

• but it’s not like he can stop them so they tag along on his adventures, singing his praises

• whenever jaskier gets a contract, he tries to make the bards stay behind in town, but it’s 4 against 1 and jaskier can’t do anything but give in

• so the bards huddle some distance away from the fight and watch

• the first time, they’re tense and on edge, fearing the worst, and only geralt is relaxed, knowing that jaskier is more than capable of taking down some measly drowners

• by the third time they follow jaskier into a fight, the bards are totally chill and start a running commentary about the fight

• ‘bet you our next meal that jaskier’s gonna run to the left’

• lambert snorts. ‘please, eskel. he’ll definitely jump on its head.’

• ‘as if. he’s gonna roll under it and stab it,’ geralt argues

• ‘HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK HE JUMPED INTO ITS MOUTH’

• they all lose the bet

• theyre panicking until jaskier casually slices his way out of the corpse, covered in guts but unharmed

• their bets become wild after that

• ‘he’s running at it is he getting ready to do an aerial somersault’

• ‘he’s gonna grab onto its wings and ride on its back’

• ‘he’s gonna igni that nekker and toss it into the rest of the nekkers’

• theyre never able to predict what jaskier does because jaskier is just a very skilled witcher and he also delights in how annoyed his bards get when they guess wrong

• the bards are also very feral especially when it comes to defending their witcher

• someone insults jaskier? they get assaulted by 3 snarling bards while their dad nods approvingly

• someone tries to cheat jaskier out of his payment? lambert mysteriously has a knife and jaskier has to physically hold back eskel and geralt from jumping on the person

• eventually word spreads around the continent that julian of kerack has 3 very feral bard protectors and a their scary father who looms at anyone who dares speak a word against julian

this is based on a post i made a few weeks ago, there are more ideas for this in the reblogs of that post - if you want to check it out, i’ll put the link in a reblog!

there are definitely more headcanons for this that i’ve already written and i will post them soon!! hopefully one day i’ll get around to writing this because i LOVE this concept a whole lot

i have more headcanons featuring witcher!jaskier disguising himself as dandelion the bard, his rivalry with cat witcher valdo marx, his friendship with pre-transformation yen and coën, and how ciri fits in with it all - thank u @brothebro for bouncing ideas with me<3

[sparrowsabre7]

Thoughts on the Snyder Cut Chapter 6 of 6

The awful “you smell good” line is changed back to the original “you spoke” which clearly couldn’t be used in the Josstice cut since dark Superman was a lot more chatty there, whereas he is entirely silent in the Snyder Cut to this moment. 

We take a bit more time to breathe on Clark’s return before going into the Batcave for what I think is the first time as a group in this version. I actually quite enjoyed Barry whizzing round the cave in Josstice as a bit of humour that actually made sense to me. Here he just says “wow!” which is now coloured a little by the death mere minutes before or his new friend’s dad... 

There is a nice “This is Alfred, I work for him” from Bruce and Alfred despairing of where he’s going to find enough tea cups, a wry commentary on the fact he’s never really needed more than 2. 

More breathing with Clark, though this movie seems to do nothing but breathe sometimes... he mentions Lois’s ring which I don’t think was brought up in Josstice, but despite spending more time with Lois, the moment still doesn’t really feel earned. Martha is then reunited with her boy too, again feeling unearned since this is actually the first we see of her this film. 

Bruce acknowledges the dream sequences from Batman V Superman in a scene that adds nothing but act as an ominous teaser before they embark on the Flying Fox (fixed by Cyborg in another addition with little actual purpose not least because the exchange between Cyborg and Bruce makes no sense “It wanted to fly, it’s in her nature” “Yours too” - we’ve already seen Cyborg fly like 20 times already). We get a brief planning scene and then it’s off to the final boss!

But not before we have another fatherly advice montage - this time for Clark from the disembodied voices of his two dads as he sadly wanders around the ship before emerging in the infamous silver and black suit. 

This scene is nice though, mirroring the emergence from “Man of Steel” and showcasing his improved mastery of flight, paying homage to the films that came before. Ah spoke too soon, ruined with a jesus shot that smacks you over the head so hard you’ll get concussion. 

The team disembarks and zooms into battle, the batmobile sequence is still a highlight and I don’t think much has changed from it, nothing that jumped out at me at least. 

There’s a scene added back in with Clark visiting Alfred, which was on the original disc as a deleted scene. I understood why it was deleted then and it adds little here too, save for logistically explaining how Superman knows where the team is.

Wonder Woman, Cyborg and Aquaman confront Steppenwolf. REALLY fucking sick of that wail now.  This doesn’t seem dramatically altered, meanwhile Barry is off doing a big run to charge up Cyborg. 

While this may have more narrative purpose than the saving the Russian family scene from Josstice (which I loathed, that family sideplot was SO dumb) it still relegates Barry to basically not doing much. Also, he gets tripped up by a blast from a gun, he’s faster than fucking sound, there should be no reason he got hit by that. Also, oh my goodness is Ezra Miller (who is otherwise pretty solid) gurning it up over his injury... 

Superman appears and it is a lot more badass than in the 2017 cut, but it does IMMEDIATELY raise the question (again) of what is the point of the other League members. He tears Steppenwolf apart with greater ease than he fought Zod or Doomsday and yet, this guy is meant to be this incredible force to be reckoned with.

Meanwhile the mother box pulling apart doesn’t go so well, so all the other Leaguers literally stand and watch as Cyborg fails to pull them apart waiting on Barry as a portal to Darkseid opens. The boxes explode and Barry goes back in time to undo it, forcing me to ask again, my god, why DOES he move his arms like that when he runs? 

Jesus we’re still 30 minutes from the end and we’re still doing vision sequences fuck me. I am so tired now. I just want it to end.

Ok the mother boxes are freaky demons in the vision showing Victor a life he could have. He ultimately rejects it and pushes them apart with Superman’s help (this seems to take basically no effort on Superman’s part compared with Josstice where it knocked both of them to the ground.) They then decapitate the basically beaten Steppenwolf (and use what I hope to christ is the last Amazon wail) for the body to fly through the portal and the team to have a good stareoff with Darkseid before he teases a now defunct sequel with generic bad guy statements. 

A very slow mo team pose closes out the battle and still doesn’t accomplish the same level of “fuck yeah” in 1 minute and 34 seconds (I counted) that “Avengers” did in 10 seconds with the 360 degree shot.

The epilogue begins and Cyborg magics his dad’s tape recorder back together to listen to his message. I don’t know how, I guess because he’s part motherbox? Arthur heads off to find his own solo movie, hopping in the back of a truck amusingly paralleling the scene in “Endgame” where Hulk visits New Asgard (though unintentional of course). Ryan Choi is there to remind us Ryan Choi was in this movie. Bruce and Alfred set up the Hall of Justice which seems unchanged, and then Barry showing his father he’s got a job in a crime lab, which now has added “foot in the door” content. Bruce helps Clark’s mum move back in, “I did a mistake” and “bought the bank” quotes still intact. Wonder Woman looks mournfully at the amazon arrow (sans wail) and then Barry manages to look even sillier when running. Batman stands atop the bat-tank from “The Dark Knight Returns” in another neat piece of fanservice that makes little sense, before Clark removes his specs and rips open his shirt to the S; something which definitely has less of an impact in the black and silver than in the red, blue, and yellow. 

We now come to the post-credity end of the movie (even though it’s pre-credits) with Luthor having escaped jail. Deathstroke also heads up to Luthor’s yacht as in Josstice’s post-credits but the context is changed dramatically, with it being about a personal hit on Batman (who took Slade’s eye apparently) rather than building the legion of doom. 

Ok, boy, still not done, more endings than Return of the King this one. We’ve jumped into the Knightmare world again, apropos of nothing. IN fairness, trenchcoat Batman is absolutely a look. Mera and Cyborg are there because reasons. As is Jared Leto Joker who sounds and overacts like an anime villain. A reacharound joke. hilarious. I actually tried defending Leto’s Joker back in the Suicide Squad era, but there’s no salvaging him. I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt but he’s just so cringeworthy. Oh apparently Harley Quinn is dead in this timeline. Batman also says “make no mistake I will fucking kill you” with all the conviction of a man establishing his consumer rights to a no questions asked refund. Ok Deathstroke is there too. With a mohawk. Barry has his time travel armour from BVS and then Superman shows up. 

Bruce now wakes up (jesus fuck, let it END) and Martian Manhunter is at his window which doesn’t seem to phase Bruce in the slightest, dispensing “an army is coming, we need to fight” platitudes. Ben Affleck seems to be playing this scene like he’s Ryan Reynolds (and tbh that’s actually working for me).

And it’s over. I’ve ranted long enough here so I will summarise in a final post

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: Tell Me Where To Find Shelter -- Layers of Victor

Saw this meme going around the #fallout4 tag a while back (I believe I specifically ganked it from @radbeetle), and thought it might be fun to do for my Sole Survivor!Victor. And my Malkavian!Alice, but let’s start with SS!Victor. XD

LAYER ONE: THE OUTSIDE

- Name: Victor Fitzwilliam Van Dort

- Eye Color: Very dark brown – it can be very hard to tell the difference between pupil and iris!

- Hair Style/Color: Black, generally combed back with two "tufts" of bangs falling over what little forehead he has

- Height: Six feet three inches (and thin as a rail)

- Clothing style: Relatively formal pre-War – he grew up in a household that impressed upon him that you wore ties and suits whenever you were in public, and often even in private. Post-War, he spends a lot of time switching between a pair of upgraded Vault suits from Vault 111 while looking for clothes that actually fit his lanky frame. He's a lot more casual in his style once he does – though he still likes a good sweater vest, and he keeps a few suits if he needs to look fancy.

- Best physical feature: Victor would personally say his hands – he's a pianist and a tinkerer, and he appreciates his long reach over a keyboard, along with his ability to finely handle delicate parts when upgrading or repairing things!

LAYER TWO: THE INSIDE

- Fears: Total darkness (as in you can't see ANYTHING – as long as there's some sort of light source, he can manage); blindness (related to previous); small enclosed spaces (being locked in a cryonic pod will do that to a guy); losing those he cares about again (he – has a lot of trauma from seeing Victoria shot, Shaun kidnapped, then trying to open Emily's pod after he finally got out, only to see her corpse half-rotted inside)

- Guilty pleasure: Pre-War, it would have been comics – he was always a little embarrassed about how much he continued to like the adventures of Grognak and the Unstoppables and whatnot after his teenage years (not helped by his mother sneering at the stories). Post-War, though, he ditches the "guilty" part – especially after meeting Kent Connolly and getting to play Silver Shroud. XD I'm not sure he has one post-War – he occasionally feels weird about how much he enjoys modifying his weapons and armor? But that's quite practical as well as pleasurable, so. . .

- Biggest pet peeve: Being rapidly promoted in organizations that he's only just joined (Preston, you're easily one of his best friends, but SERIOUSLY, dude, GENERAL?)

- Ambitions for the future: To continue keeping his little portion of the Commonwealth safe, and start training up someone with some more Charisma to be the General of the Minutemen once he retires (he's still not sure why people follow him when he's so socially awkward)

LAYER THREE: THOUGHTS

- First thoughts waking up: Depends on what wakes him up. If he's waking up on his own, it's generally a variation on "Breakfast? Where breakfast?" If someone else wakes him up, it's generally "Why are you shaking/licking me, I don't wanna get up yet." And if it's combat nearby, it's generally "SHIT WHERE'S MY GUN oh wait are they shooting at me still should find gun."

- What they think about most: All his various responsibilities – finding his son, acting as General of the Minutemen, working with the Railroad, helping the people on the settlements, wondering what the hell is going to happen between him and the Brotherhood of Steel, or him and the Institute. . .it doesn't do much for his anxiety, is what I'm saying.

- What they think about before bed: If he's not exhausted enough just to collapse onto the nearest sleeping surface, then probably what I mentioned above. He's probably up late trying to plan routes to help settlements that have called for assistance and follow leads on the Institute and whatnot.

- What they think their best quality is: Victor would consider it his willingness to be helpful whenever possible. He generally enjoys helping people, and it makes him feel better in general to help improve the Commonwealth in some small way. (Not to mention, him helping out personally with the problems of a lot of the families/communities in the Commonwealth has earned him a lot of friends for his Minutemen! A General so hands-on seems to impress people.)

LAYER FOUR: WHAT’S BETTER?

- Single or group dates: . . .this gets a little harder to answer when he was in a polyamorous relationship pre-War, you know. XD But yeah, Victor prefers one-on-one, or one-on-two in the case of Victoria and Emily. A group date puts the pressure on him to perform like the perfect boyfriend/husband, and he doesn't need the extra stress. Maybe he'd be okay with a double date if it was with some very close friends.

- To be loved or respected: Victor would rather be loved, or at least liked – though part of that is low self-esteem telling him people aren't going to respect him. (Or like him, for that matter.) It's what informs his desire to help people, at least in part.

- Beauty or brains: While Victor isn't immune to a nice face or body, he really likes having someone he can talk to about stuff. Sharing interests is fun, and he appreciates someone who will at least try to keep up with his nattering on about butterflies and robots and whatnot.

- Dogs or cats: Dogs! Victor gets along decently with cats, but he is first and foremost a dog person. He had a dog named Scraps when he was a child, and he, Victoria, and Emily were making plans to adopt one before the bombs fell. Meeting Dogmeat at the Red Rocket really helped pull him out of his post-War "almost everything I knew is gone and I'm a stranger in my own state" funk.

LAYER FIVE: DO THEY?

- Lie: Yup. Victor will tell the usual social "white lies" (even if he's not very good at them), and he's done bigger lies in the past – like not telling his parents that Emily was more than their "roommate." (Of course, that was done not to have a family blowout about him and his wife having a girlfriend.)

- Believe in themselves: Not usually – as stated, Victor has pretty low self-esteem, thanks mostly to growing up with a mother who was criticizing him and everything he was when she wasn't absent doing social climbing stuff. It's hard for him to think of himself as being someone who has worth, sadly. He gets better when he starts seeing more results of his actions in helping the Minutemen and the Railroad, and realizes he's genuinely making a difference for people.

- Believe in love: Yes – his relationship with Victoria and Emily was one of the high points of his pre-War life. He was utterly heartbroken when Victoria was shot, and Emily later died due to the life support to the other pods being cut off. But then later he meets Alice, and. . .well, it takes some time, but he manages to come around to loving and being loved again.

- Want someone: Pre-War, not really – he was in a happy threesome and wasn't currently looking to expand. Post-War, most of his life precludes wanting anyone – though he does develop a bit of a crush on Piper as time goes on. And then, of course, he meets Alice, and eventually ends up wanting her. . . (Yes, in-game I intend for him to romance Piper – and there's a chance in the AU he, Piper, and Alice would end up in a poly situation. We'll see where this goes!)

LAYER SIX: EVER?

- Been on stage: Pre-War, never officially – Nell had him play piano at some of her parties (which was always stressful, as he felt all her guests were either judging him or just hated him for being related to her), but that was as far as performing got. He of course had the speech he was asked to do that he was practicing the day the bombs dropped, but – well, the bombs dropped. Post-War – he probably will have to give some inspirational speeches to his Minutemen troops, which he will somehow get through and then go have a little quiet panic attack somewhere.

- Done chems/drugs: . . .I have occasionally toyed with the headcanon that Victor was unwillingly dosed with Psycho, or a drug like it, back in his Army days and has been haunted by the experience ever since. But other than that, not the hard stuff – Victor doesn't even smoke (he tried once – after nearly coughing up a lung, he refused to ever try again) and he tends not to drink (he's tried that too, and discovered he's an embarrassingly chatty drunk, so he doesn't typically indulge). He will, of course, take Rad-X and Rad-Away, because those are freaking necessary to survive in parts of the Wasteland.

- Changed who you were to fit in: Occasionally attempted, never stuck. He's not good at keeping up a facade. One of his most embarrassing memories is trying to ask a girl to dance at a party his mother dragged him to when he was about 16, imitating the more popular "jock"-kinda guys, and getting laughed at so much he retreated to the buffet for the rest of the night.

LAYER SEVEN: FAVORITES

- Favorite color: Blue

- Favorite animal: Dogs, butterflies

- Favorite movie: Victor will confess to a love for schlocky monster movies, so he was quite enamored of Night of the Fish Men's Revenge when it came out (he's quite excited when he sees it in the projector in Eden Meadows Cinema, and quite sad that he can only get it to play the title screen). He also enjoyed Another Day In the Monster Factory for much the same reasons.

- Favorite game: With his affinity for comic books and a secret love of roleplaying (which becomes not-so-secret once he starts Silver Shrouding), Grognak & The Ruby Ruins quite appeals to him. He likes that it has some replay value too, with changing up your party and whatnot. The action of Pipfall appeals to him too, though that time limit can be stressful!

LAYER EIGHT: AGE

- DOB: June 9th, 2050 (he was 27 and a few months when the bombs dropped)

- Day of their next birthday, they will be: His next birthday according to the game would be June 9th, 2088 – he'd be 238 in terms of time passed, 28 in terms of biology

- Age they lost their virginity: Twenty – Victor had been yanked by the Army into Canada to help with the Sino-American war shortly after graduating high school, but got some leave around his twentieth birthday to go home. He immediately caught back up with his high school sweethearts, Victoria and Emily, and ended up doing the deed with Victoria. They managed to keep it a secret from their conservative parents, fortunately.

- Does age matter: In general? Victor is willing to listen to advice from those older than he is, certainly – though he tends to take it with a grain of salt depending on their obvious biases. In a relationship? Unless one of the parties is a minor, Victor won't get involved, though bigger gaps will probably make him wonder what exactly they see in each other. (He allows this is hypocritical of him to a degree, as Alice is much older than him even taking into account the freezing – but on the flip side, she was Embraced at 20, he was frozen at 27. . .)

LAYER NINE: IN A BOY OR GIRL

- Best personality: Victor likes people who are sweet and kind, but have a tougher or sassier side to them as well. Victoria leaned mostly toward the "sweet" side, but was also pretty determined when it came to getting what she wanted from him; Emily was cheerful and enthusiastic, but if you angered her – wooo boy; Alice of course is snark incarnate, but is kind to people and generally likes helping others. Even Piper is one of the kinder companions, but doesn't shy away from sarcastic comments.

- Best eye color: Well, Victoria and Emily both had blue eyes (of differing shades), and Alice's green eyes were one of the first things that struck Victor about her, sooo. . .blue or green!

- Best hair color: I'm not sure Victor has a preference here – Victoria was a super-light brown, almost gray; Emily was a blonde; Alice has dark hair that looks black or brown depending on the light/how well cared for it is (and she says her hair was almost red when she was a kid!); Piper has dark brown/black hair. I guess pre-War he went for lighter; post-War he goes for darker?

- Best thing to do with a partner: Victor likes finding some sort of creative interest they can share, or at least do at the same time. He would sit in the living room and draw while Victoria embroidered in the afternoons; and he and Emily both played piano, so they'd often have little duets. With Alice, he probably ends up illustrating some of the stories she tells – maybe eventually they throw together a book of sorts, with Piper's help!

LAYER TEN: FINISH THE SENTENCE

- I love: Alice! And the rest of my friends too, of course.

- I feel: completely out of my depth, most of the time.

- I hide: how anxious all of this makes me – not sure how well I'm succeeding, but. . .

- I miss: the life I had before, in Sanctuary.

- I wish: that Victoria and Emily hadn't – that t-they were still here to meet the friends I've made.

[chirp-the-trashbird]

So being an assistant director/stage manager for YAT has been pretty chill so far. I'm getting experience and getting paid for it, and most of what I'm doing is sitting there writing blocking and telling children (repeatedly) to be quiet. It's not bad. Of course, I don't like small children, but I can deal with them since I'm getting paid, so honestly, it going pretty well.

I'd even say it was going great, except, of course, for the fact that NO ONE IS TELLING ME ANYTHING.

And not little things. I'm talking important things. Things the fucking STAGE MANAGER kind of needs to know.

There have been at least 5 instances of a line being cut without me being informed, and I'm not sure if that's the on production assistant or not. All I know is that I'm not being told, it's not in the fucking prompt book, and it sure as hell didn't change when I was there.

And, of course, when I am there, the director doesn't tell me. He tells the actors and I have to do my best to hear all the changes over a bunch of chatty pre-teens and/or directly ask because apparently he can't be fucking bothered to tell me.

On another note, he'll ask me to read lines for someone who isn't there. Pretty standard, and it's not like I'm not on book so what's the harm. But then sometimes he'll just decide to do it himself. Which, while aggravating, whatever I can deal, it's fine. Well, it would be fine that is, if he actually read the fucking lines of the script that he fucking wrote instead of ad-libbing out of his ass, taking a ridiculous amount of time and majorly fucking up the lines, and therefore confusing the kids and making it harder for them to get their lines right.

And then he's getting on the kids about how they have to memorize their lines and it's disrespectful to the playwright to paraphrase even though he literally told them that its the intent and not the words themselves that matter.

And these are fucking middle school children getting yelled at by a man decades older than their parents in a summer camp that's supposed to be fun.

Like, sure, I'll raise my voice to tell them to be quiet and get a little testy when it's the third time in 20 minutes.

But there's a difference between being told "Quiet backstage please!" and "Remember to look over your lines!" and "Don't leave your props laying around backstage!" or "Don't play with the basketball, it's a prop not toy!" by an eighteen year old girl and getting yelled at and lectured every fucking day by a half-deaf white man in his late sixties.

This man literally threw his keys at (they slid across the stage, but intent) a group of kids for being chatty. The production assistant told me that one of the speakers doesn't work because of this man and a similar incident. My friend who helped me get a job here told me she was sorry that I ended up with him as my director, said she'd worked with him for three years and he was the literally worst. He gets special treatment when it comes to tech stuff not because he deserves it but because he's an entitled asshole who'll fuck shit up when (not if, when) he tries to do it himself.

All in all, this man reminds me of my director from high school, and that's not a good thing.

[verbjectives]

Im craving me a tattoo artist + florist au for the valko and whomever else you choose!

ohhhhhhhhhhhhh boyyyyyyyyyy i’m just gonna hit you with an entire small businesses au because why not??? also this got really out of hand lmao sorry not sorry

alright so valko as a tattoo artist who is relatively well known for being able to do pretty intricate and detailed designs 

he’s got forearm tats that are cosmetic and then a couple of other tattoos covering/hiding the old ones he has from his shady past

ovak works in a mechanic’s shop a couple buildings down

faylen works at the flower shop across the street. it’s unclear whether or not she actually owns the place, but she’s always there, so she might as well own it.

thanos still has his little shop of oddities but it’s across town. 

and eryk works as the head cook in his mom’s bar/grill on main street.

now that everything’s all set up….

faylen and ovak both got their tats done by valko in this au (he was trained by seraphina (i think that was her name???) tho)

faylen’s got her thumb on the pulse of p much everyone’s business in town

or at least the business pertaining to the flowers they purchase from her.

she knows who has a family member who’s sick; she knows who’s celebrating; she knows who’s trying to woo another person

likewise, valko ends up the listening to ear to whoever decides to get chatty while he’s working on them, so he ends up privy to the latest gossip

he and faylen meet up once or twice a week for drinks and they talk and hang out

faylen makes sure it’s at his place so he has reason to keep his place clean (and also so she can see fortune, who faylen claims is part wolf dog, but the vet says she’s just a very large alaskan (skueg strar-an?) husky)

recently eryk has been the subject of their gossip

faylen says that he’s in her shop almost every day asking about flower meanings and trying to pick which flowers he wants to send to someone

valko had him walk into the tattoo parlor a couple days ago and browse some of the pre-made designs hanging up, but got too flustered when valko tried to help him out

they both know he’s been making heart eyes at ovak, he isn’t subtle about it.

fury is a regular at athena’s bar/grill and valko drinks with her sometimes and the two of them help poor eryk work up the courage to talk to ovak about what exactly is going on between the two of them.

valko also frequents faylen’s shop and purchases flowers that he uses to decorate the parlor

lau came into town for a few months because he was looking for kian and had thought that kian had stopped in for a bit (even though he hadn’t)

he and faylen got along really well and he visited the flower shop a lot….like a lot….

ultimately he had to move on to keep looking for his friend, but before he left, he bought flowers from faylen and then immediately gave them back to her to thank her for being so kind to him while he was there. 

there was a point during the time between valko’s Shady Past™ and the present where his belief in pelor was revived

and oddly enough he’s pretty familiar with certain passages of whatever the pelorian holy text is because he gets a fair number of people coming in wanting those quotes as tattoos

same thing with pelor’s holy symbol (idk how sacrilegious this is in aremor, but…u kno….like how people get tattoos of the cross on them?)

he’s done other holy symbols and scripture quotes 

but despite this, he’s yet to actually step foot inside a temple of pelor….he’s afraid and…hasn’t worked up the courage to do so

even though he knows it’d be so easy to just accompany his parents to a service that’s literally all he’d have to do but he’s too nervous to do that….feels like his presence would just…dirty the temple or something

ANYWAY 

because i’m in a shippy mood and want valko to get some

so let’s say that the local temple of pelor gets mmmmm a new youth pastor or something like that

who’s big and beefy and a total sweetheart

just in time for whatever holiday is happening soon

and he comes in to pick up his special order for the holiday service while valko was there picking up his own usual order of flowers 👀👀👀

and idk they just keep bumping into each other everywhere and idk where it goes from there but it goes somewhere

….hopefully

ideally with valko receiving flowers he absolutely did not order himself and faylen being mischievously tight-lipped about it for some reason

and also with said new pastor taking notice in valko’s interest in pelorism and helping him overcome his hesitance towards attending services

i’m not saying one-on-one scripture studies but….

….i’m totally saying one-on-one scripture studies

[messie2624]

Title: Worried for Nothing

Fandom: Kuroko no Basket

Relationships: Midorima Shintarou & Takao Kazunari, Midorima Shintarou & Momoi Satsuki, Momoi Satsuki & Takao Kazunari, Aomine Daiki & Momoi Satsuki

Characters: Momoi Satsuki, Midorima Shintarou, Takao Kazunari, Aomine Daiki, Shuutoku High Basketball Team Members, Touou High Basketball Team Members

Additional Tags: Momoi cares about her GOM boys, can be read as pre-midotaka or Midorima Takao friendship, but there are slight midotaka hints, rated T because Aomine says a swear once

Language: English

Status: Complete

Summary: During a scrimmage, Momoi is worried about how her old teammates are faring at other schools. Turns out she had nothing to worry about.

Link Above, Fic Below

Momoi was very excited for today, she was practically bouncing in her seat. Touou was going to scrimmage Shuutoku. On top of seeing her old teammate again, she was also there to gather valuable information on the team. She heard they lost to Kuroko’s team a while ago. She had tried to call him to cheer him up, but she didn’t think he appreciated it very much. She was hoping he would be in a better mood today.

As the bus pulled into the parking lot, she roughly elbowed Aomine in his ribs, startling him awake from his nap.

“What the hell, Satsuki?!”

“We’re here, Dai-chan! Aren’t you excited?”

He scrunched up his nose in disgust. “To see Midorima? No. I don’t even want to be here.”

Momoi pouted. “But you agreed to come if Imayoshi-san and Coach didn’t make you play.”

Aomine cleaned out his ear. “Yeah but this is cutting into my nap time.”

“You shouldn’t even be taking naps, Dai-chan! At least make yourself useful and help me gather data.”

“Why should I do that?”

She huffed. “Maybe Midorin and his team can beat you.”

He glared at her. “Don’t even joke like that. It’s not funny.”

I hope someone beats you, she thought. Whether it be Midorin, Akashi-san, Tetsu-kun, or anyone else. Please lose before you lose your love of the sport forever.

She sighed. “At least pretend to be happy to see him.”

Aomine scoffed. “He would think I’m possessed if I did that.”

“You have a point...”

“I will acknowledge that he’s there.”

She sighed. “I guess I can’t ask for more.”

“I’m glad you understand my limits.”

Momoi pulled on his arm to pull him up. “Get up, let’s go.”

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

After all but dragging her friend into the gym, she immediately started to scan the gym for Midorima. He wasn’t all that hard to spot. He was exactly where she expected him to be, practicing at the three-point line.

She ran over to her old teammate, calling out to him to get his attention. “Midorin!” He turned at her voice and she firmly grasped his hands in hers when she reached him. She really wanted to hug him but she knew he wasn’t as touchy as she was. “I’m so happy to see you again!”

“It’s nice to see you too,” he said politely. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been good! Still trying to get Dai-chan to go to practice. He’s being so stubborn about it!”

Midorima scrunched up his nose. “Is he still reading those obscene magazines?”

Aomine glared at him, having finally caught up to Momoi. “They’re photobooks and they’re not obscene!”

“They contain half-nude women, do they not?”

“Yeah, which means they’re mostly clothed, idiot!”

Momoi sighed. “You still shouldn’t be bringing them to practice.” When you actually do come, that is...

“Yeah, whatever. I’m gonna go sit down.”

Midorima raised his eyebrow. “Are you not playing?”

“Nah, I’m not wasting my talents on a scrimmage.” He glanced over at the Shuutoku team. “If you were actually smart, you’d do the same.”

A dark haired male jogged up next to Midorima. “Ouch. That hurts our feelings a little,” he said, trying to defuse the tension.

Momoi looked him over. She couldn’t determine his abilities as quickly or accurately as Seirin’s coach could, but she could tell that he was at least decent at his position. She was guessing point guard. He looked about Akashi-san size and Midorima tended to gravitate towards things that felt familiar to him. She definitely needed more data on him.

“Huh? Who are you?” Aomine asked, rudely. Momoi was seriously going to have to remind him of his manners when they got home.

“Takao Kazunari, Shin-chan’s friend,” he held out his hand with a lopsided grin.

Shin-chan? That was so unbelievably adorable. And more importantly… She pulled Takao into a tight hug. “Midorin made a friend!”

That statement made Midorima turn beet red. Now that was very interesting indeed. “He’s not my friend!”

Takao pouted at him. “That hurts my feelings, Shin-chan.” He didn’t seem too hurt. Momoi smiled. Takao Kazunari seemed like a lot of fun. Hopefully, it would rub off on Midorima a bit.

He turned away. “I don’t care,” he said, tone contradicting his words.

All Momoi’s attention was on Takao. “You have to tell me everything! What position do you play? How did you meet?”

Takao answered “point guard” at the same time Midorima hissed “don’t answer her, fool!”

He looked up at his taller teammate. “Eh? Why not?”

“She’s using it to get information about the team,” he said like this was obvious information.

Takao playfully rolled his eyes. “She’s gonna find out when we play. But don’t you worry Shin-chan, I won’t give up any team secrets.”

Midorima sighed. “You talk too much.”

“What can I say? I’m chatty.”

“Holy shit, he’s a shorter Kise,” Aomine said.

“He is nothing like Kise,” Midorima shot back quickly.

Aomine’s response was cut off by the referee’s whistle.

Momoi took a seat on the bench. “I’ll talk to you after the match, okay Takao-kun?”

Takao saluted her as he took his place on the court. “You got it!”

Momoi happily scrambled over to the bench and prepared her notebook and pen. This game was going to be great.

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

Aomine stared at the scoreboard in disbelief. “How the fuck did we lose?!”

“Wakamatsu-san is sick today, so he couldn’t play,” Momoi said as she finished writing her final notes. “And another certain someone doesn’t want to play in non-official games, so we’re down two starters.”

Aomine huffed.

Takao jogged up to them. “You get everything you need, Momoi-san?” he asked with a smile.

She nodded. “I did! Congratulations on your win!”

He smiled. “Thanks! I’d love to play him next time.” He jabbed his finger in Aomine’s direction.

“If I played, we would’ve won!”

Takao stuck his tongue out at him. “Well, you didn’t play so.”

“Takao, stop antagonizing him. He’s not worth it.”

Momoi giggled as she was suddenly hit with a sense of nostalgia. “Takao-san, can you show me where the vending machines are?”

“Hmm? Yeah sure.”

She noticed Midorima not so subtly listening to them. “Don’t worry, Midorin, I’ll bring him back safe and sound.”

Midorima pushed up his glasses. “I wasn’t worried about that.”

Of course he wasn’t.

“Dai-chan, behave while I’m gone, okay?” she called back to Aomine as she followed Takao out of the gym.

“So what did you want to talk about?” Takao asked as soon as they were out of the gym.

“About Midorin. How is he doing here?”

“He’s doing good, I think. He’s doing well in class and he’s getting along with the team decently. It’s been a slow process. He gets three selfish requests everyday and he doesn’t use them as often as I thought he would. I’ve never seen him use all three yet.”

“Then I guess I had nothing to worry about.”

“You worry about him?”

“I worry about all of them. Their last year at Teiko was… stressful for them to say the least. And I was worried about all of them going to different schools and us being seperated, but I think it was needed for them to grow.” She looked at Takao carefully. “What is Midorin to you?”

Takao seemed surprised by the question. “He’s my friend. I feel like he thinks I’m a servant sometimes, but Shin-chan doesn’t know how to ask for things he wants sometimes. He knows my limits and I know his. I think we’re gonna be great partners.”

She smiled. “That makes me so happy to hear. I think you’ll bring out the best in him”

He turned a bit pink at that. “You think so?” he asked as he made his selections on the vending machine.

A bottle of water and a can of red bean soup. “I think so.”

They walked back in relative silence. Momoi stopped as she came to the gym doors.

“Takao-kun?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I have your phone number?”

“Hmm? Yeah, sure,” he took the offered notebook and wrote his number on the heading of the page. “Why do you want it?”

“It might be useful to have.”

“Momoi-san,” he teased, “you just want to know more of our secrets, don’t you?”

She laughed. “You caught me! But I think it would be good to compare notes sometimes.” She looked at him. He had sharp eyes, ones that could look right through to a person’s soul. Midorima needed someone like that in his life, someone that could see through all the layers of armor he had but wouldn’t take advantage of him. Their chemistry on the court was something that she used to see in Kuroko and Aomine. She knew that there was a good chance it would evolve into something more. “Take good care of him, okay?”

He nodded in understanding.  “I will.”

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

They left without much fanfare. The teams seemed to get along fairly well and Aomine was behaved for the most part. Momoi couldn’t help but notice that Midorima tended to linger by his friend/not friend closer than she had ever seen him willingly stand next to a person.

She managed to catch their attention as Shuutoku saw them off and shouted “Bye Midorin! Text me sometime, Takao-kun!” as she boarded the bus. The last thing she heard was Midorima asking why Takao agreed to give Momoi his number. She couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Midorin is happy here…” she said softly, with a smile on her face. She looked at the notebook on her lap, an idea starting to formulate in her head. She did need data on Kaijo, Yosen, and Rakuzan. Scheduling a few more scrimmages and checking up on a few people certainly couldn’t hurt anyone.

[rensfic]

Coming to Save You, Part VI

    “Are you serious?”

    “Yes, I’m serious. How d’you think I got into Avengers Tower in the first place? You ever seen anyone else scavenging that place?”

    “Where were you?”

    “One of Vault-Tec’s icebox vaults.”

    “Ohhhh, shit! They had one up here too?”

    “Yeah. We were supposed to be the superheroes and their families who got frozen for comparison to the Boston group.”

    “You the only one who came out? I heard the only one who came out of the Boston one is just tearing the Commonwealth up right now.”

    “Nah. I got everyone out okay. These raiders were letting people out of the pods one by one so they could kill them for fun.”

    “Huh. They’re in a cell somewhere, right?”

    “Yeah. A cell in the tower. Just like these guys are about to be, whether or not you help me.”

    The Duke stared at the two of them, who had suddenly become incredibly chatty. He’d never seen the red-suited mercenary like this before. He stood from his chair, letting out a low noise of disapproval.

    “You ladies just gonna stand there gossiping all day?”

    All Wade did was turn just long enough to shoot the Duke in the leg, then turned back to Spider-Man as though nothing had happened.

    “No, no I hear you. This is fantastic. I’ll help you round ‘em up. I can’t believe you’re back, Spidey baby! This is gonna be so cool.” And then he leaps back into action, feeling a warm bubble rise up in his chest. Hope is not a feeling he is used to, and yet here it is, swelling like a balloon that couldn’t actually fit in him. It’s a little suspicious, actually-- how long until it all collapses and he’s miserable again? But his other side tells him that he can at least enjoy this while it lasts, because hell, if two hundred years of misery would never turn to joy at some point, then it stands to reason that two hundred years of joy would never end, either. And he knows for a fact that joy ends eventually. And so must misery.

    Peter, on the other hand, feels a little cautious. He’s done the Wade dance before and was never fully convinced that he really wanted to go clean-- he always seemed to hesitate a bit, and if his role in the Duke’s court is any indication, he hasn’t tried very hard to give it up in the last two hundred years he thought Spider-Man was dead, either.

    “Go get them, then,” he says, standing there, wondering if Wade would actually turn on his employer for this. Then again, he had shot him in the leg. Oh, it is too much. He had to go back to his center. He closes his eyes. It is not Peter Parker’s job to fix Wade Wilson, he tells himself, trying to imagine his uncle’s voice speaking to him. If Wade Wilson wants to change, then Peter Parker can help him, but until he does and makes the effort for it, it is not Peter Parker’s job to do anything.

    When he opens his eyes, every member of the Duke’s gang is laid at his feet, tied in what must be at least fifty feet of rope that Wade got from God knows where. He wouldn’t put it past him to put emergency caches everywhere, so he supposes it makes sense.

    Wade himself stands just behind the mass of about fifteen people, watching Peter for his reaction. At first, it doesn’t look like there is any. He just stands there, looking at the pile. Then he turns, and it’s difficult to tell how he feels from his flattened voice, but Wade thinks he might sound a little surprised, and happy.

“Thanks. Let’s get them inside.”

It’s not a bad place to start. He knows what Peter is thinking and he’s right about it. Wade has let himself go too much. That ends today, he decides.

    When he steps into the tower again after all those years, Wade feels almost like he is being reborn. It’s funny to him that he never feels changed or reborn when he dies and comes back to life-- but just stepping into this ancient temple of Do-Gooderism has that effect on him. The dust is everywhere but he can still feel the half-beating heart of Nick Fury’s original vision for the building. Obviously, this is the perfect time to start cracking jokes.

    “Hey, can I try out the shield? I feel like it’s being wasted if it’s just sitting in here not being used.”

    “No, but if you feel that way, I’ll grab it and try it out for you.”

    “You know what? That’s even better. He’d have wanted you to have it.”

    “That… was an unusually sensitive thing for you to say, Wade.”

    “I have my moments.”

    Peter is quiet now as he steps through the high-ceilinged galleries toward the elevator that will take him down to the cells. The gaggle of rough-looking men behind him dodder along, looking around inside the tower they’d seen from the outside but had never managed to break into. There’s weaponry they could never even dream of sitting in stalls and on shelves and hangers. Colorful suits that look like they could stop a car. Cars that can probably both fly and dive into water judging by the fins.

Their captor pulls them along with unusual strength for just one guy who isn’t a super mutant toward a set of doors, chatting with their former employee as though they’ve known each other for years. Inside the doors they find a prison filled with more raiders-- not their gang, but ones that lurked around in the same area. Nobody dangerous enough for them to have gone after. The Spider had gotten to them first.

“Like one of those old pre-war comics,” Cutter says thoughtfully, before the guy yanks her and her boss and their crew into a cell all of their own. The man in the red and blue suit slams the door shut and puts his hand to a gel pad to lock them in.

“This is one of the pre-war comic books. I’m pre-war. I’m the Spider-Man they made those out of.”

Wade doesn’t think his dick can get any harder as Spider-Man walks away from them after saying that and closes the door behind him while they stare at him with faces full of shock. Once the door is closed, Peter slumps a little, sliding down the door onto the ground, looking like jelly. He takes his mask off and Wade’s heart jumps a little. He’s never taken it off in front of him before. He supposes the whole ‘they might kill my family and friends to get to me’ thing is a moot point now that all of that having-family-and-friends business is over for him. And if Wade’s a friend, he’s definitely not a friend that anyone can kill.

Peter scratches his head, which makes his hair floof up a little, and looks up at Wade. “Are there a lot of guys like that out here?”

“Just about everywhere you go. After the law fell apart people stopped giving a shit. With a few exceptions. Like you.”

“But not you.”

“No. Not me.”

“Why not? I thought you were trying to change when the bombs dropped.”

Wade fights the impulse to defend himself.

“I… forgot what it meant to try to be better. I used to know but I forgot. I was never really good at that stuff. I think my brain didn’t have the right part for it. Situations would come up where I’d ask, ‘what would Spider-Man do?’ And I’d have no idea. I know what you’d do if a guy was robbing a jewelry store or mugging an old lady, but what would you do if you had two guys who looked identical and both of them said the other was a synth and was trying to kill them? What about if you found out that an amazing life-giving program that could potentially help people by restoring crops and water had a side effect of turning its users into plant monsters? What about a paramilitary organization that opposed a huge empire of slavers who killed innocent people to prove their own warped viewpoint, but then turned around and took food from starving people under the pretense of saving them? What about an asshole who cuts off fingers from farmers who can’t pay him, but you know that he’s the only thing stopping an even worse asshole across the river in Jersey from taking over?”

His voice starts to get high and desperate, and the fidgeting of his hands says volumes about his vulnerability right now. “When you were around and the other Avengers were around, I could just copy you, or you know, copy what the hero is old movies would do. But I never had the thing where you can figure out what you should do when you have a totally new situation in front of you. So, that’s why I was happy to see you-- or, part of the reason, anyway. So you can tell me what to do again.” And his voice becomes hopeful again.

Peter stares at him for a few moments, trying to wrap his head around the idea that someone else depends on outside input for moral decisions. “Oh… kay… that’s… kind of a big burden, right? I mean, I can’t just tell you what to do.”

“No, you absolutely can. You should start with the guy across the river, though. Somebody has to do something about him.”

“Well, capture him? And bring him here.”

“What if there’s another guy after that? And the guy across the river is protecting people from that one?”

“...We’ll deal with him if and when he pops up. One thing at a time. Wow, this really is a mess. Nobody’s set up any defenses at all?”

“For who?”

“The farmers! The farmers who need protection from the raiders.”

“First we’d need to pick a spot to defend and put them there. That’ll probably involve killing some super mutants or ghouls or something.”

“Isn’t that literally your favorite thing to do?”

“Oh, hey, it is! Okay, Spidey baby, brave leader, where should we set up this camp?”

“Somewhere nearby so I can be there if they’re attacked. Central Park! It’d be perfect. There’s water there and plenty of land to grow food on. We could fortify it and probably have a pretty big community there.”

“Huh. Yeah, alright. I’ve been living in the Tavern on the Green for years now, so I’d be on location too.”

“Even better. The way those guys were talking, nobody would attack a settlement you were guarding.”

“Yeah, they probably wouldn’t. I haven’t had any problems so far. I’d need help setting up generators and water filtration and stuff.”

“Okay. You just… go to Central Park, and get rid of anything violent that would hurt people. Start building fences and walls. That kind of stuff. I’ll start going through the materials here. There’s probably some helpful things. Could probably even build some turrets or something.”

“That’s unusually violent for you, Spider-Man.”

“BB pellets won’t hurt them much, and it’d distract them a bit while I dealt with them.”

“Ohhh. Of course. So… you’d be moving in over there?”

“Yeah. Looks like it. It’ll be a lot easier to protect everyone in one location, I’ll tell you that much. Especially without police radio to listen to for leads.”

“But if they manage to crack the defenses there, they’ll have everybody in the area under their control and defenseless.”

“Oh. Right. So… an escape tunnel?”

“Sure, if you can be sure you can safeguard it against intrusion. They work both ways.”

“An escape tunnel into Avengers Tower, with a sealing mechanism that only opens from the inside or by one of us from the outside.”

“Yeah, that should work… that way if one of us gets knocked out of commission they can still get out when the danger’s gone. Sounds like we have some work to do.”

    “Yeah. I’ll get started on the drafting. You go out and visit some of the nearby settlements, see if any of them are interested in helping us start a community. The best defended one on the east coast.”

    “We’ll have to beat Diamond City for that. They set up in Fenway Park, something like a hundred and fifty years ago. Those big stadium walls do a lot to keep dangerous stuff out.”

    “That’s genius. Has anyone done the same thing with Yankee Stadium?”

    “Yeah, a big gang of raiders.”

    “We’ll have to look at digging them out and replacing them later. But for now, one thing at a time. I need you to secure the park and find farmers and supplies to help us start. Seeds, metal, concrete, anything you can find so I can build what we need.”

    Wade gives him a salute, and then pauses.

    “So… you finally took off your mask. What gives?”

    “Nobody here knows who I am anymore. The villains here target everyone on sight… it’s hard to imagine a raider getting pissed at me personally and going after anyone I’m close to. So there’s no point.”

    “I mean, I don’t recognize you either.”

    Peter laughs. “I was a photographer for the Daily Bugle. That’s why they always had those amazing shots of me.”

    Now Wade is laughing too. “No way! You must’ve had the highest blood pressure in the city, dealing with that editor.

“I might’ve! It was worth the cash though. Nobody could do what I did.”

“That’s still true.”

“Aww, thanks. Uh. My name’s Peter, by the way. Peter Parker.”

“Petey pie!”

“Oh, my God.”

“Petey pie, Petey pie, Petey pie…” Wade sings and dances his way out of the tower while Peter rolls his eyes and looks for his drafting supplies.

[earlybeck]

“I had my own bed. I slept in it alone, except for those times when we needed—not sex—but sex was how we got there.”

“I want to know everything about you, so I tell you everything about myself.”

“there’s so much I can’t read because I get so exasperated. Someone starts describing the character boarding the plane and pulling the seat back. and I just want to say, Babe, I have been downtown. I have been up in a plane. Give me some credit.”

The worst of it is over now, and I can't say that I am glad. Lose that sense of loss--you have gone and lost something else.

Amy Hempel

Just because you have stopped sinking doesn't mean you're not still underwater.”

Amy Hempel, The Dog of the Marriage: Stories  

“if it's true your life flashes past your eyes before you die, then it is also the truth that your life rushes forth when you are ready to start to truly be alive.”

then the children went to bed, or at least went upstairs, and the men joined the women for a cigarette on the porch, absently picking ticks engorged like grapes off the sleeping dogs. and when the men kissed the women good night, and their weekend whiskers scratched the women's cheeks, the women did not think shave, they thought stay.

“I had my own bed. I slept in it alone, except for those times when we needed—not sex—but sex was how we got there.”

“before I took to the road, a friend tried to get me to go to a department store with him. he said it was to improve the place where I lived. he said," I want to know you are reading beneath this lamp. " this fellow was dying. he knew it and I did not. I think he was tucking me in. he was making sure all of his friends had the right lamps, the comfiest pillows, the softest sheets. he was tucking us all in for the night.”

“What I think," Chatty says, "is that if a man loves a woman more than a woman loves a man, then they're even.”

“And I see that not touching for so long was a drive to the beach with the windows rolled up so the waves feel that much colder.”

“I read about a famous mystery writer who worked for one week in a department store. One day she saw a woman come in and buy a doll. the mystery writer found out the woman’s name, and took a bus to New Jersey to see where the woman lived. that was all. Years later, she referred to this woman as the love of her life. It is possible to imagine a person so entirely that the image resists attempts to dislodge it.”

Amy Hempel, The Collected Stories

“I would like to go for a ride with you, have you take me to stand before a river in the dark where hundreds of lightning bugs blink this code in sequence: right here, nowhere else ! Right now, never again !”

“I have written letters that are failures, but I have written few, I think, that are lies. trying to reach a person means asking the same question over and over again: Is this the truth, or not ? I begin this letter to you, then, in the western tradition. If I understand it, the western tradition is: Put your cards on the table.”

Amy Hempel, Tumble Home: A Novella and Short Stories

06.21.26.04 am | blame it on the sun or the blazing desert heat. the most disciplined of women and the most reckless of men are about to clash in the most impossibly irresistible way. - missing you and no.2 virtually matter till we meet again - for us being in love. ** i miss talking with you.

06.21.26.04 am | blame it on the sun or the blazing desert heat. the most disciplined of women and the most reckless of men are about to clash in the most impossibly irresistible way. - missing you and no.2 virtually matter till we meet again - for us being in love. ** i miss talking with you.

clip upload : 15.48.21.18 pm **in memories to both - witty, piquant, minded and exquisite women in my life. ** ok. take care. miss u. on 15.11.2009 | **yes on t way - message on 01.12.12 ** at **** ***** .. taking u turn. message on 10.11.2012.

can’t sleep There is no sleep coming I’m just lying here thinking about you I’m in deep Falling deep into the picture in my mind of everything we’re going to do Over at the lake and down by the river You can feel it start to rise Want to jump in my car, go wherever you are Because I need you by my side [Chorus] It’s going to be a long, hot summer, we should be together With your feet up on the dashboard now Singing along with the radio, it’s such a beautiful sound

And when you say my name in the middle of the day, I swear I see the stars come out When you hold my hand in the back of my mind, just waiting for the sun to go down The sun to go down

read lyrics here

06.21.26.04 am | blame it on the sun or the blazing desert heat. the most disciplined of women and the most reckless of men are about to clash in the most impossibly irresistible way. - missing you and no.2 virtually matter till we meet again - for us being in love. ** i miss talking with you.

clip upload : 15.49.22.18 pm **in memories to both - witty, piquant, minded and exquisite women in my life. ** ok. take care. miss u. on 15.11.2009 | **yes on t way - message on 01.12.12 ** at **** ***** .. taking u turn. message on 10.11.2012.

And all I am is a man I want the world in my hands I hate the beach but I stand In California with my toes in the sand Use the sleeves of my sweater Let's have an adventure Head in the clouds but my gravity's centered Touch my neck and I'll touch yours You in those little high waisted shorts, oh [Pre-Chorus] She knows what I think about And what I think about One love, two mouths One love, one house No shirt, no blouse Just us, you find out Nothing that I wouldn’t wanna tell you about, no

read lyrics here

06.21.26.04 am | blame it on the sun or the blazing desert heat. the most disciplined of women and the most reckless of men are about to clash in the most impossibly irresistible way. - missing you and no.2 virtually matter till we meet again - for us being in love. ** i miss talking with you.

clip upload : 18.07.21.18 pm **in memories to both - witty, piquant, minded and exquisite women in my life. ** ok. take care. miss u. on 15.11.2009 | **yes on t way - message on 01.12.12 ** at **** ***** .. taking u turn. message on 10.11.2012.

06.21.26.04 am | blame it on the sun or the blazing desert heat. the most disciplined of women and the most reckless of men are about to clash in the most impossibly irresistible way. - missing you and no.2 virtually matter till we meet again - for us being in love. ** i miss talking with you.

clip upload : 18.11.26.18 pm **in memories to both - witty, piquant, minded and exquisite women in my life. ** ok. take care. miss u. on 15.11.2009 | **yes on t way - message on 01.12.12 ** at **** ***** .. taking u turn. message on 10.11.2012.

She was brought into this world Out of a beautiful mistake When her mom was just a girl And her daddy didn't stay [Verse 2] She was working at age 9 At the flower shop in town Working not just to survive 'Cause life was throwing her around

She was young but not naive Always wise beyond her years Hoping that no one would see Every time she dried her tears [Chorus] In the rose garden Where the rain is falling And the thorns are sharpened Rose garden, yeah, rose

read lyrics here

06.21.26.04 am | blame it on the sun or the blazing desert heat. the most disciplined of women and the most reckless of men are about to clash in the most impossibly irresistible way. - missing you and no.2 virtually matter till we meet again - for us being in love. ** i miss talking with you.

clip upload : 18.18.21.18 pm **in memories to both - witty, piquant, minded and exquisite women in my life. ** ok. take care. miss u. on 15.11.2009 | **yes on t way - message on 01.12.12 ** at **** ***** .. taking u turn. message on 10.11.2012

How was I to know you'd just come along? (And funk my life up) Lips like they've been singing sexed up strawberry songs (Just funk my life up) Never heard her coming, thought it's just another woman With a shotgun in her hand (Funk my life up) She's the bass, she's the beat, she's the rhythm, she's the band (Just funk my life up) And the girl, so fine makes you wanna scream hallelujah

Sly hands, spinning webs like silk Beats are dripping on me like spider milk And I never heard the warning when I woke up in the morning With my sunshine on a drip She's my rock, she's my bud, she's tequila, she's a trip And that girl, so fine Makes you wanna scream hallelujah

read lyrics here

06.21.26.04 am | a happy new day wishes - I want morning and noon and nightfall with you. I want your tears, your smiles, your kisses. missing you and no. 2 virtually matter till we meet again - for us being in love. one love, one heart, one destiny.

You - m i S S

#3618

to them - listen adequate music : c - d - s - k - k - a

post time : 06.21.18.14 pm

VW - NS - us being in fervent love.

pic : www.chuvakhin.com

the greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively. - Bob Marley

[7fics]

Jackbum: Jackson goes to the woods to bury a body but Jaebum is already there burying a body.

Warnings: Character Death, Murder, Other stuff that comes with burying dead bodies in woodsdisclaimer: I do not promote murder, I do not hate any of the characters that die in this fic, it was just for the sake of this fic

Word Count: Just under 2k

Author: Chewt, the writer formerly known as Chewy (I changed my name because author Jenni called me Chewt on accident)

an: this is, honestly, crack with a dash of murder. characters may come off as slightly ooc because i’m making them into murderers and they are not (i don’t think) murderers irl.

Reccomended music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HORkT4a2MhQ

“Duuuuuuude. You’re like a marshmallow. ROASTED!” Jackson pats himself on the back for a very good comeback.

“You didn’t roast me,” Mark reminds him.

“Oh, that’s awkward. I could have sworn we just had a conversation,” Jackson pouts.

“No, I haven’t talked since our first hit a while back, buddy. We’re high, not chatty,” Mark corrects, surprisingly sincere given the subject matter at hand.

“Well fuck you, I’m higher than you!”

“No, I am!”

“Prove it!”

“I can jump off this fucking cliff!”

“Why are we getting high on the side of a fucking cliff?”

“I don’t know but I’m gonna jump!”

“Yeahhhhhhhhhh! Do it! OH MY GOD YOU ACTUALLY— Wait… Mark?” Jackson calls out into the deep recesses of the void.

There’s no response but the echoes of a loud, resounding crunch. Jackson isn’t sure whether to cry in fear of what might have happened to Mark, or celebrate because he actually remembers the word “onomatopoeia” from 8th grade. He decides to do both as he scrambles down the cliff.

Really, it isn’t very high of a fall, and Jackson is sure Mark will be fine. What Jackson hadn’t bet on is Mark’s thin skull taking on the brunt of his thick-headedness. Yes. Mark didn’t jump off the cliff. He dived, like a swan, but without the grace and water to greet him at the bottom.

“What is the point of a brick head if it crumbles on impact?” Jackson laments.

Jackson really isn’t sure what the given procedure is in this scenario, but one thought does resonate. Is he an accomplice to Mark’s murder if Mark murdered himself and technically Jackson egged him on? And, if police come to investigate, surely they’ll arrest him for possession of marijuana. The situation is only looking worse.

Jackson digs around in his pocket for his phone and also inspiration. The fates must surely be looking out for him, because inspiration greets him in the form of tiny beige speckles.

“Mark always wanted to be buried as one of those tree things. I’ll do just that,” Jackson narrates, as now Mark isn’t around to tell him that his life isn’t a movie.

Jackson shakes the seeds back into his pocket, never mind that they’re tomato seeds and not acorns for oak trees. Mark looked best as a redhead anyway. Then, he gets to work tugging, dragging, and lugging. (He rhymes so well because he listens to Jay Z all the time.)

Jackson doesn’t get too far into the woods before he’s panting heavily. “I’m a fencer! We’re based on speed, not stamina!” he cries into the darkness of the forest. “X marks the spot— oh that was totally a pun, get it?” he mutters to himself, slowly spiraling into what must be shock, or maybe he’s still just high. Regardless, there is a task at hand, and Jackson is determined to finish before sunlight. It would be really awkward if somebody caught him digging a grave for a dead body in the middle of the woods.

—

And that’s why Jackson stumbles across another person not even a minute later. Ridiculous, really. Why must the fates play him in this way, always?

“This isn’t what it looks like! I promise!” He lets Mark thud back down on the ground so he can hold up his hands in the air for good measure.

“It looks like you killed someone, and now you’re trying to cover up the mess,” the other man deadpans. “Even if that isn’t it, you’re still lugging a dead body through the woods and I’d like to see you explain your way out of that one.” The man flicks his hair out of his eyes and at that moment streaks a splash of red across his forehead. Even with Jackson’s nearsightedness, he can make out the bright, foreboding color contrasting against the man’s pale skin in the moonlight.

Jackson contemplates the probability of vampires for a second before his eyes catch sight of the lump by the stranger’s feet. For a moment, Jackson thinks its a leopard, but then realizes that a) leopards don’t live here (he thinks) and b) it’s actually a faux cheetah fur coat that looks pretty shredded (in the literal sense; he can distinguish no muscle mass appearing from beneath the fur. The creepy stranger, on the other hand, is rocking the no-sleeves.)

“Wha-what about you?” Jackson stutters out. He tries to keep his cool in front of a fellow possible kind of murderer, but it’s hard being a newbie to the game of burying a body sketchily in the woods. “Is that a body?” (The question is obviously directed at the cheetah fur pile, because murderer or no, that is definitely a bod and a hot one at that. Now is not the time to think such things though, so Jackson gives himself a small slap on the face for good measure.)

“Yes.”

Taken aback by the blunt answer, Jackson coherently responds, “Oh. What? Illegal!”

“And you aren’t?”

“I’m not an illegal alien that’s what I’m not. No way.” (Nobody has to know that once Jackson went to America for a tournament with a visitation visa instead of a work visa.)

“Ok, but are you or are you not dragging a dead body through the woods and trying to bury secretly without the knowledge of the police?” the man presses.

“Well, if you put it that way… I didn’t kill him though! And still, so are you!”

“Fine, truce, we’re both dragging bodies through the woods and if the police find out, we’re going to get in trouble. What did you even do anyway?”

“Why would I tell you that? You’re a complete stranger! And you could be an ax murderer for all I know! In fact, all evidence points to the fact that you most definitely are at least a murderer, if not an ax murderer!” Jackson is in hysterics as this point. He’s still not really sure what even is going on anymore, just that he needs to move on from this place and bury Mark in some tomato seeds, or something. (But he really can’t help it if the stranger’s arms look positively ravishing.)

“You’re kind of annoying for a fellow murderer, you know? I don’t think I’ll invite you to the Murder In Trees Club after all. It’s MInT for short, you know. I’m Jaebum, by the way.”

This is the hook line sinker that reels Jackson in. “Oh. There’s a CLUB? Why didn’t you say so before, of course I’d love to join! I love making new friends! There is a contract though that says you won’t kill club members, right? Oh, do you have a secret code name? Jaebum? Jaebae? JayJay? JayBee? JB? JB! I’m Jackson, but call me JFlawless.”

Jaebum, or JB now, in Jackson’s mind, looks a little taken aback, but decides to roll with it for now. Because that’s what seasoned murderers are trained to do. “So. What happened to that body?”

Jackson’s face flickers into a thousand expressions before settling on fake smirking. (Jackson isn’t a seasoned murderer but he was a public figure for some time, so not he knows how to deal with these things.) He also realizes that now is not the time to tell the truth if he wants to join the club MInT. (The acronym is cute enough that he forgives the crime required to initiate.)

“Oh, you know,” Jackson begins, casually attempting to lean against a tree (although, being Jackson, of course he misjudged and fell over into the tree), “I was out with this kid, Mark, and we were smoking pot but he was totally hogging so I pushed him off the cliff.”

Jaebum smiles, showing all of his teeth. “Lovely.”

“Thank you, and you?”

“Ah well, really it was an accident. I didn’t mean to kill this one,” Jaebum does the tree lean, and it works perfectly for him and his long limbs. “I work in retail, you see. It’s a kind of hipster clothing brand so most of our customers are already really annoying kids. But this kid, man, his name is Bambam, always comes in with his boyfriend, this other tall ass kid, Yug-something or other.

“Well, they come in all the time. And they’re annoying as hell. Well, Bambam’s just plain annoying, Yugyeom is fine but he always asks for sizes that we don’t have. Usually, Bambam comes in five minutes right before closing time, which, ugh. Blazes through, fucks up all the nicely folded clothes, only buys one or two of the cheapest items and tries to stack as many fucking coupons on the counter as he can fit in his tiny, pre-pubescent hands.

“I can handle rude customers, up to some point. But then one night, he comes in and asks me to put on ‘the mannequin challenge song’ as if I’m some DJ, which I’m not. But he’s the customer, and there’s the boss’s motto, make the customer happy, so I do it. Takes some effort, but it works. I keep on my fake smile, keep my anger in check. Fine. But then he starts dragging the mannequins to and fro, stacking them up so he can ‘to the mannequin challenge but legit’ and then he tries to leave. And that’s when I snapped. I was not having it. Simply not at all.”

“And then what happened?” Jackson ventures. He’s a little fascinated and awed by the fury of JB’s rant. He’s pretty sure he heard a few actual real live growls, and JB’s chin seems to have elongated over the course of the rant as well.

“I’m not that good at controlling my anger. This happened,” and he kicks the dead body over, the shredded cheetah print pimp coat falling apart.

“Huh. Or maybe you’re just a gross necrophiliac. Why is the poor boy half naked?” Jackson questions.

“Because that is a horrendous coat. Would you ever wear something like that in public?”

“True.”

“Anyway,” Jaebum continues, “I only like to fuck warm bodies like yours.”

Jackson opens his mouth to respond, but suddenly he can’t get out a single word and they’re pressed up against each other, making out with a passion that Jackson has never experienced before. He’s almost sure they’ll end up doing the do in the woods, when there’s a loud crunch as Jackson stumbles across Mark’s hand.

“Oh.” He’d forgotten about the dead bodies part. “You know what. I’m way too high for this. We’ll just promise each other that we’ll keep this a secret between the two of us, and go our own ways. Thanks for the invitation to MInT, but I’ll pass.” Jackson turns to go, and then collapses where he stands.

—

“I’m sorry,” says Jaebum, standing over Jackson’s prone body. “The only way to keep a secret is if nobody knows it happened.”

Jaebum decides he’s not really that sorry. Jinyoung’s birthday is coming up, and he’ll need more than just Bambam’s thin body if he wants to harvest enough human skin to print a single edition book for Jinyoung. It really doesn’t help that Jinyoung tends not to go for the shorter books, either.