#honestly? i don't even know if she's my /favourite/ intern

[2hoothoots]

First of all, congrats on destroying the BIG TOP! So to speak. (I'd ask if you could give it to me but they haven't invented that technology yet). Secondly, since you asked for Asks, what got you so into Norma as a character? I wanna compare and contrast. :V

hahaha THANK YOU! some day modern medicine will unlock the secret to equivalent exchange… some day

anyway, great ask because i Always have stuff to say about Norma. putting it under the cut for length (although to be fair, if you don’t want to see lengthy impassioned essays about Norma i’m not really sure why you’re following me in the first place)

first of all: i unapologetically like women who kinda suck. listen, okay, listen, i absolutely understand that the line between “fun to dislike” and “just obnoxious” is different for everyone but Norma falls entirely on the fun side for me. from her very first appearance, she’s so unnecessarily petty and snarky and competitive with this ten-year-old she literally just met, and i can’t lie i just find it incredibly entertaining. and also, y’know, i think she sucks but in a way that’s ultimately harmless and also so believable. she’s not a terrible person, she’s just a shitty teenager. i’m a Norma apologist, not in the “she did nothing wrong <3” way but the “yeah she’s mean but that’s what’s interesting about her” way. give me more female characters who are complicated and unlikable and make bad decisions!

secondly: she’s a shitty obnoxious know-it-all teenager, and boy, do i relate! maybe part of this is filling in the gaps and part of it is projection, but i look at her and i see someone with the compulsive need to “win” every conversation and prove they’re the smartest person in the room; someone who clings to their model student status because deep down they’re afraid it’s the only worthwhile trait they have, the single thing that makes them anything more than a useless waste of space with no friends and no redeeming qualities. characters who are jerks or bullies are really interesting to dive into for me, because there’s always something underneath that. Norma’s combination of annoying pretentiousness and deep insecurity is really compelling to me, and a lot of it is because i see my younger self in her. i feel like i really grok her as a character, and because of that i find her interesting to explore and write for!

thirdly, the big thing that drew me to her the same as it did the other interns was, ironically, their lack of screentime. PN2 has one too many ensemble casts, and individual development for some of the characters feels rushed, and i am first in line saying i wish we’d gotten more intern content. but what we did get was just enough to pull me in and hook me on the characters. the game left me wanting more, and honestly that’s what drove me to write so much fic of the intern cast in the first few months after release. they were so charming and felt so underutilised and i was desperate for more from them – and at the same time, because they had fairly little screentime they made a great starting point to develop further with headcanons and filling in the blanks and just turning them over in my head and imagining what could have been. what really gets my creative juices flowing is taking something from canon and building on it with my own stuff (which is also why i’ve gotten so invested in the future AU!), and the interns all have such strong concepts and starting points while also giving a lot of freedom to develop them and flex my own creative muscles.

like, i was thinking about why i never really got into the psychic 7 in the same way, and i think it does just come down to them being more fleshed-out characters in comparison. which feels so funny to say, haha – i love the old people’s club, they’re great, but i never latched onto them like i did the interns, and i think it’s because they don’t have the same fill-in-the-blanks potential. we get to learn about their backstories in pretty great detail, we get to explore 6/7 of their minds, and they all feel very succinctly developed but in a way that ties a bow pretty neatly on most of their characters. we learn so much less about any of the interns in comparison, but those unanswered questions just end up tickling my creative brain that much more. there’s a theory that people engage in transformative fanwork to give them the kind of engagement they didn’t get from the canon, and i think that’s definitely true here! maybe there’s an alternative universe out there where we got way more intern content and i never ended up writing any fics with them in, hahaha

[ducktoo]

Syncing Dream [Aespa x M!Reader]

23. Who do you like?

Note: Here comes my favourite arc. Whose solo was everyone’s fav btw?

Masterlist here

The energy in the practice room was at an all-time high. Aespa had just received the official confirmation that their world tour was happening.

Yes. Synk Road: Parallel Line got the green light.

Even better, each member was preparing their own solo stages. The excitement was palpable as the girls bounced ideas off each other, rehearsed choreography, and fine-tuned their individual songs. The tour was going to be huge, and everyone knew it.

Y/n was doing his usual rounds, making sure everything was in order—managing schedules, checking on the set designs, and coordinating with the staff. But today, there was something different in the air. Something… was Up.

“…I feel uncomfortable.”

He should’ve sensed the impending doom earlier. Maybe it was the way the girls had been whispering amongst themselves, or the way Karina had been giving him sly looks all afternoon. But he was so busy with preparations that he didn’t see it coming—until it was too late.

It started innocently enough. Winter, with her mischievous smirk, sauntered over and leaned casually against the mirrored wall. “So, idiot, we’ve been talking…”

Y/n’s senses immediately went on high alert. “Stop. I don't trust whatever is coming out next.”

"Whyyyy!" Winter whined, having that signature pout on her face.

"Everytime you start with "we've been talking" or whatever, I have to choose stuff that's scarier than choosing my university."

Karina joined in, stepping closer with that unreadable expression she often wore when she was plotting something. “Well….We were just wondering something.”

Giselle and Ningning were already flanking him on either side, locking his arm like preparing for an execution. He could practically feel the walls closing in as all four of them surrounded him, cutting off any possible escape routes. Heck, he could feel a blade hanging on top of his neck.

Y/n put on his best poker face. “Okay… what is it?”

Ningning grinned wickedly. “You’ve heard all our solo songs by now, right?”

Oh no. The blade was loosening. He could see where this was going.

Y/n tried to play it cool, flashing a nervous smile. “Uhuh…I’ve heard them. All of them rocks.”

“That’s not what we’re asking,” Winter chimed in, leaning a little closer. “We want to know—whose solo song do you like the best?”

The blade was really loose now, hanging on a thread!

The question hit him like a truck. His eyes darted from one girl to the next, desperately searching for an escape route, but there was none. They had him trapped, and they knew it. “Uh… I mean, they’re all great! You’ve each got your own vibe, and honestly, you’ve all done an amazing job—”

“Nice try, idiot.” Karina cut him off, her arms crossed as she raised an eyebrow. “But we want specifics.”

“Yeah, we’re not letting you out of this one,” Giselle added, a sly smile on her face. “You have to pick.”

Ningning, ever the playful one, made a show of fake-loading finger guns and aiming them at Y/n’s chest. “Come on, Y/n-oppa. Tell us the truth. Whose song is your favorite?”

Y/n felt the sweat starting to form on his brow. This was a no-win situation. If he picked one, the others would never let him hear the end of it. But if he didn’t pick, they’d torment him until he did. “Guys, c’mon… I haven't even seen the choreo. You can’t seriously expect me to choose—”

“We seriously do,” Winter said with a teasing grin. “And you better pick wisely.”

Y/n groaned internally. “Alright, fine. But no one gets mad, okay?”

The girls exchanged knowing looks, each with their own smirk. “Sure, sure,” Karina said, clearly lying.

Y/n sighed, taking a deep breath. His mind raced as he tried to figure out how to get out of this unscathed. “Okay, let’s see… Rina-ya, your song is so powerful and swag, it’s like this anthem of boss girl. Giselle, you're popping off with your vocal and rap, and your song is just Gen-Z material. Ningning, your voice is stunning, and your song will flip everyone's expectation and certainly won't be like your song title. And Minjeong…”

Winter tilted her head, her eyes twinkling with anticipation. “Yes?”

“…Your song is really sparkling. Like, really sparkling.” He knew what he was saying.

The room went silent as all four girls stared him down, waiting for the real answer. He knew they weren’t going to let him off the hook with vague compliments.

Karina folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. “That’s all nice and flattering, but we want a name, Y/n. Whose solo is your favorite?”

Y/n could feel the weight of their gazes pressing down on him. This was it. There was no backing out now. “Okay, okay… If I had to pick, and I mean really had to… then I’d say…”

He paused, looking around at their eager faces. “Spice it up. Up. Up. Roll Up”

There was a brief moment of stunned silence.

Then, all hell broke loose.

Winter’s jaw dropped in shock, her eyes wide with betrayal. “What?! Jimin-unnie?!”

Giselle burst out laughing, slapping Y/n on the shoulder. “Wow! Didn’t see that one coming.”

"…yea, it's on my head for like a while now."

Ningning shook her head, pretending to wipe away a tear. “I thought we were friends, Y/n… but apparently, Karina-unnie’s anthem of girl crush wins.”

Karina, meanwhile, was basking in her victory. She shot Y/n a smug grin, clearly pleased with his answer. “See? I knew you had good taste.”

Winter, still reeling, crossed her arms and gave Y/n a mock glare. “I can’t believe this. After all the friendship, after all the memories… you didn’t pick me?”

Y/n raised his hands defensively, trying to fend off the inevitable backlash. “Ya, you told me to be honest! Plus, I'm being held like I'm at an execution!”

“Oh, you’re panicking alright,” Ningning teased, joining Winter’s side. “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

Karina, still enjoying the chaos, playfully nudged Winter. “Don’t worry, Minjeong. I’m sure he likes your song. He just prefers mine, you know? Can’t blame him.”

Winter shot Karina a side-eye, half-annoyed and half-amused. “You’re enjoying this way too much.”

“Oh, I definitely am,” Karina said with a wink, flipping her hair dramatically. "It's a win, after all."

Y/n, meanwhile, was trying to defuse the situation. “Listen, I love all your songs! You’re all amazing! I was just put on the spot—”

“You were not just put on the spot,” Winter interjected, her teasing tone laced with mock hurt. “You chose Karina. That’s a choice.”

Giselle, ever the peacemaker, laughed and threw her arm around Y/n. “It’s alright, Jeong. He’s just one guy. We all know who the real favorite is.”

Ningning nodded vigorously. “Yeah, don’t worry, Minjeong-unnie. You still win in my book.”

Winter sighed dramatically, though a small smile tugged at her lips. “Fine, fine. I’ll let it slide this time.”

Y/n let out a relieved sigh, but it didn’t last long.

“Still,” Winter added, leaning in close to Y/n with a mischievous glint in her eyes, “I will annoy the sht out of you for not choosing my song. Big time.”

Y/n chuckled nervously. “I’m never going to live this down, am I?”

“Nope!” the girls chorused in unison.

As the playful bickering continued, Y/n couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. Sure, he had picked Karina’s song in a moment of panic, but the teasing and chaos that followed had a strange charm to it. It was these moments—when they could laugh and joke, even in the midst of preparing for something as big as a world tour—that made everything worthwhile.

As the girls finally let him off the hook and returned to practicing, Y/n muttered under his breath with a grin, “Next time, I’m rolling a dice.”

-

A few weeks had passed since the "solo song" incident, and the tour preparations were in full swing. The members were practicing day in and day out, perfecting their solo performances, refining their choreography, and tweaking every little detail to make sure everything would be flawless on stage. Y/n, ever the diligent manager, was always nearby, making sure things ran smoothly—though he couldn’t shake off the memory of being cornered by the girls about his favorite song.

Winter, especially, had been keeping an eye on him ever since that day. She hadn’t forgotten that Y/n had chosen Karina’s song.

Like, at all. She was salty. This girl kept hanging around Y/n like moth to a flame, trying her best to hypnotize her childhood friend to like her song more.

If this path doesn't work, then dig another, she thought. And Winter hit the jackpot.

Today, the energy in the studio was buzzing. They were getting close to wrapping up the final details of the choreography for each solo, and things were falling into place beautifully. Karina’s solo had become a powerhouse performance, Giselle’s Gen-Z stage oozed charisma, Ningning’s vocals were melting hearts, and Winter’s choreography had finally reached its peak.

Y/n stood at the back of the practice room, arms crossed, observing each member as they rehearsed. It was during Winter’s turn that he found himself paying a little more attention than usual. Her stage presence had always been undeniable, but there was something about her solo performance that had started to grow on him. Maybe it was the energy she put into it, or the way her movements were so effortlessly smooth, the outfit maybe?

But Y/n couldn’t help but be drawn to it.

Winter caught him watching. As she danced, she shot him a playful glance, her lips curving into a knowing smile. He looked away quickly, trying to play it cool, but the damage was done. She knew she had his attention now.

After her run-through, Winter grabbed a water bottle and casually sauntered over to where Y/n was standing. “So,” she said, her voice teasing, “still leaning towards Jimin-unnie's song? Or have you finally come to your senses?”

Y/n chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Jesus, You’re not gonna let that go, are you?”

“Hell no,” she replied with a grin, taking a long sip of her water. “I’ve got my pride, you know.”

Y/n laughed, his eyes meeting hers. “Well… if I’m being honest, your song’s been growing on me lately.”

Winter’s eyes lit up, her grin widening. “Seriously?”

He nodded, trying to suppress a smile. “Yeah, I mean, the choreography’s killer, and the vibe just… fits you, I guess. You’ve got this natural energy that really comes through. It’s hypnotizing to watch to be honest.”

Winter practically beamed at the compliment, her face lighting up like she’d just won a prize. “You finally admit it! Took you long enough.”

Y/n laughed, shaking his head. “Hey, I never said I didn’t like your song. You guys put me at gun point back then.”

“Mhm, sure,” she said, giving him a playful nudge. “But it’s good to know I’ve won you over. Your attention on me only, please”

Y/n smiled, genuinely happy to see her so excited. “Yeah, you’ve got me. It’s definitely my favourite now.”

Winter’s smile softened, and for a brief moment, the teasing atmosphere between them melted into something more sincere. “Thanks, Y/n. That means a lot.”

Before the moment could get too serious, Karina suddenly called out from across the room, her voice laced with amusement. “Hey, what’s going on over there? You confessing that Minjeong's your favorite now?”

"Song." Y/n glared. "Minjeong's song. You forgot that word, Yoo Jimin-ssi."

Giselle and Ningning immediately joined in, their teasing voices filling the room. “Oooh, are you switching teams?” Ningning grinned, clearly enjoying the drama. “I thought you were all about Jimin-unnie!”

Giselle smirked, crossing her arms. “Looks like someone’s changed his mind.”

Y/n threw his hands up in mock surrender. “Come on, guys, don’t start this again.”

Winter, however, was absolutely basking in the attention. “That’s right, he did change his mind,” she said with a triumphant smirk. “I win. Take that, Yoo Jimin.”

Karina shot Winter a playful glare. “Oh, so that’s how it is now? Just because your song has some cool choreography, you think you’ve got him?”

Winter shrugged innocently. “I don’t think, I KNOW.”

Ningning giggled, shaking her head. “Well, this just got interesting.”

Giselle chimed in with a grin. “You better watch out, Karina. Winter’s stealing your spotlight.”

Y/n groaned, running a hand through his hair as the teasing intensified. “Great, it's Rina vs Minjeong for the nth time.”

Karina, though, wasn’t about to let Winter have all the fun. “Alright, Y/n, you may have switched to Winter’s side, but just remember who’s got the anthem of boss girl,” she said, raising an eyebrow in mock challenge. "First impression is always good."

Winter rolled her eyes, still grinning. “Please, I’ve got him now. You’re old news.”

The girls continued their playful banter, each one tossing in their own jabs and teasing remarks as they circled.

Y/n. He stood in the middle of the room, caught in the middle of their playful chaos as they bickered over whose solo song was truly his favorite. Despite the teasing, he couldn't help but laugh. This was just how things were with Aespa—chaotic, fun, and full of energy.

As the laughter died down, Winter gave Y/n a soft nudge. “Don’t worry, you’re forgiven—for now.”

Y/n sighed in mock relief, wiping imaginary sweat from his forehead. “Phew. Thank goodness. I wasn’t sure I’d make it out alive this time.”

Karina smirked, shaking her head. “Just wait until the tour starts. We’ll see how loyal you are then. Full package will be the final factor.”

“Yeah,” Ningning added with a grin, “we’ll have a whole new batch of things to tease you about.”

Giselle nodded, her mischievous smile never leaving her face. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll even switch favorites again. Me, perhaps”

"Or me!" Ningning raised her hand.

Y/n chuckled, knowing full well that they’d never let him off the hook. “I guess I’ll just have to brace myself.”

But as they all returned to their practice routines, a small, genuine smile crept onto Y/n’s face. It wasn’t the teasing or the bickering that got to him—it was the fact that, through all the chaos, they were a team. They supported each other, challenged each other, and pushed each other to be better. And somehow, in the middle of it all, Y/n had found his place with them.

He watched as Winter took her spot in front of the mirror again, preparing for another run-through of her choreography, and his smile grew a little wider. It was moments like these that reminded him why he loved working with Aespa—stupid banters and stuff.

[elliesmainhoe]

Flour and Jam

Streamer!Ellie X Fem!Reader

Summary: Yours and ellies attempt at a cooking stream

Contents: fluff, fluff and more fluff, food fight, general chaos.

My Masterlist

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 (you're here)

"Welcome to my kitchen" Ellie said, looking into the camera that was situated on a tripod resting upon the islands wooden countertops.

User1: New room unlocked 🔓

User2: omg are we cooking?

"Yes we are cooking, thought I'd do something special for you guys to celebrate hitting 500k on YouTube- which is honestly insane."

User3: Been here since 5k on YT 💪

"And due to this being a very special stream I have a very very special person to keep me company!" Hearing your cue, you stepped Infront of the camera "And because I can't trust Ellie to not burn down my house." You add on, smiling mischievously at her annoyed expression.

User4: my favourite person ever 😭

User5: One chance Y/N, plssss

User6: Ima steal Ellie's girl, just you wait and see

User7: omg look at how cute they look together 🥲

User8: The Y/N and Ellie tiktok editors are already screen recording this for later lmao

"Shut-" before Ellie could finish her sentence you pecked her lips- catching her off guard and laughing as you saw the chat go at the speed of light.

User9: Stop I'm so lonely 😭

"Your so lonely? L"

"Ellie! Don't be mean?" You scold her, shoving her shoulder playfully.

"Why?"

"Because I said so, be nice"

"Yes ma'am" Ellie replies, her right hand lifting into a mock salute as she laughs.

"We are going to make a cake. What kind of cake you may be asking?" She spoke, replying to an invisible comment.

"No one asked that baby" you laughed,, reaching up and messing with her hair. Her mouth went to retort but before any words could fall out you cut in front of her "yes I know I'll 'shut up'."

"Were making a 'victoria sponge' cake, because Y/N knows how to make it and there is a higher possiblity it will turn out least half decently" she grins, looking down at the ingredients you'd laid out on the counter. Eggs, flour, sugar, butter, vanilla, cream, jam (jelly if your American), icing sugar and strawberries.

"It'll be great, we'll do so well. I 100% believe we will make an edible Cake" you affirm, lying but trying to be positive.

User10: Uhuh very convincing 💀

User11: manifest it besties

•••••••••

"How the fuck have we managed this?" Ellie laughed out looking down at the mess you two had managed to create.

"I honestly have no idea" you reply looking at the copious amounts of flour and various sticky substances that coated the counters. "It could honestly be a modern art piece" you hummed

User12: Girlie said modern art

User13: #1 modern art hater for life

Ellie began spewing jokes, continuing to crack eggs and whisk, even though you'd told her to stop adding anything ten minutes earlier.

"You really have no regard for my advice, huh?"

"Nope." She said back to you, the familiar annoying grin plastered on her freckled face when she heard your disappointed sigh.

User14: she looks so done lmao 😭

You move out of view of the audience, silently searching for some emotional support for the foreseeable future. You entered the living room and the familiar ball of ginger fluff you were searching for was curled up in the cat tree you and ellie had bought him for his first birthday. After a few seconds of internal conflict on whether to leave him be or disturb him you decided on the latter.

Picking up the grumpy cat, who made his displeasure known by letting out a tired yowl as you cradled him, before coming back into the kitchen. "I needed some emotional support."

User15: Garfff 😭🐱

User16: pussy lol

User17: Everyone needs emotional support due to this chaotic asf stream lmao💀

You stood back, cradling Garfield in your arms, letting Ellie have free rein, giving a few tips and advice that were swiftly dismissed by Ellie as she continued to do her own thing, including putting salt into the batter instead of sugar, even though you had literally put out all the ingredients for her beforehand which did not include salt.

"Taste test?" Ellie asks, turning around to face you, a wooden spoon in hand a scoop of beige mixture on top of it. "Absolutely not".

User18: DO ITTT

User19: do it! do it! do it!

'User30 donated $50: 'Do it Y/N, also congrats on 500k on YT Ellie <33'

"You hear the people. Taste." Ellie laughs thrusting the wooden spoon towards your mouth.

"It's confirmed, you all hate me and I will never forgive any of you for this" you scowl, opening your mouth hesitantly, allowing Ellie to place the spoonful into your mouths. The overwhelming taste saltiness hits your tongue immediately, making you gag at the unpleasantness.

You immediately rush over to the sink, spiting out the mixture, grabbing a glass of water and washing out your mouth, trying to rid it of the after taste that lingered behind. You hear Ellie's laugh from behind you, the only thing going through your mind was revenge.

Flour. Perfect. You reach into the half full paper bag pulling out a handful. Ellie was otherwise occupied, talking to her chat and answering donations, so when a handful of flour exploded in her face, it's an understatement to say it caught her of guard.

After recovering from a coughing fit triggered by the powder, she reached into an open jar, said jar having fresh strawberry jam inside of it. You saw this and of course, you began to run away, trying to get away from Ellie and the weapon that was her handful of red jelly. Eventually she caught up to you, her empty hand wrapped around your waist pulling you into her body as she smeared the sticky substance across your cheeks laughing at the ridiculous expression on your face.

Because your body was pushed against hers, the flour that coated her body transferred onto you.

"OH FUCK!" You yelled "my new sweater..."

"oh look, Y/N's discovered that her actions have consequences." She grinned cheekily, leaning down to kiss you, the jam from your face smudging onto hers.

----------

Taglist: @aunslie @lonelyfooryouonly @strawberrysmoochesxo @daryldixonh0e @kittynnie @lovelyyevelyn @randomhoex @moonlightdivine @haerinwho @mufflaa @mial1l @sarahsmileslikesarahd0esntcare @moonlighting87 @escaping-reality8 @hejdevkdbdjsd @dergy @half-of-a-gay @ellieismami @cyberlainn @gollumsmygel @sseorii @kyleeservopoulos @taloulalila @ellieluhme @kiiyoooo

NOT PROOFREAD

[writing-in-the-impala]

Secret Smokes (Part 2)

Pairing: Teacher! Remus Lupin x Reader

Series Summary: When the reader bumps into the new DADA professor on the bridge in Hogwarts she begins to build a friendship with him all thanks to their shared feeling of not belonging and love for muggle cigarettes. Their friendship blooms while they both fight internal battles deciding what is wrong and what is right leading to a lot of fluff, angst, flirting and a rollercoaster of emotions.

Warnings: Swearing, Drinking, teacher-student relationship (but like it’s all legal chill), SLOWburn we’re in for a long ride

Word Count: 2267

A/N: Thank you for all the love on part 1, every nice comment gives me the motivation to keep posting!

This story takes place in a AU where Harry's parents are still alive so Remus Lupin still has all his friends and there is no war however that doesn't make him any less angsty. Everything else is pretty much the same as the canon universe! Enjoy!

 | SERIES MASTER LIST | Previous Chapter, Part 2, Next Chapter

GIF by stephanieromanoff

The next day in class it felt like you and Lupin had your own little secret, when you walked in you could feel his eyes on you immediately, he smiled gently when your eyes met. After that there were no other abnormal interactions between the two of you, which in a way you felt great full for as you didn't want to feel uncomfortably in his lessons like you had something to hide. That evening you went back to the bridge to find Professor Lupin standing in the exact same place. "I didn't know you were such a creature of habit profesor." You said as a greeting.

"You obviously don't know me." He smiled gently at you. "When I was at Hogwarts I used to come to this very spot when I wanted some alone time. I had some of the best cigarettes of my youth in this very spot." He explained.

"Now that's not fair because this is where I've always gone to smoke. I think you need to leave Hogwarts profesor this bridge is not big enough for the two of us."

"Shame, I bought Camel Gold today." He pulled out the packet to show you.

"What I've only tried Camel Blue, can I have one." You asked on excitedly.

"I know as your teacher I should be worried by how much you just got excited over a cigarette packet but as a human I think it's funny." He said honestly.

"So can I try one?" You asked and he passed you one. "How come you've got muggle smokes?" You asked him.

"I prefer them, they have a camel on them." He shot a wink your way and you laughed.

"No but seriously, I thought wizards didn't think muggle ones were good enough." You asked.

"People just say that to sound better than muggles, I like to be honest. For example the people who refuse to read muggle books... they're missing out on some of the best literature they'll ever read because they're elitist." You liked this side of your Professor.

"Professor Lupin, I think you just became my favourite teacher." You said.

"You became my favourite student when you gave me a smoke." He shot another wink at you as he stood leaning back on the wood, with hands in his pockets looking at you.

"You're not supposed to have favourites you know." You teased him. He raised his eyebrows in shock and shot back. "You're not supposed to smoke on school grounds, you know." You laughed and he took another drag while smiling. Not much else was said, he finished his cigarette checked his watch like the night before and said he should get back, then echoing once again that you should make your way back to your dorm so you don't get in trouble for wandering the halls.

You watched him walk away, he had one hand in his pocket, never looking back at you as he walked into the darkness. You followed after he left your site and walked back to the common room. When you entered Percy was sitting reading a book near the door almost as if he was waiting for you. "What time do you call this L/N?" He said mockingly.

"Shut it Weasley." You replied sitting down beside him.

"Has Y/N gotten a new boyfriend already?" He asked lifting his eyebrow.

"No nothing like that Percy, my dear boy, you have nothing to worry about." You said resting a head on his shoulder.

"I know you attract trouble Y/N, both in boys and just how you like to spend your time." Percy began to gently lecture you.

"Are you my dad Percy?" You asked poking him.

"Y/N, I know you want a muggle job but please don't spend all your messing around with some boy and pulling pranks." He continued.

"Okay Percy this is not becoming a fun conversation, I was just having a smoke." You said.

"That's another thing you need to-" Percy began as you stood up and walked away.

"Is Percy lecturing you?" Fred said as he entered the room.

"Yup, telling me no to pranks and boys." You pouted and Percy rolled his eyes.

"He's just jealous, but we all know if you went for a Wesley you'd be choosing me or George not Percy." He said with a wink.

"You all disgust me, I'm going to bed." You said before leaving the room. You knew Percy was right and cared but you just wanted a pain free last year. The Weasley boys all cared for you a lot, they were like you wizard family, you even joined them on holidays sometimes. They were a welcoming family and whoever the children befriend would always be welcome in their home. Over summer you went camping with the Weasley family, Harry Potter joined and so did Hermione Granger. You got along with Hermione quite a lot as you shared many similarities, however she happily immersed herself in the wizarding world unlike you. Even though she was younger than you she always felt like someone you could have real conversations with. You considered yourself a friendly person but apart from the Weasley twins and Hermione you didn't have anyone else you could have truly deep conversations with, not even Percy as he worries too much.

You fell asleep thinking about Percy's words, however in the morning against his wishes you decided to skip most of your lessons. After breakfast you went outside to sit by the lake with a book, missing your first two lessons of the day. You decided to attend potions as you enjoyed it and found it a useful skill, when you entered the class Percy gave you a sad smile of disappointment. "Are you okay?" He simply asked instead of grilling you about skipping all the previous classes. "My mind was foggy when I woke up, I needed some air." You said and he gave you a nod.

"You can borrow my notes." He said and you thanked him. "You know Y/N, if you need to talk I'm here. If your brain is being difficult this year again we can help you through it." He continued sounding a bit too much like a teacher.

"It's fine it's just that feeling of being out of place again now that I'm back-" you began before Snape interrupted with "L/N. Weasley. Is your conversation more important than my class?"

"Sorry profesor." Percy and you quickly replied cutting your conversation short. Snape decided to keep you back after class to take away 5 points each and to tell you how important it is for you to focus this year words that made you want to roll your eyes. When you left you were already late for DADA. "Are you coming?" Percy asked and you shook your head no, he didn't ask any questions and just nodded his head. You walked back to the common room where you bumped into Fred and George who where also skipping, the three of you spent the time chatting and playing games and showing off trick to each other and didn't attend a single lesson for the rest of the day. You even had time to plan out a new minor prank and make plans to go to the three broomsticks soon as you need to go shopping for supplies for your prank anyway. In the evening you were in the common room mentally debating if you should head to the bridge today to meet Lupin as you did in fact miss his lesson, and if he sees you, you can't lie about being ill. You opened the Marauders map to check his location and noticed he was walking towards the bridge, you knew you can explain your way out of not being in his lesson today and that you wanted not only to smoke but also to talk to him so you headed to join him. As you approached he was in his usual spot leaning looking out as always, but today he wasn't smoking as you approached, he was waiting for you. You walked down the bridge towards him and he stood up straight and smiled taking out the cigarette out his pocket and offering you one as soon as you were an arms length away. "I feel bad taking yours." You said with a smile as you took one of your own out.

"I don't mind." He said gently. "Besides I like the company when I smoke, so it's in my interest for you not to smoke your whole stash before Christmas." He said knowingly.

"I can tell you've been through the pain of being a student that's addicted to nicotine." You said as you both lit your cigarette, he did it wand free you did it with a physically lighter.

"Weeks seem extremely long when you've run out and you know you're leaving Hogwarts in a week but it means a week with not a single smoke."

"Asking other to bump theirs." You added

"But they're all out too." He finished.

"You're a pro." You said with a smile making him laugh. Silence fell upon you before he spoke first.

"Did I do something to offend you Y/N?" He asked shocking you.

"What? No? Why?" You asked in confusion.

"You didn't attend class today." He simply stated turning to face you.

"Oh. That's nothing personal towards you profesor, I only attended one class today." You simply stated.

"Were you feeling ill? I'm sure Madame Pomfrey-" He began, giving you a perfect opportunity to lie.

"No." You simply said resulting in a surprised look from Lupin. "I just simply don't see the point in attending classes." You explained and he gave you a puzzled look encouraging you to explain, you looked away from him into the distance before speaking. "I'm getting a muggle job. So these exams mean nothing for my future."

"How can you be sure you'll never want a job in the wizarding world?" He questioned.

"Because I don't feel welcome by it. I'm an outsider, and I've always felt like wizards are afraid of me because I grew up as a muggle." You explained.

"You know there's many great witches and wizards who are muggle born. My mother was a muggle and I was raised in a mostly non-magic household."

"And do you feel welcome? Do you feel like they don't have prejudice against you and fear you?" You questioned and you could see you had gone too far as he looked taken aback and had a sad look on his face. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that." You added.

"No, it's okay. Yes I do feel those feeling sometimes, more than you would imagine... for many reasons not just because of my parents. But I don't think that can control what you do. If you don't learn magic to your best abilities they win. They don't want you to know things like potions and defence against the dark arts because they're scared you and many other great wizards will stand up for the underdog. However if we don't learn this stuff, we let them win. Who will protect muggles during dark times, if not great witches like you?" He became very emotional and was the one to nearly say sorry this time but you responded before he could.

"You know professor, you make a good point." You said looking down in embarrassment as he was correct and you felt guilty for all the lessons you missed and the knowledge you could've gained. "No one ever put it like that... I've always been told but what if you want to work in magic, but I never thought about who is protecting the people who can't fight magic with magic." You continued.

"Since I was a child I hated magical beings, they scared me." Lupin began, opening up. "But i realised we can do amazing things, cure diseases, protect innocent lives all through magic, to completely block it out of your life because some horrible kids don't treat muggle born wizards kindly would be a mistake, instead spite them and learn more than them so you can protect people against them." He said, everything felt very personal and you appreciated his words even if he was saying it all just because he's your teacher.

"Thank you for that professor, that's probably the best advice I've heard from any teacher in this school." You admitted.

"I'd like to see our conversations as more than just a teacher talking to his student but as a friendly discussion, as I think sometimes bright young women like yourself need someone to talk to them honestly. I know I wish someone had a conversation like that with me when I was in your place." He said with a kind smile at the end. "Anyway, I must get back and so must you as I've talked for a bit too long and it's quite a bit past your curfew." He said checking his watch. "Would you like me to escort you back so you don't get in trouble for wandering the halls at night?" He offered.

"It's okay professor, I know how to sneak out after dark and not get caught." You said with a smile and he laughed softly.

"I'm sure you do." He shook his head as if to say that he knows it's wrong he's allowing you to smoke and sneak around at night but he finds it humorous. "Good night Y/N." He said before walking away. "Goodnight Professor Lupin."

-

NEXT CHAPTER!

[writingsfromhome]

Impossibly Real II

Y’all loved Part 1 and honestly were so sweet about it. I had to wrap up their story in return 💗

——————————————————

Harry knocks on my door and I open it before he's even done. I was excited for this date, I really think this was going to be a good one.

That didn’t stop me, however, from having mad jitters while getting ready. In the end I settled on wearing a silky pink skirt and with a fuzzy pastel pink sweater that was my favourite go-to. I paired it with white boots (still heeled) and some gold accessories. I was feeling myself.

As soon as Harry sees me in the doorway he takes a step back. “Wow. You look…stunning.”

I feel my cheeks heat, unused to this kind of attention from Harry. And I could tell he meant it—it wasn’t just a cheap compliment to get in my pants. I try not to show my internal squirming. “Thank you. You look very handsome!”

“Ah,” he waves the compliment away. “You see me wear this sort of thing to work all the time.”

“I know but you shaved,” I reach out to touch his face and then think better of it. We hadn’t even gone further than my door yet.

“I did,” he rubs his face like I wanted to.

“I like the smell of your aftershave,” I say as we get onto the lift and the smell bounces off the four walls.

He leans all the way down so that his neck is beside my face. I giggle—god, I actually giggle. I feel an overwhelming desire to rub my nose against the heat of his skin but I keep my freak hidden and fake an exaggerated whiff instead.

“C’mon,” Harry holds his hand out and we head out to the tube, my hand securely wrapped in his; I feel giddy just holding his hand.

This was going to be the best date ever.

I mean, it was still weird going on a date with my neighbour. For one, he had to only close the door to his home, turn around, and knock on my door to pick me up. For another, I'd seen Harry a million times since I moved in last year and not once did I ever think we would be doing this.

Harry and I talk all the way to the place about a new Netflix show we were both watching. It's light conversation, we don't acknowledge the fact that we're actually doing a proper date. That we were both mega into each other. It's almost like we were simply traveling into work and casually chatting 'til we reached our destination.

The restaurant—Harry’s pick, is tucked onto a street corner near Soho, the window shades are blackened except for a fancy script. Island X.

“I’ve never heard of the place.”

“It just opened a couple months ago,” Harry holds the door open for me; who said chivalry was dead.

“Wow,” I marvel at the interiors. It’s like someone took the Great Gatsby and worked it with wood tones and orange lighting. And monstera plants.

“That’s a lot of monsteras.”

“What?” Harry asks.

“Monsteras?” I wave my hand at all the ginormous planters but Harry’s attention is to the front of the line.

“Monsteras?” He asks, eyes still forward. “Like. The Lil Nas x song?”

“What?” I crinkle my brow. But then it clicks and I can’t help but laugh. “Oh my god you think I’m talking about-“

“Hiya!” The hostess interrupts me and I cover my mouth.

“Are you laughing at me?” Harry whispers as we follow to our table.

“Yes,” I wipe my tears as we’re lead to a cozy corner. I’m even tucked into my seat!

“Wow I’ve never been to someplace as fancy as this?”

“Really?” Harry’s face flits with a microsecond of an emotion I can’t read. “I thought maybe this was your scene.”

“Oh no,” I shake my head. “This is very fancy. I’m kinda low brow.”

“Oh,” his eyebrows knit together and he fiddles with his napkin. “Some woman at work suggested it.”

“Oh who?” I ask. Harry’s spoken to me about work before, I thought maybe it was a coworker I knew.

“Just someone that works on the same floor.” He pulls his glass of water close to him. “She’s just a friend.”

“Oh I didn’t mean it like…” I trail off. Why would he think I was being jealous?

Suddenly the awkwardness of the situation washes over me. I was on a date. With my neighbour. If this didn't end well we were screwed. I would lose my only friend in the entire neighbourhood! It would be painful to live next door to each other! At least until one of us found a partner or one of us moved out of the complex.

The pressure of it all makes my ears ring.

“Right,” Harry clears his throat as the waiter approaches and starts to scan the wines. “Any of the wines look good to you?”

I stare at Harry while he buries his nose in the menu. Somehow I felt like I already messed up. Maybe all of these bad dates had one thing in common: me.

God, I couldn’t even make it work with a friend.

Harry glances up. I guess I forgot to respond. Before he could notice I’d been too busy staring I start to scan the menu.

“D’you mind red?” I ask.

“Sure. Which red do you recommend?” Harry asks the waiter. I think it’s cute he asks. Dates in the past have pretended to know the difference between all the names and then ordered something that usually tasted like dog shite.

They discuss the wine and I pretend to nod here and there while I browse the dinner menu. Obviously I had studied it after getting dressed tonight. I knew what was safe for me to get (pasta or seafood) and what would cause a big mess (burgers).

“I’m gonna guess what you’ll order.” Harry says once we’re alone again.

“You really think you know me well enough?”

“Yeah. I think I know you well enough.”

“I don’t think so.” He might have a lucky guess but we hadn’t eaten out together enough for him to know my taste. Plus what I wanted and what I was going to order tonight would be two different things.

“I bet you I know. I’m so confident I’m not even going to say it right now. I’ll just order for you when the waiter comes back.”

“Are we confident or cocky?” I tease.

“Confident,” he says but he drapes his arms back against his chair and relaxes, giving an f-boy cocky pose. I laugh, grateful for the reprieve of living in my thoughts.

“Ready to order?” The waiter asks after pouring our wine. It was a nice balanced wine that was helping me relax.

Harry orders his meal and then looks up at me, “She’ll get the Organic Highland Prime Burg-“

“Actually,” I cut him off. Harry looks at me with his sure smile but I shake my head. It falls immediately.

I feel bad but I just couldn’t eat a burger at a fancy place like this on a first date. I’d done it before and it had not gone over well. Think White Chicks but instead of a Terry Crews it was a Ben Shapiro.

“Sorry,” I point to the safe item. “I’ll do the Blackened Lobster Lasagna.”

“Great choice.” The waiter says something else but I’m too preoccupied with how much worse I was making the date.

“Really?” Harry asks. The waiter pauses as he looks between Harry and I and I start to flush.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” It comes out more curt than I intended and Harry just nods.

“Sorry.” I apologize to Harry again once the waiter leaves. “I didn’t really want something messy.”

“Oh. Yeah it’s alright.” He smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes. "The lasagna does sound really good.”

“Right? I think it'll be really good.” I hear myself talking and want to stab myself. Really. Because this king of small talk was what I fell back on talking about when a date was going bad.

I had to redeem this. This couldn’t be a bad date. This was just Harry.

“This wine’s good too,” Harry says as he puts his glass down on the edge just as I yank my foot out from under the table to show him my shoes, yanking the table cloth in the process.

“So my shoes-“

“Shit!”

His wine tips over onto my white boots and we stare at them as the stain spreads.

“Napkin-“ Harry’s voice snaps me out of the spiral I’d found myself in as I watched wine seep into my coveted shoes.

Harry’s leaning over patting it down but I yank my foot away. This was incredibly embarrassing; everyone around us was watching the scene we were making.

“We need water-“

“I’m going to the toilet,” I announce. Harry looks up sharply, his face is panicked.

“I’m sorry yn I-“

“S’cuse,” I don’t mean to brush him away but with all the eyes on me and the fact that I kept finding ways to ruin this date—this date that was supposed to be perfect, my eyes were pricking with tears. I needed a breather.

“Shite,” I sigh as I balance on one foot in the toilets and try to wipe the stain in the sink. But red wine stained badly just like my performance on every date I’ve ever been on.

“Get yourself together,” I say to myself in the mirror. “Harry is amazing and you’re fucking all this up! Shoes are temporary, finding a good man can take forever! Snap! Out! Of! It!”

I do some deep breaths and one last attempt at cleaning my shoe before I make my way out.

“Yn I’m so sorry,” Harry stands as I return. “I’m so clumsy tonight I didn’t mean to-“

“Harry it’s fine,” I put my hand on his arm. “Honestly.”

“The stain didn’t come out!” He notices the shoes. “I’ll replace them—send me a bill or…”

I don’t have the heart to tell them he couldn’t replace my £400 Acne boots that easily. I’d bought them a couple seasons ago to celebrate the fact that I’d finally gone out with a guy, and hadn’t thought about my ex once. They were I’m-officially-over-my-ex boots.

Now that I thought about it though, it was stupid to wear them on a date with Harry. They were soaked in the bad luck of all the dates they’d been on since.

Agh!

“I’m serious Har,” I cut him off from his plans to replace them. I take a deep breath and motion he should do the same. “Look, it’s really fine. Plus they’re my favourite colour now. They’ll go with the rest of my wardrobe.”

He stops apologizing and looks down at the splotch of pink on the white. “In that case. We’ll have to take the bottle home and stain the other one.”

“Deal,” I say and he smiles at me softly and it feels like things might go better now. Maybe we really had a chance.

When our food arrives Harry’s steak isn’t done how he asked, and they take it back. I awkwardly push around the food on my plate, not wanting to eat until he had his food too.

“You can eat,” Harry reminds me. “I’m sure it’ll be out any minute.”

“We can share for no-“

“Just eat,” Harry says but now all the focus is on me eating and I feel tense and awkward and quite frankly, frustrated.

I shouldn’t have piled so much hope on this date going perfectly.

We wave the waiter over when too much time has passed by, and he seems confused about the steak.

“D’you think they forgot?” I ask Harry.

“Maybe,” he looks frustrated, two spots of pink have taken residence on his cheeks. I feel bad. This date wasn’t turning out for both of us.

It takes another 10 minutes for his plate to come back out. By then my plate looks like I hated it but tried to eat it to be polite. Harry tries to ask if it can be heated but I’m way too non-confrontational in restaurants to let that happen so I shovel a mouthful of room temperature food and give the waiter a thumbs up.

I just wanted to go home.

By the time Harry pays the bill (it was expensive, even though we agreed to skip dessert. He insisted on paying) I was ready to call an uber to whiz us home. But he suggests we walk off the food to another station and it sounds like a good idea so I follow along. Maybe now we could have a nice time.

The walk was supposed to help clear our heads and be romantic but somehow the mood had soured beyond repair. We don’t talk the whole time, both of us lost in our own heads. Neither of us holds hands, or even loop arms.

And somehow it gets worse when we arrive at my door.

"Well this is me," Harry points to his door beside mine in an attempt at a joke. I throw a polite smile.

"Thanks for the date," I say. I feel like it's a little curt but I didn't really know how to act. Did we hug? Shake hands? We liked each other but clearly this date was proving we didn't belong together. Kissing each other goodnight felt like the opposite direction of tonight's vibe.

"No, thank you. And sorry. Again." Harry looks embarrassed as he glances down at my shoes.

"Harry, honestly it's okay," I try to reassure him. I would take walking ten miles in heels I had yet to break in than this awkward air that stifled us. It was never supposed to be like this!

"No it's not," Harry huffs. "I ruined your shoes."

"They're shoes. Just shoes."

"It's a first date, I don't want you thinking I'm a clumsy mess."

"Harry," I lean my back against my door. He looked so good tonight, I was so excited when I opened my door to him a few hours ago and everything had gone tits up. I didn't want him to feel this way. It was my fault, not his.

"I just," he rubs his face and then sighs.

"It wasn't that bad," I lie. The night had gone so badly.

"Yes it is!" He throws his hands up and the movement makes me flinch. "Fuck. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. God, everything's just..."

I blink and my eyes start to sting. It was the end of the night and we'd officially decided this wasn't going anywhere. It wasn't a shock, but still it was upsetting. I really liked him. I really thought things would work out between us, especially after that night with my heels in his bathroom. I had to call it.

"I should go in. I'll see you later Harry."

His brows scrunch up, he opens his mouth and then closes it. "G'night yn."

"G'night." I whisper. He stays there like he always does as I go into my flat. I peek through the peephole and catch him mouth a fuck before opening his own door.

Still in my outfit, my shoes kicked off to the side, I start to pace. I can't do anything except go over the date in my head.

Was there a particular moment I fucked up? Should I have said something differently? How did Harry and I go from having amazing chemistry and an honest friendship to this?

Maybe I was trying too hard. I should have just ordered the burger like he’d guessed, should have gone along with what he talked about. I should have been a better date.

That was it. I couldn't go to bed like this.

The fact that every time I had a shot at a date, a real chance, something had to go wrong and it was always me. I had to fix this.

I grab the doorknob, and pause. I was about to march right into Harry's flat and ask why the date went so terribly. But what was the point? It would just make things even more awkward.

I think about the last time we hung out. There was beer. Maybe we just need beer—no hundred pound dish or fancy red wine. We just needed to be us. Lowbrow beers and a relaxed environment.

I grab a jacket to throw over my outfit and slip into my Stan Smiths. I head downstairs and in the direction of the local shop for a 6-pack. We would drink beer in our flat and get over this awful date. This couldn't be the last of us.

As I cash out a familiar head of hair in the closest aisle catches my attention.

"Harry?"

"Yn?" He's dressed down in joggers and a jumper.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

"Grabbing dessert," he shakes the plastic container with donuts inside. "What are you doing here?"

I hold my box up. His eyes widen slightly, a frown touches his lips for a mere second before he arranges his face into a neutral expression.

"All for yourself?" He asks.

"No actually-“ I'm about to launch into what I was going to do but the cashier clears his throat and stares pointedly at Harry. He was holding up the line now.

"Oh sorry," he walks up to the counter and pays for his items. I stand off to the side and we walk out together.

"So you were saying?" He asks.

"Well. I was coming to your place with these."

"You were?" He stops in the middle of the sidewalk to ask.

"Yeah!"

"You're not joking?"

"No!" I laugh. "Why?"

"I..." he looks down at his box and swallows what he was saying. "Let me guess, was it a bad date?"

When he looks at me it's a cheeky look. I almost want to kiss him there.

"Another bad date yep," I tell him and we start to walk towards home.

"Was it the bloke?"

"Not exactly, I think a lot of it had to do with me."

"You sure the date wasn't an arse?"

"No he was sweet. He was very chivalrous, I really thought it was just going to go smoother."

"What do you reckon happened?" He asks. We were both enjoying playing this game. Quite frankly it was combing out the awkwardness.

"I dunno. For one I really wanted a burger but I got in my head and got lasagna instead. When do I ever eat lasagna!?” Harry laughs unexpectedly and it makes me feel good so I continue. “I started thinking about all of my failed dates and almost-relationship. I tried not to make this one date turn out like them but that was my mistake.”

“Sounds like it’s tough being you,” he teases. I push him lightly.

“Well if you could put yourself in our shoes what do you think happened?"

"I think your date got a bit nervous." He responds. By now we've reached our lobby and we take the lift up. "He's not used to going on dates—didn’t he have a steady girlfriend for 3 years? That's 3 years with 0 first dates. He didn’t want to screw things up and he was so in his head about the fact that he took her to an overly fancy place when that wasn’t her scene-“

“It’s not. But it was a cute place. Just poor service.”

“Yeah it was shite service—or I heard it was.” We glance at each other and grin. "I heard he split wine on your shoes."

"Psh," I laugh. “The pink stains were on the outside this time not the inside.”

The lift lands on our floor and we hover outside our doors. "Yours or mine?"

"Mine?" Harry opens his door and I follow the familiar hall to the couch I'd sat on just a week ago. I pull my legs up and we crack open beers, each biting into the sugary pillows he'd bought.

“I actually bought dessert so I could have an excuse to knock on your door and talk to you after that date.” Harry confesses after we’ve each had our moment with our donuts.

I feel warm inside, we’d both wanted an epilogue after the date. We were determined, and ended up in the same place. I hold my drink up. “Cheers.”

Harry tilts his head and smiles. He’s gonna be the death of me whether this works out or not, the thought pops into my head.

"I feel like I need to apologize," Harry continues. "I didn't want to mess things up and I think I just overthought it all and-"

"Please." I cut him off. "I totally made everything awkward and I think I'm just cursed."

"I don't know why I thought you would like such a fancy place. As soon as you said you're not into it I felt like I was doomed-"

"I didn't mind it! I just wasn't expecting it from you!"

"You don't think I'm a classy man?"

I laugh, "Just not that uppity on a first date."

"I was trying to pull out all the stops."

"Instead we just full stopped."

That gets a laugh from Harry. It dies down as he asks, "So what do you reckon? Is this a sign we're only meant to be neighborly friends?"

I bite my donut, mulling his question over. The beer and donuts were helping. I felt like I was thinking clearer than I had all night.

"I wouldn't say no."

We sit in silence as we think about it until he moves down the couch and rests his knee against mine.

"I really like you.”

"I like you too," I agree with my heart quickening.

"Then why don't we stop dating and just do this. No dates. Just hanging out."

"I don't know," I say. "I don't mind being wined and dined occasionally. Don’t you?”

"Okay, how about we just hang out. And when hanging out gets boring we put on our going out clothes and wine and dine each other. Think about it," he says and I nod, agreeing.

“Only if when we put on our going out clothes you keep wearing that aftershave.”

“Deal. And you wear your favourite colour each time.”

“Done.��� I grin.

"So you wanna watch a movie or something?" He asks.

“Is that a euphemism?” I tease. He turns his TV on and turns to me with a disappointed look. I try not to laugh.

“No yn get your head out of the gutter. A movie. An actual movie.”

I stick my tongue out. "Can we just not watch anything romantic or sad though?”

"Toy Story it is," Harry puts on the film and we lean back against his couch, cuddled into each other. His fingers play with my hair in slow movements that feel comforting.

I wake up a few hours later, the movie long over. Harry's snoring softly, his arm wrapped around me.

I smile to myself. Even after the disaster of a date we were alright.

I nuzzle myself into the crook of his neck, feeling the musky heat of his skin, and drift back off.

***

A knock wakes me.

I open my eyes slowly and look around the room. I wasn't in my room. I was still on the couch, the cushions had done wonders for my back but my neck was stiff.

Harry was still fast asleep, his lips parted, and his arm thrown across his face. He looked so kissable then.

There was another knock, and Harry's arm slips off his face. He sits up, and the knocking resumes.

"Coming!" He shouts as he runs his hands over his face and hair.

He stands and looks back at me, and smiles. He's still sleepy but he's smiling at me.

"Morning." He says.

"Good morning."

He stays there with a dazed smile until I point behind him.

"Door?"

He nods and makes his way over to answer the door.

"Harry Sty-?" a voice asks.

“Yep,” Harry mumbles something I can’t hear. He’s asked to sign whatever it was.

"Thanks," his voice is rough and he clears it.

Closing the door behind him, he throws whatever package he'd received to the floor and walks over to me. "We fell asleep."

"I guess so. I'm still in last night's clothing." My skirt was now wrinkled and my top was half untucked and ridden up my midriff. "What time is it?"

Harry glances at his watch. "Half past 8."

"Shit! I've got work in half hour!"

"Work from here," Harry leans over me on the couch and offers his simple solution.

"I'll have to shower."

"You live next door. Just do your business and come back with your work things. It'll be like old times."

He's inches closer to me, and I really want to kiss him. It's funny we'd done none of that on our first date but now I want a re-do.

"Okay," I whisper.

"Okay," Harry whispers and he closes the distance and kisses me. It was better than our first kiss.

When I pull away I have a stupid smile on my face.

"Go get ready love," Harry laughs and pushes me off the couch. "You'll be late."

"See you later," I wave and walk out the door, smiling because he’d called me love again. And he hadn’t even hesitated.

Harry was right, it was a lot like the old days. In between work meetings, and Harry's calls, we had a lot of time to spend together. We chatted shit, snuck in some kisses, and talked about work.

We don’t go on a second date, instead we order pizza and watch Toy Story 2 (even though we'd fallen asleep in the first one).

Our days together are fun, and the nights were even more fun.

It was a Wednesday, a week and a half after the disastrous date. Harry and I had taken most of the week off and we'd spent it together, and tonight we'd gone out.

It was a great date, nothing fancy or high brow. Just a lowkey pub with a bunch of beers and greasy messy food and tons of laughter.

"So," Harry says as we're walking hand in hand back to our flat. "How many more days of leave do you have?"

"I have four and a half weeks total."

"Woah. That’s a lot."

"Why? You're not regretting this are you? Getting bored of me?" I tease him.

"I've had 29 years to prepare for you," he teases back.

"That's a good one. But I don't think you can handle 4.5 weeks.”

"Try me."

"Fine," I bump my hip into his.

We're silent for the rest of the walk. But it’s a good silence. When we reach the building, Harry takes his time unlocking his door.

"What are you doing?"

"Just waiting," he shrugs and I laugh.

"Do you want me to stay the night?"

"Yes," he answers without any hesitation; in the last week I'd slept in my bed once.

He opens the door pretty quickly after that and I follow inside—tomorrow, tomorrow I would sleep in mine. Harry could join me if he wanted.

Tonight I watch him close the door, the second the lock clicks I'm taking his jacket off for him and he's laughing at my eagerness.

"Someone's impatient."

"I'm not," I lie and drop his jacket.

"No?" He wraps his arms around me, pulling me flush against him. He kisses my jaw, and then the corner of my lips. You'd think I'd be used to this by now but it's just as dizzying as the times before.

I shake my head and his mouth hovers over mine, his hot breath tickling me.

"What about now?" He whispers.

"Nope," I breathe out and I push onto my tippy toes to kiss him. What can I say, I was denying it with him but I'd never been good at the slow and steady stuff. Harry's mouth was a drug, and I couldn't help myself.

He's not slow and steady either.

He's quick to lift me up and set me on the island in his kitchen, his fingers trailing over the edge of my skirt, his mouth working against mine.

His hand cups my ass and his fingers inch closer to my heat.

"Yn," his voice is soft and he pulls away.

"Yes?"

"Did I tell you how radiant you looked tonight? I can’t take my eyes off of you any time I see you, especially when you’re so loudly and comfortably you in your coordinated outfits and elaborate hairstyles. I feel like the luckiest guy out there. I think I am the luckiest guy in the whole city. I catch sight of you in public and…you just take my breath away."

"Aw Har. I’m already yours. You don't have to butter me up," I tease him as I pull him back to me but his words make me weaker than any kiss could. I know my eyes are growing watery at all of the nice things he’s saying and I’m grateful when he pretends not to see.

This was the nicest thing a guy has said to me, he was really telling me that he liked me for me. He felt lucky. Well I must have won the lottery if he felt lucky.

"I know I don't have," he doesn't pull back again but whispers this into my neck. A shiver runs up my spine. "But I just want to tell you that you're so beautiful."

His mouth trails over my jaw, and back to the corner of my mouth, he doesn't kiss me and I want him to.

"So beautiful," he whispers and I tilt my head back to invite him to continue the trail his lips were making. "So sweet."

He kisses my collar bone and the strap of my top. "So lovely."

His hands trail over my thighs and I want him so badly.

"You're making me melt," I tell him.

"Good thing we're in the kitchen," he hums.

"You're the worst," I giggle and his hands cup my cheeks and he presses his lips against mine. His tongue swipes over my lips and I allow him entry.

We're a tangle of limbs as we kiss and kiss, until I can't breathe. When we move to the bedroom I hardly have time to catch my breath there too.

"Yn," his voice is rough, his hair wild. His body is hot against mine and the way he says my name is enough to make me transcend this dimension.

"I like you. A lot."

"I like you too. A lot too." I can barely get the words out as I try to worm my way into his skin.

He chuckles at my growing impatience but he’s too far in to hold back again. He gives in to every one of my needs--even ones I didn't realize I had.

I'm a goner.

As we fall asleep, his arm wrapped tightly around me, I know we did the right thing. Despite being neighbours or the awful first date. The fact that we bumped into each other at the shop later that night meant we were supposed to have a second chance.

We worked best like this: warm and tucked away, whispering confessions into each other’s skin, seeing each other and not caring what we aren’t.

He pulls me closer in his sleep, sighing into my hair. This felt impossible before but it was so real now. And I think I really won the lottery; I’d dated a million toads before but I think I finally found my prince.

TAGLIST:

@kuntxrgraudunkelbunt @mellamolayla

[trulycertain]

Finished Veilguard about a week back. My thoughts on the character writing (massive spoilers herein):

The character writing... feels like DA2 to me. Not enough time and too much internal upheaval. The characters are fascinating and I like them! But they're sketches - albeit often beautiful, interesting ones - not finished paintings. (Origins and Inquisition's definitely feel like paintings to me.)

It's not about writing ability. A lot of old hands who wrote beloved stuff were on here. Trick Weekes, obviously, who gave us Solas and Bull and so much other good stuff; Sheryl Chee (who wrote Leliana and Isabela and has my hat forever for them); Brianne Battye, who wrote Cullen in DAI, whose arc I adored; Mary Kirby got to write Varric and part of Lucanis; Sylvia Fetekeuty gave us the beautiful, tightly-worldbuilt quests and politics like Orzammar, and In Hushed Whispers - heck, she wrote Josephine… I honestly just think it's a lack of time and clear direction due to so many game leads being in and out.

I love all the intra-crew interaction, it's really awesome to see. I like that I can tell companions have their friends and favourites and smoochfellows (I'll be honest, I did not call Taash/Harding, I thought for sure Taash and Davrin would end up with something going on, though I also did not call Neve/Lucanis and judging from their friendship, I bet that romance would be wonderful - they're probably my favourite team to take out other than either of them with Emmrich, or Bellara + Emmrich - I love magic talk.) The team meetings are a great idea that reinforce that. Also, I really love the fact that companion banters will play in the Lighthouse too (I realised after I reloaded and got a similiar conversation post-coming back that it's the same as banter when you're out walking - so it'll advance with personal quests, and if there's a pairing you don't usually take out with you, you still get a chance to catch the odd interesting chat). I do wish it were still a three companion team, though - even more because of this. I also love the tiny things, like Lucanis adjusting his meals for the fact Rook is a tea drinker and Emmrich is a veggie. (God do I relate to "vegetarian who talks relentlessly about their special interest while others sigh and takes a while to work out what to do when flirted with".) I love that companions pick up their banter again if it's interrupted by fights! Wonderful quality-of-life improvement thing, and also a bit more realistic feeling. People get bored and talk, and wonder things while they're wandering.

I absolutely love the plot of this game. I think it follows through on so many ideas in such a cool way, and I love Solas in this game, and the art and performances are beautiful. It has lots of respectful, loving tie-ins to the past games and clearly is thinking about them. I just think the companions, much like DA2, are fantastic ideas that just needed a bit of time.

I mean, let's take Neve - my romance, trope catnip for me in "tired mage who's not afraid to just deck someone, PI, stoic, normally male tropes applied to female chars, sharp-dressed" - as an example. Veilguard does more natural conversation flow - you can't sit and quiz companions on their selves and backstories like a job interview. But because you only get investigation options in chats anyway, you only get to ask companions about stuff they want to talk about. Which means with Davrin all you'll know is Wardens and Assan, mostly, but you can at least ask him about his past. With Neve, all you get is Dock Town, depression and fish.

I found out a lot about her backstory and family after my first playthrough - because you only get that through banters and taking out the exact right team. DA2 did this too, and it was a sign of rushed writing. As opposed to DAO and DAI, where you have their basic conflicts sketched out for you, but banters add colour, context and nuance - but regardless of team you take out, you get the basics. And they'll tell you stuff, if you ask and show interest.

Lucanis, Neve and Harding talk far more amongst themselves about some actually pretty key stuff, but not to Rook - unlike Emmrich, Taash and Davrin, who when you've spoken to them long enough will tell you a bit about them, and you can go, "Oh, I see how they got like that." Like, Neve is laetan from a soporati mostly templar family, and that elevation of having a sudden mage in the family basically tore her family apart nearly as badly as Fenris'. The class and mage stuff is major to her self-identity and why she's in Dock Town. But despite her fondness of Dock Town, her accent has no class markers except "posh London" and none of this comes up if you don't take exactly the right team out; I found some of this out through Reddit, of all places.

Now, you may say, "Isn't that replay value?" I'd argue not, when you're in an RPG that sells itself on its ensemble cast. Neve's introductory dialogue establishes that she's Minrathous and really cares about her city. And that she's a PI. The rest… is plot exposition. And it mostly carries on being exposition, albeit in a stylised way. So she has a liking for fancy hats, is pessimistic and is exhaustedly principled and love-hates Minrathous… but you knew that in her first five minutes. Even the fried fish thing, which exemplifies her love for the city and how she's grounded even though she's a mage? Ten hours in at least. And even if you play a Shadow Dragon who is also from a military family and felt left out? You get more opportunities to talk about that with Tarquin than Neve.

By contrast, here are some examples of character details that were well-done replay/"thanks for paying attention" value:

I adored many char moments, like her being wary of Emmrich but liking Manfred - calling him "Fred" - and eventually warming to them both, and her helping Taash out on gender and recognising some of this because she knew Mae and Tarquin, and Lucanis trying to feed her something healthy… but other than the middle part, all of this pretty important character growth is in easily missable banters. DA2 did this too and it drove me nuts. I took her everywhere with me because I liked her so much! And I still knew none of her backstory. Because Tevinter Nights and banter fill it in. You learn very little; you'll come out of the game thinking exactly the same of her as you did at the start. She's beautiful and every trope she's made out of is gold and her actor has a gorgeous voice, but compare a character like… heck, not even Dorian - Sera, or Bull, who offered new perspectives on Ferelden and the Qun (post-Blight and working-class, Ben Hassrath). Neve has an arc so tangled with her city that it feels like you should have got more of a glimpse of everyday working class Tevinter life through her, which I would love to see explored, and you just… don't. Noir PIs are tied to their cities, the one is a metaphor for the other, and it feels like they did that metaphor so much better with Hawke as a battered allegory for Kirkwall.

In Inquisition, let's say you never talk to Dorian past recruiting him. You never even find out he's arguing with his dad, never mind that he's gay. You still get that he's a very gifted mage, pretends to be arrogant, let down by his mentor and "not everything from Tevinter is terrible." You don't get his family history, that he hates the cold and has allergies, the nerdy magical talk, the necromancy nerdery… but you get a sampler plate of "preens, principled, proud Tevinter mage". You get a good picture even if it's incomplete.

In some ways, you actually get to know the Viper better if you choose Treviso. Less overall interaction, maybe, but you get that great scene with him mourning the dead and his response to him being Blighted, and the stuff with Antoine and Evka. And then you get that codex upon his kidnapping confirming his family name, but you have to have been paying attention to the lore to know why him being a Vesperian is such a big deal. You still know who he is and why he's here even if you barely interact with him, though.

I also loved, on Tarquin, that you get to know a bit more about him either way, but it's only if you save Minrathous that you get to know just how sad he is about the Viper not trusting him, how much they talk, the fact he's the tired admin - such a mood - and the fact he's not cis. You've shown your commitment to the Dragons by then, it's not just trotted out as a basic "getting to know you" thing with a character who isn't otherwise loud and proud. Whichever city you save, the finale confirms he's actually probably a mage, too - you see him using what looks like frost/accuracy magic, briefly. My guess is that either a: like Felix, he wasn't strong enough in it to achieve much rank b: he was limited by class c: his dad went, "Nope, if you're a man, you're a soldier now.")

Those two Veilguard choices felt like such great replayability. Like I said with DAI's banters: you get the basics, but certain choices you make give you access to new info which suddenly recontextualises and illuminates things for you. I particularly enjoyed talking to Tarq as a fellow Shadow Dragon from a fellow military family. The tired wry understanding felt very real.

I really like the whole cast, but the most... I don't know, finished? characters feel like Solas, Emmrich, Bellara and Tash. Perhaps Davrin, though he still needed a little time. I adore Lucanis (and startlingly, may like Spite even more!) but I definitely feel like he needed more time and writer stability. Emmrich lets you in on his fears and his worries a good while after knowing him, and also lets on that he's grown up in the Necropolis and it's all he knows, and that he spent time talking to spirits and was more in tune with them as a kid than most. That's not structured as an exposition dump. You have to do his personal quests to see them, but they're very much "friend decides to let Rook in on something, embarrassedly" and "come to see my favourite place". The spirits you meet are as part of other side quests and that stuff comes up naturally. Taash's intro tells you right off their mum is constantly criticising them and doesn't like them "acting butch", that criticism is due to their mum being very Qunari, and that they're really into dragons. If you pursue their quests, you get them coming out, a thorough discussion of how they feel about this stuff, them being a jerk with Emmrich, their bluntness getting them into trouble sometimes, and certain rituals and friendships in the Lords being influenced by it. So you get told all that, sure… but you also get to see it spread and ripple. There's an arc. And almost all of that you can get even without the "right" banter. Davrin's Dalish background is relevant to the plot and is a matter-of-fact part of who he is, but if you pursue his quests you get to find out about him working out whether to hide/suppress the gentler parts of himself, that he was an adorable kid, that he's into whittling, and that he's very no-nonsense about the Evanuris' bullshit because he is a stoic who gets the job done and his Warden identity takes priority, even while his Dalish upbringing informs his personality and his hunts (imo this was very well done).

You might say, "But isn't 'Characters stand around telling you their tragic backstory' the BioWare Problem?" Yeah, sure! But there's a natural build with these above examples. And shoving stuff into banter is still telling, not showing; there's no writerly sleight of hand there, either. I'd also argue that one of the reasons people have often spoken about Emmrich looking out for their Rook, or having more connection with their Rook, is that his chats with them are written much more in the Inquisition style than Veilguard's, though there are some exceptions.

Another thing: characters rarely interject/add their tuppence in quests compared to the other games, has anyone noticed this? That also gives me fewer chances to clock their stances on things, or whether they hide behind snark, or their pet issues. Same with location comments/colour commentary, which are such a tiny thing but really do help with a feeling of reactivity (BG3 did this great, but it's a very different genre and devcycle, so I'm just gonna compare past BioWare). There's no "Smell the oppression" in the Gallows or "Should've brought a sweater" in Noveria or "It must have been some time since templars [in the Hinterlands] faced a mage of any talent" or… most of Garrus and Miri bitching about Omega. I can think of, maybe two? (Half of Fenris' interjections were a slightly more complex, "ugh, I don't give a shit, can we get back to hunting slavers", but you still caught that he hated blood mages, liked the Guard and Isabela, and had an incredibly dry sense of humour.)

That lessening of dialogue, to me, points to a lack of time. My theory is the plot was laid out and carefully tooled, and companions were written/rewritten last, when the timeline was tight. As folks have pointed out: for all his faults, Gaider was famously a tight lead who gave writers their favourite characters to encourage ownership and investment, said Weekes' concepts for Solas were fantastic but made them rewrite him several times because he was coming off so unlikeable, worked very closely with VAs and always got stuff in on time. Also, he has never said this, but Weekes and Busch have always said he did the vast majority of worldbuilding and pretty much all the reveals in the plot were stuff laid out in the writers' room during/after DAO, and Weekes has said they knew of this stuff and it was passed onto them. So I think a lot of it may be upheaval and his absence being… keenly felt. It always seemed like there was a lot more Gaider in DA (compare how many characters he wrote) than there was Drew Karpyshyn or Casey Hudson in ME. DA2 was still messy as hell even with him very much involved, though, so *shrug*.

I very much enjoyed Solas' dialogue, though. That felt all Weekes, and like they were at their most passionate. Bits of it felt very Mordin, actually.

I do think everyone did a fantastic job pulling together not just a coherent but enjoyable and at times very beautiful product after such a difficult devcycle. I would argue they did a much better job than with DA2. There's a lot of skill and thought in this. It feels much, much more finished than DA2. It's just a lot more "action" than "RPG" in terms of party mechanics and dialogue. That still makes it feel like a complete, enjoyable action-adventure game, whereas DA2 was much more RPG with a lot of its mechanics but felt indecisive and unfinished to the end. I also think it's a good intro to the series, though the first hour might be a bit confusing. You get a good intro to the Wardens and Mourn Watch and Tevinter. Also, I love Arlathan and I could write essays on why. It just felt like, unlike most DA entries, the plot was stronger than the people this time round.

[forever-rogue]

heyyy beeee🥰

I saw requests are opened and I come here bearing flowers and an idea. Here are the flowers: 🌷🌸🌹🌼💐🌻

And the idea: I just thought it would be funny and adorable for Steve “my favourite Star Wars movie is the one with the teddy bears” Harrington to have a Star Wars loving gf that would roll her eyes fondly and kiss his cheek whenever he got something wrong. He would be so cute trying to be involved bc his girl likes that stuff you know and she’d melt cause he’s trying for her even if it’s not something she expected him to do 🥲💖🩷

AN | But this is my dream (it’s me, I’m Star Wars girlfriend) and it’s so soft. Enjoy🥺

Warnings | Language

Pairing | Steve x Fem!Reader

Word Count | 2.2k

Masterlist | Steve, Main

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Steve's eyes were glued to your figure as soon as he spotted you. It was a boring afternoon shift alone at Family Video, and he'd been absentmindedly flipping through a magazine. As soon as he heard the doors open, he perked up at the idea of some human interaction.

He hadn't expected to be blown away by having the prettiest girl he'd ever seen walk in. His brain turned to scrambled eggs immediately and all he managed to do was close the magazine as you disappeared into the aisles. You hadn't even noticed him; not on purpose, you were just on a mission. 

Tossing the magazine to the side, he slipped out from behind the counter and started walking in your direction. He cleared his throat, touched up his hair and prepared himself for what he hoped would be an actual interaction.

"Hello there," he turned into the aisle you were in, causing you to look up in surprise. The moment he got a closer look at your face, he suddenly forgot what he was going to say. Your eyes flicked to his name tag and you relaxed when you realized he was an employee and not some random man.

"Hi," and oh. Steve already loved the sound of your voice and the small smile you offered in response. 

"Help need…do you?" He managed to blurt out as you giggled softly. His neck and cheeks pinked once he realized what he'd say. He was already smacking himself internally, "sorry - do you need any help finding anything?"

"Yeah, actually," you put back the movie in your hand and turned your full attention to him, "I'm looking for - and don't laugh - the Star Wars movies. Do you have them here?"

"Why would I laugh?" Steve asked, shaking his head as he motioned for you to follow, "but you're in luck, they were just returned."

"It's just kind of a nerdy thing," you shrugged sheepishly, chewing on the inside of your cheek, "a lot of people think it's really lame."

"It's definitely not lame," Steve was pretty sure that you could read him the dictionary and it would be anything but boring, "its pretty cool. Especially if you're into it."

You felt your entire face flush as you peeked at him. Was he flirting with you? He was flirting with you. You waved your hand around before taking the vhs cassettes that he held out to you, "are you into Star Wars too?"

"Me? O-oh yeah," he wasn't outwardly lying but he was definitely fibbing. He'd seen the movies, watched them at a movie night with Eddie and Robin, but honestly, he'd slept through a good amount of them, "totally."

"Cool," you bit your lip in a way Steve was sure would kill him slowly, "which one is your favorite?"

"The one with the…little bears?" And then you laughed, loud and bold, as he smiled sheepishly.

"Ewoks," you sweetly corrected him, "so Return of the Jedi."

"Yup…"

"You haven't seen Star Wars, have you?" You were definitely enjoying this, especially the way the pretty boy was squirming under your gaze.

"I have!" He countered, "I…might have slept through most of it but I've seen the movies!"

"Well," you rocked back and forth on your heels, "you should give them another watch if you're ever up for it. They can be pretty funny."

"If you say they are, they must be good," the two of you walked back to the counter where he began to check you out - in more ways than one. But he was still trying to keep it respectful, "do you have an account or do you need to create one?"

"I actually just moved to town a few weeks ago," you swallowed the lump in your throat and caught his pretty honey brown eyes, "so I'll need to make one."

"Alright," this was good, he decided. You had no preconceived notions of him from the sound of it, "can I just get your name and number?"

"Are you asking for the account or yourself?" Something was causing you to feel bold. Judging from the expression on his face you'd read the signs right.

"What if I said both?" He teased right back, finding it easy to slip back into flirting with you.

"I'd say yes," you grinned at him, "and that I'm free on Friday night after five."

"It's a date," he said, nervous for your response. But oh, he was already so invested in you and wanted to know everything and anything about you.

"It's a date."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

And one date turned into two and then three, and then countless others. Almost a year later and you were thoroughly and deep in love with your boyfriend, Steve Harrington.

He was so different from you, but the two of you meshed so well. Plus, unlike anyone you'd ever dated before, Steve tried and he cared. And he showed that he did. He tried to understand your interests and loves and you did the same to him.

Plus, it was really cute when he tried to understand all of your Star Wars and other nerdy interests. But it was the sheer love and enthusiasm that he did it with that made you love him all that much more. And - if you really wanted a deep conversation about such things - you had his (and now your) friends Eddie and Dustin.

Steve was over at your apartment for the night, and you'd gone to make some popcorn for the movie the two of you had agreed on for the evening. When you walked back into the room, you found him studying your bookshelves curiously.

"Anything interesting?" You asked as he started slightly with a pink flush welling up in his cheeks. You set the bowl down on your desk and walked over to him, standing behind and wrapping your arms around his waist. You felt him relax into your touch as he put a hand on top of yours, and you pressed a row of kisses to his shoulder.

"Everything about you is interesting," he stated sincerely as you snorted in amusement. He took your hand and gently turned around so he was facing. He was pretty, so pretty that it still managed to take your breath away at times. Those honey brown eyes, soft smile, and the freckles you loved kissing one by one. 

"Stevie," you chided him softly although there was no malice behind your words. He exhaled softly before pressing his lips to your forehead. You sighed contentedly, "I love you."

"I love you," he nudged his nose against yours before inching you closer to the bookshelf. He pointed to a few books that had caught his eye as you just smiled at him, "but these seem very interesting. Not as interesting as you, of course."

"You're so sweet," you carded a hand through his hair, "you're more than welcome to borrow them at any time. What's mine is yours, honey boy."

"I don't know," he said quietly, "don't know if I'm quite smart enough for all of that."

"You are," you insisted softly, "you are so much smarter than you give yourself credit for! Even if you don't believe you are right, believe me. I would never lie to you."

Steve practically melted under your praise, even though to you it was just the truth. You knew the Steve of now, the kind hearted and golden man you'd fallen in love with. 

"Thank you," he whispered as you pulled him into a hug, lightly swaying your bodies back and forth. You let go of him before pulling a few books off the shelf, ones you were sure he would enjoy.

"Try these," you really were the brightest spot in his life. A ray of sunshine on even his darkest and cloudiest days, "and let me know what you think."

"I will," he promised, "hey, I have an idea-"

"Uh oh," you teased, a bemused lilt to your voice, "that's even a good sign."

"Hey!" But the two of you were giggling at each other, "I was going to suggest watching Star Wars. Figured I could give it another shot."

"Really?!" Your eyes lit up like Christmas lights as you tried to contain your excitement. You'd never pushed him to watch them again so the fact that he was offering made your heart happy. He nodded eagerly and you pressed a kiss to his cheek, "you're the best! I hope you'll like them this time around! But if you get bored or whatever, just let me know."

"I will," he tugged you towards the bed. In his your absence, he'd already missed the vhs tapes out of the cabinet. He'd bought them for you a few months after you'd started dating so you didn't have to keep borrowing them from Family Video. He was so thoughtful, "but I have a feeling I'll like them this time around. I've got the best company."

"I'll try to shut up," you held up your fingers in a scout salute, "but I cannot promise to avoid all commentary."

"I would expect nothing else," he turned on the television and put in the first tape as you made yourself comfortable in the bed, "what's your favorite character again? Booba or something?"

"Boba Fett!" You were laughing as Steve shrugged and grabbed the remote to join you, "he's the best and one day, people will realize that and see how underrated he is!"

"I'm sure they will," he set the bowl of popcorn between the two of you as he pressed play, "now sit back and enjoy, angel."

"I will," you snuggled up to him, "because I'm watching my favorite movies with my favorite person!"

And yeah. Steve loved the sound of that. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Steve had an idea. An idea that involved your birthday, a lot of planning and assistance from his friends, and you. Or in other words - Steve planned a Star Wars themed surprise birthday party for you. He hoped you’d like it and wouldn’t find it too much or over the top. He got the sense that you didn’t place too much stock into your birthday considering you hadn’t even mentioned. He found out accidentally when you’d asked me to grab your ID for you. You’d insisted that he didn’t need to do anything special, but that wasn’t going to stop him. 

Steve had picked you up after work and took you to his and Robin’s apartment, under the guise of having a quiet night in. He’d already sent you flowers at work and gotten you a card and a cute little cupcake, which was more than enough for you. You just needed him and nothing less.

You were trailed behind Steve as he unlocked the door, talking about something random. You’d noticed he was a little jumpy today, but you weren’t going to question it. 

“Come on,” he motioned for you to step inside; the apartment was dark so you figured Robin wasn’t home. You went to flick on the light and were instantly met with a chorus of surprise!

Your friends jumped out of their hiding places, as you took a moment to calm your racing heart. You looked around at everything, and found yourself almost tearing up; the whole apartment was decorated and there was food, a cake, and a small pile of presents. 

“You guys,” you quickly wiped away the tears as you looked at all of them, “what’s all this for?”

“Your birthday,” Steve stood behind you and pressed a kiss to the crown of your head. He paused for a moment before whispering softly, “I hope this is okay. But I wanted to do something special for you.”

“This is…wonderful,” you turned around, “thank you, Steve. I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” he gently nudged you towards everyone, “happy birthday, angel.”

“Thank you all much,” you grinned at your friends, “I’m so happy to see you all!”

Eddie threw on some music and it was only then that you noticed that everything was Star Wars themed. Everyone was having a good time eating, drinking, and hanging out. It made your heart so happy.

The best of all was the little stuffed ewok that was sitting next to the cake. You walked over it and lightly picked it up, holding it to your chest; you knew exactly who it was from. You turned around and from across the room Steve caught your eye. His smile lit up his entire face as you held up the little ewok. He excused himself from his conversation and came over to you, “do you like it?”

“I love him,” you grinned, “I love this little bear from that one Star Wars movie. And I love you even more.”

“I love you,” he peppered your face in kisses, “happy birthday, angel.”

And it was the happiest of birthdays. The first of many.

[naomi-nana]

: a magician(mainly lynette)'s internal struggle?!

lyney x fem!reader (ft. lynette)

cw : incredibly rushed cuz i haven't wrote a new fanfic in months, ooc probably, some grammar mistake

a/n : new theme cuz i was bored!!(and i love HoRe soo) also i do not know how to write lyney and lynette properly so im sorry

"LYNETTE I DESPERATELY NEED YOUR HELP!!!"

a loud yell was heard throughout the house of hearth, making lynette sighs while eating her favourite dessert. "what is it, dear brother?" she answered him with slight annoyance. how dare he to disturb such a peaceful morning, is probably what's in her mind right now. "you know the letter i was about to send to [name], right?!" the panic in his voice is easy enough for lynette to notice that the said letter is gone.

she sighed once again, "i am not spending my entire morning searching for your love letter that looks like it's been made by a kindergartener who doesn't know vocabulary very well yet." honestly, what lynette said is kinda true. because lyney isn't someone who's very good at writing..love letters. he was even decorating the letter with glitters that he bought from a children's toy shop. though, plus points for effort. "please, please, pleasee just this once help me!" she gazed at him and played the word 'just this once' over and over in her head. because, it is infact not the first time he had lost belongings of his. and lynette being the kind sister, of course she has to help search it.

"have you even checked your bedroom?"

"of course i do! it's the first place i check!"

lynette does not believe in lyney's words, so she decided to come to his room herself. but the sight before her made her audibly gasp. "oh!..that's not.." lynette muttered under her breath. clothes thrown everywhere, pillows on the floor, and the opened window. "have you ever looked at the window and think, maybe your letter flew outside because of the wind?" she said jokingly. even if it's just a joke, lyney might have taken it seriously and thanked her. "i knew it! you are a magician!" he runs downstairs to go open the door outside. "but you are the magician. also don't go outside in your pyjamas-" as lynette followed him downstairs, her brother had already ran far.

"..just what are you gonna do without me, lyney?"

"ugh..where is it.." lynette found his brother, crouching down in his pyjamas near bushes around the city while putting his head in each bush. looking for a love letter for his crush. "you know you look like an idiot, right?" but lyney does not hear his sister, as he already set his mind on searching for the love letter. "I FOUND IT! oh."

"it's a newspaper isn't it?" lyney stood up and sighed sadly, while dropping his head down. "what am i gonna do..." lynette actually felt a little bad seeing the state her brother is in JUST because of a love letter. so she steps forward to comfort him, until he shot his head up with widened eyes. "what if [name] finds it instead?!" and he ran away, again. really, maybe lynette struggles more during this whole thing. but lynette doesn't mind. at the very least, she can have fun with her brother even if it's just looking for a love letter.

after running around for quite a while, lyney felt tired and decided to sit on a bench. "ugh..maybe we should've checked the opera epiclese.." lyney grumbles as he threw his head back in frustation. "are you kidding me?" lynette narrowed her eyes. she stood up and walked over to a food stand near the bench before noticing something shiny float around. "huh? is that?" she squints her eyes and unconsciously smiled to herself before making her way back to lyney. "lyney! i might've found your letter!"

"really?!" he stood up before her. lynette nods and points to the direction where she had last seen it, and both of them decided to run after it. "can you stop sniffing like a dog?" lynette sighs in embarrassment seeing her brother sniffing the surrounding areas. even the people around them are looking away and laughing silently, maybe even throwing a few jokes here and there. but lyney did not care, until he finally bumped into someone.

someone that he hadn't expect.

"oh! hey lyney, lynette!" the person greets both of them with a smile, making lyney gulped and lynette nod. "hello, [name]." she greets her back. lyney froze in his place as he look at what [name] is holding in her hand, the white envelope decorated with messy red glitters on it. it's not just because she was holding the exact same envelope that both he and lynette has been searching for this whole time—it's because of how..childish the design is. "oh, you're holding an envelope." lynette quietly muttered the sentence as she pointed at it while nudging her brother on the shoulder.

"yeah! i found it on the road." lynette clicked her tongue at her brother's state, he is frozen and eyes widened looking at the letter. "psst, lyney" she called to him, but he did not respond. "psst, lyney!" he did not respond once again, so she resort to pinching his hand. that's when he let out a scream of pain. "ugh, lynette! why would you—" lynette shot him a glare while subtly pointing at the envelope. "..oh. haha, ahem. yeah! we've actually been..looking for it.." lyney looks down in embarrassment. "oh, really? who's it for?"

there it is. the death question. (or just a question that both lyney and lynette doesn't want to hear mainly because lyney is nervous and lynette is cringing). lyney is fumbling around looking for answers, but because he's taking too long, lynette decided to cover for him. "oh, lyney just-" "nuh-uh, i've got an answer!" lynette narrowed her eyes after he cut her off.

he took his breath and wiped the sweats off his forehead, with a wide grin, a messy hair and a dirty pyjamas, he confessed to the love of his life.

"i've liked you for quite some time."

naomi-nana. do NOT repost, do not use,(with or without permission), do not reccommend or talk about my works outside of tumblr.

[aihoshiino]

Episode 3 Rewatch: "Manga Based TV Drama"

YEAH WE'RE BACK ON THESE AGAIN!!! As much fun as the liveblog format was, I found it was actually getting in the way of me *doing* the liveblog (it could take multiple hours for me to watch and queue up One Single Episode) so I've decided to return to a format a bit more like my chapter reviews just in the desperate hopes of getting these actually done before season 2 airs. In the immortal words of Brian H oobh i got plany off time. But let's get to it real quick anyway!!!

I have a really soft spot in my heart for episode 3 in particular because it was the first episode I actually anticipated watching after I got into the show - episodes 1 & 2 were already out when I fully contracted brainworms so episode 3 was the first one I had to actually wait for. A lot of the cuts from it are like carved into my brain because I watched that episode preview so many times while waiting for it to air lol…

I've said this before but the anime's take on her really is what turned me into an active Kana Enjoyer. Megumi Han's delightful performance and her character acting an animation all combine to make it really hard not to be endeared to her. Her excitement at being reunited with Aqua is really cute, too - I remember Han saying that she was specifically told not to play Kana as a girl meeting an old crush but as someone excitedly reuniting with an old friend and I think that's particularly sweet. The AQKN dynamic at its heart is kind of just two lonely kids who don't have a lot of other connections that aren't couched in transactional utility creating a space together where they can just exist without any ulterior motives.

gotanda's words being visualized as literally skewering kana is so fucking funny too. bro killed her. you really can't blame her for biting back during dinner later lol

Kana's putting on a pretty positive face about it, but knowing how deeply alone and abanoned she feels by her parents, it's hard to not feel really sad about this scene. She's chipper about it but this is the first hint towards Kana's current honestly kind of dire circumstances we'll see get expanded on all the way to the end of the anime.

Aqua's refusal to let Kana see his old acting is also really interesting to me. Intentionally or not, it feels like it's sewing the seeds for some stuff in Tokyo Blade; Aqua respects Kana's acting and Kana herself as a professional to the degree that he doesn't want to 'lose' to her in that sense. Or rather, he'd be embarrassed to have someone he respects seeing him stumble like that - a little like Ruby's freakout in episode 1 over the idea of Ai, specifically, seeing her be bad at dancing.

Aqua trying to play it cool and then immediately nerding out when Kana mentions Sweet Today is so so so so soooooooo cute. I love it when that side of his personality pokes out…

KABURAGI NAMEDROP JUMPSCARE!!!!! i made the same face, aqua... I won't go into my Kaburagi Villain Propaganda here, but it really is so deeply suspicious that Kaburashi was on her oldest, most private phone…

KANA'S LITTLE 'I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE' MOMENT………. AQUMELT REAL AFTER ALL…. (NOT CLICKBAIT)

ruby's lain brand milk vexes and haunts me

Aqua's quietly pained, guilty expression when Ruby misreads his intentions for becoming an actor is so good, as is his cold internal dismissal of Ai's wish… it's funny to see him insisting he's not doing this for Ai's sake when really, everything Aqua does comes back to his mom.

Man, though. What even is there to say about the Sweet Today bits lmao. Holy shit. Particular shout out to Melt's seiyuu, Seiji Maeda, for making his in-character acting so authentically awkward and clunky without it coming off as overwrought or like he himself was giving a bad performance. That's suuuuuch a delicate thread to weave but he does it exceptionally well.

This scene also has one of my all time favourite punch ups from the manga - in the original, Ruby just kind of gets the manga from nowhere and makes the comparisons that way but the anime makes Aqua the one to go get his copy and start silently flipping through it to compare until Ruby snatches it… it really is the perfect teeing up for him to run off and tattle to Kana even though he was pretending he didn't give a shit lol. Dork ass boy.

This talk at the karaoke bar is really good, too. The directing is pretty simply but I feel like the anime producton really shows off just how strong its expression and character acting work is here which does a lot to help along what's otherwise a very static conversation. The contrast in Aqua and Kana's energy is also very fun - Aqua's really still while Kana's very animated.

The manga hasn't really touched on this in a while but the content of the conversation here also starts a thread that I really liked in the early parts of Oshi no Ko about how hard it is to create good art in an environment like the entertainment industry. Tokyo Blade centers this more and is almost explicitly a follow up to Sweet Today's exploration of this idea but the seeds are sewn here, of the necessary compromises that need to be made just to get something out the door and how that can ultimately destroy the final product no matter how many well-meaning and passionate people are doing their absolute best to make something worth engaging with.

i'm also pretty sure this talk is the first time we see aqua smile after episode 1… cute.

The directing also really shines in that little moment at the end where Kana grabs Aqua's hand. In prior cuts, the two are visually separated in that they're both sat apart and there are multiple lines running between them in the background to section them off from each other.

But then just as Kana breeches Aqua's defenses and disarms him, she physically reaches past all these little barriers to finally get into his space. It's subtle but well done.

His wide-eyed slightly stunned face is also really sweet. We see this look on Aqua a lot when it comes to Kana and it always makes me smile a bit. She's excellent at getting under his skin whether she means to or not.

"now my body has caught up with my mental age" says aqua, confirming his mental age is that of a teenager, and mfs are still out here acting like he's a 30 year old man.

Oof, oof and oof. Kana's little speech here already makes me so soft and knowing how it's going to be utterly spat upon in just a moment by Kaburagi's callousness towards her just makes it hurt even more. We continually see reference to this supposed good relationship between Kana and Kaburagi during this episode and so knowing that he's ultimately just another shitty adult taking advantage of her clear desperation… masaya kaburagi when i see you it's on sight

This is also a really fantastic character moment for Aqua, I think. He himself says he's done everything he needed to do on set, so there's no need for him to start shit like he does. It's purely out of respect and fondness for Kana as a person and anger on her behalf as a fellow actor. For as much as Aqua likes to convince himself he's a coldhearted bastard, he really just cannot help himself when it comes to leaping in and helping people. He's a lot like Ai in that once somebody has his heart, he's theirs for good.

i also just have to fucking Scream at this cut of him. it hit me like a fucking TRUCK when this episode dropped. because it doesn't quite look like the equivalent panel of the manga, does it?

But doesn't it feel super familiar, even so? Doesn't it remind you of something? I wonder wh-

OSHI NO KO ANIME STAFF, WHEN I GET YOU!!!!!! (ENRAGED) (POSITIVE)

[utopiastri]

Fic Writer Interview!!!

tagged by @1425fivefive (forever ago, whoops!) and @miamimaiden

(this was such a funny ask game bc i did mostly end up discussing my F1 fics but I also have a Number of musicals fics on my ao3 so those do also crop up in my answers lmao)

How many works do you have on AO3?

10 in total!!! 4 F1 fics so far though

What's your total AO3 word count?

62,635 apparently (mostly being driven by one of those aforementioned musicals fics lmao)

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

who actually texts people this much (3,076) (again. the musicals fic)

you must like me for me (646)

tell me 'bout the first time you saw me (508)

you're always on my team (464)

and i'll learn how to fly (253)

ok other than the obvious outlier at the top, i'm thrilled that my four F1 fics are the ones that have made it into the top 5 because they are undeniably the ones i'm proudest of right now

insane to me how many people have liked you're always on my team!!! i was a little nervous about posting my first chaptered fic in a while and i'm so happy it got such a lovely reception

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

yes!!! oh my god i love responding to comments as much as i love leaving comments myself!!!

the only thing with this is that i do find myself forgetting to actually put time aside in my day to do it!!! so sometimes, about two weeks after i read a comment and internally squealed about it, i'll go "oh FUCK i didn't reply that comment" and sprint to my laptop

so, uh, if you've ever received a late comment reply from me? now you know why lmao

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

oh god um. none of them? i guess the one abandoned fic on my ao3 account (a she-ra fic from 2018 lmao) has the angstiest ending by virtue of the fic not being finished and no resolution being reached lmao

but genuinely i don't think i could ever write a fic with an angsty ending!!! i think at best i could plot an angty ending??? or maybe write a drabble or something??? but honestly, i really struggle reading angsty endings so it would be a rogue move to write one lmao

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

ooooooo excellent question

honestly any of my finished F1 fics probably work but i think i'll go with you must like me for me! truly one of my favourite brands of happy ending is a reciprocated love confession and (not to spoil the fic lmao) that might be one of my favourite ones i've ever done!

Do you write crossovers?

nope!!!

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

oooo once upon a time i received a comment on that musicals fic, who actually texts people this much, that was fairly harsh on the writing??? the worst part was enough time had passed since i'd written the fic and i'd honestly reached the part of the writing cycle where i hated everything about it so i almost agreed with the commenter lmao

even today, i think the critique was accurate! but perhaps not a polite/kind thing to comment on someone's fic lmao

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i'm trying to!!! i haven't posted any yet

i am terrible at describing things (including like. physical movement) so, so far, any smut i've attempted to write has been fairly dialogue-heavy!!! but honestly that's generally my taste in smut so i think this tracks

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

nope!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

that musicals texting fic has been translated somewhere on the internet! one of my friends in uni dug it up lmao

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

never co-written before! i am a huge fan of brainstorming fics with my friends though! either their fics or mine - i just love the collaboration of it all!!!

What's your all-time favorite ship?

god this is difficult!!! my taste in ships moves around all the time to be honest

ok for F1, it's fairly easy - landoscar do unfortunately possess my entire heart and there is very little i can do about that lmao

other than that? i do have to mention how much i still adore the les mis pairing enjolras/grantaire because i did spend a good portion of my teenage years thinking about them and only them lmao

and i spent many a year in steve/bucky from the mcu hell so i guess it's important that that goes on here too!

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

so many!!! in particular though, i would love to one day finish the first ever landoscar fic i ever worked on (the idea was that oscar and lando are friends with benefits but, through miscommunication shenanigans, have somehow never kissed lmao)

i think i'd just really enjoy the full circle moment of getting to finish that first wip!

What are your writing strengths?

dialogue!!! dialogue my beloved! my favourite thing i have ever written is the unreciprocated love confession scene in you must like me for me - writing a dramatic not-argument/discussion was just so tailored to my strengths of writing dialogue and not much else lmao

there's a reason i'm having so much fun with you're always on my team! and it's because what is a texting fic if not a fic made only of dialogue!!!

What are your writing weaknesses?

description!!!!!! tell me 'bout the first time you saw me was a delight to write but truly i don't know if i could do a first meeting fic again because trying to work out how a stranger would describe oscar piastri was a NIGHTMARE

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

as someone who can only speak english, i simply don't have a good enough understanding of any other language to do it without defaulting to like. terrible google translate

i think it can be fun to read though!!! it depends what effect the author is going for tbh

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

...glee (i wasn't even that into glee!!! my two best friends at the time were though so i wrote a couple things i thought they'd enjoy lmao)

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

galex!!! i don't know if i could do it but i really really want to one day - if only because my girlfriend's sister adores them and i think it would be fun to write something for her!

although i have also been pondering gax a lot with @jusst-you-race!!! so maybe i should throw gax in here too

What's your favorite fic you've written?

you must like me for me undoubtedly. it's the most complete fic i think i've ever written in that there's a clear plot with a clear resolution and, as i said earlier, that unreciprocated love confession/first kiss scene is genuinely my favourite thing i have written of anything ever!!!

it was also the first fic i'd posted in nearly 6 years!!! and i'm so glad i felt happy enough with it to share it because i've just had the most wonderful time in this fandom since doing so!!!

i cannot for the life of me remember who has done this so no pressure tagging @ipleadbritney and @jusst-you-race and anyone else who wants to do this!!!

[littleclownopinions]

Why the Funtime Animatronics are terrifying

Content Warning: Mentions of child murder

My last post was a design analysis of Ballora in which I talked about all the reasons I find her so haunting. I had a lot of fun writing it and so I thought, why not do it for the rest of the Funtimes? Although I will be mentioning her, I wont be going into much detail, so if you want to check out the full post you can do so here. Otherwise, I want to take a look at each animatronic, going over their aesthetic design as well as their blueprints, voice lines and gameplay mechanics to explain why I love them and maybe share some theories too. I will be annotating the blueprints as I understand the small text could be hard to read. So, without further ado, let's get into it!

Funtime Foxy

"A performance was demanded of me, and now I have delivered! Encore!"

Keeping in mind the whole Circus theme, I think Foxy most closely resembles a Ringmaster. The shape of his torso, the red in his bowtie and the loud booming voice we hear in UCN sells that for me. I think my favourite thing about this iteration of Foxy is how alive he looks. It's not everyday we get a Foxy that is so shiny and new! Now, Funtime Foxy's blueprints are pretty easy to understand but there are two interesting things to note. The first is that section D directs the reader to "Circus Baby dir07" meaning the remote activation of his floor anchor is controlled by her. The second is his size, he is the shortest and the lightest of the four. All in all, Funtime Foxy isn't the most intimidating of the bunch, I'd say despite the sharp teeth he actually looks quite cute and friendly. However, there's a reason for that. Funtime Foxy wasn't made to kill, he was made to lure. He, like Ballora, was created to help keep guests entertained to distract them away from Funtime Freddy and/or Circus Baby, the two animatronics big enough to store the bodies of the victims, the two designed to kill. Although Funtime Foxy doesn't speak in SL, his UCN voice lines all relate to him performing. His UCN gameplay also sees the player keeping track of showtime, the player being jump scared if they aren't watching his stage once the time ticks over. Again, Funtime Foxy is an entertainer, luring guests to his stage to keep attention away from Circus Baby and Funtime Freddy when their.. other services are needed.

Funtime Freddy

"Bon-Bon, Say hi to our friends!"

Again with the Circus theme, I think Funtime Freddy resembles a Magician. He has the black bowtie, the top hat and he even has a little bunny friend, Bon-Bon! Although, I don't think Freddy can pull him out of his hat.. Honestly, I think he is kind of adorable, especially with his little hand puppet Bon-Bon at his side, but his blueprints are where things start to get more ominous. Ignoring the glaringly obvious child body inside Freddy's stomach, each section gives us something pretty intriguing. Bon-Bon allows him to essentially have eyes on the back of his head, while he himself can mimic voices and keep track of how close his victim is. As mentioned above, I think Funtime Freddy is one of the two killer animatronics, alongside Circus Baby. However, Funtime Freddy raises some questions. Why is he significantly smaller than Circus Baby? Does he have the same claw inside his stomach? Well, I believe that he probably does have the same claw, but because he doesn't need space for the internal ice cream dispenser or the air hose attachment like Circus Baby has, he has no need to be as big. Afterall, he has Bon-Bon and his voice mimicking feature to lure kids in! If you yourself have a different theory, please feel free to let me know!

Circus Baby

"You won't die, but you'll wish you could."

Everybody's favourite little (huge) Jester, Circus Baby, isn't really one that needs much explanation from me. We all know what she looks like and we all know what she's capable of. Despite her blueprints wanting you to believe she is totally innocent, her voice lines and minigame tell us a different story. What I want to explore is why she was designed to look like a Jester. For those who aren't aware, Jester's privilege is the ability and right of a Jester to talk and mock freely without being punished. In a way, Jesters were free to question and mock the King because of this privilege. We know Circus Baby was modelled after Elizabeth Afton, but maybe she was also designed as a Jester to signify Elizabeth's place beside her father, William Afton, and how she would often disobey (question/mock) her father's orders, the way she did when Circus Baby killed her. Her being the tallest, most powerful animatronic and having remote control over functions inside Funtime Foxy and Ballora also serves to remind us how important she is. Just food for thought. Anyway, I love Circus Baby because I think her lore is incredibly interesting, but I also simply love her design. She was so unlike anything we'd ever seen before in the franchise and she really breathed new life into the story.

Overall, I think the Funtimes are really fascinating because they were so unlike anything that came before them. The idea of Circus Baby's Pizza World was so different and this was the first time we saw animatronics that were undeniably created for the purpose of killing. By the time of Pizzeria Simulator we also found out about the scooper being used to experiment with Remnant. Sister Location is, to this day, one of my favourite FNAF games and I will never forget the feeling I got watching the opening cutscene, seeing the secret ending to Circus Baby's minigame or even seeing Ennard through the Scooping Room window. I am really excited to see what comes from the upcoming release of Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2 and I can't wait to write more design analysis posts and theories of some of my other favourites from across the franchise!

[gemsofgreece]

Η ΦΟΝΙΣΣΑ (The Murderess): A film review

My cinecritic side greets you again! This time I watched The Murderess, (only!) half a year after its release. I had to watch this one because it is based on my favourite Greek book, written by Alexandros Papadiamantis, which is also one of the most acclaimed Greek stories.

I knew that the movie would be underwhelming compared to the book because there was not any chance a movie could match it. Therefore it was unsurprising that I had this watered down response to it. It is a good movie, it has several merits. If you have read the book however, you tend to focus on the drawbacks and those are very prominent.

My biggest issue was the understandable choice to make adjustments to the story, in order to fill it some more, because the original is a short story. Reasonable, yet the adjustments made were in my opinion poorly thought out for several reasons.

PROS:

The cinematography is amazing. I also liked the camera work. Congratulations to Eva Nathena, very neat job. Very haunting atmosphere, great scenery chosen. We need more creative direction in Greek movies, so this was refreshing. However, I have some criticism about it too, below.

The elements of the folk culture and the architecture were beautiful and very interesting. The movie in general is stylized (in an appropiate way) and I have no problem with this at all. Nathena's first profession is actually costume designer, so her attention to detail makes total sense.

The score is imposing and appropriately used.

Karabeti has the leading role. Obviously, the acting is great. I will say that I had imagined Frankogiannou different in my mind, even less refined or, idk less agile?, but that doesn't mean her approach is not valid.

Okay this is silly but it was a long time since I read the book and that moment when Frankogiannou says to her daughter "Σα σ' ακούω, θυγατέρα", a reference to her favourite catchphrase, it brought back the memory I had forgotten and I nearly cheered!

I did not like the liberties taken in the screenplay but I LOVED Maria Protopappa as Frankogiannou's mother. This character does not exist in the book but I don't care, she was amazing. Honestly she doesn't do all that much but her presence, so DORIC so STERN so SCARY. A perfect portayal of an abusive, misogynistic mother. I don't know, she was chilling, unpopular opinion but somehow I liked her more than Karabeti. Of course I acknowledge Karabeti's part was a lot harder.

Protopappa as Frankogiannou's mother, facing the camera.

CONS:

I already praised the cinematography, right? Yes, it was good but I would appreciate it more if the story actually took place in Mani! The story however takes place in Skiathos, not Mani! Whereas the choice to film such a dark story in an ominous place like Mani seems fitting, the true challenge would be to bring it to life in a happy looking place like Skiathos, where it is supposed to have happened after all. In short, the scenery fits the story but it was also a cheap trick to avoid making the direction more challenging. If foreign followers read this, Nathena in short said "I have a very dark movie to direct so I'll shoot it in this place

so I will avoid filming it in its original place which looks like this:"

I mean, the scenery looked awesome but you get what I mean? Moreover, my point is that she removed a lot of the realism from the movie - the scenery looks so gloomy, the people are so pensive, it kind of creates a type of dystopia where the Murderess's tale is just another part of it and not a shocking outlier.

[this paragraph contains spoilers]Which brings me to the second point. For anyone who doesn't know, the Murderess was written in 1903 by Alexandros Papadiamantis, a man, and it is one of the very first feminist literary works quite possibly on an international level. The way the inequality against women is portrayed in the book is so... novel and unique and genius and groundbreaking for its time and even for today, that I loathed to see it getting a coating of the standard contemporary mass feminist perspective. Because on its own, it was in my opinion far more successful and piercing. There are a lot of changes made in the film. Essentially, all men are depicted as straight out monsters and the only man who was probably not a monster, the priest, is blind. Get it? As in, blind to the evilness. That level of symbolism, come on, guys. Too much. Furthermore, the movie makes the whole community of the town in some way or another complicit to what is happening. That was horrible in my opinion. Instead of showing how inequality and hardship created an outlier whose mind got in a really bad place, like Papadiamantis did, the movie just creates a whole society of horror, where most everyone is a criminal. What is this, the Lord of the Flies? Men are viewed as problematic in Papadiamantis' book as well but in a more realistic way, some being absent, some being indifferent husbands, some being lazy, some rejoicing in their gender privilege and living expecting everything from women. But in the movie ALL of them are !Spoiler! kin rapists and kin killers??????The fuck?????? Live your myth in Greece, I suppose. [SPOILER] The incident of female infant killing by poor people who had no money to raise and provide a dowry for their daughters was indeed a phenomenon in Greece and elsewhere before the abolition of this custom (as pointed out in the movie credits), maybe it still is in some countries, but I want to believe that it wasn't happening in the way that it happens in this movie. In the movie this town's people are one step away from hiring her as a professional baby killer. Like, that wasn't how it was happening or how often it was happening. They turned a documented crime of the past into a custom?! A person who was suspected to do that did not casually live amongst the rest with their family as if everything was alright. Which is why it is stupid in the film that even though most everybody has asked her help (apparently in this movie they were giving birth everyday to 58259 girls and 0.1 boys), then everyone turns against her and wants her arrested. In short, she was portrayed almost as a scapegoat and I did not like this. It's like abdicating her a lot from her guilt. She is a tragic character indeed but she is not a scapegoat. And in the book the townfolk had no idea what she was doing until it became obvious.

At least a little touch of the extremely heavy, drool-enducing Skiathian dialect Papadiamantis was known for using was greatly missed. Then again there was nothing from Skiathos in this movie whatsoever. Even the folk attire was not Skiathian. It looked like a mix of Peloponnesian and Roumeliote, totally irrelevant. It wasn't even Maniot, I think.

Too. Many. Symbolic. Scenes. It made sense to add them but I mostly enjoyed only the ones with Protopappa.

The acting of the supporting cast was subpar in my opinion. Not bad necessarily but too theatrical for my taste.

So, with all this in mind but also taking into account that someone may watch it without having read the book first, I give it a 7+/10. If you compare it to the book, it must fall to a 6+/10. My recommendation? Watch the movie if you want but read the book ASAP.

[pastafossa]

Hey I just wanted to ask a writer question. I really admire your writing and the amount of work and dedication you put into your stories and characters. You are one of my favourite authors ever. I have been wanting to get into writing and I was wondering how you flesh out your characters? For example you have a character that you’ve thought out, do you have a template that you fill in? Or just write a whole bunch of points about the character in a Google doc? I know that question might not make the most sense but I have a few characters that I’ve given quirks and backstories in my mind but I have no idea how to transfer them onto paper? Like Jane from TRT, is there just a big template or doc where you randomly put points into or some other type of organization? I know it’s not an easy thing to answer on text or even something you might not want to answer but even one sentence of advice is much appreciated :) Thank you so much for everything! I appreciate you. I will also put this into the ask thingy if you want to answer on there instead of PM 😁

I've managed to hammer this out in bits and pieces over the moments I've been more coherent so I think I'll make sense. First, thank you so, so, so much! I honestly love these characters so I'm always happy to hear someone likes it, even if I enjoy the work! 😭

Second - I do in fact have a template in doc form that I use to keep things organized! It's one I've been using since I took a novel writing course years ago by a published author, and in one particular class we went over character development, which is where I learned the template. The way I was taught (and the way I develop major characters) - first, even before filling in the template, I figure out their archetype(s). What story role are they filling? Who will they be a foil for? I like to think of those as your foundation, because every character is an archetype of some kind, and you can use that to build them up. To use Jane as an example, she's an antihero archetype, yes, but I've also pulled elements from: the Unscrupulous Hero, the Sympathetic Murderer, the Combat Pragmatist, and the Ineffectual Loner. Compared to Matt's hero archetype, she's the Lancer. Archetypes can help you if you're struggling to build up from the bottom.

Once I have the archetype, I start filling in the Major Character/Hero template, which roughly looks like this (if you don't fill it all right away, that's fine, because there's a step after this to fill it in the rest of the way). I like this one because I feel like it covers VERY important things that a lot of online character profiles skip, and has much less of a focus on looks (which I find way less important from a writing perspective):

Name: Age: Family History: Career: Physical Description: (include things like scars, notable or unusual features) Preferred Style of Clothing: (instead of listing brands, try to instead describe their style of clothing as it relates to their character - ex: Jane wears upper-end pantsuits in muted colors when meeting clients, because they carry a strong emphasis on professionalism; when hunting things down, she wears what is practical over anything to do with aesthetic) Goal: (every character should have one; what are they trying to do?) Motivation: (WHY do they want that goal?) Big Secret: (if it were Jane, it'd be what happened in Los Angeles; so what are they hiding? Keeping to themselves?) Self-image: (How do they see themselves? Are they confident and secure? Insecure and depressed?) Internal Conflict: (what are they struggling with?) Game: (What's some little game they enjoy?) Pet: (if applicable) Temptation: (what's aaaalways going to lure them in?) Vehicle: (if applicable; alternatively, how do they prefer to get around?) What makes them unique: (our fake post-apocalyptic character we made as a class had his teeth sharpened into points to scare people; Jane is often fidgeting with threads; just anything that stands out) How do they speak: (do they speak very precisely? Use lots of slang? Do they have an accent?) Quote: (What quote sums them up, or what quote do they relate to most? I have an entire folder of these for Jane tbh, and some for Ciro as well) Lesson Learned: (All characters should grow in some way, rather than stagnating. So how do they grow? What do they learn through the story?)

Now, this is something I was encouraged to do after the template, and also something I was already doing on my own. Once you have the template as finished as you feel comfortable with, you might feel like you need to develop the character a little further to fill in the rest, or solidify what you already have. The way you can do that? Write something short with this character. It doesn't have to be anything you need to post; it can be based on a short scene, based on a prompt, things like that. I like dumping them into: humorous scenarios, angsty scenarios, and Action Oriented (TM) scenes. Those really help you get into the meat of the character (aka: how they react to teasing/flirting/jokes; how they react to strong emotion; how they react in situations that might cause panic). Basically, it's your way of introducing yourself to them and becoming more comfortable writing them, because often a character might act a certain way in a cold, rigid template, but behave entirely differently once you drop them into a scene. Alternatively, you might get to writing and realize you need to make an adjustment so that they have better chemistry with the other characters. Writing a new character's a dance, and you're both going to step on each other's toes in the beginning, but once you learn how they move, it gets easier. And it helps them develop and grow as you learn about them!

[fifteensjukebox]

tagged by @amidalleia tysm!!💖

last song: winning by emily haines & the soft skeleton has been in my head and i have whatever a photographic memory but for music is called so i think it counts. i was trying to figure out the change in timing starting about a minute into the song and my memory wasn't good enough to figure it out, and i think the last song i actually listened to was wet blanket by metric (emily's band) in the car yesterday. what can i say i love her! (the update is that I tossed this post into my drafts earlier and i have now actually listened to winning and almost figured out what she's doing but i'll have to discuss with my music theory-knowing brother)

favourite color: turquoise/mint/teal/sage/cool amethysty purples/the denim blue VW car colour (my beloved first car was a vw beetle we called lulu so that colour is now lulu blue in my house à la dodie yellow)

currently watching/reading:

rewatching btvs and angel mid s4/s1 respectively while showing it to my mom and brother for the first time! it's taking ages but we're having the best time

gilmore girls - (late mid s3) first watch w my parents! there's so much i know from here and so much i don't but i know i love jess

grey's anatomy - watched s1-17 with my family a few years ago (begrudgingly at first bc i so did not want to watch a medical show. and sooo long! but it really is that good (sometimes)) & have been watching weekly as it airs since, but we just caught up on the first bit of the current season yesterday bc i didn't realize it was back. and i love the new class of interns so much we are SO BACK

not dead yet - the only show i'm currently watching by myself week to week as it airs and of course my favorite character is the white man i hate it here... i do love the women too though!!

doctor who 12th doctor rewatch but i stopped like a month ago in the middle of the episode before the cybermen plot starts bc it's just going to break my heart to lose bill for a third time. but i miss them! missy most of all so i will get to it soon

i'm not really reading anything at the moment but i have a couple audiobooks on hold at the library (yeah this is jenny's answer exactly but it applies!)

relationship status: single and i don't go out enough so i doubt it'll change anytime soon

sweet/savory/spicy: i want to say sweet bc i loooove sugar but i add salt to everything lately, i even added it to a rice krispie square the other day, so....

current obsessions:

also still nancy drew forever and always, but honestly i don't have a fandom hyperfixation atm! it's all about furniture shopping.... i'm looking for a small chair/stool for my bedroom desk, and a bigger table to go with my living room big chair so i can have my laptop/food/whatever else i want bc i seem to spend most of my time here

and emily haines/metric music (lately i haven't been listening to much me after 2007, but i love the more recent stuff just as much!

last thing you googled: something about the st vincent rock&roll hall of fame exhibit bc i'd seen a clip about it on someones story but i couldn't find the full video (still haven't)

no-pressure tags: @redheadedbrunette @apolloamy @godofsmallthings @jemhowling @acafemmeic @electrictouchfeaturingfalloutboy @coldnightairinmylungs & anyone else who wants to! i love these sm

[humankk]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

@floofanflurr tag me it is time, it is my duty (it's really not)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Let me count. ... ... 3

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

25,257... woah

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Undertale...

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. Bonk! (good name, I know, 57 kudos, I am so proud)

2. They're trying (They sure are! look at them)

3. Now I kind of want some ice cream (...yeah)

4. I only have three

5. help me

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yesssss..... well, most of the time, but I like answering comment...

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I, don't know? I have like three and two are oneshot that's happy and another is unfinished but probably would also be happy

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

the Bonk one? Like... kinda?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really, people are polite these days... my dear commentors are a delight... for now(???Is this foreshadowing something?????)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

...Not, here.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I have not! But I wanted to, and is wanting to... there is one that's like Undertale and My hero crossover that I have been planning (read, throwing plot in a document that hasn't been opened for at least 3 months now) for since like... 2-3 years ago, I want to throw Eri in the hole (cmon, someone gotta do it, child with time power she fits the theme!)

Mx. Floof also talked about cross fic crossover... I kinda want to do that too, but like... maybe after I get the fic to a point where I established more lore first, and character, and. things.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope! ...I don't think so! ... I would probably be a bit happy if my fic is good enough to be stole but also please don't do it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope! Not yet... I could probably translate some to Thai but I, as a Thai person, honestly don't know how to pronouns... in Thai, for the NB characters that is... mostly, for the other characters too, I don't think I could replicate all caps Papyrus does because we just don't have capital letters so the closest thing I could do is add a lot of exclamention marks. Which... uhh... yeah.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not really! Sounds fun though.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Hm, I haven't think about that, that or I forgot (<-aromantic) Alphyne is nice, canon one and stuffs, Soriel is nice too.... I honestly don't really have a lot of opinion on ships as long as it isn't like, the horrible ones(tm) just... if they're happy then that's cool, good for them (both the characters and the readers and authors)

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

The MHA crossover... okay not really like EVER but like, as you can see I haven't touched it for months, it'll probably be in... a while (I planned on it being like, long, and the story plan haven't even got past Snowdin like, linearly) I guess the other fics are like, oneshots I do in a meantime for fun (then They're Trying happened... as a oneshot, and I suddenly wanted to continue it so I guess they're getting to the surface now... like eventually) Oh OH! There's also the immortal Vampire child Chara thing... I want to do that, but a lot of thing isn't really planned enough to make yet probably... and I don't think if I do it it'll be a fic? Maybe I'll do a comic... or an askblog... that would be fun... but it sounds like a lot of work............

16. What are your writing strengths?

Not sure, maybe internal dialogue?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

P A C I N G and making it clear what's going on... probably (helps me with Pacing, the speed is all over the place sometimes I just speedrun sometimes I hyperfocus on a timeframe... or maybe that's okay, I don't know)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I have thought of... writing a fic where it's just Undertale but Frisk talks in Thai and they just, know dogshit about English, that would be fun... though you probably won't know what's going on and I probably can't do the whole internal dialog thing with them and.... pronouns... and also the alphabeth looks like อย่างงี้ so you probably can't even READ it, I can't really decide if I should type it in english in what it SOUNDS like? but then you can't throw it in google translate to know what they're talking about? and I also don't want people to HAVE to throw it in google translate to know what's going on? ...maybe I should stole the intent reading thing from Floof, that would probably helps a bit... making it Chara's pov and they just have to read Frisk's intent and emotion to figure out what they're trying to say, maybe they can send some back to helps them communicate with the monsters... or something

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Undertale, if I has wrote any before it's not in English and I don't remember it

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

...I love all of them, Bonk is fun and is kinda like my start... They're Trying is like... the current one I am very attached to, since it's the only multichapter one

tags?

...well I don't know, just whoever see this, that writes that is, I am sure there aren't a lot, my usual mutual mostly... it's like 3am in US now I don't want to tag now okay? but yeah if you see this feel free to do it I want to read those I might like... study it under a microscope or something (...what?)

[some-pers0n]

I don't know how to really properly put it into words, but I feel like Peril is more deserving of the role of disfiguring Scarlet than Glory.

I know that sounds ridiculous. Glory spitting at Scarlet is one of, if not THE most iconic scene in the entire series. It's the pay-off of her spending so long pretending to be docile, finally rising up and taking down the DoD's tormentor. I'm not gonna lie either, it's a really neat scene and good catharsis.

But...honestly, I feel it should've been saved for Peril. Hear me out for a moment.

Glory is obviously one of Tui's favourites. I don't think it's even that hard to notice, especially if you yourself aren't the biggest fan of her. I'll probably rant about it in a separate post, but the key here is how Tui has a bias towards Glory.

I bring this up because I feel it already begins to explain why Glory gets this incredible moment out of nowhere. TPD isn't really her book. It's Clay's, with an equal focus on Peril. Glory is more or less relegated to the back for the occasional sarcastic quip before being shelved for tens of thousands of words until she finally attacks.

Let me ask this: why Glory? Why is she the one who does this? Think about it from a narrative sense. Obvious, it's to follow up on Glory and prove that she's not a lazy RainWing and save her friends.

But, I propose this: what if it was Peril instead?

Peril has a significantly stronger connection to Scarlet than Glory ever has. Glory only cares about Scarlet because she captured them and she was forced to sit and look pretty while her friends fought to the death. Peril on the other hand was personally manipulated by Scarlet for years. The reason she's internalized this idea of being a monster is because of Scarlet. All through TPD, Clay has been questioning that. He's been telling her that she's more than a killing machine. She doesn't believe him as she is still stuck in Scarlet's web. Scarlet is always right.

But, betrayal. Kestrel is revealed to be her mother and everything begins to fall apart. Emotions are high as Peril tries to fight to save Kestrel, but is paired up with Clay. She doesn't want to do this. So many feelings and thoughts are bombarding her.

In this moment, she's pulled in so many different directions. She doesn't want to kill Clay, but she has to in order to save Kestrel. She SHOULD kill Clay regardless, that's her entire purpose. No, she isn't that. She shouldn't be. She's more than that. Everyone is looking at her. She's doing nothing but arguing and crying with Clay about it. Do something!

Then, Scarlet speaks. She berates her for taking too long, insisting that she's a monster. She reaffirms that is what Peril will always be. Peril will forever be Scarlet's champion, an entertainer and nothing more.

That is the breaking point. In one, impulsive, rash, and quick decision, she roars back at Scarlet. She flies up in a split second, going straight for her neck. She slashes her up good, pressing down her burning talons against her face, melting and warping her face in the progress.. It feels good. She feels happy. Hurting a dragon has never felt more relieving in her life.

Burn and her group fly away in fear. In a frenzy, everyone else flees. Peril realizes what she's done when she believes she killed Scarlet and is overwhelmed by emotions. Clay tries to comfort her, but she backs away and flies off into the distance.

I dunno. I feel I would've preferred that more. It would blend more into her reappearance in TBN and eventual book. She is now struggling and hurting because she's the one who has to carry the blame. She is even more of a monster now. What kind of dragon hurts their adoptive mother like that? Trauma and whatnot.

I just feel like Glory and her character doesn't really do much with how she's the one who disfigures Scarlet. Peril would've been a better fit in my opinion.