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hauntedfictionland · 7 months ago

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❝Forbidden pursuits❞

☾︎✰❛❀ Gwayne hightower x Fem! Reader x Alicent hightower

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: You, a Cole of Stormlands and one of the ladies in waiting, had been indulged with the green queen for quite a time. It just so happened that her brother came to king's landing and you truly realised the beauty of the hightowers. Something that could get you in tremendous trouble.

𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐬/𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Sexual themes, kissing, jealousy, homophobia, mentions of patriarchy and death, class differences and slightly possessive behaviour.

🪐𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬: I had this idea as soon as I saw hotd season two. I mean, I've never done a writing where reader was interested in two characters at once, but there's a first time for everything I guess. And this turned out to be more of a alicent x reader fic, than a gwayne/alicent fic I realised as I kept writing it, but here it is! And yes, I quoted Bridgerton.

You were soaking in bliss.

One of her hands cupped your cheeks, her thumb lazily running circles around them as her other held your waist tightly. Like you would run away and never come back. She always did that, holding you in her grasp so closely, like she couldn't get close enough, as though you both could become one. Alicent Hightower, or rather, the queen, was unable to do anything under your touch, she went so weak and you didn't even know it.

You first met her after the tourneys, after your brother defeated the rogue prince. She had already seen your brother, but stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes fell on you, so beautiful as you talked with Criston inside the castle walls. Her chest bundling up with feelings that were improper and forbidden for a lady. Especially when it came to another one. After her unfortunate marriage, she did become close with your brother—but you? avoided as if you were the plague. To her, you were always a forbidden thing. Something she can never have.

Or rather never allow herself to have.

But after the infamous engagement night of princess Rhaenyra and ser Laenor, as she saved ser Criston, all she could think about was you. If your brother was banished or hanged, you would be heartbroken. And also, your reputation will also be ruined, she felt this need to protect you—to keep you close to her. And you would probably move away. Considering all of them, she saved the life of your brother.

Afterwards, she allowed herself to interact with you, convincing herself that it was only right that she gets to know his family after doing such a huge favour for him. Refusing to even the thought that it was all just an excuse to see you. And yet, she found herself staring at your lips as you spoke, having the urge to grab you and kiss them so strong it scared her. You scared her. All these things, these horrifying feelings she felt, how out of control her mind because at just your mere presence? well she could already imagine the look on her father. Of disgust.

Especially when Criston started talking to you about marriage, to have a lord from a suitable house be betrothed to you. He had thought Alicent would be thrilled about that idea as he proposed it, now that he had her favour. Little did he know she was nowhere near happy about it. You, who held her fragile heart in your hands without even knowing it, you, who made her skin shiver at even the mere thought of you—you, who was the bane of her existence yet the object of all her very desires. You.

How could she let anyone else steal you and your heart?

She let your brother on, avoiding the subject as long as she could. After all she was being selfish. You were probably nothing like her, you must fawn over knights and lords. Dream of marrying one. You would never share her— those absurd feelings she refused to ever acknowledge. There was no point in keeping you close to her. Until that night took place.

The night you kissed her.

You and her had been sitting in her bed in her private chambers, eating dinner and talking all the gossips about the castle. With you, she felt like a young girl she used to be with Rhaenyra. She had just put baby Helena to bed, well the maids did, but she watched. She never really knew how to take care of her children, when she felt like a child herself.

But with you, there was peace, happiness and a bubbling feeling in her chest. This was the sole moment between you and her, just alone in the comforts of her chamber. This felt oddly intimate to her, but she was sure it was nothing like that to you or any other ordinary lady who liked spending time with friends. She remembers it so well.

“And” you speak, barely able to control your laughter, “her baby looked quite like the Ser Arthur might I add, instead of her husband. She didn't even deny that when I asked.”

Alicent smiles, her chest bundling with joy at the sight of you laughing. She loved seeing you happy, the curve of your jaw and the lashes of your eyes, they were strangely so perfect. Everything about you aligned all so perfectly, she wondered if you even knew. If she herself even knew how much she craved you.

“Your grace?” she hears you speak out, snapping out of her momenterlly thoughts containing you, “are you listening?”

A frown appeared on her face. You had never called her by her name. Always so formal. She never objected since she felt the eyes of her father's little birds everywhere, and it would be inappropriate for one to think that the queen was giving a companion this much liberty. Especially when that companion just so happened to be a lady. But right now? this moment was just yours and hers.

“You can call me Alicent.” She says, a bare softness in her tone, “I tend to believe we are close friends now.

You formed an ‘oh’ shape in your lips, slowly and hesitantly nodding. She waited, to hear those words out of you. To see how her name would sound like from your mouth.

“Okay, Alicent.”

Gods, it was heaven. Her eyes widened, a quick hitch escaping her. You..said her name? and it sounded so sweet, so pure coming from you. Like she has just gotten something she didn't know she had been craving and aching for until now. If heaven existed, it was you for her.

She couldn't help herself before words came spilling out of her mouth, “Say it again.” your eyes widen, a bit overwhelmed and shook. It seemed she herself was surprised at her own request, but didn't convey any further. You gulped, unknowingly a shiver coming down your spine. This felt...close and personal. This felt forbidden.

“....Alicent.”

“Again.”

Your head looks up at her, “I.... Alicent?”You see her sigh, her chest heaving. You notice there's a bite of the stew you both ate a few minutes ago, on her lips. Without thinking, you reach out your hand, her breath hitches as your thumb brushes against her lower lip. You got caught in a haze, your thumb slowly lingering a bit longer than it should. Her eyes, brown and wide, stared at you with a look you couldn't quite figure out. All you knew was that your heart was beating faster than ever, moonlight striking on her beautiful face as the winds seemed to slow down. You did not know what came to you, when your head leaned in so close to her's, your foreheads touching.

And your lips softly brushed against hers.

It was slow at first, but you got the steady—ness you needed when she moved her lips against yours. That she did not pull away, with a disgusted look. If you had kissed her before she had gotten married, perhaps she would have. But at this moment? when she was mother to two and in a marriage with a man twice her age, she wouldn't let go of any chance of happiness. Of love. Of her truest desires. You. She grabbed your neck, pulling you even closer with a surprising desperation and ache. Humming quietly as she felt the taste of your lips, pink and rosemary. It was so, better, and softer compared to Viserys. It was everything she wanted. Needed.

After that day, she told you—or rather asked for you to stay by her side. That she'd make you one of her ladies—in—waiting. It was surprising, that Alicent wanted you all the time after the very moment you both shared. Because of the fact that she used to go to the sept every day after seeing you, praying to the gods for them to rid her of this feeling, this sin. The one she felt every time she saw you. But after that kiss? how could it be wrong if it felt all so right?

So you stayed. And she took it as a blessing. Took you as one. Because to her, you were.

And now there you are, tangled in each other after all these years. It had been a few weeks, since her husband's death. Yet she felt more free than ever before.

You had been laying beside her in her bed, only the sheets covering both your bodies. She turned to look at you, pupils expanding at the sight of you. Alicent nestled her face in the crook of your neck, as you felt a blush rise up your cheeks. This—even after all the chaos of the court and her children, this was heaven.

“Y/N?” you heard her muffled voice speak up, tilting your chin to get a better look.

“Hmm?”

She peaked her head up, the sunlight and its rays coming up to reflect on both of you, the morning was still early and it was her most favourite part of the day. Because you were there, wrapped up in her. Alicent's fingers traced up from your jaw to your cheeks and eventually settling on to caress your forehead and eye brows. She was always so attentive and gentle in how she took care of you, as if you were her most prized possession. She wondered how a breathing living soul could have this much power over her.

“I—” she hesitates, not because she's unsure but because she's afraid you are, “I love you.”

Your eyes blow wide open, lips parting. Of course, it was evident you both cared and lusted for each other, but love? you did feel a brewing in your chest every time you saw your brother looking at her with loving eyes, or her smiling at him in return. And perhaps a sick yet joyous feeling in your chest as she would kiss your cheek while baby Aegon or Aemond had been playing in your lap years ago. A swelling feeling of something you did know would only result in heartbreak.

She was the queen, the very queen of the seven kingdoms. While you came from a steward's house with no land or title to yourself.

And now she was telling you she shared your love? that she was in love with you? No. It couldn't happen. You were a woman, and so was she. Even if that boat sailed a long time ago, it still did not change the fact that this was wrong and frowned upon in so many ways. You could even be beheaded, hanged or much worse. Besides, she doesn't mean it. How could she? you were you, while she was everything. Even if she's saying it now, when she comes out of the daze, she'll regret every thing she said.

“I—no!” you get up, shrinking away from her embrace. Alicent follows your movement, a sudden fear and heartache in her eyes. “I..I can't do that.”

“Do what? Y/N, I'm sorry if I upsetted you—”

You interrupt her, harshly, “No!” your chest becomes heavy, breathing ragged. “You have no idea what you're saying and I...I will never share the same feelings.”

Suddenly you regret saying that, saying anything. Because she has a pool of tears forming in her eye lids.

You realise it is because of you. Of course that was a lie, you loved her more than you thought possible. Alicent Hightower had your heart the moment you had seen her, but now? You had possibly lost the best thing of your life. All because of insecurity. You just did not know how much you really did mess up, until it becomes too late. Hightowers don't let anyone get away with hurting them, you should have known that. Especially when another one was about to come in your life.

It had been a month and twelve days since you had not talked to Alicent.

So much had happened in that time. Aegon's son, Jahaerys, a baby, was executed while in his sleep. A period of mourning followed. She did not come to you once, instead being cold to her own son and preferring the company of your brother instead. You knew that when he was made the hand of the king, they both sitting together and even smiling at hallways.

Maybe you were being paranoid, but it was well deserved after what you had done.

However, the aftermath of the little boy's death, and speculation of it being Rhaenyra's hand, Aegon came to you. He knew you since he was a little baby, and saw you as a second mother. Perhaps you were more than Alicent was. He cried, confided how nobody in his council understands him—how his own mum doesn't acknowledge or understand his grief. You knew Alicent had a hard time with Aegon out of all her children, she saw him as all her failed dreams and ambitions. It was wrong. But you didn't blame her. You had seen what happened to her.

You offered him comfort, after what he had been through, it was the least you could offer. Also perhaps because you felt a tinge of guilt after everything that had happened with Alicent and you.

With Aemond, you adored the boy when he was a kid. He was sensitive and kind. That's what you loved the most about him. But, as years passed, with the driftmark incident and now, the stormlands one, he was completely unrecognisable. Cold, sharp and quiet. That's how he was. You did not know how to even approach him, he was smart, and everytime Alicent and you were in his presence, he was always watching attentively. Much like Otto. You did not want more reasons for Alicent to be angry with you any longer.

Much in your thoughts, you did not realise Criston speaking until he shook your arm. You snapped up to him, as he chuckles.

“Wish me luck?” he says, you are suddenly remembered where he was to go. Rook's rest with a pack of king's guards. You wanted him to be well, and alive, of course you did. Yet the small smile you gave couldn't help but be slightly forced.

“Of course,” your head lies low, biting your lip, “I wish you luck and for no harm to come to you, brother.”

Looking around, all the knights were either walking somewhere or getting their armour and suit dressed up. This could be dangerous as well as harming. Capturing rook's rest, the black queen might send one of her dragons. And Criston would be there to face the burn. Your chest tightened at the thought, you did not want your brother to be harmed let alone die.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see her, Alicent walking towards your direction. Your breath hitches, looking upwards of an excuse to leave but it's too late; she's already in front of your brother. Not even glancing at you.

“Your grace” he greets, as you cursty in response. She didn't spare you a single look. A bitter taste in your mouth formed at that.

“Ser Criston” Alicent looks at him, a glint in her eyes “may the seven guide you, good knight. And lead you not into shadow and death.”

There's an unspoken tension between them, as you look back and forth in—between the two. It was eating you away, like a knot grew further. Was there something there? even the thought made you want to scream. He thanked her for her prayers, and she turned away. You thought that was the end of it, before he called out to her. Requesting that she grant him her favour. That her lord commander may go into battle with her blessings in her heart.

“What are you doing?” you quietly hissed.

Alicent did not do anything, but as she saw your reaction, perhaps that changed her mind. She had a very light smirk, as she walked towards him. Your eyes widened as she took out a hanky, letter A engraved on it. You saw the whole interaction, their hands touching as he received it with a smile. You were...you didn't know what you were. All you knew was that you'd vomit if you watched a second more. You turn away, tears bubbling in your eyes as you walked away. You didn't see where you were going, only that you needed to be as far away as possible.

Until you bumped into someone.

“For god's sake!” a man with an accent of old town yelps out.

He was a knight. He was handsome, tall and sluggish. Light brown haired just like Alicent. You looked down to see hightower symbol at the centre of his armour. It dawned on you, he was Gwayne Hightower. Otto Hightower's oldest son. He was Alicent's brother. What truly concerned you was that you noticed the freckles on his cheeks to nose, the alignment of his jaw and the colour of his eyes. He was quite gorgeous.

“I apologize, my lord. I did not know where I was heading.”

Gwayne looks you up and down, lips pursued in a thin line as though he was trying to figure you out. His head tilted, and somehow you found the act more attractive than you should.

“The mistake was mine, my lady. I should have seen it from a mile ago.” he says, quite charmingly, “Although I do wonder, I did not catch your name. You see it's daily you see a beautiful woman when you're heading to a battlefield.”

A giggle escapes you, not knowing a pair of eyes that were on you.

“Why thank you, my lord.”

You smile, a genuine one. “I am...well I'm..” you knew the hightowers were quite upset at the revelation of your brother being named hand. It was a revenge scheme against Otto, but you were happy he got the chance. If he were to find out you were a Cole, perhaps he won't like you. But, why were you worried whether he likes you or not? a turmoil forms in your head, hands coming over to clasp themselves. You started in the only way you believed would be appropriate.

“I would first like to apologise for the late dismissal of your father, the formal lord hand. He served three kings very well.” you clear your throat, “I know it must feel, well, surprising and sort of a tiny betrayal. My brother was the least expectant candidate for the role.”

His mouth opens at the realisation, lips parting. He looked like he wanted to speak his mind, but stopped. Nodding modestly.

“I appreciate your kind words, Lady Cole.” he didn't fail to mention the disappointment in his tone. Although, a mischievous glint in his eyes was still there. “I do not mean to be rude, but I did not expect you when I thought of Criston Cole's sister.” your eyes furrowed, a frown on your lips. “What did you expect, my lord?”

Your heart quickens as he smiles, he has a beautiful smile. You think.

“I did not expect her to be so....kind hearted and well mannered.”

“Well mannered?” you repeat.

He's quick to respond, “I only meant, you turned out to be much more to my liking than I expected. Perhaps more than I will ever find your brother. But do not tell him that, my lady.”

A laugh escapes your lips, unknown to the very eyes you were so familiar with watching the whole ordeal.

“I wouldn't dream of it, my lord.” your voice was a whisper, eyes brightened. Gwayne had a smile of his own, only disappearing when Alicent called out for him.

“I should take my leave, my lady. A pleasure talking to you.” you watch him nod politely, walking away where Criston and Alicent stood. Suddenly you realised the butterflies in your chest, how taken you were with him. This was bad, very much so. Even if it was only a mere attraction, and what you shared with Alicent was much more—this wasn't good at all.

The night was moonless, only the stars light to keep you company. You liked to walk in the halls of the castle at night time, with no other to judge or peer at. No sounds of hushed and loud whispers, handmaidens running here and there or guards at every center. This was peaceful. Some would say it wasn't secure or safe, but since you hadn't encountered any accidents yet, you did not see a reason to stop. Although the silence left opportunities for thoughts.

You wondered if Gwayne was married. He was a knight, swore an oath of chastity, so probably not. It did not matter to you, all you were was curious. After what happened to Jahaerys, and Alicent focusing on her own family. Her real one—the one she created. You could say you felt a bit left out, she had a whole family of her own, the royal family. While you were no more than her mistress. It felt like a slap to your face, like reality struck down at you with a thousand bolts. You will never be the apple of her eye, her entire focus. You will always be on the sidelines.

As you walked further into the castle, you did not notice a tail of footsteps following behind before it was too late. A hand grabbed your shoulder, slamming you against the wall with much force.

“Ouch!” you hissed in pain, and immediately look forward to who caused it. Your chest tightened, eyes widening. Alicent stood there with both hands on your shoulders.

She lunged in, her lips attaching yours. This was different, a surprise yelp out of you came out muffled. Alicent was desperate in the way she held your waist, her other hand trailing up your neck. She never did this, in a public place where anyone could see. Hell—you, both could die if anyone were to even walk in the same direction. She was bold, harsh and angry. You could feel that in her kiss. Yet there was just a tiny tenderness in the way she caressed the chin of your face.

You gasped as she pulled away, rage in her eyes, and a little something else too, “You were smiling at him like he was about to charm your dress off?” she scoffs, jealousy in her voice. You realised who she hinted at, Gwayne, her brother.

“I—” you're cut off by the sinking feeling of her lips on your neck, softly sucking at your sweet spot, earning a very quiet moan from you. Alicent knew every inch of your body like it was her's, every scar, every burn and every where she knew you would succumb to her mercy.

You hushed, pleading for her to stop as one could see both of you. She did not. Alicent was being unfair, and you knew that. But you could not let her get away with it, not after she had made you feel such burning pain as well. You push her away, just lightly, enough to send her stumbling back on her feet. Eyes red. She had been crying, you notice, now that you had finally seen her clearly. A ache settles in your heart at the realisation. But you shrug it off.

“You can't treat me like I'm your personal girl at a brothel!” you shout in a whisper, as she scoffs. A malice on her tongue, “Well, seeing you making such affections on my brother, perhaps you are no less than any woman who works there.”

Your eyes widened at her implication, shock coming up you. How could she say that? to call you a...whore? You didn't see if Alicent regretted it, you did not give her a chance to before speaking yourself out of pure anger.

“And what if I did have affections for your brother? he is a charming man.”

This wasn't particularly a lie, and that scared you. Just how much of a beautiful man he was, and the way you felt around him.

“What?” her face drops, and you feel just a little satisfaction at seeing that. You both were furious, and unwilling to step down. She gritted her teeth, opening her mouth to say something more cruel but you beat her to it. —“Besides,” you start, your voice bitter, “you yourself share quite some... fondness for my brother, don't you? so why does it matter?”

That made her go quiet. And your heart even dropped more. Did it mean your words held any truth? that she really has caught some feelings for him? You were uncomfortable, very at that. Now you wished you never went for a walk in the first place. How did she even know this? did she follow you? you did not know.

Her eyes softened, “Do you really believe that?”

Before you answered, she sealed your lips with another yearning kiss. Reluctant to pull away as her lips maintained just mildly in contact with your lower lip as she pulled a bit back.

“I only want you, I've only ever wanted you. Not Criston, or anyone else. You. I thought you would have known that by now.”

She was referring to the morning she said those words. When she told you she loved you. Your harsh words, her tears, you start to remember everything. A pang of guilt comes to your chest, all this time you were afraid. Not just of the world, and the consequences, but of her. Alicent Hightower was the most beautiful woman you had ever seen, and she was a highborn, a lady, and eventually the queen. You were nowhere near compared to in terms of social class. A steward's daughter. You had always felt shame in that title. How could anyone love you? how could anyone as magnificent and enduring as Alicent love you? the queen of the seven kingdoms.

“I...” you breathe, unable to speak. It's either now or never. And you decide that Alicent Hightower is too deeply longed in your heart to lose.

“I love you.” Alicent's breath hitches at your sudden confession. Like she cannot breathe. She shakes her head, avoiding your eyes. “no you do not mean that. You can't, you're just saying that to ease my heart.”

You feel pain at her words, that she believed you did not love her. When in fact that's all you've been doing since you saw her. You take a hold of her shoulders, pushing her lips to yours. She gasps at the sudden act, but slowly her hands crept up your shoulders. A tear drops up on your cheek, you realise it's not yours. For the first time, neither of you care about the consequences. What would anyone say? the religion, family, society. You didn't care—not anymore, if you could hold her in your arms again and tell her just how much you love her. And neither did she.

Alicent releases an involuntary moan when your leg comes in between hers. Your knee shifting at her. She pulls away, looking for something. Staring directly into your eyes.

“You really, feel love for me?” she whispers, and you smile, pulling a strand of hair out of her eyes. “I always have. Before I even saw you. Your grace.”

She now has a smile of her own. Pulling you closer by your neck, “Well, then tell me again that you love me. It's your queen's order. And the punishment of rejecting it is fatal.”

You giggle at her words, “Oh is it?” she nods, a blush on both sides of her cheek. “Then how can I refuse? especially when I love you.” Alicent immediately kisses you before you could even finish the words. Hands coming up to cradle your face. This, this was love. You knew where it was going. And you were going to relish in it.

That night, you spend time in the queen's chambers. Filled with love and passion. And lust. You were always Alicent's soft spot. Her weakness, yet her power. And so was she yours. You know you love her. But, Gwayne Hightower? her brother. The thought of him brought dread to you, because of how much pleasure it brought. You didn't love him, but gods, you felt a great attraction towards him. Especially when he smiles. No, you couldn't do that. You had to distract yourself, spend more time with Alicent. The only time he did not come to your mind. Because if you didn't do that, and indulged in his thoughts, now that he was about to come back? well it would bring a great deal of trouble for you.

You knew Hightowers were always trouble.

𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑡, 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑚:) 𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑟𝑒𝑏��𝑜𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑚𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛!

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balimaria · 1 month ago

Text

When it comes to the Chain of Memories novel, there is no shortage of odd lines that hint towards necklace theory and Riku is the light. But today I was looking it over and recalled these two passages which always struck me as VERY odd, even as a firm believer in both these theories. Mostly because... well, these are implying something strange. Something that I've never seen questioned, which is Kairi turning Sora back after he became a Heartless. I mean, why would anyone question it? It was clearly her, right? It's one of the only tangible things she does, which sucks to say. But lets look closer.

To clarify before we begin: I'm perfectly aware the novels are not primary canon. However, they are still canon supplements, so even if I take them with a grain of salt, I still take 'em. In fact, despite what I'll be talking about, I do think it was Kairi who saved Sora in KH1. However, even if it's not something I myself believe, there are just some weird things here I can't help but notice. So lets get into it.

I'd like to focus most on the final lines in each of these passages. Beginning with the first:

"Kairi was the one who told me that. So what is the light for me…? When I turned into a Heartless, the light I saw… That light was…"

This occurs near the start of Sora's journey when Axel first confronts him. You may recall that, in the game (ReCoM, at least) this is where Axel copies Riku's hand-reach gesture. While this gesture isn't described in the novel, it's still of note.

When Axel talks about "precious memories" and "someone important" he is, in his mind, just buttering Sora up to "remember" Namine. But those familiar with necklace theory (which I am assuming you are, so I'm not going into depth) will be able to see the implications of Sora having actually forgotten Riku, rather than Namine. But what's REALLY juicy is Axel saying "you've lost sight of the light within the darkness," which has obvious ties to Riku is the light (also assuming you are familiar, so not going into depth). It's even similar phrasing to what Chirithy uses later in KH3.

All of this leads Sora to think about what Kairi told him, as well as when he was turned into a Heartless. Curiously, Sora trails off when thinking about what the light really was. A purely surface-level reading would tell you this: Sora thinks of what Kairi told him, which leads him to think about what the light that brought him back was when he turned into a Heartless. He trails off, leaving the reader to fill in the blank with what seems to be the obvious answer: Kairi. Sora was just thinking of Kairi. Axel talked about a light in the darkness. Kairi talked about a light in the darkness. The most important person to Sora is Kairi. A plus B equals C.

Now lets look at it through a necklace theory/Riku is the light lens and assume these theories are the absolute intention here. It certainly fits the bill of what we know: what Sora actually forgot was Riku's promise, and the light within the darkness is actually Riku. Here is where we get to the weird part: why in the world is it being implied that Kairi is not the person who saved Sora from being a heartless? Well, the obvious answer is Namine. But that doesn't actually change the implication when viewing it through the lens of these theories. Half the idea of necklace theory is that Namine is replacing Riku rather than Kairi.

So why bring this moment in particular into question? If the author isn't actually implying these theories, then sure, it's pretty cut and dry. But Tomoko Kanemaki has never shied away from the Soriku side of things, and I truly believe she's in on the idea here. But still, Kairi and Sora are important to each other. Not everything Kairi does or is is actually Riku. Kairi can have saved Sora here, and Riku can still be the light/have given the meteor shower promise. But if we are taking the implications into account (and especially the much more overt question posed in the second quote, more on that soon) then that seems to be what's happening here.

There's even one additional point I'd propose: if Sora trailing off is not just a question posed to the reader about who the light is, but rather (or also) Sora starting to forget who his most important person is, then why is he able to perfectly recall Kairi's name and something she told him just a moment before? Unless he was actually forgetting something about Riku? I don't particularly think this holds much water, though - Sora can be seen remembering Kairi's name later on, even though he has forgotten things about her. Just another odd tidbit.

Okay, on to the second quote.

"But…he only believed that because when he got his body back, Kairi had been holding him. What if it had really been someone else who saved him?"

This quote is just 100% putting the question out there. Again, if we're taking this at surface level, this is Sora calling his memory into question now that Namine has invaded them. He's probably wondering if this mystery girl he can't quite remember was actually the one who saved him.

A little bit more context, this is when Sora is speaking to the Cheshire Cat. Again, we have all the double meanings the necklace theory implies. In fact, just a bit earlier was this quote:

"The Queen of Hearts certainly did seem stubborn. But how could they get someone else’s memory back? It was hard enough to remember things you forgot yourself… Like the things that happened when you were very young."

Which certainly ties into the meteor shower. Now we run the same course as last time: If these things about Namine/Kairi are actually about Riku, then why is one of the few things Kairi (seemingly) definitively did being called into question?

...Well, I don't really have an answer. Sorry! I did mention at the start that I do think Kairi saved Sora here, even though her Princess of Heart powers are very vague and it's not really clear how she did so. It is, of course, possible that this was not intended to be the implication at all and Riku is not involved in this case. However, even if that is the case, I don't think that's some kind of "gotcha" against necklace theory, Riku is the light, or Soriku in general. Even in game, not everything Namine replaces is Riku. In fact, it's really just that one essential memory of the promise. These are just a few sentences in a novel that's not even primary canon. What stuck out in my mind was simply the fact that these passages line up with necklace theory/Riku is the light perfectly, and then immediately afterwards Kairi saving Sora is called into question. Is it a mistake? An oversight? Does it even matter? Who knows! But it was something weird, so I wanted to talk about it. If you got this far, sorry if you were hoping for some grand theory, and thanks for reading!

#kh #kingdom hearts #sora #riku #kairi #soriku #my txt #I don't really write theories/analyses so forgive me if I rambled

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boopershnooper · 2 months ago

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Kiribaku Headcannon

Hope you guys enjoy this whilst i read a Rezero book my friend gave me (my best friend put cute lil notes in it as well)

Thinking about polyamorous KiriBaku x reader and obviously the reader likes both but they give more affection towards Kirishima. It all takes place before the relationship is even established, the whole having a crush on both of your very cute and hot close friends. Both of the boys have a crush on you and I haven’t decided yet on if they have told each other or if they’ve kept it to themselves since they know that the other likes you but no both if that makes sense. Anyways you interact more flirtatiously and affectionately with Kirishima because he is more approachable and you don’t think that Bakugo even likes you enough to even put up with that. You also didn’t want to make him uncomfortable because he barely likes to be touched or let alone talked to most of the time. However, you couldn’t be more wrong. The boy was so touch starved that he practically savored and cherished every moment where you or Kirishima had decided cuddle up him during squad movie night or hugged him when you two were excited. Maybe the grumbling (and the usual Bakugo styled yelling because he got flustered) was a wrong step on his part. It wasn’t his fault that the both of you made him feel things. Especially as of lately! The stupid pinging feeling that keeps popping up every time he sees you two close together without him, it was getting annoying to say the least. It got so annoying that every time he saw the two of you so close together he would either leave the room or be more of a grumpy Pomeranian than usual.

This makes you and Kirishima have a conversation. He comes up with the idea that all of you should hang out in his place. Just the three of you since you’ve all have been busy and usually just hang out whenever the squad meets up lately. It sounded like a great idea. Were you nervous? Yeah. You had a crush on both of them and now you were all gonna be alone together. Which meant no Mina for you to go to or a Sero for you to use an excuse to go out on the balcony to ‘smoke’. You didn’t. It was mostly you venting to a high Sero about your conflicted feelings of liking two guys at the same time and him just shaking his head and giving you one of his smirks as he tells you to just, “live the best of both worlds”. Apparently, he liked quoting Hannah Montana when he was high. You two brought the idea up with Bakugo and who was he to resist the cutest fucking faces just standing there begging for him to be with him. Though, of course he wouldn’t let that show and put on a charade, acting displeased at first before reluctantly giving in.

You all got to Kiri’s place which was fairly cleaned, surprisingly. You’d have thought differently with the way that he usually left yours or Bakugou’s place when you all used to hang out more often. You could tell that Bakugo was thinking the same when he let out a pleased grumble as you walked in. As the gracious host he was, Kiri offered the two of you some tea and your favorite snacks. It kind of made you giddy that he remembered your favorites since it showed that he paid attention to you and what you said. A simple thing that anyone would do but it still meant something to you. Bakugo let’s out a short huff and says, “Yeah whatever let’s just get this day over with and whatever you two have schemed up.” Which makes you and Kirishima share a look between one another. First in shock but then transitioning into guilt. Of course he knew the two of you were planning something. He wasn’t an idiot and he probably figured that this would have happened the moment you two had bombarded him with the same idea of hanging out alone.

You sat next to Bakugo, turning to him in a criss cross position. You sigh and reach out your hand to put on his but then recoil as you realized his discomfort of people touching him. Bakugo noticed and then scoffed when you pulled away. The thoughts of you and Kirishima instantly consuming his mind, turning his mood more sour than when he came in.

“I’m sorry- we’re sorry. We just wanted to know what was going on. You’ve been more…grumpy and mean than usual.” You point out in a soft voice so as to not make him any more mad than he already seems to have become for so reason unknown to you. He crosses his arms and looks between the two of you, Kirishima finally coming out with the tea. He rolls his eyes and then suddenly stands up.

“Where are you going Bakugo?” Kirishima asked sternly, a bit of frustration seemed to have been etched in his voice. It was shocking for you to hear the mellow sweetheart talk that way. It only emphasized how much more serious he was. Bakugo turned back around and gave him a look. It was a hesitant one and you could see that he wanted to say something but he didn’t. “Look, man it’s not fair that you are treating us this way and we just want to know what’s wrong. If you aren’t going to tell me at the very least you could tell her,” The redhead looks over at you, his face softening for a quick second before he goes back to snaring at Bakugo. “You owe her that much.”

And it seems like the two of them exchange words without even speaking. It made you wonder what was going on.

Bakugo glances between the two of you and curses under his breath. “It’s just not fair.” He grumbles and looks away. You and Kirishima look at each other with raised brows, sharing genuine confusion from his words. “What’s not fair?” You ask softly even though you genuinely wanted to smack him for being so vague and not straight to the point like he usually is.

You see a light blush dance across his cheeks which was probably THE most cutest thing that you have ever seen. He lets out a huff and finally admits, “You always give this idiot all of the affection and literally recoil at the mere THOUGHT of me. And I’m NOT supposed to be upset?” He shouted, his chest heaving up and down, his nostrils flaring and his face almost as red Kirishima’s ends. You couldn’t help but to laugh a little as he reminded you of a child throwing a tantrum and it seems Kirishima is thinking the same when he laughs at the same time. “The fuck is so funny dumbasses?!” He berates trying to look intimidating but it was impossible at this point to try and make that move on the two of you.

You shake your head and try to calm down to come back to the very serious topic. “Bakugo you could have just said so but I do apologize for assuming so…even though you have gotten a little upset whenever I did in the past.” You muttered the last sentence, earning a scowl from the blonde.

Then that’s when he finally gets what he’s been YEARNING for. Physical affection from the two people that he deniably has a crush on. The two of you give him a big hug AND a smooch on the cheek which makes THE Bakugo Katsuki silent. Frozen. SPEECHLESS. It was a sight to see and definitely not the last 👀

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bronx-bomber87 · 3 months ago

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Hello my wonderful fandom! :) We've finally reached the ep we've all been waiting for. The gif below is pretty good description of how I felt when I turned Hulu on this morning LOL

OH my word. I knew this episode was going to be good but I had no idea how end to end good it would be. I mean obviously we were all racing toward that hotel scene. But holy hell. The journey to it was just as good tbh. To quote Sandy Cohen "The appetizer is as good as the main course.” That truly was the case here.

I saw 'S' in the rating and knew we were in for some GOODNESS. I wish the gif library would work for the amazing gifs right after an ep. I'm sure tons have been made. But that'll have to wait till my in-depth ones this summer.

Been trying to keep these brief since their first impressions. But I couldn't with this one. They made it impossible lol Also apologies for any errors that may be in this. I wrote this while having a fever and on cold meds lol. Let us get started on this fabulous ep before my head implodes any further.

7x06 The Gala

We start out at Tim's place. Please let us continue to return here. It's such a happy place for me. Also Genny is backkkkkk I'm so excited. We have missed you my friend. I hope you appear again this season. Makes me so sad Tim saying he’s single. He’s never ever said that in a sad tone before Lucy or post anyone else really. Only her. *sad sigh* This ep hurts so good.

Genny has come with a mission in mind though. Only thing is she needs Tim for it. LOL I am glad she didn't imply he needed to start dating as well. She sure as hell knows where his heart lies. Their sibling dynamic never ceases to amuse me. Wanting to use him to get into the Gala haha Shoot your shot Genny. Get it girl.

Tim of course tries to talk her out of it. Clearly he had zero plans to be there. But his sister is changing that for him. Begrudgingly accepting her plus one offer. Citing he wants to bed asleep by 11pm if he does lmao I love this man. If he only knew where his night would end. Definitely wouldn't be that plan...Such a good big bro doing this for her. I need more of them in my life. I really do.

Seth is MIA and I'm pretty ok with it. Need a break from the kid. The day starts out so great. Grey has them running the arrest your ex event. I'm dying. When I saw this I thought phew lord this is gonna be gooooood. I felt it in my bones.

When Lucy says happy to do it…Tim’s face kills me. I’m dying. If only she could see his dismay. I know she could sense it. She isn't jazzed but isn't going to cause a scene in roll call. So she runs with it. Despite Tim's annoyance.

Tim giving her grief the very moment roll call is over. Lucy is ready with her reply. Had that on deck really quickly there Luce lol Almost as if she had it saved on her phone already....#grumpycop says what? LOL Let the flirting goodness begin. Being married af no matter what. I love them so much. *happy sigh*

Oh my goodness I’m cackling right off the bat. Grumpy x Sunshine in all its glory in this first scene. ‘Really can’t think of another reason?' I'm dying. Tim is so very over this and it's just begun for them. This is classic banter vibes for them and I’m here for it. Lucy trying to be the kind empathetic one. Tim having ZERO patience or tolerance for this nonsense. Letting her know right away he's not a killer. Just a cheater....Lucy's face. Classic.

Lucy calling Tim ‘sir’ and then showing him grumpy cop I cannot you guys. This is so good. I'm grinning ear to ear. Even post relationship she has this man wrapped around her finger. He is at her mercy and will do whatever for her. We see him give in. Turn on his best fake smile and dole out some advice. I'm so giddy I could cry.

‘Was that so hard?’ ‘Pure agony.’ Their banter at it's finest. This is primo level stuff. I wanna inject it into my veins so I always feel this giddy. The level of happy I am right now, I can’t even tell you. Hard to put into words honestly.

I’m loving Lucy keeping him in line and smiling while doing so. All she has to do is tap her phone. Could you be more in love with his grumpy ass my friend? She is very much enjoying this. We all know she loves her grumpy old man. I can’t get over Tim just listening cause she asks him to. Only for his girl. He is beyond fed up with this situation. Especially this man with his puke in a jar. LMAO.

Only Lucy Chen could make this man be friendly to this idiot. He then gets some points back and says they’re super cute together. Why yes sir they are. Thank you for noticing. Anyone with eyes can see their chemistry. But props for pointing it out. Then asks if they’re dating? We’re trying get back there my man. Climbing our hardest. Slow and steady wins the race and all that.

Lucy saying they're just 'co-workers'. Mmhmm and John Nolan is my favorite character. This dude has the audacity to ask her out after that. ‘You’re holding a jar of your own vomit. I’ll pass.’ If you aren't laughing at this I can't help you. This is pure comedy gold.

They finally get a real one. Just as they're about to close shop. This woman comes up very ready to take down her boyfriend. Then she hits on a VERY specific note. ‘You don’t put your drama on someone you love.’ Lucy’s face...That definitely struck a chord. Giving her flashbacks to 6x06. Tim too I am sure of it. Their looks say it all if you ask me...

Of course Tim wants to make it a bet. It's part of their love language to do so. I love this episode so much I’m vibrating. Lucy says his guess is boring LOL I mean it is. I love you Timothy but hers about legos is way better. Tim has to give her hard time about that being her final answer.

She ends up agreeing with him that it’s jewelry ha She just had to throw a Lucy like answer in there before she gave into his logic. Agreeing with him but wanting to add some flare before she did so. heh God I love these dorks.

Oh my. Tim asking her if she’s going tonight? I love the look he gives right before he asks. Just keeps taking his shots with her. My man. She got a room for Galentines but Celina has her dude now…..Frees up the room…. ‘So who knows what’s gonna happen?’ I’m percolating with excitement at this point. I didn't even need coffee as I wrote this to wake me up this morning. This was doing the trick just fine.

Lucy is surprised he is going. Then her anxiety asks the question she's scared to know the answer to. Does he have a date? His answer trails off before he can finish. Oh Timothy don’t do that to her. Leave her hanging. I mean he was gonna tell her it was Genny before he was interrupted. It wasn't intentional but ugh nonetheless.

Let’s take a moment to dissect her expression. Look how distressed and crushed she looks. My heart. So in love with this man still. This hurts so good. Before he can address her absolute panic their van pulls up….Oh Lucy. So distracted she doesn’t even hear him mention that.

Instead of jewelry it ends up being a friggin Tiger.... Her excitement is infectious and makes me smile. I would be the same way. I am Lucy she is me. Exotic animal that could rip my face off but I am still jazzed. Wanting to see it. Tim's face after she gets all excited is too funny. You love this goober of a woman don't deny it.

This scene is VERY VERY telling IMO. Also I am hoping a set up for things to come later this season for them. In terms of having THE talk. Tim your therapy hasn’t fully hit yet and it shows in how he reacts to this man's decision. At first he tries to empathize with him. Then turns his cop brain on. Saying he might as well throw her under the bus too. Get off a little easier. Telling him to just do it since she betrayed him anyways. That she's given up on him. No way he could still love her despite the betrayal...Careful Tim your trauma is showing my sweet.

Tim has grown in a lot of ways since 6x06. Truly he has. This is a sticking point he hasn't gotten through his lovely skull yet. That someone can love you despite the ugly stuff. Despite you not being perfect. Love you just the same and be deserving of that love even though you messed up. It's striking a emotional chord with Tim and he doesn't even realize it. Lucy can't stand it and that's why she tells this man not to do it. It's hitting far too close to home for her.

Lucy showing in this moment why we all love her. Why Tim is such a goner for her. That sunshine empathetic human shining through in this scene. Her forgiving spirit showing up in the most beautiful ways. It's the reason Tim fell so damn hard for her in first place. Why he fell in love all over again the second half of s6. The kindness and empathy shown towards him from her. When he thought he had betrayed her so deeply she would've thrown him to wolves.

What he hasn't figured out yet is she would NEVER ever do that. Regardless of the deep hurt, she stood by him when the chips were down. He still is a WIP in terms of that. it shows in his initial reaction to this situation. Lucy instructs this man despite the hurt not to do it. Tim's look reminding me of the one from 5x19 when she pleaded with her eyes to let the father go.

He ends up caving even if he adds some sass in. The way Tim looks at Lucy when he says 'Lock me up.' Looking at her smiling face. Oh Tim connect the dots my love please. If not now then in the near future. This scene gave me all the feels. We still have some work to do in terms of their relationship. Tim in particular.

Lucy’s relief at seeing Genny is written all over her face. You can see she is ecstatic she's Tim's 'Date.' Also just happy to see her in general. I have no doubt they hung out when they dated. Ganged up on Tim from time to time as well.

Genny forcing Tim to engage. Asking doesn't she look amazing? Tim melting like butter. ‘She always does.’ This man gushing about her in front of other people. This is the change I'm talking about right here. Gah I’m vibrating you guys legit vibrating. The sweet stares I'm diabetic at this point. Lucy can't hold his gaze long especially with company around.

Genny tries to lighten the mood with saying she is ready to flirt it up. Asking if Lucy wants to join her? Lucy’s shot about not dating people at work…Tim's cue to go to the bar. lmao I’m dying this is fanfic level goodness here everyone. I’m delirious. Genny's face is everything after he leaves. Even Celina's date realizes it after they depart. Asking something going on between them? Yes sir. it's been brewing all damn day.

Lucy coming to Tim worried about Balian is sweet. But Tim gives it all of two seconds of thought before he's pining after her. I mean look at those heart eyes. That smile. One I'm sure he flashed her anytime they were alone at home. The man is an absolute marshmallow for her. Lucy calls Tim out for his extreme heart eyes and Lucy smile. Holy cow is this real life?

She knows that smile so very well. You can’t look at her like that, Timothy. Especially looking like a damn snack leaning against that bar. It’s not fair. She has every right to tell you to stop devouring her with your eyes babe. There is a little bit of Tim Bradford Bedroom eyes in that stare too. Mercy. I would be a damn puddle if I was her. Why she has to call him out for it. Basically saying he can't stare at her like that anymore.

It's not fair to her heart to look at her like he loves her. *heart clutch* He then turns around and flirts some more with the grumpy cop thing. Making her laugh with him being the biggest goober ever. I love this side she brought to life. Their smiles as Genny approaches make me squee. I'm nuclear with excitement at this point. He really has softened for her it’s unreal. Making her laugh makes my heart so happy. I can't even. Had to pinch myself to make sure it was real.

Poor Genny can’t get a date cause of Tim. Lmfao I mean we can’t be that surprised? Still that’s hilarious and I’m laughing so hard. She just wanted to get a date and they're all too frightened of Tim to do so. He seems pretty proud of that fact. Cocky Tim coming out to play a bit. This ep has everything. The cute shared look afterwards is very cute.

If we didn't know they were apart you'd think they were together. Lucy turning down the invite out after Tim’s little joke. Stating it's because of an early shift. That doesn't seem to stop you later....Not that I'm complaining. Lucy is about to lose out on her room with Celina hitting it off with Scott...But Nolan’s suite becomes available…..I’m fine letting them rise out of the ashes of Balian's fight right now I really am. Sorry Balian shippers. lol

Just when I think this ep couldn't get any better. We get a sexy Tim takedown. *fans self* Not gonna lie I crossed my legs a bit when I saw this go down. *grabs some ice water.* This episode was gonna kill me before we even got. to that hotel room. Ovary explosion x1000. It's hard to keep Feral Caitlin in her cage with scene like this. Hot damn this is attractive. Lucy touching him instantly after he is done. I'm here for it.

Only reason for this gif is what's going on in the background. Look at Lucy jumping into wife mode taking care of Tim immediately. The attentiveness right out the gate has me reeling. Taking his jacket off for him. Checking him out. I’m lightheaded with happiness. I hope you are as well. I was on cloud 9 at this point and we hadn't even gotten to the hotel room yet.

We get to watch Lucy go into worried wifey mode and never leave it. The sweet way she touches his neck. I'm dead. I am posting from he grave. Lucy lets him know he has a cut there. Luckily Tim has a room they can go to.... Thank you Nolan. He tries to handle it himself but she isn't having it. So she comes up with him… I was getting all tingly with anticipation at this point.

Lucy has Tim take his shirt off make sure there’s no more glass or cuts. Mmmm won’t hear me complaining…. Was kinda relived the kit was there waiting for them. No chance for interruption if it wasn't. I honestly thought it would be the thing to stop them.

Mmmm shirtless Tim. Welcome back to my screen. Yum. God he’s gorgeous. Her resolve was crumbling when he had clothes on. Now he has no shirt….. God speed Lucy Chen lol

Heh calling Tim tough guy oh my word. The banter never stops and I don't want it to. The little joke of unfortunately he will live. Followed by his smile *screams into a pillow* I'm in heaven. The flirt train is continuing to barrel through this episode at mach speed.

My god it’s the soft thanks and you’re welcome in tandem. I’m a puddle. Suddenly he is all in her space and her words die out. She tries to replace them with a shaky ' We shouldn't....' The longing looks I cannot. Before it was bedroom eyes at the bar, with some heart eyes mixed in. This time it’s legit all heart eyes with intense longing he’s aiming at her.

He misses her deeply, and it's evident in the sadness that fills his expression when she says they shouldn't. Gah. Take a look at him after he says 'I know.' The depth of longing he conveys through just his eyes is truly unreal. Any resolve she has left looking up at him with those puppy dog eyes crumbles below.

The way he just tosses his shirt and devours her completely has me reeling. Nothing matters more in this moment than her. He gently envelops her in his arms. The soft way he cradles her face in his hands, like she is his greatest treasure. Because she is. The way he chases after her lips. I’m a damn goner. Feel like I'm in a fever dream.

Captures her top lip like he's done so many times before. Giving me 5x12 vibes with this make out. Lucy's hands all over him in the process. Touching her way down his body. Phew lord. Also like to note I think it's very important Lucy be the one to go for it in this scenario. He would’ve stepped back because she said they shouldn’t. Respected her bounds. But she can’t fight it any longer and goes for it.

And holy cow does she ever go for it. The impatient needy noises coming from her I’m dying. The desperations is real. The moment her lips meet his and her fingers graze his skin, she’s completely defeated in her struggle to resist him. Resist this pull of their's. Wastes no damn time undoing his belt buckle sweet lord. You can hear it. She is ready to go. As is Tim. She has lit a flame and he isn’t wasting a second of it. The needy desperation has me fanning myself.

I love the way he spins her around, savoring her with tender affection. All the while he relieves Lucy of the tie on her dress.*fans self* He is just burying himself in his hair and neck. Losing himself completely in her. I might implode with how tender and sexy this is. The music is on point as always. Tim is chasing after her when she turns around and brings him back to the bed. His desperation coming through ten fold.

Doesn't waste a millisecond before he's diving back in for more when she turns around. Lucy’s face. Holy hell. You can see how much she missed this. Missed him. They’re in it now and she can’t stop herself. There’s still some conflict playing across her features. Knowing they shouldn’t and yet she can’t stop herself from wanting this man. She is conflicted then his lips rejoin her neck and she melts into him. All logic flies out the window after that.

There is a song from one of my fav bands Digital Daggers. From their song ‘In flames.' This moment reflects it IMO.

'Keep your confessions 'Cause babe I'm no saint , We're playing with fire But I like this game And I know your devils I know them by name When you look my way Oh, I'm not afraid With your kiss on my skin And this mess that we're in

In flames (we're going down, we're going down, we're going down) '

Definitely playing with fire in this moment and we're here for it.

We get the morning after. I was not expecting this in the least. But this episode continues to surprise me in the best way. Also hello chest hair on Tim. They need to leave that for future reference. I’m very much for it. Holy cow everything about him just makes me so damn feral it's insane. He is sex on two legs walking. Man he looks good.

The awkward looks upon waking up have me cackling. Tim's face when she starts to get up LMAO. Eric the king of expressions came to play. Tim breaking the awkward tension by saying he's awake. Lucy replying 'Right. Of course he is. He's like a rooster she remembers.... 'Ugh my heart.

I love Tim being the one to wanna talk this out. Again. He's gotta be the one to bridge the gap. Especially this go around. Not wanting this moment to pass by without suggesting it. Lucy of course even with her lapse in resolve isn’t sure why they would. She is still hurting and with good reason. Tim you gotta make this right babe. Oh my lord.

We see Lucy retreat at this offer of a talk. Passing it off as 'Classic case of ex sex on Valentines.' Oh it’s so much more than that my girl. I'm getting 5x01 flashbacks of ‘It's basic biology right?’ Lucy trying to have Tim give her the out of talking about this just like she did then. Pass it off as something that isn't a big deal when it is.

Tim shies away due to this. Agreeing with her ex sex theory although his body language does not in the least. Hoping he can at least hide his disappointment if he turns around. Feeding her a line about it being a singular moment in time. Mmhmm...Sure. Lucy agreeing with his BS line.

That fear running through her and needing a way out to avoid this conversation. So she runs with it. Trying to talk herself out of it more by saying it needs to be in their rear view. Never to be talked about again. Tim's defeated and slightly hurt 'Great...' Lucy can sense it. You two are idiots but I love you.

Gah, you can watch the internal battle on Tim's face. Reminds me of 5x01 once again and him psyching himself up to talk. We get our first ‘Lucy.’ of the season. Definitely was not where I expected it to be. Sadly after he builds up the courage he just says 'See you at the station'…*forehead smack* Oh you two. Killing me softly. She wanted him to go for it and he didn’t. Disappointment just littered all over her body language when he doesn't.

Lucy looking like she wants to go back in but the door closes. UGHHHH. Effectively making the decision for her. It is a good she wanted to go back but this is Tim's fight ya'll. And he knows it. He's so frustrated with himself for not fighting more for her in this moment. Lord this is good but killing me. Hurts so good never felt more prevalent than it does in this scene.

Tim ever the gentlemen having her enter first. His chivalry never ceases to make me happy. The energy in that elevator is charged to say the least. So Lucy straight up says she didn’t regret their night together. I love this. Letting him know she has zero regrets about jumping him last night. Heh Tim replying right back saying him either. These two idiots in love. What am I going to do with you?

Lucy adding in it it can’t happen again. Ok sure…..you both messy. And I’m not mad about it. Tim's sad 'I know.' Not agreeing it can't ever happen again. Just he knows it shouldn't...Lucy following that up with it can't for a million reasons. I mean they haven’t had THE talk yet so I get it. I truly do.

That's definitely one of the reasons for me. As fun as that lapse in judgement was, it still needs to be followed up with a real convo. Tim coming up with his own reason of the Chain of Command issue. *Grumble* he is back in her chain of command again even with being her being a T.O. Le sigh. Even though their tones suggest they could give a single fuck that he is this time around lol That definitely wouldn't keep them for repeating the night before is my guess.

The flirting my god though. Tim using grumpy cop again to make her smile and laugh. We all know she loves his grumpy ass. It's one of the things she truly loves about him. That smile after he says that tells me everything. That most definitely is on the list of BS reasons for why they shouldn't. Tim keeping the flirt train going by saying he wasn’t grumpy last night though. Heh no you were not.

Her face my god you two. ‘No, you definitely were not.’ No transparency at all saying how happy he was last night with her. She doesn’t stop him either knowing she wasn’t 'grumpy' either. They're not even trying at this point. Basically saying they had a great night in bed together. No regrets. One of their many things they're so good at hehe. Imma need a fic of that night LOL The flirty smiles and stares. Tim almost reels her back in with it. The ding of the elevator breaking them out of their UST filled revere.

Lucy trying to keep it together as she exits. Tim hot on her heels. Ooooh lord I’m excited to see where this goes. Tim you still have some work to do. That much is clear. I'm glad them hooking up didn't serve as a fix all. Because this SL deserves more than that. They deserves more than that. The promo for 7x07 ‘Don’t make the same mistake I made with Lucy. Fight for her.’ Um sir you need to fight for Lucy right now. She is waiting on you for it.

I hope this Balian crisis puts that into focus for Tim. Because if this ep proved anything it's that. He needs to fight for her more and prove to her why she should give them a second chance. The feelings are clearly still there. So much so she relapsed into her resistance to keep him at bay. Hot damn this was a good episode I am buzzing. I cannot wait to see what the rest of this season holds for them. Gimme Gimme.

Thank you thank you to anyone and everyone who loves, comments (love me some comments) and reblogs these. They are a true joy for me to make. So I am grateful for any and all engagement with them. I shall see you all in 7x07 :)

Side notes-Non Chenford

#grumpycop. Only cause it’s Vday and he has no Lucy. Also anniversary of the necklace…amazing though. Fantastic cold open.

Wes is too excited for that he’s tipping his hand. Glad Angela figured it out without Wes compromising his lawyer oath. Using that dude to get her stuff done LMAO.

Look at Celina just taking charge cause Nolan is distracted af at a scene. Proud of her. Scott dude seems tad needy don't love that.

Sad about Texas and his girl but realistic af. Appreciated that.

Bailey being pissed about the judgement. Can't say I blame her. I mean instead of understanding John jumped right to judgement but he is also right in being upset she didnt' share that with him. Shall see where that goes.

#Caitlin's First Impressions #chenford #7x06 The Gala #the rookie 7x06 #tim x lucy #lucy x tim #the rookie #tim bradford #lucy chen #s7

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m4rs-ex3 · 1 year ago

Text

ALLLL RIGHTY YALL

if u haven't already seen.............. guys i was late i was fucking late for the panel give me a break

BUT here is a play by play of everything from the second i got in

[A GOOD CHUNK OF THE SECRET SCENE] if you saw this post within the first few *hours you got to see but you know what? they got to me i don't wanna be the snitch (i did on accident but its the though that counts)

opeli is being led blindfolded (which we see from opeli's pov. riveting visuals i tell you) by soren to the ✨secret meeting location✨

when she comments on the fact that it is literally just callum's office soren shuts her up bless him

opeli's like "DID BAIT GIVE BIRTH??!?!?" and soren's like no these are "rescue baits" and opeli gives them the greatest fucking look i can't even describe it to you

you've seen that leak "look it's the pearl :D""WHA""yep he's in there :)))))"

rayla says it like "per-al." just thought you should know

soren suggests forming a Fellowship of the Pearl and going to throw it into a volcano i fucking hate this show

they're all debating what to do with it meanwhile the most cryptic-ass shots of callum with the pearl like we get it he's fucked (i take it back i want more)

they finally get to him and he's like "uh????? destroy it obviously?????"

he suggests--and these are 100% his words (not actually cuz u know but its the general idea)--"smash it? throw it off a cliff? take a big ol axe and just--KA CHOP." i love him so much

rayla asks how they know it won't just release him

the way callum is so confused and conflicted and he just says "i... i don't know" oh my god by precious baby

cool ass top-down to the pearl whirlpool esq transtion into the next scene hello??

zym is being emo at a painting of his mother (the one from 4x03 yeah they just stitched that shit up it's all good)

ezran's like. huh. we oughtta do smth abt this

callum is Thinking Thoughts on the turrets(?? yk where soren does his lunges) and tossin the rune cube when he sees the star rune light up......................................

it's stella stella's there and the way he reacts to her is so precious 😭 he's not the step dad he's the dad who stepped up type shit

enter rayla "they told me u would be up here brooding"

(in a tragic turn of events the rayllum of this scene had my brain fuzzy so i can't remember a few chunks here and there have pity my brain has rotten)

callum's like "we have to do something i'm scared he's gonna use me. i know what we need to do ok we need to go to the starscraper"

it's honestly hilarious the way he says "and *WE.* should go" he's like "don't be gettin any ideas now this is an us thing"

and then ohoho "they have something there for you, too" (THAT was an exact quote)

he's like "PLSPLSPLS i've studied star magic i know the spells i know the runes i just need the quasar diamonds!! LET ME FREE UR PARENTS AND RUNAAN PLEAAAASSSSEEEE"

rayla is veryyyyyy opposed she's like "NO i want to help my parents as much as you"--honestly i don't think ANYONE wants to as much as him--"but i don't want my biases to affect that" BIASES?!??!! like that was the word she used i can't stop thinking about it

zym has entered his wolf child era his ass is HOWLING at the moon

soren hears him and goes "aww little guy misses his mom :((( sometimes i wonder where my mom is...." WHAT AWHAT WHAT AWHAT PJARDON SAY IT AGIAN YOU WAHGTS SAY IT AGIAND HUAH HUWH A

ok. yeah callum does not have pajamas BUT I THINK WE HAVE BIGGER ISSUES HERE????????????? HE WAS SLEEPING IN HIS OFFICE

THAT COUCH THING THAT THEY WERE ON WHEN RAYLA CAME BACK IN 4x03???? HES JUST SLEEPING ON IT I CANT MY GUY WHAT R U DOINGGG

in other news

bruv is tossing and turning and then just. ~stops.~ this can only mean good things (i think you know where i'm going with this)

he sits up. hobbles over to the door. there was a really cool transition (can u tell i respect the cinematography) and he's in the cellar holding the pearl.

he wakes up in aaravos' prison and is like "well this looks neat!" until he sees the mirror and screams and wakes up. when he realizes where he is he goes "what have i done" dude you fell asleep?? god he's never sleeping again (<- me when i lie 😈)

the description we got of this next scene did NOT do it justice it was fucking incredible

callum kicks down the fucking door (not actually) screaming for rayla

rayla TUMBLES OUT OF BED ON TO THE FLOOR, pillows in hands and unafraid to use them

"WHOA. HEY HEY ITS OKAY ITS ME! it's just me rayla. it's me. callum" i feel like he was saying the same 5 words for 7 hours it was beautiful

rayla: "callum?? jeez i could have-" *looks at pillows*

callum giggles the cutest fucking giggle and says something along the lines of "yeah, it would've hurt real bad :)"

oh yeah DE-LAYERED PONYTAIL RAYLA CONFIRMEDED??!?!?!?!?!

she sits back on the bed and my guy KNEELS DOWN AT THE CORNER OF THE BED TO PICK UP HER STUFF BEFORE HE SITS DOWN NEXT TO HER and they say chivalry is dead romance was birthed and ended with this scene

he tells her about it and she goes "callum, you're exhausted. you had a nightmare. if i thought you were in any real danger you know i would-" and then ironically i forget the same line that the person from nycc did wouldja look at that

can i just mention how close they were sitting in this scene i mean i jsut thikn i should mention hwo clo

yada yada he has a lightbulb and runs off with her blanket

the iconic "i know stella.. he took our blankie :("

god knows why barius is up in the middle of the night whispering sweet nothings to his jelly tarts

callum comes in with a certain proposition mwuhahaha

rayla comes into his office and sees his aesthetic ass sewing by fireside and graciously says "ah i get it! you're taking your mind off things by peacefully knitting" so iconic for both of them

callum explains that he's stitching runes to create a protection spell when barius comes in with the """"""""pearl""""""""""

rayla DIVES in front of callum and says "what r you doing get that thing AWAY from him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she got SO protective SO fast it was blessed

callum's like au contraire 😈

ok so obviously we had all heard about the fake pearl but. you know that one guy who makes insane sculptures out of nothing but chocolate? that's what they did the pearl is brown sludge with a candy coating 💀 i'm losing my mind that is so funny to me

so yeah with the decoy out the real pearl is protected by--and callum literally said this--"a magic blankie >:)"

he also pops in to tell ez and omg GUYS BAIT HAS HIS OWN LITTLE ROYAL CANOPY BED ITS SO FUCKING CUTE

dawn in the courtyard--ez is saying goodbye to soren, zym, and pyrrah who are going to look for zubeia (i almost just typed zendaya i need sleep) and callum and rayla who r going to the starscraper

my roman empire is this: callum was acting all eepy and then when they get going hE RESTS HIS HEAD ON RAYLA'S BACK AND FALLS ASLEEP. I CANNOT FUCKING MAKE THIS UP IT WAS PHENOMENAL SHE LOOKED SO FUCKING HAPPY I I I I I I HAKJSDHFKJASHFDKJHSADKFHKJASHFIHASEKFH

on a slightly lower note

scene from teaser except they did cut a couple lines in the teaser. mainly just terry going "didn't see you there,, cuz i was asleep. with my eyes closed"

he does not in fact get impaled but claudia tells him she's gonna leave him first and does just that

as she's going omfg terry's cries and pleas and "I LOVE YOU"s and "I WILL WAIT. I WILL WAIT HERE FOR YOU" was absolutely insane idk what was in the air in that recording studio but shout out to ben

i am so tired goodbye!

#SO SORRY i couldn't get this out last night #but here she is #tdp s6 #tdp s6 spoilers #tdp spoilers #tdp wondercon #tdp #the dragon prince #*thought i fixed it within minutes but iiii did not💀

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bizarrelittlemew · 7 months ago

Note

hey just wanted to remind you that there is a fan event called Asexual sunday tomorrow that has been organised for a while. i saw you posting about bangaversary, and i think you van definitely post about that, but pls keep that fan event in mind 💜🩶🖤

okay let's address some stuff

first of all, yes, i am aware that asexual sunday is tomorrow, and i've been planning on participating. however, this ask annoys me for a number of reasons:

it is TOMORROW, not today

today is, however, the anniversary of S2E6 airing, which yeah, i made what is essentially shitposts about, but honestly it is important to me and many other people that a middle-aged queer couple actually canonically had sex in this show, i'm celebrating that

i was under the impression that the point of asexual sunday was to post asexual headcanons etc., not that any mention of sex or reference to the characters having sex was prohibited for the whole weekend

adding to the point above, i'd like to quote the event post:

Anyone can participate! You don't have to be ace to join in on the fun! All headcanons and ideas welcome! Sex-repulsed, sex-indifferent, and sex-favorable! Gray-ace and demiace! Ideas where one is allo and one is ace and figure out how to navigate that! Post about Ed and Stede being on the glorious asexual spectrum!

referencing ed and stede's "bangaversary" is not incongruent with the kind of posts that are encouraged for the event

fan events are not mandatory, and someone organizing a fan event is not a license for you to police what everyone posts (especially not the day before the event?! what?!)

in general, you have absolutely no say in what i do or do not post on my blog, so i do not care what you "think i can post about". if you don't like my posts, unfollow

like, i know your intentions are probably good, but you get why this is completely unnecessary and frankly counterproductive to getting people to participate in this voluntary fandom event, right?

if this ask had just been the first part reminding about the event, i would've been happy to post my excitement about it and promote it. but as soon as you act as if you have any say in what i post, it comes off as policing. don't come into my house and try to dictate how i live - if it bothers you, just leave

#asks #Anonymous #i usually ignore anons like these but i guess i need to make this clear #anyway. happy bangaversary!#and i'm still looking forward to asexual sunday tomorrow no matter how discouraging this anon is lmao

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moonlightwritingf1 · 1 month ago

Text

Reposting this for the anon who is clearly too obsessed and doesn't have a life outside of Tumblr. + Added a new statement too.

I deleted this post because I was under the impression the anon had already seen it—since they love to stalk my blog very in-depth. Luckily, I had written it on Google Docs, like I do with everything I post here, before posting it the first time. And now I’m posting it again because apparently, they didn’t get the memo and love to create fake accounts:

For the anon who’s too coward to use their real account and clearly doesn’t have a life:

I was going to ignore the first ask, but then you had the time, energy, and weird obsession to create a fake account just to send me another ask—and then a private message. So let me be clear

This is the first and last time I address this. Any further messages or asks about this will be deleted and blocked immediately. Tumblr is my safe space—stress and drama free—and I will block anyone who disturbs that for me. You really came onto my blog and did what—threatened me? You ran my writing through an unreliable AI checker and then had the audacity to message me about it? Do you really feel like it's your place to question how people write fanfiction? Why do you feel so entitled to an explanation from someone you don’t even know? To quote you: “DM me and explain why” — WHO are you? And where is this entitlement coming from?

Let me ask you this: Do you not have a life outside of Tumblr? Who takes time out of their day to check if what a stranger posted is “AI” or not? I saw another account getting the same kind of asks recently—was that you too? Are you going blog to blog checking F1 fics like a fanfic detective? If so: get a life, get a job, get a hobby, or better yet—touch grass.

And the audacity to make a fake account just to send another message? Coward behavior. I’ve blocked the first anon ask and now your little fake blog too. I’ll keep blocking every single one if you continue harassing me.

Don’t like what I post? Scroll past it. Block me. Ignore me. I truly do not care. I use Google Docs for all my fics—outline ideas, drafts, requests order. Since that seems hard to believe, here’s one example straight from my docs.

And since you clearly have free time, here are actual credible sources that prove AI checkers are not reliable and should never be used as evidence of anything:

Source

This is especially relevant to me personally, because English is not my native language. I've studied it for over 15 years, l'm currently studying English at university, and I don't live in an English-speaking country. I didn't grow up in an English-speaking country, and I've worked hard to develop my vocabulary, grammar, and writing style. So if my writing sounds "too repetitive" or "too perfect to be written by a human" and gets flagged by some Al detector—that's not proof I used Al. It means I've worked hard to get to this level, even though my English might not always be perfect.

Source

Al that claims to create undetectable Al content or "human Al"

Or maybe you want to read more on Google Scholar:

There are so many sources to inform yourself—you just need to know how to use them.

And this is what really gets me: someone could use Al, lightly edit the output, or run it through one of those "humanize Al" generators and pass every detector with flying colors. Meanwhile, people like me get flagged and questioned for no reason.

Also, if I were actually using Al, I would've used one of those humanizing tools too—so people like you wouldn't harass me over what I post.

These days, it seems you don't even need facts—just a fake account and a superiority complex.

That's all I had to say. Goodbye, and good luck finding a personality.

April 7

A few days after I posted the above post, you went on someone’s blog — someone who had sent me an ask without using the anon option — and sent them an ask about me, as if I had committed a crime. Less than 24 hours ago, you created yet another fake account just to message me (as seen below) and tell me about one of your other accounts (also fake), despite my explicit statement that I would no longer entertain this obsessive behavior.

Let me be extremely clear: I do not owe strangers on the internet an explanation for my writing process — especially not those who appoint themselves as investigators and issue condescending ultimatums. I will not “contact you privately.” I will not “own up” to a false narrative you've built around flawed tools and obsessive pattern-tracking. You do not get to demand private confessions like you're running a tribunal.

I already said everything I had to say when I made that original post, but clearly it didn’t register, and you continue to target me. I looked at the account you mentioned in your message. To quote: “Some members of the group of us working on this project have gone through PhD programs or work in education and understand the inaccuracies and limitations of AI detection tools.”

So you're adults — or so you claim — with PhDs, yet you seem to be unemployed based on the amount of free time you have to analyze what strangers are posting on the internet. Especially posts that are over 2k words long.

Seriously, who has time to do this much? Because I highly doubt someone with an actual job and a life has this much time on their hands.

And as I said in my first post: block me if you don’t like my blog or what I post. It is really that simple.

LEAVE. ME. ALONE.

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leilakisakabiri · 2 years ago

Note

request: Hi can you do where the reader is wearing Gavis hoodie and she accidentally stains it and starts freaking out. Thank uuu and i love ur writing

I Got You (Gavi)

Summary: You need Gavi to come help you after you get yourself into a bad situation.

Warning(s): None

A/N: Thank you so much for the request and for your support! Requests are open. Currently working on The Promises We Keep Pt 2. Also, guys if I haven't done your request yet, don't worry, it probably means it's gonna be a long one.

Word Count: 3.1k+

Masterlist

It was a Saturday night in Barcelona, and you were holed up in your room, feet tucked under you, a knitted blanket over your shoulders as you read over the words in front of you for the hundredth time.

While the city was alight with people getting drinks, dancing, and laughing, you silenced your phone, closed your blinds, and put your headphones on to quiet any outside noises.

You had decided to stay in this weekend, caught up in writing an essay for your criminal law class that was worth 50% of your grade. Safe to say you did not take it lightly. You had been hunched over your computer for the last nine hours, brain numb and fingers aching as you had tried to come up with a thesis and strong argument for your essay. You had blocked out this weekend to finish the essay, letting everyone know ahead of time not to contact you unless it was an emergency, including Gavi.

Gavi had been gone for the last couple of days, traveling around Europe for the last leg of La Liga, and he had been adamant about spending as much time with you as he could once he got back - before his summer schedule kicked off. However, that hope was quickly cut short when you informed him you most likely wouldn’t be able to see him at all this weekend due to you being stuck finishing your essay.

Although he had tried to convince you to change your mind, bribing you with the idea of endless cuddles and then promising to be as silent as possible while you wrote when his first idea didn’t work, you relented, knowing that having him around would be a major distraction, one that you couldn’t afford.

“I’m sorry Pablo I don’t think I can this weekend. What about Monday?” You asked hopefully.

He sighed over the phone, his face pulling into a frown, “I can’t. We’re leaving Monday morning for France.”

You bit on your lip, feeling bad, “I’m sorry I just really need to focus this weekend.”

He nodded, “I get it. It just sucks. I wanted to see you at least once before I’m gone again. But it’s fine – I’ll survive.” He replied dramatically.

You grinned, “Well I’ll miss you Pablito.”

“I already miss you.”

The smile on your face only grew as your heart warmed at his words, “I’ll text you if anything changes. Have a great game, I’ll be watching.”

He gave you a wink, “Damn gotta show off now that my girls watching.”

You giggled at him, “Bye Pablo.”

He mocked your tone playfully, “Bye Y/n.”

That was last week, and now you were nose deep in your essay, textbooks scattered around you as you looked for possible quotes to strengthen your thesis. You had been so busy scanning the words on the page that you hadn’t noticed your phone buzzing non-stop next to you.

Once you saw the glow of your phone screen curiosity got the better of you and you flipped it around seeing you had eight missed calls from your best friend.

Your eyebrows knitted in confusion, it was almost two in the morning, she would for sure be at a club right now, happily dancing the night away with your friends, so why was she consistently calling you?

The phone buzzed once again and this time you were quick to answer.

“Hello, Gia, what’s going on?”

Her voice was slurred on the other end, but you could sense the panic regardless, “Y/n? I don’t know where I am, I was with the others but then I went to the bathroom, and I then couldn’t find anyone anymore. And this guy won’t leave me alone-”

“Gia, where are you? I’ll come get you.” You cut off her rambling, already rushing to put on your shoes, essay long forgotten.

She hiccupped, “I’m at Macarena. I’m sorry no one else answered.”

“No, no problem at all. I’m coming right now, Gia. Don’t move. I’m glad you called.” You comforted her.

The club was only a twenty-minute walk from your house, and seeing as you didn’t have a car or the time to wait for public transport, it was your best option.

You cursed yourself for not answering sooner as you rushed to get your keys, grabbing a random hoodie on the way out.

Although summer was beginning to creep into Barcelona, the nights were still chilly with cold winds rushing through the area.

You sped through the streets, walking with purpose as you finally reached the club. You were severely underdressed for the club wearing a random hoodie and yoga pants. You saw the line for the club was still extremely long, wrapping around the corner and you knew you had no time to waste.

You took a deep breath, mentally preparing yourself, you were never one to break any rules or ask for any special favors, but now seemed like a good time to start.

You walked up to the club bouncer, ignoring the nasty look the guy at the front of the queue was sending you, “Excuse me. I need to get in right away, my friend is inside alone, and I need to help her.”

You heard the guy next to you scoff.

The bouncer looked at you unimpressed. “Sorry sweetheart. You want to get to her, you have to wait in line.”

You relented, “Sir please, just look at my outfit,” you said gesturing to yourself, “clearly, I’m not here to party, I just need to get my friend and leave. You can even come with me!”

He gave you an apprehensive look, taking in your appearance, “I can’t leave my post.”

You groaned, “Fine, then can someone else escort me? I can literally call her right now. She’s not in the right head space.”

He squinted his eyes at you, “You look familiar.”

It finally clicked. This is where you had gone with Gavi and his team, celebrating after they had won a final a few weeks ago. They had treated you like royalty, blocking off a whole section just for you, the club owner even making an appearance to congratulate the team.

You didn’t like to use the fact that you were dating a well-known athlete as a way to get special privileges but if it meant helping your friend then you would do it.

“Yeah, I was in VIP a few weeks ago. I know the owner, so please let me in.”

“What’s his name?”

You racked your brain trying to think of that night, “Santiago. It was Santiago!” You replied, finally remembering.

The bouncer gave you a once over before he finally nodded begrudgingly, “Fine – but be quick.”

You heard the other people in line begin to argue but you quickly thanked the bouncer, rushing inside, not wanting to wait long enough for him to change his mind.

God bless Gavi.

The place was packed, bodies pressed together so closely that you had to squeeze in between heavily making out couples and groups of friends to make your way to the middle. The strobe lights were going crazy, changing every few seconds to the beat of the music. There was a DJ booth twenty feet above the crowd playing EDM Spanish music and the crowd was going insane, chanting along.

You hit your head on your forehead as you realized you forgot to ask her where she was.

You pulled out your phone, letting out a breath of relief when she answered, “I’m here Gia. Where are you?”

“I’m at- I said no, stop, I’m at the bar.” She huffed. You felt your anxiety rise, who was she talking to?

“Ok, I’m coming.”

You pushed through the throngs of people, finally spotting the bar, seeing her leaning against the counter, hands flying as she argued with someone.

You walked towards them hearing the tail end of their conversation, a bad feeling in your stomach.

“Gia!” You yelled, coming to stand next to her.

She gave you a relieved look, falling into you, the effort of standing up being too much.

You caught her, hugging her back.

“Oh wow – two for one. I got a buddy that would love you.”

You steadied Gia looking up to see the guy she was talking with giving you a smirk.

You held his gaze, annoyed, “No thanks. We’re leaving now.”

You went to turn but he caught your wrist pulling you back, the drink in his hand sloshing,

“Woah, don’t go yet, the fun’s just getting started. Look my buddies are in VIP we can hook you up.”

You yanked your hand away, giving him a disgusted look, “First don’t touch me. Second, we’re leaving.”

“You’re not leaving.” He persisted.

You raised an eyebrow, “Fucking watch me.”

He reached for you again, but you were prepared, grabbing his hand, and flinging it off you, as you weaved into the crowd, ignoring his shouts.

You let out a breath as you stepped outside of the club, grateful for the cold air after sweating through your hoodie in the packed club.

You adjusted your hold on Gia, holding her waist as you started the trek back to your apartment.

She stumbled over her steps as you walked, giggling, “Oh my god Y/n your bleeding!”

You gave her a confused look, dragging her, “What?”

She giggled again, reaching for your hoodie, “It’s coming from your stomach, look it’s red!” She pointed at your shirt.

You looked down and you stopped in your tracks, breath hitching as you began to panic, “Oh shit Gia I’m wearing Gavi’s hoodie!”

She stopped as well, letting go of you as she plopped onto the ground, staring up at you,

“So?”

“So? He’s going to be so mad at me. That dick spilled his drink on me. This is a white hoodie – who knows if it will come out?” You stressed.

“It’s-" she hiccupped, “fine.”

You shook your head, “No It’s not it’s his favorite hoodie, I didn’t even realize I was wearing it. Fuck, I have to clean as soon as we get home.”

You started walking before you realized she wasn’t following you.

“Gia?”

You turned around to see her slumped against the sidewalk, eyes closed.

You rushed to her side, shaking her, “Gia? Gia, are you okay?”

She hummed, “I don’t feel so good.”

“Can you walk? We’re almost halfway there.” You asked, helping her sit up so she was leaning against you.

She groaned, “I’m going to throw up.”

You looked around anxiously, unsure of what to do. You had left the main strip of clubs and restaurants, and were now on a back road, walking in an area that was dimly lit and that you weren’t too familiar with.

“I can call an Uber.”

You reached into your pocket, cursing yourself as you realized you had forgotten your wallet in the rush to get to the club.

“Shit, I don’t have my wallet. Do you have yours?”

“Antonio.” She groaned, leaning her head against your shoulder.

You let out a huff, contemplating what to do. You attempted to get her to stand up once again, desperate to get out of the area, but she couldn’t stand, and you weren’t strong enough to carry her the rest of the way. You chewed on your lip debating a solution, but you didn’t want to do it unless it was the absolute, last, last resort.

You spent the next five minutes calling all your friends, but no one answered. You groaned, frustrated, knowing you had run out of options.

You heard your friend beginning to doze off and you shook her, “Gia stay awake.”

She moaned, “Y/n I really don’t feel good. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

Your finger hovered over the contact, and you finally pressed it, feeling the guilt build inside.

It rang seven times before going to voicemail. You called back.

On the third ring, the line finally connected,

“Y/n? Why are you calling me so late?” Gavi’s voice was thick with sleep, his words murmured.

Hearing his voice sent a pang of relief through you, and suddenly you didn’t feel so alone,

“Gavi I’m sorry. I really need your help.”

He was up in an instant, wide awake, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m stuck in the middle of the road with Gia. She got drunk and I went to get her but now I’m worried there’s something wrong. She can’t get up and we’re all alone. I don’t have any money. I called our friends, but no one answered, I-I didn’t know what to do.” You rushed out.

You heard his breath accelerate on the other end of the line, “Ok don’t worry baby I’m coming. Send me your address, everything’s going to be okay. Just stay on the phone with me.” He reassured you.

You nodded before realizing he couldn’t see you, “Thank you so much Gavi.”

You heard his car door open, “Anytime. If anything happens like this again you call me first, okay?”

“Okay.”

You stayed on the phone with him, rubbing Gia’s shoulder to comfort her, readjusting her whenever she began to doze off.

Finally, you saw a familiar car pull onto the street, and you waved your hands, trying to get him to see you.

The car made a quick turn and then Gavi was rushing out, a worried look on his face,

“Oh thank god you’re okay. I was so worried.”

“I’m so sorry for waking you. Thank you for coming.”

“Y/n stop apologizing.” He said, helping you carry Gia to the car.

Upon feeling that she was being lifted, her eyes shot open, “Y/n what’s going on?”

She glanced over to her left seeing Gavi before she turned to look at you, it took two seconds for her eyes to widen and then she was whipping her head back, “Gavi? The hell y-you doing here?”

You giggled at her abruptness, “I had to call for help.”

She turned to you, snuggling into your shoulder affectionately, “You’re the best Y/n. She was a rockstar today.” She spoke, as you both pushed her into the car.

Gavi raised his eyebrow at you as you both got in, “A rockstar eh?”

You rolled your eyes, “She’s just spewing nonsense.”

Gia groaned in the back, hands clumsily coming to slap your shoulder, “Ehh don’t lie Y/n. You should have seen the way she talked to those guys – even I was scared.”

You saw Gavi’s grip on the steering wheel tighten, his posture stiffened as he looked over at you,

“Guys? What guys?”

You opened your mouth to reply but Gia beat you to it.

“This one guy, he kept trying to get me to come with him, but then Y/n was like no way we’re leaving, and then he started hitting on her, but then he tried to grab her, and she karate chopped his hand! He was so embarrassed!”

You felt yourself blushing at her recollection of events, “I did not karate chop his hand!”

“Yes, you did. It was like in midair when he was talking about his friend that liked you, and then I blinked, and it was gone!”

“Did he try anything?” Gavi’s voice was hard, as he looked at you.

You shook your head, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, “No don’t worry. We were fine.”

You felt his body relax under your touch, and one of his hands came to grip your own, “You should have called me sooner. I’m sorry you had to deal with that asshole.”

You felt your heart flutter at his words, “Don’t worry I handled it. But thank you, next time I will.”

Soon you were pulling up to your apartment and hauling Gia up your steps.

“I really wish we had an elevator right now.” Gia groaned as she was being half pulled, half carried up the steps.

You made eye contact with Gavi after hearing her statement, and you had to bite your cheek not to laugh out loud,

“You and me both G.”

Finally, you reached your apartment, and all let out a sigh of relief as she fell onto your bed, passing out almost immediately.

You cringed as you saw her head land centimeters away from the sharp edge of one of your textbooks.

You reached over, clearing the space so she was able to sleep without the risk of a concussion.

You looked up once the area was cleaned to see Gavi looking at you intently, a weird expression on his face almost like he was stuck in his thoughts.

“What? Is everything okay?” You asked unsure, looking down at yourself.

That’s when you realized.

You were still wearing his hoodie, the one that had a massive red stain on it now thanks to the jackass at the club.

You had completely forgotten about it.

You quickly apologized, “Gavi I’m so sorry. Gia called and I was so worried so I grabbed the first thing I could find – and then the guy kept grabbing me and had this drink – anyways,” you let out a huff, “I’m really really sorry, I can buy you a new one.”

Gavi stared at you in surprise, shocked by your outburst, “Y/n relax. It’s okay.”

“I’m sorry I know how much you love this sweatshirt.”

Gavi shook his head slightly smiling, you were just so adorable, and he physically couldn’t hold back the words he’d been dying to say any longer, “I love you more though, so it’s fine.”

“Wha-what?” You stumbled over your words, clearly not expecting such a big revelation.

“I said I love you.” He said it with so much confidence, almost like he was reciting a fact, something that couldn’t be changed, and you melted a little at how sure he sounded.

You didn’t know what to say, your brain still playing those three words on a loop. He loved you. He had said it first.

The silence stretched on and now it was his turn to get nervous, “Is that okay?”

Your mouth was still open in shock, but you quickly recovered,

“Yo-you love me?” Your voice cracked.

“Well, yeah… why would I not?” He asked, eyes locked on yours.

You shook your head, a smile gracing your features as you took a step closer to him, “I love you too, and I’m sorry-”

He cut you off with a sweet kiss, pulling you closer into him, as he slid his hands under the sweatshirt, fingers gently squeezing the soft flesh of your hips.

Your lips moved in sync and your hands went to play with his hair, gently tugging.

You heard him let out a groan and you bit his bottom lip instinctively.

He pulled away out of breath, a dazed look in his eyes, “Joder, you can ruin all my hoodies if this is how you apologize.” He muttered breathlessly.

You rolled your eyes, smiling as he brought you back into him for another kiss.

464 notes · View notes

swiftllama · 2 years ago

Text

Anthony Complimenting Ian ☀️🔍

“I think that’s a big difference in us reuniting, is I am so willing to praise you and mention your strengths.”

Hey guys! Been working on this post for a while and so happy to finally share!

Before we knew of their reunion, there was this window of time where Anthony kept complimenting Ian on social media. That stood out to me then, especially after having very little interaction between them in so long. But now having the context that they were actually hanging out again behind the scenes, and that Anthony now makes a conscious effort to compliment/praise Ian makes it all the more sweeter. The said compliments I mentioned were posted at the time but the fandom wasn’t as active as it now is again so I wanted to compile a list of all the moments of Anthony complimenting Ian from their reunion to present for anyone who might’ve missed it. Enjoy!

Pre-Reunion

Okay so this first post is actually from before they reconnected. We know from the Smosh Reunion t-shirt that they reconnected in November 2022 and this post is from July 2022.

I like to think Anthony was in a better place with his emotions towards Smosh/Ian by this point, and that Ian had been on his mind and so a nice little compliment was to be had.

Post-Reunion

April 2023

5 months post-reunion and Anthony’s feeling more confident to joke around whilst still complimenting Ian. You love to see it! And Ian’s reply, him getting all embarrassed is cute 🤭

It also reminded me of these tweets from back in September 2017 :-

Confirmed: Anthony has a thing for calling Ian ‘daddy’. Noted. 👀

May 2023

Less than a month later and Anthony was back at it again with the compliments

Ian looks good and Anthony is determined to tell him at every opportunity!

And then…

June 2023

THE (PUBLIC) REUNION

And so ensued an abundance of compliments.

Anthony’s Interview

First lot of praise we saw from Anthony to Ian was in his interview with him. Tumblr sadly doesn’t allow you to add more than one video to a post so these are all quotes from said interview.

Like the tweet above of Ian getting his first chain necklace, they reference it once again. Ian is talking about how even though they’ve grown as people they haven’t changed that much, he references the fact Anthony has “more bling and tattoos” now, Anthony then interjects with :-

“Hey, you got a little bling too, let’s not discount it.”

Ian then shows the jewellery off and Anthony comes in saying “Baby’s first chain.” I like to think he was the first one to say that when Ian got the chain and where Ian got the inspo for his Twitter caption. Anthony then finishes this topic of conversation off by adding on that Ian also got “face bling too” in reference to his glasses. I know this isn’t really a full-out compliment and they’re just kinda messing about, but I think it still stands with Anthony saying that’s something that’s changed between them now is that he’s willing to compliment him, and I love how when Ian tries to downplay something about himself, Anthony jumps straight in there to lift him up too.

Another complimentary moment from the interview was when Anthony was talking about when he was 15 and came down with an autoimmune disease resulting in him missing half a year of school and Ian got a bunch of people to sign a ‘Get Well Soon’ card to give to Anthony to make him feel better.

“There is one moment, one thing that you did for me, when we were younger that really stood out to me that I never mentioned to you and I never thanked you for. I’ve been holding it in and I have never expressed it…. I don’t know how you got it to me, but somehow you got a ‘get well soon’ card that you gave to me - Okay, I don’t know if it was you who came up with the idea or your mom, or if like your mom told you, you had to do it. And a whole a bunch of people signed it and you wrote a message like ‘get well soon, we can’t wait to see you again’. And that, it really meant a lot to me, and yeah, it kinda kept me motivated and focused, and I don’t know why but for some reason it motived me to learn how to program a website, program a game, and I feel like because of that in some ways I was able to channel all my energy into creating the things that eventually culminated in what the foundation of Smosh was.”

I really love this moment, and I think it really shows Anthony’s growth. As was revealed in his letter to Ian, there was a period of time in which he felt he had more of a hand in creating Smosh in the early days, but the fact he can now acknowledge and recognise Ian’s input in it all, even before Smosh was a thing, and thank him for it really shows how far Anthony has come.

The last lot of praise from the interview is actually something Anthony has mentioned multiple times as you will see later on in this post and that is about their dynamic and how they work together.

“I think the fact we work in such different ways, like I’m able to really hyper-focus on something and put all my energy, just like back-to-back constantly in one chunk, I think that works really well when compared against the way that you work, where you are super creative and..”

Ian interjects by saying his head is “up in the clouds” when he works. Anthony continues by saying that Ian needs to be there to come up with the ideas that he does and then praises him once more :-

“I could never come up with most of the ideas that you come up with, but I feel I know how to formulate it and put it together.”

Next lot of praise for the month was this tweet :-

Anthony praising Ian, along with everyone else who had a hand in keeping Smosh going all these years. Similar to something he said at Vidcon when he interviewed Ian once again :-

“I just want to say huge, huge respect to you for staying with Smosh. For having that faith in it that it could continue to grow and be something bigger…” [audience cheers and Anthony points to Ian] “So huge, huge respect to Ian. That took a lot of tenacity - the tenacity you said I had, that’s where you really showed up. And Ian had to learn how to be a leader, Ian had to learn how to do all these things where he was just thrown into that because I made the decision to leave because Smosh, what it had become, was eating a hole in me and I felt I needed to walk away to figure myself out, to just grow on my own and I’m so thankful that you stuck around to keep it going so that we could do this [own Smosh again].”

And there was more where that came from and leads me onto the next lot of compliments :-

Vidcon 2023

“When Ian came over to my place to write… I remember I was sitting on the coffee table writing these jokes and you would say something and it would totally catch me off guard just like you used to do.”

Anthony said this so fondly to Ian, the “just like you used to do.” It goes back to what he said during his interview with Ian, which he got emotional about, that during the lunch where they reconnected properly for the first time, he saw his childhood friend in that moment. That despite how much they had both changed, the Ian he knew, the only one who can make him laugh like he does, was and is still there.

Anthony goes on to bring up their working dynamic again as he did in his interview :-

“While we were writing that sketch, while we were shooting it, there was this feeling - I didn’t realise it, but there was something missing from my creative process. Especially in creating comedy, that Ian just perfectly… I don’t know if I want to say yin and yang - I don’t know what I want to say about it. But it was just this perfect balance, that feels like in order for us to reach our fullest potential creatively, us working together is, in my heart, the only way for that to really reach its fullest capacity.”

Ian then responds in his usual way, trying to downplay his efforts by agreeing that their dynamic works well that way because he’s, in his own words, “kind of lazy.”

Anthony is quick to jump in though :-

“I think that’s a misconception, you’re not lazy.”

I love how he just outright refuses to let Ian talk down about himself nowadays. He will absolutely not have it!

Ian continues on and compliments Anthony in return by saying he is very ‘tenacious’ and ‘focused’, and ‘particular about things.’ Whereas Ian’s way of working, as Anthony goes on to say, is “throwing stuff out” and Anthony likes to pick out the best of the best from those ideas. And this is when we got the first of the ☀️🔍 analogies :-

“It feels almost like Ian is the sun radiating all these ideas in every direction, and then I’m the magnifying glass that’s like ‘let’s focus on this one, let’s make this one fire. This one’s amazing.’ And something about just the way that we work together just meshes so perfectly, and I think that’s how we became best friends in sixth grade, that’s how we established our sense of humour and why the Smosh videos that we created resonated with so many people, is because there is that perfect dichotomy between us.”

Do you think Anthony thinks their dynamic is perfect? I don’t know 🤔 I don’t think he mentioned it enough.

Jokes aside, it is very sweet. And I love how much he loves their connection.

The next lot of compliments come straight after the quote of Anthony praising Ian for sticking with Smosh whilst he was gone :-

“I’m super thankful - you know for the past six years it just felt like there was a hole in there [in his heart]. You know I’ve been creating my own interview series and it’s felt like this is a great way for me to be able to express a part of me, but not all of me. And that other part of me that wasn’t being expressed is that part of me that I now get to experience with you, and working with you, my childhood best friend, in creating something and being able to capture that magic and express it, and be able to present it for all of you [the audience], it’s a really, really great feeling.”

Ian then responds with another little compliment of his own :-

“I think on my side, you know when you left I was still making sketch comedy, I was still writing, but I never found the same kind of writing partner that I did after you. It was never the same. The way that we work together, I never quite found that kind of person to easily bounce ideas off to, so I kind of stepped back a little bit from the writing.”

It also reminds me of something Ian said during Anthony’s interview, about how they have this level of ‘trust’ between them, that Ian never found again with anyone else after Anthony left. Makes me so soft, they feel so lucky to have each other again. No one quite gets them like the other does and they can never replace what they have. Their connection truly is special.

This is more of a silly one and just them joking around but I’m including it anyways! They had a Q&A session with the audience after the interview and the person asking the question starts off by introducing themselves and saying how they met Ian the other day and apologises for calling him “old.”

They both laugh and Ian pretends to begin to walk off stage. And then, you guessed it, Anthony swoops in with a retort :-

“Hey! He’s 35 years young.”

Moving on to later the same day, after playing a live version of TNTL with the cast, they all had a sit-down Q&A :-

Q: “What inspires you? What made you who you are?”

And of course, as if he hadn’t already killed us enough, Anthony has to go and say this :-

“I’m about to say something totally whack. I’d say, Ian and my friendship when we first started really connecting. I feel like Ian taught me to not take myself too seriously and his sense of humour is just all over the place and I eat that shit up, I think it’s so funny.”

Like wtf. WHAT THE FUCK.

Ian’s reaction to him saying that pretty much sums up my emotions.

And that was it for Vidcon!

Except if you count this little cherry on top and the perfect closing to June as the picture is from Vidcon :-

Anthony being obsessed with Ian on main! You love to see it!

July 2023

Started off July with a bang and the ☀️🔍 article :-

Never getting over this! Anthony just loves the sun and magnifying glass analogy and I couldn’t be more here for it. Ian is the sun in his life 💛🖤

Ian Reads Anthony’s Angry Letter

And then came the infamous letter video. Which even though there were a few hurtful things revealed, there still managed to be a few nods of acknowledgment towards Ian even in that hurt Anthony felt.

As mentioned earlier in this post, in part of the letter Anthony writes that in the early days of Smosh he wanted it to be something ‘he’ made with Ian’s help, and that he considered Ian to only be “tagging along”. He goes on to apologise [in the letter] for if he ever made Ian feel like he didn’t deserve as much credit as he did.

“You may not have done some of the heavy lifting I did in the early days, but definitely encouraged us to keep going and you kept things light and full of laughs as we did it. We accomplished so much and I am just now realising how important you were in making that happen.”

Anthony then brings up something that happened recently between them :-

“But that thing that you read there - you did, and this was actually really nice for me to hear from you. It was a few days after we had confirmation that we had bought Smosh, you came over to my place, we had a little celebratory hang; very luxurious. We chilled with cigars and some whiskey, and we just bro-ed it up, and you said that to me. That exact thing - you said, “hey, I don’t think I ever really acknowledged the heavy lifting that you did in the early days” and you said that you “felt really lucky to be there at that time and that I included you in that.” And that was really nice to hear, even though I know.”

So I know technically this compliment/praise/acknowledgment isn’t new as the letter was written in 2017, but it’s ‘new’ to us. But I’m glad to hear that Anthony does acknowledge Ian’s involvement in Smosh’s success, even in the early days when Anthony was doing more of the technical things. He acknowledges that Ian still had a role to play in it all being what it was.

Ian agrees with what Anthony is saying, and that he always felt ‘guilt’ over the fact Anthony had to do the things he didn’t have the skillset to do, but recognises that he didn’t acknowledge or thank Anthony enough for it because he was ‘afraid’ that he might have to do more when their whole thing was about doing “equal work” because they felt as a duo they had to, and that if the other felt they were doing more work then there was some resentment there. Ian tries to downplay himself by joking “In most cases you were doing more work than me…” but Anthony is quick to jump in again and not allow it.

“I was doing more hours, but I think you were doing more of the creative heavy-lifting which is more taxing in many ways. So I think that you needed your time to recoup your energy, cause you’re coming up with funny stuff, and at that time I was like ‘I’m doing so much work’.”

Also another mention of Ian’s creativity and humour when it comes to writing, that Anthony acknowledges he wouldn’t be able come up with. But you can see where the ‘resentment’ they talked of came from, and why Anthony felt he was doing more. When in reality it’s just that’s their strengths lie in different areas, but that doesn’t make the work they both do individually any less important. So I am happy they can see that now and praise each other for the unique ways in which they shine which compliments their own strengths in their own special ways.

WE WERE ROBBED! Watch Party

It happened again. Anthony calling Ian ‘daddy’. Can we just all agree that he has a thing for it? Okay. Good.

They’re discussing how everyone in chat is poking fun at Ian for saying “you guys are a fun bunch” to the rest of the group during the ‘Do Men Know Reproductive Anatomy?’ Smosh Pit video and how it was a ‘dad’ comment. Ian reads out a comment talking about how Arasha called him ‘dad’ and he says “[she] can because she’s my son”. And then Mr ‘Ian is Daddy’ Padilla jumps in with the correction once again :-

Anthony: “I think you’re becoming ‘daddy’.”

Ian: [asks if it’s when he puts his glasses on]

Anthony: “Especially.”

Ian: [puts glasses on]

Anthony: “Oh damn, daddy.”

Like why is this Anthony’s thing now? Whatever the reason - I’m here for it.

Also, Ian doesn’t like to be referred to as ‘pops’ but Anthony’s into it. So, Daddy and Pops. It’s settled. Love our parents 👨‍👨‍👧‍👦

Smosh Mouth

And just like we started July, we ended it the same - with a bang!

I urge you if you haven’t seen it yet (or even if you have), to go watch this video. It may as well have been named ‘Praise Ian Hour’. Not only have we got Anthony, but also Shayne and Amanda coming in to add to the many compliments.

I know all these compliments the others were giving Ian were probably making Anthony’s heart swell with pride. To know that not only himself, but everyone else also recognises Ian’s strengths. To know that these things he loves about Ian, others see in him too.

So a lot of the video was the others complimenting Ian rather than from Anthony himself, but he agreed with everything they were saying and added a few little tidbits. So this next lot of compliments will be what Shayne and Amanda said, along with Anthony’s comments :-

Amanda: [talking about when she first auditioned for Smosh] “And I’ll never forget after I did that [read the script], it was really fun - they asked me a question, and I was in a really interesting place in my life… And they were like “If you could have one superpower, what would it be?” and I just said “Vulnerability.”… And I’ll never forget, Ian stood up and went “Do you write comedy also?” and I said “Yeah!”, and he went [nods] and he shook my hand.”

Anthony: [grinning ear to ear] “He knew. He knew.”

Happy boy loving hearing people praise his bff 🥰

“I think honestly that statement alone is exactly why you’re doing a podcast. I think Ian was able, if he really did know in that moment, I think it probably was seeing that there was more to you than just the comedy, there’s more depth there, there’s multiple layers, and you can build on that a lot more than just somebody who can only do one type of thing.”

A very sweet comment. How Ian recognised the talent in Amanda from that one thing she said, and also cute how well Anthony knows Ian so can see exactly where he was coming from in seeing that talent in her and why she ended up at Smosh.

Shayne: “…I’m curious how you [Anthony] think things were going in the years you were gone? It’s been fun to see this arc of Ian. And being honest I’ve gotten to know Ian so well over the course of 6 years and that’s what’s so interesting about you coming back. You know Ian better than any of us-”

Anthony: “But I don’t know the Ian from the past 6 years as well as well as you guys do.”

Shayne: “…But you haven’t seen president Ian.” [talks about how when Anthony was still there both him and Ian were so busy under Defy that they weren’t around much to act as leaders]

Anthony: “Yeah, there was no leadership really coming from Ian and I, except that I think we showed excitement and passion… We showed that, and I think that’s where we kinda led, but it wasn’t really ‘we’re the leaders’ and when I left, and especially when Defy collapsed and Ian was left there making a lot of those decisions, he had to be the leader that had to lead by example and get everyone onboard with his ideas, and that was a really unique role for him because he was kinda forced into that position, and he was forced to get really good at it. And I think, over the 6 year time period that I was gone, I’ve seen him, observing from the outside, I’ve seen him get better and better at that role. Even though I know he doesn’t ‘love’ it, he’s not like ‘I can’t wait to go and be a leader when I go to work’, and he’s told me that he feels like he thrives most when we have the dynamic between us where I can pick up when he’s not really-”

“observing from the outside” 🥺 the fact he was still checking up on Ian even when they weren’t close anymore, it shows that the care was still there despite the strain on the relationship. It also reminds me of what Ian said during Anthony’s interview, that he could tell Anthony was floundering when he first left :-

Ian: “I could see very clearly what you were doing and what was going on. It was very clear that you were trying to find your individual creative voice. And with the types of videos you were putting out it felt very much like you’d throw this out and see if that would stick, you’d throw that out and see if that would stick. You’d get excited about something - I could tell there was a time when I think you were watching Nathan For You, and you were getting excited about this one kind of style.”

Anthony: “Damn, you read me like a book.”

It’s just like Shayne said - they know each other better than anyone. And that extends to even when they weren’t speaking, they still knew the other inside and out.

Amanda: “He’s glowing right now.”

Shayne: “He’s been so happy.”

Anthony: “It’s really, really cool to see because you know watching from the outside, I was able to observe his mannerisms and kind of get a general idea of where his headspace was at, but even then I wasn’t able to fully understand him because I didn’t fully understand him for so many years leading up to it, so I was just an outside observer trying to just keep tabs. But I do notice a stark difference, ever since Ian and I had that discussion, and were like ‘you know what, let’s buy Smosh and anything we can do to make that happen, let’s do it’. And after that conversation I’ve been keeping up-to-date with the content a lot more and I’ve seen Ian shine in such an interesting way, where I don’t even know if you guys felt it - like before the announcement, you felt something good was coming?”

Is everyone sufficiently in tears? Good, because me too. This isn’t even the end of this convo, I just had the pause to go over all of what was just said. Both Amanda and Shayne saying how happy Ian is now, I don’t know how Anthony didn’t cry on the spot! I did and it’s not even about me! Like hearing that, knowing it’s because of him that Ian is so happy 😭 and I think the same can be said for Anthony. They’re both so happy to have each other again ❤️

Shayne: “I did start to notice a change these past few months. I started to notice - this dude, there’s something about him, like the ‘cool’ factor started to change. He started wearing a chain! He started tucking shirts in.”

Amanda: “Oh yeah! He tucked in every shirt. He wore a chain. He was glowing. And our conversations were about life and joy and not really what he was reading on the internet.”

Shayne: “His confidence level has changed this year. When you guys announced the whole thing [buying Smosh], you walked into the building and I was like ‘Okay this makes sense!’ He’s feeling a lot more confident because things are feeling more certain and this place is going to turn into more of what he wants.”

Anthony: [agrees, and talks about how he thinks the confidence comes from a place of Ian now knowing the future of Smosh is secure under them after not knowing for a long time] “And I think for some reason, just naturally his confidence started growing as - I don’t know if this is related, but he is so good at writing and coming up with jokes, and I think for a long time he got the impression in his head that he wasn’t good at that anymore. And I think the Smosh channel moving away from written stuff, which I feel like he just really shines at - these absurd ideas, and when they come to life on screen maybe I’m able to help keep them a little bit more focused. But I really love that, cause he has so many great ideas and I started noticing just how many good ideas - he would throw out like 30 ideas and 20 of them were brilliant. But I feel like he started to gain confidence too in our writing sessions where he realised, ‘oh this isn’t a fluke, I wasn’t just funny in the past’ - I don’t know if this was the worry that was going on in his head, but it certainly was in mine. I was like, ‘was I only good at this in the past? can I be good at this now?’ and we both discovered together that what we were good at in the past, was more of a representation of our innate abilities and personality on our own but also the dynamic between us, and it seems like his confidence was growing there, and on camera when I would watch him from the outside, even hosting ‘Let’s Do This’ - when I saw him hosting these things it seemed like he was much more confident and he was able to take initiative.”

I love how much Anthony talks about how good Ian is at writing and coming up with jokes, and how much he reiterates that nowadays. I love that he recognises that talent in him and acknowledges how his own abilities complement Ian’s so well and why their dynamic is so special and works so well.

Shayne: “Ian is so much funnier than he realises. And maybe he’s realising it now-“

Anthony: “Yeah, I hope so.”

Aw Anthony 🥺 well if he doesn’t, you’re there to remind him tenfold.

Shayne: “But over these past years, I think the thing that has always frustrated me is - as you said [Anthony], he’ll throw out ideas but he’ll be like ‘oh this one’s dumb’ and I’m like ‘no that’s really funny, man’…. But whenever he goes 100% and he commits fully it’s always great.”

Anthony: “Always great.”

Shayne: “And I think he really does that in your guy’s sketches, there’s no doubt - the Ian that people know and love is that guy. And I think when he’s able to write and know what it is, he goes full force. But I will say even with the improvised stuff he held himself back - he’s so good, but he just needs to allow himself go full force.”

Anthony: “I think he would second guess.”

Shayne: “He second guesses. And I feel bad talking about him without him here, but it’s all good things. Cause reality is he’s really, really talented.”

Anthony: “The truth is he was doubting himself, but the less he’s doubting himself [he’s able to go full force].”

Shayne: [talks about how Ian has said 2019 was one of the hardest years after Defy collapsed and he had to step up as a leader and figure things out on his own] “So suddenly one day Smosh is gone and all these people are just gone, they don’t care. And I remember talking to Ian and being like “hey, so what are we gonna do?” and I remember this look of just - it’s still Ian where everything’s very casual and just kinda shrugged off almost, but I remember him just being like “We’re gonna figure it out. I’m gonna get this together”, and I was just like “That’s the most confident you’ve ever sounded about anything.”

Amanda: “It’s cause he was a single dad, he had to figure it out.”

Shayne: “But Ian’s always like ‘yeah, I dunno’ but this was the first time he was like ‘we’re gonna - I’m gonna - we’re gonna have it.’

Anthony: “And I feel like we see that [confidence] a lot more from him now.”

Shayne: “Yeah, and that was the first time that I was like ‘Dude, this Ian’s crazy. This guy’s not fucking around.’ and he had to do so much behind the scenes that I didn’t see, but he was making business deals and he was working all day, every day to get that shit together. And you know people say Rhett and Link saved Smosh, it’s like Ian saved Smosh. Rhett and Link were there to make that deal happen, but Ian was the one who put that shit together.”

Anthony: “For sure.”

Loved this from Shayne! Because it’s so true, yes R&L were there when Smosh needed a home, but Ian was the one who put in the hard work to make that happen. None of it could have happened without him. And I’m glad Anthony agrees, and as his comments at Vidcon suggest, he’s very thankful that Ian was there to save Smosh so he could come back and they could rightfully own what is their’s, doing what they love, together again.

Shayne: [talking about how Ian and Anthony going their separate ways needed to happen] “You started this thing forever ago when you were kids and it’s completely overshadowed your own lives and your friendship. To be able to take a step away and figure out who you guys are on your own and then come back - you guys at a certain point were forced to be best friends on camera and that’s tough and it becomes a product more than an actual friendship, so to be able to walk away and leave that alone and then choose to be best friends again.”

Not so much a compliment, just loved this. It’s the choice to be best friends again that gets me. Something they’re actively choosing and put above everything else, they’re never going to let anything get in the way of their friendship again and that is so special.

The famous quote comes to mind :-

“If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it’s yours.”

Shayne: “I said it to Ian when he was on the podcast - I really respect both of you for your both individual journeys in all this. Like your choice to leave the thing you made forever ago as a kid, that meant everything to you, that’s an insane choice. And you made it for your own good, and you recognised your own happiness and that was gigantic. And Ian, I think really was scared to be a leader here, he was scared to be on his own, like president, and he really did it and he’s stuck with it through crazy [times] - not only the shutdown where he stepped up, but the pandemic as well, where we were all filming stuff on our own by ourselves, and he stuck with it, man. That dude, he’s had some endurance with all of this and so to see you guys back together, I know for him there’s pressure taken off because he has you, and I can see there’s so many aspects of the job that he questions himself - I think he’s great at it, but he questions himself and I think you can fill in that part for him where he’s like ‘oh sweet, I know I can rely on you’.”

Anthony looks like he’s about ready to cry when Shayne said that and I don’t blame him because I could too.

Knowing just how important he is to Ian. That he is the only person Ian can rely on when it comes the leadership side of the business, an area where he’s been alone in for so long, doubting himself, I’m sure it makes Anthony want to hype him up and reassure him even more that he’s doing a good job.

Shayne: “And I said this to you, I think the day you first came back, but I’m like - you both together is one of the greatest YouTubers ever.”

Anthony: “I appreciate that.”

Shayne: “You individually - super successful. Like you went and you were successful on your own. Ian maintained Smosh on his own. That’s really cool to see that there was success from both of you individually, but together - I mean when we’re at Vidcon and we’re talking to other YouTubers, Smosh has, there’s something to it right? Like other YouTubers go ‘Oh! Smosh!’ that’s a big deal.”

It’s so emotional how this thing that Ian and Anthony created together as teenagers is what it is now 🥲 and it’s so true - together, they’re something special.

Anthony: [discussing how he discovered his interview format for his videos after trying lots of different kinds of content after leaving Smosh] “I thought that my lane was making sketch comedy so I was writing out some stuff. But I realised that on my own, without Ian, I am not a very strong writer. I do not have the funniest jokes.”

Again, Anthony recognising Ian’s talent when it comes to writing and the Yin and Yang of their dynamic, and how they need each other to really be at their best.

[Amanda says how Anthony seems like an extrovert in his interviews. He says it’s an illusion and that he’s really introverted - Shayne agrees that he is]

Shayne: “I mean I’m just now hanging out with you again recently, but I always got the sense, and I get the sense still, that Ian is the outgoing one.”

Anthony: “Yeah.”

Shayne: “Ian’s super outgoing, and people maybe don’t clock that… At parties, Ian will walk up to any group of people and he’ll just join the conversation.”

Anthony: “For sure.”

Amanda: “You’re right, he does.”

Shayne: “It is shocking to me. And he’s so chill about it.”

I know this was mainly just Anthony agreeing, but I found it interesting and it made me wonder if that is another reason their dynamic works so well and if it’s maybe also a comfort for Anthony? As a fellow introvert, I know how much easier it makes things when you have an extroverted person with you in social situations that you feel uncomfortable with. So I wonder if it’s the same for Anthony with Ian, that he has him there to lean on, knowing he’ll take the forefront in those types of situations if he needs it.

And that was it for the podcast and for the month of July.

And so draws to a close the first instalment of this compliments series. I plan to continue this month to month, or every few depending on how much content there is - you’ll be able to find all parts in the Compliments Masterlist.

Thank you for reading and catching up with the world of the Anthony Padilla Ian Hecox Fanclub with me. Hope you enjoyed and I shall see you next time!

#this took me so long so rb are appreciated 😅#wanted to get this out end of July but didn’t finish in time #started adding august onto it forgetting you can only add 10 photos on a post 😑#but anyways! so happy to finally get this out to you guys!#smosh #ian hecox #anthony padilla #ianthony #☀️🔍#ianthony compliments #ian and anthony #smoshian #smoshanthony #smosh ian #smosh anthony #my posts

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auroras-void · 2 months ago

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Hmnn it's been years since I've run a DnD campaign, but I saw that Brennan Lee Mulligan quote about the power of friendship being nothing compared to chronomancy and I just got the coolest idea for a villain.

I'm thinking a powerful chronomancer, but no one knows they're a chronomancer. They're introduced simply as an ordinary mage, who is an absolute perfectionist. They talk to everyone as if their old friends, somehow always knowing exactly what to say, their spells are weaker than what the party normally encounters, but miraculously always seem to have deadly precision.

Now, the real gimmick though, is I want to use loaded dice for them. Specifically, I want to design and build my own d20 that I can rig to land on *any* face.

The mechanism is dead simple, I'm going to take a hollow d20, place a strong neodymium magnet inside, and then fill it with a carefully measured indium-gallium alloy. The idea is to create a blend that has a density as similar as possible to neodymium, while still being solid, or mostly solid at room temperature.

That way at any point you can simply hold it in your hand above a spot on the table where you've hidden a powerful magnet, and the metal inside will liquify under your body heat, allowing the neodymium magnet to move freely inside and be "reprogrammed" by the larger magnet under the table. At which point you remove your hand and allow it to resolidify, locking the magnet in place. All while still managing to pass an inspection and hopefully even a balance test within reason.

(I also actually already have a crazy strong magnet for hiding under the table, ripped a pair of them out of some old PA speakers, very hard to get it unstuck from my file cabinet, and it doesn't even look like a magnet at a cursory glance!)

Additionally I think with a carefully constructed dice tower, it may be possible to hide the unnatural movement the magnet imparts.

Finally, and this is maybe the craziest part, if I can perfect my design, get it to successfully evade suspicion and land on a design that's somewhat cost effective...

I want to make one pair of identical dice for each player, rigged like this. Then only hand them one each, without telling them what they are.

Now the clever part here, I mentioned making a dice tower designed to hide the shenanigans afoot. If I'm doing that, I can do a little more than just that. I'm thinking, make the dice tower attached to the DM screen, ostensibly so I don't have to reach over the screen to put a die in. But in actuality I intend to put in a mechanism there such that as it falls I can swap the die halfway down the tower for one I've preloaded into a hidden slot with a bit of mechanical slight of hand.

The idea being, I can take the secret duplicate, and reprogram it in advance, meaning I can now rig *any* roll to *any* number.

(Maybe I make them match some of the decorations on my DM screen so that it seems more reasonable to as for them back at the end of the session, to reduce the chances of anyone figuring out the gimmick or accidentally discovering they're magnetic.)

Imagine the possibilities! I can have them lying dormant for most of the game letting them be natural rolls. But whenever they encounter the BBEG, suddenly the numbers look a little... suspicious... Maybe before they're even revealed as a villain, whenever the players are around them, their dice suddenly seem to roll in strange patterns. Maybe no one rolls an even number 10 times in a row. Maybe the sequences of rolls start to repeat themselves. Reality around them just fundamentally feels slightly off.

It should be as subtle as possible at first, the players should only be able to pick it up if they're being very observant. Additionally it should be reserved, most encounters should not fuck with reality, both to reduce suspicion of dice tampering and to provide contrast against the times you *do* fuck with reality. There should be red herrings and alternative explanations that buy you time to weave a mystery for the players to work out. Executed well I want it to feel like a magic trick. Because it essentially is one, given all the insane fuckery and sleight of hand I'm coming up with.

It doesn't even have to be limited to the dice either, any way of playing DnD has ways you can fuck with things behind the scenes. If using a digital or projected battlegrid you can move things behind the fog of war and shift the room in any way you like. If using theater of the mind you have the plausible deniability of forgetting details when you rearrange things in your narration. Not to mention any other styles and rule changes you can make if you're homebrewing or using a ttrpg besides DnD5e. If you add deck building to your game you can even literally use close up magic sleight of hand to stack the deck!

Then, as things kick into gear you can do all sorts of crazy stuff, maybe the party finally catches the villain in a corner, and for once, everything seems normal, all their dice are rolling true and they seem to finally have them caught off guard, they dispatch their minions easily and the villain opens a doorway and makes a break for it. When the players rush in to pursue though, the next room has exactly the same layout as before, complete with the exact same minions they just killed. After some confusion the party begins the fight again, but if they're particularly observant, every roll they make has exactly the same results as last time, meanwhile the villain is only repeating numbers if they were already high to begin with, and their spell slots seem to have refreshed.

Towards the end of the campaign the players have figured it out now, but the chronomancer continues to perfect their craft. Their stats remain mediocre as always, but now they're *only* rolling nat 20s every. Single time. Meanwhile the players are suddenly only getting nat 1s. Now the players have an interesting mechanical challenge here, where they have to figure out how they take on a foe who *always* gets perfect rolls with the abilities at their disposal. The only way they win is by thinking outside the box, coming up with a strategy that either has enough overwhelming force to fight through the debuff, or that sidesteps the need for rolls in the first place.

As the campaign progresses the time manipulation grows more and more powerful, but it also starts to visibly take a toll on the villain. They're aging, *fast*, and their sanity is beginning to unravel just as quickly. They have far more scars than the party could have possibly inflicted.

By the final battle they're a force of nature, powerful enough to take on a god, able to manipulate reality enough to poke at the fourth wall, they can introduce mechanics like forcing the players onto a turn timer. Or maybe something like Time Eater from Slay the Spire where the players have their actions limited in some way that can still anticipate and come up with counterplay against.

But it's come at a great cost, any goals the villain once had are long gone now, I'm thinking either they start to show signs of dementia, and the party needs to delve into their past to unravel then and talk them down, or they become a Jobu Tupaki, able to see every timeline simultaneously, experience every timeline simultaneously, and they've gone mad with eternity and try to cope with it by trying to impose order, perfection, onto *all* of them.

Maybe they're a likeable villain, and you can plant seeds all the way back when they were still aligned or at least, not opposed to the party, hinting at their motivations that the players can use. Or maybe they represent some kind of force that the party must oppose and destroy. Or maybe some other secret third thing,

In any case though, by far the most effective solution for the party here is of course, the power of friendship. They need to be able to talk them down, gather enough allies to overpower them, or come up with another creative solution to either bring them down peacefully or create an opening where they can kick their time wizard ass.

Ooo!! And I just came up with the perfect name for them!

"Kai", short for "Kairos".

Kairos of course coming from Greek. Here referencing the concept of time as it's experienced qualitatively. (As opposed to Chronos, the mere passage of time).

#post #dnd concept #ttrpg ideas #story ideas #brennan lee mulligan

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rainswept · 1 year ago

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love / lyney, wanderer, kaedehara kazuha

— ⟢ summary ⊹ : what is it to them? — ⟢ info ⊹ : 300-500 words each, character-centric. angst (you cannot convince me any of them would be able to have a healthy relationship). quotes are lyrics from various songs by the crane wives. — ⟢ cw ⊹ : all used as metaphors: disease (lyney), gore (wanderer), death (kazuha).

LYNEY — “ THIS RING AROUND MY FINGER IS LIKE A CHAIN AROUND MY THROAT. ”

Lyney knows love well. He meets it first when he is born alongside Lynette. He meets it again every day of his life.

He sees its face in the stray cats on the street, in the sky when it rains, in the Hotel. He sees it in his audience when he steps on stage. He sees it in his words, when he grins and presents someone he is forgetting as he speaks with a rose. He knows love well. But love has never known him.

He has never wanted it to. The idea of love knowing him as well as he knows it is a fear just below his skin, creeping up his limbs and clawing at his spine. It is searing fire in his senses, lumps in his throat. It is cold, rainy nights, and it is the peril that gained him his Vision. It is the anticipation of a magic trick and the devastation when it has gone wrong. It is death. It is disease. It is one he carried knowingly, with little remorse or regard to spreading it until he felt the effects of it himself.

You smile. You laugh. When you look at him, practically with hearts in your eyes, and he realizes he is looking at you the same way — he nearly keels over. It twists his organs into knots: it constricts his lungs until he can’t breathe, swims in his stomach until he throws up, forces his heart to beat far too fast until it gives out. He can’t take it.

He thinks he knows love well, but he is an outsider all the same. When he meets it, face to face, and it spills back to him all the secrets he held from it all these years — he finds he does not know it at all.

— “ ARE YOU SO SURE YOU TAMED ME? ”

WANDERER — “ NOTHING COULD’VE BEEN DONE, IS THAT RIGHT? ”

— “ ‘CAUSE I WAS BORN WITH A HOLE IN MY HEART. ”

The cavities where Wanderer’s most important organs should be ached. His lungs, whenever he saw others breathe; his stomach, whenever he saw others eat; his heart, whenever he saw you.

The Kabukimono was a pathetic lost soul. Kunikuzushi was doomed from the start. Scaramouche was his best shot at being someone. But they all had at least one thing in common: they did not know love.

Out of everyone he’d ever met, you were the worst. The way you put up with his words, his anger, his teeth gnashing and words spitting like a stray ember; he was a wildfire, you the rain, and all he’s ever held dear the burnt crisps of what used to be a forest.

The flames lap at his ankles like they want to swallow him whole. He watches as they wrap up his leg, around his torso, his neck, burning the white wood that makes him who he is — yet he knows he is the one allowing it to.

It was awful. At first, with your tender words and forgiving actions, all you did was stoke the fire settled in the pit of his stomach. Your breath turned the slow-burning thing into a raging inferno — but, soon, the wind you brought that fanned the flames turned into the rain that tried to snuff them out.

And it almost worked. He almost let it work.

He’d cough as ash and smoke rose like bile into his throat instead of fire, wince as some foreign feeling roused from an eternal slumber in his chest. He’d swallow, forcing it back down, even as it felt like hot coals being shoveled into his throat.

He placed his hands over his mouth when swallowing wasn’t enough. He coughed, choked, but to anyone else it would appear as if the flames had simply scorched his throat beyond repair. If he allowed the smoke to rise and billow from his maw instead of searing fire, was that not an admission of weakness? Surrender? Who was he, if not a manifestation of the furnace he had nearly died in? He owed his “life” to a human heart. But he had never wanted one, not like that.

So, somewhere in the back of his mind, he vowed never to allow someone to present him one again. Wanderer has chosen to be heartless, no matter the form, for someone offering him theirs was nearly as cruel of a harvest as Niwa’s.

— “ WE WERE FUCKED FROM THE START. ”

KAEDEHARA KAZUHA — “ HEARTS DON’T WITHER, HEARTS DON’T BREAK. ”

To Kaedehara Kazuha, love is a soft ocean breeze and thrashing storm. It is the scent of sea-spray, the sight of the sunset over the water, the lap of gentle currents, the feel of sun-baked sand underfoot. It is the wild, vengeful waves, chaotic and messy and unbridled; it is the rage of whirlpools; it is the shock of lightning bolts when they strike far too close without warning. It is the happiness of a successful voyage and the dreadful feeling one gets when they know their ship is about to sink. And sink it did.

Water overwhelmed his senses. Frigid, it stung his nose and lapped against his throat, splashing into his mouth and filling it with the taste of salt. Lightning struck a horizon he could barely see over the surface, thunder groaned like it was the one in pain, his ears filled with the splashing of water and rain. He heaved for breath as he spat it out, thrashing against the wild waves that surely wanted him dead, too.

Kaedehara Kazuha lost nearly all he had when his boat had turned to floating crates and his crew to dead, bloated bodies, but he did not lose his life. No, in fact, he grabbed hold of a wooden plank and swam to shore alone.

Exhausted, he collapsed against the warm sand, kissed by the sun that had appeared somewhere in the fray. He was weak, tired, and frail, but he was alive, and that was all that mattered until the weight of what truly happened sank in.

Ever since the lightning had claimed nearly all he held dear, Kazuha was afraid he’d never be able to separate the duality of his feelings. Even so, love was a warmth nestled deep in his heart, beyond where even the cold seawater could seep in. It was never something he thought he’d lose, and he was right. He was never worried about that.

The love he felt for you was different from that of the crew he’d left behind, but it was love all the same; thus, after the fluttering of his heart like a seagull’s wings, regret, sorrow, and longing always came in tow. It was as the ripples behind a boat: if the vessel was moving, so were they.

He could still sail. He always had been able to; death did not change that. But he couldn’t deny that he now sailed differently — and now he was unable to go out to sea without the lingering worry of the inevitable storms like an anchor left down.

— “ BUT MINE IS TIRED, MINE STILL ACHES. ”

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roses-r-rosie3 · 2 years ago

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Put It Straight Part 2

Miguel O'hara x M!Reader

[Part 1]

Warnings: Mostly fluff, with a hint of angst

Summary: The reader gets invited to a hide-out by Gwen, and is starting to feel better, But Miguel on the other hand is losing his shit, and starts to cuss out/intimidate anyone that comes near him

Quote: “This is actually my third or second time, Miguel doesn’t really let me travel the multiverse a lot”

✁ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

You had absolutely no idea where to go. This was your 3rd or 2nd time traveling the multiverse, mainly because Miguel wouldn’t allow you to travel too much in fear of you getting hurt. You were walking through a random version of New York from god knows which universe. But all of a sudden a portal opened in front of you, and Gwen came out of it.

“Hey y/n, I heard you weren’t on Miguel’s side anymore, so you wanna join us?” She said.

“Oh- uh- sure” you Said.

When you walked into the portal you were transported to a secret hideout of sorts with hundreds of other spider people. When you were walking around he bumped into Peter B Parker and Mayday.

“Oh hey y/n!” He said cheerfully.

“Hi Peter” you smiled.

“So, I heard that you and Miguel broke up, are you okay?” Peter asked.

You never really thought about it, you didn’t really know if you would consider it a break-up, more like a fight, but all of your fights with Miguel were never this serious.

“It’s kinda complicated” you said awkwardly.

“That’s good! So are you guys taking a break or-”

Peter was interrupted as Gwen elbowed him, and gave him the ‘Stop talking about it’ look.

“So y/n, first time traveling the multiverse?” Gwen said.

“This is actually my third or second time, Miguel doesn’t really let me travel the multiverse a lot” you responded.

“Enough about Miguel y/n! Try to lighten up a little! Oh and by the way, we got you little suit that has spider powers! You can be one of us now!” Peter smiled.

“Peter! It was supposed to be a surprise!” Gwen scolded.

“You guys did?!” You shouted in excitement.

Gwen and Peter both noticed how your face lit up in excitement every time a spider person would swing by you. For some reason, it never got old to you, it was just cool seeing people swing by. So they thought that they could make you your own spider suit.

“Hehe oops.. sorry” Peter laughed nervously.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you guys so much!” You smiled.

While you were having what you would describe as the best time of your life, Miguel was losing his shit. Cussing out anyone who dared even come near him, throwing stuff around, yelling, shouting, and punching the wall until it had a noticeable dent in it. Needless to say Miguel was NOT having fun.

Miguel ordered Lyla to try and track down where the watch you stole from him. Miguel was a reckless mess.

“Hey Miguel” Miguel turned around in anger to see who dared try and come near him, but he saw no one.

“Did you forget I was here too?” Lyla said.

“Did you find where y/n is?!” Miguel exclaimed.

“Yeah.. but after your little tantrum I don’t think I should give it to you” Lyla said teasingly.

“Lyla not now! I need to find y/n!” He yelled.

“Come on, you know the special word” Lyla smirked.

“Lyla this is serious!” Miguel shouted.

“Come onnnn, it’s just one simple little word” Lyla smirked.

Miguel sighed in defeat.

“Could you please give me the location of where y/n is?” Miguel grumbled.

“Sorry I didn’t hear that” Lyla smiled.

“Could you please give me the location of where y/n is?” Miguel said a bit louder.

“Come on you can speak waaaaaay louder than that” Lyla said.

“COULD YOU PLEASE GIVE ME THE LOCATION OF WHERE Y/N IS?” Miguel yelled.

“Yeah I don’t have it but thanks for the picture” Lyla laughed as she showed Miguel a picture of him with a bunny filter.

“LYLA!” Miguel shouted.

“Kidding!” Lyla said before sending Miguel the location.

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igotanidea · 1 year ago

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Bodies : Hotch x reader (part 2 to cold weather)

previous part

You would think that the end of the year would be a nice, peaceful time filled with joy and reflection about the passing year, and probably somewhere in the world it was like that. However, when you are a DA in one of the busiest cities in America, you can only quote some comic heroes while saying: the crime never sleeps.

To put it bluntly, Christmas and New Year’s Eve were nothing less, but a perfect opportunity for both petty criminals and organized crime groups to commit atrocities. Theft and assaults were – well – as tragic as it may sound – normal - but in the crowd of people at the city events there were always a risk of something bigger and worse.

Killing.

Shooting

Bombing.

You live and you learn.

And Y/N had seen enough of it, both in her career and in her private live to behave cautiously even though it was not her job to secure the place or make sure everyone was safe. But hey, here comes a surprise – being DA is not only about inspecting dead bodies and prosecuting killers.

For her – it was about people and serving justice.

Truly. Not only in theory.

And given her experience she knew something big was coming making her dread.

***

“JJ. I’m being serious.” She was sitting in her office, talking through the phone with her friend from the BAU, who also happened to be the only person who could get the whole team of agents to come. “this whole situation is serious. I can’t let it accure.”

“I can only do as much as present it at the briefing.” JJ responded though it was clear in her voice that she was struggling between her professionalism and sympathy for the young DA.

“Right. Sorry.” Y/N pinched the bridge of her nose swirling in the chair nervously while looking at the street below her. Full of police officers, CSIs, reporters and very characteristic yellow tape. “Didn’t mean to be demanding. I’m just – “ the words barely got through her throat but Y/N was pretty sure if there was anyone trustable in the whole wide world it was definitely JJ “ I’m kind of desperate. This is way beyond my pay grade.”

“I promise I’ll do my best Y/N, but it’s not my call.”

“Yeah, I know….”

Oh yes, she did.

There was too much to risk and Y/N could not sit in her chair doing nothing. If the mountain won't come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain.

***

“Y/N!”

“Get out of my way Morgan I’m here on business.”

“Oh wow! Slow down Katrina.” Morgan chuckled and Y/N raised an eyebrow at him “The hurricane.”

“I understood the reference.”

“What’s with the stormy attitude then?”

“Where is he?” she swiftly avoided the answer getting straight to her point.

“Can’t you at least say hello first?”

“Hello Morgan. Now where is he?”

“Who?”

“Stop playing with me.” She warned throwing daggers at him. It was the first time anyone at the BAU saw her act like a force of nature and even Emily couldn’t hide the amused smirk of approval. Y/N was finally showing her true side as driven and strong DA and not the withdrawn public prosecutor’s trainee they met her as. And it was both admirable and terrifying, especially to Reid who was so taken aback that his mouth hung open for a moment. The girl woman, who saved him from drowning some time ago was a lioness and after the initial shock, he was the one to point her to the direction were the reason of her visit has been currently sojourning.

***

“The local authorities-“

“For god’s sake Hotch I am the local authority!”

“The mayor-“

“The mayor is a knucklehead who can’t speak publicly without having the speech written by ghostwriter. He has no idea what’s happening in his own backyard. And frankly I don’t think he cares.”

“You’re forgetting yourself.” Deep, calm and cold voice of the BAU chief was an evident contrast to his smirk and watchful eyes. Y/N was definitely a view when she walked into his office with a face expression so stern it could match his own.

“Oh I am?” she spun around, loosening the collar of her shirt, since the situation was making her blood boil. A little gesture that did not slip by the agent, even if he didn’t let it show at all. “Okay then. I’ll calm down and resort to your way of understanding.”

“Which is?”

“Logic, obviously. You have no imagination whatsoever. Everything must always make sense to you and form a perfect whole. Let me present it to you then.”

“Please.” Hotch responded, still calm and collected pointing the chair to her. “You know the rules.” He added when she finally took the place instead of walking around his office like a caged animal.

“I got a killer on the loose.”

“Yes. Like many other states and cities.”

“A very specific kind of killer.”

“You’re wasting my time.”

“And mine apparently.” She muttered

“If you excuse me I got-“

“No.”

“Sorry?”

“I won’t excuse you. I’m here for something and believe me I won’t leave until I get what I want.”

“You’re being-“

“Unreasonable? Crazy?” she leaned slightly forward, almost leaning on his desk “Go ahead. Think what you want, I’d rather consider myself driven and concerned about my people. It’s part of my job to make sure no more families cries at night because some psycho is on a killing rampage. And you’re the fucking BAU supposed to –“

“I know my duties.” Hotch cut her off getting a bit agitated by her behavior.

“Do you now?”

“Leave L/N.”

“Nah, don’t think so.”

“You have no authority here.”

The sudden slap of a paper file on his desk didn’t make as much dramatic effect as she expected, but got his attention regardless.

“Come on Hotch. Don’t be shy, open it.”

The ruffling of the pages was the only answer she got as Hotch’s eyes were moving though the file and the photos attached, scanning through every detail and blood mark on the bodies of the killed. Every line, every cut and wound inflicted on the flesh had a meaning. They both could sense in their bones even if didn’t make any sense at the point.

“Bet they didn’t show you that, did they?” she whispered taking in his seemingly unfazed expression.

“This is-“

“Yeah, I know.“ she bit her lip hard enough to make it turn red from the pressure.

“Try to not bleed on my papers L/N.” his eyes flickered to her mouth for a split second.

“Look Hotch, I know we have our differences, many differences, but please.” She noticed, but decided to drop it due to the more urgent matter than his gaze and the sudden wave of heat. “Please work with me on this.”

She sighed hating the fact she was forced to plead with him. But it was all for the greater good and if that was what it took to ensure safety and peace in town – so be it.

“Why?” his dark eyes landed on her, piercing right through and it made her shiver in the same way she did when he grabbed her hand at the lake when they were working together before Christmas.

God, she hated her feelings. It was job, for crying out loud, and she didn’t need any exposure. Aaron could read her like a magazine, and it was very uncomfortable, to think he knew her better then she knew herself, while hiding his own motivations and emotions at the same time. Treating her like a mouse he could play with.

“What do you mean why? Why do I want you to come?”

“Why are you pleading with me? You’re proud. You’re hot tempered. You do what you believe is right even if it violates someone else’s rules and patterns of behaviors.”

“And procedures.” She smirked

“Yes.” He nodded “So why?”

“You really want me to say it, don’t you? Some ego-feeding agent Hotchner?”

He looked at her in predatory, warning way even if his whole posture was revealing he was the lion falling for a lamb.

“Fine. Fine! You’re my last hope. I need you.”

Hotch’s face expression didn’t change even in the slightest when he stood up and opened the door motioning her to walk out.

“Aaron I –“

“Y/N.” He shook his head and waited patiently till she finally moved from the chair, defeated.

So she fought and lost and now the stupid mayor, who was only caring about the pretenses and appearances would be on top.

Over her dead body. She would catch that killer freak herself even if it meant –

“We’re going to Washington.“

Wait, what?

Hotch’s voice got through to her brain, but his words made no sense to her.

Did he just say -?

She frowned and looked at him in a bit of confusion.

“why does your action and your words never match?”

“Better get yourself on the plane L/N.”

“Since when do you take additional passengers?”

“Since I need to keep an eye on a rowdy DA, who wants to pursue a dangerous criminal on her own.”

“I did not-“

“You did.” He muttered handing her the coat in a very telling gesture

Um. Thank you?

“Are you concerned about my safety or something now?”

“You’re reckless and tend to put yourself in danger. I’m always concerned about your safety. Who would be my partner in investigating the bodies if something happened to you?”

Sure.

It was all about the bodies.

Not necessarily the dead ones though.

And very natural human instincts, even if forced to stay in hiding.

@somest1 @taygrls

#aaron hotchner x reader #hotch x reader #aaron hotch x reader #aaron hotchner x you #aaron hotchner x y/n #aaron hotchner fluff #aaron hotchner fanfiction #criminal minds x reader

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glitchedsoftware · 9 months ago

Text

well its been long enough so here it is -

My personal thoughts and issues with Sammy Lawrences characterization in Dreams Come to Life

little disclaimer im obviously gonna be pretty negative in this so if you like the books good for you!! i just want to put my thoughts on the matter out there its just some silly indie horror game book and i wouldnt take others opinions TOO seriously lol also spoilers for dctl of course

also another little edit - a majority of this was written before the graphic novel came out,, not like that changes anything rlly just yk remember im exclusively talking about the original novel here

Lets start with the most obvious point first - the racism/misogyny

The idea that Sammy's racist and misogynistic mainly stems from two parts from the book - the part where Sammy refers to Tom by his first name instead of "Mr Connor" to which Tom replies quote "Not used to giving someone like me respect?" and the part where he refers to Abby by her first name with Buddy directly stating how he wonders if this could mean Sammy has some sort of bigoted views.

Now of course he does consider if this is just a habit of his, but it is pretty unclear if that's the case. This weirdly vague and ambiguous way of writing a fan favorite character to be racist and misogynistic is just generally very weird to me. Before anyone tells me I am aware of the fact a former kindly beast member claimed that Toms race had nothing to do with it and Sammy just said that because he's a repairman or whatever, but that still doesn't remotely change the fact that it can easily be read as Sammy being racist.

(Also even in said screenshot they said how could be easily interpreted as that. Also they didn't even write the book obviously so that whole point just falls flat.)

To be fair, there is a line from Buddys first encounter with Sammy in which he also refers to Joey by first name, which could imply Buddys other conclusion was correct and that its just a habit of his.

However, I'd argue this small details pretty easy to miss (even I almost forgot about it while writing this) especially considering the only other people he refers to by any sort of name was Tom and Abby. That paired with the other two scene previously stated still make this very easy to misinterpret and even considering this, very confusing on if Sammy was written with the intention of him being racist. Also Sammys bigotry in this book being conflicted by literally one word kinda speaks for itself. It's just super weird and definitely should have been handled better. If you don't know how to write topics like this with the amount of care they deserve then you don't need to write them. On another note, Sammy being racist or misogynistic just wouldn't affect the story or world building in any sort of meaningful way. Whether he was supposed to be bigoted or not, it has no bearing on the story or characters. Any time It's even slightly implied this could affect someone it's just super underdeveloped which makes this whole thing just feel completely pointless and unnecessary. It really does just come off like it was just thrown in there to "make it more realistic to the time period" instead of working it into the story in any meaningful way that actually works, or any sort of commentary on that sorta thing other than just "racism and misogyny exist".

On a related note, I saw someone speak out about how they interpreted specifically the scene with Tom to be intended not to show that Sammy's racist, but to show how Tom would assume that it was about his race considering he's of course a black man in the 1940s and has clearly faced discrimination over that before. I could almost see how that could be perceived, but that along with the part with Abby really makes me contemplate if that was really the intention behind that scene. Also, as I said before, it isn't really expanded on how that would affect Tom. I get that that could just be because Tom is supposed to be more of a rude abrasive kinda guy, I'm not expecting him to cry over it or something. I just feel it should have either been a bit more developed on, or not been there at all. I'm all for subtly, I love how the subtle misogyny is shown in BatIM with the Alice angel merchandise not selling as well as other products, but if that's what they were going for I think this was a bad way of doing it. If you wanted to portray how this kind of bigotry affects people, maybe choosing the rude asshole character who doesn't really seem to give a shit wasn't really the best idea. (Also who's in the games implied to be classist but that's a whole other conversation) Sorry for the little detour away from discussing just Sammy, I just felt it was important since I do get where that point was coming from, I just still feel like the execution of it all was FAR from perfect.

Also overall the idea that Sammy would be racist or misogynistic is just awfully misunderstanding Sammys character and it just really fails at what its trying to do. Sammy is shown to have had a genuinely strong relationship with Susie (whether you interpret it as romantic or not) and never shown to have seen women as less than, quite the opposite actually. I saw someone say Sammy being bigoted doesn't make sense because "he doesn't respect anybody" and I heavily disagree. I think it doesn't work because he does care so much about people. In the cycle Sammy isn't shown to be selfish at all, like he's not just trying to free himself but also others (albeit through sacrificing Henry, and even then describes that as seeming "cruel"). You know it's "he will set us free". Whether he himself knows or not, Sammy does care about people deeply so him being bigoted just really doesn't work at all.

I just generally thought the topic of discrimination was handled pretty bad. I could go on and on about this subject alone, but hopefully I was able to get my point across.

Now with that out of the way I can discuss just the general mischaracterization and demonization of Sammys character

This obviously being a more broad subject makes it a little difficult to start so let me just start with this- I believe that Sammys character get heavily dumbed down to just being an asshole. I of course have no problem with Sammy being a bit of a dick considering the sort of sarcastic tone he's shown to have had in certain audio logs, but the problem arises when that is practically all he is shown to be. Looking through every scene with him, all he ever did was just be super rude to everyone and eventually go insane and kill people and talk about worshiping Bendy or whatever with little depth. This, in my opinion, makes him both weak as a character and antagonist. I mean, Buddy only first met Sammy the DAY he got infected by the ink. He never even knew what Sammy was like before that incident which REALLY makes the line "I just know that Sammy isn't Sammy anymore" make no sense. Buddy never knew Sammy, he only knew the one dimensional character we got in Dreams Come to Life.

After looking through all of Sammys characterization outside the novels I can clearly deduce that Sammy was never even explicitly the sort of condescending asshole hes shown to be in Dreams Come to Life, but was just a bit blunt and stern due to the stress of working at the studio. I get that some people just chock up his behavior to the fact that he had been drinking ink at the time or whatever, but again the fact we're never shown how he was before that just makes this feel like overall bad writing to me. It just feels like a very poor attempt at writing Sammy that lacks any sort of nuance his character was shown to have. Characters have intended purposes, and I believe Sammys was to display a character who was so overworked it drove him to insanity. Part of the reason he even worships Bendy is just because the unhealthy hours he would spend working forced him to have to see his stupid face everywhere, not the whole ink addiction thing the book goes with. It's one thing to make him unnecessarily rude, but the thing is that they never really deviate from him being just that, which just left his character feeling very flat and lackluster to me. Buddy being an "unreliable narrator" doesn't excuse this both because Buddy only states that he sometimes forgets the order of events, not the actual events themselves, and, as I said before, it never deviates from this view of Sammy. I don't even think Buddy was supposed to be an "unreliable narrator" in that way as I've heard people excuse this for. If all of Sammys mischaracterization was because of that, than like half of the book would just be Buddy completely making shit up, which clearly isn't the case. The book just genuinely tries to portray Sammy in some of the worst light ever.

All that along with the the whole implied bigotry thing I just discussed really makes it seem like they tried dehumanizing Sammy as much as possible, which really goes against one of the core messages of BatIM. Sammy just being some asshole who got addicted to ink and went crazy because of it is FAR less interesting or emotionally compelling than him being an abused overworked employee and a prime example of what working at the studio can do to someone. Stripping him of that in favor of making it that he's always just been a total dick just completely misses a lot of the point of Sammys character and even BatIM as a whole. It's not just a game about "ooh scary ink" or whatever, it's also a game about corporate greed, capitalism and obviously how big corporations abuse and manipulate their minimum wage workers. And that's what Sammy is. He's not "evil" he's just a victim of a highly unhealthy work environment. Sammy being overworked to death (literally) is something that is barely, if at all, developed on in the book weirdly enough, despite being a very interesting part of his character that they had every opportunity to explore. It feels almost like they explicitly tried making Sammy so unsympathetic so he could be a more "evil" antagonist which, in turn, makes him a very poorly written antagonist lacking depth and completely missing anything that made his character so interesting. Again they just took Sammy being a bit irritable and sarcastic and wrote him as being a genuinely bad person, which really bugs me for sorta personal reason I'll get into in this next section.

Why this matters (to me)

I feel its of importance that I discuss how writing an implied mentally ill/neurodivergent character in such a demonizing way can, whether intentional or not, come off as ableist. TO MAKE THIS CLEAR I am NOT stating Adrienne Kress is ableist. This is overall just a much larger issue in general that definitely could have a discussion of it's own. However I will be briefly talking about it since it does unfortunately relate to dreams come to life.

As I said before, Sammy is a victim. Yes, he's still a morally grey character who generally does bad things with good intentions, but hes still a character. The way Sammy is shown to act and have acted in the past is very likely because he was mentally ill and possibly autistic. Taking an actually nuanced character like that who was clearly just extremely mentally unwell and writing it that he's some evil irredeemable asshole has always just rubbed me the wrong way. As an autistic person myself, I've always kinda had issues with regulating my emotions and coming off as "too blunt", so seeing a character who also has those traits be warped into being a "bad person" just. Really sucks.

When I read Dreams Come to Life, I had always sorta read Buddy as being autistic, all though this coding could have been unintentional. For instance, he's shown to not fully get some social cues and mentions feeling like people would kinda talk down to him for not getting certain things. This being the case really confused me for a bit as to why Sammy was demonized for also displaying traits of autism until it finally hit me as to why that is. It's likely because Sammy shows symptoms that are unfortunately far more stigmatized by society. Lack of emotional/impulse control can obviously lead to someone being more prone to lashing out than other people would, and I hate how just in general people or even characters who do that are labeled as "bad people" since that clearly isn't true. Again, he's not evil or whatever, he's just extremely stressed and overworked. That's all it ever was.

Sorry for getting a bit personal, in case it wasn't obvious I'm just very passionate about this character (and franchise in general) and just wanted to discuss how I personally perceived certain things. I'm sure I wasn't supposed to read into it THIS much and I know I'm probably stretching with this. Again, I VERY HIGHLY doubt Adrienne Kress intended for Sammys writing to be read as ableist, just felt like getting my thoughts out there (regardless of how insane I probably sound)

Conclusion

To sum it all up, I just found Sammy character to be heavily flanderized and lacking a lot of the things that I personally loved so much about him, as well as finding the way bigotry was portrayed to be very nothing. It just overall didn't build on what we know about Sammys character in game in any interesting way, at least to me. Despite how long this was, I honestly don't really mind people who enjoy the books, this wasn't some personal dig on anyone of course lol. Hell, I'm even friends with some people who like Dreams Come to Life!! I've tried putting different perspectives into writing this, and I've obviously concluded that this, on top of just a bunch of general issues with the book, have just made me personally unable to like it. I'm fine with people liking the books, however I do wish people would actually criticize them more than they do. Like, you're allowed to criticize the things you like, especially with a franchise as flawed as Bendy lmao

Anyways that's pretty much it. Thanks for listening to me ramble about this silly little series I'm hyperfixated on <3

#autism be damned my boy can. write a god awfully long post about bendy and the ink machine.#batim #bendy #bendy and the ink machine #sammy lawrence #long post #kai please shut up #this post has been in the works for a couple months so if i worded anything poorly pls lmk lol

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imobsessivesometimes · 6 months ago

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Eazy-Duz-It // Logan Howlett x Reader

PT 4

a/n ok last of spam post as of 11/22/24 ('merican notation)

this chapter genuinely took me so long to write, writers block is so real

"Ok!" I clapped my hands to begin, "Since it's our first lesson, I think we should get to know what kind of music you like!" The kid in front of me was scrawny, grumpy, overall uninterested. Ororo told me the only reason why he signed up is because she asked. Guess the kid has a crush on her.

"I don't really listen to music." he remarked listlessly. He hunched in his chair like he was rivaling the guy from that Notre dame movie. It was hard to keep my eye from twitching. I have NO idea what I'm doing.

"That's ok! Yeah, that's, yeah, totally fine. I, uh, actually put together a list of a few songs that I think matches your--uh--vibe!" I grabbed the folder on the piano bench to my right, opened it and grabbed a semi-crumpled piece of paper out of it. "I had seen you in the halls a few times, Oror--I mean, Storm, Miss Ororo, Miss Storm? --anyways, she pointed you out to me and, well, just look at it." I put out the piece of paper to him and he grabs it limply. His eyes rack over the small list and looks back at me unimpressed. "Oh! Right, right, you don't listen to music, so obviously you wouldn't know most if not all of these songs. That's ok! We can listen to them on my speaker and that can be our lesson for the day. And maybe next time we can figure out if you'd like to play an instrument, which one, or if you'd like to sing." I take the piece of paper back from him. I stand up to go to the piano where a small speaker is perched on the top. I que a few of the songs and we started to listen. He slouched down further and crossed his arms.

Dark Entries (Bauhaus)

The kid emanates a punk attitude. Ororo had mentioned he barely listened in class, didn't participate in exercises unless he wanted to, and he talks back to Charles Xavier. Maybe music that'll get him to stomp around and move will be what he needs.

As the chorus came on, I saw his foot start to tap to the beat, or at least what he thought was the beat. I could see the slight movement of his head rocking. I think I might've clocked what he'll like. I played a few more songs until our 50 minutes was up. I gave him the list again and told him to explore different artists within the same genre. He seemed excited to see me next week.

I lean on the door frame, watching him walk away. His head bopped a little bit, I could feel that his heart was still beating at the same bpm as the last song we listened to. It honestly made me happy to see. Maybe this faux-"music therapy" was going to work. Before I turned back into my little classroom, I heard a gruff voice call out to me.

"Hey, teach," Logan lounged down the hallway, quickly making it over to me in a few strides, "I see you got Jacob to sign up?" he smirked, clearly knowing the kind of kid he was.

"I wish, Ororo did, actually. I think the kid has a thing for her," I scoffed with a smile. Logan leaned against the wall next to the side of the frame I was against. "Not busy?"

"Nah, sometimes you gotta ditch your own class." he shrugged. This guy, I tell ya. "I forgot you got put down here. All good?"

"Yeah, thanks for asking. I didn't think you were the type to check on the noobie." I pushed his shoulder slightly. It was odd, though. The first impression I got from him is that he didn't give a damn about anything or anyone. Maybe Jean Grey, if my eyes are working properly.

"Eh, well, I thought I'd be charitable, for once." he shrugged, "I was told I need to be 'nicer'" he put in quotes, his eyes roll under his furrowed eyebrows. All in jest, I think.

"Mm, that's sweet," I say, "Got some more time on your hands?"

He raises an eyebrow at me, "Why?"

"I just thought maybe you'd wanna listen to some music with me. I don't have any other students today, literally only one signed up. Maybe you'll be more motivated to work after." I shrug. I try not to let my nerves get the better of me. Asking Logan to basically hang out was not something I was expecting to come out of my mouth, but something in me wants to spend more time with him. Something in me makes me want to get to know him better, maybe even help him. Also, if students know that I'm buddies with the big bad Logan, they'll want to sign up for lessons with me!

Logan looked at me suspiciously. I purse my lips in a thin line with wide eyes waiting for him to answer. "I don't really listen to music, kid, hate to break it to ya."

"Literally no one here does," I push off the frame with an eyeroll. It's getting frustrating how none of these people want to even try to get into something new, "Well, I'm going to practice piano, or something. Have fun at-- well, at whatever you do," I still give him a smile before I retreat back into my room. He gives a grunt in response when I close the door. I plop down on the piano bench and sigh.

Being in this mansion was starting to get suffocating. And being in this little room with one window felt worse than that stupid shipping container. Worse than anything that fucking "RainTec" did to me. I don't understand why no one has come to talk to me about, or even to see if I'm ok. I am, but it'd still be nice to be asked. I hope I'm not always going to be useless and invisible here. I'm hidden in the farthest corner on the highest floor of this place. It's a wonder why Logan was up here in the first place. Maybe he goes on walks or something, I don't know. He's a weird guy, nothing he does would surprise me, honestly. Well, except if he started acting like Ororo or Kitty.

I sat at the piano for a while; for how long, I don't know, I don't have a clock. My speaker pinged and a muffled voice came out of it asking me to go down to the Professors office. I think it might've been Jean who hacked into my speaker. After another second, I get up begrudgingly. Sitting in my wallows was more appealing, ignoring this would be stupid, though. Besides, it's probably something important. I quickly make my way down to the first floor where Charles' office is located. I open the door to a few people around his desk, looks like I'm the last to the party. Scott, Jean, Ororo, and Logan were the people I recognized. There was another young man, he was blue with a tail and sharp teeth.

"Y/n, I'm happy you could join us on such short notice. I hope I didn't interrupt anything," Charles Xavier greeted. He's always nice to me. Skeptically, he might be a little too nice. "I know you haven't had any training, but the x-men would be at benefit of your knowledge and abilities for this mission." he began to explain, "You wouldn't be put on the battlefield, you'd be conducting behind the scenes work from the jet." he smiled.

"Uhm, ok? What is this mission even about?" I asked.

"My apologies, I forgot you weren't here when I went over it with the other x-men. We've found a base of RainTec's that we have records of you being held there recently. We've gotten reports of mutant's captive there, the mission is to help them escape and bring the base down in the process." he finished. The Professor didn't seemed bother in the slightest by my connection to RainTec, not even by the fact that I was also held captive there recently. But, despite that, this could be a good opportunity to prove myself useful. Maybe by helping them with this, it'll show that I can help people. Logan said that the first step is wanting to help, I guess this is my second. "Are you willing to help?"

"Yeah, sure."

#logan howlett #wolverine #x men #logan howlett x reader #logan howlett x you #fanfiction #ao3 fanfic #ao3 writer

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