#i also think the comedy potential of one of your boyfriends HATING your other boyfriend is gold. 10/10 dynamic

[arsenicflame]

It's a time-honoured tradition- every time Sam comes across Izzy (and Ed) in their travels, he asks Izzy to marry him. And every time, Izzy turns him down.

At this point, Sam is asking more for the sake of it than any belief Izzy will ever say yes, a remnant of childhood dedication touched with 30 years of heartbreak and regret- though even now, a small part of him still holds out hope. Sam's promises have only got more extravagant over the years, from a job as his first mate, to a captaincy, a fleet at his command, a whole fucking island if that's what Izzy wants- but he knows it isn't though, not really. If Izzy was ever going to agree to marry him, to leave his life and go with Sam, it wouldn't be for anything Sam could offer him. Izzy never did care for flashy shows of wealth, for a ship or to be captain. The only thing that ever mattered to him was loyalty given, and loyalty shown in return. 

It all comes to a head after Stede left and came back, after Izzy lost a toe, lost his leg. Sam hasn't seen him since before things with Ed started to really slide off the rails, before stress permanently set into the lines of Izzy’s face. So, when he sees a dishevelled man with a hoof for a leg in a no-name port, he doesn't even consider the idea that he might know him. It's only when he turns towards him, and Sam catches a glance at those oh too familiar tattoos, he realises this is Izzy, his Izzy, that stands before him.

Knowing Izzy's discomfort with pity, he doesn't treat him any differently than he would in years gone by, positioning himself in Izzy's line of sight before approaching and sweeping him up into a bone crushing hug. 

“Israel-goddamn-Hands!” he exclaims, as Izzy grumbles back a begrudging “Samuel-fucking-Bellamy”, a tradition almost as old as their friendship itself. Izzy might not hug him back, but he can’t keep the corner of his mouth from twitching, just for a second.

(If Sam holds Izzy a little tighter and a little longer than usual, well. That's his business)

By the time Sam lets go, most of the crew has appeared in the town square, drawn in by the commotion. They may have given Izzy his leg and welcomed him as one of them, but still there’s an underlying tension, with nobody quite ready to set aside everything that happened before the Kraken. Seeing him cosying up to an unknown man sets everyone on edge, unsure whether to come to their first mate’s aid, or to assume that they've been betrayed once again.

When Ed sees that the yelling was Sam, his hand goes tense where it's held in Stede's. He knows the routine, has seen it more times than he can count, but as he watches them part he realises that this is the first time in a long time he's unsure of what Izzy's response will be.

Knowing that something’s different, knowing that Izzy's feeling vulnerable already, Sam doesn't go for the same flashy proposal he’s been giving for years. He doesn't promise Izzy the world, he doesn't cause a scene (or, any more of a scene than he already has, anyway). He looks at the fractured man in front of him, takes his face in his hands, and says the exact same thing to him he said when they were little more than boys. “Israel, I have to ask you. I know what you'll say, but I have to try. Come with me. Marry me and sail away with me. I'll keep you safe”

And Izzy… hesitates. He glances over at Ed, at Stede, and says to Sam “...We’re staying in port for a week. Ask me again then”

That's the moment Sam knows there is something deeply, horribly, wrong. He's not just looking at an Izzy who got seriously injured in a fight and is struggling to cope, this is something so much bigger than that- and that Ed has something to do with it. Izzy wouldn't even be considering leaving if he didn't. Whether it was negligence or something more sinister, Sam doesn't yet know, but he intends to find out.

[eurekq]

@scummiezzz EEK thank you for askinggggg :]

Lorigame (working title; hopefully will be replaced. Eventually) is a dating sim that I'm working on! I'm one of the main writers and the main artist. My friend joan @gullethead is our other main writer, seb @bastiantj is on coding, music and supplemental art, and fish @fish-mouth is our beautiful perfect project manager.

You play as Lorelei Kirch, a 21 year old engineering major at the University of Illinois, who happens to be the half-human daughter of a succubus. Lori is sweet, charming, bubbly, and both emotionally and academically intelligent. She's also attention obsessed and not shy of using underhanded means to get it. You start the game in a questionable poly relationship with your high-school boyfriend of five years, Julian, and your more recently acquired college fling, Mav.

Julian's half human, half demon, just like you, and a massive sweetheart and goofball; he's also incredibly busy, lacking impulse control, insecure about your relationship, quite frankly a bit cringe, and fucking hates Mav's guts.

Mav is a listless immortal, the daughter of a dryad and a succubus, who in lieu of finding a purpose has instead devoted herself to pure hedonism and skirt chasing over the past 600 ish years. She's laid back, fun, adventurous, and always knows how to make you laugh; shes's also a total mess, incapable of actual commitment, high 24/7, and fucking hates Julian's guts.

This tenuous state of affairs naturally comes crashing down within the first week of your senior year. During this time you also meet Urielle, the other woman in you and Mav's relationship, an actual archangel and, for some reason, a League of Legends fanatic, and Dante, a dryly sarcastic and seemingly normal human bartender who saves you and Julian's asses at the start of the game.

The game takes place over your full senior year, and all four romance options have at least one good and two bad endings, as well as three poly relationship options with their own sets of endings. We also wanted to focus on giving an incentive to still hang out with characters whose routes you aren't doing; unromanced LIs and other characters, like your roommates, will still be influenced to a degree by how you treat them.

Other miscellaneous things I figure make sense for a summary: Main theme of the game is growing up, in whatever form that takes depending on your route: for some routes that's mainly about your LI, for some it's you. We wanted to give the bad endings and nastier options in general a lot of room in the writing instead of just having them be afterthoughts, and also wanted to lean into the nice or obvious thing to say not always being the best for the character or your relationship. The supernatural elements are mostly played for comedy ala Monster Prom, but tie back into the themes of the game, especially in certain characters' routes.

Another important aspect is Lori herself; I wanted to stay away from my ultimate pet peeve of the blank slate dating sim protagonist and make a character who really shines in between player dialogue choices and has a real mind of her own, sometimes even saying things that you might not exactly want her to say. I think from what we have now she's quite charmingly terrible, and has a lot of wiggle room to push her in a better, or, if that's your thing, worse direction.

The game is heavily based on my time in school (specifically at UIUC, hence the very specific setting) and I really wanted to use that setting to its fullest potential instead as just a backdrop. As such the game focuses a lot on things like fraternities, UIUC bar culture, and the frenzied engineering academic/social experience that I had.

We have all of the writing prepared for a playable demo, several music tracks, and concrete plans for the UI, and I'm slowly chugging through sprites. Hopefully there'll be a demo sometime in the next few months!

[gabessquishytum]

Okay, admittedly I would love to see the fandom play more with the idea of Teacher!Hob where he's in charge of younger students. Like he works in a secondary education school and clearly has a lot of beef with 15-17 year olds bc the comedy potential is there!

He comes home after a hard day and ofc Dream is there to comfort him and listen, but he doesn't have a traditional day job like Hob does and has to imagine what a teenager could possibly do or say that sets his love off like that. Even if it's just a teenager calling him "my guy" or "bruh". He also has to keep his mouth shut when Hob starts complaining about how bratty the younger generations are when Hob clearly is the brat in the relationship.

He also needs to get used to having date nights postponed or canceled bc he needs to grade these projects, and the worksheets he gave out to bolster their grades which just ended up being double the amount of work lol. Dream ends up spending a lot of evening just kinda having to seethe from the couch as he watches Hon grade work that was clearly half assed when they were supposed to be having a romantic night out.

The piece de resistance is Dream coming around during Family Night or some other open school event that Hob has to chaperone bc some other teacher bailed on them and he'd rather have Dream there to keep him company as he runs around trying to keep students from setting the place on fire. But there he can see how much the students respect him for being kind and calm during moments where they definitely aren't and fully trying to help every kid succeed. They joke around and make fun of him because they're comfortable being themselves and look up to him. Though he wishes they would stop making fun of him and stick to Hob, bc teenagers are mean.

- 🤜 Anon

I also really jam with Hob as a secondary school teacher!! I think he’d HATE the curriculum. But I’ve looked closely at the papers he’s marking in episode 6, and they look a lot like high school tests to me. So there’s a solid basis to headcanon him teaching younger kids.

I love this because Hob absolutely would have beef. On the one hand he’s a cool teacher, he’s chill about music in class and letting the kids sit with their friends IF they behave themselves. On the other hand he can get pretty scary if he’s riled up. The general consensus is that Mr Gadling is cool, but don’t piss him off.

Dream secretly enjoys Hob’s stories from work. He tries not to go on too much because he doesn’t want Dream to think he’s boring, but sometimes he goes on a rant, or tells a long winded story and Dream gets this super soft look in his eyes. Hob also does stuff like supervising the debate club, and he definitely isn’t afraid to debate with some of the more confident kids. Or the teachers. Because he DEFINITELY has beef with some of the people in the staff room…

Honestly once Dream meets the kids, he doesn’t know how Hob handles being around teenagers all day. They’re mean!! And Hob just laughs and seems kind of proud that he’s being teased, like it’s a badge of honour? Truthfully Hob deserves a raise for all he tries to make life a little better and easier for his students. Dream decides he’s gonna do his bit towards supporting teachers, and give Mr Gadling a blowjob when they get home <3

(At school after family night, Hob gets so much shit about his “pretty boyfriend”. The kids generally agree that “he’s way out of your league, sir”.

And honestly, Hob agrees. He’s still glowing from last night <3)

[crhinge]

Breaking Down The Classic Rom-Com

I feel like I haven’t written a fun post in a hot sec so lets talk about one of my favorite subjects: Rom Coms

According to wikipedia, a Rom Com, also known as Romantic Comedy, is “a subgenre of comedy and slice-of-life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles.” In the past, Romantic Comedies have also been called “Chick Flicks” but I think this is devaluing of both women and  the romantic comedy genre. 

The other day, I woke up to find that the most wholesome rom-com couple of all time reunited: Matty & Jenna (Aka Mark Ruffalo & Jennifer Garner). This got me thinking about the beauty of the Rom-Com and how unappreciated they can be. It has been years since we have seen a rom-com with the cultural impact of 13 Going on 30, and I would like to petition for more of them after a sad and painful year. 

I can already hear the millions (in my head this blog is extremely popular) of comments “What about To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before?!?” “What about The Kissing Booth?!?” And too that I say, "Good Riddance!” If you’re rating your rom coms on a TATBILB scale, or even WORSE The Kissing booth, I feel sorry for you. Truly I do. So let's dive into the best Rom Coms of all time, but first... 

What makes a Rom-Com good? Well let's start with a relatable as hell main character. I am talking a girl (sometimes guy), who has many flaws, but the audience can see themselves within her/him. Let's use Jenna Rink from 13 Going On 30 as an example. Well, she's literally a 13 year old in a 30 year olds body, but don’t we all still have a preteen hiding inside of all of us? She is 100% willing to be herself at every step, even if that means dancing thriller all alone. She touches on all of our insecurities, while teaching us how to break down our walls. 

Rom-Coms also need characters to make realistic choices. This does not mean that the movie itself is realistic, but rather than you can understand the choices the characters make. Again, 13 going on 30 does a fabulous job of this. Obviously, Jenna traveling in time because of wishing powder is not realistic, but the choices that her and her past self make are. Due to the insecurities of her childhood and a need to feel included, relevant, and powerful Jenna pushes important people out of her life, which happens to so many people in the real world. These decisions force her to miss out on the love of her life, and ultimately, the story ends sadly: the love of her life marries someone else and she is left with tears, wishing powder, and an old doll house. That is until she is able to travel back in time and change the course of her life. 

Lastly, Every classic Rom-Com couple needs to have chemistry. There. I said it. Hollywood loves just casting random famous actors without giving them a proper chemistry read. One great example of this is Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel in Safe Haven. Both fun, famous, Hollywood actors who have zero chemistry. Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner had more chemistry throwing back Razzles than those two did during an intimate sex scene. 

Alright, now that we have broken down the requirements of a Romantic Comedy, let's jump into the best and worst of all time.

Best: When Harry Met Sally. 9/10. A classic. A tale as old as time. Both Sally & Harry are very flawed, yet relatable characters. Sally is too picky and particular, while Harry is a player. They both suck at relationships, but make rational decisions based on their motivations. We all have friends like these two and their chemistry is on point, both on a friendship and romantic level. They bounce off of one another splendidly. 

Worst: Sleepless in Seattle. 1/10 I know, this is a strong take, but this is a terrible movie about a stalker. Meg Ryan (I don’t even remember her character's name) is the stupidest most unrelatable character I have seen in a long time. She is extremely unlovable, cheats on her SO emotionally, and flies across the country to stalk a man that she has never met before. And then you’re telling me that Tom hanks FALLS FOR HER? Nope. No. I refuse to except this. Plus, their chemistry in this is pretty mediocre (You’ve Got Mail is Way Better) and we only get to see them together once. 

Best: 10 Things I Hate About You. 8/10. I was tempted to leave all high School Rom-Coms off this list, but Heath Ledger is my exception. Talk about likability. Kat is a strong, powerful, independent woman who learns how to be more vulnerable while still being a feminist badass. We all wanted to be Kat growing up. Meanwhile Heath Ledger is the classic bad boy with a soft side, and who wasn’’t into that? Both characters grow into new people throughout the movie making them relatable, complex, and realistic. Not to mention the angel that is Joseph Gordon Levitt, who keeps the audience up beat and smiling throughout the course of this Shakespeare tale

Best: My Big fat Greek Wedding. 10/10.  Have you seen this film recently? Because it is an absolute DELIGHT and so relatable. It dives into the difficulty of family expectation and cultures merging. It also has the cutest proposal of all time with a realistic couple that fights for one another on a daily basis. You laugh. You cry. You get a dynamic cast with wonderful chemistry. You feel invested in the family and the relationship. Just a joyful wonderful film.

Worst: Something Borrowed. 0/10. If you’ve never seen this movie, don’t. Ginnifer Goodwin sleeps with her best friends fiancé and we’re supposed to be okay with it because she liked him first. Hard pass. And she ignores John Krazinski who is right in front of her. She is unlikable, unreliable, and makes dumb decisions that no one else would. 

Best: He’s just not that into you. 9/10  I will go to bat for this movie. It follows several realistic storylines in a Love Actually manor, except they actual seem legit. A woman realizing her boyfriend is never going to marry her. A girl facing the fact that maybe some guys just aren’t that into her, and she isn’t an exception to the rule. A man slowly making the decision to cheat on his wife as they are growing apart. A woman realizing that she is worth way more than her bastard husband. A woman realizing that the person she’s sleeping with will never leave his wife for her. It's compelling, has realistic characters that we can relate to, and still warms your heart in the end. 

Best: The Big Sick. 8/10. Okay to be fair, this is based on a true story so it automatically has realistic characters and decisions. Maybe I should leave this off of the list, but I wish this film got the recognition it deserves. Two lovable main characters who make mistakes that are understandable. Wonderful chemistry between Kumail and his girlfriend as well as her family. 

Best: About Time. 11/10 This is hands down the best Rom-Com of all time and Potentially the best film of all time as well. If you don’t cry in this movie you do not have a heart or soul. The characters are SO insanely likable and adorable.It touches on the importance of family and valuing time and how little of it we have. The chemistry within the whole cast is palpable, and we can all relate to at least one character, whether it is the protagonist Tim, his wife Mary, his sister Kit-Kat, or his father. 

Well it is important to point out the obvious here: this list is lacking diversity in a huge way. All but one of these movies follow a cis, straight, white couple, and that is extremely concerning. People have attempted to make more diverse rom-coms over the past few years, but they all seem to be lacking one of the three core components of what makes a rom-com great: Relatable, realistic, and great chemistry. For example. Crazy Rich Asians was a fantastic film, but the high level of wealth that Nick Young comes from, made his character difficult to relate to, and I’m sorry but the chemistry just wasn’t there for me. Always Be My Maybe’s characters fell flat and it’s not a film I would want to watch more than once. Love Simon made some huge waves for LGBTQ representation in the media, but that ending kiss was unrealistic along with his friends reaction to fining out he was lying, which left the movie anti-climactic by the end. 

Now, the most recent film on this list was made in 2017. And before that 2013. So where have all the Rom Coms gone? Why don’t we see more of them. There are a few Rom Coms that could be contenders on the “Best” list from the last couple of years that include a small amount of diversity: 

Yesterday 7/10. The big question here is does this count as a romantic comedy? The love story isn’t the main plot, but is definitely a large sub-plot. This movie features an interracial couple and is highly re-watchable. The main characters are entertaining, relatable, and have pretty good chemistry. We will see if it stands the test of time. 

The Broken Hearts Gallery 7/10. This movie has gotten NO recognition. The main character, Lucy, is an extremely likable 20 something, not unlike our Ginnifer Goodwin in He’s Just not that Into You. The plot is fun and predictable but keeps you watching. I don’t know if this one will stay on my list long, but it’s definitely up there. 

But here is my challenge to Hollywood: create some new, beautiful Rom Coms that celebrate diversity but that don’t throw away the relatable, realistic, and high chemistry characters that we are just waiting to fall in love with. It’s got like 16 ideas up my sleeve, so just give me a call Hollywood. 

[sunrisefairy]

Swipe right

Pairing: George Weasley x reader

Warning: language, mentions of cheating/breakup, alcohol 

Summary: The one where Y/N downloads tinder after a bad breakup

Taglist: @hufflepuff5972​ @inglourious-imagines​ @klausdatprettyboi​ @georgeweasleyswhre​​ @horrorxweasley​​ @amourtentiaa​​ send me an ask if you would like to added!

————————————————————————

Y/N hated being single. She hated not having anyone waiting for her with dinner cooked and a glass of wine when she got home from work. She hated how empty her bed felt and not having anyone to cuddle after a tough week. She hated no one being there to listen to her ranting about her day. Y/N absolutely missed being in a relationship and being able to go through life with someone else by her side.

Y/N’s last relationship was 8 months ago, she had been with her ex Matthew for 6 months when it came crashing down. Y/N remembers the night she met Matthew vividly. Her friends had dragged her to some concert at this random underground bar. Y/N was at the bar ordering drinks when a breathtakingly handsome man with blond shaggy hair and piercing blue eyes offered to pay for the 3 beers she was ordering. Normally, Y/N would roll her eyes and not bother talking to random drunk men, especially when it was a girl’s night out like tonight. But something about Matthew caught her attention and she couldn’t walk away even if she wanted to. Matthew had this aura about him, he was very charismatic and could captivate anyone with his looks alone leaving those around him putty in his hands. Which is exactly what happened to Y/N.

Matthew and Y/N started dating shortly after that and she was completely smitten with the man. He seems to be just what Y/N needed. To Y/N he was the perfect boyfriend, he held all the traits she looked for in a partner, kind, funny, smart, supportive, everything except the trait which would be argued to be the most important – loyal. 6 months into their seemingly flawless relationship Y/N found Matthew-her supposedly perfect boyfriend, in bed with another girl.

The second Y/N saw the two of them in a rather compromising position in Matthew’s bed, Y/N felt her world collapse around her, her throat closed over making it hard to breath and her vision blurred. The events that followed are hazy in Y/N’s mind, she remembers screaming and yelling, she knows there had been a lot of tears (mostly from her), Matthew trying to beg for forgiveness, which is very hard to do when you’re butt naked and there potentially was a few items thrown in Matthews direction, deservingly so.

That night broke Y/N, it felt like Matthew had reached into her chest and yanked out her heart and crushed it to dust then spat on it. Apparently, douchebag Matthew and this girl had been shagging for basically the whole of his and Y/N’s relationship. She couldn’t believe it.

Y/N’s friends had spent most of the weeks that followed in the heartbroken girl’s apartment as she cried, screamed, yelled. It pained them to see their best friend so distraught. But surely, over time and with lots of ice cream and alcohol, Y/N was able to heal.

8 months later Y/N finally felt mostly whole again, she was able to smile and laugh without a hollow ache pounding in her chest and tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She no longer dreamt of Matthew’s arm wrapping around her and pulling her into his chest when she dozed off, she forgot how it felt to kiss him and she stopped wanting to call him.

Y/N finally felt free, which she told Alicia and Angelina at their weekly girl’s night in. This led to Alicia trying to convince her to maybe start dating again, to test the waters as she put it.

“Okay, hear me out,” Alicia says waving her arms, somehow managing not to slip her wine on the couch, “I think Y/N should download tinder.”

Y/N scoffs and opens her mouth to disagree, but her words went unheard as Angelina squealed in excitement, “oh my god yes! Y/N you so should.”

Y/N shakes her head before sipping on her wine, enjoying the sweet taste on her lips. “Guys, I don’t think I’m ready to start dating, I definitely don’t think I’m ready for another relationship.”

“But that’s why tinder is so great, you don’t have to go on any dates if you don’t want to. You can just chat to some cute boys and see what happens.” Alicia replies, picking up Y/N’s phone from the coffee table and holds it out for her to unlock.

Y/N thinks for a moment, eyeing her phone, she doesn’t feel ready to jump into the dating scene still nervous about being let down again but there’s no harm in downloading tinder and seeing her options, right?

Y/N eyes are locked on her phone Alicia’s hand before muttering fine and unlocking it for her. Angelina giggled excitedly, moving closer to Alicia’s side to look at the phone. A few moments later the app was downloaded, and a profile was made. The 3 girls took turns swiping through profiles ogling the eye candy.

The phone was currently in Angelina’s hand while Alicia refilled everyone’s glasses, Y/N had lost count of how many glasses of wine she’s had tonight, her body buzzing from the alcohol. “Man, I forgot how much fun tinder is.” Angelina slurred, her thumb rapidly swiping through profiles.

“Okay Ang, we won’t tell Fred that you said that.” Y/N chuckles, Angelina just rolls her eyes.

“Oh, come off it.”

~ ~ ~

The next morning the 3 very hungover girls who had passed out in different spots of Y/N’s living room, somehow manage to drag themselves to brunch with Lee, Fred and George.

“Hello ladies, big night?” Fred winks then plants a sloppy kiss on Angelina’s cheek who mumbles a response that sound vaguely like a yes.

The 6 of them were sitting at a table outside, soaking up the sunshine and warm weather. Once their food is delivered the group is chatting aimlessly with one another. Y/N hears her phone ping from her bag, and she fishes it out to check the notification.

“Ohh, Y/N is it a tinder message?” Alicia says excitedly trying to peer over her shoulder.

“Tinder?” It’s George’s voice now. Y/N glances up at him from across the table, unable to read his expression, “since when does Y/N have tinder?”

“Since last night, the girls convinced me to download it. Kinda seems like time to start getting out there again.” Y/N replies shoving her phone back into her bag before one of her friends has the chance to snatch it from her even though the text was just from her mother.

��Maybe you should download tinder Georgie. ‘Bout time you got yourself a girlfriend.” Lee mumbles, his mouth full of food.

George shakes his head, looking down at his plate, “tinder isn’t for me. Besides your one to talk Lee, you’re single too.”

“Not anymore, I want to marry this eggs benedict.” Lee practically moans as he shovels another bite into his mouth.

Y/N laughs along with everyone, shaking her head slightly.

“I think you should George, I’d bet money that your dream girl is on there.” Fred smirks at George whose eyes widen at the comment and his cheeks heat up.

“Can we change the subject,” the redhead mutters scratching his neck, not meeting anyone’s gazes.

The conversation quickly moves on and Y/N finds herself still staring at George confused by his strange behaviour, also noticing the way her chest feels heavy at the mention of George’s ‘dream girl’. She pushes the feeling down and tears her eyes away from the redhead in front of her just before he glances up at her. The pair oblivious to the others intense gaze.

~ ~ ~

That night Y/N is snuggled up under her favourite fluffy blanket, on the couch, while some random romantic comedy is playing in the background.

Y/N has soon come to realise that tinder is addictive, she’s spent the better part of the last hour swiping through the many profiles. It doesn’t feel like she even has control of her fingers at this point, they apparently have a mind of their own.

Y/N starts to zone out, her finger automatically swiping for her. That is, until she stumbles across a particular profile and her finger freezes and her eyes bulge out of her head. Is that? George?

Y/N looks through his profile, there’s a picture that she had taken of him at the beach one summer, he’s lying on a towel, shirtless and the cheekiest grin plastered across his face. The next photo is of him and Ron from Harry’s surprise birthday Ginny threw last year. They are both looking smart in their suits, beaming brightly at the camera. Y/N can’t help but stare at George’s hand that’s wrapped tightly around a beer bottle, her mouth going dry as she zooms in on his veiny hand. There is also a photo of George from last Halloween where he had dressed as a pirate, Y/N chuckles, remembering how George had followed her around for most of the night, annoying her with his lame and corny pirate jokes. The last photo is her favourite out of them all. It’s of her and George at her recent birthday, he has his arm wrapped around her shoulder and his head resting against hers. The pair of them smiling widely at the camera.

Y/N bites her lip trying to decide if she should swipe left or right. She’s always had a soft spot for George long before she started dating Matthew. She knew deep down she harboured a tiny crush on her friend but never acted on it, scared she’ll ruin their friendship if she confessed her feelings. Y/N always fantasised about what it would be like to date George Weasley. She would happily bet her life savings that George would be the perfect boyfriend, would treat his girlfriend with respect and shower them with love and affection. It’s the type of relationship Y/N yearned for, the type of relationship she thought she had with Matthew.

Y/N stared down at the phone in her hand, contemplating her next move. The temptation to swipe right was huge, finally being able to find out if George liked her but there was the possibility that if she does swipe right she’ll find out that George does not like her in that way and she doesn’t know if she could physically take that knowledge right now. Part of her debates on swiping left, thinking that way she can live her life blissfully unaware to whether or not George likes her. The idea of being unsure of his feelings seems very appealing then definitely knowing he sees her just as a friend. A small voice in her head tells her to just delete the app and pretend this never happened.

Y/N groans at her overthinking.

Just choose Y/N.

“Fuck it,” Y/N mutters squeezing her eyes shut before swiping right.

She keeps her eyes closed for a few minutes, trying not to picture the upsetting scenario where they do not match, and Y/N has to deal with her unrequited feelings towards the boy. She takes a deep breath and slowly opens her eyes trying to focus back on the phone in her shaky hand. It takes a moment to process the words on the screen before Y/N is jumping up from the couch squealing.

It’s a match!

Her happy dance is interrupted when her phone dings, indicating a new message. Y/N swears her heart stops beating and she scrambles onto the couch to grab her phone.

George: Do my eyes deceive me or have I captured the attention of the lovely Y/N?

Y/N snorts at his message, butterflies erupting inside her stomach unable to get over the fact that George Weasley likes her.

Y/N: Consider yourself lucky Georgie, not many are worthy enough of my attention ;)

Y/N: But wait, I thought you didn’t have tinder? You said tinder wasn’t for you

George: I didn’t… well up until 1 hour ago. Fred convinced me to download it so I could try and find your profile. He said I should at least try and confess my feelings…

Y/N: And? What are your feelings?

George: that I am hopelessly in love with you. Have been since forever but I’ve been too chicken to admit it.

George: I was going to tell you I swear, but then you started dating that tosser Matthew and I lost my chance.

George: After you two broke up, Fred bugged me to say something to you but I knew it wasn’t the right time.

Y/N studies the messages. Long before Matthew was even a thought in her mind, she knew she would leap at the opportunity to date George. But that was before she had her heart shattered into a million of tiny pieces. She told Alicia and Angelina that she wasn’t ready to date, she didn’t think her heart could take it. And if this was any other guy, she would gently let them down. But this wasn’t just any guy, this was George Weasley. The man who never failed to make her smile and laugh till tears was streaming down her face. The man who help pick up the shards of her heart and help mend it back together. The man who would always answer her phone call, no matter the time of night. Y/N knew she’d be stupid to let go of George Weasley.

~ ~ ~

George was a wreck; he was pacing around his living room basically pulling out his hair with how much he’s run his fingers through it. It had been 30 minutes since he messaged Y/N and admitted his feelings, telling her he loves her. And she hasn’t replied!

George knew he shouldn’t have said anything, clearly Y/N was just curious about his profile, just wanting to see if they’d match and she definitely does not love him back let alone like him.

He wanted to throttle Fred for convincing him to make this stupid tinder account and embarrassing him like this, now George has gone and fucked up his friendship with Y/N.

George stops pacing when he hears knocking from his front door. His eyebrows knit in confusion about who would be visiting him at this hour. George chooses to ignore it, deciding he doesn’t want to see anyone right now, all he wants to do is open some vodka and drown his sorrows. He makes it into the kitchen when the knocking starts back up again, this time louder and faster.

“Okay I’m coming!” George shouts annoyed, “Jesus, I swear this better be import-” his words disappear as soon as he opens the door and is faced with Y/N.

“What are you doing here?” Georges words come out short and brunt, but Y/N doesn’t seem to notice.

She is fiddling with her fingers and anxiously chewing on her bottom lip. “I figured this wasn’t really a conversation I wanted to have over tinder.”

Y/N is silent, the words getting stuck halfway up her throat, she doesn’t really trust her voice to be steady enough to talk. So, she decides on another route of communicating her feelings to George.

Slowly she cups Georges faces in her small hands, forcing his eyes to meet hers. George seems frozen still as Y/N softly pulls his face to down towards hers, their lips millimetres from one another. She can feel his shaky breath on her face. It feels like forever before Y/N connects their lips together, George seems to snap out of his trance as his hands wrap tightly around Y/N’s waist, holding her body close. Their lips mould together perfectly and fireworks erupt in Y/N’s belly. She feels alive and her heart is thumping in her chest and all she can think of is George. George is clouding her thoughts and, in this moment, she doesn’t want anything else to ever occupy her brain. Her heart feels warm and whole as if George had kept the final piece of her heart in his possession to keep save until she was ready and willing to give him the whole thing. Y/N doesn’t feel scared anymore of the thought of loving someone again because she knows for certain now that she’s always loved George.

They pull away from the kiss, breathlessly, George rests his forehead against Y/N’s needing to feel close to her still.

A tear slips from Y/N’s eye which George softly kisses away.

“I love you too George. Always”

[oldpotatoe]

to make up for the Other Thing, today i thought about a backwards flwogb. trickster spirit gives sokka a lil head bonk and instead of losing his memories gives him false ones based on his own wishful thinking, where he and zuko have been dating even though they aren’t, and wakes up like “oh zuko no worries babe *smooch * i’m fine” and zuko, who has been secretly in love with him forever, is like “🙂 ....excuse me what” (potential for comedy? yes. potential for zuko angsting??? also yes 🥰)

backwards flwogb... aka... feels like we only go forwards? I may have failed a-level maths, but even I know two negatives equal a positive. quick maffs

god blee your brain though. imagine sokka, who before this moment had grown a tad too touchy feely with zuko anyway-- hand lingering too long on zuko's shoulder, hugs that were tight in the best of ways, a quick ruffle of hair in passing that always annoyed zuko at first before that very same hand would tuck the now-loose strands behind his good ear, making zuko blush in the process-- that very same sokka now grabbing zuko by the collar and pulling him in to plant a massive smooch on his cheek.

"you worry too much, babe," says sokka with a fond eye roll, pushing himself off the bed.

zuko just stands there and tries not to self-combust. "oh no."

because how much of this new sokka is the bump to the head, and how much is it just... sokka losing his inhibitions + muddling his daydreams together to think he and zuko are already a thing?

but zuko doesn't know this. zuko thinks he's just taking advantage of sokka in this vulnerable state. tries to avoid him at all costs. talks as little to him as possible, and pretends he doesn't see the hurt look on sokka's face. holes himself up in his office and hopes the self-loathing doesn't hurt bury everything he's worked so hard to build within himself these last x years

but also insert shenanigans where sokka tries His Damnedest™ to arrange cutesy dates with zuko/ give him back massages to relieve his stress-- haha sokka baby don't you know you ARE the stress--/ basically tries his best to be a good attentive boyfriend while everyone around them is like, "uhh... do we... say? anything? is the fire lord being harassed by the swt ambassador?" (what's the atla version of HR, I wonder?)

until one day, zuko finds himself giving up, giving in to the urge of just... letting himself be loved by the object of his affections. being selfish never felt so good. doesn't help the way he hates himself, for letting sokka believe in the lies he spins around himself while zuko just stands there and watches helplessly.

it can't last. the guilt gets too much. zuko gently breaks up with sokka. "I just don't feel the same about you," he lies through gritted teeth, heart aching. "oh," says sokka, heartbreak evident in his voice and his face and every line of his body and. and zuko can't do this anymore. he flees to iroh's teashop, taking up his allocated days off to serve tea mindlessly, avoiding iroh's gentle prodding and generally being miserable.

anyway when sokka [insert fix to head that resets him a la buzz lightyear spanish mode] and regains his memories, the first thing he does is go storming to ba sing se, absolutely pissed.

"you idiot," he says. "why?"

zuko's mouth flaps open and shut. "uncle's having a sale on the ginseng," he says uselessly, "buy two cups and get the third one--"

"shut UP," growls sokka, crowding into zuko's space. the old ladies on table 4 ooh and aah over this exciting new development to their lunchtime pai sho session. iroh quietly tops up their tea.

"I saw the way you looked at me," says sokka, a lot more quieter now. "when I thought we were together. you-- you love me, don't you?"

and what can zuko say to that, except-- "yes," he says, eyes slipping shut in shame. "I'm sorry for not ending it sooner, I never meant to take advantage of you, I--"

a hand, warm and calloused, winds it's way through the strands slipped loose out of zuko's bun, tucking them behind his ear. it's the same way sokka's always done it, a quietly intimate moment in the otherwise loudness that's always accompanied their interactions. what's new is the way the hand cups his cheek, prompting zuko's eyes to flutter open.

"I love you too," he says.

zuko finds his hand drifting up to clasp sokka's, pushing it away. "you-- you're still-- it's still the-- sokka, it wasn't real--"

"it's always been real to me," says sokka like it's a confession. "I've been in love with you for a long time, now. the head bump just made it-- more."

"aww," say the little old ladies from the back. iroh wipes a tear away from his cheek, gratefully accepting a napkin from mrs ling.

"oh," says zuko, still uselessly, but with a growing warmth in his chest. "well."

"... I tell you all that," disbelief lines sokka's voice, "and all you can say is well? I practically swam across the oceans for you! I had to drop all my duties-- do you even know the shit that's waiting for me when I get back? ambassador chengueng's going to have my head on a-- oomph."

yeah they're kissing. half the jasmine dragon is applauding. the other half is grumbling about terrible service and uncomfortable displays of public affection. iroh just shoves coupons upon the latter and shoves everyone except his hopeless nephew and his equally hopeless was-then-wasnt-now-is-boyfriend out the doors, the end.

[broadwayandnetflix]

OMG- BO FIC REQUEST

a fluffy fic where he takes you out to a fancy dinner. picks you up at your house & meets your parents, driving to the place, all that pizazz- and more if you decide to write! Im a big fucking sucker for the romantics as you can see LMFAO.

Meet The Parents - Bo Burnham x Reader

Warnings: Language

Theme: Fluff! Slight bit of Angst.

Word Count: 2.6k

A/N: picture this as like his what tour cause it fits up with the college timeline hoes. also, I hope you like that I added an airport, cause rom-com shit amirite? I’ll stop. wooooooo this is so long. I hope y’all like essays cause fuck.

It had been too long since you had last seen your boyfriend, Bo. The two of you had met in college at NYU briefly before he dropped out to pursue his comedy career.

Of course, you have been supportive. Why wouldn’t you be? You just really missed him, especially when he went on long tours, you in school, and him touring the world.

The two of you kept in touch. Bo often taking the time to call you before or after a show to hear your voice and call himself down. You knew what they did to his anxiety, and not being able to hold each other was difficult for the both of you.

He’d do the same for you, without a shadow of a doubt. Especially when school was stressing you out, and exams and essays were becoming a pain in the ass to handle. Even if it was just little funny texts or messages, he helped you.

It’s what you did for each other. You were a team, even if it was states away from each other. Except, luckily for you, his tour was ending soon. Or it should be, judging by the tiny calendar of dates that he gave you.

It was nearing Thanksgiving Break, and it just didn’t seem applicable that you’d be able to meet up in time. Given the short week window and Bo riding down from nearly a year of touring.

So you didn’t say much, as you packed your bags for the week and left for your home state.

The airplane ride wasn’t that bad. You wished that you had Bo beside you, cracking jokes to calm the inevitable way that your heart would jolt when you went up in the air. Unlike Bo, you absolutely hated flying.

Earbuds in, you strolled into the airport a tad bit jet-lagged and went to grab a bite from a small coffee shop. Slipping the cashier a twenty, you walked the airport in search of your luggage.

Through a sea of people, you trudged, already feeling fatigued and just wanting a nap. You didn’t even realize that you were gonna run smack dab into someone. That is until their hand shot up and held you steady.

You laughed pathetically and cringed quickly, going to apologize, hoping that the person who caught you would just keep moving on. Except, they still stood in front of you, silent as ever.

“Hey man look I’m so sorry, I’m just so tired I didn’t even see where I was going.” you mumbled before realizing just who you were speaking to.

Bo.

You froze, staring at the man in pure confusion. How was he here when he was supposed to still be on tour? You rubbed your eyes, wondering if he’d still be there when you reopened them.

News flash, Bo was still there. Fuck.

“Holy shit,” you murmured, realizing your hands were still full with your bag, phone, and lunch.

God, you were gonna cry; this wasn’t happening. He looked so fucking good, the glasses, the hair.

He watched you quietly, a soft smile resting upon his lips. While you clumsily pull on his arm to get out of the ongoing traffic of people around you, preferably a spot with a place to put your stuff.

Your tall boyfriend lumbering after you unbeknownst to you, trying to compose himself. It had practically been months since he had seen you last, and you had never looked more beautiful.

Once you set them down gently, you practically ran into the man’s arms. His bags gently fall to the floor as his arms are securely wrapped around you. Nearly lifting you off the ground.

The two of you rocked gently in the embrace, completely lost in each other. Bo resting his head on top of yours, pressing soft kisses upon your head. Tears softly pour down your cheeks and onto his shirt. Giving him enough time to wipe them away and plant a soft kiss against your lips.

“Bo, what are you doing here? I thought you were still on tour.” you sniffled, still wrapped up in his arms.

“Managed to make things work, I wanted to see you. Or I was gonna try and surprise you at the gate, but you kinda…ran into me.” Bo smirked, looking down at you.

“Well you definitely surprised me, man I really missed you.” you said quietly.

“Honey, you don’t understand how long I’ve waited for this moment. I swear my agents are probably sick and tired of me talking about you.” he exclaimed, causing you to smile.

This long-distance was really starting to get to the two of you; of course, his tour was gonna be over soon. Except, especially two different states away from each other, it made your heart hurt.

Moments like these, you wanted to just pause the time and exist in them forever. It seemed like between the two of you, you were running out of time. Just how much time exactly?

It was almost as if he could sense the hesitation as he swept up his bags and yours in the process.

“Just realized, we’ve got places to be.” he chirped, and you eyed him curiously.

“Like where?” you said, grabbing your coffee and bag from the coffee shop.

“Patience is a virtue my dear.” he tuts and slips his hand between yours. “Now, where’s your luggage terminal?”

-

It was roughly a forty-minute drive from the airport to your place. Bo had rented a car for the next couple of days, so it was smooth sailing from that point on.

Bo behind the wheel, and you are sitting in the passenger trying to figure out what music to play.

It didn’t help that you were in the car with a comedian, as whatever song you picked, Bo would pretend to critique it. Only sending you into a fit of hysterics.

“Oh okay, well you pick the music then!” you cried, pretending to stare daggers at him.

“I’ve got something for you, it’s this brand new artist I found while on tour.” he grinned, looking over at you briefly before focusing back on the road.

“His name is….Bo Burnham I think? I could be wrong? He was good-“ he said nonchalantly before earning a quick swipe to his arm from you.

“God, you look cute when you’re angry. You’re missing out on that Bo Burnham guy, he’s got potential.” he said.

“I hate you.” you giggle before finding a more comfortable position in the car.

“Oh shit you know what I just realized?” Bo yelped, causing you to slightly jolt in your seat.

“What?”

“Isn’t this the first time I’m meeting your parents?” he asked, causing you to slightly stiffen in your seat.

Technically, yes. It wasn’t like your parents didn’t know, it’s more so that there was never really a good time for them to meet. You wondered what they’d think, dating someone who dropped out of college to pursue comedy.

Not that your parents were judgmental. They wanted you to be happy, as any parents would. You just were worried if they wouldn’t respect and love Bo as much as you did. It had been close to two years at this point; what else did you have to lose?

“You are right, oh dear god. I wonder how that’s gonna go, hopefully well, right?” you ask, more so to yourself than Bo.

“Oh please, I’m great with people’s parents. Plus, they raised you, I’m sure they are great people. Babe, you’ve got nothing to worry about.” he reassured before continuing on the route.

-

It wasn’t long before he pulled into your family driveway, pulling the car into park, quickly placing a comforting hand on your shoulder.

“You ready?” he says quietly, looking at you sweetly.

You eyed the front door before looking back and meeting his eyes, nodding, as he leaned in to give you a quick kiss.

God, you missed those.

“Here goes nothing.” you smirk before slipping out of the passenger side and gather your bags.

Bo now follows suit as you knock on the door, his taller frame towering over you. One hand pressed on the small of your back, holding you steady.

The front door opens with a swing, with your mother greeting you at the door. A firm grin upon her lips as she rushes out to hug you, your father appearing behind her.

“Oh I’m so glad you were able to come home! We missed you so much!” she exclaims, squeezing you tighter.

Before giving you a slight nudge and knowing look towards Bo, who had remained oblivious, while he shook hands with your father.

All of you gather inside your house, Bo taking control of the conversation when acceptable.

Sitting down at the kitchen table, your parents are engulfed in his stories and laughing at his jokes. All the while getting to know the man that you loved so much.

Bo was pretty much a natural when it came to impressing others, and you knew it wasn’t gonna be an issue with your parents.

The two of you answering almost any questions, Bo excitingly telling the story of how the two of you met.

-

“Oh I almost forgot, I need you to do me a favor.” Bo murmured when the two of you had a moment to be alone.

You looked up at him in confusion before he mentioned something about dressing up nice. A knowing look upon his lips before giving you a slight wink and walking off towards the guest room.

There you stood, gaping like a fish in wonderment at what he possibly could be planning. Slowly walking into your childhood bedroom, looking for anything that would meet his description of nice.

You settled for something that you wore to a formal gathering that still managed to fit you. Giving yourself a quick look in the mirror, you left your bedroom to find Bo standing there.

You had to hold back a gasp; the man looked rather handsome in a dress shirt and pants. His hair was nicely done, and his hand gestured out for you to take.

“Bo what is all this for?” you exclaim, as he only smirks and leads you towards the front door.

“Shut up, I’ve been wanting to take you out for months.” he says as he opens it and leads you towards his car.

The man practically doing the whole nine yards, all the while you looking at him in pure wonderment. Of course, the two of you had been on dates prior, but never like this.

You had to practically stop yourself from grinning as he suavely got into the driver’s side of the car., Giving a quick glance over at you unbeknownst to you, trying not to melt at how gorgeous you looked.

“Where are we going?” you ask as he starts the car slowly pulling out of the driveway.

“You ask a lot of questions my dear.” he says, keeping his eyes focused on the road.

“Oh shit is this my execution?” you smirk as he dramatically nods.

“Babe, how the hell did you find out? Who told you? Was it my manager? I knew she’d rat me out!” he exclaims.

“You know I had to be certain, you did make me dress up all nice and all.” you play along, grinning ear to ear.

“Oh well, I can’t give away the entire surprise so zip it with the questions sweetie.” he quips as he continues the drive.

-

It’s not long before he pulls into a fancy Italian restaurant, way out of your usual pay range. You could feel your stomach do somersaults, giving the man an incredulous look.

Bo simply grins as he gets out of the car, rushing over to open yours for you. Eyes wide, still staring at him like he was fucking insane. He shakes his head and carefully pulls you out of the car.

“Now no complaints. Or whatever you plan to do. I’m paying, I’ve been wanting to treat you like this for over a year now. I’m doing it, and I’m gonna enjoy doing it.” Bo huffs, all dignified.

You simply nod in disbelief before he slips his hand within yours. While he enters the restaurant, he mentions his reservations to the hostess, and they seat you at a table.

Once the butterflies subsided in your stomach, you took the attention of the man in front of you. Never had anyone done something like this for you. You were trying to not look like a genuine fool with the smile you wanted to express.

You knew he was the one for you, but the way that he had looked at you. The pure adoration in his eyes and how he had planned everything, you were practically melting.

“I love you.” you whisper, wondering if he could hear it.

He did.

Bo looked up from his menu, a blush now practically kissing his cheeks. He dimples, rising at the declaration before reaching across the table since he was large enough to kiss you gently.

He was quick enough as the waitress came over to take your order. That goofy lovesick grin still plastered across his face as he straightened up in his seat.

The two of you ordering whatever looked best on the menu, clinking glasses when they arrived and looking dreamily into each other’s eyes.

“Man, I missed you. Like I know I say it a lot, but I mean I did. Going on tour is….well it’s lonely. I know you’re still in school, but sweetie. When I’m done, you’ll be sick of me. I promise.” Bo said insistently.

“No I won’t, I’m sure it’s gonna be the other way around. I don’t know if I say it enough, but I really am proud of you. I am so proud to call you my boyfriend, to call you mine. I don’t mind waiting.” you say quietly.

“How did I get so lucky?” he paused, eyeing the plates of food that were coming your way.

“Thank NYU, they did all the work.” you joke, thanking the waitress before digging into the meals.

The food was excellent; it was incredibly worth the price. Even if it was steep, the dinner was lovely. Bo is cracking jokes and telling you his favorite fan encounters that have occurred since his tour began.

It was hard to believe that the man who was often so quiet and shy could be so loud and brave enough to yell at hecklers. Except you could believe it, you had obviously been to one of his shows.

It made your heart begin to flutter at the fact that he wasn’t afraid to be himself around you; it made you feel secure.

The way his stage presence dominated the scene, it was practically impossible to keep your eyes off of him. No matter the situation.

Even now, his eyes glimmer while he tells you whatever story he had dug up. This was his passion, and you reveled in it all.

The night went well as the two of you caught up, knowing it would be quite some time before he’d meet up with you again. As he too had Thanksgiving to celebrate with his family in Massachusetts.

You shared a nice dessert, and he left a rather hefty tip simply because he could. Bo never made it necessary to note that he had money, but you knew he was excited to spend it.

All the while, you spent the night in a dizzying smile. Not giving a shit whether anyone knew it or not, even in the parking lot. The two of you waltzing messily towards the car, giggling and sputtering like a bunch of fools.

He was your fool, and you were his, who knew how long you’d have with him for now. You were destined to make the most of it.

Even as the ride home dwindled and you knew he’d have to catch a flight soon. You weren’t surprised or shocked even; days with him tended to be like this.

As the two of you reached your front door, Bo carefully leaned down to a comfortable position and kissed you softly. Not desperately, just tenderly. As if by the time he’d kiss you again, you’d simply wouldn’t be there.

His lips grazing yours, hands pressed carefully against your cheeks. You reciprocating all the while leaning into him in a warm embrace.

When you finally pulled away to catch your breath, he gave you a look that you knew all too well.

“I’m not saying goodbye.” you whisper into his arms.

“I’ll be back soon don’t worry.” he murmurs into your embrace.

With one last kiss on the forehead, you watch as he walks back to his car. Judging by the way his schedule worked, you knew he’d be back sooner than he would in the past.

Yet, with the soft ‘I love you’ said between the two of you couldn’t help but shed a tear and just hope that the next time would last longer.

[nugnthopkns]

dance me to the end of love (i)

word count: 4.3k

warnings: fem!oc, cursing, potential spoilers for the west wing if you've never seen the show

series masterpost: here

a/n: hi!! i am so incredibly happy to finally be putting this fic out into the world. it means an awful lot to me and i can't wait to share the little world i've created :)) x

Magdalene is content with where she’s ended up.

Denver is wonderful. Her friends are there, her cat is there, and it’s the perfect place for a fresh start. She arrived in the city nearly six years ago – a wide-eyed University of Denver freshman and has stayed put ever since. Her hometown of Aspen holds a few too many bad memories, but is close enough that she can return if an emergency calls for it. So far she hasn’t left, too engrossed in finishing her degree and moving on. There’s a job offer lined up with the university’s library upon graduation that Magdalene is ecstatic about. It means she gets to stay right where she is – where she’s comfortable.

☼☼☼☼

The sun might be shining as she exits her apartment building, but it’s cold for March. Magdalene pulls the thick scarf her best friend Bette got her for Christmas higher up her face and walks as quickly as possible to campus. There’s a brief meeting to attend with her advisor before grabbing lunch with Bette, and then her plan is to spend the rest of the day holed up in the library working on her thesis. It’s due in two weeks, with the defence in just over a month, and Magdalene is incredibly nervous. Though she’d gone through submitting her undergraduate thesis two years ago, presenting her master’s research was going to be a lot harder. She’s heard through the grapevine that the committees are being tough this year and she doesn’t want to fail.

Dr. Williams is waiting for her in his office with a smile on his face. He’s a tall man, with thin facial features and wire glasses that box him perfectly into the intimidating professor stereotype. “Miss Stevenson, please sit,” he gestures to the chair across from him.

“Gerald,” she sighs, “You can call me Magdalene, I don’t mind. Besides, it makes you quite the hypocrite if you insist I call you by your first name but you won’t use mine.” There’s no malice in her voice, just a decent amount of teasing.

The older man scoffs but concedes. “I suppose you’re right. Well then Magdalene, tell me, how are your final edits coming along?”

Magdalene spends nearly twenty minutes detailing all the elements she has tweaked since their last meeting, from the title to the citation style. She’s out of breath by the time she’s done, rambling at an impressive speed, and takes a big gasp of air while the professor mulls over her words. Dr. Williams doesn’t say anything, causing Magdalene to shift anxiously in her seat. “Sir, is there something wrong?”

He shakes his head. “Absolutely nothing,” he beams, “Everything is perfect. It’s a shame you don’t want to continue researching. You’d make a fabulous academic.”

The compliment makes Magdalene’s heart soar. It means a lot, especially coming from the person who has seen her cry over the oxford comma. “Thank you sir, but I belong in the practical realm. Someone has to file all the documents you obsessively scan.”

She leaves the building soon after, promising to stop by after she drops off the final draft in a few weeks. It’s a bit later than she expected and hopes Bette won’t be mad. There’s nothing the blonde hates more than poor time management, but Magdalene prays she’ll understand. It wasn’t that long ago and Bette was scheduling her own appointments with advisors on how to graduate. Barn Owl Book Company is located halfway between the school and her apartment, making it the perfect spot to meet. In addition to being a used book store, Barn Owl sports one of the best cafés in downtown Denver. Bette is perched delicately at her friend’s favourite seat, a bay window converted into a small nook, and typing furiously on her phone.

“Sorry I’m late,” Magdalene apologizes, “Williams talked a lot more than I expected him to.”

Bette looks up and smiles, shoving a cup in the other girl’s direction. “As always. How is he?”

Sliding into the booth, Magdalene fills her friend in on what’s been going on in their former professor’s life. Bette graduated with a minor in Classics, and it was Magdalene's major, but the former decided not to further her education and is instead doing full time charity work for the Colorado Avalanche. Her boyfriend Tyson is one of their star players, and the two of them are so smitten it makes Magdalene sick. Conversation quickly turns from school to life, which she’s grateful for.

“So,” Bette says, “Are you in for the trip this summer? I’ve got to confirm the reservation in a week or something.”

“I don’t know Bee, I'm going to be the new girl. Asking for time off like two months into the job would be rude.”

“Linny,” the blonde whines, “Please? I want you to come.”

Magdalene scowls. Bette knows just how much the nickname sours her mood but she chose to use it anyway. “Don’t call me that,” she snaps with quite a bite. “Can someone else take my spot if I decide not to go a little closer to the date?”

“Of course! Gravy said he’d fill an extra spot if one comes up so we don’t lose the deposit,” Bette blabs before trying to switch gears entirely. Magdalene cuts her off.

“Who’s Gravy?”

If her friend is exasperated by Magdalene’s lack of knowledge surrounding hockey, she doesn’t show it. Bette calmly explains that Gravy, who’s real name is Ryan, is a defenceman with the Avalanche and a good friend of Tyson’s. She also makes a point of mentioning that he’s single, to which Magdalene rolls her eyes. Bette has a masterplan for her life – which includes her best friend becoming romantically involved with an Avalanche player so the two of them can live the better half life together. As the best friend, Magdalene is constantly barraged with potential players who are looking to date. Once she went on a few dates with Mikko, but that ended fairly quickly when the two realized they were better as friends. Every time since she’s turned Bette down as gently as possible, not wanting to get involved with anyone. Her life is just starting, and Magdalene wants to be secure before settling down.

The conversation eventually shifts to what Magdalene plans to wear for both her thesis defence and graduation. Bette is fashion savvy, while Magdalene is decidedly not. Her everyday wardrobe consists of collared button-downs and sweater vests, which is supposedly never going to back a comeback, according to Bette at least. The blonde eventually wears Magdalene down, and secures a position as stylist for the graduation ceremony. There was an attempt at the thesis defence, but the other girl insists she needs to be as comfortable as possible on such a stressful occasion.

A glance to the clock on the opposite wall has Magdalene stretching her arms and giving an apologetic glance to her friend on the other side of the table. “I should go,” she says. “I’ve got to put in some serious work on my citations today, and you know Caligula doesn’t like it when I’m gone all day.”

Bette rolls her eyes, but there isn’t any frustration behind the gesture. “I swear to god Mags, your cat has more separation anxiety than I do. Speaking of, I’m supposed to pick Tyson up at the airport and I’m running behind.”

“Tell him I say hi,” Magdalene says as she wraps her arms around Bette for a quick hug.

The two girls part ways on the sidewalk, with Magdalene heading back to campus and Bette sliding into the sleek Audi she shares with her boyfriend. Headphones find their way into her ears, and Magdalene listens to a random comedy podcast. Once tucked safely inside the library she’ll put on her favourite lo-fi playlist and concentrate, but for now she just enjoys the funny anecdotes of stories past.

It’s quiet in the library for a Tuesday, though Magdalene isn’t complaining. Her favourite table, the one she swears up and down is the only reason she ever gets anything done, is open, and she all but sprints to place her bag on the worn leather chair. While setting up her work station a few of the librarians come over to offer their congratulations for her upcoming job. News certainly travels fast around here, Magdalene thinks, but accepts their generosity with a smile on her face. They leave her alone soon enough and the tedious work of double checking the formatting of every single citation in the sixty-five page paper begins.

Hours pass, and Magdalene stays working in the library until as late as she possibly can. Caligula is going to start to worry about the length of her absence soon and his anxiety response of knocking over plants is not a mess she feels like cleaning up. She packs up her laptop and walks the short distance home as fast as possible.

“Little boots, I’m home,” Magdalene parrots in a sing-song voice as she slips her jacket off her shoulders and onto the hanger. At the sound of his nickname, the small cat bounds into the entryway. “Hi darling, did you miss me?” Magdalene gets an obnoxiously loud purr in response that she takes it as a yes. She reaches down to pick up the tiny animal before continuing further into the apartment, scratching behind his ears as she does so. The two of them settle into the respectably sized couch, where they stay for the rest of the night watching reruns of The West Wing before Magdalene falls asleep.

☼☼☼☼

“You fucking did it!” Bette shrieks as she bounds towards her best friend. Magdalene braces herself for the oncoming assault, and manages to keep them both upright after Bette jumps into her arms.

Her thesis defence had just finished, and the committee found Magdalene a worthy candidate for the Master of Information Science qualification. The presentation itself was open to the public, so Bette and Tyson sat in the front row to support Magdalene, but were escorted out for the conversation that followed. The two girls had developed a code so the news could be shared in a subtle way, though Bette threw the original plan out the window as soon as she saw her friend give a sneaky thumbs up when the conference room door opened.

“Congrats Mags,” Tyson says sincerely, doing his best not to add to the growing spectacle, but Magdalene can tell he wants to give her a bone crushing hug.

“Thank you,” she smiles softly, “And thank you guys for coming. It means a lot.” As two of her closest friends, both Bette and Tyson know that her family situation is rocky at best, and having them act as her support system means more than she’ll ever be able to articulate.

The couple shares a knowing look before engulfing their friend in a hug. “We’re always going to be here for you,” Bette whispers, “No matter what.”

Magdalene’s smile is so genuine it crinkles her eyes as she wraps her arms around Bette and Tyson’s shoulders and leads them out the door and into the sunshine. The group continues to the parking lot, where they climb into Tyson’s car and drive off campus in the direction of Magdalene’s favourite restaurant. Though she had tried to convince her friends they didn’t need to celebrate, she failed, and Magdalene soon finds herself laughing hysterically over a plate of carbonara as Tyson tells a story about the shenanigans the team got up to on their last road trip.

There’s a game tonight, and Bette has somehow convinced her into attending. Magdalene knows she should go, expand her social horizons a little, but all she wants to do is curl up in bed and sleep for three weeks. Her one condition is that she can go home straight after the game without being guilted into following the group to whatever nightclub they’ll celebrate the win or drink away the loss in. Tyson has to get ready so he drops the two girls off at Magdalene's apartment complex. She’s in charge of getting Bette to the rink, and she’ll leave with her boyfriend after the game.

Once inside the confines of her home, Magdalene promptly lies on the floor. “Holy shit,” she sighs, “I did it. I fucking did it.”

“You did!” Bette says as she lies down beside her best friend. “I’m so fucking proud of you, and Tyson is too. Even if he won’t tackle you in public to prove it.”

The comment garners a laugh from Magdalene, which alerts Caligula to the presence of others in the apartment. He pads over the rug currently being occupied by two adults, and snuggles into the small space between them. Bette and Magdalene continue to lay there, petting the cat and looking back fondly on all the times Magdalene called her friend in tears because she didn’t think she could push herself any farther. Bette was always there to pick up the slack, editing whatever section Magdalene was working on or to bring over a hot meal. Her support earned her the top spot in the acknowledgements section of the thesis.

Ball Arena is already crawling with people when Magdalene pulls into the small lot for player’s and their families. Normally she parks with the general public, but Bette insists they watch this game from the better halves box, and these spaces are closer to that entrance.

“Stop dragging your feet,” the blonde chastises as Magdalene takes her time cutting the engine. “I want to get a glass of rosé before they sell out.”

Sighing, Magdalene follows her orders. “Don’t you have a special bar in the box?” she asks while locking the car.

“Yeah, but the other girls are absolute fiends. They’ll drink it all before we get there with no remorse.”

The girls climb the stairs to the better halves box, Bette chatting excitedly about the game, but Magdalene stops just before the entrance. She’s met most of the others on multiple occasions and has nothing to worry about, but she can’t help but feel anxious. Her life is so different than everyone else’s in the space, and it feels like cheating when she’s there because she isn’t romantically involved with anyone on the roster. Bette likes to joke that she’s her better half, but Magdalene knows it’s said just to calm her nerves.

“It’ll be fine,” Bette whispers while squeezing her hand, “And if you get too uncomfortable we can find some seats in the nosebleeds.”

Once inside Magdalene’s nerves dissipate. Most of the other wives and girlfriends pay her no mind, but the ones that are especially close to Bette congratulate her on passing her defence. It warms her heart a little, and the small group Magdalene finds herself in settles down to watch the game unfold.

It’s a fairly intense one between Colorado’s division rival St. Louis. Both teams are fighting for first place in the conference, and a win for the Avalanche would put them three points ahead of the Blues instead of one. Players from both sides are amped up, and more than once a scrum at the net has turned into a dog-pile. Colorado is outplaying the other team, but have still managed to find themselves a goal short heading into the final period. At the buzzer Tyson takes the face-off and is immediately shoved by a member of the opposite team. He goes down hard, and Bette squeezes Magdalene’s hand so tightly she fears it will lose blood flow. Silence falls over the arena as Tyson doesn’t immediately get up. The inside of lip finds its way between her teeth and Magdalene bites down hard, worried about her friend. She’s so focussed on Tyson that she doesn’t notice a fight breaking out.

“Holy shit, Gravy is going to town!”

The remark is made by someone Magdalene recognizes as Gabe Landeskog’s wife, and it makes her peel her eyes off of Bette’s worried features and scan the ice for some action. Sure enough, a very tall man is laying right hooks to someone who looks significantly smaller than him on the Avalanche blue line. The referees let the fight continue until Tyson drags himself off the ice and onto the bench before separating the men and throwing them in the penalty box. Magdalene can tell words are still being exchanged from both sides of the glass, but she’s more focussed on the fact Tyson doesn’t make his way to the dressing room – a good sign that allows Bette to drop her hand and let out a shaky breath.

Nothing of great importance happens until MacKinnon ties the game with seven minutes left. It happens while the Avalanche are short handed, and the goal seems to light a fire beneath the team. Magdalene may not know much about hockey, but she’s smart enough to notice the insane amount of energy all the players suddenly have. Time ticks by slowly and before she realizes it, the final face-off is taking place. Luckily it’s in the St. Louis zone and won by Colorado. The puck is tipped back to the same player who got in the fight for Tyson, Gravy, and he one times it right into the back of the net. The buzzer goes off not a second later, and the entire team piles on top of the player who just won them the game.

Bette and Magdalene join in the shrieks of the other partners, jumping from their seats in excitement. Eventually they make their way down to the hallway outside the locker room and lean against the brick while they wait for Tyson.

“You don’t have to stay,” Bette insists, “I can wait by myself.”

Magdalene shakes her head. “No way. I want to make sure he’s okay too. What good is a friend with a black eye?”

The other girl laughs at her friend’s stubbornness but doesn’t shoo her away. Once Magdalene has made a decision it’s hard to get her to sway from it, and Bette knows better than to push. Besides, who is she to deny her friend a bit more social interaction? Magdalene has spent the past six years practically holed up in the library and deserves to stand in a crowded hallway.

The friends chat idly while they wait, with Magdalene sharing some of the most ridiculous questions she got asked in her defence interview that morning. She’s mid story when Tyson exits the dressing flanked by a man dressed sharply in all black.

“Hey guys,” Tyson greets, dipping his head to place a kiss to Bette’s cheek before doing an elaborately goofy handshake with Magdalene.

“Good game baby,” Bette compliments sweetly. She then turns her attention to the boy standing awkwardly on the fringes. “You too Graves.”

He smiles shyly, muttering out a small thanks. It’s then he seems to notice the final member of the group, and offers his hand in greeting. “Hi, I’m Ryan.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Magdalene.”

She puts two and two together on the walk to her car. The Ryan Magdalene just met is the same who will take her spot on the trip, fought someone in Tyson’s defence, and scored the game winning goal. Though they’ve only said a few words, she likes him. He seems genuine, and those people are the rarest to find.

☼☼☼☼

Magdalene is walking across a graduation stage for the final time in two days. However, she can’t find anyone to take the third ticket. The University of Denver has a stupid rule where all graduates must have three guests attend the ceremony. Bette and Tyson are obviously occupying two of Magdalene’s seats, but she’s having trouble filling the third.

“I can ask Tys if one of the guys is free,” Bette shrugs. The two girls are sitting in the window of Barn Owl drinking iced lattes and discussing what Magdalene should wear to the ceremony.

“It’s okay,” Magdalene says, “I don’t want to bother anyone. Maybe I’ll just ask June.”

Her friend’s eye roll so far back into her head Magdalene isn’t sure they won’t stay there. “You can’t ask your boss to watch you graduate Mags! Besides, Gravy owes Tyson a favour and was already looking for something to do. I’m sure he won’t mind wasting a few hours as long as he gets drinks out of it.”

There isn’t a better option, so even though she barely knows the guy, Magdalene agrees. “Make sure he gets this?" she sighs, handing her friend an envelope with a single ticket in it. "I have to go. Caligula should be done at the vet soon.”

“Say hello to little boots for me,” Bette giggles as she waves goodbye.

Hours later, tucked into her couch with a glass of wine in one hand and Caligula playing with the fingers on the other, Magdalene realizes she invited a complete stranger to her graduation and how that could be a terrible idea. Sure, Ryan sounds like a great guy from the way Bette and Tyson talk about him, but he’s only ever spoken three words to her. Since that game she’s gone out with the team a few times, but the man with the piercing stare is yet to make an appearance. Magdalene considers that perhaps he’s more like her than his profession gives him credit for, and she feels a twinge of guilt about being worried he’d cause a scene at the ceremony.

There isn’t any more time for her to fret over the third and final guest on the list. At the last minute Bette decides there’s nothing in Magdalene’s closet that’s suitable for her to wear, so a trip to a local second-hand store ensues. While it’s nice that her friend has taken their carbon footprints into consideration, Magdalene wishes it didn’t have to happen an hour and a half before the ceremony is supposed to start.

“We have to be there in twenty minutes Bette,” she frets, tapping her foot nervously against the tile flooring.

If they can’t find whatever it is Bette’s looking for, Magdalene will have to walk across the stage in denim cutoffs and a faded t-shirt with Neil Young’s face on it, which is something she’s hoping to avoid at all costs.

“Have no fear, Mags,” she says with a knowing glint in her eye, “For I have found it.” Bette holds up a hanger that is holding a beautiful long sleeve dress adorned with a whimsical floral print.

Magdalene can’t help the gasp that escapes from her. “It’s beautiful,” she breathes, “But let’s hope it fits.”

The dress does in fact fit, and the workers are kind enough to let her wear it out of the store. Bette drives at a speed that might not be the safest to travel at in downtown Denver, but she gets to the school with minutes to spare. She shoos her friends out of the car so she can go pick up Tyson and Ryan, and Magdalene checks in with little hassle. The pool of graduates is fairly small, so she chats with a few classmates while they wait for the call to put their gowns on. Time passes quicker than expected, and soon Magdalene is being directed to her seat. She zones out while the dean gives a congratulatory speech and they go through the first few names. At one point she looks backwards into the crowd to find Bette, Tyson, and Ryan all giving her a thumbs up. The nerves she didn’t even know she had settle.

A faculty member signals for Magdalene’s row to stand up, and she smoothes her dress before dutifully following the person in front of her. Giddiness bubbles in her stomach at the thought of being done school forever. A hand from the stage crew give a cue, and Magdalene appears on the stage as her accomplishment is broadcast through the microphone.

“Magdalene Stevenson is being awarded a Masters in Information Science in Archival Studies and Records Management.” It feels so good to finally be finished that she lets a tear slip as she shakes the hand of the staff member handing her the package with her diploma in it.

The rest of the ceremony passes in a blur, and before Magdalene knows it her friends are approaching to congratulate her. Bette and Tyson wrap her in a tight hug, murmuring praise in her ears. Ryan stands awkwardly to the side before Bette drags him into the celebration. The four of them stand in the courtyard where the ceremony was for much longer than needed. Bette is crying enough to refill Sloan Lake if there is ever a drought and is yet to let go of Magdalene’s figure.

It’s only when the event staff ask them to leave so they can tear down the stage does Magdalene turn to leave campus for the last time as a student. She’ll be back in a few weeks as an employee, but deep down she knows this is the last time she’ll ever feel such a deep connection to the place.

“Victory is mine, victory is mine! Great day in the morning people, victory is mine!” Magdalene yells, quoting Josh Lyman as she skips down the path towards Bette’s car.

Both Bette and Tyson are confused at the sudden outburst, not knowing what she’s talking about, but Ryan responds without missing a beat. “Should I bring you all the muffins and bagels in the land?” His response doesn’t clear anything up, but it elicits a giant smile from Magdalene, who laughs and nods in confirmation.

Sitting in the back of Bette’s Audi, on the way to a graduation party she’s supposed to know nothing about, Magdalene decides that she wants to get to know Ryan Graves better. From what she’s garnered from Bette and Tyson he’s a class act, standing up for friends and giving good advice. He likes The West Wing and showed up to a stranger’s graduation, so how bad can he be?

☼☼☼☼

additional notes: see what magdalene's graduation dress looks like here // the quote from the west wing is from 1.02 if you were curious!

☼☼☼☼

taglist: @scrunchmakar @marcoscandellas @toplinetommy (add yourself to the taglist!)

[bettsfic]

hi betts! i got very interested in your posts esp the implied author. i wanna ask a question (if you dont mind!). so about the implied author, i always feel like that my writings though beautiful always lack mentioned maturity and read very... YA-ish? its not something im trying to achieve. i want to make it more mature and 'classical'. do you have a tips for this? im not aware enough of what to improve on to achieve that, basically. thank you in advance!

this is a great question! unfortunately, though, i don't have a handy dandy term like "implied author" to thoroughly encapsulate my possibly abstract answer.

first, while i understand your goals, i think beautiful prose, and the focus thereof, is still a very important pursuit. there's also nothing wrong with being YA-ish; the implied author comes from a book called the rhetoric of fiction, and the title implies that it's a study of fiction in interaction with an audience. so different readers get different things out of what they read (i wrote about this more in my june newsletter). possibly your perspective is something someone else hasn't seen before, and you've offered them something new without even knowing.

that said, i absolutely understand the drive to have a wider perspective, and write things that you find more complicated and challenging. however, the only way i can answer this is with metaphors couched in narrative, of how i learned about how to approach my writing differently, and which presumably, maybe widened a reader's sense of my implied author (but since i can't be a reader of my own work, there's no way to tell for sure).

so, i once took a creative nonfiction seminar during which i read a whole bunch of memoirs, and the final project was either a research paper or a personal essay. obviously i chose the personal essay. i decided to write about my ex-boyfriend, with whom i'd broken up five years earlier, and i was still very fucked up about it even though we'd been broken up far longer than we were together.

looking back on that essay, it reads like a sales pitch, ten pages of me just pleading with the reader to see my side of the situation, to see how i was the victim, sympathize with me and not him. he's the evil one. hate him with me. please please please.

it was not a good look.

there was a lot of unprocessed grief in that essay, a lot of anger. it was clear i had no wider perspective of the situation other than wallowing in my own narrow feelings about it. i was telling the reader what to think about me, about him, about the situation, rather than conveying the situation as it truly was and allowing them to draw their own conclusions.

in nonfiction, that's terrifying, because it potentially paints me in a negative light. a reader may see my actions and think poorly of me. and honestly, looking back, they should. i was as toxic to my ex as he was to me. i was not good to him at all.

but see, that's an example of me telling you what to think. in the essay, i am pretty much saying outright, "he is evil. hate him." i want to force the reader to be on my side. but after a mental breakdown and a lot of trauma therapy, i was able to step out of the situation and my feelings thereof, and see it from a much wider perspective, and instead of putting my actual emotions on the page, i'm able to illustrate honestly the emotions i felt at the time. i am no longer in the story. i'm outside of it.

here are the events as they actually happened: one night, he didn't come home. i texted him. i tried to call him. i waited a couple more hours and called him again. he came home as i was looking up numbers to nearby hospitals, around four a.m. he wouldn't tell me where he'd been. the next day i found a bunch of hickeys on his neck. i was hurt, and angry, and i pushed him. i told him to get out of my house. he still denied it, and kept denying it for hours longer, until finally admitting he'd been dating someone else for months. i couldn't find it in myself to blame him. to me, it was my fault for not being good enough for him, for not fitting into the shape of someone he could love.

there was more to the story than that; he was financially dependent on me, he was no longer attracted to me and felt trapped in our relationship, my father had just died and i couldn't even begin to grieve over the loss of someone whose life mine revolved around.

but an essay -- or a short story, a novel, a poem -- can't ever render reality exactly as it is. we as writers are always just curators of experiences, images, sentences. there's a lot of fear in that, of leaving out details, of being misunderstood. but that's the inherent risk of art.

the lesson i brought back to fiction is this:

it's not my job as a writer to place judgment on my characters, but to simply convey the story as it happens. my characters may have biases, misperceptions, judgments, and opinions, but they are not mine. widening the implied author, so to speak, is a process of removing yourself from your prose.

obviously you will make characters who are like you in some ways, and so they may share traits with you. they may be identical to you in every way. but they are not you, and cannot be you. possibly the implied author is the absence of ego. or maybe it's an embrace of the self and the world as things that can't be fully known.

i think about films that have a wide implied author versus a narrow one (in my opinion; see above point about fiction as rhetoric). to me, pacific rim has a very wide implied author. even though all the characters in the movie take the events therein very seriously, i know that the mind creating this story knows it's kind of ridiculous, even though it's not a comedy. they know this wild, over-the-top conceit is a vehicle for the more complicated and nuanced experience of intimacy and trust.

a narrow implied author would be zack snyder's justice league. that film leaves me with no evidence that the mind behind it is capable of truly understanding experiences beyond their own, or using their medium to render a nuanced portrayal of being. that doesn't mean snyder isn't, in reality, capable of those things, or that the movie isn't enjoyable on an aesthetic level, but that i found no evidence in the text of, well, themes. it's just...characters doing things. i see no exploration in it, no question that the narrative addresses.

which leads me to my second point, which is that i think the widest implied authors are the ones who are vulnerable enough not to have an answer or conclusion, to simply discover and explore larger questions.

so, what questions do you have? what things do you not know? what are you most afraid to convey or admit?

in some ways, my answer to your question is that you don't have to worry about it, because the implied author is the experience of the reader, which you can't control. however, i think all of us, myself included, can work toward a greater perspective of ourselves and our world, to understand things to a more complex degree. and beautifully, writing helps us do that, at the risk of exposing the things we don't know, the questions we can't answer, our true colors which may be darker and uglier than we'd like to admit.

[potatotrash0]

Oh my god oh my god oh my god

I didn't actually think people would be interested but I love talking about this uwuwurhrh

-i don't think there is much to say, because this is one of those aus where I have scenarios but not the entire plot but uuhhh

-So basically it all happens because they're all fucking with the neo world program settings, and Hajime was put into the program

-With the mix of Nagito's luck, some romantic era machine fuckery, and the fact that Kamukura killed God long ago, they all get sucked into the simulation, back to the past.

-In the Class's point of View, two bitches fell out of a vortex and right in the middle of the diner. Hajime falling and hitting the floor and Nagito right on top of him. They still look like one of those anime shoujo type landings and Nagito makes no move to make themselves look presentable. He gives no fucks about the rest of his class standing there atm. Like he loves them but not as much as Hajime

-obviously, the room falls into panic when the sight of the two intruders are recognized. Souda and Nidai panicking and yelling because they thought they got rid of Nagito already? And they grab him but then Hajime is like, "stop ❤"

-after much questioning, and a lot of sweet sounding passive aggression from Nagito (which he makes sure everyone knows is intentional) they finally believe the two fancy looking men in suits (and komaeda's green jacket) are in fact, future versions of IG! Hajime and Nagito.

-They get flocked with questions immediately, about all kinds of things, especially with the arm (Nagito "accidentally" thwacks Souds in the head hard enough to make him cry) and Hajime's heterochromia.

-Hajime gives a bullshit answer that nobody is very convinced with, and Nagito, the better manipulator of the two, does not try to help him. Hajime takes this as a betrayal.

-Its also when Hajime looks at his boyfriend and then at his in game counterpart, that he remembers IG! Nagito is nowhere to be found. So they gotta bring him in.

-imagine being Nagito, starving and toed up in the other area of the building and some bitch who looks like the aged up and more mature and sexy version of your potential sugar baby crush just busts in like minutes after the OG straight up left him to his fate like a cold mf. I'd shit.

-Anyways, Nagito has always been the smartest person in that game from the get go, there is no doubt he figures out what's going on.

-PG! Nagito and IG! Nagito having a little,,,rivalry with eachbother. Not that they hate or even dislike each other (although they'd be passive aggressive to each other ig. Self esteem reasons ig). PG! Nagito finding his old self developing puppy love for PG! Hajime but also being a hit jealous because "hey! Your own boyfriend is there, give me mine."

-(PG! Hajime knows this, and teases his boyfriend about it.)

-Uuuuhhhh,,, blablahblah idk,,,the future komahina know what will happen and successfully manage to make sure no more killing. It pissed Monokuma off.

-When they depart, there are still many questions, and while the improv story of their life goes pretty smoothly, Hajime suffers from passive aggressiveness from both the class and his lover.

-this happens only once PG! Hajime spills that he and PG! Nagito are dating. Fiancé's, even.

-The passive aggressive war happens because the rest of the class thinks PG! Nagito is still evil and manipulative and are "subtly" leaving him hints, and Nagito, petty pretty bitch he is, makes sure everyone know he knows. He's making it everyone's problem and doing well so far.

-i think it would be funny if PG! Hajime kept pleading for his boyfriend to see reason qnd try to compromise and not start shit, and PG!Nagito taking it personally cause usually he gets spoiled and gets Hajime's attention but that's not happening right now.

-So he starts showing IG! Hajime affection. Straight up holds him close and kisses his cheek. The class already knows they're dating but holy fuck Nagito. PG! Haji is jealous.

-(And if Kamukura is still there lurking I his brain, he will be feeling both pride and jealousy. Dumbass jealous bastards, the three of them)

-i don't have much more plot for this, but I so imagine at some point Monokuma gets fed up by the fact that PG! Nagito is thwarting his plans and there is no killing, enough to the point where he nearly punishes him, with a collar to his neck and the spear of gungir about to fucking make a mess out of him, but while everyone else in class looks in horror, PG! Nagi looks perfectly relaxed and unafraid. The reason that is because between the terrifying, withering glare Hajizuru sends monokuma, and Nagito's insane luck, the simulation glitches and monokuma has to let him go.

-Meanwhile all of this is comedy central and angst central for the PG! Class watching this. They're not stuck forever, soda and Wild Destroyer are working on it, but ffs.

(I only realize now that there would be a lot of angst because of chiaki, but I'm not emotionally stable enough for angst atm. So fluff only.)

oh i love this so much dkfjskdbxkdb god. just. the absolute chaos that is them just. Popping out of nowhere lmao.

also imagine being monokuma and just being cockblocked from your beloved murders by one (1) little shit and his fiancé and knowing full well you can’t do jack shit about it skdjskndksbc.

also hhhhhhhh i forgot about chiaki but my heart is breaking just thinking about her gahhhhhh..............i imagine she and pg hajime and nagito would end up talking the night they appear. they’d fill her in on the real story and i could see hajime wanting to talk to her a while longer.

[randomobsessionsofa30something]

My top 10 korean dramas of 2020

Today is the last day of the year so I think it's time to share which dramas were my favorite in 2020. I wish you all the best for 2021!!

10.5. The King: Eternal Monarch. So here's the thing: this drama was not great. I absolutely hated the ending and the editing however I do appreciate what they tried to do. It had great potential and Lee Minho and Kim Go Eun were nice as a couple. The story is about two dimensions: one that is like the real world and another where Korea still has a king. The worlds start to mix and the King crosses, meets a detective, someone he has been looking for since he was a kid.

10. Find me in your memory. This drama was so much fun especially in the first half. I had a couple of issues with the last two episodes but nothing major. Moon Ga Yeon plays an actress that lost some of her memories and is trying to live in the moment. She meets a newscaster (Kim Dong Wook) and falls for him. However he has a disease that makes him unable to forget each and all details he has lived through. They both are unaware they share a bond that will link them but also puts them in danger.

9. Start up. This drama was silly at times but I really enjoyed it. Suzy stars in this drama as a sales employee that has gone through a lot because she chose to stay with her father after they parents got divorced who was an unsuccessful entrepreneur. She wants to show her sister and her mother she can be successful on her own so she applies to receive a grant (korean survival style). There she meets her childhood crush, a guy who she exchanged letters with or so she thinks. Nam Do San (Nam Joo Hyuk) is a guy that is trying to start up a company but has failed so far to get investors. When a famous CEO shows up at his door asking him to pretend to have written some letters he ends up getting dragged into a ruse to cheer up this girl except she shows up in what was his last chance to make it.

8. Kairos. I started watching this drama just because WINNER's Kang Seung Yoon had a role in it. At the beginning I thought I wasn't gonna love it because of the time travel aspect to it. The plot though changed my mind. This mistery drama starred by Lee Se Young and Shin Sung Rok really surprised me. The story is about a girl that is struggling to get by but things change when she loses her phone and when she calls back a man picks it up in the future. By the way when I made my OSTs list it totally slipped my mind just how good Kang Seungyoon's rock ballad Can you hear me? is.

7. Itaewon class. Park Seung Joon plays a man that did time in jail because of an injustice. He comes out with a plan to bring down the people responsible for his father's death. To do that, he assembles a team of misfits and opens up a restaurant in Itaewon. The injustices in korean society and his past will get in the way of his love life and his goal to achieve his dreams. I wasn't a huge fan of the last few episodes of the drama but I did liked it overall.

6. Strangers. Season 2. If you watched the first season you'll definitely like the second. A web of corruption and deceit is drawn from episode one so it really was satisfying when it all came together. If you haven't watched the first season, I'll just say this is well made crime drama and that now would be a good time to binge watch both seasons.

5. Sweet Home. I don't really watch horror movies because I think I'm too logical to be scared with monsters or ghosts so most times I just don't watch any. However I really enjoyed this apocalyptic horror 10 episode drama. Based on a webtooon, it tells the story of the inhabitants of a building after Seoul is run down by monsters.

4. Kingdom Season 2. I actually didn't watch Kingdom last year. I watched the teaser and I was like "Joseon and Zombies? I don't know about that". The pandemic has led me to stay home for so long that I think I watched all of Netflix korean dramas I hadn't checked out which finally led me to watch Kingdom. I liked the first season but it was the second season I enjoyed the most. If you haven't checked it out, I'll just say it's based on the Land of the Gods webtoon and it's the story of the Crown Prince who finds out that, because of greed, his stepmother has revived his father and a plague spreads through Joseon.

3. Hyena. This intense legal drama tells the story of a prideful attorney that lives for his job and meets his ideal woman in a laundromat. However she humiliates him when she shows up as the opposite counselor in a high profile divorce case. This was such a funny drama and the cases were interesting. It had a double digit ratings in Korea.

2. Do you like Brahms? This drama is slow. Like really slow paced. So it's not for everyone but I was just so obsessed with this drama while it was airing. It's a sweet romantic drama about a pianist (Kim Min Jae) who has no passion for what he does and a violinist (Park Eun Bin) who has all the passion but lacks talent. They are both kind and just really bad a communicating their feelings so when they end up getting to know each other they somehow connect. They have another thing in common: they both are in a similar position when it comes to love they're in love with the girlfriend/boyfriend of their best friends.

1. It's okay not to be okay. This was my favorite drama by a long shot. It's just another romantic comedy. However it is so well done. From the cinematography to the plot and even the animation everything was on point for me. Honestly it felt like this really was Kim Soo Hyun's grand comeback to dramas. Seo Yeo Ji's excelled in portraying a strong but lonely woman whose upbringing was different from anyone else's so she grew up to be a rude and unapologetic children story writer. She meets Moon Gang Tae and realizes it's not the first time she has met him. On another hand, Moon Gang Tae puts on a strong face whose sole goal in life is care for his autistic older brother. When he goes back to his hometown he ends up finding out the truth behind his mother's death. I also loved that the story is narrated at times as a fairy tale.

[kidney9-9]

Airplane (Sam Wilson)

hey guys! hope you enjoy this sam wilson one shot! i loved writing this! taglist and requests are open :) 

Masterlist

Sam Wilson x Reader, featuring Bucky Barnes Warnings: a little cursing, awkwardness, lots of fluff!! Word Count: 2.5k

“Samuel Thomas Wilson?” You squeaked out. Getting on a plane to go to London, for a work trip was normal for you. Having a stranger sit next to you, on said flight, was normal to you. Sitting in absolute silence for the rest of the flight, was normal to you. But right now- this was not normal. This man, to be your seat mate for the rest of this long flight, is your ex-boyfriend.

Shit.

“Oh fuck, uh, hey, surprise!” Sam replied, smiling at you unsure of what to do. You awkwardly stood back up, but your knees were bent from the small amount of space you had. Why the fuck did you get up? You waved back at him, now looking absolutely anywhere but his face (and his crotch).

So, where did you decide to stare at? The man standing behind him, the one and only Bucky Barnes. Not a good idea, seeing as the stranger (the two of you have never met before) grinned back to you, unhinged by the total amount of awkwardness that seeped in the air. You had no choice but to grin back with a small hesitation, as Sam stared back at you.

Uhh, just sit the fuck down now.

Your knees buckled loudly, as you sat back down and you cringed at the noise they make, while Sam sighed out almost dramatically. He pushed his and Bucky’s carry-ons up onto the storage above your seats. Bucky continued to stare back at you, now realizing the obvious discomfort his partner and you were feeling, and boy was he going to relish in it.

Sam lightly punched Bucky and cocked his head back in your direction. “Listen, be cool, she’s my ex. Actually, wait just don’t talk.” Sam whispered furiously back at Bucky. You sat there, bouncing your legs in nervousness, while Bucky nodded back to Sam with a “Yeah, sure.” (Fuck no!)

Your eyes widened as Sam sat almost hesitantly next to you, in the middle seat. “So, London, eh?” You question, and immediately wince at your fucking gawkiness. Like, fuck! That damn question- ‘London, eh?’ like man, you felt embarrassed. That question is the equivalence of just being so damn dumb.

Sam couldn’t feel even more tongue-tied at this moment either. Bucky, on the other hand felt like this was a Comedy Central original, and he couldn’t help the short laugh that escaped him. He quickly covered it up as a cough but rolled his eyes, as Sam hit his leg hard in warning.

“Yeah, London. You?” Sam responded and woah, Bucky couldn’t help it. The laugh came out even louder and he couldn’t cover it up, he for sure wouldn’t. Sam ultimately ignored Bucky at that moment, as he glanced back at you with an upside-down grin.

You slowly nodded back, and silence ensues. As if on cue, a flight attendant arrived, pushing the storage closed while looking at the three of you. Bucky, the ultimate comedian, pointed back at you and Sam, and with a short chuckle, he spoke, “Those two, am I right? The chemistry!”

You let out a loud groan the same time Sam smacked Bucky’s arm hardly, “Oh you are a fucking asshole!” Bucky groaned out and clutched his arm, “That was the good one!”

“That’s for being stupid!” Sam yakked back, clearly annoyed. Bucky rolled his eyes back to him, while you gapped at the two of them. The flight attendant made no comment, just glanced back down to Bucky and with a shake of her head, she turned around and left. Oh, how you wished to be that flight attendant, being able to just leave.

But nope. You can’t just leave, seeing as the flight was going to take off soon. You pulled your phone back out, deciding to ignore the little cat fight between Sam and Bucky as you sent out an SOS text to your friend. ‘fuckkkk, sam is sitting next to me and I think he’s got a boyfriend now or something’ you sent out. At least you did think Bucky was Sam’s boyfriend. You’ve seen the two of them on the news, and you assumed Sam was straight, but you didn’t know if that was completely true, maybe he was bisexual. But now, looking at the two of them, they really did look like a couple.

“So, how have you been?” Sam asked, looking back to you, as you put your phone away again. You hummed for a quick second with raised eyebrows, surprised he wanted to talk to you. Maybe it’ll only be small talk, and end in a minute, but the fact you had to sit next to him the rest of the flight made you hope for the best.

“Fine, got that promotion. What about you?” You responded, keeping your tone flat, but you were genuinely interested about what was happening in his life. The reason why the two of you ended things was in fact because of him joining the Avengers. It really bothered you at the time, since he had a hard time with memories back from the war, and you thought that him joining in a group of fighters was only going to hurt him more.

Maybe you were wrong with that assumption now, seeing how happy he looked all the time on the news, and right now with Bucky. You both ended things on mutual terms, agreed to stay friends of course, but once you left, neither of you reached out to each other. It hurt you for a time but now you moved past it, dated a few other people, gained a few more friends too.

Sam was hurt by the break-up as well. It was years ago now, but he did feel like there was potential in that relationship. You two had gone through some tough times and he did ultimately understand your point of view of his decision. After you left, he wondered what life would have been like if he didn’t join the team, but right now he was happy he did.

The two of you have grown into separate paths, that seemed almost impossible to intertwine but now, here you are. Both of you happy and healthy, connected however apart, but in a very awkward situation.

“Congrats on the promotion! I’m doing okay- but wow, that’s great, good job.” Sam replied, sincerely happy for you. That promotion also caused the two of you pain in the relationship. You were pushing in over sixty hours a week, always exhausted and stressed. That promotion seemed impossible, you worked so hard while the two of you were dating, and that work barely got you anywhere. So now, seeing as you got the promotion, he knew you were truly glad about it.

“Yeah, thank you. How’s uh, how’s everything going?” You asked back lightly, seeing Bucky lean back into Sam. In turn, Sam barely shrugged his shoulders trying to get him off. Sam looked at you, almost smiling as he remembered things from the past.

You looked good too. Great, in fact, and now Sam felt his ears grow a little warm at your beauty. You also thought Sam looked good. He suited himself in some jeans and a t-shirt you recognize from long ago, and he looked a little bit more muscular than last time you saw him.

“Everything is good, I’m actually leading a new division now at work. And my family’s alright too.” Sam responded, turning his body to face you, in the uncomfortable airplane seat. You nodded back, taking in the information and with a gasp, you asked, “How’s Christa doing?”

Christa was Sam’s neighbor and at one time, the three of you were best friends. But when things started to go downhill, you cut yourself off and away from Christa, thinking it was for the best since she was his neighbor, and they were friends first. Christa always butted in on conversations and made sure the two of you were feeling alright, especially during flu seasons.

“She’s been wondering about you actually.” Sam responded quietly, seeing Bucky lean into the conversation. Bucky and Christa have met on numerous occasions and wow, did Bucky dislike the girl. For some reason she held an attitude against him that he could not take and the two were quick to argue about almost anything.

“She’s a bitch.” Bucky spoke almost in a matter-of-fact tone, with raised eyebrows looking between you and Sam. You let out a surprised laugh as Sam rolled his eyes back to him, “No, she is not.” You agreed with Sam, as Bucky let out a sigh.

“Why does she hate me?” Bucky questioned; eyeing Sam amused. Sam shifted around again, thinking of all the reasons why she could dislike Bucky. It was apparent the two of them were clearly not anywhere labeled as friends, but Sam couldn’t really find a justifiable reason why she acts like that to him.

So, he just shrugged back, as you leaned back into your laugh. “Hey there,” You finally introduced yourself to Bucky, slightly moving over Sam to shake Bucky’s hand. He nodded back to you, grinning and looking back to Sam. “So, is there something I need to know?” Bucky questioned both you and Sam, making the both of you confused. You crunched your eyebrows together in perplexity as Sam opened his mouth slightly.

You “oohed” back suddenly, causing Sam to look at you confused. “What?” He asked you, watching as your expression turned to one of understanding. You cocked your head back to Sam with a shrug, “It’s alright, you don’t have to hide it, and there isn’t anything, Bucky.” You smiled sweetly back to him.

No way you were going to be rude to Sam’s boyfriend now (again you really do think they are dating). He seemed funny and interesting to you, and most importantly Sam looked happy. Sam looked even more confused as Bucky nodded and started laughing, way more than normally.

You just smiled back to the two of them, looking happy. “Wait, what’s going on?” Sam questioned, making Bucky laugh even more. You raised your eyebrows at him, “Oh Sam, it’s fine with me! You guys look great together!”  

“Excuse me?” Sam stuttered out, completely shocked. Bucky evened out his laughter, and watched as Sam vigorously shook his head no. “I am not dating him.” Sam declared, scooting his body to move a little bit more away from Bucky, as you rested back onto the window and watched the two.

Yeah, you didn’t believe him one bit, especially with Bucky wording silently, “We are.” So, you hummed back to Sam for a second while narrowing your eyes a little. “Is it like,” You paused trying to find the right words, as Sam repeatedly said “No,” over and over as if he couldn’t believe what was happening. “Is it like, not official? Cause you guys can trust me, I won’t say anything.” You replied, speaking softly.

Sam finally looked back at Bucky, seeing what Bucky was doing and smacked his arm again. “We are not dating. He’s just a friend, well now he’s just a coworker, since he’s acting so damn stupid.” Sam grunted out the end of his reply, as Bucky punched him back this time.

You laughed at the two, “Oh, alright! It’s just- you guys look so cute together!” The two of them completely stopped and just looked at you. Bucky was the one who looked confused now, as Sam raised his eyebrows back at you. “Come on, no we don’t.” Sam chuckled out, with Bucky nodding along and you shrugged back to them.

A small moment of silence went through the three of you, as Sam and Bucky completely readjusted in their seats properly, buckling up along with you. Your short time of happiness started to fade as the flight attendant up in the front started the instruction on what to do if anything were to happen. Your fear of planes was one of the worst things that you dealt with on a common basis. Almost every week or so, you had to jump on a plane for work, but you never seemed to get over that fear.

Sam gazed back at you as you sighed out shakily, now remembering how scared you would get during the take off. His stare softened as he noticed your hands starting to tremble as the plane started driving on the runway, and he whispered a short “Hey” to you.

You looked back up at Sam, as your fingers started tapping against each other. “Want to hold my hand, like good old times?” Sam asked, pushing his hand on the rest between the two of you. You nodded back with a small thankful smile.

“Thank you, Sam.” You whispered back and took his hand in yours, squeezing it tightly as the plane started to go even faster down the runway. You began to tremble even more when you felt the bumps, and Sam pulled away from you for a moment. You looked at him confused as he pushed the rest up between the two of the seats and scooted closer to you. He moved as close as he could, even taking off the seatbelt and opening his arms to you. You leaned into his hug just as soon as the plane started to lift, and he rubbed gentle circles on your back as you held your breath. Bucky sent a small smile to the two of you and leaned back in his chair, looking back around to the other seats.

The take off went well but the two of you still were hugging and you hesitantly pulled away. “Thank you, your hugs were always the best.” You said softly, as Sam put the seat belt back on again. Your nerves were slightly easing out again, and you were thankful that Sam hugged you. He looked back up to you and grinned, “No, it was your hugs that were the best.” His words made you laugh lightly, and you beamed back to him.

“Why did we never talk afterwards?” You wondered aloud.

Sam exhaled out slightly, “I have no idea.” You nodded back to his words, and your smile dropped a little. You opened your mouth again, timidly speaking up, “You know, after we did, I would dial in your number sometimes and I never pressed the button to call. I deleted your number a while after, but for some reason my mind hung onto your number. It took a while to forget,” You paused, eyeing his expression. He seemed downhearted at your sudden confession.

“And sometimes, I regret forgetting it.” You finished, breathing out slightly at the end. Sam took a moment before responding to your words, “I did the same thing, uh. I actually got a new number, if you ever want to reconnect, you know?”

You nodded back with a small grin. “That sounds great, but you know we still have several hours to reconnect, if you want to now?” Sam laughed at your invitation and the two of you immediately blasted into another conversation while Bucky watched on with a small snicker.

Safe to say, the next time the two of you shared a flight together, you two did more than just reconnect.

[jebazzled]

So you want to write a want ad.

Surprise! JB coming you today not with unsolicited opinions on apps, but with unsolicited opinions on want ads.

Want ads: love filling them, hate writing them, mixed experiences being part of them. Let's talk about want ads: the responsibilities of writing them, and how to write them in a way that gets people to bite.

WANT ADS: RESPONSIBILITIES

I am a firm believer that when you post a want ad, you have a number of responsibilities to the person who takes your ad:

When you approve a character for your want ad, you owe it to the writer to plot with them.

You owe it to the writer to thread regularly with them.

If you know that you are highly territorial and don’t want characters who are tightly plotted with yours to be tightly plotted with anyone else, you should not be making want ads.

Let's go over what I mean with each of these.

When you approve a character for your want ad, you owe it to the writer to plot with them. When someone writes a character for your want ad, they are often writing a custom character, from scratch, often for a specific plot. This may or may not be a character the writer can reuse elsewhere. They put in a lot of effort for something that you said you wanted, and you owe it to them to come through with the plot you asked for.

This means that you should be proactively plotting with this character, not waiting for the writer to message you asking what you want to do. This means that you should not leave the writer on read. This means that you should be thinking about making this plot enjoyable for both you and the other writer.

You owe it to the writer to thread regularly with them. Again: this person wrote a custom character for you, and is now doing the work of building other plots for this character. You asked for this character, you asked for this plot. Someone may have joined the site for this plot. You owe it to the writer to give them the plot you asked for.

If you do not have the time to regularly contribute to one or more threads at a time with this person, you should not be writing a want ad.

If you know that you are highly territorial and don’t want characters who are tightly plotted with yours to be tightly plotted with anyone else, you should not be making want ads. It is unfair to expect plot exclusivity from other people unless you have made that expectation clear from the get-go. Often, want ad-takers are new members looking for a want ad & plot as a way to get started on a site. If you are not comfortable with the taker of your want ad plotting extensively with anyone else, you should only request want ads from people you are close to and comfortable with.

If certain common plots make you uncomfortable (e.g. : if your ad is for finals and you are uncomfortable with the requested character having romantic history with other characters onsite) you should say so in the ad.

"What if I don't like the way the character turned out?"

The most common reason I hear for people not actively plotting or threading with characters written for their want ads is because they don't like how the character turned out or don't like writing with the member who took the ad.

These are both stupid reasons you can head off earlier than when a character is accepted.

When someone shows interest in taking your want ad, proactively communicate with them. Being in touch with the writer while they initially write the character means you will be able to better communicate what you are looking for and what you are excited about.

If you do not like the way the character turned out or do not want to write with the member taking the ad, you should let staff know before or while the app is under review. Many sites ask for member input on applications submitted for want ads.

If you are unwilling to communicate with another writer or with staff to resolve an issue surrounding a want ad, you should not be writing a want ad.

I understand and agree that confrontation, whether on a small or large scale, can be frightening and anxiety-inducing. I promise you that the "confrontation" of telling staff a certain member makes you uncomfortable and you don't want to write with them, or telling a writer that you don't think their character is quite right for your request, will have much less fallout than you giving every indication that there is no problem, and then completely ignoring this character and writer. (I know this from experience.)

If you are unwilling to potentially take on this confrontation - and 9 times out of 10 it isn't even that bad - you should only request characters from people who you trust to pull off the character in a way that makes you happy.

If there are only a handful of people you would actually be excited to write this character with: you should not be writing a want ad. If you would only thread with this character if they are written by one of your friends, ask one of your friends to write them. Want ads cast a wide net. If you are not comfortable with a wide net, ask your friends to write the character. And if none of your friends will write the character: you need to find a way to write your character without the wanted one.

(This is a great argument in favor of never making a character rely upon another played character to make sense: you never know when a request will go unfilled, when someone will ghost, or when muse will die.)

WANT ADS THAT PEOPLE WILL WANT

Still want to write a want ad? Alright. Let's get to it.

A good want ad is both specific enough to be intriguing and vague enough to give plenty of room for development. A good want ad sets the requested character up for a compelling plot without isolating them from other stories onsite. A good want ad is exciting to write for.

Let's look at some premises for want ads, and how to make them more compelling.

4-5 coworkers for Susie Creamcheese, a type-A 30-something.

BETTER:

Parks & Rec-inspired 4-5 coworkers for Susie Creamcheese, a type-A 30-something.

Why is this better? Giving the group an easily-referenced dynamic helps potential takers get a sense of the personalities at play. They almost certainly won't pull the characters wholesale, just overall types - e.g. a himbo, a dark horse, a straight man (the comedy archetype), a square, a nervous optimist. The vibe is specific but the details are wide open.

Twin brother and sister who held Sally Pumpernickel hostage in their treehouse for three weeks. In the first week Sally tried to escape, but in week two she developed a crush on the twin brother. He tried to get the twin sister to let Sally out of the treehouse, so she took Sally to a different treehouse and told Sally that she had a vision about the brother being an elk shapeshifter.

BETTER:

Twin brother and sister with a dark history - they held Sally Pumpernickel hostage in their treehouse for three weeks two years ago. Sally has feelings for the brother, who may or may not be a shapeshifter.

Why is this better? The original idea was WAY too specific, with every beat of the plot planned out. Asking someone to take on cowriting a story you've already outlined in your head is an unfair proposition, as it allows them very little room to develop their own character. If you need tight control over every single beat of a plot you should probably just write it as original fiction!

Little brother needed for Mary (played by X) - also is boyfriend to Kathy (played by Y), and best friend to Peggy (played by Z). The big complication? He is framed for the attempted murder of Peter (played by Y), who was Mary's boyfriend.

BETTER:

Little brother needed for Mary - this character has been framed for the attempted murder of her boyfriend as well.

Why is this better?

This less complicated request is better for a number of reasons:

Keeps the two most important parts of the request (the sibling role & the attempted murder)

Allows the writer more control over their character's other relationships

Doesn't lock the writer into a closed-group plot situation

What do I mean by a "closed-group plot situation?" In my experience, plots with this tangled sort of quality often lead to a cliquey dynamic. This itself isn't inherently a bad thing - sites are communities, and any community develops close groups - but it does mean that it can be difficult for a new member to feel included with the clique, or to be able to plot outside of the clique if all their character's connections are with the same handful of members. It also means that if the clique has a falling out, members might have a hard time setting their characters up elsewhere on site.

Older sister needed for Sadie Sourdough. Sister raised Sadie in the middle of a desert after their parents went missing. Sadie idolizes her and cares about her a lot but also resents her for getting sick, which meant Sadie had to leave her job abroad.

BETTER: 

Sadie Sourdough's older sister, Sandy - Sandy raised Sadie in the middle of a desert after their parents went missing. When Sadie left to work abroad, Sandy was proud, but also relieved, as this meant she could pursue her dream of underwater basketweaving - but when she caught the Water Sickness, Sadie had to come take care of her, and now their roles are reversed.

Why is this better? The function of the character is the same, but this ad focuses on the requested character, which both gives a writer more to work with and keeps the plot from being entirely self-serving. Remember, rp is a game for two or more - nothing you do can be all about you!

WANT ADS: FILLING THEM

As long as I have you here: let's talk about filling want ads. Quick and dirty tips! 

DON’T only post in the want ad onsite; reach out to the poster individually! Talking to them about what you have in mind and getting a sense for how it compares with what they're looking for will help you determine whether this want ad is for you or if you'd like to go in a different direction, and will save you the effort of writing a whole character just for the plot not to take off.

DO think of other potential plots and points of connection for your character. While you might be writing them for a specific plot, you should have ideas for plots and opportunities outside that plot. You never know when a writing partner will ghost, drop a character, or lose their muse for a plot, and your character should make just as much sense without the person who requested them as they do when you are writing with that person.

DO have fun! This is your character, and you get to decide how to write them. Don't feel like every single thing about your character needs to be determined by the person whose request you're filling. RP writing is improv - you don't get to control everyone else's writing and characters - and if the person whose request you're filling wants to be super controlling of every element of that character, perhaps it is a red flag!

IN CONCLUSION,

Want ads are not something to be taken lightly: you're asking someone to put in a lot of effort for a plot you want! Hopefully this tutorial has given you some food for though in your approach to writing and filling want ads. Happy roleplaying, and best of luck with all your character requests!

[dreaming-of-assclass]

Hi! Can I please have some Karma and Sugino friendship beadcanons? ❤

*cracks knuckles* I’ve been waiting so long for this...😤💚

I literally adore this friendship! Definitely my fave Karma relationship (next to Kayano uwu).

I guess I could sum it up as...Sugino is such a popular, friendly, socially intelligent guy. Karma is “cool,” edgy, and very socially awkward. They’re literally the most iconic type of sitcom duo

Anyways, sorry I was freaking out for a sec there 😅

So...they get off to a rocky start, but I imagine they get super close over the year. At first Nagisa is kinda a middle man, but eventually, they can hang out and vibe without him around.

Sugino overcomes his prejudice and biased view of Karma, and sees the good qualities in him. His respect for Karma grows and he thinks of him as a trustworthy guy.

Karma thinks Sugino is ingenuine at first, but realizes he’s just purely nice. Sugino is very honest and easy to talk to, which is great for someone like Karma, who doesn’t trust people easily at all.

Now...for some headcanons hehe

Sugino is one of the few people that Karma will voluntarily help with studying. He may joke that Sugino owes him a favor or needs to supply him with wasabi or some shit, but he’s honestly just doing it bc Sugino is a close friend.

They’re the most confrontational in Group 4 and may end up verbally disagreeing just bc of their clashing personalities at times. Except it’s usually with little things, like directions, what to do, etc.

(In the future) Everytime Karma is mistakenly given the opportunity to drive, Sugino is such a backseat driver. He’s legitimately scared sometimes that Karma will kill someone...

They fight over the aux, and Karma somehow manages to get it every single time.

Sugino has accidentally hit him in the head with a baseball far too many times...Karma can’t even get pissed bc they are accidental.

Whenever they’re paired in PE, neither of them are taking it seriously. They’re just messing around so much bc it’s honestly so lighthearted. When they do take it seriously, it’s always an interesting match. Karma has faster reflexes, but Sugino beats him in agility. Sugino also has more raw strength, but Karma is a quicker thinker.

Sugino is canonically very talented at a lot of things: sports, art, acting... Karma jokes around that Sugino might finally beat him as the Class Talented Genius, but it’s not out of jealousy at all. It’s his way of complimenting Sugino and showing his support.

Surprisingly...Karma doesn’t ship Sugizaki. Of course, they’re both his friends, but he’s still way closer with Sugino. And he can’t help but see the delusional fantasy Sugino is living in where he puts Kanzaki on a pedestal. It bothers Karma but he isn’t sure what to say. He just hopes Sugino gets over himself eventually, but in the meantime, he’ll quietly support him.

The two of them and Maehara are the ones to come up with “get-rich-quick” schemes...they always invite Isogai but he just sighs and says “Don’t break anything. Don’t kill someone. Or each other.”

They once make a bet with each other that neither of them can indulge in their guilty pleasure for a week, and whoever caves first loses and has to do something embarrassing. Karma can’t eat any junk food or sugar, and Sugino can’t touch a video game. They constantly bait each other during the week while they’re both losing it. Sugino eats snacks in his face, including his precious strawberry milk. Karma rubs it in his face that he could afford the newest version of Sugino’s favorite game. They eventually end it without either of them lasting the week, and tackling each other in a fight. Group 4: “I literally can’t with these dumbasses”

They end up in a ballet class together with Kimura. It was suggested by Korosensei that it improves their balance and skills, but Karma shrugged it off and Sugino said he’ll pass. A couple days later, they change their mind bc dammit, Isogai and Maehara beat them AGAIN. They drag Kimura too bc why not, athletes and chuuni’s stick together. They leave having great ballet skills, and return to assassination. But Isogai and Maehara still be winning 😔

Karma is shook at first in the beginning of their friendship when he notices how many times Sugino nearly jumps into fights/starts shit. He brings it up, and Sugino just sheepishly responds “Oh you know, I only do it when my friends are being messed with. I really should handle things better though.” And Karma just stares at him like ?? “No Sugino don’t change. Now that I hear that, I finally have some respect for you lmfao.” And Sugino is like “oh cool! ...wait that was an insult.”

But that really is a part of Sugino that Karma respects and appreciates a lot. He knows that Sugino has got his back whenever he needs him there, whether it’s assassination, street fights, etc.

Sugino is a chaotic well-meaning idiot, but Karma never wants to use him as a minion like Terasaka. He’d prefer Sugino by his side, like a right hand man, with his support close by.

Karma lives to scare Sugino with his edgy stories, but of course, that goes away the longer they know each other and become friends. Sugino just either accepts it or eggs it on. Karma: “what if I drop this spider onto your head and it infects your mind?” Sugino: “do it bitch.”

Both of them get the same present format for each other on their birthdays. One joke/prank gift and one useful/practical gift.

I HC that Sugino becomes friendly with Gakushuu too at some point, so whenever the rivals are being petty and ready to kill each other, Sugino is just like :D

It’s a pain doing laundry at his apartment since his family has so many clothes and sweaty sports gear to wash, parents are usually busy, their machine doesn’t work sometimes, and he hates leaving things to air-dry... So Karma lets him wash his stuff at his house UwU

Karma always makes sure to watch his baseball games in the future. Not in person all the time, and not the whole game, but at least a couple minutes of the screen. Just to make sure Sugino is doing alright. If he’s having a bad day and isn’t in the lead, Karma texts him like “wtf u better win bitch >3” and Sugino replies “ur right but fuck u”

Karma has a field day whenever girls are flirting with Sugino and he’s so oblivious. Over the years, he has: pretended that he was Sugino’s boyfriend instead and “back off hoes,” basically arranged dates for him just out of fun, and catfished Sugino (as adults)

Sugino’s home isn’t perfect at all, his family is far from perfect. But it’s still way better than the emptiness that Karma is surrounded by. So he invites Karma over a few times for dinner and such, and Karma appreciates it a lot. He also bonds with Sugino’s wild little brother and they create so much chaos.

Sugino can’t trash talk at all, and Karma tries to teach him but it doesn’t work. He’s too wholesome, and Karma just gives up after ten minutes of hearing harmless, stupid shit come out of Sugino’s mouth.

Overall, they’re the Iconic, Talented, Sitcom Duo with so much comedy potential. I love this friendship so much!

[zukosgay]

hi, I'd actually love to hear your wwdits hot takes, if you'd like to talk about them

ohhh booy, alright alright, here we go then.

let’s start with a little less controversial (unpopular?) opinion: i know in the show it’s all big talk about nandor and his fighting/army skills but i actually think the guy doesn’t know shit about one to one hand combat because 1. every time he tries to be badass he fails and 2. i think he was one of those army leaders that would send their guys out to do the carnage and he would reap the awards just by standing somewhere off to the side. he’s not good at it - he’s never been good at it. it’s why he was so reluctant to battle that werewolf in s1. all show and no tell. i’ve seen a few posts describing him as a retired badass and i would just like to say that to me he’s just retired. it’s like, badass? The guy who couldn’t rip a piece of plastic from a wall? That guy?? Nadja could probably beat him in a fight cuz he’d get performance anxiety cuz his entire shtick revolves around being this relentless soldier people write poems about

yeah, that’s p much all i got for non-controversial opinions. now onto the others

first off, i think this show should introduce a black character, and not just as an extra but as a kinda regular like simon the devious etc. it’s seriously lacking in that regard. also, i recently just found out that kayvan novak used to do blackface as “comedy” and iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. am not a fan of that.

i think they didn’t really resolve guillermo’s slayer sl as neatly as they thought they did? i know it was a 2 episode deal but that whole slayer team had so much potential for it to never be talked about. i was really hoping that maybe the dude they left at the disco vamps would come back to bite them in the ass, or sth. i really liked claude (and shanice as well, honestly, tho i was kinda scared they would pair her with guillermo), i liked claude obviously admiring guillermo (gay mayhaps?) and i’m sad it just. ended. like that.

i didn’t like nadja’s development this season either, last season she had a bigger role with the whole gregor sl and her turning another vampire, but this season she was just... there, kinda. all her storylines were about her WITH laszlo, while laszlo got his own little runaway sl. and let’s be honest nadja’s character is a whole lot more interesting than her husband’s (no offense)

this ties into the fact that i didn’t really like laszlo all that much this season either? maybe the whole “u haven’t gone down on me in 200 years” comment soured the mood LMAO, but i think calling nadja and laszlo’s relationship a poly marriage would do it a disservice since nadja was obviously hurt about laszlo “cheating” on her in the witches’ episode, and laszlo saying “haha nandor let’s jerk each other off and tell no one about it” - the latter part being important here. also nadja banning him from their room. like, it would’ve been fine if nadja had gotten any good scenes this season, but she didn’t. it wasn’t eve brought up again.

the witch episode was also a little all over the place, altho it had some funny themes going for it. it felt a little like a “lookie how much sexual/outrageous humor we can put in our show! isn’t this original??” without resolving the sl in any concrete way.

and another thing: I felt a little cheapened at the “homosexual vampiric activity” this season. to me it felt like short moments of representation without any real consequences to the story - and i also didn’t like that they included laszlo jerking off his own damn ghost in that. yes, all their vampires are pansexual, as they’ve said, but how come laszlo seems to be the only one who gets to express that? where’s my gfs for nadja??? (i also missed jenna, rip)

it also doesn’t sit well with me that the main source of representation we got was “hypersexual husband in a relationship with a woman who occasionally has sex with dudes”. like, that isn’t a bad thing, per se, i’d just like a little bit more ~flavor than that to my representation, you know? where’s our shy, romantic homosexual vampiric activity?? (which basically is just me saying: CONFIRM GUILLERMO AS GAY AND GIVE HIM A BOYFRIEND. OR A DATE. A FLING. FOR ONE EPISODE. just.... anything, please.) i get why they’re reluctant to make nandermo canon, but i lit rally don’t care if they keep them just subtext if they give us just one (1) guy that fawns over guillermo, cuz he deserves it ((((i really liked him and claude in those two episodes)))). 

i deserve little a wlw and romantic gay rep next season. as a treat.

also, i don’t mind them dragging guillermo’s secret out till the last minute, but i would’ve preferred for them to kick-start the plot a little more. and with that i mean guillermo being turned into a vampire is inevitable and idk if the writers are just scared of their comedy formula forming? but just THINK of the comedic potential vamp guillermo could have. the blade references. guillermo’s lineage making it so he keeps accidentally almost staking himself. guillermo injuring himself mildly and the vamps freak out cuz they possess -10 brain cells between them and think he’s dying RIGHT NOW, IMMEDIATELY, DO SOMETHING NANDOR. and nandor tries to turn guillermo but it just... doesn’t work during the first few tries cuz guillermo’s van helsing blood is just like “you know what? Nope. Not happening. Not on MY watch, young man” (please, please, let nandor be self-conscious if he’s infertile. let them go to the equivalent of a vampire pregnancy clinic. i’m still in love with that idea.) again, guillermo being turned into a vampire after he’s spent a decade pining over it and has just now come to the realization that he’d much rather be a vampire slayer or some kinda businessman? tasty.

((i also didn’t really like nadja’s wig this season D: or like, i’m assuming it was a wig looking at season 1 with her natural brown hair. i just miss that :’())

oh gosh these points really make it seem like i HATED the season, i didn’t, i thought it was hilarious (the humor was more character-based and less general ‘vamp humor’ like in s1, which i liked), it got me thru quarantine and for that i’m both grateful and scared how i’ll handle the hiatus. i just had some #thots and since like 5 separate people told me they’d be interested to hear about my hot takes...  🤷🏻‍♀️💅🏻

[all-chickens-are-trans]

5, 10 and 19 for the fanfic ask?✨❤️

5. What’s a crackship you love?

It might have started out as a crack ship because the first few fanfics I’ve read about them were silly little ficlets full of horny comedy, but now I’m completely ride or die for Percy Weasley/Oliver Wood. THEY MAKE SENSE OKAY???! Two single-minded, completely driven characters with wildly different specialized interests who will probably drive each other up the walls but also understand each other’s obsession to excel in a way that no one else does?? sharing a dorm for seven years with no one else as far as we know?? there’s so much potential. I love them so much.

10. Mutual pining or enemies to friends to lovers?

uuuummmm how about both??? these aren’t mutually exclusive, quite the opposite! Please imagine person A trying to flirt with person B but it goes horribly wrong, and they end up yelling at each other and hating each other and becoming bitter rivals. Please imagine A still kinda being into B against their own better judgment, because B got their chance and they turned out to be horrible!! Imagine B sometimes thinking about that first attempted flirt and wondering if maybe they reacted too harshly - but no, A is an asshole and B wants nothing to do with them. Definitely. Mostly. Though sometimes, they both catch themselves actually being nice to the other? And through some big gesture or something, the ice eventually breaks and they became friends. Only, now that they’re friends, A’s silly little crush from the very beginning turns into full-blown love and shit. fuck. They barely just became friends, it’s gonna complicate their relationship too much if A brings love into the mix - A should better keep quiet and be glad to have B as a friend now. And B, they’re like, I miss the silly banter A and me had when we were still enemies! So they sometimes start some new banter, only it sometimes turns into accidental flirting and whenever B catches themselves doing that they’re like shit!! I should stop that I’m gonna ruin our friendship and I don’t wanna go back to being enemies!! And then it goes on forever, and they grow closer as friends every day, and fall in love more deeply, and suffer more and more from it, until finally, one of them breaks and admits their feelings and FINALLY they both get their shit together THE END. (Am I talking about Gilbert Blythe and Anne Shirley from any and every “Anne of Green Gables” adaptation? I sure am! It’s physically impossible for me to talk about enemies to friends to lovers without thinking of them. they’re the og pairing for that concept! pls y’all go watch Project Green Gables on youtube)

long story short, if someone put a gun to my head and made me decide, I’d probably pick enemies to friends to lovers, but that trope is really worthless to me if it doesn’t have mutual pining in it as well.

19. What’s your favorite character headcanon?

I have too many to choose a favorite, but since the Star Wars prequels are on my mind a lot recently, I’m going to go with the Finn + Poe + Rey flat share hc. We all know that Finn and Poe are boyfriends, there’s no question about it, but just because they’re in a relationship now doesn’t mean that Rey isn’t a part of their trio anymore. Especially Finn and Rey fondly call each other ‘soul mate’ and never want to be apart from each other, so much so that Poe constantly has to do the “this is my boyfriend Finn and his girlfriend Rey” bit. They live on a green planet, in a tree house like structure, and while they each have their own bed and their own space, more often than not they end up falling asleep on top of each other in a big pile. They all take time to heal, hone their jedi powers, continue to make the galaxy a better place, and all their friends stop by all the time. Rey plants flowers and builds cool stuff. Finn teaches the ways of the Force to little kids from all over the place. Poe wants to adopt all of the kids, while the other two patiently explain to him that they do not condone kidnapping. Sometimes, he tells the kids the stories about how he met and worked with General Leia Organa, the coolest person in the galaxy, and if he doesn’t do that, he gushes about his boyfriend and his platonic girlfriend to anyone who wants to hear it. Basically, they live happily ever after, build up a new generation of force sensitive kids, and create a welcoming community space for everyone who fought in the wars.