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roosterforme · 1 year ago

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Adult Education Part 7 | Hangman x OC

Summary: Jessica can't get enough of the comfort she feels around Jake, and he can't help but press her to define what they are doing. Everything feels heated and still sweet when they hang out for the day, and when she brings up the alumni event, he's immediately onboard.

Warnings: Fluff, angst, swearing, eventually 18+

Length: 3700 words

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Female OC

This story is part of the Beer Boy and Sugar universe but can be read on its own! Adult Education masterlist

Seriously, who let Jake on my masterlist!? Banner by @mak-32

Jessica couldn't remember the last time she felt this comfortable and confident around someone else. She had grown into the understanding that her own company was the best company for her, and especially for the past year, she had kept contact with most people to a minimum. Keeping them at a professional arm's length as much as possible. But when she was with Jake, she didn't feel like she needed to be quiet and keep her head down to survive.

"I got pretty much every kind of snack for today," he told her as they stood in his kitchen. "Just because I don't know all of your favorites yet."

Yet. That was the second time he'd made her heart flutter like this. He also told her he was getting attached to her. And now his cheeks were a little pink as she picked up some chips and salsa.

"I told you I'm not picky as long as you have Sam Adams for me."

"I'll make sure I always have it," he promised as he took two bottles out of the refrigerator and followed her to the living room. "You relax and shout to me if anyone scores, okay?"

"Where are you going?" she asked from her spot on the couch as he set the beers down and left again. She noticed the stack of journals she'd given him were sitting near the corner of the coffee table.

"Just going to add everything to the crockpot so we can have dinner later."

Jessica settled back into the cushions and watched him walk away, his shirt hugging his broad shoulders. He was perhaps even more handsome than Brian Conley, which was something she would have never thought possible. When she and Brian were sleeping together, she thought he was the most attractive man she'd ever seen. Ten years older. Gray hair mixed in with chestnut brown. Icy blue eyes. But now she was coming around to the idea of someone her own age, with lighter hair and pretty green eyes.

When Jake returned a minute later and settled down right next to her, even though there was plenty of room, she asked, "How old are you?"

He took the jar of salsa from her hand and opened it as he said, "Thirty. I'd ask you how old you are, but my mom would be really disappointed if she ever learned that I did. So if you'd like to tell me, that's fine, but I'm not asking."

Jessica laughed as she opened the bag of chips and curled her legs up onto the couch so her thigh was resting on his. "How would your mom ever find out anyway?"

Jake scoffed as he scooped salsa onto a chip. "You don't think she's going to want to meet my girlfriend?" He shoved the whole thing into his mouth before grabbing more. "She'd get the information out of you somehow, I'm sure."

She sat there quietly and broke a chip in half before nibbling on it as she tried not to smile. She hadn't been in a relationship since right after grad school. Most guys didn't seem inclined to want to do more than sleep with her. Her brand of nerdy was a hard sell. She was smarter than almost everyone else, she was introverted, and she preferred playing Dungeons & Dragons or reading a book to going out. Well, excluding an evening at Chippy's.

"I'm thirty one," she said softly with a grin.

"Perfect," he replied, casually scooping more salsa onto a chip. "I also wouldn't be upset if you told me if you bought that green underwear you were looking at on your phone."

She started nibbling on the other half of the chip as Jake's arm rubbed hers. "Maybe." He was looking at her out of the corner of his eye before turning away from the football game completely to face her. "Okay... yes, I bought the set," she said, biting her lip. "You're missing the game."

"I don't really care about the game all that much. Like I said before, I think I've gotta be the world's worst Longhorns fan."

"You're terrible," she confirmed as he held out the jar of salsa for her.

His gaze dipped down to her lips. "Why are you so far away?" he asked softly.

She wanted to laugh, because she was practically sitting on his lap. Instead she leaned in and kissed his cheek as she said, "What was I thinking?" Jake's body was big and warm and cozy as he draped his arm around her shoulders. She snuggled in close to him with her cheek resting on his chest. She dipped a chip into the jar he was holding and teased him with it before she shoved it into his mouth.

"Thanks, Baby," he murmured as he chewed it up. Then she took the jar and the chips and set them on the table and grabbed the beers instead. They sat cuddled up, sipping the drinks, and Jake was actually less annoying when the Longhorns scored than she had anticipated. She just relaxed into him as the condensation from her bottle dripped occasionally onto his jeans, but he didn't complain, so she didn't move.

"You want another one now?" he asked, taking her empty bottle in the same hand as his and kissing her hair.

"No," she whispered. "And don't get up. I'm comfortable."

"Okay," he replied softly, leaning forward just enough to let the bottles drop with a thud onto the area rug.

Jessica pushed him back with her palm on his abs, and she bit her lip as she felt his muscles. "I said don't move."

"You're in charge, Reedy."

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

This was all wildly thrilling for Jake. He was with a beautiful woman who wanted to chill on his couch and run her hand back and forth across his abs while they watched football together. He never did this kind of thing. Ever. This was indulgent in a way he didn't usually operate.

When Jessica looked up at him through her eyelashes, he reached over and adjusted her glasses. Then he felt her hand dip inside his shirt and come to rest just above his jeans, fingers stroking almost to the point of tickling. And he wasn't even watching the game. Maybe it was halftime. He wasn't sure. It didn't matter.

Why did he suddenly want a girlfriend so badly that he kept thinking about it? He was thinking about how this could be a normal weekend for him. And how he could have Jessica curled up with him like this in bed.

He was staring. He knew he was. But so was she. And her small hand was moving across his skin in the most addicting way. "Reedy," he whispered, and that was all it took. She planted her hand with her fingertips inside his jeans, and Jake groaned as she kissed him. When her hand slid up his abs to his chest and pulled his shirt up with it, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her until she was in his lap.

In the deepest recesses of his brain, Jake knew he couldn't let anything too wild happen today. Just kissing. Just like this. But when he let his hand trail down to Jessica's round ass, he realized the fabric of her leggings was thin and that he could feel her thong through it. It felt lacy. He wanted to know what it looked like.

He palmed her a little rougher, until she broke the kiss and rubbed herself against him. "Oh, Jessica," he groaned, taking in the sight of her wide eyes and crooked glasses. She was raking her fingers slowly through his chest hair while Jake squeezed her butt. He couldn't think straight as her lips met his again, and then his hand was up the back of her shirt.

Her skin was so damn soft, and Jake was not going to be able to conceal the fact that he was getting hard for her when her knee kept nudging him through his jeans. Her feather soft kisses were becoming more demanding as she brought her other hand up to ruin his tidy hair. And fuck if he could control himself.

In an instant, she was on her back along the couch with Jake on top of her. She let out a surprised giggle as her head came to rest on the cushion. "This okay?" he asked, kissing along her jaw.

Jessica responded by spreading her thighs so he could settle against her, and Jake had to keep reminding himself that this was a marathon, not a sprint. But her body was warm and inviting, and she was so responsive to his touch. Every gasp from her lips had him pushing his hands a little further up her sides and sucking a little harder on her neck.

"Jake," she moaned, rolling her hips up against him.

"Fuck," he gasped, one hand sliding between her back and the couch as he pushed himself against her this time. Her lips were parted, and she was digging her fingers into his shoulders. Jake moaned when she wrapped one leg around his hip. Her shirt was pushed up almost to her tits, and he wanted to taste all of her skin. But she pulled him close for another kiss, and Jake knew he had to pump the brakes.

He slowed it all down, easing his hand up to her back instead of her perfect ass. He let each kiss taper off until his lips were barely brushing hers. And then he felt her leg slide down from his hip as she took his hand and guided it further up her shirt until he was touching her bra. She chased his lips as he pulled away from her, and now she looked embarrassed.

"Jessica. Not a horny quickie on the couch. Not for our first time together."

"Okay. Right," she whispered, her fingers tracing along his neck. "Do you want to go to your bedroom?"

He kissed her cheek and said, "I think we should save it for another day."

As he slowly let his hand trail down her tummy, she turned her face toward the TV and laughed a little awkwardly. "Is it that obvious that it's been a long time for me? I'm sure that's not the case for you."

He didn't quite know what to say. "No, it's not obvious. And no, you're not wrong," he murmured, his brow creasing as he leaned closer for a soft kiss. Had it really just been two weeks ago that he brought someone home from the bar? "But it has actually been a very long time since someone mattered like you do. So the pacing is kind of important to me."

"You're sweet." A pretty smile touched her lips, and then he let himself kiss her belly before pulling her up so she was sitting and looking at him. Her hair was a little messy, and her glasses were crooked again, and Jake was suddenly afraid he was going to fuck this all up. She adjusted her glasses with the backs of her fingers and leaned in to kiss him one time.

It really was halftime now, and Jake watched her stand and look through the stack of journals on the table. Her voice was still soft and breathless as she glanced at him and asked, "Where's the one with my phone number? I wanted to show you something in the article I wrote."

Jake wanted to laugh or maybe cry. This woman thought he was smart. Well, he knew he was smart, but nobody else ever seemed to care if he was. "It's in my bedroom."

"It's in your bedroom?"

"Yeah," he replied easily. "I'm keeping that one for sure. You can have the rest of the journals back, but not that one. I worked hard for that phone number."

She giggled. "You really did. And you did great. Can I get it out of your room?"

He thought he was going to respond by telling her yes, but instead he suddenly asked, "Are you seeing anyone else?"

Now her expression was surprised as she came to stand between his spread legs, and he looked up at her. "Are you asking me if I'm meeting other men at Chippy's and during my office hours?"

Jake nodded and swallowed hard as she bent at the waist and let her hands rest on his knees. "Yeah. I'm sure Chippy would be delighted to see you with someone else."

"No," she laughed. "I'm not seeing anyone else. Are you?"

"Absolutely not."

"Good." Her hands slid up to his thighs as she kissed him, which was doing nothing to help him get rid of the awkward half erection he was sporting. "Is it cool if I grab the journal from your room?"

"Yeah," he grunted. "You'll see it in there."

When he watched her walk away, he groaned and sprawled out on the couch. He needed to pull himself together, or she would definitely be taking someone else to Chippy's soon.

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

To Jessica's immediate delight, she found the journal on Jake's nightstand. It was even folded open to the page with her article and phone number. She picked it up and headed back to the couch where he was sprawled out now with his head propped up on the pillow. Hot, needy sex had sounded delicious twenty minutes ago when he was grinding against her, but when she looked at him right now, she knew that's not what she needed. She'd had plenty of that in Brian's office and the backseat of his SUV.

She didn't want to think about him. Not when Jake was reaching for her hand and pulling her down on top of him like she weighed nothing. He didn't even grunt or groan as she settled chest to chest with him. Her legs were tangled with his as he wrapped his arms around her, and she tried to keep the journal from getting smashed.

"What do you want to talk about? I think I have the whole thing memorized," he said softly, keeping his attention on her even though the second half of the game was on.

"I wanted to show you how I wrote about your Super Hornets," she said, unable to stop smiling now.

"Yeah, I saw that. You know more about the damn things than I do, Dr. Reed."

She laughed. "I'm Dr. Reed again?"

"Jessica," he whispered in that drawl that made her heart clench as he rubbed her back. "You ever been up in one before? You wanna fly with me one day?"

She let the journal slide to the floor as she gaped at him. "Would I be allowed? I've always wanted to!"

He shrugged. "I can investigate it. Or I could always sneak you out onto the tarmac after dark so you can sit in the cockpit."

"That sounds scandalous."

"It would be," he confirmed with a smirk. "You could sit on my lap. I could show my throttle. Teach you how to use it."

Jessica felt warm as she kissed him, his hands heavy on her lower back. But it was sweet and intentional instead of rushed even though she was straddling his abs. She was always at least slightly turned on when she was around Jake, and she was starting to suspect he felt the same way. But his restraint was sexy.

"I like this," she whispered between soft kisses as she ran the tip of her nose up along his.

"Me too, Baby," he replied, and when she bit her lip and pulled away a few inches to smile, he looked like he was in awe.

"What?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I just can't believe you're into me."

She rolled her eyes. "You're handsome. Everyone is into you."

"That's not what I meant," he said with a laugh. "And you're obviously better than everyone else."

Jessica had to reel in her ridiculous grin as she threaded her fingers through his soft hair. "Hey, can I ask you something? And feel free to say no, because it's probably going to be really, very dumb, and I won't be upset if you don't want to go-"

"Yes."

She stared at him for a beat. "I didn't even ask it yet."

"I know. Whatever it is, I'm in."

Once again, he was making her feel warm inside. And he still hadn't looked at the game. "So you'll be my date for a posh fraternity fundraiser for alumni weekend?"

He pushed her hair back behind her ear and said, "I don't think posh and fraternity belong in the same sentence together, but yes. I'd love to be your date. Since we're exclusive now."

"Oh, that was smoothe Lieutenant." She found herself tracing the lettering on his shirt as her cheek came to rest on his shoulder.

"I thought so, too," he whispered. Then she dozed off on him.

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

Jake held Jessica while she slept, her breaths soft on his neck while he watched the end of the game. He should really get up and stir the chili, but he didn't want to disturb her. If dinner wasn't edible, he would just order a pizza instead. No big deal.

She finally seemed fully comfortable with him. She was letting him hold her while she napped, and she wasn't shying away from the idea of them dating. He knew there was more to the picture with the way she made him work for it and the rumors Bradshaw's wife told him about. But she was so fucking sweet, Jake didn't care about what anyone else said. And it honestly turned him on when she made him earn his privileges with her.

She moaned softly in her sleep and wrapped her arm around him. He was going to have to ask Bradshaw or his wife what to wear to a frat party. That's somewhere he never thought he'd be caught dead, but he found himself wanting to make Jessica happy. So exceptions could be made.

Suddenly she popped up with both palms planted on his chest. "I can't believe I fell asleep," she mumbled, and Jake smiled at the mark on her face from where her glasses had been pressing.

"You want dinner?" he asked as she sat up straddling his hips. Her shirt had slipped a bit, and he could see the strap of her bra. And honestly, this position was enough to get him going, the way her breasts were clearly pressed together inside her A&M tee. When she nodded, he scooped her up as he sat and then stood.

She slid down his body with a little giggle, and soon they were both sitting on the stools at his kitchen island. He watched her dip a tortilla chip into her bowl of chili and take a bite. "This is so good," she gushed. "I don't know how to cook anything. You just put stuff in a crock pot? And it just cooks it into a meal?"

"Yep," he replied, trying not to laugh at the look on her face. Now he was thinking about buying her a crock pot. What the fuck was wrong with him? She took another bite and closed her eyes like it was the most pleasurable thing she'd ever tasted. "Baby, has nobody ever cooked for you before?"

"No," she moaned. "Unless you include my mom, and I only get to eat that for holidays. If I can manage to get back to Massachusetts."

He stroked her cheek with his fingers and said, "You want me to bring you dinner again this week? When you have office hours?"

She moaned again and climbed onto his lap to finish eating. Which turned into her straddling him again while he ran his hands all over her perfect ass again. And once again he could hardly believe he pumped the brakes so hard earlier, because eventually her lips were on his neck and her glasses were pressing into his jaw.

"If you come by on Tuesday, I'll wear something cute to work," she informed him, and his head tipped back.

"You always look cute."

"Then I'll wear something sexy."

Jake grunted. "Baby, you always look sexy." A few more brushes of her lips, and he found himself asking, "Do you want to spend the night?"

"Oh," she gasped, but she kissed his Adam's apple before pulling her lips away from him.

"We could cuddle. Make out," he clarified, meeting her eyes as she adjusted her glasses. "I could make you breakfast."

She bit her lip and then said, "See, this isn't fair. Now you know that the secret way to get me to do anything is with food. And I don't know what your secret is yet."

"Apparently it's girls with glasses."

Now she was laughing as she planted her hands on his shoulders. "I have a lot of work to do tomorrow at home. I need to start making up midterm exam questions."

"I could help you," he murmured, only half joking. "I solved your problem correctly the day we met, remember?"

"Jake, I will remember for the rest of my life how earnest you were the day we met."

He smiled, and he found his heart swelling with pride. "So you'll stay?"

"Next time," she whispered. "Next time I'll stay. And we can do more than cuddle and make out."

Jake pulled her a little closer with his hands still on her butt. "Yeah. Let's do that."

Eventually he packed up a container with the extra chili and linked his fingers with hers. He walked her to her car and kissed her until they were out of breath, and then he let her leave. But he missed her warmth and her hands on him. He ended up rereading her journal articles and looking up a recipe to make for Tuesday while he imagined just how sexy her outfit might be.

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

They are exclusive. She ordered the green set. She's dressing sexy on Tuesday. I'm ready. Thanks @mak-32 and @beyondthesefourwalls

PART 8

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thatonebirdwrites · 1 month ago

Text

Kara and Heat

Follow-up to L-Corp, Chill, and Scotch (Lena's POV) and Catco and Family (Kara's POV)

Lena's smile didn't reach her eyes, and her heart murmur sounded more pronounced. Kara gave her a hopeful smile as she handed over Lena's favorite Irish scones.

"Piping hot and direct from Ireland," Kara said, cheerfully. She was still in her supersuit since she hadn't given herself time to change before she dropped by to hand it off.

"Thank you?" The way Lena spoke made it sound like a question. "Are you not concerned what others will think, Supergirl? You, giving me, gifts as if we are..." Her heartrate abruptly sky rocketed, and she looked away, her scent profile switching to a more acidic one. "... dating?"

Kara tilted her head. "Why would that bother me? I'd be honored."

Lena's breath hitched. "I -- I see." Footsteps signaled the approach of Sam, and the door to Lena's office opened. "Ah, Sam's here to review--"

"I -- I thought Sam was in Metropolis?" Kara looked past her toward the other woman, who walked up to Lena's desk and dumped her briefcase on it with a thump. Lena winced.

"She returned." Lena gestured vaguely with her free hand. "Surely you've read Andrea's exclusive? She's taking over as CEO. I will be a research consultant."

No, Kara had no idea. "Oh. You didn't mentioned it. Andrea has me doing what cafe has the best scones at the moment."

Lena looked down at the box and fiddled with its lid. "I -- I can talk to her about that."

"No, don't bother. She'll just take it out on someone else." It'd been several weeks of Kara trying so hard to talk with Lena, to bring her breakfast and other gifts, and Lena still won't look her in the eye. Then came the complexity of Andrea as a boss. If Kara had to write another article about cafe scones, she might torch her new workstation.

"I see. How is that going?" Lena glanced back at Sam, that forced smile still on her face.

"Andrea took away my office." Kara slouched against the railing on Lena's balcony. "I know you set that up for me because of my hearing issues. Those walls were a blessing. I don't know what kind of glass you used, but it cut out half the sound of the city and I could focus. No one uses the office now."

"She-- she did?" Lena frowned. "Kara, how much does your hearing bother you? Since you can..." she waves her hand toward the city at large.

Kara hesitated. The urge to lie still pulsed, and she had to actively fight it. "The glasses I wear? They have lead in them, which dimmed my supersenses to some degree. I have gotten better at filtering out sounds, but..." She nibbled on her bottom lip. "Okay, picture yourself standing next to a gun, but you have no ear protection. Now amplify the gunshot sound by a hundred -- no a thousand."

"Jesus, Kara." Lena's eyes widened. "Is that how it is now?"

"Why do you think I like this balcony?" Kara patted the concrete railing. "I'm up high enough that the sound takes longer to move through the air to reach me. The longer time also pulls some of its energy out of the sound, thus it's quieter. I can still hear when bad things happen up here, but it's not like an explosion in my ear like it is when someone slams a door or a phone rings at full volume next to me."

"Ah." Lena tilted her head to study Kara for a long moment. Kara assumed her thoughts were still on the hearing issue, but her next words end up as whiplash for Kara. "Kara, why are you doing this?" She held up the scones.

Kara blinked. "Because you're Lena? And I wanted to do something special for you."

"Right..." Lena sighed. "Look, Sam is waiting, and I really must be going. I'll give Andrea a call and tell her to stop breaking ADA. We have on record your accommodation request, and she can't violate that for no good reason."

"Lena," Kara stared, unsure whether to be delighted or worried. The sudden topic change had her floundering. "You don't have to--"

"When I signed the sale, part of that was an addendum for her to follow the accommodation requests to the letter." Lena's voice turned frosty. "I do not like hearing she's violating it already." She pivoted and muttered under her breath, "typical of her."

Had Lena forgotten that Kara could still hear her? She watched Lena greet Sam and offer her a scone. Neither glanced at Kara, who stood on the balcony still.

She hadn't meant to listen in, but she couldn't stop herself.

"So, you really okay with Ruby and I staying with you? It might be a few weeks to sort out the housing situation," Sam asked right before she bit into the scone. "Holy shit, this is good."

"From Ireland directly. And yes, it's fine. You're family, Sam." Lena reached over to grasp her shoulder. "Stay as long as you need. And eat your fill." She pushed the box closer to Sam. "I'm not hungry."

"Lena, you're never hungry these days." Sam frowned. "Please eat one scone."

"What are you my dietician?" Lena snapped.

"Hun, that doesn't work on me. I'm a mother." Sam took out a scone, laid out a napkin, and placed it in front of Lena. "No starving yourself on my watch. Now let's talk contracts."

That was when Kara learned several important things:

Sam currently stayed at Lena's, and Lena invited her to stay as long as she liked.

Lena knew Andrea well enough to suspect she'd cause harm.

Lena wasn't eating, and it had Sam worried.

Kara had no idea what to do with this information, because the second one had to be wrong. Surely.

Lena would never choose to hurt Kara on purpose, right?

The thought disturbed her so much that she shot off the balcony fast enough to cause a wake strong enough to rattle Lena's windows.

***

Lena sat at her counter, her feet perched on a rung, as she tabbed through the coding program. Her original idea she had to shelve because Sam's insistence that it was mind-control made her feel far too much like Lex.

She didn't want to be like Lex. As much as it hurt that he died by her hand, she could not forget what he wrote in his journals about her. He wrote of her as if she was a chess piece, and it had felt so dehumanizing. It's why she'd been so determined to hunt him down. She needed to face him and find out why.

Facing him had brought her right into his hands. He knew she'd find him there, and had prepared for the reveal. With his typical theatrics, he'd unveiled the truth in a way to cause maximum harm. The glee on his face as he did it? The way he laughed at her pain? Like always, he found a way to tug the rug out of the things she cared about.

She loved him, yet she'd killed him. He had been surprised at first that she'd done it, but even that hadn't stopped his plan. He'd gone through it as he struggled to breathe. His last words mocked her, and he was right. She was a fool.

Anger seared through her. Was that all she was? A chess piece for her brother and the Kryptonians? She slammed her laptop shut and stalked to the alcohol cabinet.

Except it was empty. That's right. Sam hid the alcohol. Ruby had a tendency to search the cabinets for snacks, eating what had once been saved for Kara.

But Lena suspected she hid it to also avoid moments like this. Where the urge to drink herself into oblivion saturated every fiber in Lena's being.

Dammit, it was her alcohol. She could drown herself in it as much as she liked.

After twenty minutes, she found the alcohol in the bedroom she gave Sam. Tucked into the back of the closet. She nabbed a bottle of scotch and stormed outside to sit on her balcony. She didn't bother with a glass. Opened it and drank directly from the bottle.

The scotch's heat did little to drown the pain in her heart.

At least one thing hadn't played in Lex's favor. Sam Arias threw a wrench into whatever he had planned.

She glared at the sky, at the faint dots of stars washed out in the glow of the city. Light pollution that made the sky treacherous for nocturnal life, which she could fix.

Leaning over her balcony, she scanned the city streets as she took another drink. Easy fix. Replace the hoods of all street lights so the light pointed down. It'd be more efficient and less energy waste too.

What else could she fix? All those rooftops could either be solar panels or community gardens. Be all self-sufficient or something.

She took another chug of the bottle. Making a gun with her other hand, she pretended to shoot at nearby buildings.

All that glass and concrete. Ugly as hell. Thermal equilibrium on hot days won't work with this architecture, as it was made for height and aesthetics, not thermal equilibrium, so hot days meant higher bills for air conditioning.

But how to fix that? She took another long drink. In the distance she heard the sound of waves. "Algae," she said out loud and giggled. That wouldn't work but moss should. Grow moss up the concrete and steel. A green city that would improve the thermal equilibrium, and less power on air conditioning.

What else? Her thoughts grew more erratic, ideas that were semi-connected, danced from moss to architecture to more efficient solar panels.

Ideas her and Sam sort of covered, but those had been silly mostly. This could change things for the better.

"Fixing everything but my heart," she muttered. She peered into the bottle. She still had more left.

Even if she did all these projects and some of Sam's silly ones, would it make any difference? Would it heal the pain in her heart?

Maybe if she refused to rest. Dove into her work and not allowed her mind to rest like this. The pain became unbearable in evenings, and with the transition to Sam as CEO, it meant more time for Lena's projects, but she couldn't even make up her own damn mind.

She wanted to fix the world. To end suffering still, but she hated the thought of Ruby or Sam hurt by what Sam insisted was mind-control. She couldn't lose them.

They were all she had left.

She had almost finished the bottle when she heard the sound of footsteps behind her.

"Don't even, Sam," Lena growled, not bothering to turn around. "I'll drink as much as I like. So don't try me."

"Um, I'm not Sam."

She pivoted and almost lost her balance. Kara stood a few feet away in her supergirl outfit. She pointed the bottle at her. "You live in that now? Or is Kara Danvers no longer a thing? Since you know, you're trying being honest for once."

She recognized she was drunk, but at this point, she did not care.

"I was doing laps and heard your heartbeat spike," Kara admitted.

"Laps?" Lena frowned. "Like sky laps?" She wiggled her finger in the air in what she hoped was a a circle.

"Yeah. When I'm upset I..." Kara sighed. "Lena, you're not okay, are you? I -- I heard you weren't eating, and now you're... drunk." Kara's nose wrinkled.

"Oh? Can you smell it? Supersmell too?" Lena stepped closer and stabbed Kara's chest with her bottle. "What other secrets you keep from me?"

Kara's brow wrinkled. "You know them all now. I mean it. I promise to never lie again."

Lena laughed. "Oh, that's good. Real good. You almost had me there." She took another swig but nothing was left. Annoyed, she tossed the bottle at Kara's chest. It shattered and the glass fell to the ground between them.

"Lena..." Kara looked at the debris with a frown.

"You're impenetrable," Lena said with a flick of dismissal. "It can't hurt you and your perfect body."

Why did she have to look so damn hot in that suit? The skirt had been bad enough for Lena's libido, but these pants? The one's she'd designed and gave to Brainy to finish? All those interwoven layers, some anti-kryptonite fibers she'd devised with Brainy's assistance, hugged Kara's impressive guns and rock-solid abs.

Fuck.

She was too drunk for these thoughts.

"How about you go inside and drink some water?"

Lena laughed. "You, the liar, cares about me? That's rich."

"You're drunk and standing very close to a railing on a very tall building!" Kara gently pushed her away from the edge. "And yes I care! I've always cared. Honest."

She wanted to yell at Kara. To beat her fists against Kara's perfect chest. Instead, she grabbed the front of Kara's suit and pulled her close. Far too close, her breath hot against Lena's own, and that nearly unraveled her willpower.

God, why did she have to look so damn hot all the time? The heat of Kara's gaze only worsened Lena's struggle.

Fuck.

It'd be so easy to just kiss her. To shove her against the building and give in to her raging libido. Her lips hovered closer to Kara's. Heat radiated from Kara's body, scorching her, and Lena desperately wanted Kara to take her right there.

Her stomach had other ideas, however. Nausea clawed its way up from her stomach, her only food that entire day what Sam had insisted she eat -- a scone and half a salad.

She closed her eyes.

No use, her stomach rebelled, and she puked over Kara's irritatingly perfect boots.

"Well, that's one way to deal with alcohol poisoning," Kara said.

Lena didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Warm arms scooped her up and cradled her against Kara's chest. "Let's get you inside." With far more tenderness than she deserved, Kara laid her on the sofa and tucked a blanket around her.

Lena briefly closed her eyes, the glare of the lights too bright. She peaked when footsteps sounded next to her. Kara had placed on the coffee table a glass of water, pain and nausea meds, and a large bowl. Kara stood next to the sofa, but instead of the suit, she wore sweatpants and a hoodie.

"Where's the suit?" God, she had a headache already.

"Nanotech." Kara touched her glasses. "When I put these back on, it retreats. He said you helped design it."

"Yeah, yeah." Lena waved her hand at Kara. "Supergirl's an ass, but I don't want her dead."

"Oh. Thank you."

She took a pain med and drank some water, but that unsettled her stomach, so she laid down and covered her eyes. "What're you doing here anyway?"

"Your heartbeat." Kara sounded timid, scared almost. "I -- I listen to it to make sure you're okay. Since, you know, the universe keeps trying to hurt you. And, well, you have a murmur. It's gotten worse."

Lena blinked at Kara, confused.

She had a what?

"Your heart. I -- I can hear it, and you have a murmur." Kara sounded embarrassed almost. "But you're drunk, so I'll wait until your sober."

Lena couldn't think of a response, so she closed her eyes and ignored Kara instead.

***

Kara hadn't lied to Lena. The heart murmur had been part of what she hoped to talk about, but she'd also wanted to ask her about whether she was failing to eat again. She didn't want Lena to get anemia again, that had worsened the heart murmur, and she still felt guilt over whether bringing that up might have saved Lena a few trips to the emergency room, during her first year in National City.

One of the many reasons Kara decided to just eat lunch with Lena as much as possible.

Bu that hadn't been her only reason either.

She wanted to ask if her and Sam were just friends or something more.

And yet, maybe she'd gotten her answer to that one. Lena had almost kissed her.

Was that just the alcohol? Or had Lena always wanted to kiss her?

To have Lena lean that close? Kara felt like she'd gone up in flames, and the urge to kiss Lena had hit her so hard that she'd been breathless.

Sure, the thought had hit her randomly during their long friendship, but it had been a random, idle thought she dismissed easily.

Now she found she couldn't. Lena's breath had been hot against her lips, and they tingled still as if they had kissed.

Kara landed on the fire escape stairs at her apartment and glanced toward downtown, a mile away. Leaving Lena hadn't been what she wanted, but she'd heard Sam and Ruby in the hallway, and it hadn't seemed a good idea to face Sam.

She'd been too rattled by the almost kiss.

She opened her window and slid through, deactivating her suit as she did so.

Instead, Lena had been drunk, antagonistic, and confusing.

Hadn't she said at the Pulitzer's that she would always be Kara's friend? Her hot and cold nature confused.

Something else was wrong.

Did Lena blame her for Lex's death?

Oh Rao.

Kara dropped face first onto her sofa. Why hadn't she thought of that sooner?

She knew Supergirl failed to save her brother. Knew Lex was dead. She still loved her brother, despite how mean he was to her.

Kara groaned. If Lena blamed her, then how could she fix that?

Apologize. Would that be enough?

Would anything ever be enough to make up for the fact Kara's at fault for her brother's death?

When Kara chose to become Supergirl, she had promised herself that she would not kill her enemies. No matter how easy it might seem, because she would not be like her mother.

She'd been angry still at being sent away, but when she learned the truth, she'd been angry at the legacy of her family and how that followed her to earth. Threatened life here, all because her mother and those like her had tossed people in the phantom zone instead of dealing with them in a more humane way.

She didn't want to be judge, jury, and executioner -- as Alex put it. She was here to help. Not be a god.

Except, she'd acted like one, hadn't she? Thinking she new what was best, trying to do it all herself, trying to control all the details. She’d controlled her and Lena’s relationship, held all the cards, all the information, and that hadn’t been fair, had it?

The worldkillers and Lex had taught her that she couldn't do it all herself. She needed a team to support her. Letting them help had been so hard, but hadn't that been a lesson Lena herself tried to teach her?

Lena had tried so hard to reach out to Kara after Mon-el's loss, and Kara had spurned her at first. Yet Lena persisted, and it had given Kara hope. Even if Kara kept fucking things up with Lena, she hadn't turned her back on Kara Danvers nor Supergirl, even if the trust had been fractured.

Had she lost Lena? Was she holding onto nothing but the ashes of a shattered friendship?

No, she couldn't believe that. There had to still be hope.

She couldn't stop herself. Her ears seemed perpetually tuned to Lena's heartbeat these days, and that awful murmur had gotten worse. It was louder and more frequent, and she didn't know enough human biology to assess what that meant.

Yet she listened to the heart murmur, to the slower heartrate of someone likely falling asleep.

When had Lena become the center of her life? It had crept up on her, and yet, that gift of her presence had been squandered by Kara herself. She'd been unable to fully let go of control, out of that wild fear of loss.

If she lost Lena because of Lex's death, what would she do? How could she move on?

No, no, she couldn't lose Lena, and yet, wasn't this entire situation her fault? She'd kept Lena in the dark. Messed up as Supergirl and hurt her. And now Lex was dead because of her.

How could Lena ever forgive her?

Tears stung her eyes. She hated herself. Hated how she couldn't do anything to fix this. Everything she tried seemed to increase the distance between her and Lena, and it hurt so much.

#Welp I made this sort of dark but I'm leading up to something with this AU #Supercorp #supercorp fic #kara danvers #lena luthor #supergirl #writing #Sam Arias #supergirl cw #cw supergirl #Lena is terrible at remembering to eat in the show and there's even a discussion about it between her and Kara #So I figured in times of great stress Lena would struggle with eating yet again as that's pretty common #kara zor el #kara x lena #Heart murmurs can develop for numerous reasons and sometimes they're harmless but sometimes not

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browneyesandhair · 5 months ago

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Non-Exhaustive List of Soulmate Fics: Merthur

Okay, I'm bored so I'm compiling my favorite soulmate fics. Here's the Merthur edition:

True Love by platonic_boner

Summary:

AU where soulmates can’t lie to each other. (That’s okay, Merlin wasn’t planning to lie to Arthur anyways! Haha.. ha.. ha…)

Don't Know You by platonic_boner

Summary:

Arthur can't wait to meet the voice inside his head.

Sharing is Caring by platonic_boner

Summary:

Arthur hadn't really given his soulmate much thought, until he beat a peasant with a broomstick and every blow hurt like he was hitting himself.

Thousand Times Worse. Or Better? by elirwen

Summary:

Forced by Morgana's nagging, Arthur visits soulbond guidance office. Merlin Emrys is asigned to be his guide. That's where the simple ends and complicated begins.

Deeds by the5leggedCricket

Summary:

Arthur is coming of age, and that means he’s about to get Deeds—marks on his body telling him of his soulmate’s greatest accomplishments. But as he tries to find his soulmate, he also makes some worrying discoveries about the kind of person his soulmate is.

Take Your Pain Away by BlueGrassSax

Summary:

Merlin was young when he came to realise that his soulmate was either really clumsy or lived a chaotic existence. Being able to take on the injuries of your soulmate is just a fact of life, a fact that Merlin happily accepts as he learns the ins and outs of his healing magic. But coming to Camelot has disrupted his long held trust in the Fates, for how can someone as bull-headed and arrogant as the prince wear his mark?

Now I Will Unsettle the Ground Beneath You by nu_breed

Summary:

Merlin's dreams have always fuelled his art, but they've always been abstract and removed from reality. Soon after he meets Gwaine, he starts to see vivid images of a past full of death and magic and love for a King who was ripped from him. Things only escalate further when he spends a weekend in the country with Gwaine and meets his group of friends, which includes aristocrat and It Boy, Arthur Pendragon. Merlin soon realises that no matter how hard you try, one thing is certain, you can't fuck with destiny.

Heart Lines by PeaceHeather

Summary:

Everyone is born with a heart line, a pigmented mark running from the heart down the left arm to the palm, which turns color when the person comes of age, telling them when it is time to seek their soulmate. Red indicates a romantic love, while blue is for platonic "heart-friends", as the minstrels called it. Uther had always told Arthur to ignore his heart line, that it wouldn't matter who his soulmate was; princes did not marry for love, after all. If was lucky, he'd be able to keep her as a mistress, so long as he did not get any children with her. Uther hated magic and would have urged Arthur to ignore the heart line anyway, if he could. Arthur wasn't sure his soulmate was really a woman despite Uther's assumptions. But Arthur's heart line hadn't even come into its full color yet, which meant he hadn't come of age in the eyes of the gods, despite being named crown prince by Uther. So it really didn't matter: whoever his soulmate was, he wasn't yet ready to meet them. Then one day his heart line comes in, and it's neither red nor blue.

the gold of you that can't be seen by Fleetling

Summary:

Arthur grins at him, waves his chubby hand. "Father!" he says, because he knows he should be formal with his father. There is no Pa here, no Dad or Da. There's something shiny on his father's head. He points to it. "What's that?" "Prince Arthur!" hisses the woman holding him, but his father only chuckles. The woman relaxes, just slightly. "It's a crown, my son. One day, you will wear one just like it." Arthur tilts his head, curiously. "What colour is it?" He thinks it's grey, just a shade off of the silver of the swords. It's the same silver-grey as half of the household's shiny jewelry, a not quite true silver. He doesn't think he likes it. "It's gold," says his father. "There's a lot of gold here in Camelot, my son." Arthur nods his head, and labels that silver-ish colour gold in his mind. (Or: in a world where you can't see the colour of your soulmate's eyes until you meet them, Arthur can't see gold, and it makes his life as a prince much more difficult.)

Of All The Planets In All The Galaxies, He Walked Into Mine. by supercalvin

Summary:

On Camelot, the base planet of the Albion Intergalactic Alliance, the people have a unique gift where the name of their soulmate appears on their arm. Finding one’s soulmate could be as easy as taking a shuttle over to the next planet or it could take years for destiny to find its way to their side of the galaxy. Ten years ago, Ambassador Arthur Pendragon found out the name on his arm wasn’t from any known language in the galaxy. He hadn’t had much faith in love ever since.

The Druid Consort by bluevalentine69

Summary:

27-year-old Alpha Prince Arthur has been married off to 16-year-old Druid Prince Merlin to unite their kingdoms. Meeting for the first time at dawn to be handfasted by the customs of Merlin’s druid people - and expected to mate that night by the customs of Arthur's wolf-people - neither prince is best pleased by the situation. Tomorrow they will belong to each other in body and soul. Turns out, married life's not so bad ...

Four Days To Fall In Love. by CupCakezys

Summary:

In a world where everyone has a soulmate (or two or three), Arthur Pendragon knows he is destined to be alone. For Arthur can see his heartstring, could follow it to where his soulmate lived, and that could only mean one thing. His soulmate had magic, and should they ever meet, Arthur would have to kill them.

the world entire by schweet_heart

Summary:

The world is very still, and it occurs to Arthur suddenly how quiet it is. The bells don’t toll for dead manservants, only for princes and kings, but that just makes the clamour of his heart seem louder. “Very well,” he says, pushing himself to his feet. “Then I’m going to have to save him.” Episode 1x13 AU. Nimueh accepts Merlin’s offer to exchange his life for Arthur’s. Arthur does not.

Hear Your Heart Sing (Love, Love, Love) by schweet_heart

Summary:

Merlin used to like the idea of finding The One – until he fell in love with Arthur Pendragon. Now he has a boss he can't date (but can't stop thinking about), a soulmate he can't find (who has terrible taste in music), and a best friend who can't believe he still hasn't got his act together (even though it's seriously not his fault). Sometimes, life is unfairly complicated, even without your soulmate singing painfully catchy tunes in the back of your head.

Dreams Don't Turn To Dust by goodluckgettingtosleep

Summary:

In a world where every person starts dreaming about their soulmate on the day of their 16th birthday, Prince Arthur is expected to be the soulmate of a beautiful princess. But when the big day finally rolls around, it turns out that his true soulmate is as far from a beautiful princess as one could get... a peasant boy with magic.

Let it be you by amithia

Summary:

This is all Gwen's fault. Merlin never wanted a stupid smartphone in the first place. Now, he has a smartphone and a supercilious, posh git bullying him on Whatsapp. He really should block the prat. or The one where Merlin doesn't block the prat and finds out that, maybe, smartphones aren't so bad after all.

Feather and Fang by 0hHeyThereBigBadWolf

Summary:

Everyone knows that magic users have magic dæmons. Creatures of myth and legend. Some appear normal but have hides in unnatural colours. It's a way to pick them out of a crowd, find them, even when they try to hide in plain sight.

The Worst Wizard by bluevalentine69

Summary:

Merlin is the worst wizard in wizarding school: his spells are accident prone and he is generally a walking disaster. When the time comes for his class to summon their familiars for the first time, many of the students summon powerful magical creatures. However, upon Merlin's turn, he summons a very unamused, regular human as a familiar: Arthur. Based on this prompt: https://kinksofcamelot.livejournal.com/1806.html?thread=557070#t557070. Now with original artwork!

Strangled by the Red String of Fate by idlestories

Summary:

“It has its roots in a legend from the east, sire. I believe it’s called the red string of fate.” “Fate?” Arthur said incredulously. “What, is he going to be the one to kill me?” “Getting more likely by the minute,” Merlin supplied. “Shut up, Merlin.” Gaius held up a weary hand. “Legend has it that the string connects people to the person with whom they are most compatible.” There was a beat of silence. “You have got to be kidding me.”

octarine by schweet_heart

Summary:

Merlin isn't Arthur's soulmate, and Arthur isn't Merlin's, yet somehow in spite of themselves they're everything to one another. Which is why, when Arthur finally starts seeing in colour, he isn't willing to let Merlin go without a fight. Written for Merlin_Holidays Fest 2016.

you are my favorite mistake (it can only be fate) by muItifandomjess

Summary:

When Merlin accidentally creates a mental link between himself and Arthur, they discover far more about each other than they could ever have imagined.

#merlin bbc #bbc merlin #merlin emrys #arthur pendragon #merthur #merlin x arthur #merlin/arthur #rec list #soulmate aus #fandom soulmates #browneyes shares fanfic #recs

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theromanticscrooge · 4 months ago

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Top 10 Favorite O.K. K.O. Episodes

youtube

Like any top 10 list, this is very subjective. These are ranked by how much I personally enjoyed a certain episode over anything else. For some context, I'm the kind of Star Trek fan that enjoys more dialogue and philosophy heavy episodes or really goofy love letter romps over big spaceship battles or anything particularly action-heavy. The same applies here even with a goofy, over-the-top cartoon. That's a huge part of why I picked some of these.

10.) "Presenting Joe Cuppa"

Joe Cuppa is a middle-aged flop of a comedian with a routine full of bad dad jokes and coffee puns. Joe is absolutely convinced that because his time in the limelight is over that there's nowhere else he can go; he's all washed up. Rad and K.O. are determined to lift his spirits and help him rediscover his confidence as well as a new lease on life. The eventual coffee-themed fight with Shannon is a hilarious cap-off to Joe's short but satisfying brush with a mid-life crisis.

I love that this is a goofy story about an older man that is just starting on an exciting new chapter of his life. There's too many older people that get stuck in the rut of "my life is my job" and become empty husks of their former selves after they retire and don't know what to do with themselves or their time without their former day job. Joe is a friendly reminder that an old dog can always learn new tricks in the form of using his coffee in clever, creative ways he hadn't tried before.

Out of O.K. K.O.'s long list of weird, wacky side characters, Joe is one of my personal favorites. I wanted more of him after this episode premiered and I still want a Joe-centric series of webisodes or comics now (even if I have to make them myself and nobody reads them, hahah).

9.) "Your World is an Illusion"

I'm a sucker for thoughtful and clever takes on fourth wall breaks. This one gets extra points for setting up a parallel between K.O.'s fourth wall break and someone getting a hit of existential dread from thoughts like "Am I just someone's Sim?" and the extra layer of "Can or do I exist after death?" In K.O.'s case, he decides to offset further nihilistic feelings and spirals by reaffirming how tangible and real his relationship with his mom and friends are.

As long as he values these people and his lived experiences with them, that's more than enough to give his life and reality value in turn. Its an especially insightful take, given how big the themes of friendship and found family are to this show as a whole. These are ideas I think about daily, to be honest. So, anything that tackles something close to Holo-Jane pulling the proverbial rug out from under K.O.'s feet is going to be a story that grabs my attention.

8.) "Bittersweet Rivals"

After the build-up of Enid's history with Elodie, this is the turning point and beginning of repairing their broken friendship. The best scene, hands-down, is Elodie swooping in to rescue Enid; a dramatic sunset scene that encapsulates a chain of Elodie choosing Enid over her need to win at everything. Elodie herself is a fantastic portrait of someone struggling between personal morals and societal pressures to appear as the prettiest, strongest, most popular, etc. no matter what the cost. She knows how intimate and strong her connection with Enid was but she was also convinced that there was only one spot in the limelight. If she shared that spot, it would lessen the prestige of her position. Its artificial scarcity. Elodie was cornered by the capitalistic vision of competition where others have to be pushed aside and stepped on and there's only one clear-cut path or mold for the "perfect" hero.

"Bittersweet Rivals" explores Elodie's side of her strained relationship with Enid. It also shows what kind of impact Enid has on her overall worldview and that Elodie can and will choose her friend and the personal changes needed to include Enid in her life. This is one of several examples of why its worth giving someone room to change if she shows the initiative and active desire to do so.

7.) "Back in Red Action"

Red Action was my favorite character when I first kept tabs on O.K. K.O. back in 2017-19. Enid's crush on Red was obvious from Red's on-screen introduction. This episode reveals that the feelings are definitely mutual; Red is just as much of a wannabe cool kid and closeted dork as Enid is. When Enid learns about Red's Hue Trooper past, it levels the proverbial playing field. These two can and should be more open and vulnerable around the other. They're cooler together and are absolutely a power couple on the hero side of the Plaza to rival Mr. Gar and Carol.

Besides fantastic character building for Red, the entire episode is full of corny poses and fun references to the ridiculous transforming vehicles that litter Power Rangers and its super sentai source material. Granted, the Hue Troop is definitely more of an homage to super sentai. The eight-year-old me that always wanted a girl as the Red Power Ranger loves Red Action. She's the obnoxious, but charming punk Ranger I didn't know I needed until I checked out O.K. K.O.

6.) "Lad & Logic"

As someone that's written a character analysis on Lord Boxman, I think this episode is core to any discussion about him as a character. I'm still fascinated by how much more open-minded, warm, and considerate Box Lad is when compared to present-day stern, manipulative, and cruel Boxman can be until a combination of his closer relationship with Professor Venomous and his redemption arc (with his kids, not in regards to his overall alignment).

At the very least, Boxman is an example of how a bright-eyed and hopeful person can lose themselves to an all-encompassing goal or obsession. Anyone could become a Boxman if they surrender to paranoia and get lost in their own head to the point they refuse to listen to anyone else.

Mr. Logic's story is roughly comparable to someone leaving an abusive relationship. Part of Boxman's deterioration is how someone can start a relationship with a kind, well-meaning person and that image of how they used to be eclipses what problems pop up later after that person removes their mask or in Boxman's case, something happens that leads to them becoming a horrible partner. Mr. Logic was "made" for a specific purpose but starts to discover who he wants to be after talking with Mr. Gar at the work-in-progress Plaza. Who Mr. Logic wants to be conflicts with what Boxman demands he should be.

This is what leads to Boxman creating his kids with the sole intention of them conforming to the exact vision of who and what he wants them to be. Thankfully, he pulls back on this motivation and starts work on becoming a better parent later. When Mr. Logic stands up for himself and leaves Boxmore, its the start of his own self-determination. He needed space and autonomy to become his true self.

5.) "Boxman Crashes"

I almost put "Villains' Night Out" in my top 10, but this episode has the penultimate Voxman scenes in it. Or more specifically, it has my favorite Voxman scene where it looks like Venomous has a big, world-shattering epiphany about how to work through his ennui after he and Boxman attack the Plaza. He's been so bored for so long and now this weird cyborg man gave him the metaphorical missing puzzle piece to get his life that much closer to complete.

"Villains' Night Out" has the magic carpet ride and the Venomous "proposal" scene but "Boxman Crashes" shows the Professor's side of the story. Viewers finally have insight as to what his personal life was like and most importantly, what he thinks of Lord Boxman. Look, the Voxy Bunch found family dynamic is one of my favorite parts of this cartoon. I love that this episode gives me both perspectives of the relationship for my favorite gay mad scientists. I need both POVs for my bad fanfic-writing needs!

4.) "The So-Bad-ical"

Setting up a villain plot of "ruin kids' education by teaching them nothing but blindly memorizing facts" is a stroke of genius. Its alarmingly accurate commentary on where American education is and how the end result can be made-to-order zombies (corporate drones that don't fight back or ask questions). Besides Boxmore shenanigans, Ms. Quantum paints a really sympathetic picture of teachers that honestly love their job and want to challenge students but are restricted by school boards, funding, and whatever else.

I'm tempted to put a pin in further discussion on this one considering how much stronger the commentary is now vs pre-pandemic conditions. In a nutshell, I love the social commentary here.

3.) "Second First Date"

There are so few cartoons that let the male and female lead stay just friends. Rad and Enid are that much more interesting because they started out as a failed romance. Enid's first impression of Rad was that he is an insensitive macho meathead and not much has changed. At surface level, Rad doubled down on the toxic machismo and his more feminine interests or sensitive side are open secrets he refuses to acknowledge. This establishes that Rad will apologize and can have frank, honest conversations with people that are important to him. It also sets the stage for how Rad and Enid's friendship becomes more than coworkers and surface level from here.

Manly Cupid is also a delight. He's an 80s brand of big, boxy, and rippling muscles in a bright pink toga. He's gruff but he also embodies the importance of open communication and vulnerability between romantic partners. He's very forceful in his approach but there's a promising note that he's open to learning from his own mistakes and admitting when he's wrong. He's a fantastic early example of positive masculinity in this series.

2.) "Special Delivery"

The meat of this episode is addressing the sharper edges of how often Enid quips at Rad or makes fun of his 'softer' interests. Rad still struggles with owning the more 'feminine' side of his personality and interests but he's reached a point with Enid where he feels like he should be comfortable enough to be his full, uncensored self. Where "Second First Date" focused more on Rad's defenses, "Special Delivery" is a companion episode where Rad calls out Enid using sarcasm and blurring the line between playful teasing with outright bullying as her own set of defense mechanisms.

They're able to work things out with Enid addressing Rad's criticisms and promising to be more thoughtful and conscientious when Rad expresses genuine interest in something 'cringe.' While Enid has a shared arc of "being emotionally vulnerable is cool" with Red, Rad's more sensitive side complements and touches on what kind of self-awareness Enid would need otherwise. There's also K.O., but he manages to knock down her walls in an easy, affable way unique to him as an adoptive younger brother. Rad is a harder nut to crack. Empathizing with him means looking past his more awkward exterior and takes a little more effort on Enid's part than with Red or K.O.

1.) "The Power is Yours"

This is my all-time favorite episode as well as crossover event, hands-down. It single-handedly drummed up what interest I have in Captain Planet now and led to me going out of my way to watch more of the original series. If O.K. K.O. comes up, I mention this episode at least once every time and I was hellbent on showing at least this one to my partner or anyone else that expresses even an iota of interest. It lives in my head rent-free!

This is a love letter to how campy, goofy, but heartbreakingly earnest Captain Planet was as a warning about pollution, climate change, and other social issues. Dr. Blight is as over-the-top as she is in the original cartoon. Overall, its a fun, ridiculous romp that showcases the strengths of O.K. K.O.'s deceptively simplistic art style combined with surreal, goofy imagery only possible in an abstract cartoon world. The ending bit with Kwame and Captain Planet warning K.O. that climate change is an immediate and ongoing issue has the right amount of seriousness and gravity that message needs. There's so many episodes that I could similarly describe this way but this one managed to grab my attention in a way that I can't fully articulate.

This is my current list as of late 2024! These may change as time goes on and I write enough essays to flesh out a short novella. For now, this was a means to get my creative juices flowing again in a lower stress way than a full blown character analysis or whatever else. The more focused stuff is returning soon!

#ok ko let's be heroes #ok ko #top 10 favorite episodes #top 10 list #favorite episodes of ok ko #ok ko red action #ok ko elodie #ok ko lord boxman #ok ko box lad #second first date #boxman crashes #captain planet crossover #joe cuppa #Youtube

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sariahsue · 1 year ago

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Jealousy Ch 2

Adrien's point of view

(Chapter one (Marinette's pov) here. Please note that I started this story in the ancient days of May 2021.)

---

Chat Noir almost always felt at home in Marinette's room. It was cozy and warm, lined with layers of fabric, like she was building a soft den. It was so different from his own old and sterile room. His windows let him see outside at the same time they reminded him he would always be disconnected from it. Marinette leaned against him, but tonight, no matter how close he physically was to her, he felt like they were on opposite sides of glass.

Their playing cards had been knocked out of their piles by Marinette's victory dance. A container of leftover noodles lay empty on its side. And Chat Noir held steady against Marinette's weight as she relaxed into his side.

There were so many things he couldn't tell her. So many things he wanted her to understand. "Hey, Bug?"

"Hm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Aren't you asking something now?" she joked. "Sure."

He hesitated. Asking was only a few steps removed from the forbidden act of telling. (Not his name. Not how many days it had been since he'd last had dinner with his father, or been given a hug.) He wanted to ask why she'd taken down all her pictures of Adrien. What had he done as his civilian self that had upset her so much? She stayed perfectly polite to him at school.

Instead he asked, "If it weren't for that other guy, do you think you would have fallen for me?"

Marinette leaned away. It wasn't the first time he'd asked a variation of this question. It was almost always on his mind. His rival.

"Um... do you want to play another round of Uno," she deflected, "or should we do something else?"

"Marinette, I'm serious. Would you have?"

She shrugged. "Maybe, I guess. Video games? I have UMS 4."

"Really, that's it? You guess? That's not a real answer."

"Please, chaton. Don't do this to yourself."

He selfishly slid closer to her. Not many people allowed him to be in their space like this, and the need to touch her was too much. If she felt like he was chasing her, she didn't complain. A reminder that at least someone wanted him around.

He didn't stop until he could feel her comfortable body heat against his side again. "I just want to know."

He'd expected a simple yes or no.

"You're kind and compassionate. You're reliable. You're funny." She stopped, taking care to find her next words. He thought she would just tell him no. "We have such a strong connection, and I trust you with my life. You're brave. You're my best friend."

Marinette's voice dropped for the devastating truth. "It would have been so easy. That's the real answer."

Chat Noir struggled to stay still, focusing on not hugging her, not crying, not moving. Even if she didn't love him back, she did in some way love him. She just… loved someone else more. Differently. Who was it? Adrien watched her at school. He knew Alya teased her constantly about her love life and Marinette's inability to talk to the mysterious boy who'd so effortlessly caught her attention. Adrien never overheard his name, though he'd tried.

"So why haven't you talked to him yet?" Chat Noir asked.

"What?"

"If you'd pick him over all that, then you must like him a lot, but you aren't together."

Marinette shifted, looking at him for the first time since gifting him a list of her favorite things about him (a gift he didn't deserve). "And I can't imagine anyone rejecting you, so you must not have asked him out yet."

"I'm... very awkward around him. I'm pretty sure I make him uncomfortable sometimes."

"I doubt it," he said. "So who is he?" Another question he hadn't been able to ask before. But he was tired of the glass in between them. If he couldn't be with her, maybe knowing more about her would help. This nameless boy was such a huge part of her life.

And one of the biggest obstacles in his.

Marinette got up and walked away, her back to him. "We shouldn't be talking about this."

"Why not?"

"Because I hate this!" Her face was pained as she turned to him. "I hate hurting you every time you bring it up."

The headless mannequin was suddenly very interesting. Father didn't have his own mannequin until he was nearly 18. Marinette was more passionate and more talented.

"I'm only curious," he lied. He felt like a bad friend for pushing, but there was only so much he could learn about her from studying the decor in her room. "I just want to know what type of person attracts Ladybug. That's all." And find out what he still lacked.

"I'll tell you under two conditions. One, you stop asking about it. Two, you don't laugh at me."

"Laugh?" he asked. "Why would I laugh?"

"Because you're going to think it's a celebrity crush, and it's not."

He waved to distract her from his face. He hoped it was neutral, but he couldn't be sure. A celebrity? She had a crush on some random celebrity? That's who his competition was?

Marinette groaned. "Adrien Agreste."

He didn't think. Didn't realize he'd stood up until he was walking toward her. The glass was shattering. "Plagg, claws in!"

"NO!" she shrieked, snapping her eyes shut. Had she seen? "What are you doing? Put your suit back on!"

"No."

"I'm not going to look at you."

Plagg bobbed back and forth between the two of them, then flew off to find Tikki. That was as close to permission as he was going to give.

"You have to retransform." Her commanding tone was at odds with the way she backed up, flinching away from him until she hit her desk, hiding her face in an effort to protect him. Or maybe herself.

"No," he repeated, "not until you look."

"You'll have to," she said. "You can't walk out my front door and let people see you. You'll have to leave the way you came in."

"You're just going to keep your eyes closed for the rest of the night?"

She nodded.

Adrien walked over to her, his socked feet stepping lightly over the remains of their time together. He wrapped her in a loose hug, and then waited. After a few seconds, Marinette dropped her hands from her face and sunk into him. He took that as permission to hug her the way he'd always wanted, like he was never going to let her go.

Maybe he didn't have to.

He was the boy. The rival. The obstacle. She could know all of him, and he wouldn't have to feel so fragmented and broken. There would be nothing left to come between them, if only she would open her eyes.

Marinette shivered in his arms. His fire dimmed, replaced with softness at her worry. It was so much better to hold her without thick armor in the way, just a few layers of fabric.

He wouldn't force her to look, but he wasn't above leading her for once. He could tell himself that it would be an advantage, tactically, for her to know who he was. It would strengthen their partnership, but really, he just needed her to know him.

"I'm not opening my eyes," she said.

"Then please just listen to my voice. I won't tell you my name, but please just listen?"

She pushed her face into his neck, skin to skin, and breathed deeply, nodding. Adrien wanted to drop his head on top of hers, but instead only leaned down, letting her hair brush his cheek. Almost nothing in between them.

"When I'm not transformed, I'm much quieter."

"A quiet Chat Noir?" Marinette teased. "What must that be like?"

"I don't show off either. I try to avoid attention, actually. I get too much of it."

Marinette didn't ask him why, though he'd expected it. He hoped it was because she was trying to figure it out despite herself.

"Did you know that we know each other outside the masks? We go to the same school."

He stopped, letting her come to the truth if she was ready. Despite what he wanted, and how desperately he needed to be seen by her, this ultimately had to be her choice. If she wanted to understand, she would.

Marinette's fingers started to roam, first to his ungloved hand, maybe testing to see if he really was detransformed. The hairs on his forearms raised as she drew a line from his wrist to the edges of his rolled up sleeves. Over and across, to his shoulders, a breathless slide along his collarbone, then down the buttons of his shirt, then back up to his shoulders as she breathed into his neck, and her eyelashes tickled him as she opened her eyes.

She wouldn't be able to see his face, but she knew. He rested his head on hers, strengthening his hold on her.

"You're kind and compassionate," he said. "You're brave and creative and amazing. It was so easy to fall in love with you, Marinette."

Her hands slid from his shoulders and wrapped around his neck, holding him just as tightly as he held her. "I love you too, Adrien."

#ml #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #marichat #fanfiction

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smallnico · 2 months ago

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Okay I know these are basic but I actually think I haven't asked them yet. A rundown of Esper's favorites: favorite flower? Food? Drink? Animal? Color? Season?

a lot of these i hadn't thought about either, so thanks for the opportunity!!

flower: i don't know if this counts, since it's not really known for its flowers, but i would probably say rosemary.

i've written a little story where esper gets a gift of a sachet of rosemary from astarion, in part to help with the whole 'lingering smell of death' situation, so it has a lot of sentimental significance to them. that said, it's also pretty appropriate -- in addition to smelling nice and tasting nice, it's also said to purify and protect against negative and corruptive spiritual energy. some meanings i've found in terms of flower language are memory, love, lust, mourning, and fidelity, all of which are also appropriate lmao. it also looks like esper, a little -- so pointy and kind of evocative of spikier pine needles, so you don't want to get too close, but when you do the needles are actually pretty tender, and the flowers are a well-kept secret -- maybe you didn't realize that rosemary Had flowers, that it was just a leafy herb for seasoning, but it has a lot of beauty to it even beyond how useful and versatile it is.

food: roasted dwarf, obviously -- just kidding, though. esper's favourite food is probably sauteed mushrooms.

(and not just because the durge c*nnibalism stuff squicks me out a little, so i choose not to incorporate it more than i have to into esper's story.) esper actually doesn't like eating meat if they can help it. it feeds That Durge In Them, but that's why they don't like it. mushrooms, on the other hand, remind them in some small way of better times. they did grow up in the underdark, so they ate a lot of mushrooms as a kid!

drink: esper will drink anything that's given to them, but they're especially fond of mint tea.

esper used to be an absinthe and dark liquor enjoyer back in the bhaalist days, but ever since their lobotomy and necromancer vivisection experience, their old drow poison/alcohol tolerance is pretty much nonexistant, so they don't drink much alcohol. tea on the other hand is good for stress management, and mint tea in particular helps to bring up your energy level without caffeine, so it doesn't make it harder to sleep -- something esper, chronic bhaalspawn nightmare haver, struggles with enough as it is.

animal: no question here. cats!

it's partially a joke, but i associate esper pretty strongly with cats -- and in-game (though this is mostly my fault) i use speak with animals to prevent ever harming them (yes, i know about steelclaw and grub. not on my watch, larian), as well as other animals. esper has a soft spot for creatures, but they do have a particular affinity for cats and their ways of life. esper too pinwheels between being god's favourite little acrobatic obligate predator and being so cuddly and sweet. also, between being cool and aloof and careful, and being an absolute fucking bastard menace with a taste for mischief. if you've ever been stared at relentlessly by a cat, you understand how it feels to be stared at by esper.

colour: you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at them, but it's somewhere between teal and purple.

these are the colours i use to depict their magic, not coincidentally! even though the main non-black colour accent i use with esper in art is this purplish red, that's the colour i use when i want to depict The Urge, or bhaal. this is why their text bubbles in my comics are pink -- it's halfway between bhaal and esper. :>

season: now this is one i'm not sure about. they'd need to have a few more years accumulated of Experiencing Seasons before they'd be able to make up their mind, but i know in my heart it's probably autumn.

i have an easier time saying for certain what seasons esper hates, lmao. they hate summer. too much sun, too hot, too much Weather, too humid. again, they grew up in the underdark and spent a lot of their forgotten adult life either underground or prowling at night. they are more than happy with shorter days and cooler weather -- the only reason winter isn't their favourite season is because snow is a pain in the ass, and because esper runs hot (body temp wise) but not hot enough to dress how they usually like to when it's Actually Cold. and spring just means summer is coming, so to esper that makes it the sunday night of seasons. autumn is nice and cool, kind of spooky, dark, and full of the smell of things rotting (but in like a good way).

THANKS FOR ASKINGGG you're a real one molly <333

#the askbox #loquor #esper #long post #beecreeper

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flightfoot · 3 months ago

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I just finished the seasons of Pretty Cure I was interested in, here's my rankings for them!

For reference, the Precure seasons I've completed are Futari Wa, Max Heart, Fresh, Heartcatch, Go Princess, Mahou Tsukai, Kira Kira, Hugtto, Star Twinkle, Delicious Party, Otona, and Hirogaru Sky.

I'm gonna rank them from worst to best and give my opinion on them. Warning that there may be spoilers in my review.

Hirogaru Sky

This season was a MASSIVE disappointment. It started off strong, but the plot just kind of meandered around until the last few episodes, the pacing was terrible. Most of the episodes are just the characters going to some location and hanging out being cute, and while that's fine for the occasional breather episode, it got really boring really quickly. The character arcs were also pretty lackluster for the most part, Sora's especially. C'mon, you can do so much more interesting things with the desire to "be a hero". Cure Majesty managed to be the most boring cure in existence, she lost all semblance of personality in her transformation from Ellee. Some good things: Tsubasa's character design was amazing, and his two episode introduction was one of the best I've seen for a non-midseason. I also really enjoyed how Mashiro and Battamonda foiled off of each other, I hadn't expected that. If only that arc encompassed more than just three episodes, that was the best part of the show.

Futari Wa

It's okay, it's neat to see where the show started and Nagisa and Honoka are fun to watch. I wish it'd given more even focus to both leads instead of focusing so heavily on Nagisa though, given that there was only the two of them, and it's overall pretty generic by magical girl standards.

Max Heart

I like Max Heart a little better than Futari Wa. Hikari's just okay and the Heartiels are a really poor fetch quest for showing progression (they just kinda show up when it's time), but there's a bit of a mystery element going on with figuring out what Hikari is and how she's connected to the mysterious boy, and overall the plot and ending are a little better than the first season.

Star Twinkle

Now we're getting into the really solid seasons, the ones with a lot to offer, even if they still have major flaws. I love how expansive the world is, all the Cures are interesting and have their own problems, and the way the villains foil with the heroes is cool. It does have some major flaws, however. The season refuses to actually commit to the moral ambiguity it sets up. Like with its cool phantom thief character: she's stealing back the treasures that were illegally stolen from her homeworld after all her people were petrified. Unfortunately, the show doesn't want to promote stealing, so she ends up being scolded about how "stealing is bad" and that they need to simply ask the mob boss nicely to hand over the jewelry he bought. It also has problems with something that's going to come up a lot with the more ambitious, darker entries on this list: terminal vagueness. Precure is frequently extremely vague when tackling darker subjects in the narrative, which can be to its detriment. Like for instance, Kappard hates outsiders because outsiders took his planets resources. It's unclear from what little we see whether outsiders conquered and colonized their world, or whether there were just too many exploitive tourists and the government was incompetent and decided not to do anything about it. I also just kinda got bored after awhile and started wanting it to be over, though there was a lot of interesting stuff in the series. Overall still a good series with a varied world that attempts to tackle and comment on a lot of interesting subjects, but doesn't always manage to do it well.

Heartcatch

So this is a fan-favorite season. Funny thing is, I think it actually sucks at the things it's most well-known for, but is very good at some other things. It's known for being really dark, but I thought its dark elements were poorly executed, with little explanation being given for why Cure Moonlight's father felt the need to put on that damn mask, and little explanation being given about how the main villains came to be. Honestly, for any of them except for Dark Precure. Dune is particularly nonsensical, I have no idea whether he's an alien, a god, or some primordial force. He just kinda popped up. It also set up some plot threads at the beginning with some unsatisfactory pay-offs, like with Cure Blossom supposedly being the weakest Precure and that mostly not mattering after the first episode, or the mystery of who the hunky guy who saved her actually was. Him being Coupe transformed to look like her dead grandpa was unsatisfying. Heartcatch DOES, however, have solid characters and the best monster-of-the-week episodes in the franchise. The premise of Heartcatch was well-crafted for going over and helping to resolve the emotional problems various people run into in their day-to-day lives. For that aspect, I'd recommend Heartcatch to people, even with the problems I have with the actual plot.

Go Princess

This is a really good, solid season that you can hand to most newcomers and be confident they'll have a good time. The character arcs are just kind of okay, but the season's well-paced, I really love the message about pursuing your dreams, putting in the work to fulfill your ambitions, and it's got solid episodic episodes. The thing it's REALLY good at and is known for are the fight scenes and boss fights though. There are boss fights roughly every ten episodes and they're pretty epic, and the fighting is pretty brutal this season in general.

Delicious Party

This is the most underrated Precure season. I think it's something about the silliness of being a food-based season? But I loved its full-throated sincerity when espousing how food brings people together, and it has one of the most plot-filled, excellently paced storylines, since it has this mystery running throughout it of who stole the recipebon, where it is now, and what, exactly, happened to Cinnamon. I really enjoyed some of the character arcs this time around, Cure Spicy's in particular, with her and her parents trying to reconnect, she's one of my favorite cures! Overall, I can understand some of the complaints about this season, but I loved it.

Mahou Tsukai

This season is more than the sum of its parts. Its villains are fun, if not ground-breaking, and it has pretty good world-building, arguably the best of any Precure season - not that that's saying a lot, that is not one of Precure's strengths. It's not really the character ARCS that are amazing this season, it's how the main characters play off each other. This is the most cohesive, closest team of Cures I've seen. Helps that the two main Cures raised a child together XD. Anyway, while a few episodes were kinda slow, I really enjoyed seeing the Magic world and the epilogue left me on the verge of tears, which is the most I've been emotionally affected by ANYTHING in Precure. Highly recommend this season.

Otona

This one's hard to place, since it was only a single cour instead of just four. Still, I think it earns this place. I love how while all the Cures achieved their "dream" jobs, it didn't mean that everything was perfect and sunny in their lives, and looming threats like Global Warming were brought up. All the cures had their own, individual problems, ones that couldn't just be naively dealt with like when they were kids - they had to come up with actual adult answers for them. I love how Otona didn't just like, make everything dark and gloomy, but DID actually seem interested in tackling what might happen with a group of adult magical girls in a genuinely mature way. It felt even-handed. I'd recommend this to even some non-Precure fans who were interested in this sort of premise.

Fresh

I did not like this season at first. I could tell that the villains were gonna be interesting, but I wasn't all that interested in Miki, Buki, Love, or Chiffon. I thought this was gonna be a mediocre season. ...then Eas got those cards and the plot went into overdrive and never went back. The first ten or so episodes of Fresh are just kinda okay, but after that, once Setsuna's arc kicks into high gear, it becomes one of the best Precure seasons, with the single best plot, ending, villains, and single character arc in the series. Setsuna's redemption arc is very compelling, especially since her having been a villain never stops mattering. Reminds me of Ken Ichijouji's, in that way. And the villains are all a blast to watch, and for different reasons. Westar's a himbo, Soular's a sneaky schemer, and Eas gets divided loyalties pretty quickly. They have different sorts of villains they make too. I especially like Soular's villains, they have creative powers. The main things keeping Fresh from being higher are its early mediocre episodes and Chiffon. Chiffon's role in the plot makes no sense. Once again, Precure's just very vague and has Chiffon be this infinity thing that can be used to take over worlds and has a music box to help undo the transformation... just because? it's never explained why Chiffon is the way she is, and she's too important to the plot for that to just be handwaved away. Overall though, I think this season has the most of the best stuff to offer, it's just that there's enough important things it does poorly to keep it off the top of this list.

Hugtto

This season is excellently paced with great character arcs for all the Cures AND even a bunch of the side characters, such as Henri and Masato. Hugtan is a great magical Precure baby and Hariham Harry is an amazing mascot/mentor. The episodes are almost all highly enjoyable and the villains stick around after being defeated, popping up in their new jobs repeatedly. The main thing keeping it off the top spot is the whole "terminal vagueness" problem I've talked about before. It's not totally clear why a lot of the villains want to stop time or why some of them even joined the organization to begin with, or why they made certain other decisions. Like Doctor Traum just sort of attempting to murder his coworker because he could, or why Hariham's brethren decided to stick with Criasu Corp as much as they did after everyone else had gotten hit with an unexplained illness and then had the village burnt down and everyone die in a similarly unexplained fire. The ending was highly disappointing because of how vague it was about these sort of motivations, it just kinda felt like stuff was happening. The epilogue was really good though, I loved seeing what was happening in this new future.

Kira Kira

This is, in my opinion, the single best Precure season. It's got well-orchestrated character arcs for everyone, memorable villains (well, half of the villains, at least), excellent pacing, and the earnestness with which it pursues its baking theme is great to watch. I also really love how Ichika actually kinda sucked at baking at first and had to slowly become better through experience, it was satisfying and realistic! Also the ending was really good and the epilogue had me jumping out of my seat, I STILL can't believe that something that'd been bugging me since episode 2 was finally answered IN THE VERY LAST EPISODE. Honestly my biggest complaint is the lack of Cure Waffle, we were ROBBED. Still, I'm very glad Pikario existed in the first place at least.

#pretty cure #precure

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forcebewitht · 2 years ago

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From The Bottom Of My Heart (Yandere!Ace Trappola X Reader)

…..Today was just not your day. You had been stressed out by the trials and errors of life, especially hard as of today, and you just needed a little period of rest and relaxation for yourself as of now. So, you settled down within your bed after a tired sigh had escaped your lips, which faintly dissipated as you smiled and scrolled to your favorite game app on your phone- Twisted Wonderland. You had always been a big Disney fan, so making the villainous characters or the franchise into their own hot anime boy characters that were tied to them was right up your alley! You even had your favorites within the game that you would work very hard to pull for (as not to clear out your bank account), and you loved the rhythmics the game had to offer.

You waited as the screen did its usual bits of loading, humming the game's theme, Piece Of My World, to yourself as you sat. However, a message suddenly popped up on the screen, which was normal, sometimes given small updates in Japanese- but that wasn't why you stopped. It….was in English? The message read:

"A new update has arrived- download now?"

While peculiar...you didn't opt to think too much on the thought, maybe they were trying out a new English update you hadn't heard of? You simply pressed the button that read "download", faintly arching a brow at the heart's that were beside the text box on either side. Regardless, the usual theme began to play as the update swiftly downloaded. You had grown into a habit of guessing who greeted you into the game once it loaded up- having nothing else to say other than "Twisted Wonderland" in their usual fashion. Today, Ace's voice was the one you heard.

"Twisted Wonderland~"

You couldn't help but to smile to yourself as you pressed the button to load in- Ace's bright voice never failed to make you smile. However, your joy was quickly overwhelmed with a bit of confusion- as Ace was the one to appear upon your screen. In his Dorm Uniform. You faintly arched a brow- you never...received that card before. Ace said nothing, simply opting to smile warmly and place his hands onto his hips as you stared in a dumbfounded manner at the redhead. You….you were certain you had (favorite character)'s card on before? And you certainly didn't have it switch or rotate characters on its own. Being curious, you decided to go to your roster and check your cards- and your eyes widened in even more confusion. Every single Ace card that you could earn in the game was now there. You had never really been an...Ace lover. Sure, he was cute and had a fun personality that progressed throughout the story, but...you just weren't ever really a big fan of his. You knew you hadn't earned these cards, so what gives? Going over to the menu and attempting to switch his character to another on the home screen proved even more daunting- for you couldn't toggle to anyone else besides Ace.

Now, you were even more weirded out than before. Maybe it was a glitch? To test your theory, you attempted to close the game- in which it popped right back open again. Your eyes widened as you were placed right back onto the home screen again, Ace still in the same position as before- that is, until he suddenly moved and started talking.

"Heeeeeyyyyyyyy, (Y/N)! Whatcha tryna do, huh? You were gone for too long today, it's hard to keep Deuce and Grim under control on my own, you know~"

H-he was speaking in English! You froze on the spot, now watching your screen more intensely. Ace suddenly moved again, now folding his arms over his chest- he looked pissed.

"Plaaayeerrrr. How about you show a little more appreciation for what I did, eh? It wasn't easy to do this!"

You quickly began to move your finger towards the Power button on your phone, utterly shaken to your core about what was happening- and that's when the screen glitched. You gasped, jumping back a bit upon your bed and staring down at the screen….

For a moment, it had been the beach that Epel and Deuce were standing upon from Chapter 5...but now...it was this…..Ace's voice could suddenly be heard through the screen.

"It wasn't easy taking care of the others, you know! Sure, once I so easily figured out what would get them vulnerable and bring them down, it was easy! Pulling records on Riddle's mom here, calling Farena over there, it was all too simple after I figured out the patterns! Then….watching the life fade from their eyes...knowing that I, the first guy you laid your eyes upon….would be your one and only…..well, I couldn't contain my excitement anymore! And woooo! Hacking the systems to get you all of my cards you missed out on, you poor thing~ well, I had to make sure you got 'em all….as your Ace~"

Your hands shook as you attempted to lean forward and power your phone off to get this...monster off of your screen- and that's when you heard the taps. Tap tap….tap tap….

"Knock knock, (Y/N)! I'm still here looking right at you!"

Yet again, you froze- but that was because the lights in your room began to flicker. Skin pale, your eyes warily glanced around your room- so much so, you didn't notice that Ace's face now filled the screen.

"I love ya', ya' dolt….from the depths of my heart….and back...and no one is gonna keep you from me anymore~"

The lights in your house all shut off at once, your phone's screen now going black….and the last thing you saw before you passed out was a gloved hand reaching through your mirror towards yourself upon your bed, followed by the sound of your own scream.

#twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #disney #twistedwonderland #twst #twst ace #ace trappola x reader #ace trappola #twisted wonderland ace #force writes #force writing #yandere twisted wonderland

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multiverse-imagines · 2 years ago

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DO YOU REMEMBER THE "Your Soulmate Can Hear You Sing" TIKTOK TREND?! NOW THINK OF THAT WITH TRIGUN!! 😩😍💘💝

(｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡This may be too much to request, so please ignore if it's too much! Or at least tell me so I'd know.... 👉👈

(Vash/Wolfwood) couldn't sleep, so they stayed up. Until he hears a voice singing him to sleep...

Reader, after turning (18 or 20) years old, they are given a song to sing to their soulmate. They chose "Fly me to the moon - Nightcore cover" It's such a sweet song, and the lyrics on it are perfect for him

In the morning, (Vash/Wolfwood) ask the others, Meryl, Milly/Roberto, and (Wolfwood/Vash) if they heard it, but they didn't. Milly/Roberto says that maybe it's his soulmate singing to them.

How would (Vash/Wolfwood)'s reaction and thought of having a soulmate?

Bonus: Reader learns they can talk to their soulmate via singing their words to him

Bonus bonus: Reader watches an episode scene of Trigun where (Vash/Wolfwood) has a singing soulmate.

Ps. I can't decide which boy to choose, so I'll let you decide to either pick both or one of them 😅

Pps. Your writing makes me squeal and kick my legs, it's just so good 😩💗💝🎯

A/N: Omg I love the singing soulmate au!!!! And you KNOW I have to do a triangle soulmate!!!!! They both deserve absolutely everything! I also hope it's not too complicated to read. I've made pov by planet, not necessarily who's personal pov, if that makes sense.. enjoy!!!

Jupiter and Mars

Vash x reader x Wolfwood soulmate au!

Earth:

You walked along the local nature trail with one earphone out while you sang to your heart's content, not caring who heard you. You kept one earphone out to best monitor your own melody, using your index finger like a conductor to help guide you to high notes and low notes of each song.

You wanted to go on a relaxing walk before going out with friends for your belated birthday. Nothing crazy, just maybe a nice dinner and playing video games.

Soon a beloved song began on your iPod. A Nightcore song that you preferred over the original for once. Its flowy piano and catchy snare beat improved the original drastically, in your opinion. You swayed in the late morning hours as you sang to the song, making your way towards one of your favorite spots on the trail.

***

Gunsmoke:

"Fly me to the moon, and let me play among the stars." Vash sat up in bed at the Inn to the beautiful melody, "Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars." Jupiter and Mars? Those were names he hadn't heard in a long time,

"In other words, Hold my hand. In other words, Darling, kiss me." The voice's beautiful vibrato echoed in his mind. He got up, looking around the room, and out through the window. No one was around at this hour.

***

"Fill my heart with song, and let me sing forever more." Nicholas had been listening to the angelic voice half awake in his bed, "You are all I long for. All I worship and adore." He debated grabbing a cigarette from the end table, "In other words, Please be true. In other words, I… love… you…" Nicholas sat on the bed, lighting up another cigarette as the voice began the song over once again.

***

"Did you hear that last night?" Vash asked as he joined Wolfwood, Milly and Meryl at the breakfast table.

"Hear what?" Meryl asked.

"That beautiful song. It had to be sung by an Angel." Vash sighed dreamily as he brought a bite of pancakes to his mouth.

"I didn't hear anything, what about you, Mr. Wolfwood?" Milly smiled at him.

"Yeah, I did hear some singing last night, actually." The whole table paused, "Something about the moon, right? But which one were they singing about?" Vash's eyes widened.

"You heard it too, Wolfwood?"

"Yeah, it was a really pretty song. Why would someone be out in town so late singing that loudly though?" He pointed his fork at Vash.

"Well, I looked outside, and there wasn't-"

"I'm so into you, I can barely breathe. And all I wanna do, is to fall in deep." The angelic voice returned. Vash and Wolfwood jumped to their feet, looking around the room, the other patrons seeming unaware of the siren song resonating in the two gunman's heads.

"You hear that right?" Vash hissed out, still looking for the person singing.

"But close ain't close enough 'Til we cross the line, hey, yeah. So name a game to play And I'll roll the dice, hey." Wolfwood stared at the table, lost in thought.

"Oh, baby, look what you started. The temperature's rising in here. Is this gonna happen? Been waiting and waiting for you to make a move (ooh, ooh)"

"Vash, no one else can hear them." Wolfwood growled.

"Before I make a move (ooh, ooh)" the song soon cut off, as if they were interrupted, but the voice kept humming what must have been the next bit of the song.

"Why can only you two hear it then?" Milly asked.

"Well, if I remember from my past, sometimes people who can hear someone else's song from far away, they're considered… Soulmates…." Vash's face heated up to match the color of his coat.

"Then why can we both…" Nicholas frowned before his face snapped up in realization, "We're both their soulmate!" He exclaimed. Vash nodded, a smile spreading across his face.

"Wait. Does that mean you can hear me sing too? Now that all three of us have this… connection? Let's try it!" Vash left the table, and trotted outside momentarily.

***

Earth:

"So... On the first evening a pebble...From somewhere out of nowhere drops upon the dreaming world." A voice sang to you. You… knew this voice.

The irony that they sang this song. It couldn't be. You… you lived on Earth. B-but Johnny Young Bosch was already confirmed to have found his soulmate (and the age gap was way too massive for anyone's comfort.) It couldn't be him! But… that just meant…

***

Gunsmoke:

"Did you hear me sing, Wolfwood?" Vash came back in.

"Y-yeah, I did. It was that song that your Mom sang, right?"

"Y-yeah." Vash was embarrassed once again.

Here, my turn. I wonder if they can hear me too." He cleared his throat, and glanced around, not knowing what to sing.

He soon settled on a song with no words that he'd heard a while back. He hummed, trying to remember the song. He didn't often pay attention to music, but he did enjoy it.

***

Earth:

M-Moonlight Sonata??? From a different voice??? You paused, analyzing the voice.

"Nicholas…. And that must mean Vash too…" tears soon ran down your face as you spoke your realization. Your soulmates were Nicholas D Wolfwood and Vash the Stampede. Fictional characters. You took a deep breath with your response.

***

Gunsmoke:

"So... futatsu-me no yoru ni

koishi no ko ga te wo tori WARUTSU wo kaku" the voice responded.

"That sounds like…" Nicholas squinted.

"That's the original language that 'Sound Life' was sung in!" Vash exclaimed as the voice then turned to return the melody of the song Wolfwood had sung.

"Quick sing something back!" Wolfwood hissed at Vash. By now, their food was cold and abandoned at their new mission. However they had the attention of the other patrons at this point, so they scrambled up the stairs to Wolfwood's room.

"Are you… our soulmate? What is your name?" He sang once they got settled in a seated position on Wolfwood's bed.

"I think I am. I almost can't believe it's you two." The voice then sang their name to the duo.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nicholas sang an off key response back.

"Are you Vash and Nicholas?" The voice replied, their own names sounding like heaven to them.

"At your service, my dear." Vash sang back. There was a long pause.

"I… I may never meet you if that's the case." Their voice was shaky as they sang.

"Are they crying?" Wolfwood whispered to Vash.

"Is the infamy of Vash the Stampede and Nicholas D. Wolfwood so scary you would avoid us?" Vash almost seemed annoyed.

"N-No!" The voice was high pitched, almost not constituting as a portion of song, "You're so far away from me. A whole dimension. In my home, far away on Earth, you're not even… real." The last word squeaked out once more.

"Not.. real?" Vash whispered.

"Whaddya mean not real? We're right here for you. We can hear you." Wolfwood sang to them. Another pause.

"You're a fictional series on Earth. A story about Gunsmoke, Vash, and his attempt to save the world from his brother." They sang, "I can never reach you."

***

Earth:

The tears wouldn't stop flowing from your face as Vash and Nicholas tried to comfort you, and ask more questions. You didn't want to answer. You'd found your soulmates, and for what? For them to not even live in this dimension? For them to be fictional by all definitions? You threw a plush toy across the room in frustration. How were you supposed to ever meet them?

***

Gunsmoke:

Their soulmate didn't respond to Vash & Wolfwood's questions after that.

"What do we do now?" Wolfwood asked.

"I think they need a little time. They just found out they have two soulmates who don't exist on the same plane as they do. I… I'm kind of heartbroken for them." Vash glanced up at Nicholas, "I mean, I have you now, but think about them. They're alone… on Earth. In our world's past, they're without us." He frowned.

"You're right…." Wolfwood joined his frown. Vash took Wolfwood's hand.

"Are you… alright, Songbird?" Wolfwood asked their soulmate.

"I don't think so…" their shaky voice replied once more.

"We're with you now. If we can't be there in person, let us be here with you in song."

"Okay, Angel." They replied.

Since then, their soulmate seemed much happier to sing with them everyday. It appeared their day/night cycle was opposite to the one on Gunsmoke. Am and pm were flipped, sometimes causing some nights without sleep for both parties. In the Gunsmoke mornings, Vash and Wolfwood could ask their soulmate how their day had been. They asked if the two of them were staying out of trouble. The answer was always no of course.

Vash and Wolfwood used their new mental connection to allow them to fight with increased synchronicity. Telling each other to watch their 6, or if one of them was injured. This, however, worried you immensely, hearing them get hurt, and not wanting to interrupt their battle, even though your heart ached to help them.

***

Gunsmoke:

You woke up to the uncomfortable feeling of sand. Sand?

Your eyes burst open to see nothing but desert wasteland around you. You would have cried in a panic if it weren't for the fact you could see a town on the horizon.

"Hey, guys, not to scare you, it I just woke up I'm the desert" you sang to your boys, "there's a town on the horizon, but I don't know where I am…."

"Holy fucking shit!" Nicholas sang, but it borders on a scream.

"As soon as you find out, we'll come get you." Vash sang. You hummed in agreement.

You found yourself wandering into a local inn.

"Excuse me, I just wandered in from town, and I lost my map. Which town is this?" You asked the innkeeper at the desk."

"You're in Warren's City. Anything I can help with? You look like you lost your belongings." The man asked.

"N-No, I've actually got a friend in town, so I'll just stay there. How serendipitous." You smiled, and left the Inn."

"Warren's City…" you sang quietly, as there were people about.

"Perfect! You can stay with Frank Marlon!" Vash sang, "Tell him he owes me a favor for the bank robbery!"

"Will do." You sang. You remembered Frank from the TV series. He was a good man.

"It'll be two days before we can get there, so hang tight, songbird!" Nicholas sang to you.

You made your way to his house with the help of some passersby, and found him quite confused to see a stranger at his door. When you explained that you were a friend of Vash's and needed a place to stay until he arrived, Frank was more than welcome to let you stay. During that time, you helped with anything he needed. You managed to learn about the upkeep and repair of various guns.

Two days, just as they said, Vash and Nicholas almost busted down Frank's door, both calling your name as they crashed into you in a hug you thought would tear you apart, and squish you like a toothpaste tube. Nicholas even tripped on his way in, and scrambled to you on his knees. Hugging your waist like a child would to his parents.

"Are you okay? How did you even get here?" Vash asked, cradling your head into his chest, petting your hair.

"I-I don't know, but I'm here now… I'm here…" your body relaxed under their hug.

"Don't worry, Songbird… we'll keep ya safe." Nicholas snuggled into your side.

Since then, you've traveled by their sides, learned how to shoot a gun in case of emergency, and some hand to hand combat for extra Insurance.

One night, when the three of you slept peacefully in your shared bed, you hadn't quite fallen asleep yet, when you gently began to sing petting the hair of both snoozing men who clung to your body in their sleep,

"Fly me to the moon, and let me play among the stars… Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars…"

End~

Songs used

Fly Me to the Moon- A Nightcore cover

Into you- Ariana Grande (the 80's remix)

Sound Life- Rem- Trigun OST 1st Donuts

Moonlight Sonata- Beethoven

#trigun #vash the stampede #nicholas d. wolfwood #trigun brain rot #vash x reader x wolfwood #soulmate au #singing soulmates au

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otakween · 1 year ago

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Digimon Tamers - Episode 45

I hesitate to call this the final battle because Digimon's always throwing out surprise bosses. That being said, considering how few episodes are left, this feels like the beginning to the end. They're finally confronting the D-Reaper head-on and they've digivolved to ultimate. The auxiliary folks are joining as well.

Looking back on it, this show has had really good pacing and hasn't really felt long at all. It was less segmented than previous seasons which I think helped it.

Notes:

I thought the kids' speeches in the beginning were kind of clunky. Jian brings up that he was spoiled "as a kid" (you still are a kid buddy) and Ruki talks about her dad randomly. Like...okay...I do get what they were going for, with the overall theme being how friendship has given them strength, but they shouldn't have brought up random stuff that hadn't been established before. Like Jian being spoiled and wanting attention isn't something we ever really saw, so I think he got over that before meeting Ruki and Takato.

Alice being licked by the disembodied head of Dobermon was more creepy than touching. I wish they had at least given him forelegs or something.

Alice walking away from the explosion like an action star was unintentionally funny

Glad to see the ultimate digivolution sequences again, definitely one of my favorite bits of animation from this series.

I guess the army (I know Japan doesn't really have an army...SDF?) has given up on fighting the D-Reaper lol. I guess it's a bit like shooting at a natural disaster: hopeless.

Takato addresses Dukemon by name which took me off guard because, isn't he a part of Dukemon? (Like in Steven Universe, Ruby or Sapphire wouldn't be like "hey Garnet!") Kinda fuzzy how this digivolution works from a body/soul/mind perspective.

Equally confusing is how the digimon are in their perfect forms (Rapidmon, MegaloGrowmon, and Taomon), yet to digivolve to ultimate they go back to their child forms first. (Probably for ease of animation honestly)

I feel like the D-Reaper felt like more of an immediate threat in the digital world. Like it went from insta-destroying everything it touches to just weakening things. Maybe the ultimate forms are more resistant?

I enjoyed seeing Kenta's mom for the first time. We don't get plus-sized (by anime standards) anime moms too often and I liked her design.

Very glad to see Antiramon again! I guess we haven't really seen them fight much yet, so I hope they get in on the action.

Impmon still bullies Culumon in the exact same way but now it has buddy-buddy undertones lol. Nice to see their relationship improve.

So I guess the D-Reaper used Juri to analyze the human race and deemed us unworthy. This is just your average "AI destroying its creator" plot line now. What exactly DOES D-Reaper find useful? I guess the AI learned nihilism and is just like "EVERYTHING IS MEANINGLESS." Mood.

Someone pointed out that Juri's behavior isn't too different than the dark seed kids from 02, which is a good point. With only 6 episodes left...I don't think Tamers is really that dark compared to the other seasons. It had that one episode that got kinda edgy, but in the grand scheme of things, nothing too brutal. Well, we'll see.

#digimon #digimon tamers #anime #spoilers #spoiler

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0x4468c7a6a728 · 5 months ago

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Hi, I am invading your ask box! :3c

One day, I think I saw you do a large "lycoris recoil"-posting streak and realized I never even noticed you had posted about it before, which prompts the question: what are the anime you really enjoyed (and perhaps don't get as many opportunities to talk about)?

hiiiii :3

admittedly, it was really only around a year ago when i watched bocchi the rock that i seriously got back into anime (before that it had been some... rather unfortunate show choices as a teenager so i never really got that into it), i also don't entirely remember what stuff i have and haven't posted on here, so i'll just talk about the stuff i've enjoyed over the past year or so (in the order they're listed in my folder) at some level of detail and maybe there will be some stuff i've neglected on my blog! i've watched a good bit of stuff thanks to semi-frequent watching with my girlfriend

lycoris recoil - i enjoyed this show a lot! fun plot and i really liked chisato and takina!

adachi to shimamura - very cute show, i want another season!

bocchi the rock - not much to say here given the contents of my blog, i enjoyed this show so much that it got me back into anime and somehow catapulted me into a little friend group and also having a girlfriend somehow? thanks bocchi!

girls last tour - i read the manga before watching the anime, but as a whole girls last tour has ended up as one of my favorite pieces of art of all time, it's so good!

gundam the witch from mercury - show that tricked me into liking gundam with the power of yuri, there is now an hg aerial kit in my closet that i haven't gotten around to building

madoka magica - a show i somehow had not seen until this last october, i enjoyed it just as much as i thought i would from its reputation

nichijou - another one i somehow hadn't seen! extremely silly show that maybe sort of contributed to the realization that i could just be a girl? don't worry about that last part

yuru camp - very cozy show! watching it makes me kinda sleepy and remember going camping when i was younger, i appreciated the number of trains in the most recent season! (i got really excited when the ikawa line was in the show and then even more excited when they talked about how it's a rack railway)

and there we go! looking back i've posted about most of these, but it was fun to go through what i've watched recently and think about it again! hopefully this answers your question! :3

#ask #that turned out a bit longer than i expected lol #some that i haven't finished so aren't on the list but have been enjoying so far are kemono friends (s1) and magirevo

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monards · 1 year ago

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Actually wait because of that Dove Alicia Magnolia ask now I kind of want to see what your rankings on Beauford Albedo and Mint are. They're all such good boys it's so hard 😭I'm sorry

THESPIAN. I THOUGHT I COULD TRUST YOU. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ok. But really now. Here are the ULTIMATE rakings for my three favorite guys. Because theyre the onlu guys ever actuallly okay shh

3. Albedo (sorry albedo) honestly. i love albedo very much. do not get me wrong. he is such a sweet boy and i would knit him a blanket if i could. But I also think compared to the other two,, im not as emotionally attached to him; if you asked me this question like. a year ago he'd absolutely be on top. but thats also because over a year ago i hadn't played silver thread or symbiosis. so. woe is me albedo'ss story is soooo near and dear to me. like, i love how he's being set up to have this huge divide between love and knowledge. And I will ABSOLUTELY eat that up when it happens. but sadly, a certain company hasn't given him more than like a smidgen of screentime in a very long time, so i think a lot of my fixation on him has dwindled :(

2. Beafford I love beaford. he is just. so funny. he's a college dropout; he likes anime; he forces alicia to watch anime; he cosplays; he has a cat keychain that resembles himself; he left home without saying anything; hes really intelligent but acts stupid. What can you NOT love about him?? (besides his horrific taste in fashion.) I think his personality is also very important to me. Because obviously he's not the most serious person. at all. But he can still convey how smart he is; I.E the way he was able to in the moment find a way to back up Alicia and also the Chinese room experiment. Maybe I'm just a big fan of characters who are smart and dont have it as their entire character; but I think thats just SO near and dear to me. He also clearly has some stuff going on considering his few mentions around his family. So I'm glad he got to come and (against his will) work with Alicia :)

mmint I think mint deserves this spot for a lot of reasons. One, magnolia is his mother so I am just slightly impartial. But also because two, hes so horribly sweet and tragic and kind that he KILLS me. Mint lives in the forest his whole life and is told explicitly to not go out into civilization. Does he want to live in the city and go to school? yes. and does he voice this? hardly. why? because he knows it makes magnolia sad. and he doesnt want to see his mom said. Mint meets lady in forest who looks the age of his mom, and said lady tells him his mom is evil. His initial response? He knows. He knows magnolia is evil. he already knows magnolia is a murderer. but he knows magnolia loves him and he loves him mom. so its okay. (In ending B) not a horribly long time later; same women shows up in his room at an unholy hour and within the next hour the SAME women has a gun to his moms head, which is clearly making his mom very distressed. within 5 minutes he finds out this women is his moms ex-wife. within that same 5 minute period his mom disappears and tells him to treat this women like his mom. A couple years later he comes back to the house and we find out he could never bring himself to call dove mom. He also finds out his mom kept all his drawings. Tears are streaming down my face.

#thank you thespian #even if #you did #make me convulse on the floor when i first got this #ilysm 💜💜💜#my favorite guys #mint #beaford #albedo

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averseunhinged · 1 year ago

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I HAVE A THING!!!

i'm mostly neck deep in my autumn exchange fic, but have also been working on this klaroline fic that is technically for halloween, but god only knows if i'll finish it, b/c i'm also trying to finish one single gd thing for riverrosetober.

this is a snippet from the halloween fic. it's technically a true blood crossover, but there's only one mention of a single season villain, and i kinda massaged that character's lore a smidge. tiny bit. a skosh. completely overhauled it. so, you don't need to have seen that at all. anyway, i'm trying to make it an exercise in just writing something and then blissfully sending it out into the world without obsessing over it. lololololololol

Klaus didn't notice at first.

Understandable, given the situation he found himself in, New Orleans a far bigger clusterfuck than he'd anticipated. Unforgivable, because he hadn't spent over a millennium honing his paranoia only to lose focus and fall down on the job once two-thirds of his long-term plans had resolved in his favor. And perhaps he was at his wits end, but he found himself oddly bored by the proceedings. Marcel and the witches. Hayley and Camille. His family. Despite the intrigue and murder, two of his favorite pastimes, there was something a bit hollow and listless about it all. Like the excitement he'd found in Mystic Falls had been leeched out of him, leaving only tepid machinations. He recalled joy bubbling up inside of him, like champagne and sunshine, but could no longer invoke anything of the sort.

It took weeks of turning the problem over and over in his mind, before he began to sense the stitchwork in his memory. Even then, it wasn't until he was observing--not stalking, Rebekah, thank you very much--Cami at Rousseau's one night that he knew what had been removed.

Or rather: who.

He spent the evening sweet-talking the bartender as she poured him drink after drink, tipping her every time, until she finally tossed over her shoulder, sassy and offhand, "You're not going to seduce me, Klaus. I'm way too smart to fall for those lines."

He hardly managed to stagger outside and to an isolated location before he was on the ground, clawing at the agony in his head, at the lonely, longing desperation erupting in his chest. The smell of his own blood gagging him, even as he mutilated himself like an animal, trying to tear out what tortured him. It eased off gradually, until eventually he found himself panting, filthy, and exhausted, soothed by the nearby rush of the Mississippi and its muddy-fishy-pollution stink, and the endorphin-soaked relief of the absence of pain.

When he could think again, he fumbled for his cellphone, arms rubbery and fingers clumsy, and despite his bleary vision, found a contact he would have sworn hadn't been there an hour ago. Except it had. He'd had her name, her mobile number, home address, email, the terrible strip mall Chinese restaurant whose egg rolls she loved, her bloody mother's bloody blood type, for fuck's sake, stored in his contacts for months.

His guts curdled when an automated voice told him the line wasn't in service.

He went down the Mystic Falls contacts. The Bennett witch didn't answer. Neither did Stefan. Damon, remarkably, did.

"Listen, I thought the whole taking your psycho family and moving far, far away thing meant I got to stop having these little bromantic chit-chats with you," the absolute prick on the other end of the line said without a greeting.

"If I could reach anyone else, believe me, we wouldn't be," Klaus ground out, throat like broken glass and raw meat.

"Jesus, you sound like shit. Well, almost everyone's gone traveling for the summer, now that things have settled down. If you need a witch, Bonnie's not really taking calls. And also hates you, so you know. Tough luck."

"Who do you suppose I'm calling in regards to, you imbecile?" Klaus panted, heaving himself up off the ground. "Caroline! I'm trying to reach Caroline!"

There was a long pause, and then, with the kind of honest bewilderment that could not be faked, Damon Salvatore asked, "Who?"

#she's missing #for a given value of missingness #that does not include being lost #IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN #klaroline wip wed

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landofanimes · 11 months ago

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My 2023 Anime Watchlist

Anime (and related media) I've watched this year

Tokyo Mew Mew New Season 2 (2023)

Second (and final?) season of the Tokyo Mew Mew reboot! Always here for some good magical girls! I never finished watching the original series, so it was nice to see how the story goes. I wouldn't call it amazing, but it's a cool series. I wish they would make a third season for the A La Mode arc which came out later, but it seems they might be ending it here, Idk (I've never read the manga either)...

Subs since there's no dub.

Saint Seiya: The Beginning a.k.a. Knights of the Zodiac (2023)

Live-action movie adaption. Would I watch more if they do it? Yeah. Was it good? Not really... I'm not saying it's horrible, but eh, it was weak. The absence of 3 out of 5 boys is definetely felt. I mean, I didn't expect much of it, so it's not like I was dissappointed! ^^' I'm a SS fan, so I was in to see what they cooked.

I watched it dubbed at the cinema (there wasn't a subbed session but it's fine!).

One Piece: The Series Season 1 (2023)

Live-action adaption of the first arc. My first contact with the franchise! Charismatic group, the power of friendship, adventure in a new world, fun pirate crews... I loved it. Still pondering if I should get into this giant beast of an anime. It's just...So long. Never-ending. I'm sure I would like it but dear lord, is it long. Anyway. For now I'll content myself with waiting for the second season.

I alternated between dubs and subs! I think I prefer subbed but I wanted to check out the dub and it was also very good.

Porco Rosso (1992)

A Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki oldie! I was keeping an eye out for the Ghibli Fest going on in the US this year and I realized this was the only movie in the list I hadn't watched yet, so. It's definetely not among my favorites, but it was a good movie. A Pig-faced bounty hunter pilot in and adventure through Italy. Needed a little more Gina thought!

Subs cause there's no dub.

Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac Season 2 (2022)

Second season of the 3DCG reboot of Saint Seiya, covering the first half of the 12 Temples arc. It's definetely still way below the classic series, but the battles had quite an upgrade from season 1! Also no time spent on original characters I don't care about :) And of course it's always a pleasure to see the Gold Saints... and the scenes the classic series didn't adapt! I'm glad season 3 is coming next year!

I watched it dubbed (sadly they changed the og cast in my country, but the new one did a good job too).

YashaHime: Princess Half-Demon Season 2 (2022-23)

Second (and final?) season of the Inu-Yasha spin-off sequel. Look, Yashahime has a lot of flaws, but it has its qualities too and personally I enjoyed it. Nice to travel around the feudal era in this world with familiar and new characters. I would watch more but I think that was it? Would definetely want them to make some changes... I heard the manga is different, so...food for thought!

I didn't have access to the dub when I watched s1 but this time I did! (I'm not very fond of parts of the dub, but overall it was good).

Spy x Family S1 (2022) and S2 (2023)

After seeing gifs since last year I finally sit down to watch it! It's cute, it's funny, and it's cool! Spies, assassins, school, AND family shenanigans! Loved it. Bring me more. Looking forward for the upcoming movie and for the s3 announcement.

I watched most of it dubbed but the dub is a few episodes behind the subbed version so I finished season 2 in Japanese.

Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning (2023)

I didn't even watch Kizuna but I heard it wasn't necessary so might as well go, specially since they actually put this movie in theaters in my country and got most of the og dub cast... Sadly I wasn't impressed by the movie. I thought it was pretty meh. Could have given more for the group to do (it was mostly about the new character). Anyway... PS: The opening sequence was LOVELY though!!! ^^

Yu Yu Hakusho (1992-94)

I used to watch it back in the day, but never watched all of it until now! Good stuff. Not perfect, but it's a great series!!! Charismatic group, cool friendships, cool big bads, spirit detective shenaningans, youkai, and of course, battle tournaments!

Watched it dubbed, of course (except for the specials, since they weren't dubbed here). The series was in my watchlist for years but I guess knowing there would be "new" content is always a good push, which brings me to:

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1 (2023)

Live-action adaption of the first 2(!!) arcs. A pleasant surprise! The biggest problem here is definetely that it's too short. There's other flaws too, sure, but still! I had my doubts but turns out I really liked it, overall positive impression. I really hope they make more in the future!

I've watched it twice, once dubbed and once subbed!

#2023 #blog #yu yu hakusho live action #one piece the series #tokyo mew mew new #hanyo no yashahime #spy x family #saint seiya the beginning #digimon 02 the beginning #yu yu hakusho #knights of the zodiac #porco rosso #digimon 02 #digimon #cdz #mew mew power #one piece #I've also rewatched atla s1 and part of s2!

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gontagokuhara · 1 year ago

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OMG THAT LAST CHAPTER AAAAA my boys 🥹 if you hadn't said it on here, I would've never known you struggled w/writing Kokichi, it seriously feels so natural and I LOVE when authors include that clowny jester vibe to him!! But now that we're REALLY REALLY into the thicc of the story, I'm realizing how much I miss the camp!! idk about everyone else, but it was always the most interesting setting for me when I was into Percy Jackson! So basically I'm gonna annoy you with my barrage of questions that are 100% unrelated to the most recent chapter 😭

I know it was mentioned that Maki's cabin was undecorated for a long time, but did she ever get to personalizing it? I'd love to know about the cabins and their designs! I'd also love to know what kind of stuff they do at the talent shows? Idk if its the fact that the fic is based off the pjo musical, but I get theatre kid vibes from specifically kaede (even if she can't sing LOL) Speaking of her, since it was mentioned that she could play any instrument, I'm wondering if there were instruments /canon-specifically-talent-related equipment at camp for everyone? Also some of the dialogue had me questioning if they're even allowed to curse at camp or not 😭

HIIIIII im finally getting to this <3 first of all i love you im kissing u on the forehead every time i get an ask or comment from u it makes my whole day.

answers to ur questions beneath the cut as always!!

i also miss camp </3 i was talking about this with someone else yday (hiiiii evan) but in a universe where pointy objects reaches its end and i STILL want more.....there are little one-off scenes that dont fit into the main narrative of the fic but i'd still theoretically like to write......and the immediate reaction to the campers (+ hajime and nagito) realizing seven of them went missing along with an rv. it would be a lot of dialogue but the phone calls nagito had to make to all the parents of the missing (good and bad) kids. also the godly meetings where shit went bad, and then really bad, and then somehow even worse. pointy objects has always been very v3-centric given our main characters, but some of my favorite chapters so far have been when i've been able to feel out characters from the other games as well.

ok. THAT was a big tangent LMFAO ok re: maki: yes! it took a long time; she had very little interest in doing decoration shopping or really Anything in the first year or so after arriving at camp/her friend's death (she also did not see her situation as static or permanent — no point in something like that, y'know?). for her 14th birthday, kaede took the reins on planning with nagito a cabin design that she thought maki might like; and now presently, her cabin has a "red velvet" theme! DIY headboard for her bed made with literal red velvet that kaede and maki built themselves, plush red sheets, red walls (another eyesore of a cabin...), with a small collection of photos and trinkets and artwork and decorations she's amassed over the years since. she has a picture of her parents sitting in the bottom drawer of her dresser than only kaede knows about.

as for the others — i take a lot of inspiration from their research labs, but i haven't plotted out in my head exactly how they all look, y'know? miu's is definitely very lab-like, angie's paints her walls white at the beginning of every summer and over the summer months fills them corner to corner with new designs, kiyo's has more bookshelves than wall space, the like.

now: talent shows! it's very informal, with prizes like choosing the next camp-wide game, getting out of dinner duty for a week, etc. classic staples include himiko's magic shows (with tenko as a willing and eager assistant) (who also will at times retrieve less willing participants from the audience) (usually nagito). miu tries her own "magic tricks" that usually involve adding new features to kiibo and making them parade them around onstage; kiibo gets their comeuppance by forcing miu to learn kpop dance choreo and perform with them (as kokichi films, naturally). kaede can play instruments to get around the limitations of her power (also yes — 100% theater kid, alongside kiyo [+ kokichi, who wont admit it]), and there's a whole collection of instruments in the girls' common area that she's mastered/is working on learning (her most recent is a theremin that she and kiyo are both very interested in). it's a lot of repeats, because there are some kids who always prefer to chill in the audience rather than get onstage themselves, but everyone has lots of fun <3 (except nagito [usually made to suffer during them] and hajime [often tasked with tie-breaking the winner, also suffering])

as for ur last question: TRUST they are definitely allowed to swear. hajime would've exploded years ago if that wasn't the case. the barrier they erected following tsumugi's massacre is capable of a lot of things, but nothing can defeat the resigned frustration of wrangling a clusterfuck of the weirdest demigods they've ever dealt with (/fond)

WOW that got long again! good thing i love it <3

#ask #bittercideristaken #pointy objects #dr

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