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brybryby · 1 year ago

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I completely agree that Miles Upshore is queer, and Waylon is on the spectrum as well! If you have your friends analysis still plzzzzz link! I crave the content!!!

HI HI THANK YOU FOR THE ASK! 💜

I wish I had his analysis still!!! aarrrrgh it's been so long ;-; But I can try to relay some of the points he made (and add some of my own)!

This gets pretty lengthy so be prepared :')

I also added external links but they’re only there if you want to read more about the point I’m making! Feel free to skip them!

also // TW for mentions of SA

Miles

Story-wise, my friend found it interesting that Miles was the perfect host for the Walrider. Wernicke and Alan Turing were friends/lovers who worked on the technology that culminated into Project Walrider, so there's already a sense that the Walrider was founded on Wernicke and Turing's love for each other.

So, before I move on, I'll talk a bit about Alan Turing. In college, I had professors praise him for being the “Founder of Modern Computing”, cracking Nazi code, and also for being an advocate for gay rights.

More details here:

Out of every prominent scientist during the Cold War Era, Alan Turing was selected to play a role in Outlast's stories. And he didn't just happen to be openly gay—JT Petty purposefully made this significant to Wernicke's character. Not to mention, Wernicke made allusions to Frankenstein, allowing us to inspect the parallels between Wernicke & the Walrider with Frankenstein & Frankenstein's monster. When it comes to gothic & queer literature, Frankenstein is on the forefront of it, and I'm confident that JT Petty would be familiar with that (since he's a writer who's well-versed in horror/gothic art).

With Frankenstein, there's this idea to create life without heterosexual means (under the impression of cis-heteronormativity). Frankenstein's monster was also a sexualized creature—supposedly a representation of the “ideal man”—described as “beautiful”. Additionally, the novel was a critique of patriarchal norms through elements of sexualities. These aren't too different from Wernicke & the Walrider. The Walrider is arguably created through homosexual means in its abstract (Wernicke & Turing). This particular version of the Walrider that possesses Billy & Miles is stated to be the “masterpiece” by Simon Peacock—its appearance is also fairly sexual. And similarly, Outlast critiques patriarchal norms through its grotesque visuals of “masculinity”.

Frankenstein queer analysis:

Frankenstein sexual suppression analysis:

With all these story elements, there's certainly a queerness about the Walrider AND Outlast, which the devs openly embrace.

There's also many parallels between Frankenstein's monster and Miles. In the United States (and westernized countries in general), there are societal standards that function around cis-heteronormativity. Think of the traditional American nuclear family: A husband/father who's the breadwinner and patriarch, a loving wife/mother who cooks and stays at home to take care of the kids—they're mostly white, Christian, and American citizens. [WARNING: TRIALS SPOILERS AHEAD] The ideal American man is further illustrated in Officer Coyle's dialogue: “If only they were upstanding citizens like myself. Pay your taxes, do your job, fuck your wife, put a little something in the plate at service. America don't ask much.” Miles is arguably the antithesis of this, which is likely the reason he doesn't have any close friends/family—he was likely rejected by society. Frankenstein's monster follows a similar arc: he is also rejected by society and seeks refuge in seclusion. (The concept of “rejection by society” is inherent in queerness.)

With these parallels, it makes sense for Miles to be the ideal host for the Walrider. Additionally, Miles embodies queerness that isn't strictly homosexual—I mean his whole background/lifestyle is already, by definition, “queer”—but questions regarding his sexuality arise when inspecting other details of his character.

My friend pointed out the whole “Manhandler Hairspray for the Active Man” detail in Miles' apartment. There are a lot of homosexual undertones in the label, and it's hard not to think otherwise. “Manhandler” and “Active” are terms which indicate the “top” role in gay culture. I mean, it's possible that Miles is just embodying the “metrosexual” identity (basically straight men who embody characteristics associated with homosexuality) but metrosexuality is rooted in consumerism, which doesn't exactly align with Miles' character since he is openly critical of capitalism. I think the hairspray hints at queerness (or at least gender non-conformity).

Article on “metrosexuality”:

https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/22/style/metrosexuals-come-out.html

The most revolutionary detail that my friend pointed out was the fact that Miles went out of his way to roast the ever-living shit out of everyone he came across at Mount Massive, begging the question: why is he so fixated on the appearances of other men? This could stem from his own insecurities of being rejected by society or insecurities of his own vanity (considering the hairspray he uses and the fact that he goes jogging…and if he's just trying to be healthy through exercise then he needs to explain his self-destructive alcoholism…idk…jogging for mental health? It’s open to interpretation…WAIT I mean he could just be keep up his physical fitness also with all the investigating he has to do anyways fjshshkdhd). It was just interesting that Miles was so fixated on physical appearances that it makes me wonder if he'd make similar comments about women—I don't believe he would and I'll explain below.

I know that we need to take Red Barrels' tweets with a grain of salt—they're known for deleting tweets that detail misinformation about the protagonists—but I find this tweet particularly interesting. I may be looking too much into it, especially since it's just a tweet and not presented in the games/comics, but it certainly is reflective of Red Barrels' values of respecting women and not viewing women as sexual objects, along with the notion of dismantling cis-heteropatriarchy/chivalry. It certainly doesn't mean he's not straight, but he doesn't particularly view women as sexual objects either (and I know that straight men are capable of not viewing women as sexual objects). Food for thought.

Some extra stuff:

Anti-conservatism and punk ideology (which Miles explicitly embodies) are pillars of queer culture in the political sphere.

The Germanic folklore, which the Walrider is based off of, exhibits notions of sexuality (though, probably not in the best light).

[TRIALS SPOILER] Wernicke’s dream therapy is associated with Dr. Easterman’s queerness—Easterman would be distracted by Wernicke’s handsomeness (and they both explicitly critique heterosexual relationships). Again, this supports the Walrider’s themes of sexuality.

Waylon

As for WAYLON, even though there isn't concrete evidence in the games to intentionally indicate queerness, that isn't to say he is entirely heterosexual (because assuming he's heterosexual is yet another product of the “ideal American man” image in a cis-heteronormative society, and Outlast's narratives are about dismantling this notion). In fact, now that you bring it up, I agree that Waylon can be considered on the queer spectrum/under the queer umbrella.

Regarding the “dismantling the ideal American man in a cis-heteronormative society” concept…the devs, artists, writer(s), actors, and contributors to the games' development are not only open/accepting of things outside of society's norms/expectations, but many are social activists. Chimwemwe Miller (VA for Chris Walker) is outspoken about being Black, Black history, and racism—he also narrated an audiobook which discussed racism, colonialism, & imperialism. Erika Rosenbaum (VA for Lynn Langermann) organized provisions for refugees and is active in environmental causes and feminism—she also spoke out during the #MeToo movement. Shawn Baichoo (VA for Miles, Waylon, & Blake) is also vocal about feminism/racism and was a huge advocate for his character Wrench's bisexuality from Watch Dogs 2, which became confirmed in a later installment of the Watch Dogs franchise.

I bring this up because Red Barrels actually entertains the idea of Waylon x Eddie (in the hypothetical that Eddie wasn't an antagonist like he was in the game…so like, erasing his problematic features baha…this deserves an analysis of its own) without mentioning sexuality or anything like that. Obviously, this can be seen as a way to entertain the fanbase, but I think it's worth mentioning that Waylon isn't opposed to homosexuality. After all, Waylon never makes homophobic remarks in his notes nor comments on male sexuality—he's just fearful of being assaulted (as anyone would be, regardless of gender/sexuality). He would, in fact, engage in a homosexual relationship according to this hypothetical.

(Note: the term “insane” is a harmful descriptor in this context, which is why I wrote “wasn’t an antagonist like he was in the game”)

So yea! I definitely think there's queerness with Waylon's character. And I don't exactly mean this to be “representation” because there's a lot of responsibility that comes with that, but ultimately I think it adds to what the franchise and the devs are trying to do—normalize queerness and dismantle the notion of the “ideal American man in a cis-heteronormative society” (and if you've studied socioeconomics/social theory, you know that this notion is a product of capitalism, which is another important theme in the franchise).

Here are some resources about the intersectionalities of cis-heteropatriarchy, capitalism, & queerness if you'd like to read more about it :)

(this one below is quite lengthy, but goes VERY DEEP)

All in all, my interpretation is that the franchise operates on the idea that “queerness” is normal or innate, but social structures are what label it otherwise. I've seen a lot of discussion surrounding Outlast characters' queerness, and it's interesting to me that the antagonists' sexualities get more attention amongst casual players than the protagonists' sexualities (and I think I can understand why, it's just a lot to unpack).

Just as many of the antagonists can be read as queer, the protagonists should arguably be read through the same lens. I truly do think Miles and Waylon (and even Lynn and Blake!) deserve to be inspected under queer lens. Doing so aligns with the franchise's philosophy/narratives. Also the idea of “queer characters taking down capitalism” is super empowering (and actually very identifiable hehe).

(Sorry, I think I projected a lot of my own personal values and biases into this post LOL hhhjdsfh feel free to critique anything I've written!)

This is my first time inspecting Waylon through a queer lens, so thank you for the ask!! I had a lot of fun writing this up :D

#miles upshur #waylon park #outlast #outlast analysis #queer analysis #brybryby #brybryby text

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meirimerens · 8 months ago

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What were you reading on your trip!!

Omg love this question. It's been so long since I've been able to discuss books... you're getting reviews too. Or like My Thoughts.

First book was La Nuit Chienne (Nightbitch) by Rachel Yoder. my review: first thing first I do think I'd have loved it more in its original English version, but I bought it in France in a French bookshop so it's in French. However, a lot of the packed punch of it hinges on the wordplay and the homonymy of bitch and bitch, of Da Dog, so the orginal version probably is a less "jarring" read, as the translation left in parts in English that it just Couldn't find a way to translate.

the feminist themes are both overt and somewhat shallow, one could say "loud" without being "deep", being tinged a little of "baby's first feminist thoughts" and "baby's first discovery of Feminine Rage/the concept of a mother goddess" However Comma it does fit with the characters AND considering the author grew up in a fundamentalist Christian cult which, as Christian cults do, offers nothing but patriarchal projections and rehearsal, the narration does feel like something like she might have found/thought while deprogramming, and I don't doubt it could have been very liberating and empowering to her, and could be for many, manyyy women in the same situation as the main character. [Extremely vague spoilers from now but you'll have forgotten all about this if you pick up the book + i do feel like the "ride" is not spoiled by this] the husband was way too readily redeemed, and I think it's another symptom of writing about a feminism that's quite centered on wives and mothers (nothing wrong with that) but does not want to make them confront the fact that Your Husband Is Part Of The Problem. The actual Bitch (As In The Dog) I find actually quite good, and it's both the thing that attracted me to the book ( I ❤️ STORIES OF LYCANTHROPY OR EVEN VAGUELY RELATED TO LYCANTHROPY ESPECIALLY FEMALE LYCANTHROPY I DID MY BACHELOR'S ACCROCHAGE ON IT) and kept me going. [/spoiler] Tldr: the bones are good but the meat leaves to be desired (topical metaphor)

Second book was Le Ciel en Sa Fureur ("the sky in its fury") by Adeline Fleury. About the life in a small tight-knit Normandy village as animals turn up dead, this one kid is making it rain frogs and toads and is constantly found near the animal carcasses, and everyone has to come to terms with the town's secrets and their own that they've kept all these years. I ❤️ magical realism stories and I ❤️ stories in rural settings so mostly I've had a good time. The background of a tight-knit rural village slowly overtaken by a new suburb greatly appeals to me + how legends are woven into the fabric of social life... loved that... I thought the storey was kind of diminished by the early reveal of Who Done It, even thought it serves to humanize them and That's The Point, I felt like it could have been kept secret juuuust a little longer. Get scared etc. Also on one hand I'd have wished to know more about the [...]-kids, on the other I believe the ambiguity is how they're truly lived and experienced as living legends so. Yeah I'll cope with that. Also they had a lesbian second-main character and the author was normal about her \o/ you would not believe the bullshit I've had to read in contemporary books for 10 years until I got a lesbian character who's written normally. It's never too late!

THANK YOU FOR QUASTION... me tucking myself into bed every evening 📖🤓

#ring ring (answers)#fckyaas

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jamesbutnotreally · 4 months ago

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001 with finchel? –hevanderson

Finchel

when I started shipping it if I did: i didn't give a shit about them in my first watch then i started liking them in my 3rd(??) watch and now. well i don't really know. i do ship them but. well my thoughts are below

my thoughts: I do like them a lot. They are very cute. But i don't know what to think of endgame finchel. I'm not the biggest Rachel fan. We have an on and off relationship with her lol. And I think Finn deserves someone who thinks and cares about his needs and what's good for him (totally not biased aren't i) I feel like if Finchel was endgame Finn would become her trophy husband lmao. Which sure nothing wrong with that and sometimes i ship them like that too but I mostly think Finn deserves better.

What makes me happy about them: They are very cute. And have a fun dynamic when they play of off each other. I think they're great for a highschool relationship. And even after their breakup I think they would be great friends. They really work best when emotional stuff is out of way and it's just their banter.

What makes me sad about them: This might be an overall theme in this post but I think this relationship didn't allow neither of them to be their own person. Whenever they were together most of their personality became the relationship itself.

things done in fanfic that annoys me: I don't really read finchel fics much but i don't like when Rachel is portrayed too obnoxious i suppose. And when she bosses Finn around and he's like "whatever you want baby im your slave"

things I look for in fanfic: Character Growth for both of them. They care about each other deeply and want each other to be happy. I love fluff hehe

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Single Finn. maybe gets with Jesse later on? who knows. Rachel with Quinn? probably.

My happily ever after for them: If they're together they live in nyc, have 1 kid, rachel is a succesfull musical actress and finn is a kindergarten teacher.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: i mean... the height difference... do i have to say anything...

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: They seem like a couple that would host game nights.

send me character or ship asks!

#you expected me to ship endgame finchel right? heheheheeheeheheheh #thank you for the ask!#hevanderson #glee #finchel #ask answered #ask game

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mccnrxse · 8 months ago

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PEOPLE I'D LIKE TO GET TO KNOW BETTER !

alias / name : E. or Ellie

birthday : 18th July

zodiac sign : Cancer

height : 169 cm or 5 ft 6 in

hobbies : writing, playing Dungeons & Dragons, videogames, board games (like Twilight Imperium, Root, Wingspan, etc.), Magic The Gathering, singing in a choir (it's a university choir even though I have graduated already), skiing (haven't had the chance to do that in years :( )

favourite colour : violet and purple (warm shades), black and dark/blood red

favourite book : it's a tie between Prince of the Ancients by Gemma L. Preston (a very nice fantasy book) and The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas (this is a romantic comedy with a little bit of spice, it was perfect for my hopeless romantic self)

last song : Safe and Sound by Capital Cities (right now I have my bff's music dump playlist going while I'm on the clock, it has everything in it and I mean EVERYTHING)

last film / show : last film was Dune 2, but show... uh, I don't remember. I think the last one was The Nanny (1999), I still have a few episodes left until it's finished.

recent reads : does my dash count? the last book I have actually finished is Castle of Dusk and Shadows by Rachel L. Schade (it was not bad actually), now I'm listening to an audiobook My Best Friend's Ex by Meghan Quinn, and tbh I'm cringing most of the time, but I kinda want to know how it ends.

inspiration : where I get inspiration for writing? mostly it's life, books, movies, videogames (obviously :D), and sometimes ideas come to me and inspiration hits me while I'm doing dishes, so, idk, go figure. mostly it's the content I consume on the internet.

story behind url : it's nothing special, really. I wanted to have an overall BG3 related url that wouldn't be tied/related to just one character and this was the first one that popped into my mind, idk the word itself is pretty, a bit serene, and magical.

fun fact about me : I discovered a love for the fantasy genre because of my mom. it started way back in 2001, I was in 4th grade, and we read all the new and popular fantasy books. we tried watching LoTR, but ended up fully watching the first movie, only half of the second one and none of the third, because I was scared of the monsters :D but eventually, I got over my childhood trauma, my husband showed me all the movies during the first year of dating and I actually really liked them.

tagged by : @narratingastory <3 tagging : since I haven't scrolled through the dash a lot lately, I apologize if I tag someone who has already done this, but here you go – @architaciturn (yes, double tagging you because I want to), @oathfcrged , @pactclawed , @murderbled , @loyalborn , @dreadgloom , @mystraguideme , @altrxisme , @nightsdogma (but also, if you don't want to share stuff about you, it's all good, I won't take it personally if you don't do this <3)

#* general : ᴏᴏᴄ #* general : ᴍᴜɴ

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kurt-wagner-official · 5 months ago

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Post #121: Excalibur Special Edition issue 1 and EX issues 1-2

Excalibur time! There's no good place to put this book in a reading order cause it's so disconnected from the rest of the line, but it's been going on concurrently to the last couple arcs and needs to catch up in time for Inferno. I've been really excited to get to Excalibur. Kurt is my absolute favorite character, and Rachel and Kitty both hold very special places in my heart, but I've never read this book. When I was a kid all the X-Men stuff I had access to was what was in my library, which was mostly Uncanny with some X-Factor and New Mutants, and then some 21st century stuff. The only Excalibur I've read is a few random issues my uncle bought for some reason. Before the launch of the book proper, we get The Sword is Drawn, a story is Excalibur Special Edition. Set soon after Fall of the Mutants, Kitty wakes up in a strange movie studio covered in Mojo's logo, with all the dead X-Men being played by actors under the direction of Xavier. The only one who seems real is Rachel, who is dressed in her hound outfit fighting the imposters. Kitty, who suddenly has control of her powers for the first time since Mutant Massacre, helps Rachel escape from her attackers and is herself attacked by the X-Men, who shed their skin to reveal they're warwolves, weird sentient alien shapeshifter things. She wakes up in her bed on Muir Island, unsure what's happening. She watches the sunrise and thinks she sees a Phoenix firebird in it, which startles her. Alan Davis, penciller on this book, draws my favorite Kitty. His style is sleek and larger than life, and everyone is incredibly attractive, but not in a gratuitous way, and Kitty in particular never feels objectified under his pencil. She cries as she looks at pictures of the X-Men, the family she feels is lost forever. As much as the X-Men abandoned the New Mutants, they also abandoned the members of Excalibur. Kitty in particular really struggles to deal with change, and after her parents' divorce this is really hard on her. It's frustrating to me that at least the New Mutants get to call the X-Men on the shit in X-tinction Agenda, while Excalibur never gets to lay into the family that left them behind to go hang out in Australia. Back to the story; Meggan, Captain Britain's girlfriend who is an empath and shapeshifter, maybe sort of a fairy while also being a mutant, and was raised on tv while locked in a trailer for most of her life, comes back to the Captain Britain lighthouse to find Brian Braddock, who's just heard about Betsy's death and is super drunk, and is also a piece of shit, tells Meggan she can't understand what he's going through cause she doesn't have a family, so she flies off to clear her head. Although I haven't read much of this book, I'm very familiar with the plots and characters, so going in I love Meggan and am not a Brian fan. Knowing that he'll eventually become a good husband makes me less angry at this scene, but he hasn't earned any good will yet. On Muir Island, Kurt is training hard in the gym against killer robots and almost dies before Kitty shuts it off. He woke up from his coma right before the X-Men died and so feels especially survivor's guilty. He and Kitty talk about it and realize they had the same dream last night. I love this duo. Of Claremont's original core four, Kurt is the one that Kitty got the least time with, but it was one of my favorite pairs and in the 21st century has become one of my favorite friendships, so I'm really excited to see where it goes in this book. Meggan shows up, cause apparently she's hung out with Kitty a few times while she's in recovery, just as the Technet- a team of interdimensional bounty hunters who are truly bizarre characters- arrive on behalf of Opal Luna Saturnyne, the Omniversal Majestrix. I'm really glad I've read a lot about this book and read later stories, because I don't want to read all the old Captain Britain stuff and this is all very confusing. Saturnyne tells them over holophone that the Technet are here because Rachel is on her way and Saturnyne wants her. Kitty, who thinks Saturnyne is hot,

that'll be important later, tells them no way they're taking Rachel, so out heroes start fighting Technet. They are instantly demolished, and Kitty and Meggan are taken captive while Kurt desperately ports away. Rachel meanwhile, is on the run in Mojoworld, pursued by warwolves, who are immune to telekinesis. She eventually blasts through a wall and to her surprise finds herself on Earth in London. Off the coast, Kurt arrives at the lighthouse and wakes up Brian. Brian is very full of himself, believing he's a great hero, and since his sister died, he's sunk into nihilism, saying nothing is worth it. Kurt, who did not have that high an opinion of himself in the first place, is rolling with his grief, and gives Brian a satisfying speech about how he needs to get over himself and do his job. Kurt, although he has faith in God and wants to see the best in people, is still very down to Earth, which is why he was everyone's therapist on the X-Men. It's nice to see him angry at Brian, which makes sense because if there's one thing Kurt has no patience for, it's those who claim to be forces of good but don't put in the work to help people. Kurt leaves, disgusted, using a portable Cerebro to track Rachel. She's wandering London, wondering if the X-Men would take her back, when Technet, the warwolves, and Kurt all arrive at the same time. A three way battle breaks out, interrupted by Brian. For how shitty a person he is when he's drunk, and how arrogant he is all the time, he was chosen as the hero of Britain for a reason, and he cares about people. Maybe a little too much, because when he sees Meggan hurt he gets distracted and tackled. Kurt, Kitty, and Rachel get back into their teamwork groove and kick Technet's ass, who have in turn beaten up the warwolves, so both enemy groups flee to regroup. Rachel, who was so scared about facing the X-Men again, gets a tearful embrace from Kurt and Kitty, which almost made me cry. Later, all five are around a campfire, with Kitty and Kurt sharing memories of the dead X-Men. Rachel doesn't trust her own memories of the X-Men, but at the end of the night when everyone is about to part ways, she's the one who gives a speech about the importance of the X-Men and their dream, and how their legacy is up for grabs. She compares it to the legacy of King Arthur, which is very funny actually, and how he left behind his sword to stand for his legacy but it's been interpreted and manipulated a lot of different ways. Despite not trusting her personal memories of the team, Rachel knows more than anyone what the story stands for, and she wants to honor that truth and return to reality. All of them stand in agreement in front of the fire, which morphs into a firebird.

In the debut of the series proper, we see that some time has passed, with Excalibur having established themselves as the heroes of the country under Brian's leadership. Actually first, there's a weird moment with a silent alien wandering around that I assume will come back later. Anyway, Brian, Kitty, and Rachel are tackling a hostage situation. Kitty and Rachel sneak in, but nearby, one of the loose warwolves kills a cop, hitting Rachel with psychic backlash. Rachel, as a Phoenix host who can handle it, is enormously more powerful than anyone else on the team, so to compensate Claremont makes her vast telepathy a weakness, because she's so sensitive to the psychic backlash and stuff. It's necessary because of the weird space Excalibur occupies; sometimes they're battling multiversal forces, where Rachel can get the big feats, and sometimes they're street level heroes like here. Anyway, Kitty does a Batman riff, putting a sheet over her and spooking the criminals like a ghost until Rachel recovers and takes them all out. Brian was outside as backup, but doesn't actually need to do anything until one of the hostages starts hitting on Rachel and Brian intimidates him into backing off. The weird thing about Brian is he actually does respect and support women unless he's dating them, where he's a nightmare of a boyfriend. Later on, Kitty cries over a picture of the X-Men and a letter from Doug's parents. Kitty was a conspicuous absence from Doug's death storyline, although there was a plot reason she couldn't be there, so I'm glad we get a little moment here. Brian checks on her and tells her Rachel keeps getting hit with psychic attacks, which we as readers know means the warwolves are busy. Over on the lighthouse, Meggan and Kurt are hanging out, preparing the space as a new headquarters for the team. Kurt opens a door and sees a bunch of weird aliens, but they're gone a second later. In London, Brian and Rachel are at I think a bank? when the jerk who was hitting on her shows up and Rachel (who's gay by the way, in case you're not picking up on the incredibly subtle hints her) rebukes him, while Brian runs into his ex Courtney Ross, his og girlfriend from Claremont's Captain Britain. Kitty, who's being established as the tech genius of the team, makes some gizmo that emits fake Phoenix vibes, because she suspects the warwolves are the ones zapping Rachel and wants to lure them out. She also puts on hound makeup, which is neat. I love it when a magic team has like, a science guy, and I'm glad Kitty gets to be that. This is also the second time this issue she's come up with a plan that involves disguising herself in some way, which is interesting. My read on Kitty has always been that she cannot cope with change at all, and the way she tries to handle it is by constantly reinventing herself, and I'm glad that side of her is getting front and center treatment here. Back at the lighthouse, Meggan walks in on Kurt in the bath, which embarrasses him and she doesn't understand why. Meggan and Kurt are really interesting foils; they're both very lighthearted, and are maybe the two kindest heroes around, and both had rough childhoods and physical mutations that mark them as different. She's a lot more naïve than he is, though. Kurt goes down to Kitty's lab and figures out what she's doing, so he assembles the team to go get her. Her plan has worked, and they arrive at the same time as the warwolves, who disrupt Kitty's powers and kidnap her.

This one again opens with a weird scene at some abandoned research facility, where a young mutant boy is being hunted by soldiers and then sucked through a portal. Maybe this is Kylun? My favorite thing so far about this read is that I'm super familiar with the character arcs and relationships in the book, but I have no idea where the plots are going. Elsewhere in the facility, a robot head thing, which we saw in the opening of issue 1, so I guess this is where that scene was, wakes up and starts floating around. This is Widget, a character who I don't really understand and maybe I finally will. Back to our main plot, the warwolves are all debating if Kitty is Rachel or not purely cause of her low budget disguise, which is funny. The rest of the team, Rachel in particular, are desperately searching for her. Kitty and Rachel are a couple I ship pretty hard, which is weird because I haven't read all that much of their relationship. When the warwolves try to skin her, she manages to phase at the last second but almost discorporates. Rachel, from across the city, holds her together telekinetically but can't find her, while the rest of the team race to find her. Kurt also gets kidnapped by warwolves, but that helps them find the den, where the warwolf who tried to skin Kitty starts to turn into Kitty. After the battle, it turns out Kitty's powers messed with the warwolf and she ended up wearing it's skin, which makes no sense but is cool. Another Alan Davis thing; her clothes got left behind when she did this, so she's briefly naked when she escapes the warwolf body, but there's not any gratuitous shots, which is a relief. Excalibur put the warwolves in the zoo, and that's that.

This book is delightful. It doesn't have the political themes and symbolism that the other books do, but there is a lot of interesting thematic work with the characters. The smaller cast really works for the book, because each of these five characters gets a moment with every other one, and every pair has something unique. Rachel and Kitty were gay, Kurt and Meggan were cute, and Brian could date Widget I guess. He was sweet with Rachel and Kitty though, and I'm glad this book treats them like teens, which they are. Overall a blast.

#wes reads xmen

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chelleztjs18 · 2 years ago

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Hello you mrs. honey nut cheerio lefty eyebag 😅

Happy new year! 💥🎉🎆

I am doing okay. My last day was mostly filled with cleaning and making jello shots for today lol I was so tired I didn't stay up til midnight.

I love to drink, but I don't know why it just never happens on new years eve. I know in the past when I was younger, there was always alcohol involved.

How about you? How was your last day of 2022? Did you have fun with your cousin? Did you get a lot of goodies from your sister?

Haha spoiler alert. Thanks, now I don't need to watch those movies cause you just told me the whole plot 😂 just kidding.

I agree, I think I didn't even watch the 3rd movie because it didn't have her in it lol I haven't watched Disobedience yet but I heard it was a good movie. But yeah Rachel McAdams and Jessica Alba have been my celebrity crushes of all time.

Also, since you brought up Natasha's hair style, I did not like her look in Captain America Winter Soldier. The straight her was just weird on her for me hahaha even on infinity war when she dyed it and cut it short.. I wasn't a big fan.

I hope you don't get a bad headache or anything after drinking last night!

Okay, next question would be... what are 3 movies or show that remind you of your life in highschool.

-CuriousGeorge

Hello hello you sleepy in new year eve righty eyebag! 😅

Happy new year darling! I hope this year is better than 2022.

Wait, u gonna have jello shots? I thought u work today? Sorry if im wrong.

Ah okay..thats funny actually that u happen not drinking every new year.

Yesterday was fun, we went to eat sushi n ramen at my cousin's husband workplace.. we took a nap. Most importantly, i took a nap for almost 2 hours without any interuption. So it was good. Then at night we had a very good mexican food.

Then we all watched Glass Onion movie. Oh my god, that movie is sooo good while having some sake. Have u watch it yet?

I had like 6 shots of sake n the sake was so good. One of the best sake i hv had. It was so smooth.

Yeah i got bunch of goodies from my sister, i mostly got spicy chilli from there, coffee, some chrystals, n clothes.

Haha i still watched the third movie n i think the actress wasnt good as Rachel Weisz.

Oh u should watch Disobedience. It has good story. Oh n their sex scene.. dear lord, it was so hot.😅🤣

Haha good choices on the celeb crush.

Ah okay, Nat's hair in civil war is not as good as the other of her hair, but it's still better than the first time she appears in mcu movie. She still look pretty, but u can see it's a wig.haha.

My favorite her os hers is the one on age of ultron. Which one is urs?

No, i didnt get hangover which is awesome! Maybe because of how smooth the sake is.

I dont think i can remember well which movie that reminds me of highschool. But i will let u know when i recall any.what about u?

Next question?

Cheerio!

#chellez answers #ask answered #anon answered #curious george anon

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rachelhargrovearchived · 8 months ago

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"It was not! I just was making an observation, I promise!" If she wanted to make a critique she would have shared that he looked like he had sharp knees. But Rachel was not out here trying to make the man self conscious about how pale he was or about how pointy his knees looked. She scrunched her nose at Saul's announcement of their next stop. "I would rather not. Never have I went to the tanning salon and I don't intend to start now." Rachel used to be a lot more confident about her looks, not that she didn't think she looked attractive now, but a lot of things had her feeling self-conscious a few years back and it had made it hard for her to shed those thoughts. But, she definitely didn't mind what her skin looked like and for sure wasn't planning on making herself look orange. She laughed though as he corrected her comment, feeling like that was the life she knew of plenty of lawyers, though she didn't know many personally. "Well glad to be a reason to get you out of the office then!" Rachel shared with a small wink, wondering if it was really her that was as much of a reason as the bets he'd made on charity baseball. "Ah well I met her at the end of last year at the ski resort! We had a nice little chat about existential things." She shared with a snicker, not because it was particularly funny that they'd had the chat or even the fact that anything while having the chat was funny. Mostly it just sounded silly out of context, plus Rachel was mostly just glad that their last interaction she'd been in better spirits.

Rachel let out a small hum as if in deep thought for a moment, "It seems like maybe you need to go to the eye doctor and see if you have the right prescription then." She offered as her unwanted medical advice to Saul before grinning to let him know she was only messing with him. Rachel had glasses and contact as well, her vision still was intact enough but of course she knew age could change that. "Wow, you'd wish that upon me?! I'll do the whole squint and everything." She mimicked the face that she knew oh so well from her parents and friends. "I also wear glasses and contacts too though so really you're not all by yourself." Rachel shared giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Ah see that would make more sense, especially since it's not like people don't know who you are." It would be kind of hilarious if Saul tried to gaslight the whole town into thinking that he was now a NCAA division ranked baseball player. "Sounds impressive! I'm sure he'll make you proud." She shared with a grin before it faltered a bit as he explained the situation with his ex-wife. Rachel couldn't remember if he ever told her that he had a son either, but she felt like considering his skimming over the topic and into the small beef he had with his ex-wife she would ask another time. "Well, I mean yeah you do deserve to do things and live here and not feel uncomfortable. I mean I definitely can't talk I ran my ex-husband out of two towns." She shared with a small grimace, feeling like that probably wasn't the greatest of things to bring up.

Saul explained his history with sports and smiled at the mention of the LA Dodger, knowing that her ex-husband who was originally from California had a love for the team and had told her all about Sandy Koufax. "Oh yeah, I definitely am familiar with those names! Baseball legends in their own rights." Rachel couldn't help but laugh a bit as he asked what inning they were in now. "We're in the top half of the second inning, Saul. Well yeah, I mean if you think about it, if one team is doing well then you have to wait for the other team for awhile before they are up to bat." She explained, wondering if he would have the attention span to watch this for the whole game. "I do! Yeah it's a rec team, I'm definitely no all-star that's for sure." Rachel wasn't amazing, but she definitely had improved since her first season of doing it and honestly that was most important to her.

@saulweissberg

in defense of their mutually pasty legs, colorado had never been known as a sunny place. especially not in the long winter that was just finally behind them, but still, he took a chance on wearing shorts and she was calling attention to it! his feelings were hurt! “it was implied.” saul sniffed, putting on a show of being offended, though it quickly broke for a light chuckle he couldn’t suppress. “we’ll have to go to a tanning salon together, then. lest anyone will get blinded by our white ass legs.” he joked, bumping his shoulder into rachel's. “hey, any chance to get out of the office is out on the town to me.” the week’s events had already disrupted his work. normally, he saved his fun for the evenings after work and the weekends when his law firm was closed for business (then ended up taking calls on his work cell phone anyway). any other weekday afternoon, he’d be at his desk or in a client meeting. today, he was wearing shorts in public and accompanying a beautiful woman to a charity baseball game—though he lived to work, his current situation was preferable. “yeah, she’s a sweetheart! how did you guys meet?” he was previously unaware that rachel and phoebe knew each other, though it made sense. they should’ve been in a competition to see who was the nicest person in providence peak… and then both win in a tie.

saul scoffed at the glasses comment. “hah—i do have glasses. well, contacts, but i have to use reading glasses at work sometimes.” though he believed aging was a privilege, it had its pitfalls, like weakening eyesight. “just you wait! soon you’ll need to hold your phone two inches away from your face in order to read an article, too.” that was the worst part: it snuck up on you. once he had been a young man, then suddenly, the man looking back at him in the mirror had gray hair and wrinkles around his eyes. he tried to remember that his father never made it past forty-three, so he should consider his reflection as an honor. it had been a long, long road, a messy road, but he made it to fifty-two. that was something to be proud of (most of the time). he laughed at the idea of the announcer calling his name. if anyone in the stands knew him and heard saul weissberg come over the speakers, they’d probably fall over in shock. “no, he’s under his own name, but they might mention i put him up. i guess he’s pretty good, some ncaa division one superstar or some shit, i don’t know.” truthfully, he just called up the university of denver and asked them to send a warm body down. he wasn’t knowledgeable enough about the game to care who came. “number three.” saul held up three fingers for emphasis. “thalia. the rest live back in new york city, so does my son.” there, a bit more saul lore for her. “she no doubt thinks i'm doing this to be petty, but i am a man of conviction… most of the time. i couldn’t back out and leave them uneven for the teams, and well, i live here, too, y’know. i have every right to be part of the community as she does.”

somehow, her assumption that he was a baseball fan made sense to him. maybe it was his face or something. “nope. the weissberg men have always been much more focused on studying than sports. they all thought it was a waste of time… though we’ve always revered sandy koufax and hank greenberg as heroes to our people.” two legendary players that refused to play on high holidays, saul had been forced to appreciate them as a child, though he was pretty sure both players retired before saul and his twin brother were even born. “good, then i'm relying on you from here on out, sunshine. what inning are we on? i feel like we’ve been here for hours and i’m pretty sure the game started like forty-five minutes ago.” that was a reason why he had never been a fan of baseball—or football, for that matter—it seemed like an all day affair. “oh, shit, you do?” saul looked back at her, brows rising in surprise. “like on a rec team?” had she told him this before? did he forget? another pitfall of aging: his short-term memory wasn’t worth a damn anymore.

@rachelhargrove

#thread #thread: saul weissberg

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hazel-light · 3 years ago

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Chapter Word Count: ~7,400

Total Fic Word Count: ~30,000

Genre: (Wedding) Fake Dating, Friends to Lovers, lots of bed sharing and every self indulgent fluffy trope possible.

Warnings: None? Lots of fluff? Occasional cussing? Some suggestive themes, moments, and jokes I guess. No smut or anything!

Disclaimer: I am not Daniel Sharman, and I do not pretend to know how he would act, speak, etc. This is fiction okay, there’s a lot of creative license, and potential to be OOC. Ricky isn’t mentioned because I started writing this before we knew he existed, so apologies for that. Also, if you’re DShar himself, please do us both a favor and don’t read this, okay???? Same if you know him 🙈

Title taken from the song Yellow Lights by Harry Hudson which suits this story quite a bit!

A/N: You thought I'd skip all the possibilities and tropes that come with the holidays?! Of course not. This is the final part to Yellow Lights. Thank you all for making my return to writing and posting so wonderful. I am so, so, grateful. I hope the ending lives up to your expectations. <3

The next month and a half passes by uneventfully. I try not to spend all of my time thinking about how great Rachel's wedding was, and equally try to ignore the wistful feeling Henry’s wedding left me with. Having Daniel be my fake boyfriend in front of my family showed me everything that I’d ever wanted; someone who fit in seamlessly, who loved me for me, with the perfect balance of romance and friendship. Whatever crush I had successfully buried when Daniel and I first met is now achingly hard to avoid. I curse my active imagination and optimism for letting me indulge in the moments of pretend, leaning too comfortably into our façade.

As a result, I don’t talk to Daniel much. He is busy finishing filming his project in London, and I try to focus on my life in LA. I’ve become paranoid that every text I send him is one too many, too annoying, or too bothersome. I figure I can reassess things when Daniel comes home from filming, and try to find my footing in our friendship again.

This seems like a solid plan until I’m on Zoom with my family for Thanksgiving. Since I’ve already flown back once this year for the wedding, and I’m planning to fly back again next month for Christmas, staying put for Thanksgiving was the economical choice. The call is mostly uneventful until the subject of Daniel comes up.

“Where’s that boy?” Aunt Judith crows from her spot at the dining table.

“Hmm?” I ask.

“She means Daniel.” Ryan rolls his eyes, bringing the iPad closer to her.

“Oh! Right.” I try to recover. “He’s still away filming his new project, actually, but I was able to fly out to see him at the end of September for another wedding, actually.”

Aunt Judith frowns. “That’s a long time to not see someone that handsome—” I start to laugh, “Are you sure he’s not cheating on you?”

Oh shit. It’s in this moment that I realize Daniel and I had never “broken up” as far as my family knows. I hear the rest of my family start sputtering in the background.

“Aunt Judith— you can’t just—”

“That’s awful, I—”

“It is kind of a long time, huh?—”

I try to keep a straight face. “Guys! It’s okay. He’s an actor, it comes with the territory. I expected this.”

“So you aren’t sure that he’s not cheating on you?” Ryan frowns.

“That isn’t what I meant, Ry. Daniel and I are fine. We’re really good, actually.”

“Well I certainly hope you’ll be bringing him home for Christmas then.” Aunt Judith huffs.

“It would be nice to see him,” Rachel speaks up for the first time, and her husband Nick nods. “I didn’t get to talk to him a whole lot at the wedding.”

I clear my throat, my mind racing. “You know, we haven’t actually talked about what we’re doing for Christmas yet; I’ll have to see what he’s doing— if he’s going to spend it with his family.”

“But you’re still coming home,” Ryan states.

“Yes, I am still coming home, no matter what.”

Ryan and Rachel’s mom, my auntie Kim speaks up. “I think it’s pretty common for a boyfriend to defer to his girlfriend’s family for the holidays. I mean, Ryan splits the day with Katharine of course, but Nick always came here with Rachel.”

“I hear you, Auntie Kim, but Daniel never gets to see his family so I’m not sure— all I’m saying is I’m not sure. He may very well come, and I will let you all know as soon as I know.” I smile tersely.

“Well hurry up, and find out,” Auntie Kim chastises. “Christmas is only a month away.”

When I hang up with them, it’s 7pm and I’m feeling antsy. How could I have forgotten that my entire family still thought Daniel and I were together? I’m not sure how to get out of this one. Tired of panicking alone in my head, I pick up my phone and dial Daniel before I can talk myself out of it. It rings and rings, and my anxiety that he won’t answer grows with each tone.

Eventually I hear rustling on the other line.

“Lauren?” Daniel’s voice crackles through the phone.

“Hi.”

“Are you alright?”

“What? Uh— yeah, I just needed to talk to you about something—” I glance at the time on my phone. “Oh god, no. What time is it there? I’m so sorry— I didn’t even stop to think about the time difference, I—”

I hear him suppress a yawn. “Lauren. It must be pretty important if you’re calling me AND rambling like this.”

“No, no, it can wait, I’m sorry— uh, go back to bed. I’m sorry I woke you up.”

“Lauren,” he stops me softly and firmly. “Stop apologizing. What’s going on?”

I sit quietly, feeling like an absolute idiot.

“Lauren, come on. You can tell me.”

“I— we… we never broke up?”

He laughs. “Sorry, what?”

“We never broke up.”

“Am I still asleep, is this a dream?”

“My family still thinks we’re together and they asked me if you’re coming home for Christmas.”

We’re both quiet for a moment.

“Oh.” is all he says.

“I talked to them for Thanksgiving, and they were asking about you. I realized too late that they thought we were still together— because I never told them we broke up. I didn’t think it through this far.”

“Right, I didn’t either.”

My phone starts ringing, telling me Daniel’s trying to FaceTime me.

I accept, and I’m faced with a dark screen.

“Why are we FaceTiming?”

I hear a lamp click on and suddenly Daniel’s face is illuminated as he lays in bed, lines from his pillow still on his face.

“Figured we should at least be able to see each other if you’re going to break up with me in the middle of the night,” he teases.

I shake my head. “Not funny, this is serious, D.”

“I know, I know.”

“If I break up with you, they’re going to yell at me and tell me I’m a stupid idiot.”

Daniel laughs.

“And if you break up with me they’re going to hate you, which means they’ll hate that we managed to ‘stay friends.’ And if it’s mutual…..” I shake my head, thinking. “They’ll think we were lying.”

“Which we were.”

I sigh, “Which we were.”

“So,” Daniel pulls his blanket up higher. “What are our options here?”

“I don’t know, that’s why I called you.”

I watch him stare off into space and reminisce about when I got to see this sleepy Daniel firsthand in Cape Cod.

“I could come for Christmas…” he trails off and I frown.

“That seems like asking a lot. You’ve already given up a lot of your free time this year for me.”

He shrugs into his pillow. “Do you not want me to come for Christmas?”

I pause. “I mean, that isn’t really the issue here. You have to be tired of being in love with me by now.”

He laughs loudly — a stark contrast to the quiet of his room. “Yes, being in love with you is very exhausting.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“I’m kidding. Being in love with you is not exhausting. At all.”

I roll my eyes and say nothing. “I don’t think I can bear to break your family’s hearts at Christmas of all times.”

“Man of the year.” I drawl. “What are you supposed to be doing for Christmas? Going home?”

“No, usually I travel somewhere, but I hadn't decided yet.”

I hum in response.

“Kind of leaning towards traveling to Massachusetts now, if I’m honest.”

I look at him incredulously, only to see a playful grin on his face, but I know he’s serious.

“I’m not going to stop you if you really want to come. But I—” I swallow. “Eventually we’re going to need to plan for whatever happens after Christmas.”

He nods. “I know, we will. Let’s just enjoy Christmas together, first.”

I smile. “Okay. We can enjoy it. Together.”

He clears his throat. “I hope I’m not too rusty at this boyfriend performance, it’s been a few months.”

“Daniel Sharman has performance issues… I hope that doesn’t get out to the press.”

His eyes flash. “Bold, for you.”

I shrug. “You walked into that one, baby.”

“Well, you’re lucky you’re cute, darling.”

We look at each other for a moment, and I hope my eyes don’t give away how fond I am for this man who is willing to commit to fake-loving me, and putting up with my family, and who is setting the bar way too high for any actual real relationship I could hope for.

So much for reburying my feelings.

I break eye contact first. “I’ll let you get back to sleep. Sorry again for waking you up.”

“Do Not Disturb doesn’t apply to you, Lauren. Call any time.”

I smile softly. “Sweet dreams, I’ll text you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight.”

—-

I’m standing in the Boston Logan airport waiting for international arrivals; specifically Daniel’s flight from London. According to the board, his flight landed 15 minutes ago, so he should be coming to the lobby any time now. I bounce on my feet, simultaneously eager and nervous to see Daniel for the first time since parting ways after Henry and Claire’s wedding.

Eventually I see the hat and sunglasses I recognize from a selfie he sent me earlier, and I can feel my heart race. I begin walking towards him, and feel my pace quicken as I get closer. Eventually he sees me too and he’s grinning at me with his signature toothy smile that I missed so much.

When we come into contact I don’t know what the appropriate response is, so I simply grin up at him.

“Hi,” I breathe.

“Hi,” he smiles back, and before I know it he’s closer than he was before and he’s ducking down to kiss me.

It surprises me but I respond quickly, leaning up to meet him.

When it’s over he pulls back just enough to nuzzle his nose with mine.

“Missed you,” he says softly.

“Missed you most.” I smile.

He stands up straight, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder, threading his other hand through mine.

I can’t see his eyes, but I assume he must be looking around when he speaks.

“Oh, are you by yourself?”

The question catches me off guard.

“Yeah— well, Ryan’s in the car, circling so he wouldn’t have to pay for parking,” I roll my eyes.

He nods, “Sorry, then—“ he makes an inconclusive gesture. “Suppose I didn’t need to kiss you quite yet.”

My stomach drops and I smile tightly, “That’s okay— better safe than sorry. I get it.”

He tugs on my hand pulling me into a hug.

“I did miss you, though.”

“And I still missed you most.” I tease.

Daniel shakes his head, but doesn’t argue, pulling back from me and reaching for his suitcase with his freehand.

“Let’s get this show on the road.”

—-

I bring Daniel upstairs to show him around, and so he can put his suitcase in my room.

“Welcome to my childhood bedroom,” I announce, opening the door and leading Daniel inside.

“Wow, where little Lauren grew up,” Daniel teases looking around. When I first arrived home yesterday, I was quick to tidy up, and hide anything that was too embarrassing, but my room is more or less the exact same as I had left it when I was 18 and moving to college.

I nod. “Yes, many secrets to my backstory can be discovered in here.”

Daniel laughs.

Ryan appears in my doorway leaning against the doorframe.

“Just so you know, Daniel, my bedroom is on the other side of this wall,” he nods to his right. “I can hear everything that happens in here. The walls are thin.”

I frown, blushing, “Ew, Ryan.”

Daniel just laughs and smirks, “Got it, bro.”

I look at him incredulously, “Don’t encourage him.”

The two share a look and shrug, seemingly equally enjoying my discomfort.

“Dinner’s ready!” Auntie Kim calls up to us.

I use that as my cue, brushing past both of them to go downstairs, leaving their laughter behind me.

—-

After Christmas Eve dinner, Katharine stops by and the four of us decide to watch the classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I’m the last to arrive in the living room, and when I enter I immediately notice that Ryan is cuddled up with Katharine, and sprawled out over the entire couch, leaving Daniel sitting in the only other seat— the armchair.

I narrow my eyes at them, “Are you guys for real?”

Ryan looks at us and hums innocently, “What?”

“You took the entire couch.”

I see Katharine bite her lip in amusement, as Ryan shrugs.

“I assumed you guys would cuddle anyway. Can you not share the armchair?”

Daniel intervenes, “Of course we can. C’mon Laur.”

He pats his lap. I hesitate briefly before nestling into his lap, tucking my head into his neck.

“Am I crushing you?” I whisper.

“Not at all, you’re keeping me warm.”

I huff a laugh as he puts the blanket over us and Ryan starts the movie. The steady rise and fall of his chest brings me a sense of peace and I have to try not to fall asleep, especially when his fingers gently caress my arm and my leg where he’s holding me to him. I exhale, turning further into his neck and nuzzling into him.

“Tickles,” he breathes, just shy of a whisper.

“You smell good,” I tell him, letting my eyes close.

His chuckle reverberates through his body. “Thanks, darling.”

I feel my eyes shut and sleep take over. I start to come to when I hear the ending song come on, and it drifts into whatever dream I’m having.

“She asleep?” I hear Ryan ask.

“Think so,” Daniel answers.

“You need help waking her up?”

“No, I’ve got it, thanks though. Nice seeing you, Katharine.”

I hear footsteps retreat and feel a series of kisses pressed to my shoulder, as Daniel’s long fingers brush hair away from my face.

“Time to wake up, pretty girl. You can go back to sleep once we’re in your bed.”

I shake my head no, clinging to him tighter.

“Like this bed.” I murmur drowsily.

He laughs softly. “Promise we can cuddle there too.”

“Promise?” I ask, peeking one eye open.

“I promise,” he confirms, pressing one more kiss to my shoulder.

I lift my head to look at him, rubbing my eyes.

“There she is,” he smiles gently at me.

I smile back sleepily, the words coming out before I fully think them through.

“Wanna know a secret?”

“Tell me.”

I swallow, letting my gaze flicker down to his mouth for just a moment. “I like cuddling with you.”

“You do, huh?”

I nod.

“Well the feeling’s mutual. Let’s go upstairs and brush our teeth so we can cuddle more in your bed.”

“Okay,” I relent, getting off of him. He stands up after me and I instinctively lace my fingers with his, leading us back upstairs. When we’re brushed and changed, we settle ourselves in bed and I claim my spot tucked into his neck again.

“Sweet dreams,” he says, kissing the top of my head. I echo the sentiment and gently kiss the spot on his neck I’m closest to. His arms tighten around me and I’m falling asleep again.

—-

For once, I wake up before Daniel. He looks peaceful as he sleeps on his stomach, his arm across my waist, face half smushed into the pillow. I turn my head to look at the clock to see it’s about 9:30 and know the others will be waking up soon. I turn back to Daniel and card my fingers gently through his hair. Eventually his breathing changes and his eyes flutter open, still clouded with sleep.

“Merry Christmas,” I whisper, our faces just inches apart.

He pulls himself closer to me, nuzzling into my side and closing his eyes again. “Merry Christmas.”

It’s quiet for a moment before he speaks again, voice raspy with sleep. “Is everyone else awake?”

“No, I don’t think so. I haven’t heard anyone up and around… they might be soon. Usually we kind of wander downstairs around 10, and it’s just past 9:30.”

He hums in response.

“You can go back to sleep for a little while if you want,” I offer, still running my fingers through his hair. “I’ll wake you when it’s time to go downstairs.”

I start to think he’s drifted off to sleep again when he opens his eyes and looks at me. “No, I can get up. I want to give you your present.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “I told you not to get me anything; you coming here like this with me— twice— is more than enough.”

He rolls his eyes, detaching himself from me and rolling out of bed. “And look like the asshole who didn’t get his girlfriend anything for Christmas? Not a chance.”

I sit up. “We could’ve lied about it—”

“Lauren,” Daniel looks back at me exasperatedly, leaning over his suitcase. “It’s Christmas. Please just open your present.”

He pulls out a neatly wrapped, thin rectangle and places it in my lap, sitting next to me on the bed.

“Merry Christmas, Laur.”

I carefully unwrap the package to reveal a framed art print, with a circle of stars in the middle; underneath it says “The Night Everything Changed” with the coordinates of what I assume to be Los Angeles. I look up to him with soft eyes, and he gives a one shouldered shrug.

“Saw an ad for this online— where you can get the night sky documented of any night you want, anywhere you want. I thought it would be nice to commemorate this past year, for us…” he trails off, and I hug the frame to my chest.

“Daniel, I love it— Really, really love it. It’s so thoughtful.” I reach out and thread our fingers together. “I’m going to hang this in my room. I want it somewhere I see every day.”

He smiles and squeezes my hand. “I’m glad you like it. I actually wanted to talk to you about something— in relation to this. I—”

We’re interrupted by a light knocking on the door, and we both turn.

“Are you guys awake?” Ryan’s voice calls.

“Yeah, we’ll be out in a sec!” I answer.

I turn back to Daniel who squeezes my hand and moves to get up, but I pull him back.

“They can wait; this is special. I want to hear what you have to say.” I smile at him warmly, but he shakes his head, lifting the back of my hand to kiss it.

“It’s alright, I’d rather wait and tell you when we have more time to talk.”

I frown. “Promise me you won’t forget?”

He laughs. “Trust me, I won’t forget.”

He moves to stand, pulling me up with him to go downstairs, but I stop him, wrapping my arms around him tightly.

“Thank you, D. It means a lot to me.”

He returns my embrace, placing a kiss to the top of my head.

When we pull apart, I take his hand again. “Time for Christmas. Your present is under the tree, by the way.”

Daniel laughs. “A present double-standard.”

I shake my head and lead him out of the room.

—-

I think we’re done with presents when Ryan surprises me, coming over to Daniel and I on the loveseat.

“This is for both of you, kind of.” He hands me a thin, narrow gift.

Daniel looks up, surprised. “Thanks, man. That was thoughtful of you.”

He looks at me, silently asking, did you know about this?, and I shake my head no.

I unwrap the package to find a small frame, with a one hundred dollar bill matted in the middle. I look at Ryan and furrow my eyebrows.

“It's the hundred bucks I said I’d give you if you brought a real date to Rachel’s wedding. Seeing as the same guy is here for Christmas I figured you earned it. Thought I’d frame it— but you can take it out and spend it on a date or something, I don’t care.”

Auntie Kim squints. “Sorry, you told her what?”

I roll my eyes and try to avoid the way my stomach sinks at the reminder of how this all started.

I feel Daniel’s hand on my knee. “Clever, Ryan.”

I look over at him to see him flashing his polite interview smile, and I instantly know he knows exactly what I’m feeling.

Auntie Kim stands and stretches. “I don’t get it, but I’m going to go start breakfast. Your sister and Nick are picking up Judith soon and then they’re coming over. Katharine isn’t coming until dinner, right, Ryan?”

As Ryan confirms, she walks out of the room. Ryan turns back to us. “Mind if I shower first?”

I shake my head no, still lost in my thoughts, and I hear Daniel tell him to go ahead.

We’re left alone and I feel Daniel’s thumb brushing my knee.

“Thank you for my presents.”

“You’re welcome— I’m glad you like them; they don’t beat your present for me though.”

He rolls his eyes and we sit for a moment, the framed hundred dollar bill still in my hands.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

I look at him and shake my head. “I don’t know. Just an odd reminder of how this started, and that it’s going to have to end soon, I guess.”

Daniel frowns. “We haven’t really gotten to talk about that. Why don’t we table that for later— we still have a nice day ahead of us. Those are problems for tomorrow.”

I nod and smile at him, and he pulls me in to kiss my temple, and I hear the click of an iPhone camera. I look up to see Auntie Kim in the doorway.

“Sorry, I just wanted to tell you that the coffee’s on. It was too cute not to capture.”

Daniel stands up, offering me his hand. “Make sure you send me a copy. I’ll have to add it to my collection.”

I chuckle as I stand. “Let me guess; the album is called ‘Cute and Shit.’”

He grins. “How’d you know?”

—-

Christmas flies by. It’s filled with good food, wine, and everyone I love. It’s hours after dinner, and Auntie Kim has already driven Aunt Judith home before going to bed herself.

Ryan, Katharine, Daniel, and I are all still seated around the dining room table playing some kind of team card game, and everyone’s faces are red from laughter and wine.

I can’t help but watch Daniel, who is in some kind of hilarious argument with Ryan over some card he pulled. His eyes shine from the light of the chandelier, and his smile is big and bright, taking over his whole face.

It hits me in this moment that I’ve surpassed unlabeled romantic feelings; I am truly in love with this man. The realization consumes me until Katharine knocks her shoulder into mine giggling.

“Can you believe we love these idiots?”

“Sometimes it’s a hard pill to swallow,” I tease, giggling, catching Daniel’s eye mid-argument. He winks at me and I feel my already red cheeks flush even deeper.

“You two are so cute,” Katharine continues, watching our interaction. She lowers her voice, whispering to me behind her wine glass. “I was kind of worried that when you got a boyfriend he wouldn’t mesh well with our dynamic, ya know? But it kind of feels like Daniel’s always been here.”

Her words vocalize the thoughts that have been ringing in my head all day. “I know what you mean.”

Katharine dramatically clears her throat. “Are you two done? Is it our turn yet?”

—-

We part ways from Ryan and Katharine in the hallway, giggling and shushing each other in the wee hours of the morning. I shut my door behind me and waggle my eyebrows at Daniel.

“Uh oh, there’s trouble,” he teases. “Planning to seduce me?”

I shrug exaggeratedly and he laughs before looking around. “Fuck, where are my sweatpants?”

I giggle. “They’re literally right behind you on the chair.”

“Oh, thanks.” He grabs them before looking at me. “Can I change in here tonight?”

I flush. “Yeah, sure.”

After sharing a room together all this time, this is the first time we’ve changed in front of each other and the thought makes my skin tingle. I make my way over to my dresser, pulling out my own sleep shorts and t-shirt. I wiggle out of my pants and pull on my shorts, glancing over my shoulder to see Daniel, shirtless, adjusting his sweatpants on his hips. My throat runs dry, and I turn around to pull my own shirt over my head, reaching behind me to unclip my bra once it’s on. I bundle my discarded clothes in my hand, walking over to toss them in the hamper. I turn around to find Daniel already looking at me. He’s still shirtless and my eyes drift to his defined chest. He looks down as if noticing for the first time.

“It’s really, uh, hot in here.” He speaks again. “Would it bother you if I slept shirtless?”

I shake my head, mentally screaming. “No, it is warm,” I agree, reaching up to put my hair in a bun on top of my head.

He watches me intently, and I laugh self consciously. “What?”

“Nothing. Just thinking about how this was the best Christmas I’ve had in a while.”

My face lights up. “Really?”

“Yeah.” I see his grin quirk up, and know something else is coming. “I’d say it was almost perfect.”

“Oh?” I question, finishing my bun. “Go on.”

“We fit in a lot of classic traditions today, but we missed one that I’m quite fond of.”

I look at him, trying to think of what it could be, as he takes a step closer to me.

“There wasn’t any mistletoe.”

I swallow. “There wasn’t.” I pause, my mind racing. Before I can fully think it through I find myself offering, “But we could pretend?”

“Hmm?” He murmurs, taking a step closer to me so he’s right in front of me now. I know he’s giving me a chance to take it back, or make a joke; I’m nervous, but I don’t want to take it back. I just really want to kiss him.

“I’d really like it if you had a perfect Christmas.”

“And you?” He questions softly. “What would make it a perfect Christmas for you?”

Instead of answering him, I reach up on my tiptoes to kiss him for a moment, pulling back to look him in the eyes. His eyes meet mine in some unspoken understanding, and then he’s dipping down to kiss me again.

He kisses me softly, delicately, like all the kisses at the wedding. He pulls back briefly to look at me, as if he still expects me to change my mind. I kiss him again, wanting there to be no doubt in his mind, and he kisses me back with purpose and passion, and I’m caught off guard by the weight of it. I gasp, and Daniel uses this opportunity to deepen the kiss, pulling me closer. It reminds me of our very first kiss back on his couch. My arms move around his neck, pulling our bodies flush together.

Daniel pulls away first, but barely, breathing hard, kissing down from my jaw to my neck.

This is definitely new territory for us.

I move my hands to his hair, and he groans at the feeling. I can’t help myself as I sigh breathlessly, a shiver running down my back. He grins against my neck, his teeth scraping at my skin and I moan softly.

“Wait,” I say breathlessly, a thought somehow flitting through my mind. “Earlier, didn’t you say there was something else I should know about my present?”

“I can tell you tomorrow,” he murmurs into my neck between kisses. “It’s time for bed.” He tugs me down onto the bed so I’m underneath him, resuming his kisses on my neck.

“This doesn't seem like going to sleep to me,” I tease.

“It is, shhhh, you’re dreaming.”

“That I’d believe,” I laugh, and Daniel smirks, moving so we're eye to eye again.

“Dream about me often?”

“Shhh.” I pull him closer, turning his words back on him. “You’re dreaming, go back to bed.”

“Happily,” he murmurs, kissing me again.

I bring my hands down to his bare shoulders, feeling his warm, toned skin against my fingertips. I gently drag my nails down his chest to his stomach, and I feel his muscles clench at my touch. I can’t help but smirk to myself as he pulls away to rest his forehead on my shoulder, letting out a shuddering breath. I bring my nails around his back, tracing up his taut muscles and across his shoulder blades.

I feel one of his hands come down, pushing my shirt up, his mouth pressing hot kisses to my abdomen. His nose takes over pushing my shirt up, exploring every new inch revealed with his mouth, his hand now running over my thigh, fingers squeezing occasionally, slowly climbing higher. As his hand reaches the bottom of my shorts, he lightly tugs at the fabric. He pauses, his blue eyes tentatively peering up at me.

“Can I…?” He looks nervous, like I’ll reject him. As if I have ever rejected him, or could ever manage to deny him. I’m not even entirely sure what he’s asking but I find myself nodding quickly. As he goes to tug my shorts down we hear a bang on the wall we share with Ryan followed by a crash, a “Shhhh” and a “Shit.”

We both startle and look over toward the wall, before looking back at each other and laughing softly.

“Ugh, I don’t want to know,” I say, shaking my head.

“You probably, definitely don’t.” He smiles at me before pulling his hand off my shorts, and my shirt back down, letting his fingers trace along the waistband of my shorts before he clears his throat. “We should, uh, get some sleep.”

I blink at the abrupt change in mood before nodding awkwardly. “Okay, sure.”

He rolls off of me, and I reach over to shut the lamp off. I’m hesitant to cuddle up to him, unsure if what just happened changed something between us, but I’m relieved when I feel his arm wrap around me the way it always does. Neither of us say anything, and I try not to think about the last few minutes, the firmness of his body behind mine, or the way my body’s buzzing— closing my eyes to try and get some rest.

—-

The next two days with my family go pretty much the same way as Christmas did. Daniel gets on swimmingly with everyone, and my heart aches every time I realize that once the holidays are over, our charade is going to come to an end—a permanent end— this time. I try to ignore that thought and enjoy my time, basking in the coupley moments in front of my family, and leaning into every touch we share.

I never get a chance to ask about my Christmas present; the time never feels right, and Daniel doesn’t bring it up either. Nothing happens between us like Christmas night; when bedtime rolls around we change in the bathroom and go straight to bed. We cuddle, but there’s no after-dark kisses or wandering hands. I wonder if Daniel feels as self-conscious about that night as I do; if he does, he doesn’t show it.

—-

We’re in my room packing to go back to LA in an effort to try to beat the inevitable New Year’s rush at the airport.

“I need to find something to wrap this in so it doesn’t break in my luggage,” I frown, holding up Daniel’s present. “It’s my new prized possession— nothing can happen to it.”

Daniel looks over and laughs. “Want me to wrap it in my sweatpants? That's what I did on the way here.”

“Okay, thank you.” I pad across the floor and pass him the frame, our fingers brushing in the process.

“Of course.” His lips quirk up as he carefully arranges the frame in his suitcase.

A moment passes, and I wonder if now is a good time to ask about my present .

“Hey, I’ve been wanting to ask—“

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask you—“

We both stop mid-sentence and Daniel laughs, “Sorry what were you saying?”

I shake my head, courage gone. “No— sorry, go ahead.”

He looks at me curiously but continues, “Henry texted me; he and Claire invited us to their New Year’s Eve party. They’re having it in LA this year.”

I quirk an eyebrow. “Us? They want me to go?”

He shrugs. “Yeah, Claire apparently requested your presence specifically.”

“Oh, that’s nice of her. I usually stay in for New Year’s.”

“It could be fun— if you aren’t sick of me yet,” Daniel teases.

“Ha!" I laugh, "If you aren’t sick of me yet, more like.” I shake my head. “And don’t mind sharing your friends with me.”

“They’re basically your friends now, too,” he argues.

“I’m not sure one wedding constitutes that, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

“You should come.”

I stop and look at him.

“I’ll call a car and pick you up on the way.”

When I hesitate, he softens his voice. “Please come.”

I swallow, “Okay.”

I’m not a big party person, but I also know I don’t have it in my heart to deny him, especially after everything he’s done for me.

He grins. “Really?”

I nod. “Yeah, I’ll go.”

“Cool, I’ll, uh, let them know we’re coming.”

I bite my lip to suppress my smile and start planning my outfit in my head.

—-

When we arrive at Claire and Henry’s house on New Year’s Eve, I try not to gawk at the size. It’s massive and sits high on one of the tallest hills in LA, away from the noise of the city.

The first person to spot us as we walk in is, unfortunately, Eleanor. I’d hoped she was in London, and away from us, but alas.

“Daniel!” she squeals, throwing her arms around him. “I was so hoping you’d be here.”

“Hi, El,” he placates her with a strained smile. “You remember Lauren?” He gestures back to me.

“Laura?” she asks, disinterested.

“Lauren,” I correct, forcing myself to smile. “Nice to see you again.”

“Eleanor,” Daniel intervenes. “Could you point us in the direction of Henry and Claire, perhaps?”

She frowns, but quickly covers it up. “They were in the kitchen last I checked— we have just got to catch up later.”

“We will!” He agrees graciously. “Let us get a drink, and I’m sure we'll have plenty of time to talk later.”

Daniel puts a hand on my back, guiding me forward and into another room, which turns out to be the kitchen. He’s immediately drawn into a series of bro hugs and handshakes by Henry and some of his other friends.

“Lauren! I’m so glad you came!” I turn to find Claire by a table of beverages.

“Claire! So nice to see you, thank you for inviting me.”

“Thank you for coming,” she says, pulling me into a quick hug. “I told Daniel he just had to bring you.”

I laugh. “He told me you were quite persistent— I usually have a low key New Year’s at home, but this is a fun change of pace.”

“Can I get you a drink?” She asks, already reaching for a bottle of champagne.

“Sure, thank you.” I catch Daniel’s eye across the room; he’s being clapped on the back and led out of the kitchen. I smile reassuringly, hoping to communicate that I’m fine here. He seems to understand, as he smiles back and nods before turning back to his friends.

Claire giggles, bringing my attention back to her.

“You look at him with such heart eyes, it’s cute.”

I try to keep my face from panicking. “Sorry?” She laughs like my reaction is the funniest thing in the world. “Oh don’t worry, he looks at you just the same, so you’re fine.”

I chuckle nervously. “I think maybe you’ve got the wrong impression—”

She shrugs like we’re talking about something commonplace, like the weather.

“Maybe, it’s possible... but I don’t think so. Now come! There’s some other girls I’d love for you to meet.”

—-

I spend a good portion of the night talking with Claire and her friends. They’re all very kind to me, but eventually I excuse myself to get some air out on the balcony.

I’m looking up at the sky — it’s dark, dotted with faint stars and a distant passing plane — when I hear somebody come out and join me. As they settle next to me against the railing I immediately know who it is just by how comfortable I feel.

“Whatcha doin out here, LaurLaur? The New Year’s only a few minutes away.”

I grin at him. “Just getting some air and admiring the stars. From up here you can actually see them.”

He hums, looking up with me.

“It reminds me of a certain piece of art a certain someone got me for Christmas.”

He chuckles. “I’m glad you like it so much.”

“It was very thoughtful…. I wonder if any of the stars are in the same places as they were that night.”

“Which night?”

“The night everything changed. Your birthday.”

Daniel leans against the railing facing me, and looks like he’s about to say something before he changes his mind.

Eventually he speaks again. “Things are going to change again soon, right? You said you’re sure about the break up?”

I swallow, scoffing my shoe against the balcony floor.

“I mean, we still need to figure it out, but you can’t keep fake dating me forever. That isn’t fair to you.”

He smiles wistfully. “It’s not like there was anyone else I was trying to date.”

“I’m a lucky girl,” I lament, and Daniel blushes and shakes his head. “It’s a real shame we’re over, though," I jest, trying to lighten the mood. "I’ve never gotten to kiss anyone at midnight.”

His eyebrows raise in surprise. “Never?”

“Nope,” I pop the p and look down at my feet.

“Well.” He clears his throat conspiratorially. “We can agree not to bring our fake relationship into the New Year if you want, but if the kiss starts before midnight, I think we’d get by on a technicality...”

I laugh. “You really want Eleanor to hate me, don’t you?”

He grins cheekily and shakes his head. “Nah, I think I saw her latched onto some other poor bugger inside. We’re in the clear.”

I roll my eyes, looking back up at the sky. I feel his finger trace my arm, gently using my elbow to turn my attention back towards him.

His voice is softer now, “It’s up to you, but there’s no one else I’d rather kiss at midnight.”

I look into his eyes and realize he’s being sincere. My heart’s beating out of my chest. Yes, I want to kiss him, but I want it to mean something. I keep giving in because I know one day this is all going to go away, and I’ll be left with just my memories and heartache.

He must see some hesitance in my eyes, because he’s taking a step back.

“If you don’t want to, it’s fine. Really.” He shoves his hands in his pockets. “Not trying to pressure you into doing something you don’t want to do.”

I shake my head. “It’s not that I don’t want to, I just…” I trail off, looking over the balcony, trying to swallow my feelings, which have manifested as anxious tears in my eyes. I feel a tear escape, and I hastily reach up to wipe it away.

“Hey,” Daniel says gently. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t.” I let out a watery laugh. “Sorry, I don’t know why I’m…”

I feel his steady stare, and I come to terms with the fact that I’ve really gotten myself into a mess that I can’t just smooth over. I’m going to have to tell him.

I take a minute to compose myself, and Daniel stays quiet giving me time to put my words together as I look anywhere but at him.

“I do want to kiss you, D,” I start slowly, trying to keep my voice steady, “but I can’t if it’s just another part of our fake relationship.”

He tugs me closer by hand, gently, so I have no choice but to look at him. I swallow the lump in my throat. “I… know this wasn’t supposed to be real. But it has been, for me.”

He shakes his head and squeezes my hand. “So then stop trying to break up with me.”

I blink at him, and he continues.

“The night everything changed— your star map— I wasn’t referencing the story we told your family about my birthday.” Daniel looks at me long and hard like I’m missing something totally obvious. “It’s actually the stars from a night a month or so later.”

A month or two— Oh. OH.

“The night Ryan FaceTimed me?” I whisper, afraid to be wrong.

He takes my other hand in his, lacing our fingers together. “Listen— Fuck. I’m in love with you, Lauren.” He looks at me so intensely and my head is spinning. “I love you, and I’m in love with you.”

“What?” I ask dumbly.

He licks his lips. “A wise woman once said to me, you don’t confess to ‘kind of like someone’ when you’ve already been friends as long as we have.”

I stare at him for a second, my cheeks burning. “Well your friend sounds pretty smart.” I swallow. “Because I love you, too.”

He laughs, relief flooding his features. He pulls me to his chest, crushing me and squeezing the air out of my lungs. Eventually he pulls back, hands cupping my face.

He grins and shakes his head. “She is smart, so, so smart, but I don’t want to be her friend anymore.”

“What do you mean?” My brows furrow in confusion, worried that somehow I’ve misread this whole interaction, my relief quickly being replaced by panic.

“Well.” He steps forward, keeping our faces incredibly close. “I’m hoping she agrees to be my very real girlfriend— that is, if she doesn’t break up with me first.”

I hear everyone inside start the countdown to midnight. I’m still looking into Daniel’s eyes in disbelief, my hands clinging to the front of his shirt.

When the countdown hits one, I’ve finally found the words I want to say.

“Happy New Year, boyfriend.”

He’s grinning as he kisses me, and I am too. It’s not our most elegant kiss, a mess of teeth and giggles, and whispered “I love you”s. We never stray too far from each other’s lips, kissing again and again like we can’t get enough— and maybe we can’t.

Eventually, we calm down a bit, and when we kiss this time it’s all-consuming, sucking the air out of my lungs. It feels like my love is fizzling to the top of my skin, and I feel it. ‘It’ being every indescribable emotion in our kisses this past year, but this time I know what it is: true, unadulterated, uninhibited love. I am in love with my best friend, who is now my boyfriend, and I don’t care who knows it— as long as he does.

His fingers press bruisingly into my hips before he pulls back just enough to look at me.

“Can we go home?” He whispers sheepishly, brushing some hair out of my face tenderly. “I’m kind of tired of sharing you with the public.”

I huff a laugh. “I know exactly what you mean.” I lean forward to kiss him one last time before pulling back to lace our fingers together, squeezing tightly. “Please— take me home, D.”

I don’t have to tell him twice.

---

tagged: @rogershoe @heyrowena @yunsh-17 @trenko-heart @dylxnshxrmxn

#THE END!!!!#can you believe it?!#daniel sharman fluff #daniel sharman x oc #daniel sharman fanfiction #daniel sharman fanfic #daniel sharman fic #daniel sharman imagine #yellow lights

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spaceorphan18 · 3 years ago

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99 Perspectives on a Single Love Story #80

A/N: The Story of Kurt and Blaine told through the eyes of everyone else but them. Each chapter is a different perspective in the ongoing tale of their love story.

I started something like this a while back - and now I’m taking the idea and really running with it. Each chapter is a ficlet of a different character at a different point in Kurt and Blaine’s life - documenting their love story. This starts in Audition, and each chapter will be paired with a different episode until reaching Dreams Come True.

[Ao3]

***

The Mime (New New York)

Of all the classes he’s taken at NYADA - the mime class might be the dumbest. It’s not the teacher’s fault, Professor Marceau is great, and he guesses that he’s learning something by being here. Why are they learning how to be a mime? Why isn’t this an elective instead of being something he’s paying to take? Is this really going to serve a greater purpose? He had grand ideas when he had first applied - becoming a triple threat, being a star, or maybe just being able to make enough money at what he loved to live on. But being a mime has never been on the agenda.

NYADA, man. This place is just like the fine arts high school he came from. Just as gossipy, just as drama-filled, just as frustrating - only the students going to NYADA have a more grandiose idea of themselves. It’s like all the worst stereotypes of the fine arts blended into one building. Sometimes he wishes he had just accepted that scholarship to NYU. At least the drama wouldn’t be so concentrated.

He has a headache, and usually mime class keeps things quiet, but Professor Marceau is out for the day, and the T.A., who clearly doesn’t give a shit, is just having them practice on their own. Which means that no one is practicing the most sacred part of being a mime -- shutting up.

The worst part is that Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson are in front of him. These two. God. Where to even start. He remembers Kurt Hummel from last year - that Winter Showcase and the Midnight Madness and there had been a lot of buzz around him when he started, but he’s mostly faded into the obscurity of the rest of the class. But then his boyfriend? Husband? Whatever - showed up, and the two of them, who somehow managed to be in six of his eight classes for the semester, and omg - do they not ever stop. Ever. He’s not sure if they’re aware of their own little mini-drama that’s constantly running, but it’s enough to drive a person mad.

“You used up all my laundry detergent.” Blaine pushes into Kurt’s space. The dude doesn’t seem to understand that this isn’t a group project.

“I thought it was our laundry detergent.” And… as expected Kurt’s face goes sour. He can’t help but wonder if he’s always this sour - or just during this class.

“Well - you were the one who wanted to label everything mine and yours, and I am the one who bought it last.”

“You were using my toothbrush, Blaine. We have to have boundaries somewhere.”

“And all I’m saying, Kurt, is that you need to pick up laundry detergent on the way home since you used the last of mine. Or, if you’re still so adamant about having different things - I’ll get more laundry detergent, and you’re on your own.”

Maybe if he closes his eyes, he can try to concentrate on the box he’s trying to make, and not the shrillness of their voices. Unfortunately, the fake box does not have walls to keep the idiotic sounds of their argument out.

“Fine, I’ll get some on my way home.” Kurt’s voice still comes through clearly. “Rachel wanted me to pick up some kind of vegetable for tonight. She’s making vegan burgers or something. I don’t know.”

“Oh, well, at least we won’t have to cook. I think she also mentioned taking us all to a show.”

Oh that’s right - they’re both friends with that Rachel Berry chick. At least she’s not here. Or maybe if she was they’d shut up…

Kurt, of course, keeps going. “Maybe she can take all of them, and we can stay home.”

“You don’t really want to go to a show?”

“You know - we spend nearly every freakin’ night with them. I’d like to have a chance to fuck you without four other people in the place.”

“Oh…”

“Oh my god, stop!” His voice echoes through the room. He didn’t mean to be so loud. Everyone’s eyes are staring at him. Waiting to see if he’ll burst out and beat the living hell out of the two of them. Of course, this school just preys on meltdowns. He won’t give in. He won’t let them win.

Kurt and Blaine give him an odd look and shuffle further away. Whatever - he’s over it.

Later… his girlfriend is waiting for him after his last class. She doesn’t go there, and really shouldn’t be in the building, but god is he happy to see her. He just needs to get out.

“Rough day?” she asks, looping her arm through his.

“More like rough life.”

“Hey, I mean, you’re the one who turned down coming with me to NYU.”

“One of my life’s regrets - clearly.”

As they’re about to walk out of the building, he spots Kurt and Blaine. On a bench. Making out. It’s gratuitous and gross, and while not the most indecent thing he’s seen even this week, it’s annoying as hell. Don’t they have a home for that? Oh yeah - they share it with, like, ten other people.

He hates himself for knowing that.

“They are the worst,” he mutters.

“What -- they’re getting to you again?” She throws her head back and laughs.

“One minute they’re nearly breaking up - the next they’re all over each other. Why? Why do I have to be a part of this story? Why do I need to witness? Why can’t I be here to learn things that are not related to classmate’s personal lives? Why is this my life?”

She gives an amused shrug. “I don’t know - the one with way too much hair gel is kinda cute. What do you say - wanna ask for a foursome? I’m sure that’ll get some of your aggression out.”

She’s cackling at the joke, but he eyes her hard. “If you suggest that again, I will dump you, Mia.”

#99 perspectives #s.o. writes things #yes I just did that #sometimes these are really for my own entertainment

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the-purity-pen · 4 years ago

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All My Life

Pairing: Marcus Moreno x Fem!Reader

Rating: G (for now) Warning: None. Just a lot of pining. Word Count: 2,144 A/N: I threw this idea out like over a month ago to you all after watching the movie and you all loved it! I’ve finally finished the first part of this story! I hope you all enjoy!

“Marcus and Missy Moreno Save the World Again”

The headline dashed across the bottom of your television screen as clips of the Heroics defeating an invading robotic alien flashed on the screen. The news reporters were rambling on about the details of the attack and how the Morenos and the others had stopped the invaders.

The smile on your face as you packed your suitcase was undeniable. It was wonderful to see the next generation of Heroics take over. Especially after your own departure from the original gang. You hadn’t kept in straight contact with many of them aside from Jasmine and Alana.

They both had been texting you for the last week to ensure you were actually going to attend the reunion. You didn’t know why they were so insistent on you going but you’d absolutely be lying to say you weren’t excited to get back together and have something other than work to focus on.

Becoming a consultant for recruiting new Heroics wasn’t always a glamorous job and your deadlines for meeting quotas were constantly breathing down your neck. But knowing that you were still making an impact even if your powers were mostly underwraps and not used in a big way, was enough to make your job and your move all those years ago worth it.

Your phone buzzed as you attempted to zip the suitcase, pushing down with your entire body weight to try to slide the metal zipper. You grunted and puffed air up out of your mouth and shook your head. You should know better than to overpack but you were trying to make sure you were prepared for anything for the weekend that you’d be back home.

You took a sharp breath in and reached for your phone where it sat on your nightstand. Seeing the messages flying in from Jasmine and Alana made you laugh. They were both gushing about how Marcus looked on the newsreel and Jasmine in particular was mentioning that he was looking better with age and that if you didn’t try to snag him at the reunion that she would seize her opportunity.

“Seriously? He just uses those arms like that?”

“I swear if he comes to the reunion in that vest…”

“Can you imagine what he looks like now that he’s so stacked?”

Your fingers flew across the screen telling them both to calm down and that Marcus, the last thing you knew, was married. Alana was quick to jump in and inform you that Marcus’s wife had passed away just a few years ago. Your heart immediately sank upon reading that message. Despite the years and the way life had separated you, your heart still cared for Marcus.

You had lost your husband to infidelity but losing a significant other in the way Marcus did? Your heart panged as you texted the girls that there was absolutely no way you'd be able to "jump on that" as Jasmine had to eloquently put it. It wouldn't be right. You were just excited to see him and everyone else and catch up on life.

You finally won the fight against the zipper of your suitcase and pulled it onto the floor. You ran through your checklist one last time before deciding you were ready. You placed your carry-on on top of the suitcase and with your phone and keys in hand, you left the house and made your way to the airport.

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

“Daaaad, seriously,” Missy groaned with a grin attached to her face. The young girl got up from the edge of her father’s bed and stood in front of him by the mirror. Her small hands came up to cover her father’s larger ones as she stopped him from fidgeting with the tie.

“You look fine,” she reassured him, again. She tugged on the tie to straighten as Marcus looked down at her and sighed. For a teenage girl, Missy seemed to have her life more together than Marcus at times.

“If you say so. Doesn’t make me feel fine,” Marcus admitted to his daughter. Ever since his wife had died, Missy had become his focus and when he had to rejoin the Heroics, he did it to protect her. Everything was for her. So having a night out for just him was odd.

“What are you nervous about? That everyone is going to know that we saved the world again?” Missy laughed and Marcus cracked a grin, shaking his head softly.

“That I’ll bump into people I haven’t seen in years and they’ll think differently of me,” Marcus admitted with a sigh. Missy’s brows furrowed up at her father before her face softened. She knew what it was like to have people look at you like an outcast but there was no way her father would be looked at that way. He was a literal hero and she told him such which made him smile down and press a kiss to the top of her head.

“Love you kiddo,” Marcus sighed before finally leaving the house to make his way to the gymnasium of a building he hadn’t stepped foot in in almost two decades. The walls seemed shorter now and the hallways narrower but his feet carried him through as if he were back to being a teenager.

His eyes scanned as he saw the locker that he had called home for all four years. And a few steps later, he saw your corner locker and his heart stopped for a second. He wondered if you were going to make it to the reunion. He hadn’t thought too deeply about you in a few years because he was still grieving his wife but now that he was here, you were consuming his thoughts.

As he walked into the decorated and rainbow-lit gymnasium, all conversations started to fade away as everyone looked to him with bright smiles. Jasmine looked over your shoulder towards the entrance and her eyes widened. She tapped your arm and nudged her chin in his direction, making you turn.

Your heart nearly leaped out of your chest seeing him. A black suit with a black tie and his black frames all pulled the look together nicely. You guessed Missy probably had a hand in helping him pick out his outfits. The girl was notorious for helping her father with simple things and it didn’t surprise you.

You watched as Steven, better known as Miracle Guy, came over to clap Marcus on the shoulder while shaking his hand with the other. Last you knew Steven didn’t like Marcus but perhaps he was putting on a show since there were phones and cameras everywhere. You scoffed quietly to yourself as a reminder that some people really don’t change.

Some minutes later, Alana nudged her elbow into your side. “Marcus is alone at the drink table. Go say hi,” she punctuated the last word with another nudge and you made a pout at her. “But I have a full-” you started but Alana quickly swiped your cup and downed the rest of your punch. You narrowed your eyes at her and she just gave a giddy, toothy smile, holding your now empty cup out to you before mouthing the word Go.

You rolled your eyes and sighed heavily as you took the cup from her and turned around but not before sticking your tongue out at her. You walked a bit slowly, nervous to even strike up a conversation with your ex-high school boyfriend turned superhero of the world.

You stepped up the punchbowl just as Marcus was about to reach for it and bumped his arm. “Oh! Sorry!” you exclaimed with a light chuckle and he turned to see who had bumped him and felt a huge lump form in his throat.

Your name came from him like a soft whisper and you felt your face soften looking at him. “Hi Marcus,” you said softly, almost in a soft whisper that echoed the way he had said your name. “Or should I say Mr. Superhero of the World?” you gave a soft chuckle and he echoed it with a soft guffaw of his own. The two of you stood there for a minute, just studying each other’s faces with goofy grins attached to your lips.

Suddenly the music dimmed and a tap of a live microphone came over the speakers. “Attention everyone! Okay, okay! Come closer okay?” the class president, Rachelle Hawkins, spoke into the microphone. You and Marcus turned your attention to the stage at the same time. Most of the crowd started moving closer to the stage but you stayed back with Marcus by the food table.

“First of all I just want to say thank you to everyone who could make it tonight,” she said in her overly fake happy tone that she used to use as a cheerleader. You rolled your eyes slightly and Marcus looked over and chuckled at your response. He remembered how much you and Rachelle didn’t get along. You weren’t exactly enemies but her power during school years seemed to have just been racking up the count on how many boys would lose their virginity to her.

Marcus leaned over to speak into your ear with both of your heads still facing the stage. “Good to see she hasn’t changed huh?” he whispered which made you snicker. You both were already falling back into comfort after so many years apart. It only made sense since you had dated for all four years of high school and were friends first.

“Let’s start the night off with a dance from our senior year prom king and queen!” Rachelle exclaimed and held her hand out to point in your and Marcus’s direction. Everyone turned to face you both as Rachelle called out both your names and a bright light then shown on you. You tried to shield your eyes from the blinding spotlight as you looked to Marcus.

In the distance you heard Jasmine and Alana whooping and hollering in celebration which prompted everyone else to start clapping and cheering the two of you on. Marcus looked at you and placed his plate down on the long table. You followed suit to place your still empty cup down next to his plate. You swallowed a large lump that had formed in your throat before Marcus was holding out his arm for you to loop yours through.

You did so and he led you out to the middle of the floor. The light finally faded and you could clearly see Marcus’ face. His eyes were scanning the crowd before jumping back to you. You took a deep breath and reached up to put your left hand onto his shoulder. He placed his right arm on your hip and reached with his left hand to grab your right and hold it. He intertwined your fingers and you felt your heart nearly leap from your chest.

He pulled you closer slowly so your bodies were right next to each other as the song started playing. “All My Life” by KC and Jojo came over the speakers and you couldn’t help but burst out laughing as Marcus swayed you to the beat. He was smiling too knowing why this song was picked. It was the same song that was played during your dance after being chosen as king and queen.

Your laughter caused you to lean into Marcus’s chest for a minute to catch your breath and his heart started to race a mile a minute. Your heart was starting to match his rhythm and when you stood up straight up again, you found yourself just looking into his eyes. The feel of his body pressed against you, the heat of his arm that was now wrapped around your lower back all accumulated to you immediately feeling smitten by him once more.

Your eyes flickered around his face slowly, landing on his lips before looking back into his eyes. But before you knew it, Rachelle’s voice was coming back through the speakers, loud and clear over the music. “Aw look at them folks! It’s like nothing has changed! How sweet!” she cooed and the entire crowd followed suit. You rolled your eyes and Marcus gave a tight lipped grin in response.

He finally pulled back from you when Rachelle started to list off the night’s events and the song faded into the night. Your heart was beating so hard you were starting to breathe heavier. Marcus walked back over to the food table to gather up his plate and you followed him just a step behind. You picked up your cup and without a word to Marcus, started to refill it with punch.

“I’ll um, I’ll see you later?” Marcus asked rather than said and you looked up at him with a wry smile and slow nod.

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descent-into-the-rift · 3 years ago

Text

Life is Strange but it’s Stranger Things

LISTEN- listen

I don’t know if someone has mentioned this before, I’m sorry if so but does anyone know if the Duffers have ever mentioned knowing and/or having Life is Strange as another inspiration for Stranger Things?

Cause dude listen-

Life is Strange 1 is from January 2015 and Stranger Things is from July 2016, also Life is Strange: Before the Storm is from August 2017

They’re pretty different stories, but they have a fistful of good parallels.

I’m not saying they got inspired by this game, I just wanna talk about the things that remind me a lot of it. Also it’s 4am and I still haven’t slept at all but I wanted to talk about this before I forgot, so I’m probably missing on some stuff and might make zero sense every once in a while.

This is honestly very exciting for me to talk about because Life is Strange is literally one of my favourite games to ever exist. Just hear me out, I’m gonna try to make this short but make some sense whatsoever. There’s most likely gonna be spoilers of Life is Strange, I’m gonna try my best not to give too many but still.

The first time I ever watched Stranger Things (which was relatively recent, about three to four months maybe) I kinda thought a few things reminded me of Life is Strange (aside of the names being similar)

But after a while, when I started getting into theories and analysing more I realised the amount of parallels is crazy, and this could definitely be a coincidence and a reach from my part but I still want to talk about it because I think it’s really interesting. I’m gonna mention the things about ST that just made me think of Life is Strange.

Max Mayfield

- Max moved from California to Hawkins, a small town where everyone pretty much knows each other and rumours spread relatively quickly.

(Now I don’t think this would be on purpose, because I think you don’t know this about Rachel until Before the Storm which came in just two months before ST’s season 2 but still a similarity I guess? Rachel Amber is from California just like Max Mayfield.)

Max Caulfield

- Max moved from Seattle to Arcadia Bay, a small town where again everyone knows everyone and no one’s particularly safe from rumours.

Now, this is just something that always makes me go ‘huh’. Two pairs named the same in both stories are in both cases in the same family. Joyce and William.

Joyce Byers

- Joyce is the mother of the family.

- She has a job that doesn’t pay her much to take care of her family

- Joyce’s family’s had no father in it for quite a while, in Joyce Byers’ case it’s that the father is a horrible manipulative abuser.

Joyce Price

- Joyce is too, the mother of the family.

- She also has a job that doesn’t pay her enough for all the work she has to do everyday.

- While just like Joyce Byers, Joyce Price’s family has no father anymore, the reason to it is the father died in a car accident. (I’m not saying it makes me think of that car on fire scene in the teaser but I might be saying just that)

Yet Joyce Byers is much more strong-willed than Joyce Price, now I’m not judging Joyce Price for it, she has her reasons to her behaviour and with everything she’s going through it’s understandable, all there’s to say is I can’t picture her doing everything Joyce Byers did to find her son and later to protect her family. I do think she hides a little too much behind her new husband’s sexist beliefs and makes it seem like all the wrong going on is mostly her daughter’s fault when her daughter’s going through a terrible time herself.

ANYWAY-

William Byers

William Price

Okay, literally the only similarity between Will Byers and Will Price is the names and that they’re both incredibly wholesome people.

William Byers is Joyce Byers’ son while William Price is Joyce Price’s deceased husband.

They’re not very important parallels just something I wanted to mention cause I thought it was interesting. Moving on-

Max loves photography and is great at it, which reminds me a lot of someone.

Max and Eleven have the same way of using their powers by raising their hand, and bleeding from their nose after it.

The way the sound focuses when Eleven is spying on someone in the void are very similar to how the sound focuses when Max is travelling to a memory. (You can see that most clearly when she spies on Mike, Lucas and Will, and Mike’s “What did I do wrong” sounds muffled until she’s completely in) In addition to that, both use pictures for it (Eleven needs it many times, while Max always requires one to do it).

tw kidnap: The way Heather is tied up and brought to a basement under a place surrounded by trees, grass and paths in 3x02 is very similar to how girls are tied and brought to the basement also under a place surrounded with grass and trees, the difference is said basement in Life is Strange is a dark room.

Max and Will both have episodes, in Max’s case it’s always the same storm in the same place regardless of where she is, while Will’s current location just changes to its form in the upside down, the storm is usually there.

While Will's episodes are to the present in the upside down, Max’s episodes are about an event in the future.

Mike’s rebelling phase reminds me a bit of Chloe’s, specially the “everyone graffitis the bathroom stall” line as a somewhat parallel to Chloe graffitying every inch of the school bathroom right after getting expelled. Both phases come after the loss of someone they loved, while Chloe’s phase is confirmed to be caused by her father’s death, nothing really confirms Mike’s phase is because of Eleven’s farewell, but a lot of things point to that. Again, this is shown in Before the Storm so chances are; coincidence. I mean you always figure Chloe’s this way because of losing her father but it’s not exactly confirmed until the prequel, Before the storm

Rachel Amber and Will Byers:

From the beginning of the story, you get to know Rachel is missing, and Chloe’s going out of her way to find her. Will is missing pretty much from the beginning of the story until the end of the season and, who was it that was going out of their way to find him again?

In Rachel’s case she’s been missing for 6 months and well, she stays missing until it’s figured out she’s always gonna stay that way.

Rachel shows to be very connected to fire, and when I say very I mean very

And I’ve said this a thousand times but Will is definitely connected to fire.

Also I know this is unimportant and definitely a reach but still- the flannels

Meanwhile, if all this is on purpose, Max’s similarities to Will could further hint him having powers.

The butterfly symbolism in Life is Strange is very important, and there so happens to be a lot of butterfly symbolism in Stranger Things, I actually talked about a theory I had about it before, saying it might refer to the way some relationships are treated. The symbolism in Life is Strange is the butterfly effect, and also has a particular connection to Chloe Price.

Now to a part I wanted to talk about too, Dontnod games are well-known for having a lot of LGBTQ+ representation. You’re always given the choice to go through the heterosexual path for the character you’re playing, but the representation is always shown no matter what.

Not saying it means anything but Rachel Amber and Chloe Price have their first kiss only a few days after knowing each other, and though they never establish this it’s hinted that however open it was, they were in a relationship. And though it’s for reasons they can’t fight, said relationship is not endgame. Do whatever you want with that. Just all the while remember Life is Strange: Before the Storm came out after the first season of Stranger Things, and most likely too late to have inspired anything about Stranger Things 2.

Meanwhile, Max Caulfield and Chloe Price fall in love in the course of years, although they spend a few of them in different countries, they’re childhood friends that have known each other and hung out together since they were very small. Reminds me of Mike and Will but who can know.

On that topic, when Max moves back to Arcadia Bay, Chloe resents her for not sending her a single letter for most years she’d been gone but does admit in Before the Storm that even after completely ghosting Chloe, if Max showed up at her doorstep now she’d give in. Evidently nothing says Life is Strange and Stranger Things are connected in any way as similar as some things are, but if L.I.S were to be an inspiration for ST somehow, maybe the “not sending letters after moving away” conflict could be a thing in St4 between probably either M/leven or Byler, in both cases it’d most likely be Mike who’d be staying a little too silent. If it were to be an inspiration, cause maybe this is a total stretch.

Somewhat spoiler: The final choice Max has to make and the explanation to it does make me think a bit of both Will and Eleven and even Mike but I don’t really want to think too much about it, I’ve enough anxiety as it is to think about one possible ending for either of them that ruins me, as plausible as it can get, I don’t care, I don’t wanna think about it right now.

Anyway! I may have missed a few things that are also similar, and I’m really not saying any of this was on purpose, but I just wanted to leave it out there before I potentially forget about it.

#stranger things #stranger things theory #byler #will byers #el hopper #max mayfield

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