#i was debating on that but i fear ramona works a little better

[lynnospen]

hi sorry life series x scott pilgrim takes off anyone

[bittykimmy13]

Let It Snow (GT Fluff)

Ramona is plagued with troubled thoughts on a snowy winter's day. Will may not be the best with words of comfort, but he is determined to cheer her up.

A gift for my wonderful friend, @marydublin5 / @little-miss-maggie​ ! <3 (who also made the lovely header image!)

Will made it perfectly clear to Ramona that she was going to love what he was working on in the kitchen. The fact that she was so impatient made it more fun for him, if he was being honest. 

He left her in the living room with the TV on to keep her company while he worked—making sure she had her warmest blankets too, considering snow had started falling that morning.

When he paused to check on her, he expected to find her hugging the baseboards on the way to the kitchen to spoil the surprise. But she was exactly where he left her. She wasn’t even looking at the TV, and she didn’t seem to notice he was there, either. Her eyes were fixed at the front window, where snow was falling even more steadily and adding to the white landscape.

By the third time he spotted her like that, he was concerned.

“Ramona?”

She turned to him with a flinch, sitting up straighter on the sofa’s armrest. Blinking, she seemed to come out of a trance. “Oh, hey. What’s up? Is it ready yet?”

“Not even close,” he said.

Normally, she would have groaned and demanded to know exactly how much time until she could eat—and whether he had any snacks for her while she waited. Instead, she offered a distracted smile and a weak attempt to complain.

“Then what are you bothering me for?” She pointed at the kitchen half-heartedly. “Get back to it, chef.”

Will lingered at the doorway, then took careful strides into the living room until he could kneel by the sofa. He folded his arms on the cushion and cocked his head at her. “What’s on your mind?” he asked.

She looked down at her fidgeting hands. “Nothing.”

Sinking into thought, he glanced at the window, where she had been so fixated each time he came to check on her. “Did it snow where you’re from? Do you want to go outside once it settles?”

“No!”

Although he didn’t react outwardly with anything other than a deepened frown, his insides lurched. He tried to catch her eye, leaning closer to the armrest, though she shied away.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

Ramona pursed her lips, looking from him to the window. “I would’ve died,” she said in a small voice.

Her admission didn’t help his puzzlement, but he remained patient. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… out there. In this weather. I would have died, no matter what. If that thunderstorm hadn’t happened and you hadn’t brought me in, I would have been out there during this.” Her minuscule fingers dug into the fabric of her pants. “I’m so stupid. I thought I was getting the hang of things out there, such a survivalist, and I never stopped to think about snow. If I were still out there, I’d be dead by morning.”

Will let the words sink in. Truth be told, he hadn’t given any thought to what life would be like for either of them if he hadn’t brought her in. “You’re right,” he murmured. “You wouldn’t have made it.”

She snorted a laugh, looking ready to cry. “Geez, Will, you should’ve been a therapist,” she said derisively. “You always know just what to say.”

“What? It’s true.”

But she seemed to have had enough of the truth. She rubbed her eyes and cast another haunted glance out the window. A distant sort of fear etched itself onto her face, as though part of her was actually still out there, tortured by the cold. She even shivered.

Will offered his hand—she looked smaller than ever next to it. “Why don’t you come and help me in the kitchen?”

 “Because you’re super mean and won’t let me see what you’re doing.”

He curled his finger invitingly. “I’ll make an exception today.”

Her shoulders fell with a sigh, and she shook her head. “I think I’ll just take a nap.” Her eyes drifted back over to the frosted window.

His hand inched closer so he could gingerly guide her chin back his way with a fingertip. “I don’t think it’ll be a very good nap if you keep looking out there.” His other hand swept in to scoop her out of her blankets without warning.

“Hey!” She gave a kick at his fingers and scowled up at him as he stood. “Let me mope in peace!”

“Fine. But could you at least do it where you’re not torturing yourself with the window?” He ferried her to the edge of his pocket and held it open. He knew better than to tilt her in, at least offering the option to climb down or decline.

She huffed. For a moment, he thought she would turn him down, but then he felt a tiny tug as she grabbed the lip of his pocket and hoisted herself over. “You’re lucky you’re warm,” she grumbled.

A tiny weight dropped to the bottom of his pocket. After she settled, he peered down while still holding the pocket open. In the shadows, he could see her curled up tight, partially covering her face with her hand—perhaps to catch whatever tears had made it out. 

He hesitated, debating on whether to speak any further on the subject. After a moment, he released the edge of the pocket and headed back to the kitchen with his added passenger. He fully expected her to cheer up and peek out at some point while he worked, but she didn’t. Each time he checked on her, she was curled up in the same position at the bottom of his pocket, fast asleep.

Ramona groaned low in her throat when she felt something prod her from outside the pocket. Burying her face in her hands, she hid her eyes from the light that poured in overhead. “M’still sleeping,” she protested.

“I think you’ll want to wake up for this,” Will’s voice rumbled.

That was when she noticed a delightful scent in the air—cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and sugar. She could take a guess at what he had done, and if she was right, then it was very true that she would want to be awake for it. 

“Fine.” She yawned and stretched her arms overhead, allowing Will to reach in and scoop her out. He had gotten quite good at it in their two months together; she was still working on maintaining an unpanicked heart-rate every time his hands surrounded her.

Sure enough, when he brought her out in the open, there was a fully-assembled gingerbread house waiting on the counter. He had cut holes for the door and windows. The house itself was undecorated, but chocolates, peppermints, frosting, and other sweets were scattered over the counter, ready to adorn the walls and roof.

“You know, you do a terrible job of being as scary as you look,” she told him as he lowered her to the counter. “This is adorable.”

“I never wanted to be scary.”

He reached past her to pluck something up between his finger and thumb. Steam curled from the top of the doll mug as he handed it to her—rich brown hot cocoa. She accepted the mug, unable to hide an endeared smile.

“I know,” she said. “Just teasing.”

She sipped from the mug as she strolled up to the gingerbread house, impressed yet unsurprised to see that it was entirely homemade and scaled right to her size. As far as the careful assembly, she wasn’t shocked in the slightest, either. It didn’t look very different than the birdhouses he built regularly. She peeked through the door’s opening.

“Is it safe to go inside?” she asked.

He shrugged. “As safe as frosting cement can be.”

“If it collapses on me, you’ll be hearing from my lawyer.”

Ramona stepped inside, overwhelmed by the scent of gingerbread. It reminded her of bakeries and sweet shops and cold nights indoors with her friends. Her heart ached and warmed at the same time as she stood in the center of the floor, clutching her drink and looking around.

One of the windows darkened as a single blue eye peeked in at her. “Do you like it?” he asked.

“It looks a little sad,” she said airily. “Let’s make it look as good as it smells.”

He helped her a lot, of course, spreading frosting on the outer walls where she directed him to. She stuck candies and chocolates in careful patterns while Will focused his attention on the roof of the little structure. He got the same intense look in his eyes as when he was crafting something for a client.

“More here,” she said, pointing to a spot by the door. As Will carefully frosted, she ducked under his hand and continued to stick green candies along the base like grass.

When she was satisfied with the outside, she went back into the gingerbread house and gave the interior some much-needed love as well. She moved in and out, calling for Will to leave chocolates and tiny candy canes at the door for her to haul inside. Prematurely, his eye filled the window again to see what she was doing.

She rushed to the window, holding her arms out to block his view. “I’ll tell you when I’m done! Out!”

It was dark outside by the time she had finished framing the windows with colorful candy beads. She paced around to admire her work, then strolled to the door. She could see Will’s shadow moving there, working on something for the front part of the roof.

“Hey, I’m—” Her words cut off in a squeal as a glob of white icing fell on her arm. She looked up to find that Will was making icicles on the edge of the roof. Hurriedly skittering out of the way, she gave him an exasperated look and wiped at the frosting. “If you laugh…”

“I’m not, I’m not.” But a smirk wavered on his lips when he looked right at her, and he needed to avert his eyes.

Gathering the thick glob in one hand, she threw it up at him. It arced in the air and didn’t come close to reaching his face, plopping on the counter a pitiful distance away. She crossed her arms and gave him an expected glare. Taking notice, he diligently swiped the icing on his fingertip and smeared it on his cheek. 

“Happy?” he said, stepping away to tear up a piece of napkin for her.

“Getting there.” 

As she cleaned away the icing, her gaze was drawn to the kitchen window. Though it was dark, the outdoor lights illuminated the snow that was falling even heavier than before. Willow followed her gaze, and then she felt his eyes rest back on her. He folded his arms on the edge of the counter, pulling her attention to him.

“You wouldn’t have died,” he said gently.

She gave a rueful chuckle. “You don’t have to lie. That’s even worse.”

“I’m not lying. You would have lived, I promise.”

“That’s a steep promise. How can you be so sure?”

“Because… I was beginning to suspect there was a trinket out there. Once the snow started falling, I would have gone out to find you. No matter what, you would have ended up safe.”

“What if I had refused?” she asked in a softer voice. “You know how I was at first… I didn’t know what you were like.”

He untucked one arm to reach over and smooth her hair down with a light fingertip. “I would have won you over with the gingerbread house, of course. You wouldn’t have stood a chance the moment you saw it.”

A laugh bubbled up before she could stop it, and against all odds, the shadows that had haunted the corners of her mind that day didn’t feel quite so dark. “Right, nothing to do with you. The only reason I stick around is the food, just so you know.”

“Trust me, I know.”

His hand pulled away from her so that he could break off a piece of gingerbread and pop it into his mouth.

“Hey!” She strode over to put herself between him and house. “I plan to live in this thing until it rots! Stop eating the roof!”

Snickering, he easily reached past her little slapping hands and broke off another piece. Instead of eating it, he offered it to her. “Have a bite, and I don’t think you’ll blame me.”

Begrudgingly, she snatched the piece and took a bite. The flavors that filled her mouth were unlike anything she ever expected to experience as a trinket. Humming happily, she strolled closer to Will to sit with her back against his forearm.

“Fine,” she said. “Keep it coming. Wouldn’t say no to another cup of hot cocoa, either.”

“Of course you wouldn’t.”

[emybain]

i’m picking a random number here. 5 for nodrian.

i saiiiid i was going to focus more on young nova in the nova’s family lives AU bUT then i got this ask (Throwing their arms around the other person’s neck, hugging them close before kissing them passionately on the lips) and i couldnt NOT use it. after this though i promise to dive into a younger nova with her family, as that was my original intention for this AU. this is about a month following the last fic i wrote for the AU (after two certain people...keiss) and yes i kind of drew inspiration from the fight with Hawthorne in Archenemies bc im basic. enjoy! feedback is always appreciated, especially if you want to see more of my content:)

ao3

Nova’s first week back on patrol and the fates decided to screw her over. 

Her team had been patrolling from the rooftops of a busy area when she received a message from Sketch, requesting assistance in capturing criminals that had just performed an armed robbery. Of course he knew she was patrolling that day, as she had told him so a few days prior. Many blocks and a scuffle later, Nova found herself being dragged away from the edge of the bridge by Ramona, who was worried about a wound on Nova’s arm where a bullet had grazed her. The fight was over. The criminals escaped on a getaway boat. And Adrian...Adrian had chased after them, despite being told not to by the Council. And then he got himself thrown overboard after putting up a fight on the boat. There was no sign of him in the water, which was beginning to calm from the boat disrupting it. 

They hadn’t even been dating for a month yet, and Adrian had to go and get himself killed. 

“He’ll be fine.” Ramona led Nova over to a healer, who sat Nova down and immediately began addressing the injury, instructing her to unzip the top of her uniform and pull her arm out of the sleeve so they could get a better look. The pain from moving her arm was nothing compared to the fear pounding in her chest. “This is Adrian we’re talking about.”

“Can’t you go searching the water for him?” Nova begged, wincing slightly as the medic began roughly cleaning the wound. “If anyone can find him, it’s you.”

Ramona shook her head. “No can do, babe. Since you’re a dumbass and got yourself shot, I have to go give the briefing to the cleanup crew.” She began to walk away, but looked over her shoulder. “They’re already sending out people to look for him. He’ll show up, like he always does.”

Beside her, Adèle sat down. Benton crouched in front of her and took her free hand. 

“Someone’s upset over her boyfriend, is she not, mon ami?” Adèle shot a playful smile at Benton. Skies, Nova swore the two only got along when it was at her expense. 

“Oui, oui.” Benton grinned at Nova, who only glared back. “Oh, don’t give me that look, pouty pants. Ramona’s right. You’ve known your little boyfriend for years, and you’re trying to tell me that some water is going to take him out?”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Nova lied, as she had been doing smoothly for the past month. “I’m just...worried about him. As a friend should be. That was a hard fall.” 

“Why so uptight all of a sudden?” Benton frowned. “You’ve never been this upset over him before. You know he always bounces back.”

“Benton is right, Nova.” Adèle laid a hand on Nova’s good arm. It was rare for her to show her affectionate side. Nova must’ve looked as though she was in really bad shape. “What is bothering you?”

Nova sighed and looked down. She knew it was only right to tell them the truth. They were her best friends, after all. But...not yet. Especially when there was a healer still mending Nova’s arm. “I’ll tell you guys later, okay?”

They gave her space after that, assessing their own injuries and getting supplies from the healers. Nova was handed a pair of sweatpants and a loose cotton tank after she was patched up. The injury was already beginning to heal itself with the added prodigy assistance. She ducked behind a curtain set up in the little tent and changed out of her bloodied uniform. Mom wouldn’t be too happy about cleaning this one. 

Why did Adrian have to go and do that? Nova was terrified for him. What if he was still in the water, stuck somehow and drowning? What if the boat hit him when he fell in and knocked him out? Frankly, she was frustrated with him as well. He was always doing shit like that, trying to make himself out as the hero. But, as Simon liked to say, there was no ‘I’ in hero. Adrian had a team, dammit, and she wished he would work with them instead of against them. Nova would never understand that side of him. He wasn’t an attention seeker, not in the slightest, so it wasn’t because he wanted recognition. And besides, his parents were some of the most famous people in the world, debatably. Adrian already got enough attention as it was, and he had expressed many times before how uncomfortable it made him. Nova understood that, of course, having grown up in the spotlight alongside him as Ace Anarchy’s niece. 

When she stepped out onto the street to examine the damage done to the bride, a shriek cut through the air. Her eyes landed on Ruby, who was now in shorts and a tank top, a bandage around her thigh. The girl ran across the bridge and nearly tackled a familiar looking boy that was drenched from head to toe. The rest of his team followed, although at a light jog, embracing their leader. Nova’s mouth fell open, and she suddenly couldn’t help herself. 

Clenching her jaw shut, she stormed up to him. He had the audacity to grin at her, opening his arms for a hug as his teammates stepped back to let her through. Instead, she shoved his chest. He fell back a little, probably more from the shock of her reaction than the impact. 

“You fucking idiot,” she said between her teeth. “What made you think it was smart to do that?”

“Nova,” he reached for her arm, but she stepped back, “I thought I could catch them, but I was wrong, okay?”

“You could’ve died.” Nova didn’t notice that they were starting to get looks from the prodigies and newscasters and journalists. “And for nothing. What if you drowned?”

“I can swim.” He took on a light hearted tone, as though the conversation was a joke. But it quickly dissipated, a softer voice replacing it, meant just for Nova. “Babe, I’m fine, okay? Only a few cuts and bruises.”

“Don’t call me that,” she muttered, getting closer to him again until their shoes were practically touching. Her head craned up to look at him. She sent every atom of her anger in his direction through her piercing eyes. “You’re an idiot, Adrian Everhart. Do that again and...and I’ll-”

“What?” he interrupted, tilting his head to the side. “You’ll do what?”

Damn her emotions. 

She jumped up, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down to her height. His hands immediately went to her back as she hugged him tightly, burying her face in his neck. “I’m just glad you’re safe. Please don’t scare me like that again.”

He pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder, pulling her closer. “I won’t. I promise.”

Nova wanted to scold him on his stupidity more, and how he left his team behind, but she knew this wasn’t the time or place. She drew back enough to see his face. Her hand trailed over a cut on his cheek, another on his temple. He was dripping with water still. She tilted her head up, inviting his lips to come down onto hers. A warm feeling draped over her, as it always did when they kissed. It didn’t matter that they had done quite a bit of kissing in the month they had been together; every time his lips were on hers, it was like the first time. 

She sighed against him, allowing him to deepen the kiss. Her hand curled at the nape of his neck. She wanted him to know how much he worried her, how much he angered her, and how much she cared for him in this kiss. 

He broke away first, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against hers. For a moment, Nova let herself forget about his impulsiveness and just enjoy being in his arms. And then the moment ended with an awkward cough from her right. 

His team was staring at them with open mouths, along with nearly every person on that bridge. Nova’s cheeks brightened. Well, that was one way to announce they were a couple. She had been so caught up in her emotions and Adrian that she had literally forgotten where she was. Adrian seemed to have forgotten as well, based on the sheepish yet unashamed smile on his face.

“Told you,” Danna muttered, shouldering Oscar. “Pay up.” 

Adrian sighed loudly and took Nova’s hand as he pulled away from their embrace. He squeezed her palm. “This one’s going to be fun to explain, huh?”

Nova could only look around as people began going back to work. The press were only louder now than before, shouting at the two of them and taking pictures. Her team was headed over in their direction, the most stunned looks on their faces. Had the circumstances been different, their expressions would have almost been funny.

“Yeah. Real fun.”

[somedaywithflyingcolors]

Tymee Thoughts Tuesday #1

February 25, 2020

1. EDSA Revolution and Imelda Marcos

Today, the Filipino people celebrates the 34th year  that we were able to overthrow a dictator, Ferdinand Marcos through collective action. And this was not a single dictatorship, it was conjugal. Ferdinand Marcos ruled hand in hand with her wife, Imelda Romualdez Marcos. The “beautiful” and extravagant Imelda.

Under the Marcos Regime, they were able to stay in power for as long as 21 years. They declared Martial Law which lasted a good eight years with the excuse of extinguishing rising communist threats (exaggerated to extend and increase their power). During the regime, 70,000 were jailed as political prisoners. 35,000 were tortured. Almost 3,000 were killed. Human rights were violated.

Luckily, this week, I have had the chance to watch two documentaries featuring the iconic First Lady. Ramona Diaz’ Imelda (2003) and Lauren Greenfield’s The Kingmaker (2019). 

While Ferdinand Marcos seems to be very predictable and lawyerly-like, Imelda, with her beauty, wits, and charm, is very spontaneous. The narcissistic woman and her edifice complex seems to make her appear someone not to be taken seriously. This was all part of the act. The 3,000 pairs of shoes, the lavish dresses, the terno, the hair, it was part of her brand. She wants to appear as someone laughable but she does that with the intent to manipulate us.

In the Ramona Diaz documentary, she goes on explaining her absurd theories of life from apple to apple and here obsession with beauty as part of the Circle of Life -- how beauty is love applied. It was funny at first and would make you believe that she needs psychological help (fun fact: in the kingmaker it was revealed that she was actually brought in a psychological hospital in New York where the doctor aid that she’s okay, she just could not take politics, so Ferdinand said that he will give up politics for her, which obviously didn’t happen, but after that incident, Imelda is a new person). Afterwards, it starts becoming horrifying.

This quote from the documentary reveals how out of touch Imelda was with the reality of the situation. Truly, the best villains in a story are those that think they're the hero.

Let’s now jump to the Kingmaker!!! This one talks more about the rise authoritarianism, how the Marcoses are going back power. It acknowledges that Imelda is an unreliable narrator but is a very instinctive and powerful political animal.

A great point that hits home is when a footage jumped on the kids in a high school asking what their thoughts were on martial law. All they said were positive (but untrue) accounts of the Marcos regime. The history was revised. The memory of tortured heroes, forgotten. The children had a Utopian view of the Martial Law Era, seeing it as a time of economic progress and discipline, when it fact it is very far from the truth.

That said, it show the importance of writing our histories, sharing them with the world, because with the rise of authoritarianism, the strong-man narrative of Rodrigo Duterte (our current president), one the only ways that we do not fall to the same mistakes of history is to study it, remember it, and learn from it. It is scary to imagine another Martial Law, but seeing the political climate now, the future is not very far. We need to educate more, be vigilant. Hold our line and contribute in our nation-building. Contribute in defending our freedom.

 Another feature of the film that I didn’t know before was how Imelda displaced 254 families, a community in Calauit, an inhabited island, just to house the animals coming from Kenya. Now, the safari and its animals, with no budget, no veterinarians, are suffering. The community in there were suffering as well. This is a metaphor for the Regime’s way of using their power as well as their priorities once in power.

Some key takeaways:

- The EDSA Revolution was not bloodless. The revolution began 14 years ago. Saying that it is peaceful and bloodless disregards the unsung heroes that were killed in the process.

- The Filipinos are very forgiving. What we Filipinos should learn is that while we can forgive, it is also important that we hold those that wronged us accountable. It is almost unthinkable how a family of someone that plundered an estimate of half a trillion peso can still return to power.

- As much we can, we must also continue to speak of the people that were against this dictatorship as someone to emulate. One person from the panel said that for every time we are angry and mention the Marcoses name, we must spread the names of the people who toppled the dictatorship ten times so as to have someone to emulate and be known. People like Edgar Jopson, Archimedes Trajano, Primitivo Mijares, Pete Lacaba, Emmanuel Lacaba, Lorena Barros. They are the heroes that need to be broadcasted more in this narrative. Less of the narcissism of Imelda and more of the injustice and violations of democracies during that time.

-Duterte and Marcos are experts of the Filipino Psychology. While we academics tend to be very rational and logical, these politicians know how to tickle the minds of the Filipinos to allure them into believing that they are someone that they could trust. Now, they not only use the media. They also use weaponize the Internet in a way that would benefit their narrative. Their propaganda continues with all the lies and the fake news.

Sorry this was mostly me talking about Imelda and their injustices during their time in power. I still have so many words and I really can’t help but be outraged. It was just so outrageous to think that (1) they are slowly going back in power, (2) they have no remorse nor guilt over what they did, (3) they have single (double??)handedly affected the influenced major key factors of today’s time, mostly relating to the economic status of the country.

ANYWAY, here are some of the other thoughts that have passed through and plagued my mind through the week!!

2. Valentines Day Podcasts

Because it is still February, go on and check some of the cool podcasts about it!

Here’s Usapang Econ Podcast that discusses the economics of love and valentines!! (In Filipino, sorry international audience :( ) 

And this episode of Debatable by Nina and Kyle that discussed some debate motions about love and valentines. I really enjoyed their chaotic energy there. I ship the two too, so that’s a plus! (Seriously Kyle, why would you leave Nina hanging on your Valentines Dinner for a Bumble Date??)

3. You will be judged not by what you do but by what you did not do. Some musing on where best to spend my time.

I have been thinking about the organizations that I need to join and the things I need to do to be able to land a good job once I graduate. I want to do an internship. In the my course, an internship is voluntary. In the Philippines, unlike in the US or other Western Countries, becoming an Intern just because you want exposure on something is not the fad. Internships are a mandatory thing needed before you graduate. However, I don’t want to just go with the flow.  I want to gain real life experience on real things, especially on the work that I am most interested in. This was triggered by this Rappler Article regarding internship, wherein, apparently, aside from a CV, I also need to pin a portfolio of a work that I’ve done. I am beginning to become convinced that for me to land a good job someday, I need to begin looking for connections related to the job that I want to do. A thick CV won’t cut it. I want to maximize my skills and opportunities here in college while I still can.

Tomorrow, I will be awarded as one of the University Scholars of my University. It can be assumed that I am a good student, I get good grades, pass my work on time. But am I really limited just by the grades that I earned inside the classroom? Should I rush into looking for a workplace or should I just continue doing the things that I’m currently doing (because it seems to be working). Should I dare to be more than what I am now?

Because that entails sacrifice. It may mean less time for family, less sleep, less time for myself. God knows how much I value my time alone. But God also knows how much time I waste for resting and sanity breaks (a little bit too much break tbh). Another fear that I have is going against the harmonious relationship that I think I have now with my family. Saying that I want to do an Internship, which is not included in the curriculum, may raise some eyebrows from the people in my family. I think I need more courage to explain to them the value of doing such things. I remember a saying that I don’t know where I remember from (maybe in the Bible, but I can’t find it): You are judged not by the good that you do, but by the good that you choose not to do. What am I not doing? How can I be better?