#i was gonna wait to post this at a reasonable time but yknow what. tosses this onto the dash

[roetrolls]

I don’t think a person’s therapist is where you’re supposed to send flowers to them 🤔

[honeyblockm]

Stagnant au … *grabby hands* gimme more … sounds so cool …

sdkfjk i think this is abt tangent au? anyways pulls out a chair before we get started im going to talk for 2 hours about elektra natchios bc i promise it's relevant /j

i'm not sure when or if i will end up writing this as an actual fic and in which case everything i say will probably be spoilers but fuck it i don't believe in spoilers anyways

ok i mean there's a lot. that i could say but yknow what i'll elaborate more on the lmanberg story. it's. well ok at the barebones it's a year one for tangent!Wilbur Soot.

the backstory (that wilbur himself does not remember) is that he's Philza (prominent superhero in Aether City) son and like 5(?) years ago he was killed getting caught up in a supervillain plot. got completely blown up. Also Phil is a nonhuman entity- an angel by earth terms, but technically the High Host are an alien race (like the New Gods of DC). Phil came to Earth and eventually had Wilbur, who inherited most of but not all of his father's non-human traits. So. Yeah. Aliens.

And then he got resurrected in L'Manberg by Dream for yet to be revealed reasons

Wilbur chose the last name "Soot" for himself post-resurrection because the smoke and ash from the explosion that killed him is one of the only thing he remembers.

The rest of the current main cast of wilbur's year one / lmanberg arc is: Fundy, Tubbo, Quackity, and Schlatt.

Fundy is. Okay wait I wrote out bios for everyone in my notebook. Junior in high school, STEM kid, he's family friends with the Nihachu's and way way back when he was smaller Niki used to be his babysitter and then when he got older Niki was his friend and now Niki's at college but he still hangs out at the Nihachus' bakery where he meets Wilbur. he doesn't have a ton of friends outside of Tubbo and 5up on the robotics club. Hbomb too but H is also at college now. (rip). He lives with his mom, Sally, who is an ecologist and very busy but we don't fault her for that she's doing her best.

Schlatt is the leader of the biggest criminal faction of L'Manberg's underground. He's a powerful dude, with a lot of reach. Even in the city government. I think he gets a scary epithet but i haven't thought of it yet. He's got a plan to gain complete control of the city by creating a force of superpowered agents by activating dormant metahuman genes in regular people. That's. uh. blatantly ripped off from Young Justice but shhhh you don't know that haha. anyways i was gonna name the project Project Cadmus as a mythological reference but Cadmus is a DC thing of course it is so the current candidates are MYRMIDON, LYDIA, COLCHIS, or SPARTAE.

Tubbo and Quackity aren't as backstory heavy but they do have a lot to do when the plot ball starts rolling. Tubbo's a high school senior and Quackity's a law student who's back in L'Manberg for an internship with the city courts. Q walks in on the wrong thing at the wrong time and gets promptly disappeared. cough he may as well be dead as fuck and forcibly receives superpowers via the COLCHIS (name pending) program. Anyways both the nature of his superpower and all the trauma fucks Q up rlly bad and he becomes Chimera, a villain(not really?) with the power to take on the characteristics and capabilities of others except integration is painful and Q loses a bit of himself each time and his power always kills the other guy. and he struggles to control which aspects he takes.

yknow what it's kind of like elektra/the black sky in the defenders tv show. sorry that its becoming increasingly clear that i just tossed a bunch of cool things i liked into a blender to make this au. anyways q is set up to parallel wilbur in the respect that theyre both struggling to grasp their identity after post literal or metaphorical death and resurrection.

meanwhile Tubbo is understandably incredibly upset that his brother is gone and possibly dead? what? no he's not dead he can't be dead. he searches for Q really hard and ends up uncovering a lot about COLCHIS and Schlatt.

[charlieiscoping]

tendou x reader // getting out of bed

your depression is hitting you a little harder than normal. simple things like getting out of bed is starting to get harder and harder. luckily your best friend (and crush) tendou starts to notice.

tendou comfort post <3 

TW: depression

your alarm starts to go off, and pealing your eyes open, you turn it off. it’s been getting harder and harder for you to get out of bed and this morning is no exception. you either turn and dose back to sleep, or you lay on your back and stare at the ceiling. today, you do the latter.

about an hour goes by. it amazes you that time goes by so fast when your head is filled with no thoughts. you can’t bring yourself to think. you sigh as you hear knocking on your door. your first thought is that your mom is coming in to check on you.

“come in” you let out. the door opens and a far too familiar voice starts speaking.

“[Y/N]? are you still in bed?” 

“tendou? what are you doing here?” you sit up instantly realizing how bad this looks because you only have-

“30 minutes. we are supposed to leave in 30 minutes and you’re still in bed?” he enters and sets his backpack on the floor. you and him have lived in the same apartment building all your lives. that’s how you two became friends. he feels so... natural to you. you have never once felt uncomfortable with him. it sometimes makes you question yourself because tendou is not the most normal dude with his almost creepy mannerism. you know that’s mostly a show, however, because when it is just you two, he is the most gentle and caring person you know.

“well- i- i don’t know. i just can’t get up” you admit. he sighs and walks over to your bed. you instinctively move over so he can sit on the edge. his red hair is messier and spikier than ever. you giggle to yourself before you extend your arm out and run your fingers through his mane in order to calm it some. he accepts your gesture but looks down at his lap.

“i’ve noticed that you’ve been a little distant recently. you only seem to smile for ushy gushy” that wide smile spreads across his face. you giggle and push his shoulder. ushijima, tendou, and you complete the ultimate trio of shiratorizawa. “ushy gushy” became ushijima’s nickname in the school after he buffed up this past summer. you used to have a massive crush on ushijima but that has sense shifted to the boy sitting on your bed right now.

“you know he’ll hate you if he learns that you call him that. he hates that nickname” you laugh, scooting closer to tendou, you lay your head on his shoulder. tendou may come off as a slender man type, but he is actually a very warm and soft person. you appreciate it on days when the only thing you can seem to do is rest against him.

“yeah well that’s his problem” he rests his head on yours and two just sit for a couple of seconds before he says “come on, you need to get up.”

you feel the warmth leave you as he stands up and reaches his hand out for you to grab, which you accept gladly. once you’re on your feet, he puts an arm around you and leads you to your closet. you reach his mid chest in height so he has to lean down to reach your eye line as you guys stare into the mass of clothes hanging in no particular order. 

“now let’s see here...” he says as you soak up his smell, “what to wear.. what to wear..” you give an exaggerated sigh as you reach for your school uniform. 

“you think you’re so funny don’t you” you smirk at him. he gives his villain laugh and nods his head at you.

“now while you get dressed, i’ll go make you some food quick before we leave” he reaches down and tosses his backpack over his shoulder and heads towards your bedroom door. 

before he reaches it, you say “wait- why did you come to my apartment early?”

he turns and looks at you, those menacing eyes shift to a look of concern. he meets your eyes before replying with “well i called your mom to yknow.. see if you were awake. when she said no, i came over.” your heart sinks. he truly is worried about you. 

you can feel your eyes star to water, “i’m sorry”, you manage to get out. he instantly drops his bag back on the ground and makes his way over to you. you feel his arms meet the small of your back before snaking their way around your body. you are now engulfed in the smell of your childhood best friend and now current crush. you let the tears start fall and wrap yourself around him.

“oh [Y/N] you don’t need to apologize. it’s that head of yours causing all of this. you know i understand how it feels” and he’s right. you know his past, his struggles, and why he acts the way he does.

you squeeze him once before you pull away to meet his eyes. when he looks at you, you have the strongest urge to kiss him. you two stand there, arms wrapped around each other, your head at his chest, his head bent down to face yours, something rises within you.

without second thought, you go on your tiptoes to let your mouths meet. you feel a slight hesitation before he gives as much you are. you feel his hand move up to your cheek and hold your face to his. 

when you two pull apart, the famous smirk spreads across his face, “now what kind of way is that to treat your childhood best friend?” that cynical bastard.

you pull away and scoff but before your hands leave his side, he’s pulling you back in for another kiss. as soon as he is on you, he is off you. bag on shoulder, he heads towards the door smirking.

“i’ll go make you food” and then he’s gone. that cynical bastard.

you smile to yourself. perhaps you now have a reason to get out of bed in the morning now. 

========================================================

this is my first post :o

so hello! my name is charlie and i am gonna use this account to write little shorts like this with my fav anime characters to help cope with my mental illness. something you just need a good 2d man to give you a hug yknow??

lmao anyways.. thanks for reading i guess :)

-charlie 

[fletchphoenix]

I Wish I Were Heather

Hello! Another varigo fanfiction! And it’s a songfic too ( Heather - Conan Gray). I’m kinda nervous to post this one because its got the first ever kiss scene I’ve written in it and I didn’t have time to edit it, sadly. But here!

Also can I just say I’m really grateful for the reception of my first one? Thank you so so much! 

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

  Once you get to know him, Hugo isn’t so bad. At least that’s what Varian thinks. He knows there would be countless protests from Nuru about how “people like him never change” and that “he’s just conning us” but...Varian neglected to believe them. He trusted Hugo more than anything, especially after the blonde saved him during the trial in the Earth kingdom. 

  He should have listened to Nuru’s concerns. “It’s not safe.” she’d said. “There’s another way round, this way just isn’t safe!”, but he ignorantly brushed her worries aside. After all, the totem was right there. If he could just reach out and-

  He felt himself stumble forward. His feet lost their grip on the floor. Falling. Once solid ground had seemingly disappeared from under him and he began his descent. Gloved hands reached out desperately for something, anything, to hold onto. And they found something.

  Hugo’s worried face stared back at him, a previously unseen determination in his eyes as he gripped onto Varian’s arms with urgency and pulled him up as fast as he could. Varian steadied himself to stand on the platform after the ordeal. “That was close-” he began to say before his words were cut short. He was pulled into a tight embrace by Hugo, who was still unresponsive. It ended as quickly as it was initiated (much to Varian’s disappointment) as the older teen stood up and extended his arm, grabbing the totem and wordlessly turning away to leave. 

  Yong ran into his arms and held onto him, a steady flow of tears trailing down his cheeks as he gripped to Varian’s shirt so tightly as if he thought he’d magically disappear if he let go. He prepared himself for a scolding as Nuru made her way over, however all he received was a tight embrace from the princess. All he could focus on, however, was his saviour. Hugo looked down at him and gave a small reassuring smile. It was so much different from his usual smiles...it felt softer. With more meaning. Affectionate. Hugo then turned away, and Varian could feel his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. 

  “Okay, time to go. Hopefully goggles won’t decide to have another near death experience on the way to Lunaris.” The blonde called out smugly, heading to the exit of the trial. Huh. So back to normal it was, then. The others seemed to agree too, all breaking their embrace and following behind the older teen.

  “Hey Nuru, are we gonna be there soon?” Yong complained from the back of Prometheus, Ruddiger curled up in his lap asleep. He usually rode on Prometheus with the others on foot, constantly complaining about his legs hurting or ankles hurting..not that it bothered anyone, of course. He was a joy to have around - always working on his fireworks and assisting Varian with his projects. Full of wonder and excitement. Just like he was before...well, everything.

  “Yes Yong, we’ll be there in a few minutes!” the princess replied from where she was leading the group. Nuru, in many ways, was an extremely valuable member to their team, acting as the navigator and the diplomat to them. The only downside was she wasn’t too trusting, specifically of..

  “Finally. You have no idea how much my legs are killing!” Hugo’s voice rang through his ears as he began to walk forward. Ah yes. Hugo. He was certainly a...character. Sure, he was rude, sarcastic and generally saw people as a way to get what he wants, but something about him made Varian feel all bubbly and flustered. It wasn’t that he was ugly either, with his undercut and sharp features and beautiful, emerald eyes...

  “Earth to Hairstripe?” Hugo called out, waving a hand in front of his face. Varian flinched backwards with his face reddening and heating up upon realising he was staring. “Damn, get someone to paint a portrait of me. It’ll last longer and be marginally less creepy.” The blonde laughed, a wide smirk on his face. Yet again, Varian felt his face heat up (but from anger! DEFINITELY not from embarrassment!) and he rolled his eyes. “You wish I was staring at you. Cmon, let's just go.” He mumbled and picked up his pace, trying to distance himself from Hugo.

  Within 10 minutes, they were in the city. Streets were bustling with carts set up akin to a makeshift market, with people weaving in and out of the streets. Children ran and played amongst themselves, Yong looking down on them from Prometheus’ back and desperate to join them. As they ventured further into the city, the number of people died out and allowed them a moment of silence amongst the chaos they’d arrived at. Varian tied up Prometheus in the town’s stables, setting down some apples for him to eat, with Ruddiger crawling onto his shoulders as they headed to the inn where the others were waiting.

  What he was greeted with was...surprising to say the least.

  Leaning against the counter was Hugo, seemingly small talking to a raven haired girl standing behind a counter. Her blue eyes shut and her head tilted back as she laughed at whatever he’d just said, a smile creeping onto the blonde’s face. Anger bubbled at the bottom of his stomach as he made his way over to the pair, a frown covering his features. Who even was this girl? 

  “Ah, goggles. Pleasure to finally see you show up.” Hugo started, smirking down at Varian. Varian raised his eyebrow and gestured to the girl on the other side of the counter. “This is Heather. She’s the owner of this fine establishment, and she’s invited us for a tour of town AND to see the fireworks celebrating the king’s birthday with her tomorrow. Amazing, right?” the other finished, resting his hand on top of Heather’s gently. 

  Heather nodded quickly and intertwined her fingers with Hugo’s. Varian bit the inside of his cheek, cringing at the metallic taste of blood quickly filling his mouth. “Oh yeah, definitely. Sounds..perfect.” he muttered before heading back over to sit with Nuru and Yong. As the two younger teens chattered, his gaze met Hugo and Heather again. They looked so happy..just those two talking. Hugo threw his head back in laughter and Varian felt his heart soar, but drop immediately after. It wasn’t fair. Why couldn’t he make Hugo react like that? Wait-why was he even feeling this way? What even WAS this feeling? 

  Varian groaned and stood up. “I’m going to my room.” he declared, taking his key from Nuru before she could protest and making his way past the seating area in the tavern to the dark oak stairs. Trekking up them, he walked down the hall to his room and immediately after unlocking it, he flopped back onto his bed. What was happening to him? Why was he so upset? Hugo was happy, and he should be too, so why did it feel like he was dying?

  His mind drifted to Hugo and Heather. He had no reason to hate her - for all he knew, she’d done nothing wrong at all. He pulled a pillow close to his chest and curled up slightly, hugging it as tight as he could. Heather...she was beautiful. More beautiful than he was handsome. The kind of beautiful that only came about in a lifetime. Hugo deserved someone like her - someone just as beautiful as he was. Wait- since when did he think Hugo was beautiful? Varian shoved his face into the pillow and screamed into it in frustration and anger. When did he even think like this? 

  “I’m staying. This is my family. I want to stay here.” he’d addressed the group in the living room of his cousin’s shack as they all prepared to depart and begin to head to Lunaris. His uncle placed a hand on his shoulder, a slight smile on his face. But of course Hugo was the first to speak up.

  “Really, Varian? You’re just gonna toss us aside like we don’t matter? What about your mother? Does that not matter to you either?” He spat, his anger and betrayal obvious on his face, his voice echoing off the thin, wooden walls. “After everything we’ve all done, you’re just leaving us? Yknow what- forget it. Yong, Nuru. Cmon. We have some trials to finish. Unlike some.” he added spitefully, turning on his heel and heading out of the door. 

  “What about us? Aren’t we your family?” Nuru asked, searching his eyes for something he couldn’t quite understand before she sighed and nodded, taking Yong’s hand. “I see how it is. Goodbye Varian.” she sighed and followed in Hugo’s footsteps, leaving the shack and pulling Yong along beside her.

  He didn’t understand. He was with his family again. He could be happy. He belonged here. Why did he feel so empty? So alone? He finally found somewhere that appreciated and needed his skills so why did he feel more isolated and hurt than ever? His uncle’s voice broke his thoughts and he turned his head to look at him. 

  “You don’t have to choose. We’re always going to be here when you get back. But those friends of yours? You can tell that they love you. As much as they don’t want to admit it, they need you there with you. Whatever you choose, we’ll support you but..we’re always going to be here.” 

  Varian’s eyebrows furrowed in thought, at war with himself. Hugo’s face wouldn’t leave his mind - looking as though Varian had stabbed him and proceeded to twist the knife. It didn’t look right for Hugo to be sad. He was too beautiful to be sad. Nuru and Yong’s reaction didn’t make it any easier either...Varian paused for a second before making his final decision. Hastily, he picked his bag up from the floor along with Ruddiger, pausing only to look up at his uncle. “I’ll come back soon. I promise.” He swore, smiling and running across the creaking floor to the crunching dirt outside. If he ran fast enough, he could catch up with the others. Hopefully they’d let him join them again. He prayed they would. 

  Ah. So that’s when. Varian groaned and shoved the pillow back into its original place on the bed, his eyes fixated on the ceiling in silence. Stupid Hugo making him feel stupid feelings towards him. It wasn’t fair. An exhausted sigh left his lips as he lay back on the bed. Maybe it’d be different tomorrow? 

  Tomorrow, as it turns out, was not different. At all.

  Their tour started off fun - Heather showing them landmarks in the city and talking about the history of the town. Varian tried to pay attention, he really did, but it was a strenuous task when all he could focus on was the way Hugo’s arm was around her. How he laughed when she made a joke and added the occasional quip here and there. It was a beautiful display to any outside, but to Varian…

It was suffocating.

  It continued like that throughout the day. Hugo and Heather being all lovey-dovey while Varian felt himself slowly dying. She really did have him mesmerised, didn’t she? Another laugh sounded out from her, as he glanced over in their direction. “Hey, how about we go watch the fireworks?” Heather questioned, the others agreeing in unison. Slowly, they began the journey to Lachlan’s Hill.

The hill in question was on the outskirts of town, but it was apparently the best place to watch the fireworks from according to Heather. In all fairness, the view was stunning. The whole town was illuminated by lanterns and street lights. All he could focus on was the way Hugo and Heather cuddled and stayed close to each other, preparing for the fireworks display. It hurt Varian to no end. He let out another sigh, tears welling in his eyes as Hugo wrapped his jacket around her. 

  That was the final straw.

  Varian stood up, tears now rolling down his cheeks as he grabbed his things and stormed away. He didn’t bother to pay attention as the others told him to come back. He just wanted to go home. He couldn’t sit there and watch it anymore. He didn’t understand. It’s just polyester, he kept repeating to himself. It’s just polyester so why are you so upset? He slumped down by a tree, sliding to the floor with his back pressed against it. Only then did he let himself truly cry. 

  “Okay, what’s going on in that head of yours?” Hugo’s voice asked, low and dripping with concern as he sat beside the raven haired boy on the floor. Varian couldn’t even bring himself to look at the blonde, tears still running down his cheeks. “Varian please, talk to me-”

  “Don’t you see what you’re doing to me, Hugo? How much it’s killing me to see you and her together?” He finally yelled out, interrupting the blonde mid-sentence. “My god, Hugo! To see her laughing and smiling with your arm around her and not a care in the world..it hurts! Seeing you two together feels like a- a stab to the gut! And it sucks because I can’t even hate her! She’s too perfect! She’s everything you deserve, because even though you’re a fucking asshole most of the time, you deserve the best girl in the world!” 

  “Varian-” Hugo tried to interject, but he kept on going. Days of pent up jealousy and anger rearing its ugly head.

“I see why as well! I see why you love her so much and why she loves you so much! She’s so much prettier than me. I don’t even see why you’d ever kiss me, because I’m not even half as beautiful as she is. I just- I WISH I WERE HEATHER!” He yelled out in Hugo’s face, finishing his rambling. 

  Hugo and Varian sat in a shocked silence, their eyes locked before Hugo reached out and intertwined their fingers silently. Gently, he pulled Varian closer to him and raised his hand to his lips before pressing a kiss to his knuckles gently. “I wish you were Heather too.” he whispered under his breath as Varian stared at him with wide eyes. 

  “I..what?” Varian questioned, moving closer to Hugo with his eyes still fixated on the taller male. He was lost for words - how could Hugo feel the same as he did? It just-didn’t make any sense to him at all. He let himself be pulled closer still by Hugo, their chests flush against each other as they looked into each other’s eyes again in silence. Hugo hesitantly broke the silence.

  “I love you, Varian. I really do, but I didn’t think you’d like me back. So I met Heather and she just...she reminded me so much of you. The black hair, blue eyes...tiny build-” He laughed slightly as Varian punched his arm. “What I mean to say is...I was trying to pretend that she was you this whole time. And that I love you.” 

  “I love you too, Hugo.” Varian said with a wide smile, tilting his chin up with his tears stopping. Hugo gently tilted Varian’s chin up, leaning in quietly. Finally their lips met and....nothing Varian had ever experienced could come close to the sensation. They moved against each other like it was just meant to be, in sync and in harmony. Hugo’s hand snaked around his waist as Varian’s arms wrapped around his neck slowly to pull each of them even closer than they were before.

  Eventually, Hugo broke the kiss to take in a breath. “Well, hairstripe. How about we head back and watch the fireworks?” He held out his hand, which he graciously took and let Hugo guide him back to the blanket. After taking a seat on the blanket they’d laid out prior, Hugo put his arm around Varian and pulled him closer. 

  And for the first time in forever...Varian was content to live in the moment.

[bigskydreaming]

LOL so I’m gonna say something that a lot of people are gonna HATE, because of what it does to the usually preferred canons or headcanons of how Dick goes to live with Bruce after his parents die.

But there is one more reason that I prefer the juvie origin for Dick, beyond what I’ve said in the past, and its that....

There is no possible way for Dick to go straight to living with a single billionaire in his early twenties RIGHT after his parents died, or even just a week or two after that....unless Bruce abused the FUCK out of the system himself, in order to get Dick in his house.

And I don’t see any reason why Bruce would go to the lengths of bribes or calling in ‘favors’ that would be needed to expedite the OBSCENE amount of bureaucratic red tape he would need to navigate before any judge would let him become a minor’s sole guardian - especially considering he undoubtedly had no paperwork or had undergone any of the interviews or visitations or hoops demanded of prospective foster parents BEFORE they take in their first kid....

Unless he really truly had reason to believe that every viable alternative to him greasing the wheels like he HAD to have, in order to get Dick there with any kind of swiftness.....like, I honestly don’t see a mid-twenties Bruce Wayne, with his myriad of issues and his own self-image, honestly thinking that he’s SUCH a better candidate for taking care of this traumatized eight year old kid that he’s going to cut any corner he possibly can to speed up the process....unless he was utterly convinced the alternatives were so much worse.

Like say, if he found out that the system had decided the best thing for Dick was to be tossed into juvie.

I mean....the process for fostering a kid, becoming a legal guardian, ANY which way you go about that....its not as simple as just, signing a few papers. No matter WHO you are, UNLESS you leverage that ‘who you are’ bit to get people to step on the gas to a degree far beyond anything they’re supposed to allow. 

It takes TIME. 

And even in scenarios wherein Bruce takes Dick in as a kind of witness protection while Zucco is on the loose - first off, that’s far more unrealistic than even the juvie take because like....the police HAVE protocols for that sort of thing. They don’t just hand over a kid to the first civilian who steps up and volunteers.

Honestly, the canons and headcanons where Bruce just ‘arranges’ for Dick to come stay with him almost immediately after his parents’ murder....like, they honestly skeeve me even more than the juvie thing, because of how matter of fact people are about it? Y’know? Like nobody seems to see anything wrong with the idea that a billionaire just, with zero prior experience or qualifications just says “oh I’ll take this boy home with me” and everybody goes “yes sir, well you’re a billionaire so if you want him, you got him,” like....it treats Dick like a toy. That’s not how things work, and its not how things SHOULD work....and most importantly IMO, I can’t fathom Bruce thinking that he’s the best option for Dick to such a degree that he’d break all the rules in order to get custody that fast. For that matter, if he really could arrange all that, in spite of the way the process is supposed to go, then shouldn’t it beg the question “why couldn’t Bruce pull similar strings to ensure Dick could stay with the circus, the people there who clearly loved him and wanted him to stay?”

And honestly, I kinda feel like the way people have reduced that whole process to the shorthand of “well Bruce is the good guy and we know with the benefit of hindsight that he’s Dick’s dad in every way that counts, so of course Dick has to end up living with him, so why NOT quicken the process to just a few days”....like, I feel like that actually contributes a lot, albeit unintentionally, to this tendency to take Dick for granted both in universe and out of universe, because it lends this air of like...’only the destination matters, the end result.’ Which is usually how Dick gets screwed in most cases....because people only ever look at the end result of his stories, the last position he ends up with...and completely fail to consider any of the steps in between that happened along the way, and all the things that might have happened alongside each of those steps, that lends important context to his final position in a given story.

Like this idea that well Dick has to end up with Bruce, that’s the part that matters, so its not really all that important how or why.....I feel like that really has a lot to do with how it so often gets just accepted at face value that Dick’s the one in the wrong for keeping his distance from Bruce at later points in life, or for leaving the manor, or for digging in his heels with stuff....because it all loops back into this mindset that “everyone knows Bruce loves Dick, the best place for Dick is in the manor with Bruce, ergo, everything else - like how he comes to live with Bruce or his reasons for storming out of the manor - are semantics, irrelevant details, etc.”

Except...they’re not.

And so again, as an example like....you can’t really just cut out the entire process of Dick coming to live with Bruce...because it really, truly, EXTREMELY doesn’t make SENSE for Bruce to get custody that fast without having SOME kind of leverage.....and it similarly doesn’t make SENSE for him to think he’s so clearly the most qualified person to take in this traumatized kid (no matter how much he empathized with him), that he would circumvent the system he USUALLY is so militaristic about upholding as much as he possibly can, while still being a vigilante. And that last bit sure doesn’t feel in character for Bruce, from that particular angle.

UNLESS.

Unless he’d discovered the system had MASSIVELY FUCKED UP with Dick, and he no longer trusted it with him whatsoever....and so THEN he took matters into his own hands, and did whatever necessary to get custody of Dick ASAP - realistically helped along by the MASSIVE leverage Bruce would have had at his disposal if he threatened to publicize what they’d done to this eight year old orphan.

THAT, to me, feels far more realistic, and far more in character for Bruce....and it at no point takes for granted any of Dick’s own personal journey along the way, or renders it irrelevant or an unnecessary detail.

Idk, maybe its just me, but I’ve always been super uncomfortable with the level of detail fandom puts into fleshing out Jason and Tim’s backstories (and with precedent established by his taking in Dick, any of his later kids would have had very expedited custody arrangements....but that makes it MORE likely that the FIRST kid and the process of gaining custody of him would include hoops that later kids’ stories wouldn’t), while at the same time, hollowing out Dick’s origin story to a barebones outline of ‘well his parents died and then this and this happened and then he lived with Bruce and became Robin and happily ever after until he hit his teenage years and developed an attitude problem.’

Like, there’s just something very....unsettling about how much fandom has romanticized the idea that this billionaire with a quite frankly TERRIBLE public reputation, like this is a guy who has DEDICATED himself to appearing totally irresponsible as far as the rest of the world can tell.....and just....being like ‘oh hey, no big deal about this guy of all guys just being like hey I see you have an eight year old orphan there, howzabout I take him off your hands for you’...and fandom’s like....swoon. Y’know? I mean yes, WE know Bruce is a superhero, WE know that years of cute Batman and Robin and father and son bonding would lie ahead of those two after that.....but...ANY scenario in which Gotham is like....yeah we see no problems with just letting Brucie Wayne take a traumatized orphan home to live in his big old manor with him....like..yeah. 

I mean, even as I’m typing this out, I’m thinking that yeah, there is something to be said for streamlining the process in the name of escapism, so that there’s a smoother, easier transition for this poor kid and he doesn’t have to go through so much.....BUT like at the same time, its one thing when we’re talking cute fluff stories and others when the angst is clearly a focal point of the story and yet the story STILL romanticizes this....Daddy Warbucks swoops in to save little Orphan Annie and like, this is definitively treated as like....nobody should be raising objections to this or being like wait a second....

Because the latter feels less like its being done in the name of escapism and more, like....in that sense I was talking about where it all loops back to how often Dick gets reduced to a prop within his own narratives like...things happen because they HAVE to happen, not because like....he’s a person going through things that inform the choices he makes and the things that happen from there, yknow?

Or maybe its one of those things where its like....I feel like that story is one that’s meant for a different time, at this point? Like, there WAS a time when the billionaire swooping in to take the poor orphan off to live in a manor was the kind of escapism people were looking for, but we do live in a different time now where I think most of us would agree like...wait, a decision that big deserves more than being treated like the billionaire just stops in to shop around for an orphan to accessorize with, kinda?

Idk, I feel like I’m not explaining this well, the precise reasons this disturbs me so much, which is why I’ve never posted about this particular angle before, but its been on my mind a lot lately, so maybe it makes more sense than I think it does here? LOL.

*Shrugs* Idk, I just honestly do feel in the long run and in the big picture, Dick’s personhood is ironically better preserved in the scenario where he was definitively stripped of it by an uncaring system and thrown into the last place he should’ve been....with Bruce then, upon discovering this, moving heaven and hell to see that personhood or awareness of personhood, more accurately, restored to Dick, no matter what it took, even if he had to do it himself. Because again, I also think that there’s a heeeeell of a lot of hubris in Bruce thinking that he was equipped to care for this kid right off the bat....and its not even that I don’t think he is (because I think Bruce really was a good father to Dick in their early years, and the majority of their problems arose later, when Bruce was unable to reconcile that this kid he’d once thought himself so alike to was growing into a man with his own ideas and choices that Bruce couldn’t understand or relate to). 

Again, I think its more that I don’t truly see BRUCE actually having that degree of confidence that he’s truly a good fit for taking care of Dick, not being more worried that all his issues and his focus as Batman would be a deterrent....unless he had an external kick in the ass that made him feel like no, I don’t trust this job to anyone else at this point, so I HAVE to be up to the task myself, its that simple.

[hopeymchope]

So, I'm trying to understand this, from a person who has next to no knowledge on the series. What exactly is going on with Attack on Titan? And I'm more than willing to read a long rant if it means I get an explanation.

If you’re wondering why the tag for the manga blew up in recent weeks, that’s one specific thing - a character “death” (or at least, character-serious-injury) that’s got fans freaking out.

If you’re wondering why everything has been sucking for like two straight years of manga and people like me keep making very salty posts about it, that’s a whole other topic.

And that’s what I’m gonna cover in this rant: How Attack on Titan has been shitting its own bed for more than a year now.

Basic Setup: Attack on Titan takes place in a world where the remnants of humanity live in a walled city. The city’s walls protect them from gigantic, grotesque “Titans” who attempt to devour people on sight.

…but naturally, as the story went on, it got way more complicated.

Most of the problems with the manga began circa the time-skip (which is also where the Anime is going to catch up to once the current season 3 is finished). Rarely has there ever been a time-skip in fiction that’s been wonderfully received, but the four-year gap between “Return to Shanganshima” and the “Marley” arc has to be one of the worst.

But the whole crash-and-burn kind of starts right before the time-skip, when we first learn the name “Marley,” begin to learn the true origin of Titans, and uncover true enemy opposing our heroes via a forced flashback. For the purposes of this little essay, let’s just put all of the Marley-related information into one big collection - I’m not gonna separate the last couple chapters pre-timeskip from all the tons we’ve had afterwards. All things dealing with the aforementioned “enemy” will just go into one big fuckpile.

SO. The time-skip jumped forward fouryears into an arc that lasted almost a year without letting us see any of our established protagonists. Instead, we follow… the enemy I just mentioned.

And since Attack on Titan begins and goes for most of its duration without any clear enemies outside of “TEH TITANS” and “general assholes within the system,” this is where I have to put a spoiler cut.

A Rant on Titan

So the enemy of the characters we know so far is Marley, the actual source of the titans. The world isn’t destroyed at all, naturally. Our heroes just live in one isolated place on the planet, which is forced to be surrounded by Titans because Marley shoved them into that walled city and then created Titans on the regular.

Marley is a nation of………………

…*SIGH*…

okay, look. I could try to call Marley  a “Nazi Germany allegory,” but the allegory is so thin that they’re basically just incredibly overt Nazis. They’re a military-focused nation of incredible genetic pride where purity is celebrated and where one particular race - a group of both different genetic descendancy than them AND of different religious beliefs - are treated as inferior garbage. The Marley government sees “Eldians” as disposable. They are forced to wear armbands with stars on their arms (YES, REALLY) to identify them in public, and they also make them lived in fenced-off, separate communities.

Marley’s science experiments on Eldians (yup, they tossed that in, too) resulted in the creation of the TITANS. It turns the Eldians into mindless prisoners of their own bodies who grow in size, deform, try to eat people instinctively, and long only for their own deaths.

If they made a third AOT video game, it’d have to be something like this. …. So maybe we shouldn’t.

ANYWAY. During this Marley story arc, we mostly follow child soldiers. They’re of “low birth” because of their race. They chose to enter military service in exchange for having their families treated like regular human beings one day, if they earn their way to become titan-shifters. Nevermind that titan-shifters all die within seven years because of the power of turning into a titan - it’s worth it to raise their family’s status beyond just your regular Jews Eldians, right? Nevermind that they’d never really be seen as equals. Even those who have elevated their own rank by becoming shifters are shown to still be subject to some snark and disdain,but yknow - you were just born that way, so you’re shitty regardless, right?

Through this horrific scenario, we follow a few kids in particular - most notably Falco, who is gradually seeing reality and realizing how they don’t deserve to be treated like shit and that this is all a work - and Gabi, who is becoming increasingly militant and more zealous over time.

RELEVANT SIDE NOTE: Gabi’s character design is based upon a sketch Isayama once did of a gender-shfited Eren Jeager (Eren Jaeger is the main protagonist of the series). For that reason, you might be inclined ot think that Gabi is some kind of alternate/parallel Eren.

Except that’s fucking ridiculous, of course!

Gabi is shown to only care about her own rage against the people within the walls of “Paradis” (the sarcastic name for the walled city where all of our heroes come from) above ALL else. She doesn’t care about her family at all, never noticing her brother’s suicidal tendencies and pain even as Falco is acutely aware of it. The fact that her parents are pained by her following her brother’s dark path to becoming a shifter. She doesn’t notice or care. The more evidence that is put in front of her that the other side might not be as evil as she thinks? That just makes her want to commit murder MORE.

Oh, and she DOES murder people. And try to murder more. A lot. She even successfully murders a fan-favorite character - a character who shows her mercy by pointing a gun at her, seeing she’s only a child, and opting to let her live. Gabi repays this mercy by shooting that character in the back later and boasting excitedly about it to anyone who will listen for multiple chapters in a row.

She then tries to top that by attempting to murder that character’s little adopted sister, who is like, maybe 10 years old, tops? Gabi is then protected from harm by Mikasa and now seems to be on the path towards some kind of “redemption arc” because… uh…………..

………………..because Isayama is shitty?

By contrast, Eren struggles throughout the ENTIRE NARRATIVE to bring harm to people who betray him/those he cares about or those who try to kill him/those he cares about, but often runs into incredible challenges when fighting these douchenozzles. The entire time we followed Eren up until now, he always prioritized his family and friends above EVERYTHING. He would risk ANYTHING to protect them and his comrades in the Paradis military… this was true from when he was a young boy at the start of the story up through him being a young man at this point. And he is ESPECIALLY intense about protecting his closest friends, Armin and Mikasa, who he’s known for nearly his entire life. They grew up together.

That’s set in fucking stone for like 90 chapters, so we’re good. Yeah?

Oh, sweet summer child. Perhaps you were so unprepared for Isayama’s Nazi mallet that you didn’t see his secondary weapon coming?

See, the post-timeskip Eren treats his friends like shit. He lies to them, betrays their trust, runs off and starts a literal war on his OWN, and then tells them how much he hates them. Claims he always hated them.

So in the course of just a couple chapters, he goes from saying this:

To swiftly saying THIS:

Note that devastated look in her eyes. Wonderful.

And yes, he’s GOT to be lying, because I don’t think Isayama would juxtapose those two scenes so closely together in some unwitting fashion. But he’s doing so much damage to them by now that I honestly don’t even know if it matters?

Take Hange.

She’s the intelligent leader of the team, the one who always has a wild, unlikely plan. She’s a science whiz and comes up with longshot plans that always seem to weirdly… work out.

We’re told that, three years ago, she was presented a plan to overthrow Marley by Zeke - a fucking bastard who is clearly a member of the enemy, he’s lived with them his whole life, as a child he betrayed his parents to them and had them executed for being disloyal to Marley, and he’s killed COUNTLESS comrades of our heroes - and Hange decided Zeke’s plan was the only possible option and came up with no alternatives for four years. So she made them ally up with the least trustworthy person IMAGINABLE for a terrible plan,b because Hange’s… a stupid sucker now, I guess.

And why is it a terrible plan — aside from the fact that there is literally zero reason to ever believe anything Zeke says to you, since he’s the most evil fucker in the world? Oh, because it hinges HEAVILY around forcing another member of the team — Historia — into a pregnancy to churn out a baby they intend to use for the country’s gain.

Historia’s big character arc in “Attack on Titan” has been her coming to terms with her own identity and OWNING it. She’s been hiding under another identity or been controlled by other people much of her life. She finally comes out under her true name, declares that she’ll never leave in fear or be maniuplated ever again, and then—

… oh wait.. she’s manipulated into being barefoot and pregnant against her own wishes, because their greatest enemy asked for it.

There’s a lot to hate about the post-”Return to Shinganshima” Attack on Titan, in short. From characters becoming inversions of themselves to full fanatical Nazis being treated like redemption babies to complete destruction of self-actualization of other characters and the fact that, even if this is part of some larger plan being manipulated by multiple players (which seems likely), it still won’t really make up for much of the damage… and for that matter, how plausible would it even be?

But basically, there’s going to have to be quite an 11th-hour ass-pull to make this turn out decently in my eyes by now. And that’s not IMPOSSIBLE.

But it’s looking pretty unlikely.

[corruptedtxt]

so i’m writing/creating my own btd murderer character. i’m still fleshing out his details and story, but i wrote an introduction for him and mc? if anyone wants to give it a read or whatever. i’ll post the link but also post it here

link also posting below here in case the link doesnt work or something it looks better in the doc bc of the fonts and shit but yknow

Happenstance ( mc pov )

Vzzt. Vzzt. Vzzt. Vzzt―.

Hearing the ever familiar whirring, eyelids gradually opened, staring blankly at the white wall of their dorm room. Judging from how lit the room was, it could be surmised that it was already morning. Releasing a puff of air, eyes returned to their shut state, burrowing further into the case that sheathed the pillow embraced within their arms. It was far too early to be awake… Vzzt. Vzzt. Vzzt. Vzzt―.

Having forgot about the continuous vibrations, a grunt was released, shifting in bed as hands blindly attempted to find the source beneath the mass of sheets. Why was the phone unable to just stay in one place throughout the night? Vzzt. Vzzt. Vzzt. Vzzt―.

Annoyance further pressed, their body lurched upwards, haphazardly throwing the sheets back to expose the bed. No phone. Reaching towards their surplus of pillows, each one would be raised, searching for the damned phone. Still, no phone. What the hell?

Vzzt. Vzzt. Vzzt. Vzzt―.

Eyes slowly went towards the foot of the bed, arms sliding beneath the previously thrown sheets. After a moment of blindly swinging their arms around, the back of their hand finally hit a glass surface. Victorious, fingers clutched around the mobile device and yanked it free. How did this happen so frequently. Vibrating in their clutches, eyes stared at the now lit up screen, finger sliding across the screen to shut the alarm off. Once gone, only one thing remained: time. 9:45 AM.

❝ ―Fuck! I’m gonna be late! ❞

Flinging themselves out of bed, their usual morning routine would be cut in half. Throwing on a simple hoodie would have to do. After running a quick brush through their bed head and brushing their teeth, they returned to their work desk, tossing their school books in, all while attempting to stuff their feet inside their shoes. Laces be damned.

Slinging the book back over their shoulder, they briskly exited the dorm room. It was mid-winter, a brisk, cool wild hitting their face as they sped walked across campus. Did they look rather silly? Perhaps, but after being consistently late for this class twice this week already, it had been a personal goal to arrive on time―early, even. So much for that. College campuses were essentially set up to doom any and all late comers with how spacious they were.

Approaching the quad, a chilled hand reached within the pocket of their hoodie and pulled out their cell phone.

9:56 AM.

❝ Of course... ❞ An exasperated sigh pushed its way through their airway, eyes gazing towards the building which held the cafeteria. ...Well, if they were going to be late already, what was a few extra minutes? With how this day had started, a pick-me-up would surely be needed, and coffee was a tremendous ally. Changing course, they now had a new mission.

Pulling the door towards them, warm air melting the frigid layer that encompassed their skin. After observing that the length of the line wasn’t too horrid, they approached, standing in spot, waiting to approach the barista to place their order.

The wait hadn’t been too awful, and it was worth it, especially to feel the heat radiating off of the styrofoam cup, feeling the sensation seep into their fingers. It was almost to the point of burning them, but it was a comforting feeling. Swiftly turning around, their heart stopped momentarily, narrowly managing to dodge running into someone. That would have been bad―especially considering how scolding hot the coffee was. It could have seriously burnt this man. ❝ Shit, I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. Are you okay? ❞ The tone seemed less than sincere, if only because no damage had actually been done. Not to mention, they were on a bit of a time crunch. There was no more time to waste, otherwise they would be extra late.

The aforementioned male’s―actually, would it be more appropriate to call him a giant?―aloof countenance ebbed away any true concern, the corners of his mouth raising slightly into the tell-tale signs of a smile. Was he trying to make them feel better, or was it for himself? It was hard to read, for some reason.

❝ I’m fine, no harm done. You should be more careful, next time.  ❞

While his words seemed a bit condescending, his tone was anything but that. It was almost as if he held more concern for them rather than his own self. Almost as if the coffee would have spilled on him, he would still be the one apologizing for some reason. While tall, he also appeared lanky in stature, maintaining a rather poor posture. Hair longer than most, it also curled around the ends, bangs parted in such a way to cover the left part of his face. His whole appearance gave off a rather ‘edgy’ vibe, but he pulled it off fairly well. His appearance didn’t seem to match his seemingly quiet and tender personality. Granted these were all assumptions they were making of a stranger…

Wait, shit. They had a class to get to.

❝ Right, I will be. I have a class to get to, though. I’m super late. Sorry, again. Uh―later. ❞

Well, as lame as an exit as that was, there was no time to dwell on it. Turning away, they exited the cafeteria, once more continuing their rushed pace towards the art building. Why did they need an art credit, anyway? Well, it wasn’t like they had really chosen a major yet, so dipping their toes in every field was what the adviser had suggested, but…

Art was something you were born good at, right? Drawing something as simple as a stick figure came out completely awful for them. Oh well, it was just for a semester. Maybe the teacher would have pity on them…

Judging by the disapproving glare they received upon entering late for the third time this week, they highly doubted it. Attempting to be as quiet as possible, they tiptoed around portfolios and book bags, getting to their table and taking a seat. With the semester just starting, class mainly consisted of simple vocabulary terms and slight history regarding class assignments and projects that would be accomplished through the semester.

Paying attention proved to be difficult, especially as the classroom door opened once more, and a familiar face walked through. It was that guy―coffee guy. He was taking this art class, too? Why had they never noticed him before? He was sort of hard to miss. After a brief verbal disapproval from the teacher, and having him take his time to arrive at his table and seat, the lecture continued. However, most of it was tuned out, staring at the mysterious, edgy tall boy. Various questions swarmed their mind: What was his reason for taking the class? Had he known it was him at the cafeteria? Why did he not say anything?

Apparently they had been staring too hard, because suddenly their eyes were locked together. Breath caught momentarily in their throat, they felt like a deer caught in headlights. He was staring so intensely...was he just returning the gaze? Had they been staring that hard? Seemingly amused, he smirked, the back of his hand pressing against his cheek, head facing back forward towards the board, zoning back into the lecture.

With their gaze broken, their regular breathing returned, but their heart rate was another story. It was beating rather hard against their chest...from being caught in the act of staring, maybe? Damn, what if they looked like a freak? Maybe it was pretty freaky, though…

❝ ...and so you will need a partner for this assignment. To keep things fun, I’ve put the number of students in this class inside of a hat. Pass it around, and draw a number. I’ll put the number pairs up here on the projector.    ❞

What? How lame was that? Not only did partner and group projects suck, but being partnered with a stranger was so awkward...though, maybe it would be a chance to make a new friend. That was something they were lacking thus far in the ‘college experience’. Once the black top hat finally arrived, they reached in, fishing around for a scrap of paper. Pulling it out, they slowly unfolded it, revealing a hastily written number: 13.

Glancing up at the projector, their eyes scanned for the paired number: 8. So, whoever had the number eight was their partner, right? Noticing that the pairs were already beginning to meet up, their eyes scanned to room for any loners, assuming that by the process of elimination, that would be their partner. Once more, their eyes locked with his―coffee guy. Did...that mean that they were partners? Seriously? Why was life so against them today?

Slowly pushing them self out of the chair, they maneuvered around the room, until they were standing directly in front of the nameless classmate. Once more, their lungs seemed to constrict, making breathing a tad difficult. What were they so nervous for? There was no reason. He was just a normal guy―a classmate.

❝ You have number eight, I’m guessing? ❞

Fetching the paper that was resting on top of his closed notebook, he held it up between his pointer and middle finger, showcasing the number.

❝ Yeah, I do. ❞

❝ It’s a pretty bizarre coincidence, wouldn’t you say?  ❞

They let out a nervous laugh, eyes diverting elsewhere. God, way to be even more of a loser in front of the guy. However, he didn’t seem to mind. Rather, a smile twitched on his lips, chuckling lightly as blue-grey eyes gazing up towards my face.

❝ A coincidence, or fate? ❞

[xavierplym]

Babysitting Duties.

Chapter two, part two.

wc; 3.7k

Time to get lit.

“You did what?!” Olive pulls her phone away from her ear as Mel basically screams down the phone. “Olive, wait. Wait, wait, wait.” She rolls her eye as she holds her phone between her shoulder and ear to light a cigarette. “What was I supposed to do?!” The tall girl say abruptly, cigarette hanging between her lips. She continues to listen to her friend ramble on, if she rolled her eyes any more, they’ll do a 360. “Mel, honey. You’re making it out like it’s a bad thing,” she laughs to her friend, walking down the street minutes to their flat. “No, no. It’s not that, it’s just…” her sentence drifts as if she was still thinking, another eye roll from Olive as she takes a drag, she waits for her friend’s response. “The girls are gonna freak. I’m already freaking!” the friend on the other end of the phone groans dramatically and then laughs at herself. Olive cant help but chew the inside of her cheek, “Yeah, that’s true. But it’s not like I’m not going to warn them though!” “To be honest, there’s only one person I’m mainly worried about.” Mel mumbles and chokes back a laugh, Olive only sighs, breathing out the smoke. “Hope.” The friends say in unision.

Not that there was any problem with Hope, Hope was great. But the worry the two friends share is the fact she’s probably going to pass out when Noah walks through the door. You can say she’s a fan.

The two friends laugh over the phone as Olive keeps walking and turns a corner to the street she lives on, getting closer to her flat building, she sees a familiar figure exit a convenient store in the distance past her building. Olive loudly laughs and throws her cigarette, hanging up the phone. Shrugging as she walks closer to the figure, to get a laugh in response. The two friends stop infront of each other in front of their building still laughing. “How the fuck you gonna tell them?” Olive smirks to her friend and raises a brow, “Maybe I won’t?” She then turns to head to the door. “Oh Lord, that’s not a safe idea.” Mel laughs out following her evil thinking friend.

-

The two friends are dancing round their living room, hair wrapped in towels, wine glasses in hand and bodies covered in matching onesies they both bought as a half joke and now always wear whenever they pamper together. Olive moves to the kitchen to top off her glass and check her battery percentage, thinking intensely she looks to her friend who was checking her own phone. “Do I message him?” She says bluntly and causes her friend’s eyes to snap up at her, gulping down her wine. Her friend then smirks and brings her glass to her lips, “I would.”

Olive looks back to her phone, opening Instagram. She accepted Noah’s follow request when she was on the tube and left it at that, not checking her phone since. Once opening Instagram, she checks her notifications and is surprised to see Noah has liked her recent post. Not surprised because it was a cute message for her friend, Molly, wishing her a happy 21st birthday. It was more the fact they were all pretty embarrassing photos of not only Molly, but herself too. The first photo saying enough. A great memory they shared together and was captured at the most perfect time. It was only a couple of months back to Olive’s 21st birthday, everyone dressed in 70s wear and it was them two on the floor, Molly ontop of Olive, faces of shock and laughter, Olive holding her cup in the air and her drink splashing in the air. A bit of a messy photo, but a photo she cherishes the most with that one friend. Smiling to herself, shaking her head to the fact Noah has now seem such states. She heads to his profile and heads to send him a message.

She stares at the blank message box, not knowing what to say. She pulls a face, annoyed her brain is refusing to work. Sighing, she grabs her glass and takes a large gulp of her wine.

Olive (5:36pm): If you’re still down for tonight, meet us at 8 at Vodka Revolutions yasss

She presses send quickly before she backs out and locks her phone straight away, turning back and downing the rest of her wine, hoping that’d stop her nerves getting in the way for no reason. Her eyes shift back to her phone as her screen lights up, “what the fuck,” Mel’s lips go to a small oh shape, in slight shock also. “nahhh, already?” Olive slowly nods and then giggle at their reactions. She lift her phone and reads the message from her lock screen. “Sounds good, girl,” Her eyes shift from her screen to her friend who was watching her without blinking, Olive breathes out a laugh and carries on. “I’ll make sure I’m there 10 minutes early so I can get the first round for you girls,” Olive laughs and shakes her head, “Wink emoji, beer clinking emoji, kiss- fuck!” The two girls laugh and curse out of disbelief. “Reply! Replyyy!” Olive scoffs at her friend and unlocks her phone,

Noah (5:38pm): sounds good girl ill make sure im there 10 minutes early so I get the first round for you girls x

Olive (5:41pm): ooh, what a gentleman Rum and cokes all round x

Noah (5:46pm): my kind of ladies see you honeys later x

She pushes her tongue against her cheek and tosses her phone onto the couch, heading to prepare herself for the antics that will be tonight.

-

Olive hops off the tube, spinning on the platform loudly singing the lyrics to Mr. Brightside. She’s feeling free and comfortable, with her black wash mom jeans and light Hawaiian shirt tied to compliment her waist, rocking with her well-worn converse. Mel shortly gets off after her, following her friend with her flash on her phone filming an obvious snapchat video. Laughing loudly, Mel captures Olive spinning again and slightly tripping over her own foot, causing her to stumble. Olive lets out a loud awkward laugh and moves closer to Mel, pushing up her roundish glasses up her nose, slightly embarrassed. Also, not enjoying the fact she’s needing specs tonight after running out of contacts. You can say the wine has gotten to their heads already.

Running up the stairs on to a busy street of London, they see the location they need to be at to meet the rest of the group they’re with tonight. Entering the bar with ease, they try their hardest to keep straight faces so the bouncers don’t think they’re a pair of lightweights. Olive’s shoulders lightly shake as she quietly laughs and pulls out her phone, checking the time. “ “Okay.” She turns to her friend, who smiles widely when they make eye contact, earning a stifle chuckle from Olive. “It’s seven forty-ish. We’ve literally only have ten minutes to find them and tell them Noah is gonna join u-“ Olive is cut off by the sudden outburst of squeals and laughter. “Yas!” The group of friends speed walk over to each other and happily embrace in a group hug. Olive frees herself to know grab Molly by the shoulders and pulls her into her chest, “Happy birthday, my angel!” Molly laughs, ecstatic. Wrapping her arms tightly around Olive’s waist and sway side to side. “This is crazy! It’s been so long!” Molly pulls away and cups Olive’s face, squeezing her cheeks making the tall girl laugh. “We’re no longer allowed to stay this far apart for this long, all of us!”

The group laugh together and find a booth to settle at, before Olive got distracted by conversation, Mel lightly elbows her side and gives her a look. “Oh yeah,” She mutters to her friend beside her. “How did today go, Olive, man?” Hope quickly adds in, looking eager, causing the tall blonde to laugh. “Yeah about that guys,” The three girls faces drop. “Oh no! it went great! It was amazing, he was great…” “Knew it” Hope’s eyes pretty much go into heart shapes at the thought. “Hmm, yeah he was fab. He asked me after what was fun to do around here, as yknow” Shrugging to Mel, her and Olive nod to one another. “yeah, he’s on his own for a while before he has friend to visit.” Olive grips tighter to the Despirado bottle she bought just before sitting down. Her friends look at her intensely. “Well, yknow I felt bad and didn’t want him to not do anything tonight. So, I uh – haha.” She struggles to get her words out, looking at her friend’s faces. Mollys brows furrow in worry. Beth remains blank where Hope’s expression is just shock. “Yeah, he’s gonna meet us in like,” She pulls her phone out of her bag to see a notification. “Haha, well he’s probably gonna meet us in about 30 seconds as he’s now here apparently.” Hope pretty much chokes on her drink, covering her mouth with her hand where as the other two laugh. “Oh shit, mate!” Beth loudly expresses her words and hits Hope across the arm as she still struggles to catch her breath. Mel puts her head in her hands, not being able to cope with her friends reactions and chuckles, noticing faces turning to the loud girls. Olive can only chug pretty much most of her tequila beer and sighing in amusement. “Honestly guys, act cool for fuck sake. After getting over the fact he’s an actor, you’ll realise he is just someone the same age as us” She chuckles out to her friends who are in other conversations on how to cope. Olive stands up from her chair to head to the bar, in hope to meet Noah before the rest do. To pre warn, of course. As she heads over she turns back to look at her friends and she lowers her hand to silently tell them to chill and they only giggle to themselves and carry on with their conversations. She continues to head to the bar and chugs down the rest of her beer to settle her nerves. Mid-chug, she noticed the tall, messy haired man walk in. Hand running through his hair, looking around looking for a particular person. Not even finishing her drink, she raises her hand to get his attention, locking eyes his smile turns bright with amusement as he’s already seeing her chug down a beer. With the same hand, Olive points over to the bar for him to meet her there. Nodding his head at her with agreement, he makes his way through the growing crowed. Olive sets down her empty bottle on the bar counter and looks in both directions to see where a free bartender would be. A tall figure stands close to Olive, due to the crowd. She adjusts her specs and looks up brightly smiling knowing already who it is. As a bright smile is returned, a hand is placed on her lower back. “I can’t believe you’re chugging beer already, and without me!” He chuckles out his words, loud enough to be heard over the music. The speccy girl rolls her eyes and mockingly laughs, “Believe me, you’re going to want to soon.” He cocks his head and gives her a look in confusion, pushing her to keep talking. She gives an awkwardly funny side smile to him, “My friends are more than excited to meet you, as yknow,” His face goes slightly smug and she presses her lips together, not amused as he doesn’t get what she’s talking about. “I’m just saying!” smacking his shoulder lightly to then have a bartender take your attention away to get your order. As you were about to request, Noah buts in. “Six Rum and cokes, please, buddy!” His voice is raised slightly for the bartender to hear and he gives Noah a nod. Olive turns her head to look at him, brows furrowed with a false shocked expression, he mocks her look but not being able to stop his smile getting wider. “A man who keeps to his word. Such a daydream, you are.” Her voice slightly filled with sarcasm, he shrugs his shoulders and exhales a laughs. “I didn’t get a chance to get the first round, so not exactly keeping to my word,” The bartender returns with a try of six drinks, telling Noah the price. He bring out his wallet from his back pocket and hands him the cash. “But that isn’t my fault you guys aren’t patient enough.” He winks in her direction, grabbing the tray. Not having any free hands, he bumps her side with his hip, “You gotta lead the way.” He smirks down at her as he can tell she’s getting nervous, “I’m sure they’re going to be fine.” He tries to help as they walk to the direction to the booth the girls are at. “Oh, my friends are fine! But Hope is the one to watch out for.” She keeps walking but he stops for a moment, “Wait, what does that mean?!” He dramatically says, she rolls her eyes and turns on her feet to look at him with an amused smile. “She – She just, really loves Peter Kavinsky.” She says with humour and he returns with pushing his tongue to his cheek, raising his brows with confidence.

Getting closer to the booth, all four girls look towards Olive’s direction. Excitement taking over their expressions. Noah lets out a smiley laugh and lifts the tray of drinks, Beth and Mel raises their arms with joy, Molly laughing more and Hope’s face not changing since Noah’s came into view. “Yes, lad!” Beth cheers, standing from her seat as the two get closer. “Ladies! Good to meet you!” Noah can’t help being excited either, enjoying the energy he’s getting from the group. Going between Hope and Molly, he places the tray down onto the table. Hope looks over to Mel and mouths ‘Oh my god.’ Still in shock and trying to remain calm. Olive takes her glasses off briefly to rub the corner of her eyes to hide the laughter to Hope’s reaction. Coughing to grab the groups attention she stands next to Noah, reaching up to wrap an arm over his broad shoulders. “Ladies,” She speaks calmly and confidently, waving her other hand to his direction. “Noah.” He leans back with a chuckle, enjoying her way to introduce everyone, he reaches for a drink and takes a sip looking to the girl next to him. “Noah,” She looks back to him and then back to the girls, “Mel, Beth, Molly,” She then turns her head dramatically to Hope, who’s covering her cheeks with her hands to cover her bright smile. “That’s Hope.” “Oh! You’re Hope? It’s great to meet you, girl.” He sets his drink down and then leans over to bring her into a hug and places a light kiss on her cheek. Hope melts in her seat, “Wow, holy shit.” She couldn’t bring herself to say anything else and Noah’s shoulders shake holding back a laugh and rests his head on her shoulder briefly.

Hugs are passed around, welcoming the new member to the group for tonight and conversation flows between the group, all together as well as small conversations separately. Noah sits there comfortably, enjoying the girls talking amongst themselves as well as to him, getting him involved. “So Noah!” Beth grabs his attention, bringing her glass up to take a sip. “How did our lovely Olive do today for the video?” His expression becomes amused as he looks over to the girl next to him as shes waving her hand and looking away like an embarrassed child, “Beth, stop! You’re worse than my mum, I swear” Beth only shrugs and pouts her lips, not caring and her looks goes back to the hazel eyed man. “Hah, well.” He lingers, causing Olive to snap her head round to look at him, causing him to scoff. “she did great. Of course she did.” All the girls look towards Olive with pride, causing her to place her head between her hands, enjoying the praise. “It was lots of fun, it was great to see him squirm.” She chuckles evilly, Noah rolling his eyes he then nudges her not realising she was taking a gulp of her drink, making her spill her drink slightly onto her lap. “Oh shit! I’m sorry –“ He laughs loudly like the rest of the girls do, whereas Olive sits there acting not amused. “On that note!” Olive exclaims loudly, she washes down whats left in her glass, “I’m gonna get more drinks, because,” She gets up as she speaks and turns facing the group again. “Because, well. I want to get drunk.” She shrugs and scoffs, disappearing into the crowd towards the bar.

Everyone is a little bit intoxicated by now, more stories as well as jokes are being told. Laughing at one another is happening that little bit more as well as pictures and videos being captured of the night. The group are expressing the overdrive of confidence by taking it out on the dancefloor with the rest of the crowd. Singing loudly and badly but not giving a care in the world. Noah comes back from the bar after offering Olive a drink. He gets to the edge of the dance floor for the music to change. I Like It, Cardi B blasts out of the speakers and the groups of girls he has befriended are cheering and changing their dance moves. He breathes out a short laugh watching the sight, not being able to help his eyes falling onto Olive, for a woman he only met eleven hours ago, he couldn’t of enjoyed someone’s presence more already. Even for someone to dance terribly and not care, she did it so well and he couldn’t help for it amusing him. Holding two bottles between fingers, he now using his free hand to get out his phone, he was in temptation to record the moment before him. Mid filming, Olive’s gaze finds him as well as his phone pointing to their direction. Smile getting wider, she points to his direction singing along to the lyrics towards him. “Oh, he’s so handsome, what’s his name?” She shouts towards him, dancing more for the video. He shakes his head, being more entertained and taps on his phone before putting it back in his pocket. Looking back up to her direction he remains still for a moment, causing her to do the same. He suddenly yelps out the lyrics and walks into the middle of the dancefloor, joining his new friends.

-

3:20am and Noah, Olive and Mel are on the tube, dancing around the empty carriage. Incredibly intoxicated at this rate, like the rest of them were. Beth, Hope and Molly called it a night an hour before and decided to head back to the hotel after tight hugs and loving goodbyes.

“KiKi, Do you looove me?!” Noah awfully sings out, making his voice crack while swinging around the pole in the middle of the carriage. “What the fuuuck?” Olive laughs at her sights as she takes another snap of many she’s taken that night. Noah looks towards the girl, with his arm extended so he’s leaning to the side, “Are you ridin’!” Just as he was going to continue, the tube comes to a stop causing his fingers to slip and for him to fall flat onto his back, his arms fall back and he’s just laying there. The two girls, through tearful laughter, quickly rush to him to get him up. “Holy shit – are, are you okay?!” Mel is gasping for breath, not getting over what she just witnessed and Olive is just unable to talk as an inaudible laugh is coming out of her. “Dude, pft.” Noah straightens his posture and puffs out his chest, “I was meant to do that.” Not being able to hold back he joins in on the laughter and throws his shoulder around Olive’s shoulder, for slight support, and exists the tube.

-

Sunrise is starting to come through the buildings of London as the three are sitting out on the small balcony Olive and Mel share. “I’m pooped guys, I can’t hold on any longer.” Mel sadly admits and gets up from her corner, stretching she goes over to olive for a hug and does the same for Noah, expressing how it was a pleasure to meet him. He says the same, returning the hug and she heads inside. The two sit in a comfortable silence for a couple of moments, with the faint sound of music in the background coming from Olive’s phone. Noah leans his head back onto the wall behind him and looks toward the also visibly tired girl. “Tonight was a blast.” She look back at him with a light smile and sleepy eyes. “You don’t need to stay up,” He speaks gently, wanting to sooth her. She only shrugs and stands, he does the same and they’re stood face to face. “We have a very comfortable sofa bed if you want to crash?” She speaks quietly, not having anymore energy – but still filled with humour. He slowly nods, happily accepting the offer, not being able to help his intoxicated mind wonder and take in the details of her face.

Hey. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful angel. Love your imperfections every angle, Tomorrow comes and goes before you know. So I just had to let you know.

Soft lyrics fill the silence, Olive lips form into a smile as Noah stays silent. “Do I have something on my face?” Breaking the moment, he looks down at his feet. Somewhat feeling embarrassed. “I – sorry. Hah, you’re just – You’re just looking really pretty tonight.” Olive is taken back by the sudden compliment and feels her cheeks heat up causing the corners of Noah’s lip to curl upward. Breaking away from the moment, Olive looks through the window into the living room. “Lets go to bed.” Noah, again nods in agreement, cocking his head to the side as he watches her walk back into the flat.