#i was the first scene kid ever at that school 🙏

[screamingfrenchfries]

i genuinely went to school in outfits like this on a daily basis in middle school and i wondered why i got bullied.

[htpssgavi]

pleaseee bestfriends to lovers with gavi🙏🙏🙏

hiii!!! Sorry it took me that much to write it😭😭

Best Friends to Lovers

Gavi and y/n had been best friends for as long as he could remember. Growing up in the same vibrant neighborhood in Barcelona, they shared everything from childhood secrets to teenage dreams. Now at nineteen, Gavi was making a name for himself as a talented footballer at FC Barcelona, while y/n, eighteen, was finishing high school and making waves as a rising star in volleyball.

Their bond was unbreakable, a blend of deep friendship and mutual respect. They were always there for each other, through the highs and lows, laughter and tears. But lately, something had shifted. Gavi couldn't deny the way his heart raced when y/n was around, the way his eyes lingered on her a bit longer than before, the way her touch sent shivers down his spine.

One breezy spring evening, after a particularly exhausting match, Gavi decided to unwind with y/n. They agreed to visit their favorite spot—a quiet beach just outside Barcelona. It was their haven, a place where they could escape the world and just be themselves.

As they walked along the sandy shore, the setting sun casting a golden glow over the waves, Gavi couldn't help but steal glances at y/n. She looked more beautiful than ever, her eyes reflecting the warm hues of the sunset, her smile radiant. His heart swelled with a mixture of affection and longing he could no longer ignore.

"Do you remember when we first came here?" y/n asked, breaking the comfortable silence between them.

"Of course," Gavi replied with a smile. "We were just kids, and we thought this beach was a hidden treasure. We even made a pact to keep it our secret spot."

Y/n laughed, the sound like music to Gavi's ears. "And we've kept that promise all these years. This place still feels magical."

They found a spot near the water and sat down, the serene atmosphere enveloping them. For a while, they watched the waves gently lapping at the shore, the scene as peaceful as their friendship had always been. But tonight, Gavi felt a sense of urgency, a need to say what he'd been holding back for too long.

"Y/n, there's something I need to tell you," he began, his voice tinged with nervousness.

She turned to him, her eyes filled with curiosity and a hint of concern. "What is it, Gavi?"

He took a deep breath, his heart pounding. "We've been best friends for so long, and you've always been there for me. But recently, I've realized something… something more. I can't keep it to myself any longer."

Y/n's breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening. "What do you mean?"

Gavi reached for her hand, his touch gentle but firm. "I love you, y/n. Not just as a friend, but as someone I want to share my life with. I've been afraid to tell you because I didn't want to risk our friendship, but I can't hide it anymore."

Tears filled y/n's eyes as she listened, her heart pounding in her chest. "Gavi, I… I love you too. I've felt this way for a while but was too scared to say anything."

Relief and joy washed over Gavi as he pulled her into his arms. They stayed like that for a while, holding each other as the sun dipped below the horizon, their hearts beating in sync.

From that moment on, their relationship changed. They were no longer just best friends; they were partners, lovers, soulmates. Gavi's career continued to soar, and y/n's volleyball skills flourished, each of them supporting and inspiring the other. They traveled together, explored new places, and built a life filled with love, laughter, and countless shared moments.

Their bond, once a simple friendship, had grown into something beautiful and profound. Through every challenge and triumph, they stood by each other's side, their love growing stronger with each passing day.

And so, beneath the ever-present Catalonian sky, Gavi and y/n wrote the chapters of their love story, forever intertwined, forever in love. Their journey together was a testament to the power of love and the beauty of finding a soulmate in the most unexpected places.

[winstonsns]

req!! gang w reader who is scene??? tyvm!! :33 love ur writing btw! super fun 2 read. LOLZ /gen

the gang with scene!reader (request)

authors note: should i continue writing little scenarios with the hcs or not 😞 i need feedback pleaseee 🙏💗 sorry this is really bad ill try to do better next time

includes ponyboy, johnny, soda, darry, dally, two-bit and steve

word count: 2.9k

warnings: cussing, alcohol, insults, mentions of beating someone up

PONYBOY CURTIS

as ponyboy walked into the classroom as his first day as a freshman, he saw a girl, you, wearing bright colors and sitting at a desk, reading a book

he decided to sit next to you, an introduction on every desk, one he loved doing when he was in middle school

you turned your head slightly to look at him, smiling at him while he smiled back, blushing slightly

he thought you were very pretty, your style was different than one he’d ever seen, he could hear snickering behind the two of you

“why does she dress like that?” “yeah, i don’t know, probably thinks she’s cool or something…” “god, those stupid bright colors are blinding my eyes…”

he turned around, asking, “hey, what’s your problem? she ain’t doin’ anything wrong, she’s readin’ her book, mindin’ her own damn business. her style don’t hurt you, does it?”

they went quiet and whispered to each other, their faces turning a shade of red due to the embarrassment of being confronted

“thanks… i really appreciate it…” you mumbled to him, he replied, “yeah, ain’t a problem. what’s your name?”

the two of you continued to talk, switching numbers at the end of the day and calling every day after school, hanging out inside and outside of school, weekends and school days

since kids your age typically have low self esteem, he always defends you whenever someone talks crap about you

pony always manages to convince you to keep dressing how you always dress, that it isn’t anyone’s business how you look or wear things, you should be yourself

he thought you’d be a weird kid, type to always talk about death, but you were very unique, personality wise too

JOHNNY CADE

pony had told johnny beforehand that he would bring a girl from his school to his house, wanting the two to meet

the two of you would “get along so well that you end up together,” pony claimed, strongly believing in his statement

johnny never would’ve imagined you to look how you did, but he didn’t have a problem with all the bright colors and the cute converse you wore, even though he wore the exact same ones

he became very interested in why you wore what you wore and questioned you

you were very open to all the questions, glad that someone cared enough to ask you about yourself

the two of you got along well, he often came over to your house after to see your scene-ish room with bright colors and characters he’d never seen before

he really loves you because you make him feel like the only person in the world in the best way possible, and he made you feel that way too

he calls your outfits tuff all the time, the two of you have polar opposite styles but believe they look good on one another

SODAPOP CURTIS

steve and soda had made a bet, if soda lost then he would have his makeup done by you and would have to wear it for his whole shift at the DX

you knew about this when they made the bet and agreed to do the makeup if your boyfriend lost, although you didn’t know about the details and what the bet was about

soda had lost and told you do go to the DX with him, steve would be at the cashier while you and your boyfriend would be in the back, you doing his makeup

“ughh… when’s y/n comiiiiinggg??!” soda impatiently asked, steve rolling his eyes and hitting his friends arm, pointing to the door to see you

“hey honey!!” a smile appeared on you and your boyfriend’s faces, you leaned over the counter to give him a kiss, steve fake gagged in disgust and noticed your bag full of makeup

you smiled at steve, soda grabbing your hand and dragging you to the back, both of you giggling for no reason

you sat him down on a chair and asked, “which eyeshadow?” you pulled out a palette and the colors were black, pink, white, red, green and more

he thought for a second before yelling, “steve!! choose a color or two, out of black, pink, white, red and green!!”

his friend replied quickly, “black and pink!! more black though!” you smiled, telling your boyfriend to close his eyes and to not open them

“why?” he asked, you rolling your eyes, he could act like a kid sometimes, always needing the answer to everything

you replied, “soda, i need to do your eyeshadow, if i did that with your eyes open it’d fucking hurt..” and so he kept his eyes closed

you picked up a brush and put it in the black eyeshadow, lightly brushing it on two thirds of soda’s eyelids, doing the same to this left eyelid

you then looked at him for a bit, wondering if it looked okay before grabbing another brush and putting it in the pink eyeshadow

brushing it on the outside third of his eyelid, he flinched and you apologized, asking him, “uncomfortable, huh?”

he mumbled, “just a foreign feeling..” you told him to open his eyes, he did as you said and smiled at you

“do i look good?” he asked, you replied with, “yes, you do!! we aren’t done yet, though.” so you grabbed your mascara, a new tube because you knew not to share makeup

soda’s eyes went wide and moved away, stating, “oh, you are not putting that thing near me! it’s gonna poke my eyes out, it looks so sharp!!”

you rolled your eyes, asking, “you sure you don’t want it, soda?” and he shook his head once again

pulling out the mini pocket mirror out of your bag, you showed your boyfriend what he looked like, he gasped, “steeeeeveeee!!!!”

his friend sighed, walking into the back to see you standing in front of soda, his bright eyeshadow standing out

the three of you were grinning, not saying a word before steve grabbed his arm and shoved him to the cashier

soda and steve both thanked you, telling one another the makeup actually looks good

you stated, “goodbye steve!! make sure he doesn’t wipe the makeup off until it’s the end of the day or starts itching. i’ll leave some makeup pads and remover for him.”

he said goodbye back, you walked to the cashier and kissed your boyfriend on the cheek and left the store with your bag in your hands

as soda turned around to see steve, the two started talking when two-bit walked into the DX, a bell ringing at his entrance

as he began to get closer to the cashier, his friend turned his head, two-bit grinning widely and stating, “holy shiiiit!!!”

basically, soda loves your makeup and asks you to do his sometimes

he thinks striped clothes on you look super cute, asks you to wear stripes more once the two of you know each other better

and when the two of you start dating, he buys you striped socks with the money he’s saved up for a while

he’s never met someone who dresses like you and is glad to have someone like you as a partner

so when people see you on the street walking together, they see a bubbly guy who everyone knows and a girl dressed in black and bright colors, a different style not known to anyone but her and her boyfriend

DARRY CURTIS

darry walked into ponyboy’s school, having to go to a ‘parent’ teacher conference with many others

he hadn’t known why he was called into the school, the office assistant telling ponyboy beforehand that his guardian had to come in, a matter was on their hands

ponyboy was walking next to him when darry asked, “where the hell are we goin’?” confused, not knowing what was happening

“said to meet in the gym.” ponyboy replied, shrugging and guiding his eldest brother to the gymnasium

as they opened the door, there were donuts and coffee on a table nearby, the center of the room having a big circle of chairs, many students and their guardians sitting down

some people were nicely dressed, madras and khakis while others were wearing almost denim everything, one person standing out

a woman looking to be in her early twenties sitting down with a boy in a sweater and khakis, looking to be around ponyboy’s age

the brothers quickly grabbed donuts and ate them up quickly, darry asking pony, “where d’ya wanna sit?”

his brother shrugged, the older one rolling his eyes at the lack of an answer, teenagers never had enough care to answer a simple question, apparently

he chose to sit next to the woman with a bright colored outfit, you, observing you and your mannerisms

then a teacher stood up, introducing herself and stating, “so, the reason why i have called you all here… is because the freshman class of this school has been misbehaving drastically. someone has even… smeared excrement all over the walls of the boys bathroom…”

you and the younger boy text to you began to giggle, causing ponyboy to giggle too, his older brother trying to hold back a smile

your brother leaned down, turning his head to ponyboy and giving him a sharp glare, asking, “the hell are you laughin’ at, greaser?” both ponyboy and his brothers attention suddenly on the boy next to you

you lightly smacked his head, forcing an, “ow!! that fucking hurt, sis..” out of him, telling him to apologize to the boy immediately

after he apologized to his classmate, ponyboy didn’t forgive him but his older brother appreciated your discipline

although the teacher was still talking, you apologized to the slightly older guy next to you, smiling at him after he accepted your apology

so the two of you continued talking, even your brothers had something against each other, you got along well

by the time the conference was over, he had asked you for your number and you gave it to him, apologizing once again for your brother being a snobby kid

darry loves how you aren’t scared to dress the way you want, you obviously stand out in a room full of people because of all the bright colors you wear

you don’t care about what others think, he grows fond of you because of how carefree you are

a lot of people believe you’re mean or weird because of the way you dress but he realized you were the opposite once you got to know each other

you did intimidate him at first though, although you were harmless, he couldn’t tell if you were a soc or a greaser so he just stood away from you

DALLAS WINSTON

dally walked into the station, handcuffs restraining him and an officer behind him, directing him to a holding cell

as he was chatting with the officer, he saw a girl, you, whom he guessed to be around his age in the cell

you had a fringe covering a part of your face, straight hair with black and bright colored clothes, he specifically noticed the black and neon pink knee high striped socks you wore

“wh— you’re puttin’ me in a cell with a girl? are you kiddin’ me?!” he complained, looking back at the officer

his handcuffs still weren’t off, you were sitting down and he noticed you weren’t restrained in any way

you glanced at him, already seeing him looking at you, he asked, “you ain’t wearin’ cuffs… why? is it cause you’re a girl?” teasing you at the end

you rolled your eyes, replying, “it’s because i’m not known for being violent. i’m not in for nearly punching a guy to death,” he wondered how you knew why he was being held in a cell, “i just graffitied some wall or something. the place was fucking abandoned, i shouldn’t have gotten in trouble for it.”

he stared at you, “yeah, that seems stupid..” he thought for a moment, “you got a different style goin’ on. it’s interesting, what’s your name?”

you replied, scoffing, “i’m not interested in getting in your pants, winston,” you rolled your eyes before stating, “and my name—“

an officer came by, yelling into the cell, “hey, y/n!! get your ass up, someone’s here to pick you up!”

you slowly got up, the boy who was still standing asked you, “hey, y/n how old are you?” you replied with your age, he told you to come by buck’s bar the next day so the two of you could talk and get to know each other better

smiling, you said goodbye to dally and walked to the exit, leaving the station and walking to whoever was picking you up

originally, he wanted to get with you because you were different and he just wanted to say something like, “yeah i banged a girl once, wore bright colors and shit.”

but he grew to actually really appreciate how kind and amazing you were, he expected you to be weird because of how you dressed, it wasn’t like anything he was used to

dally steals shit for you all the time, especially clothes you like and hair dye if you’re too lazy to get it

TWO-BIT MATHEWS

two-bit walked into the drive in entrance, already drunk and walking around, tormenting other people

after pantsing a random guy and getting yelled at, he walked over to a girl, you, standing near her car and watching the movie that was on

he laughed, seeing your black and neon green striped socks and other bright colors on your clothes, “you look like a fuckin’ harlequin!!!”

you looked at him with boredom, he got in a good look at your face and suddenly regretted what he had said

you were beautiful, your hair was nicely styled and your accessories matched well with your outfit

“bitch, you look like you’re nearly in your fuckin’ twenties. why the hell are you wearing a childish ass mickey mouse shirt, you pussy?” you replied back, looking at him up and down

the two of you continued insulting each other, the argument forming into an actual conversation, the two of you getting to know each other

as time flew by, it was time to leave the drive in, both of you were drunk after he gave you some alcohol, you had asked for some

you got off the car hood and grabbed a sharpie, the alcohol bottle still being intact, you wrote your number on the label and gave the bottle back to keith, as he had told you

“call me tomorrow. both of us will probably be hung over, so around 12pm?” you asked, him nodding and winking weirdly, walking off to his house

the two of you are very well known and mess with other socs, once you changed the pool water into different colors, somehow adding a weird smell when you and your boyfriend came into the pool with many other people

you did it just to piss off the socs, knowing they hated both of you, disregarding whether you were a greaser or a soc

you and keith’s relationship doesn’t really change depending on your style, he loves you no matter how you dress

STEVE RANDLE

steve and his best friend, soda, were in the DX, busy working when a girl, you, with black and bright colored eyeshadow and clothes

steve was at the cashier, he smiled at you and asked, “heyy, what can i get for you today?”

he did admit, when you were talking, he felt a little attracted to your voice and the clothes you wore, appreciating the accessories you were wearing

you seemed like a nice person, as he got you what you wanted for food, he started some small talk

“you got nice clothes. never seen someone who dresses like that, what’s the style called?” he asked

you shrugged, replying with, “thanks! you’re the first person to comment on my clothes and to not call me weird for it. it’s scene, basically bright colors and stuff, but also a mix of black clothes? skinny jeans, straight hair, fringes and stuff. not sure how to explain it…” mumbling at the end

he smiled at you, continuing to talk with you until another customer walked into the store

after the customer had left the shop, steve asked you for your number, you happily accepted and wrote it on a piece of paper before leaving, claiming your friends were outside

he thinks the way you dress is very creative and unique, if anyone dares to speak against you then they’ll get beat up

he does his hair every day and likes to do yours too if you let him, he’ll follow your instructions and make sure your hair is straight with the cute fringe you like

if you want to dye your hair then he’ll help you do that too, likes getting messy with all those colors, ruining his shirts and staining his hands because of it

[fairytale-poll]

SEMIFINAL ROUND, MATCH 1 OUT OF 2!

Propaganda Under the Cut:

Mofurun as “Mofurella”

listen. they do an episode where they’re all sucked into Cinderella and they make the trans teddy bear Cinderella. Incredible story writing, 10/10, no notes.

Mofurdella is even plot relevant, that episode is how they get the Rainbow Carriage for their group attack anyway MOFURDELLA FIRST CINDERELLA PRECURE EPISODE TO GET ONE MOFURILLION VOTES

Ella of Frell:

She’s had a “gift” of obedience placed on her, and her quest is to figure out how to get rid of it. I love her

he’s under a curse that makes her obey any order given to her. She met her Prince Charming (Char) when they kids, and they became friends. Her stepsisters found out about her curse while they were at boarding school, and because of that (and some things they made her do) she ran away to try and find the fairy that cursed her. When she does, the fairy says that she doesn’t do magic anymore, because she realized her gifts were actually curses, and refuses to remove it. Ella goes back, and is eventually demoted from “lord’s daughter” to “maid”. She still writes letters to Char (currently in a foreign kingdom, but before that, when he came to try and talk to her, her sister forbid her from leaving her room so she would have all his attention), but eventually stops and even writes a fake letter from her sister to convince him that she never cared/doesn’t care about him, because she realized it would be too dangerous for them to be together; with her curse, she could easily be made to hurt or kill him. Flash forward, and Char returns home. The king throws balls, and she goes, because even if she can’t be with or let him know who she is, she just wants to see him again. Char is drawn to her, and for a lot of the three balls, they’re together. At the end, her stepsister gets jealous, and right as Char proposes (because Ella, despite having to lie about her identity, is the most honest person at the ball and a friend already), she grabs her mask, revealing her identity. Char reaches her home before she can leave, and there’s a whole scene where he finds out she’s a scullery maid, that the letter was a lie, and says that she doesn’t have to be Ella if she doesn’t want to be, and she says she’s not, and he asks if she loves him, and she does– and then it’s all ruined because he accidentally orders her to marry him, and then her stepmother tells her to, and all the while she’s fighting the curse, because she doesn’t want to endanger him and their nation, and doesn’t want her step family to be rich and powerful, and finally– she says no. She gets so excited to say no, to refuse, that she didn’t even fully realize she broke the curse until Mandy (her fairy godmother) tells her. Anyway, they all lived happily ever after. Ella is one of my favorite Cinderellas ever and I really hope I did a good job of explaining her and what her story is about (it’s been a while since I’ve read the book)

I was so enraptured with this book as a kid, it had such an impact on my young mind. Got me into fantasy.

BEST CINDERELLA!!! please use the picture from the book cover and not the movie 🙏

She breaks her curse spell in such a magnificent way. Like yes she embodies the whole “kindness” and “courageous” characteristics that Cinderellas are known for, but for her she’s been forced to be obedient as well. And while she thinks can rise above anything she soon learns she will just hurt so many more people that way. She chose to be self-sacrificing because it was the one way she could express her love that wouldn’t harm anyone (then). But! But! She also ends up getting to be selfish! And that is also a great kindness! To herself and to those whom love her and she loves in return.  All that after she breaks the curse.

She can mimic languages. :) She refused to marry the love of her life and thus broke her curse. :) She fell in love via letters. :) She lied to the royal family that orange carriages are very popular in a nearby city.

brave, smart, a linguist, a nerd, she evolves steadily and beautifully throughout the book, with a sharp voice that never stops being distinctive and fun to hang with.

complex character coool as fuck premise and also. the nostalgia of it all

[immeasurablesaladagere]

Can we get a fic about Wilson&House finding out Chase regresses please 🙏🙏🙏

Fun fact! I already had a prompt similar to this sitting in my notes app before I ever made this blog, so I decided to work on that! It just includes cg!House, I hope that's alright. House would have a very... ahem, interesting first-time-cg style.

-----

Word Count: 1230

Summery: House can tell that something is up with Chase on an overnight shift.

-----

Something was wrong with Chase.

House stared at him through the glass of his office, watching him go back and fourth between flipping through the patient’s files and a newspaper crossword. At least, that was what he was pretending to do. Chase’s eyes were obviously unfocused and staring directly through the papers, and it looked more like he was moving them around on autopilot to seem busy in front of his boss who he knew would be spying on him through the window. A smart move to be sure, but ultimately a pointless one. 

Chase picked up his pen and hovered it over the newspaper like he was going to write in an answer, then stopped and put the end of the pen in his mouthfor the dozenth time.

House wrinkled his nose in disgust. He was never using that pen again. It was definitely covered in bite marks and saliva, and while there was probably a large clientele who would pay too much for pretty-boy’s spit, he wasn’t one of them. If it wasn’t the pen, then it was biting the top half of his thumb or pointer finger, before he would get a look on his face and switch back to the pen or the cuff of his coat sleeve.

Then there was the fidgeting. For the most part, Chase matched the expected appearance of a man who had been awake for twenty-four hours on an overnight patient watch; sunken eyes, painfully-bored expression, slumped posture, and a general air of ‘I’d rather be having steamy sex with a hooker right now’— or maybe that was just him— but Chase was fidgeting almost constantly. It consisted mostly of swinging his feet back and fourth under the glass table or mindlessly shaking his free hand up and down. When he was particularly lost in thought, he would begin rocking in place to entertain himself. 

It was when the thought crossed House’s mind that Chase looked more like a little kid waiting for their parent to finish up at the DMV than a doctor trying to stay awake that he began to think that Chase was more than just tired. 

Age regression was a zebra, but Cuddy hadn’t given him his own team and office because he was an expert at finding horses. 

He watched as Chase yawned and rubbed his eyes, then rested his head on his hand and slipped his entire thumb in his mouth. If it wasn’t regression, then House got an embarrassing habit to hold over his head for the rest of time.

It was probably best to test his hypothesis before they were called to deal with the patient and Chase’s toddler brain accidentally killed her. He turned to his laptop and typed ‘colouring pages’ into Google, then printed the first result; an ocean floor scene with corny cartoon dolphins and fish.

At the sound of the printer starting in the office, Chase seemed to snap back into some kind of focus and pulled his thumb from his mouth, hastily tucking it against his cheek. 

When House walked in, Chase pushed away his file and cleared his throat. “Did you find something for the patient? I can’t think of anything.” 

“Forget the patient, I have a much more important question.” He set down the colouring page in front of Chase, “How do you feel… about sea creatures?”

He watched as Chase’s eyes went wide for a split second before he schooled his face into confusion. “What’s this?”

“Sea creatures.” He tapped the cartoon dolphin’s face, “See?”

“Yeah, uh… Why?”

“You tell me. Why would I, as your boss, distract you from a case with a children’s colouring page?”

Chase shrugged, looking anywhere but directly at the picture. “I ‘dunno…”

“Sure you do.” House nudged at the pen on the table. The plastic end was completely mangled by teeth marks, and it left behind a small trail of spit as it rolled. “And the sleeve, and the thumb, and the fidgeting like a four-year-old.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, House—“

“Tell me the truth, or you’re fired.”

Chase looked up at him in disbelief. “W-What?”

“You’re showing signs of an altered mental state. What if you were drunk? Or on drugs?” House wondered aloud, “The hospital wouldn’t take kindly to that, and what would that say about me? I can’t have a drugged-out doctor on my team—“

“I’m not on drugs! Or drinking!” 

“Then what?“

“It’s age regression, okay?” Chase blurted, “It’s this thing I do, I-I was thinking like a kid and it’s not like— why am I explaining it? You already knew, I’m just— I was tired and we weren’t getting anywhere with the case, s-so…”

House smirked with vindication. “So you figured it was fine if your adult brain took a vacation for a few hours, right? The patient’s not important, I get it.”

Chase buried his face in his hands. The tips of his ears were bright red with shame. “Please don’t fire me. I swear, it was a one-time thing, I’m not— I can control it, I—“

He hummed and tapped his fingers against his cane in dramatic thought. “I don’t know… I’m pretty sure you need to be at least eighteen to be a doctor, and you’re, what? Five? Cuddy wouldn’t appreciate the liability, and I don’t know if I can trust you to be a big boy if you can’t handle a—.”

Chase sniffled. Ah, crap.

“M’sorry,” He mumbled and stood up quickly to leave, but House grabbed him by the arm before he could run away and lightly pushed him back down into the chair.

“Sit down, relax.” He wanted to mess with the kid, not make him cry. “I’m not going to fire you.”

Chase looked up at him, eyes round and wet like a sad puppy. House grimaced. “But you said…”

“It was a joke. I was just messing with you.” He didn’t look convinced. On one hand, House was happy that his theory was correct. On the other, now he was stuck babysitting his employee who he’d inadvertently worked up into a panic. Why couldn’t kids ever understand sarcasm?

“Oh…” Chase shrunk in on himself and fiddled with the end of his tie. “…Sorry.”

“It’s fine, kid.” He sighed. “How young am I dealing with here?” If he was babysitting, he at least wanted to know what he was getting into.

Chase stared at him owlishly like he was afraid to answer, and his face flushed pink as he answered, “Six..?”

“So I was close! Look at me go. Listen, we’re going to talk about this later, but you’re not fired, got it?”

“Mhm.”

“Oh, and you’re off the case until you’re an adult again. If you get paged, I’ll go. I was serious about the liability, Cuddy’ll be up my ass if I let a toddler perform CPR.”

Chase frowned indignantly. “That’s not a nice word. An’ I’m not a toddler.”

Oh good, the language police. “You’re close enough.” He turned to grab the cup of pens on a nearby counter and set it down next to the colouring page. “Here. Not much for colours, but it’ll do.”

Chase looked between him and the pens a few times before hesitantly picking up a red one and beginning to fill in the crab.

“Oh, and no eating them. Those are my good pens.”

[piracytheorist]

ngl i usually dont like child characters in shows, they tend to just be huge obstacles for the protagonists. however, anya manages to be likeable and fairly realistic depiction of a child which i greatly appreciate. that may be because she is actually helpful, even if she greatly over and undervalues what she does (depending on what the situation is, such as not understanding the gravity of certain actions she took that ultimately ended up helping the entire world).

it's rare we get a useful and extremely young character in shows that doesn't either make them immensely intelligent for their age, or very bitter. She acts her age and still helps at times, but of course not all the time. I appreciate Endo so much for that 🙏🙏🙏

Yeah, writing kids in fiction can be really tricky, and the success in Anya's character is one of the main things I respect Endo for. She is very much written like a child; impulsive, emotional, she thinks very simply but with great imagination, she's full of energy and she's developing her cunning. It's either that Endo has studied a lot how kids work, or he's possessed by a child's soul whenever he writes big Anya scenes.

And of course, thanks to her powers, she's made more active in the story. She has her own adventures going on at school, but then with her mind-reading she can get into the stories of the adults and help them, while also confusing them (Loid, for the most part 🤣). That way she can still act as a child but be relevant in the stories of other characters, without acting out of character or too mature for her age.

And I just love how she's neither cute nor annoying 100% of the time. She has the perfect balance of being adorable and being an absolute gremlin.

Like, kids in media tend to be either one or the other. Anya is a spectrum, gracing us with the cutest cute to ever cute one day, and the "sleep paralysis demon" face the next. And that's how kids are in reality. They experience the world for the first time through their small, developing brains, and they adapt to their new experiences through various feelings, which can vary from adoration to monstrous cunning. Anya has expressions and we love her for that.

That said, she still has a lot to learn, as you said sometimes she undervalues the things she does to the point where she caused the deaths of the two hiding assassins in episode 35 and then slept like a baby. Like. Homegirl actually caused two people's deaths. I'm not saying she should have lost sleep over it, but it is kind of funny within the context.

In short, Anya is a great, adorable and funny character, providing great foil to some of Twilight's and Yor's traits so the story feels balanced.

(Anime only fan here, don't spoil me for the manga)

[schrodingerspsycho]

Maybe This Time - Part 1

Pairing - Van Palmer x Band Kid!Reader

Warnings - drug use (weed), blink-182

Word Count - 7.6k

Summary - Van falls for a band kid. What will it take for them to realize that you’ve fallen for them too?

Author’s Note - Merry Christmas everyone!🎄🎁🎅☃️❄️ (and happy holidays to everyone who celebrates other things!) I’m so glad I got this done in time, it ended up being a lot longer than I expected. Lots of fluff. No crash AU. They/them pronouns used for Van and reader, both are referred to as girls. And I can’t bear to write Tai and Van in the same story and not have them be together because they’re soulmates, so Taissa just doesn’t exist in this one. I also created a whole marching show for this and it was the most difficult scene I’ve ever written so please show this some love🙏

Help Palestine by clicking this link!🇵🇸

On the very first day of school, Van noticed you. You were in their English class and you were cute, far cuter than they remembered. But you were quiet and you sat in the row in front of them, so they never really got the chance to talk to you. Sure, they were loud and outgoing with their friends and their team, but they were much more reserved with people they didn’t know. Especially a girl that they liked.

It was easy enough to keep you off their mind for most of the semester. It wasn’t an all-consuming crush or anything, just a reason for them to love a class they’d never been very good at. That was until the few weeks after fall break when soccer practice overlapped with marching band rehearsal.

Coach Martinez always likened the distant sounds of the band to a stand-in for the crowd cheering and claimed it was good to practice ignoring outside distractions. It bothered some of the other girls, but Van always liked listening to them while the team had the ball on the other side of the field during scrimmages. Then one day as they were heading toward the locker rooms after practice, they heard a laugh from the direction of the band room. It was loud and melodic, and when they saw you smiling with your friends, their heart skipped a beat. Screw soccer; they already won nationals last year. Their new goal was to be the one who made you laugh like that.

“What are you looking at?” Natalie asked, coming up behind them. Van didn’t even realize they’d stopped walking.

“That girl’s in my English class,” they answered, pointing. “I didn’t know they were in the band.”

“Oh yeah, Y/N. They play the trombone, I think.”

“Wait, you know them?” Van asked, sounding a little too excited. Thankfully, Nat pretended not to notice.

“Yeah, they’re friends with Kevyn. I’ve smoked weed with them a few times. They’re cool but kinda nerdy. Kinda like you.” Nat gave them a knowing smirk, and Van turned away to hide their blush. “C’mon, let’s go. Jackie’ll have a conniption if we’re late for the post-practice meeting.”

Van nodded and followed her into the locker room, but they barely heard a word of Jackie’s speech. They couldn’t stop thinking about you. And as much as they hated having crushes, the butterflies in their stomach weren’t as painful as they’d been in the past. Maybe with you, things could actually go their way this time. You knowing Nat certainly seemed like a good sign. It was like Lottie said, Van decided. There’s no such thing as false hope.

Van Palmer sat one row behind and two seats to the left of you in English class. You’d been going to the same school for four years now, but this was the first class you’d had together. You couldn’t help but hope that you’d be able to get to know them better, but the way your heart pounded every time you walked into the room made it impossible to even say hi to them. You’d had a huge crush on them ever since last year when you and Kevyn went to see his friend Natalie play in the state championship game. That’s when the beautiful redheaded goalie caught your eye, and you’d been dreaming about them ever since.

Luckily, you didn’t have to talk to them on your own. After three months of less-than-stellar class discussions, your teacher decided to let you pair off into groups to talk about the latest reading assignment. You took a deep breath as your classmates shuffled around you, but before you could even get up from your chair, Van was standing beside you.

“Hey, Y/N, do you want to work together?” they asked, wringing their hands nervously.

“Yeah, sure,” you nodded. They returned your smile and slid into the chair next to you, its usual occupant now giggling with his friends in the back row. “So, what did you think of Frankenstein?”

“It was the scariest book about parenting I’ve ever read,” they quipped. You snorted, and their eyes shone as a proud grin spread across their face.

“That’s one way to describe it,” you smiled. “So who do you think was the villain, Frankenstein or his monster?”

“Oh, Victor was the villain, no question,” they declared. “To create life only to abandon it when you know its existence is cursed? C’mon, he’s literally the definition of a mad scientist.”

“Yeah, but the monster did some pretty fucked up things too. I mean, he killed a kid.”

“And that was horrible, obviously. But I think the real question is whether his circumstances made him evil or if the darkness was inside him all along. And then if it was inside him the whole time, then isn’t it really Victor’s fault for creating him in the first place?”

“That’s a really good way of looking at it,” you said, and they glanced down at the floor. “I hadn’t thought of it like that.”

Van shrugged. “I really liked this book. I don’t know, something about it just clicked with me.”

“Well, then you can speak for both of us when Ms. Fite comes over because I’ve got nothing,” you chuckled.

They smirked. “Yeah, alright. I think I can do that.”

Despite the rest of the conversation flowing naturally with you trading jokes as you discussed the book, you didn’t talk to Van much after that. But they did smile and wave at you every day when you walked into class, so you considered that a win. And you noticed that they were speaking up more in class discussions, which you knew had to be a coincidence. But they were really smart, and it brought a smile to your face every time you heard them speak. You were starting to feel like Frankenstein’s monster, with your perfect girl just out of reach, unable to make them yours.

“Hey, does anyone want to go to the movies with me Friday night?” Natalie asked as the team got changed after practice a week later. “I’ve been wanting to see Bound.”

“Ooh, I’ve been wanting to see that too!” Lottie exclaimed, getting up to stand at Nat’s side.

“Jackie? Shauna? What about you? I heard you talking about it a few practices ago.”

“I wish we could, but Shauna and I are gonna go see Jeff play in the football game,” Jackie smiled, winking at Shauna.

“But the football team sucks,” Mari said with a look of disgust.

“Yeah, but it’s kinda fun to watch them play like shit,” Shauna smirked.

“It’s very fun to watch them play like shit. And us national champs get in free!” Jackie grinned.

“Can I come to the movies?” Misty asked eagerly, bouncing over from the equipment closet. Lottie scoffed, but Nat turned around slowly and looked her up and down.

“Sure,” she said, and it was clear Misty was trying hard to contain her excitement. She was practically vibrating. “Meet us by the field after school.”

“Okay! I can’t wait!” Misty beamed, skipping away. Lottie raised an eyebrow at Nat.

“Oh, fuck off,” she defended, smirking. “She’s awkward, but she’s harmless.”

“Yeah, be nice to her. She’s a great manager,” Laura Lee chimed in, and Jackie gave her an approving nod.

Lottie, Shauna, and Mari rolled their eyes, and Van chuckled. They were too preoccupied with thoughts of you to join in on the teasing like they usually did, but they’d been listening to every word.

“What about you, Palmer?” Nat asked, walking up to them as she grabbed her bag. “You wanna come see Bound with us? It seems like your kinda movie.”

“It is. That’s why I saw it opening weekend,” Van replied. Nat nodded.

“Alright, suit yourself,” she said, slamming her locker door shut. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See ya,” Van smiled as Nat followed Lottie out of the locker room. Then when the conversation died down, they walked over to where Jackie and Shauna were giggling together, their hands stuffed into their back pockets. “Hey, can I come with you guys to the game on Friday?”

“The football game?” Jackie asked in disbelief. “Since when does Van Palmer have any interest in football?”

“I don’t. I just wanna get out of the house,” they shrugged, glancing at the floor. It was believable enough. None of their teammates knew any of the details, but they knew their mom was a bitch. “I mean, if we get in free, then it seems like a pretty good way to pass the time.”

“Sure,” Shauna smiled. “I can give you a ride, too.”

“Thanks.”

“Great!” Jackie exclaimed, reaching out and squeezing Van’s hand. “This is going to be so fun!”

Van nodded in agreement and turned back to their locker. It would be fun, but not for the reason Jackie thought. They just had to make sure they didn’t find out that they only wanted to watch you march.

By the time Friday rolled around, Van still hadn’t worked up the courage to talk to you again. You did smile and wave back at them every time you walked into class though, so they considered that a win. But Van could never be satisfied with small victories. They were a national soccer champion, after all. They hoped that stepping into your world would give them something to talk to you about. Then maybe they’d be closer to winning the prize they were really after.

Van didn’t have to wait long before Shauna pulled up, with Jackie calling out to them excitedly from the passenger side. They greeted them with a smile as they climbed into the backseat, and Jackie turned to look at them as Shauna sped away.

“So, are you excited for the game?”

“Excited to see our team get their asses handed to them, more like,” Shauna said. Van laughed.

“Well, now I am.”

“Oh, you’re gonna love it. They’re awful,” Jackie sneered. Before Van could respond, Shauna reached out and switched the tape to Nevermind. Jackie whipped around to glare at her playfully. “Hey!”

“Sorry, were you listening to that?”

“Yeah, I was, actually.”

“Well, too bad. Van likes Nirvana, and so do I. You’re outvoted.”

Jackie scoffed, pretending to be offended, and Shauna grinned. “You didn’t even ask Van. Maybe they should get to choose the music.”

“No, I like listening to you two bicker like an old married couple,” Van deadpanned, which sent all three girls into a fit of laughter.

“See, this is why we really go to the football games,” Shauna said, glancing at Van in the rearview mirror. Jackie nodded.

“Oh, for sure. It’s never about the boys.”

Van chuckled and turned to stare out the window. If only they knew, they thought to themself with a smile. If only they knew.

They arrived at the game just as the band was marching around the track. And although it took more effort than they would like to admit, Van managed not to look for you as they followed Jackie and Shauna into the bleachers. They would have plenty of time to admire you when you performed at halftime. That was when the band played, wasn’t it?

“Why are those seats empty?” Van asked, pointing to the section next to them. They were in the student section, which was far less populated than it was for their games, right next to the stairs and a few rows from the top.

“That’s where the band sits,” Jackie explained. Van’s eyes widened. They sat down and started bouncing their leg, trying not to picture you sitting just a few feet away from them. Luckily, they were distracted when the band began to take the field. Oh, right, there was a pregame.

“So why did you really want to come to the game?” Jackie asked, leaning forward to peer at Van.

“What?”

“Oh, come on. We all know you’ve never wanted to see a football game before. There’s gotta be a reason,” Jackie smirked, and Van stared at the ground. “Do you like one of the guys on the football team?”

Van made a face.

“Leave them alone, Jackie,” Shauna said. She was sitting between them, and Van was suddenly very grateful for the small buffer she provided.

“I’m just asking! You don’t have to tell us who it is, Van. But I can tell there’s someone you were hoping to see.”

“I don’t like any of the football players,” Van said, repulsion evident on their face. But before any of them could say anything else, the band began to play the fight song. Van turned to watch, smiling unconsciously when they spotted you in the front row.

“Oh my god, wait! Do you like one of the guys in the band?” Jackie exclaimed. Van felt their face heating up. “No way, you totally do! What instrument does he play?”

“I don’t like any guys,” Van defended weakly.

“Oh, come on! Your face is as red as your hair, I know you’re lying. Just tell us about him! We can keep a secret!”

“Jackie, just drop it,” Shauna growled. “They don’t have to tell you anything.”

“Jeez, we’re just talking about boys,” Jackie said. Van shifted uncomfortably, and Shauna gave them an apologetic glance. “Y’know, if you tell me who it is, I might be able to give you some advice on how to woo him. I mean, this is so exciting! You’ve never liked a guy before!”

Van scoffed.

“I don’t think they want to talk about boys,” Shauna said pointedly, but Van missed her inflection and Jackie’s response. The band had begun filing into the stands and they sat up to watch, their eyes never leaving you. Their heart beat faster the closer you got until you finally found your seat, right next to the stairs and one row in front of Van. You started when you locked eyes, a shy grin spreading across your face, and Van beamed and waved at you. You waved back before turning to hear what your director was saying, and Van let out a shaky sigh.

“Holy shit! You like that girl, don’t you?” Jackie practically yelled in surprise.

“Shut up!” Van hissed, whipping around to glare at her. “What the fuck, Jackie?”

“I’m sorry,” she said sheepishly, much quieter this time. “I just didn’t know you were a lesbian.”

Van put their head in their hands and groaned.

“We won’t tell anyone,” Shauna said softly, patting Van’s back. “Right, Jackie?”

“Of course not! And we totally support you. I-I was just surprised- which now that I think about it, I probably shouldn’t be. It actually makes a lot of sense.”

“Seriously?”

“No, it’s fine,” Van sighed, giving Shauna a grateful glance. “I don’t really care about people knowing. I mean, don’t tell anyone, please, but it’s fine if you guys know. I just… don’t want Y/N to know that I like them.”

“Why not?” Jackie asked, her voice genuine. “If you like them, then you should ask them out.”

“I can’t just ask them out, I barely know them.”

“You did come to a football game just to see them play in the band,” Shauna remarked. “And they smiled at you. That seems pretty friendly to me.”

“They’re cute,” Jackie grinned. “Do you wanna tell us about them?”

“Well, they’re in my English class, and we did an assignment together last week. They’re really funny, and sweet, and… beautiful- god, I don’t know! This is stupid!”

“It’s not stupid,” Jackie chuckled.

“You’ve never talked about a crush before, have you?” Shauna asked warmly. Van shook their head.

“Before today, the only person who knew I was a lesbian was Nat, and that’s not really her thing,” they sighed. “And it’s not like I’ve ever done anything about a crush before anyway. It’s different for me! Before I can even ask if they might like me, I have to figure out if they like girls! And spoiler alert, most of the time, they don’t.”

“But you don’t know that. You just need to talk to them and ask. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?”

“No offense, Jackie, but I don’t think you know the first thing about homophobia.”

“You’re right, I don’t,” Jackie admitted. “But I do know about flirting. And Y/N has been staring at you for, like, five minutes.”

Van’s eyes widened as they fought the urge to turn around. “What? Really?”

“Totally. They’re trying to be subtle, but they’re not very good at it.”

Van grinned in spite of themself. “What do I do?”

“Smile back at them!” Jackie encouraged. “You’ve gotta let them know you’re interested.”

“Okay,” Van nodded, trying to swallow their nerves. They turned around slowly to find that you were indeed staring at them. They gave a little wave when they met your eyes, and you nearly missed when your director called your instruments up. “Oh, shit! I distracted them!” Van groaned. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“It’s fine! They’re still playing, aren’t they?” Jackie said, louder now over the sound of Eye of the Tiger. If they weren’t so embarrassed, Van would’ve marveled at how great you sounded.

“And their ears turned red,” Shauna whispered, leaning over and pointing. “You should at least talk to them as a friend. Y’know, get to know them. That’s probably the best way to find out if they like girls.”

“Okay, maybe you’re right,” Van conceded.

Jackie clapped her hands excitedly. “Yay! And you have to tell us how it goes, okay? I want to know all the details about you and your soon-to-be-girlfriend!”

“Fine,” Van smiled, rolling their eyes. “But neither one of you is allowed to talk during halftime. That’s when they perform.”

“Yeah, okay,” Shauna smirked while Jackie buried her head in her shoulder to hide her laughter. “We’ll be quiet.”

Van knew for a fact that Shauna and Jackie had never been quiet in their lives, but they just shook their head and kept their mouth shut. Luckily, the conversation shifted to other topics, and Van started to feel relaxed. And when the buzzer finally rang at the end of the first half, all their nerves had been replaced by eager anticipation.

Well, most of their nerves.

“And now, please welcome to the field your 1996 Wiskayok High School Marching Yellowjackets!” the announcer boomed. Someone slapped Van’s shoulder. They didn’t see if it was Jackie or Shauna, but they didn’t really care. All of their attention was focused on you. “This year’s performance is a tribute to the greatest spy in movie history. Please enjoy Bond, James Bond.”

“No way,” Van breathed as the first note rang out through the stadium. You were playing the 007 theme. It sounded exactly like it did in the movies! And Van should know, they’d seen all seventeen of them.

But just when they thought they couldn’t be more impressed, they noticed what formation the band was marching into. They had started out in lines like they were for the parade, but as they went along, parts of the band would break off and play in place, the squares forming five dots across the field. Just like the beginning of the gun barrel sequence.

“Holy shit,” Van whispered, scooting up to the edge of their seat. And if Jackie and Shauna were laughing at them, they didn’t notice. They watched with rapt attention as the band played, the sound filling the entire stadium. Then everyone began marching again, all moving in different directions at different gaits. How anyone could remember where to go was completely beyond Van as they gazed in wonder at the picture you were creating. The dot in the middle of the field had morphed into a circle, and everyone else formed eight curved lines spiraling away from it. Now they were the gun barrel! And when you all moved in sync across the field to move the gun barrel to the left, Van considered their mind officially blown. Then the drums made a sound like a gunshot, and they all began to trickle down to the front of the field, starting from the top. Just like the blood, they folded together until they were in one big row on the sideline. And when you played the final note, Van leapt to their feet and cheered.

“Oh my god, you’re so whipped,” Jackie laughed.

“Shut up,” Van said, still smiling. “I mean, come on! Tell me that wasn’t the coolest thing you’ve ever seen!”

“It was cool,” Shauna agreed. “But Jackie’s right. You’re totally whipped.”

“Alright, well, fuck both of you,” Van retorted, sitting back down as the announcer’s voice filled the stadium once more.

“The Wiskayok Marching Yellowjackets will now perform their second movement, “Nobody Does It Better” from the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me, featuring trombone soloist Y/N L/N!”

“Oh, shit, that’s them!” Van cried. The band all ran to stand in an arc, but you stayed on the sideline, front and center. Van fought the urge to leap to their feet again.

“Looks like your girl’s a rock star,” Jackie smirked.

“Hell yeah they are,” Van grinned. “I have great taste.”

The band started playing, and Van could hear Carly Simon’s voice in their head. It was incredible how the music could be played on a completely different set of instruments and still sound the same. And when you began to play your solo, the notes ringing out clear and beautiful through the microphone, Van couldn’t help but quietly sing along.

“But like heaven above me

The spy who loved me

Is keeping all my secrets safe tonight”

“In 1973, “Live and Let Die” earned the Bond series its first music-related Oscar nomination for best original song, performed by Paul McCartney and Wings,” the announcer explained when the second song ended. “And now, the Marching Yellowjackets will close out their performance with their version of this chart-topping hit, arranged by our very own Director Frank Jones!”

“Wait, “arranged”? What does that mean?” Jackie asked. Van wouldn’t have been able to answer; they were clueless about music too. But they didn’t hear her, because once again, they were too busy watching you. You had run back to stand with the other trombone players in the arc, and they could tell you were smiling even from the stands.

Once again your performance sounded exactly like it did in the movie. Even Jackie and Shauna were singing along this time. And before Van even realized “Live and Let Die” had ended, the band was playing the 007 theme and moving again. And when you played the final note, you formed the 007 logo in the center of the field. They leapt to their feet again, cheering even louder than before, and they only sat down when the band started making their way back to the stands.

“Woo! Way to go, band!” Jackie shouted once you were in earshot. “You guys were great!”

“What are you doing?” Van hissed.

“I’m just showing my appreciation for our music department,” Jackie shrugged coyly while Shauna snickered. “Do something, they’re looking at you!”

Van blushed and turned to find you smiling at them. They grinned back and flashed you a thumbs-up, which you returned with a chuckle.

“Aren’t you glad I’m here to be your wingwoman?” Jackie smirked.

“Yes,” Van sighed reluctantly, rolling their eyes. “But I will set you on fire if you do anything like that again. That was mortifying.”

“Oh, bite me,” she said sarcastically, a smug grin on her face. “Without me, I bet you wouldn’t even be able to say hi to them.”

“Well, maybe I like pining from the shadows.”

“Again, you came to the football game just to watch them march. That’s not very ‘from the shadows’ of you.”

“Shut up, Shauna,” Van laughed, nudging her.

The football team lost sixty-five to three, apparently their worst game all season. But Van couldn’t care less. They were on cloud nine for the whole second half, the world seeming to stop every time you turned around and grinned at them. They were barely able to pay attention to Jackie and Shauna’s playful bickering as they left the stadium.

“Van, look, there they are!” Jackie exclaimed, pointing subtly to where you were walking through the parking lot with your friends.

“You should go talk to them,” Shauna encouraged with a warm smile.

“No, I… I can’t do that,” Van stuttered, all their nerves returning at once. “They’re busy, I don’t want to bother them.”

“C���mon, they’re not doing anything!” Jackie said exasperatedly. “Just say hi, it’s not that hard! Go on, go!” She pushed Van toward you, but they just stood there, trying and failing to not stare at you.

“I just don’t wanna mess this up,” Van murmured.

“You’re not gonna mess it up,” Shauna said gently. “Just talk to them as a friend, remember? You got this.”

Van stepped forward hesitantly, biting their lip. Then a gust of wind knocked a feather out of your plume and blew it into Van’s left cheek. “Yeah, I can’t do this,” they gasped, turning back quickly.

“Yes, you can! There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Shauna said, but Van just hugged their chest tightly and shook their head.

“Look, either do it or don’t, but can you make a decision, please? It’s freezing out here,” Jackie complained. Shauna gave her a side-eye.

“It’s okay, Van. You’ll get another chance on Monday, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess,” they sighed. You were moving farther and farther away, but their anxiety kept them rooted to the spot. So much for their usual cocksure attitude; they couldn’t even say hi to a girl they liked.

They climbed into Shauna’s car and pressed their forehead against the window, watching you walk up to the band door and feeling sorry for themself. Then you made eye contact with them, your beautiful smile shining on your face. Van waved, but you disappeared into the band room like they weren’t there at all. I knew it. They never like girls, Van thought bitterly, putting their head in their hands. Or maybe they just don’t like me.

“They just waved at me again!” you exclaimed once the door had shut behind you.

“Oh my god, when?” Your two best friends ran up to you, grinning eagerly.

“Just now! They were leaving in their friend’s car, I just saw them!”

“Did you wave back?”

“No, I… I freaked out. I froze.”

“Oh, come on!” Lauren cried.

“You’ve been flirting with them the whole game, how could you drop the ball now?” Liv slapped you in the arm playfully.

“I didn’t mean to!” you groaned. “Trust me, no one’s more disappointed in me than I am.”

“I don’t know, I’m pretty invested in your love life,” Liv quipped.

“Do you really think Van likes me?”

“Of course they like you!” Lauren smiled. “You saw how they were looking at you, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Then you’ve gotta talk to them!” Liv insisted. “On Monday, in class. It’s the perfect time to make your move!”

“My move? What’s my move? I don’t have moves!”

“Just talk to them,” Lauren said. “The moves will come to you in the moment. All you gotta do is be yourself.”

“Yeah, Van would have to be a real idiot if they didn’t want you,” Liv chimed in. You smiled.

“Thanks, guys. I’ll try to talk to them on Monday.”

“Don’t try, just do it!” Liv smirked.

“We believe in you!” Lauren grinned. You rolled your eyes. It was a lot easier for them to say. They weren’t the ones who risked getting rejected by the most beautiful girl in school.

Despite your friends’ encouragement, neither one of you made an effort to talk to each other on Monday. Van still smiled and waved at you, and you returned the gesture like always, but that was as far as you had the guts to take it. Van tried not to let it sour their mood at practice that afternoon.

“Hey, how was Bound?” they asked when Nat and Lottie walked in.

“It was great,” Lottie answered. “It was what happened afterward that was a nightmare.”

“What do you mean?”

“Misty! She went fucking berserk on this old lady, it was crazy!”

“Some housewife was saying some homophobic shit after the movie,” Nat explained.

“And now, Misty’s banned from the theater,” Lottie huffed before walking away. Van raised an eyebrow at Nat.

“She was possessed!” she grinned with an adoring look in her eyes. “I was wrong, man. She’s definitely not harmless.”

Van scoffed. “Maybe I should’ve gone with you after all.”

“Naw, I bet you had fun at the football game,” Nat smirked, nudging them. Van looked away as she leaned in. “Did you enjoy the band’s performance?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, yeah? Then I’m sure you have no idea why Jackie and Shauna keep glancing over here either, do you?”

Van groaned.

“Did you tell them or did they find out?” Nat asked softly.

“They found out.”

“And are you good?”

Van smiled at her. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.”

“Good,” Nat nodded. Then she winked. “You should totally ask Y/N out, by the way.”

“Fuck you,” Van chuckled.

“It’s not me you should be fucking,” Nat teased. Van gaped at her as she scurried away, laughing. Van just shook their head and got changed for practice, avoiding Jackie and Shauna’s piercing gaze. If anything could get you off their mind, it was soccer.

It worked for a while. It was their best practice so far this season; they didn’t let a single ball get past them. But the respite was short-lived. Their thoughts of you returned the moment Coach Martinez blew the whistle at the end of practice, and so did their sour mood. And it only grew as the week went on and the idea of talking to you became more and more impossible. Luckily, Nat noticed Van’s pain and offered them the perfect solution.

“Hey,” Van greeted as they approached the spot behind the dumpsters where Nat had instructed them to meet. “Thanks again for hooking me up.”

“No problem,” Nat smiled. “Happy to help.”

Van nodded, ignoring Nat’s uncharacteristic cheeriness, and handed over the small wad of cash. Nat pocketed the money, and after glancing around to make sure no one was looking, handed Van a small bag of weed.

“I think you’re really gonna like this stuff,” she said with a wink.

“Thanks,” Van smiled, eyeing the weed hungrily. Then they heard footsteps behind them and they snapped their head up to stare fearfully at Nat.

“Don’t worry, it’s cool,” Nat said. And before Van could react, someone else had walked into their little hiding spot.

“Sorry I’m late,” a familiar voice said. “My trig teacher was being a bitch again and held us after the bell.”

“No problem,” Nat grinned. “I was just finishing up another sale. Have you, uh, met my teammate?”

“No, I don’t think I- Van.”

Van had finally turned around, and they were now face to face with their worst nightmare. Or their dream come true, depending on what happens next. “Hey, Y/N.”

“So you have met,” Nat said, breaking the silence after a few moments. “I figured, I’ve got two people buying from the same batch, why not do it at the same time?” She gave Van a knowing grin, and Van fought the urge to throttle her.

“Uh, yeah, that’s uh… smart,” you said. Then you handed her the money and she gave you a bag just like Van’s. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Nat replied. “Now, I’ve gotta run, but it would be better if you two could wait a minute before you leave. Y’know, make this look less like a drug deal.”

“Yeah, sure. We can do that,” you nodded, avoiding Van’s eyes. “Thanks again.”

“See ya around, Y/N. Van, you’ll have to tell me how you like it at practice next week.”

Van watched her go, and then they were left alone with you. The only sound was the pounding of their heart, and they prayed you couldn’t hear it.

“So, uh… how have you been?” you asked nervously.

“Good. You?”

“Good.”

“I saw you at the football game last week. Your show was really great.”

“Thanks,” you smiled. “I’m glad you got to see it.”

“It was so cool how you did the gun barrel sequence. And your solo sounded amazing!” Van gushed. “It was just like the movies! If I’d known that marching band was so cool, I would’ve gone to a football game a lot sooner.”

You blushed, and Van’s anxiety skyrocketed. They hadn’t meant to say that. Now they’d really messed up.

“I’m glad you liked it,” you breathed.

“I, uh, I have to go,” Van announced, clearing their throat loudly. “I have to catch the bus.”

“But the school buses have already left.”

“No, the city bus,” Van explained. “The nearest stop is a mile away, so I need to start walking.” They turned and left the spot behind the dumpsters, but you stopped them before they could get any farther.

“I could give you a ride,” you called. Van turned back around slowly. “If you want.”

“Are you sure?”

“Totally. I mean, I’ve got a car and nowhere to be. It’s not a limo or anything, but it’s better than the city bus.”

Now Van was the one who was blushing. “Yeah, that sounds great,” they grinned shyly.

“Perfect,” you beamed, pulling your key out of your pocket. “Right this way, m’lady.”

Van giggled and followed your lead. Maybe they really did have a chance this time.

“You can throw your backpack in the backseat,” you said as you climbed into the car. “And you can pick some music, my tapes are in the glovebox.”

Van nodded, placing their backpack at their feet and opening the glovebox. They were expecting to find two or three tapes, maybe four, but you had nearly a dozen stacked in there. “Woah!” they exclaimed, glancing between you and the tapes. “How do you have so many tapes? Are you, like, rich or something?”

“No, I’m not rich,” you chuckled. “My aunt owns the record store downtown. I get a discount on all the music I want, and they gave me a bunch of their old tapes from the seventies. David Bowie, Queen, the Ramones, stuff like that.”

“No way, I love Queen and Bowie!” Van cried.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah! I went as the Aladdin Sane album cover for Halloween a few years ago!”

“You did? That’s awesome!”

“Well, I already have the red hair,” Van joked. You laughed. “I love that record store, it’s so cool that your aunt owns it.”

“We’ll have to go there together sometime. I bet I can get you a discount too.”

“Yeah, that would be fun,” Van said softly, turning back to look through the tapes. They slid David Bowie’s Let’s Dance into the tape deck as you pulled out of the parking lot. You began tapping out the rhythm of “Modern Love” on your steering wheel, and Van joined you on air guitar. When the chorus came on you belted it out, both of you singing off-key. Everything felt so natural that Van almost forgot about being anxious.

“Do you usually buy from Nat?” you asked them.

“Yeah. I don’t smoke a lot of weed, but when I do I get it from her. I think everyone on the team does, it’s just easier. What about you?”

“I usually buy from Kevyn, actually. But he sent me to Nat this time. I guess he doesn’t have anything to sell right now or something.”

“Huh. Yeah, something like that,” Van muttered.

“Do you ever smoke with your teammates?”

“Sometimes I’ll smoke with Nat and Lottie, but most of the time I smoke alone. I usually have to smoke it right after I buy it since I can’t keep it at my house.”

“Can’t let your parents find it, huh? My folks are the same way. Couple’a hardasses,” you smirked.

“No, my mom will steal it and smoke it herself,” Van said humorlessly.

“Oh.” You sat in silence for a moment, not quite comfortable but not as awkward as before. “Do you have to be home by a certain time?”

“No,” Van shook their head. “Why?”

“Well, if you don’t want to go home yet, I was thinking we could head to the park a few blocks over. Maybe this time we don’t have to smoke alone.”

“Yeah, I’d really like that,” Van beamed. You returned their eager expression and changed course, turning the music up. Van couldn’t believe their luck.

“Why don’t you guys play at our soccer games?” Van asked while you were rolling your joints.

“We can’t march on the soccer field. We need the yard lines to figure out where we’re going,” you explained. “But we play at basketball games, and we don’t march at those. Y’know, I’m actually not sure.”

“I wish you did play at our games,” Van mused. “That would be so cool.”

“Yeah, it would be fun. I guess I’ll just have to go to them on my own. I can get some of the other trombones to come too. We’ll sing for you.”

Van chuckled. “I bet we’d be undefeated again this year if you did that.”

“Naw, you don’t need our help with that. I saw you playing at states last year. I don’t know anything about soccer, and even I could tell that you guys are amazing.”

“You saw us play at states?”

“Uh, yeah,” you said quietly after a beat, nearly dropping your joint as you tried to light it. “Oh, hey, the album ended.”

“Yeah, it did.”

“Here, let me play you something,” you said, reaching past them for the glovebox. “My cousin visited us from California last summer, and he introduced me to this awesome new band down there. They’re called blink-182.” You pulled out a tape that said Cheshire Cat and put it in and a punk rock guitar riff filled the car. “I think you’ll like them. They don’t take anything seriously.”

“Rude,” Van scoffed, taking a hit and blowing the smoke out the window. “I’m taking that as a compliment.”

You continued talking and laughing together as you got high, the weed and conversation relaxing you both. And by the time you got to the end of your joints, you were discussing one of your many shared interests; Star Trek.

“Riker’s actually the reason I started playing trombone,” you said proudly. “The best instrument for the best character.”

“You think Riker’s the best character?” Van repeated, trying to hide their disappointment. “Most girls have a crush on Picard.”

“What? No, I don’t have a crush on Riker,” you insisted, shaking your head. “He’s my favorite character for sure, but I don’t have a crush on him.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, he’s definitely not the character I have a crush on,” you breathed.

“Then who do you have a crush on?” Van asked quietly, unconsciously leaning in. You mirrored them.

“Doctor Crusher,” you answered. “I love how caring she is. And she has such a cute smile… beautiful red hair…”

“You… you like girls?”

You froze. “Um, yeah, I, uh… I do.” You shifted uncomfortably. “You don’t have, like, a problem with that or anything-”

“No, I don’t,” Van said quickly. “I like girls too.”

“You do?” you whispered, leaning in again.

“Yeah, I do.”

And then Van closed the gap. Your lips were chapped, and the smell of weed was almost suffocating, but they never wanted this moment to end. They chased after you clumsily and you cupped their left cheek, deepening the kiss. Then, just when they started thinking the kiss could lead to something more, they caught one of the lyrics in the song.

“I’m so sorry, what is this song about?” Van asked incredulously. You cringed.

“It’s, uh… it’s about a woman who accidentally sleeps with her estranged father.”

“Yeah, okay, that’s what I thought,” they said before bursting into a fit of laughter. You let out a nervous chuckle.

“It’s one of their joke songs,” you explained as you turned off the music. “If I’d known we were going to be doing this I would’ve picked a different album.”

“No, no, it’s hilarious. Now I’m never going to forget our first kiss.”

“First?” You raised an eyebrow. Van just shrugged and smiled at you, their face flushing a beautiful shade of pink. “Wow,” you breathed, and Van saw the desire they’d been feeling reflected in your eyes.

“Yeah, would you, uh… wanna go out with me sometime?” they asked after a moment of comfortable silence.

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that? Y’know, since I’m the one with the car?” you smirked. They grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, I’d love to.”

“Perfect,” Van said before pouncing on you again. You gripped their hips as they leaned over the gear shift, quickly regaining control and kissing them passionately. Van melted at your touch. “Hey, we’re pretty good at this,” they quipped, maneuvering to sit in your lap.

“Hell yeah we are,” you grinned.

By the time you took Van home, it was already getting dark. And over the next few days, the piece of paper with Van’s messily scrawled phone number got more use than your trombone. You agreed that the best kind of first date was dinner and a movie, and you decided to go and see Wes Craven’s new horror movie Scream. Its opening night lined up with your last day of school before winter break, and you both had a major crush on Drew Barrymore, so it was the perfect fit.

When the day came, you were both nervous wrecks in English class. And not because of your final; although you both probably should’ve studied harder for it. But this was it. Before you’d just been talking, and kissing when you got the chance. But a real date. That made it official. You would be girlfriends.

After deliberating for longer than you would like to admit, you pulled on your favorite button-up shirt and your trusty leather jacket. Then you checked your appearance in the mirror one last time and headed to Van’s house, your heart racing the whole way. You arrived a few minutes early and waited anxiously out front. Van had asked you not to go to the door, but you were starting to feel like you were in the wrong place.

“Hey, Y/N!” Van called excitedly, opening the passenger door and pulling you from your thoughts.

“Hey, Van,” you smiled. They were wearing a denim jacket over one of their rugby shirts. It wasn’t terribly different from what they normally wore, but it was Van. You’d never seen anything more beautiful. “You ready to go?”

Van nodded eagerly. “I’ve been looking forward to this all week.”

You leaned over and placed a quick kiss on their lips. “Me too.”

“Then let’s go already,” they laughed. You drove away and they slid Queen’s Greatest Hits album into the tape deck. You both sang along at the top of your lungs until you reached the cheap Italian place by the theater.

As much as you wanted to hold hands as you walked in, you knew you had to pretend like this wasn’t a date. Neither one of you wanted it to get out that you were lesbians. Too much trouble could come from that. But thankfully the server sat you at the corner table, so you were able to enjoy some modicum of privacy. Still, being together in public was a lot more nerve-wracking than stealing kisses in the janitor’s closet between classes.

“What are you going to get?” you asked as you looked over the menu.

“Spaghetti and meatballs. Easily the best type of pasta,” Van smirked.

“My thoughts exactly.”

“Maybe we should share. That way we can do the thing from Lady and the Tramp.”

You laughed, loud and melodic, and Van beamed. “And which one am I?”

“The tramp, obviously. Have you ever seen a more sophisticated lady than myself?” Van said with an exaggerated posh accent. You laughed again.

“If you want me to be a tramp for you, just say so,” you whispered. Van giggled.

“Only if you’re the one paying.”

“I was already planning to,” you smiled.

“You’re too good to me,” they grinned, blushing. You winked.

It was the best meal you’d had in months, and Van would’ve said the same. And the food was good, sure. But it was the company that put this meal above the rest. Being with Van made you happier than you could’ve imagined, and it was only the first date! You were already looking forward to all the memories you knew you would make together. And they would never tell you, but Van was doing the same.

Wes Craven’s Scream was the perfect end to the night. The perfect mix of horror, comedy, mystery, and more movie references than Van makes in a day. Neither one of you was scared of Ghostface, of course, but you held hands anyway. On the way home you forwent the music in favor of discussing the queer undertones of Billy and Stu’s relationship and arguing over who was hotter; Sidney or Gale. And when you dropped Van off you sealed the night with a kiss, a soft, lingering kiss that promised many more to come.

“I’m really glad we did this,” you sighed dreamily as they left the car.

“Yeah, I can’t wait for our next date. Girlfriend.”

You grinned and waved goodbye, already missing them. You were thinking about calling them before they even reached the house. Maybe things are finally starting to look up, you thought as you drove away. Maybe this time we’ll get to be happy.

[cobra-shy]

Karate Kid/Cobra Kai survey

tagged by the very sweet @hunkydorkling for the cobra kai survey!!! I have no idea what I'm going to say but let's do this!! >:-)

It's the year 2021 and you're obsessed with The Karate Kid. How are you feeling?:  great!!! I never would've imagined meeting so many kind and talented people through this karate show and my humble doodles inspired by it haha, and I know I sort of came to it late but its been crazy to watch how much the fandom has grown in just the last 6 months?? Absolutely bananas, I cant wait until the next season 🍌🥋

Did you grow up with TKK or are you new to the series?: kind of new!! Like obviously my friends and family had seen it, (I think I remember my cousin telling me she really liked it when we were kids, which made me spitefully REFUSE to watch it on tape while I was at her house because we were beefing over little kid shit at the time?? afsgdhfjf god bless) and like obviously it was available to me through popcultural osmosis and so on, but it was never really something I took an interest in or went out of my way to watch, so last year was the first time I sat down and actually watched all three movies from beginning to end, so I'm pretty fresh to it!! (and LOL sorry to my cousin!! you were right!)

We gotta do the basics. Favorite character:  UHHHHHH this is so hard oh my god, because I feel like I flip flop on this pretty much daily but uhh?? Daniel? And maybe more specifically adult Daniel, because there's something incredibly moving watching the karate kid grow into a complicated adult whose sort of living like he's trapped in the second verse of a Bruce Springsteen song T___T (and OBVIOUSLY adult Johnny too omg, I mean he's the soul of the show and the reason I ended up falling in love with it, and I literally cry about him all the time, so T____T I don't know this is a tough call! also Miguel!!)

Favorite ship:  🚗Tom Cole 💕 Pawn-Shop Guy💰 (...I'm joshing you of COURSE it's Lawrusso omg 🌳💖🐍)

Underrated character:  I mean obviously Aisha, there was so much they could've explored with her character in the canon, and she had such a specific and unique relationship to the themes of the show that would've been awesome to have seen developed further, and the sort of flippant "didn't you hear? Her parents sent her to private school" was just :-((( but I guess Counselor Blatt too!! Like I have loved what I've seen of her character explored in fanfic, but I'd also kill to see more of her on screen, because like?? She went to high school with these guys omg, it'd be great to see all three of them interacting with each other in some capacity, and I want more unsubtle Daniel-thirsting ("I was kinda hoping you would show up in costume. Maybe a karate gi?" ;) for a whole show dedicated to karate, this poor lady has yet to realize her gi kink omg, someone fix this)

Underrated ship (don’t say therapy, lol): Louie/Anoush!!<33 (would love to see a Loush & Lawrusso double date honestly)

Wax On, Wax Off or Sweep the Leg?: Sweep the Leg!

Which of Daniel’s dumb little outfits is your favorite?:  oh gosh, a difficult choice to be made from this lesbian fashion icon, who's always batting 1.000, wardrobe-wise--- I think I'd have to go with the prom suit!! I'd like to think him and Mr Miyagi picked that out at JC Penney's together 😂

Character from the films you most want to return, who’s not Terry Silver: Mike Barnes!! Would love to see if he chilled out over the years 👀

Scene that lives in your head rent-free: ahhhhhhh it's so hard to choose, but I think the bonsai trimming scene from the first movie T___T<3333 it always chokes me up.

(also the Bill Conti solo training montage directly after Mr Miyagi shares his grief with Daniel, making him approach this pursuit with renewed gravity & grace & purpose in this silent, perfect way ;_; the editing was so beautiful)

(ALSO, a lá RiffTrax and GIF courtesy of @howard-ly

Will Anthony LaRusso ever be relevant?:  PLEASE GOD!!!!!!! IM BEGGING 🙏🙏🙏 fanfic has once again totally spoiled me in this regard (when I first started watching the show I read @storyshark2005 's incredible (No) Mercy for the Midlife Crisis before I had even began season 2, which incorporates Anthony's character in such a convincing and satisfyingly brilliant way that, after finishing it, I erroneously believed that he'd be given a similar depth and necessity in canon and like!!! NOT EVEN CLOSE OMG 😭) but if he ever does get his moment to shine, I hope it's via him joining the current Cobra Kai as like, a white elephant ringer wherein Kreese and Terry think theyve totally gotten one over Daniel by indoctrinating his son, but actually he's such an intentional nuisance and obstacle to their evil plans that Kreese and Terry are like "fuck it, this ain't worth it-- let's just retire to Tahiti", thereby saving the entire valley, and Daniel's like, SO proud :"-) but Anthony's just like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ yeah that was cool, can I order Mortal Kombat 11?

You live in The Valley and are forced into the karate gang war.  Which dojo do you join?:  As much as I'd like to ogle Johnny's sleeveless karate physique in action, I completely disintegrate any time someone yells at me (or even in the face of loud noises in general afsgdhdjfj) so I would definitely have to defer to Miyagi Do🌳 (and also I actually enjoy doing fastidious, mind-emptying chores and yard work 🤷‍♀️)

What’s your training montage song?:

It’s the crossover event of the century! Which TV show are you combining with Cobra Kai for an hour-long Saturday night special?: QUANTUM LEAP!!!! it would be so seamless omg, I can vividly picture the opening scene where Sam has already leaped and he's like why is it dark and why is there a gang of teenage skeletons chasing me across this field, and just after he's been peeled off the fence and Johnny sneers "you couldn't leave well enough alone, could you, little twerp?? No, you had to push it. Well, now you're gonna pay!" and then Sam just kind of reels back and says OH BOY in his little Scott Bakula voice, with Al all the while just puffing on his cigar in the background and saying ya gotta break the cycle of violence, Sam!! The soul of the Valley depends on it!!

(WAIT I just read that that said "Cobra Kai" and not the TKK universe in general agshdjjfjgkjgj soooooooo... the Newlywed Game, wherein Johnny and Daniel kind of slay it?? Or fucking, Judge Judy, who tries to settle all of the small-claim legal disputes in the Valley with all of the patience and elegance of Judge Judy-- somehow Terry Silver wins his case against Daniel and Johnny owes Raymond [he tries to be recognized as Stingray but is immediately shut down by Judge Judith Sheindlin who insists that this isn't Animal Planet, buster] up to $3,000)

And afshsjdhfjkfj I THINK most of the people I would've tagged have already done this at this point?? But if you havent and you'd like to then consider this your invitation!! Go forth!!<3333

[miroyuuu]

Top ten............MTL fics

Oh boy let's see.. they're all gonna be skwistok lmao and are in no particular order

A permanent arrangement by you ofc! Seriously i remember the time in my life I this for the first with SUCH fondness.

It could be simple by failedintsave/princessmonstertruck on ao3... I've already screamed in dms to her abt how much i love it and Literally anything you or her write I worship 🙏

The mysteries of generation by cthene ofc!! It is just a godly amazing fic im sure every skwistok fan has read at this point (i have yet to read part 2 but im super hyped)

The 'we are on fire' bdsm skwistok series by nursehelena- i absolutely LOVE any and all bdsm skwistok and this series just continually stunned me

Catharsis by brokenamethyst- its actually not very skwistok centered at all, but yeah its a great great fic with so many good moments :') especially love the pickles and toki dynamic here, theres a moment that just stabs me right in the heart

Attending fuckface academy by apollos- unfinished but still great and i just love the whole high school au and love all the scenes of all the guys just hanging out, and ofc i love stoner toki SO much

A place for us by wonderlandiscrumbling its just great and i think back on so many scenes from it with such fondness.

Pojke gay by nursehelena- also unfinished, but i really enjoyed it and loved this version of kid skwisgaar

Find me a dragon by cthene also amazing, impeccable vibes i just love it and love the setting sm

Say the wrong thing by jacquelinehyde- this was one of my first skwistok fics ever n i still love it to death, its short n sweet and just love it.