#i'm still interested to check out the show though! maybe that'll be interesting!

[firegirl888101]

how would the harbingers react to a reader who's good at drawing? like, they like to draw the harbingers or other things

Good at drawing?

I'm shit at drawing so I'm not really sure what to say, that's why I didn't reply to this for awhile. But, I eventually got a couple things when my friend was sketching some stuff in front of me.

Sorry that the current Insatiable Madness chapter is taking so long, I've been studying a lot these past couple of days.

I also got another ask where it asked about Halloween. I don't really celebrate Halloween, because I never grew up with it. I've always been too shy to trick-or-treat and I didn't have many friends (and still don't) who'd want to go with me. Quite sad actually, but it's alright. I don't think I missed out on much.

Is anyone expecting me to make a Halloween special? I don't mind doing it, but I'll need inspiration as I wouldn't know where to start 💀

Actually, the more I think about it, I do have one fun idea. (Harbingers going trick-or-treating??? Halloween party if that even exists? Idk, I'll have to do some research.)

|You can take this with Yandere and without - some will probably lean towards yan though.|

So, to begin with:

Pierro wouldn't be too bothered. I feel if Y/N had a skill they were confident in, and wanted to show it, he'd let his curiousity get the better of him and check it out. But, if it's something like drawing he'll probably leave a comment then leave. Whether it's positive or negative, you be the judge. This man is like a slate slab. No personality I'm sorry 😭😭 (When I see more of his character, maybe I'll like him more?)

If you were to draw this man, he'd be humbled. A Grandpa who received his very first present from his grandchild. Would definitely frame the damn thing in his office (which originally was your parent's) he'd put it on the desk. It's his office now, don't argue for it back.

Capitano would show interest. Not too much since he's the main captain of the Fatui, but still interested. If he's bored, or deems the 'fort' (the house) safe, he'll sit down with you and watch what you're doing. Occasionally asking you if he could doodle with you - but I think that would be very rare. His main objective in his mind is guarding you when your own is low whilst you're having fun, doodling or drawing something.

Would 100% deny the picture of him at first. He'd think, that looks like me, but it can't be. Yes, it's him, you'd reassure. Eventually he does take it and folds it in his coat. After that, he'd probably leave the room in embarrassment. Since then on, he'd definitely keep all drawings you've made of him in his pocket. There's too many? Let's put it in the second pocket. That's full too? Looks like he's buying a new coat. Oh? There's room in his military coat he hasn't worn in two years? That'll do just nicely.

Dottore would be intrigued if he saw you practice anatomy - or if you drew more of a gorey scene. I think he'd be even more interested if you liked to draw the human body with extra things (such as arms, legs, eyes or even got rid of a few), and question you on your design choices and if it already exists somewhere. (He's not fooling you, he's obviously taking inspirations for a new experiment). If he didn't know, or wasn't good, he'd probably ask for tips on how to sketch ideas like yours. He reassures you it's not for any experimentation but once again, he's not fooling you at all.

If you were to draw him he'd treat it like glass. Nobody has ever given him a sketch before - bonus points if you draw him injured whilst you're angry with him. He'd treat it as if you drew him with love, and not as if you'd stab him in the heart if you ever got the chance. What do you mean he shouldn't like it this much? It's a work of art! He'd be very quick to correct the drawing if you got anything wrong. Who knows what this man has in his body at this point.

Columbina would join you in your drawing activities. Maybe add some glitter if you have any. The second you complain about cleaning up, however, she has somehow disappeared and has become very forgetful about the events upstairs. 'How curious!~' She would hum to herself with her usual smile. Is definitely the type to ask if you could draw her. Who are you to refuse? Especially when she gives you that look of daunt hope and kindness which makes you drop your pen in fear. Before you can give her an answer, you've already picked up your pencil and began to sketch her beautiful headpiece.

When Columbina receives her multiple sketches, she's overjoyed. Oh, look how you drew this part! How you drew her clothes! She's quick to kiss you on the cheek as a thank you and runs off somewhere. Huh, you feel like you've just been used.

Arlecchino will roll her eyes at first. She's seen many children in the hearth draw for her. Her initial thoughts were vague, she didn't really see much of your hobby. That was until she actually saw what you were drawing. She would stare as you worked, your pencil delicately brushing against the paper you most likely bought the other day. It soon will become a habit to watch you work, becoming a therapeutic source for her. She sometimes questions why you're drawing... certain things, but she wouldn't actually stop your creative mind from working.

Handing Arlecchino the drawing you drew of her would make her blood rise to her cheeks slightly. Sure, she's received a lot of gifts in this sense before. But from you? What an honour! She'll accept it with a soft smile she'd usually show the kids, and pat your head treating you like one. Little do you know she's trying so hard to control her cute agression response by not tearing the paper.

Pulcinella would react very similarly to Pierro. However, he'd have more experience with complimenting and encouraging 'a child' in a hobby they're having fun with. If he saw your skill, he'd probably compliment it whole-heartedly with a chuffed smile. Massaging his mustache like some aristocrat, in the 1940s... Anyway, he'd be very pleased when he watches you draw more and more. He's happy that you're spending your time doing something you like under the tense situation his coworkers (and him, but he doesn't like to admit it) have brought upon you.

I do not see you drawing this man at all. He's a short, dobby, old, looking as man. I don't see him as the type to ask either, at all. He's minding his own business in your house and plans to keep it that way until the situation is resolved.

Scaramouche really doesn't care. We've all got our own likes and dislikes, but he's not bothered about yours. Will most likely purposefully pass by you working on a piece and insult it just to get attention. He'd never actually mean it though - he just never tells you that important fact. As time progresses he'll sneak into your room just to look at more sketches or finished drawings you've done, and assess your progress from each year if you've been practicing for a long time-period.

Now, here's where things get interesting. If you were to draw him and never show it to him, said puppet finding it for himself in one of your drawers, he'd first feel angry. Why wouldn't you show him this? It's of him! ...But then he'd quickly realise it's because of the way he treated you when you were working (oops). If you actually handed it to him and let him keep it, he'd be delighted. You actually drew him? He didn't even have to manipu-- he means 'ask' you to draw him? This is a good step forward to where he wants to be in your heart.

Sandrone would be delighted to know that she's finally found a use for you in her head. She never thought that purposefully walking past you one evening would lead to her shuffling through all the sketches and designs you've done with awe. Where did you get this idea from? How can she recreate it? Would you be happier and more devoted to her if she were to make your dreams true? She digresses. Watching your creative little mind draw your ideas to life inspires her also, and makes her want to recruit you as a special exception to the 'no non-artificial beings' allowed in her workshop. Thinking of all the monstrosities you could design with her help sends pleasurable shivers up her spine.

Drawing her, however? This was rather unprecedented. Out of all the things-- no, people you could have drawn... and you decide on her? And ooh! You even drew her slave she likes to travel around on, how thoughtful, you're already expressing your adoration for her works! Trust me, don't draw her. You'll give her daydreams that will never happen.

Signora, like most of the harbingers, wouldn't care at first. She hates your house and hates your world, why in Teyvat's name would she be interested in what you're doing? That's what she used to think, until her arrogant slick eyes caught sight of what exactly you were drawing. In my opinion, there's only a couple things that would interest Signora. Drawing dresses, if you were interested in fashion designing, would definitely be the main one. Viewing your designs after you finished them would soon become a small hobby for her, and soon, she'd eventually ask you to draw her in one of your designs.

You'd say yes, of course. An excuse to draw a drop-dead gorgeous woman in one of your designs for free? No way you were going to pass this opportunity! For her hard work in modeling, you'd definitely pay back twice and give her a drawing of her in her harbinger uniform too - which I think would flatter her a bit too much.

Pantalone wouldn't care, and would never become interested. He's a very rich and successful banker, not any ordinary man. As soon as he sees you drawing somewhere in the house, he'll shrug and go the opposite way. He knows what it's like to be interrupted through a thoughtful process, and he doesn't feel like getting an earful from you if he interrupts it. What he does think about, however, is if you're making money from it. Maybe an online business. He asks, and receives a very disappointing answer. No? What do you mean no? These are good, he'd pay for a portrait! Well, if Mora was a usable currency here. Ugh, the thought of being a poor man in this world makes him disgusted.

Drawing him would result in lots of praise. He'd be very happy you used your own time to draw him. He didn't even have to pay for it, it was gift! You even said so yourself. Immediately taken from your hands and framed somewhere. You can't seem to find the drawing though... Pantalone insists it's still in the house, but no matter where you look you just can't find it! Oh well, it's probably better you didn't know where it went. (You would have never been able to find it, he hid the location so well after all.) Pantalone told you he'd give something back to you as a thank you, but you're not holding him to his word.

Tartaglia would be interested the second he sees you doing something he hasn't seen you do before. That looks interesting, let him give drawing a try! He'd boast how his siblings love his drawings he creates, but you knew he was lying to set a cheery mood. Your understanding was backed when you actually saw his 'Amazing Drawing'... It was embarrassing to say the least. He would heed all your little tips and eventually get good at drawing from your guidance! I can see him as the type to use these skills later for his siblings, and as the type to continue drawing even if you begin to get bored of it... He's skilled with his fingers after all-- okay I'm sorry I'm done.

Drawing him can go one in two ways. I see him as someone who will whine about being drawn. He'll say: 'Have you drawn me yet?' in one of the most annoying voices he cna muster. He knows and understands you find it annoying when he asks you to draw him, so he's found a loophole. Just keep asking questions related to it until you get the hint! ...You got the hint weeks ago, but you're refusing to do it. Well, you're refusing to show him your drawings you've already finished and hid out of sight. Showing him these drawings would make him really happy! Would fold his favourite and carry it around with him everywhere like some of the other harbingers. His next commission he's planned to ask you is of a drawing of Capitano. You eagerly declined, not wishing to impose on the Captain's privacy.

[bonny-kookoo]

Yoongi: 𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐬 (2)

In which he doesn't realize all the things that are going to happen when going on a trip with you.

Tags/Warnings: Vampire!Yoongi, Human!Reader, mentions of 'being high' (drug usage in a way), friends to lovers, blood (duh), red haired Yoongi, Listen I am Jungkook focused but I will put Vampire Yoongi on the menu and you'll better finish your plate

Additional Chapter Warnings: consumption of blood, there's that sweet tension again, yes I will torture you on this ride

Chapter Length: short/mid

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"Alright- did you check everything?" He asks you again, knowing how forgetful you can be sometimes- and you nod while he opens the passenger door of the Campervan he'd rented out. "Here, let me help.." he offers almost immediately when he sees you struggle a little to get in, hands offering help to make sure you won't fall by accident.

All while simultaneously trying not to stare at your butt too much.

"Thanks." You beam at him now seated, and he tells you to be careful before he closes the door, walking around the van to get to the driver's side. He's both excited and also a bit unsure at the same time; you'll be sharing the same sleeping space for a week after all, compressed to the confined space of the campervan for the duration of the trip. And while he's internally very much happy at the thought of having you this close, he's also worried of something potentially happening that'll make you uncomfortable.

Though he's promised himself to stay respectful of your boundaries. He'd never try and persuade you into something you might not truly want, after all.

"You can sleep, by the way." He tells you as he starts driving, pulling out of the parking lot. "It'll be a while until we're at the camping ground." He informs you, and you nod, taking off your shoes for now. It's still early in the day, sun having not even risen completely- so you happily take the invitation to nap, trying to get comfortable. "Here- there's my jacket, you can put that, I don't know.. against the window, maybe." He mumbles, offering his coat towards you.

"Thank you, Yoongi." You say, doing just what he suggested- his scent on his clothes giving you immense comfort. "For.. the trip too, I mean." You say more quietly, and he shrugs.

"I needed some time off anyway." He tells you. "Can't really produce anything if I don't have any inspiration, you know." He offers, keeping his eyes on the road.

"How're you gonna.. you know, go about the whole blood thing by the way?" You wonder, watching him drive.

"I fed yesterday, if that's your question." He chuckles a little, though you seem awfully.. disappointed almost.

"Oh."

You're not sure why you're a little bummed out by that. Sure, Yoongi is a guy that isn't tied to you in any way, he can have fun with whomever he pleases. But still, it kind of makes you a little upset that he just isn't at all interested in you whatsoever. It's something that doesn't surprise you though- he truly seems to just see you as family maybe, a little sister of some sorts.

"I couldn't take the bag with me anyways, it was about to spoil." He shrugs, and you perk up at that- something he notices in the corner of his vision.

"Oh." You repeat again- but this time, a lot less upset.

"Did you think I bit someone?" He jokes, and you turn away from him at that, rather snuggling into his coat to avoid seeing his shit-eating grin he's got on his lips, gummy smile showing as he laughs to himself.

It's small moment like these that give him hope. Hope that you might see him like he sees you after all, hope that there is potential for something more down the line, that you're maybe just shy.

He hopes, at least, that that's what's actually going on.

"We're you hoping I'd feed from you instead?" He asks impishly so, and you squeeze your eyes shut at that.

"I'm asleep." You argue.

"You're not." He laughs, still concentrating on the road to make sure you're still on the correct road.

"I mean-" you ramble, pouting a bit as you speak, voice muffled but definitely clear enough for him to understand. "-if you, you know, wanted to- or needed, I don't know, I mean.." you shrug. "-I wouldn't mind. I'd let you, you know." You mumble, and he shakes his head.

"You shouldn't." He tells you. "What if I can't stop?" He lowly suggests, and you look at him intently.

"I'll kick you in the balls."

He bursts out laughing at that, absolutely amused by your honestly dizzying change of boldness every few sentences. You'll say the oddest things with a straight face sometimes, and it's just one of many things he truly fell In love with over the course of your friendship.

"That'll certainly stun me for a good moment, I'll give you that." He praises, making you giggle as well next to him.

"You'd be nice though." You nod, closing your eyes again. "You wouldn't hurt me." You say, and he nods to himself.

"Hmhm." He affirms softly, changing lanes while you slowly doze off next to him.

And as he continues to drive you to the camping ground, he avoids any bumps in the road to make sure you'll sleep just fine.

[builtintripping]

does timmy still knows timantha, cindy (probably not but like-) or atleast cleft the boy chin wonder???? D: what does shirley think about this??????😭😭 does chloe (carmichael) exists here? also i wonder what is timothys favorite videogame now? .>.💀 questions from ya gurl "timantha" 😏✨💖 (i am a god of changing names over and over cause i cant pick one 😔🔫)

HII THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE QUESTIONS, IT MAKES ME HAPPY HOW INTERESTED YOU ARE OF THIS SILLY AU O MINE!!! 🥰🥰🥰

Disclaimer: I actually know very little about the FOP lore, so anything I say here isn't canon, more on my own interpretation of what happens after Timmy's memory wipe.

First off, his magical memories are replaced with ordinary ones just like with Anna from Frozen. He remembers dressing up as Timantha to "spy" on Trixie and as Cleft the Boy Chin Wonder to spice up his playtimes, but he doesn't remember wishing to magically turn into these two (and all of his other alter egos made by magic like Nega Timmy).

He probs retain his favorite video games as long as it's not tied to CosWan's influences? 🥹

As for Chloe, I know almost nothing about her. Many say she's written poorly as a character as well as the others in Poof's era, so I'm not including anything post JTPH3 in my canonverse (for now?). (but i do dig her design, maybe she has potential? maybe she and timmy can be friends post memory wipe, but I'm not sure how yet)

Timmy unfortunately forgets Cindy and co as an extension to forgetting Jimmy since they're in the same dimension. This goes for the others as well: Patrick, Sandy, Sam, Tucker, the Evil Syndicate (except Crocker lol) and those from the other Nicktoons series.

And good question for Shirley

Since he's a creation of Timmy and Jimmy, whom Timmy will forget, Shirley's out of the picture as well. But I like to be dramatic and have him explode on Timmy's 18th bday on midnight, when the memory wipe happens. I imagine the morning news shows the remains of the pizzeria, then Timmy in mid-breakfast suddenly bolts out of the house to see the scene in person.

He remembers the "casual" bond he shared with the funny pizza guy, but not exactly how they met. And it's not like Timmy to drop everything he's doing to check on some guy's place of death. He just knows that this particular situation's tied to something important to him. He doesn't know why though, he just has to be there somehow.

He could have figured out why exactly he's feeling empty for the days that'll follow if Shirley was still around to tell him about Timmy's co-creator of Shirley. 🥲

[ceph-the-ghost-writer]

Relationship History Tag Game

Tagged by @authoralexharvey! It was interesting to see a little bit of background on the cast of ASMLP's relationships (or their avoidance of them rather?). I'm sure it's manifesting in all sorts of fascinating ways during the actual story. Well, fascinating for the reader--Nadia, Etienne, and Simone might find it less entertaining.

Rules: briefly (or not) describe what kinds of intimate relationships (platonic, romantic, sexual, or otherwise) your MCs have had PRIOR TO THE BOOK STARTING. Have they had their hearts ripped out before jumping into your fluffy romance? Are they aro/ace and have never been in a long-term relationship before?

I did this for Isaac, Renato, and Dorian last time, so let's hear from Ben, Ollie, and Kinslayer next.

Ben

Yeah, yeah, laugh it up about how you could fill an encyclopedia with all the people he's slept with. But he puts just as much effort into platonic relationships as he does into screwing around. Of course he's close with Desmond, and not just because he's Ben's sire. Desmond was the role model he'd needed since his father and older brother died when he was still a kid (thanks WW I). Desmond showed him that a man could provide with more than just money. That he could fight not just for dominance or honor (whatever that is) or his own anger, but justice, love, and the protection of others. Hanging around Desmond also helped him figure out that he could check off "all of the above" when it came to which genders he was attracted to. That figurative encyclopedia started filling up pretty quick afterwards.

As for Theodore...look, they fight like cats and dogs, but Theo's all right (do not breathe a word of this, got it?). Ben wouldn't say the guy's like an older brother or anything. More like a rival. Micaela likes him anyway, and she's always had a knack for reading people.

Hell, probably because Micaela is good people. She gets a little gloomy sometimes, and maybe wanders off by herself for a decade or two, but she always goes out of her way to help everyone. She's also a crack shot with a rifle, and has a lot of guts in a quieter sort of way. He likes to just lay out by the lake with her sometimes and stare up at the stars.

Same goes with most everyone he lives with in Olympia. They drive him crazy sometimes, but that's kind of how it is with family, whether they're related by blood or not. Well, he is related to them by blood, only in the vampire way, not the--oh, hell, nevermind. You get what he means, right?

Ollie

You're going to make her say it, aren't you? Fine. She loved...loves...feels something for Renato. You don't survive an apocalypse with somebody and just stop caring when you're not dating anymore, okay? Even after you've been broken up for years and you're afraid he'll do something that'll force you to kill him.

Mergus is their father. For all intents and purposes, and through magic if not genetics. They quite literally owe him their lives. So, Renato can have his little rebellion, work out whatever shit he needs to work out, but if it comes down to the two of them...she knows who she'll choose.

As for other relationships, she keeps it simple, no strings attached. Why would she want to try for anything more after she found out she could be replaced by a fucking goldfish?

Kinslayer

They've lived a long, long, looong time, friends. So, for the sake of brevity, they're obviously not going to get around to naming everyone.

Haru gets first mention, though. They've known each other for...well, at least the better part of few hundred years, give or take. Things started out rocky, as they usually do for all their kind. But Kinslayer had grown patient enough over the centuries to not obliterate some scrappy little class three at the first annoyance. And Haru had the sense not just to realize that, but to be curious instead of mistake their disinterest in territorial pissing contests for weakness. Eventually, they took to traveling together sometimes, even settling down and having kids now and then. Haru is, in a nutshell, their partner.

While they haven't forged quite the same bonds with the other ragtag psychic vampire misfits who chose to trail along after them like ducklings at some point, Kinslayer doesn't mind them either. Well. Luxe can go piss up a rope most days. But once in awhile his mouth does come in handy for getting out of a scrape.

On the subject of their kin, if they were capable of regret, not living up to their moniker with Tristan Knox would be their biggest. But they're a mind reader, not a fortune teller. It took some time and doing, but they eventually corrected that misstep. Yessir.

Which brings them to an honorable mention for their little black sheep cousin, Renato. Despair and desperation aren't bravery maybe, but they'll do in a pinch. Kinslayer looks forward to finding out what havoc he'll cause next. And whether he'll figure out how to dig deep enough to find out what he's really made of.

No pressure tags @theimperiumchronicles @k--havok @vacantgodling @korblez @late-to-the-fandom @words-after-midnight & an open tag for anyone who wants to give this a go!

[todayisafridaynight]

No for real the Should've Adapted Yakuza 2 take is the only one that doesn't make even a little sense to me. I will say it. I feel like a lot of people still think it's a movie (even though I literally wrote it was a TV series...) and so they're mad they're "redoing the first movie instead of making a sequel" when that's not even what's happening.

Plus the show has no relation to the (at this point almost twenty-year-old) movie; completely different companies, completely different people working on it, completely different approach (RGGS actually having a say vs. Miike and co more or less just doing whatever).

Technically, it's even a different game--like, on top of it being Yakuza Kiwami rather than Yakuza, the series itself has changed drastically from what it was when the movie came out. I think the reason a number of people are disappointed by the movie is exactly that. Like IMO the movie is more or less (at least tonally) representative of what the appeal of the series was at the time, which is all it was trying to do. But most fans today haven't even played PS2 Y1 and Y2, let alone only played PS2 Y1 and Y2, so it can leave something to be desired.

With casting, my dream of a Tomoya Nagase Kiryu 'cause he's partly based on him was shattered so I'm biased lol, but I appreciate that Takeuchi's been bulking up for the role and changing his public image, and I'm excited to check out some of his previous work. I love Kaku already from Super Salaryman and other roles (DW AT ALL BTW GUESS WHO STILL HASN'T WATCHED EP 2 OF FIRST PENGUIN KLJSJKLFG) but I have yet to see him in a serious role so that'll be fun :)

But like. While I tried to pick images that were close to our images of Kiryu and Nishiki, these are promotional shots, not styled and costumed in-character. I think people are also kind of glossing over the timeskip. Like yeah, Takeuchi's only 30, but pre-timeskip Kiryu is 27 and he has to believably play him too. That's especially notable when the story of Y1 could easily be told in like 5 or 6 hours, so perhaps what we're doing for the other 2-3 hours is spending more time pre-timeskip. I'm kind of speculating even some 0 scenes may make it in, because they were described as being dressed in "flashy suits and patterned shirts" at the shoot.

Overall, I do personally regret starting the series with K1 and it's my least favorite starting point (out of 0, Y1/K1, 7, and Judgment), but at the same time it's the only story that can be properly told within one eight-hour season. So. Y'know. It makes the most sense. I'm of course hoping it turns out enjoyable regardless because I'm obligated to watch it either way for the wiki lmao (and hey, maybe if it does well enough to get renewed, my faves will get a turn). I do think it's got the most potential of any of the adaptations so far, at least, aside from the other upcoming Judgment one.

Anyways uhhhhhh I hope we see Kiwamine in the background of a shot just vibing

no like thats what i mean: it makes total sense as to why they'd start from Y1 it just makes the most sense for a brand new adaption independent of the past iterations 😩 in any case im interested to see what everyone brings to the table and how they handle adapting Y1 now with all of the games and content that have come out since the initial movie/stageplay releases ♪(´▽｀)

[kitkatt0430]

i have officially been sucked into Tears of the Kingdom. Any willpower to finish out Symphonia first died the moment I had the chance to save and quit to 'test it out'. That said, I'm just gonna have to swap between the two games because I do want to finish my Symphonia replay.

TotK spoilers next

So I like that TotK gives a reason why Link's been nerfed once the game 'really' begins. So after the prologue beneath the castle, it makes sense why Link's down to his three hearts/default stamina ring when he wakes up again. Admittedly, there are other things not making sense but I'm going with 'Zelda stole Link's clothes' and 'Rauru's hand flew Link up to the sky before merging with him'.

I did kind of feel like the awakening in the sky was a little too much of a parallel to his awakening in Breath of the Wild. I guess this Link just does that now. It's his thing. Waking up naked but for his underwear in strange, ancient temples and then hanging out with a ghost who is mostly non judgmental about Link's state of undress. *snicker*

I like the new powers. Fusing is super useful, rewind is also super useful, and the ascend power is pretty awesome too. I am wondering why we've got a knock off Sheikah Slate - the Purah Pad - but hopefully if I seek out Purah later that'll get explained. And despite not having the Sheikah Slate's special abilities, the Purah Pad seems like it's still pretty useful - still has the map, camera, and warp abilities, I'm assuming I'll unlock a sensor and item glossary later - so it compliments the new source of Link's special abilities quite well.

I've done 4 shrines thus far - I was hopeful that maybe the Temple of Time would be a starter dungeon, but nope. I'm hoping for more actual non-shrine dungeons as I get further into the game and that they're bigger and more complicated than what BotW had. The shrines are interesting mini-dungeons and I do enjoy having lots of those. But there's something really satisfying about a proper Zelda dungeon that the shrines don't quite manage to embody.

Anyway, I only really went as far as completing the training ground and then making a splashdown in Hyrule. So tomorrow I'll start checking out my old BotW stomping grounds and, hopefully, starting to re-fill in that map.

There have been a lot of references to previous games in the series already. Rauru has shown up in the past, previously as the Sage of Light in Ocarina of Time. Now he's a Zonai ,the previous, uh... owner... of Link's new hand, and our latest ghost friend who apparently got to know Zelda during Link's most recent long nap. Zelda geeked out over the Zonai ruins beneath the castle which included depictions of the Imprisoning War, which has been mentioned in previous games though unless it's Skyward Sword (i don't really think so) i can't remember which (so many wars as backstory in these games). The Demon King is depicted as well - Ganondorf, of course, who shows up just a little further down in the caves.

The ruins in the sky is itself a reference both to Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess, where people lived on floating islands. The bird shaped gliders remind me a bit of the Loftwings - miss those guys, such loyal and kind birds...

As far as old enemies made new go, Like Likes are back and as unsettling as ever. I'm just glad they don't make the weird squelching noise I associate with the OoT/MM version of these things.

[tartrazeen]

I'm trying 🤔 to understand 🤔 Rohan and Angus' living situation 🤔

The hut. It's Rohan's, basically. At one point, Angus mentions getting "his own hut" (in excitement) and gets super pissed off about that bratty kid-king taking his spot because ">:( I stay with Rohan, wtf." For that, he just chills with Ivar for the night, and we've seen Deirdre asking him to stay at the castle too. Even more than that, I think it's only maybe once in the whole show that anyone ever says "That's Angus' hut," because every other time, it's either:

1) "Rohan, someone's at your hut"

2) "That's Angus' bed"

3) "Rohan and Angus are in this village"

So everything's towards it officially being Rohan's hut, and Angus just being the friend crashing on the couch.

There's even more when you think about how it's always Angus who grabs his stuff and stomps off. Rohan runs away once, but it's when he's fear-poisoned, and he doesn't pack for it the same way Angus always does. There's also jail, since that's where this guy spends at least 30% of his time. There's also-also that bed in Cathbad's chamber - which is interesting, because it's sure as hell not Cathbad's bed (we see that in the Ghost of Balin episode) and Angus makes himself very comfy on it (kinda everyone does, but Angus legit lies down on it). So it's probably Rohan's bed.

👀

And that's 👀 what started me on this. 👀

Rohan already has a bed in the castle from when he was an apprentice. He still has it, since it's not like it's gone and it's big enough for an adult, but for as much as Angus is all perky about getting to stay in the castle occasionally (when he isn't furious about some other shit), Rohan has clearly moved out.

Rohan got a hut.

Cathbad straight up says in the first episode that Rohan was scrounging around looking for food or a fight as a kid (so Angus was too :( unrelated, just /sadface), which makes it pretty damn unlikely that he happened to have a hut as a kid and got a second bed anyway.

And while everyone seems to agree that it's his hut, Rohan has been consistently matter-of-fact that, "Yep, that's Angus' bed. That's Angus' side of this place."

It makes it all so interesting, because I've got so many ways to interpret it but I've settled on this main one:

Angus didn't like sleeping on the ground in the first episode. He likes beds. He likes being comfy.

Angus technically always has a place to stay 'cause his ass is always getting hauled off to jail.

When Angus - as a kid - shows up to check out where Rohan went after Cathbad adopts him as an apprentice, Rohan seemed... surprised? That Angus found his way in? Which is a point saying, "This kid can wriggle into any place so he's got a million places to build a nest" and another saying, "I don't think Rohan expected Angus to find him, and it came off as a 'holy shit, you actually did? I have a friend!' moment when Angus did show up."

For whatever broke-ass reason, Angus doesn't have his own hut. That's despite at least pitching the idea as being worthy of a wish, so something's stopping him from getting it. It's not that he's choosing to live with Rohan over living in his own place.

Rohan, who's not constantly in jail and has a job (???), got a hut and then happily devoted half of it to Angus, even though he already had a place to stay without Angus (assuming Cathbad would make good on his promise to kick that kid out of there if he was discovered, even though we know Rohan's hiding his buddy all the time). Whatever resources/time/currency it took, Rohan thought it was worth that price, and also worth sharing.

Angus does chores. He cooks and cleans. Everything? Maybe not, but we see him doing it or talking about it way more than Rohan does. He even helps with Rohan's sword.

Rohan's got a teeny tiny case of the Fatal Fuckin' Abandonment Issues and an even worse problem of ':( where is my real family, that'll fix all of my troubles'.

Angus - although he's S-tier for loyalty, and has unquestioningly jumped face-first into solving whatever problems or physical danger Rohan's put himself into - does have more of a "if it sucks, hit da bricks" attitude. Especially since he gets into his own trouble, there must have been hundreds of nights where Angus - just... didn't come home. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ Jail, tied to a tree, attacked and injured, purposely stomped off, crashing with somebody else... Again, an undeniable A+ for his dedication, but also kind of a flight risk.

We've seen Angus interacting with other background characters. Flirting, chatting, scamming - he's got a whole life. Rohan's really only just got Angus (and Cathbad, but Angus takes priority 'cause Rohan'll straight-up argue with Cathbad to keep 'im).

If you add that up, what you get is one person who's rooming with his best friend and is comfy with doing chores to pay his rent, and another person who basically kinda definitely seems to have uhhhhhh acquired a hut to quasi-bribe his best/only friend into staying as close as possible and doesn't seem to like... need Angus to do chores? At least not consciously. There's a vibe of "This is where you live, you don't have to earn your keep to stay here" from Rohan, and it leaks out enough in how Ivar - who's new - describes things over time that you almost see how clear it is from the outside looking in: from 'This is Rohan's hut' to 'This is where Rohan and Angus are staying'.

You can take it to a sad place really easily. Like, Angus still sees it as a transaction of some kind - something that can be revoked since it's all based on his friendship with Rohan - and that's why he's so willing to leave whenever he's angry. "I'll abandon you first, and on my own terms!" And that immediately clashes with someone like Rohan, who goes on about how he never knew his family, how much he needs Angus around, and how he kinda low-key accepts that sooner or later, something'll happen (in or out of anyone's control) where Angus leaves him for good.

You can also take it to a nice place by being like, "Angus seems like he was taking care of Rohan long before Cathbad was on the scene, and sure as hell has kept doing it throughout the show, so maybe this was Rohan's first chance to pay him back a little." And that Angus doing chores is him not understanding that, locking them into a loop where Angus is effectively paying Rohan back for paying him back, probably pushing Rohan to pay Angus back for paying him back for paying Angus back in the first place. :) They're idiots. It's adorable.

But you can also take it a fantastic place.

Angus spends so much screentime hyping Rohan up, putting himself in front of danger for him, defending Rohan's reputation, rescuing him... and Rohan does the same thing at the same intensity except for hyping Angus up. Rohan's a tearer-downer, really. It doesn't bother Angus, since however it looks in the show, Angus doesn't act as if Rohan means it beyond surface-level teasing. It canonically never becomes an issue for them. (Hogging credit? Different episode lol) But while Angus is going from, "You can't be Draganta!" to "Fuck Balin, you're the hero of our time, don't let anybody tell you that you aren't perfect, I'll stab Lugad if I have to istg," we have Rohan taking until like THE THIRD LAST EPISODE to give a 'royal you' to a whole group of people about how they're Rohan's close-enough-I-guess family.

And like... sometimes I still wonder how that's fair, but stuff like this makes it balance back out. Angus is doing all the little things all the time, and the big things. But while Rohan does the big things too, what he does instead of the little things are these big mostly-unspoken gestures. They're infrequent but they're enduring. It's Angus caring enough to cook and clean and wake Rohan up (figuratively and literally, like in that episode where Rohan ran off to summon Tyrune like an idiot -_-) and generally tend to the home, while Rohan's like, ":3 i bought us a home. yes, for us. i already had a place. this is a place for you to stay without you getting chased by cathbad and you have your own bed forever because you're safe here now" and ":3 i have to go on a suicide mission and you're the only person i want to bring with me, oops we're knights now and i need you to be at my side while i lead us further into war, okay?"

idk - someone flip through that big ol' book on Love Languages and tell me if Rohan's doing Quality Time or "Gifts" (by his own definition) to keep up with Angus' Acts-of-Service and ✨ affirmations!💖 shtick.

I absolutely adore their friendship, omg. It's perfectly controlled chaos. Fire in a pit, safely surrounded by rocks. :D

[fictional-worlds-are-exquisite]

i finally read the percy jackson books when i was away on holiday and was thoroughly underwhelmed. i’m not sure if it’s because i’m an adult and they’re kids books or if i’ve just seen too much hype and there’s no way anything could live up to that but they were. average. the sort of series i’d read and probably forget about not long afterwards until i got reminded. maybe it just wasn’t my cup of tea, even as a kid maybe i wouldn’t have cared that much. not sure! that was a little disappointing but they only took 2 days to get through so it was a quick enough read. still happy i tried them.

[nessaxc]

___________________________________

Anything You Want || Oikawa Tooru

Oikawa takes you to his house after hearing a conversation you have with your friend about how attracted you are to him.

~ Rating: Explicit

~ Warning: NSFW 18+ ~ Sexual dialogue, Sexual Content, Explicit Language, Shameless Smut, Swearing, Pet name, Praise Kink, Rough Sex

___________________________________

"I really like him, but I don't think he's interested in me, and if I tell him, I'm worried that it'll ruin the friendship that we have," you confided in your best friend who you decided to hang out with at the court.

You got bored after one of the games. The thought of Oikawa was weighing on you more than you wanted to admit. You were conflicted because you wanted nothing more than to tell him how you felt but your biggest fear was that he wouldn't be able to return the same feelings. You imagined that he would just laugh in your face and brush it off like it was nothing because that's usually what he did when you suggested that you both should date and do all of that cute shit couples did.

"He's so beautiful and funny and amazing, and I'm none of those things," you whined, covering your face with your hands in embarrassment.

"Aw don't say that. You'll never know if you stay silent forever, you should tell him how you feel," your friend suggested, she placed a hand on your shoulder, rubbing it gently to try and comfort you.

"Yeah but if I tell him, he's going to reject me. Then things will get all weird and I'll be that person he waves to from afar all awkwardly, and that'll be the extent of our relationship because I went and messed things up," you said with a pout.

"I doubt that will happen, I bet he really likes you. You should tell him, sooner or later. Then when everything goes right, you'll be thanking me," she looked at you with a reassuring smile as she patted your shoulder.

"You really think so? I seriously doubt it. But thanks anyway," you heaved a long sigh and you looked up when your friend stood up from her seat.

"I'm serious, tell him. You're not going to regret it," she advised with a soft chuckle, "I have to be on my way now, it's getting late. I'll see you later," she winked and waved at you before she left.

"Bye!" you waved back quickly. As soon as she left, you found yourself in a trance about Oikawa, with your palm resting on your cheek. You couldn't stop thinking about his voice, how he said your name, and the way his lip curled into a smirk when you would greet him. He was perfect. You wanted him, with every fiber of your being, there was no denying it. Your only wish was that you had the courage to tell him how you felt, but it was easier said than done.

"Hey cutie, what are you still doing here?"

Speak of the devil. A shiver ran down your spine when you heard his voice all of a sudden and you whipped your head back to see that he crept up behind you, his hot mouth was against your ear and you jolted up from your seat.

"Tooru! You scared me," you laughed nervously and then you instantly thought back to your conversation with your friend, wondering if he was there the whole time which would mean he heard every word.

"Ah, I didn't mean to!" he said with a pout but it quickly faded into a mischievous grin, "The game’s over, so what are you still doing here?" he repeated, "Waiting to say goodbye to me?" he raised an eyebrow and you giggled in response.

"I was just about to get going actually," you swallowed thickly and pointed your thumb in the opposite direction of him, "it was nice seeing you though!"

You wanted to get out of there and fast, it was embarrassing to think that he probably heard everything you just said. He clasped your arm in his hand when you turned to leave in a rush, making you turn back to face him, the gesture making you a little startled. He let go of his hold on you when he captured your attention.

"Aw you're leaving? I was hoping maybe you would come hang with me." he smirked and quickly added, "Tell me you'll go home with me?"

You couldn't reject his offer even if you tried, if he wanted you to go home with him then of course you would, no questions asked. "Yeah," you nodded, "I can definitely go home with you."

"Good. Right this way, m'lady." he bowed dramatically before he extended his arm out for you, and you took his hand in yours without hesitation. A few minutes later he led you to his house and shut the door behind him quietly.

"So I'm not one to pry, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with your little friend back there," he whispered, his pupils blown with lust as he stared back at you, like he was shamelessly undressing each article of clothing from your body with his eyes.

"You did?" you blinked in surprise and you could feel the blush that was rising in your cheeks when he looked at you like that. You swallowed nervously as he took a step closer to you, "You weren't supposed to hear that."

"I was going to check if you were still around, but then when I heard you say my name, and well I couldn't help but listen," he continued to murmur with that grin stuck on his face, his gaze remained unwavering as he took another step. "So you've got two options, we can pretend that I didn't hear a word of what you said back there or we can just fuck already," he shrugged his shoulders before adding, "Choice is yours."

You felt your throat go dry and your eyes fell to ground, you were a little taken aback because you didn't expect the rest of your night to go like this, not that you were complaining though. Without a second thought you quickly said, "The second one, please."

"Personally I liked the second choice as well. Smart girl," he winked playfully, which only made your breath hitch. He took one step closer so that there isn't a gap between your bodies anymore and a smirk spread across his face when he felt you shiver, finding your nervous state to be quite amusing. "I couldn't let you go home without you knowing something."

"Knowing what?" you asked as you locked your eyes on his, taking a deep breath to calm your nerves.

Your eyes only locked for a moment before his mouth pressed roughly against your own. You felt him laugh against your lips before he pulled at your lower lip, dragging it between his teeth before letting it go again. His broad hands gripped each of your upper arms, holding you in place while he kissed you.

"Tooru," his name involuntarily rolled off your tongue.

He parted from your mouth to say something smart you assumed but you pull him down for another kiss, just as rushed as the first. This time you captured his lower lip between your own, letting your teeth graze the soft flesh as you pulled back. He whispered your name the way you'd always longed to hear it; like something coveted, precious beyond measure.

"Tell me, Y/N, how long have you wanted to do that?" he asked, his tone hoarse and low.

"If I'm being honest, from the first day I met you," you answered with a coy smile playing on your lips.

"I was always here, maybe I just wanted to see if you had the guts to make the first move," he chuckled before pulling away from your lips.

You raked your fingernails through the fine hair at the nape of his neck before planting a warm kiss in the crook, and he failed to suppress a grunt at the back of his throat upon the sensation.

"What do you want, Tooru?" you questioned, placing a flesh flurry of light kisses on the underside of his jaw, letting your lips brush his skin as you spoke. You can feel his pulse there, furious and quick.

He took a moment before he replied, "Hm---anything," he breathed, shuddering at the invocation of his name and the gentle caress of your mouth, "Everything."

"So show me," you whispered in his ear, your hot breath ghosting over the sensitive skin.

That did it. In one fluid motion he slid both his hands behind your thighs, feral and possessive, lifting your legs to wrap them around his waist, your hips held still against the wall. You gasped at the sensation in between your legs, already dampening with arousal, being pulled suddenly against his torso. Even through the layers of his clothing, you could feel the unnatural heat of his body.

You exploited your vantage, carding your fingers down through his hair as you lowered your lips to meet his, which are already parted expectantly. The wet brush of his tongue against your lips was a demand and a promise, both of which you handed yourself over to willingly. His tongue in your mouth was soft but sure, and you recognized so much of him in the kiss he gave you. Impatience takes over, and the second he pulled away you reach down to the hem of your shirt with both hands, yanking it over your head and tossing it to the floor in a careless heap. His darkened eyes skimmed over you and his tongue swayed across the shape of his lips, reverent, watching as you reached behind your back to unhook your bra and discard it.

"Mhm well hello beautiful," he whistled with a long smirk on his face and you felt your cheeks reddened up in response. He placed a tender kiss against your rib cage, another to the valley between your breasts, tracking his lips across the soft flesh to a nipple, and he doesn't hesitate before taking it into his mouth and sucking on it. The shock to your nerves travels straight to your core.

Keeping you pinned against the wall, he brought one hand up to your opposite breast, pinching the bud between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it experimentally. He relished the result, your legs gripping him tightly, inadvertently digging your heels into the small of his back. You worried that you could be hurting him, but his blissful groans and amplified vigor towards your breasts said otherwise.

"You're beautiful," he murmured as his tongue flicked against your nipple, "so fucking beautiful."

After a generous while, he returned his hand to the back of your thigh, readjusting himself, letting you slip lower against his body until your clothed heat rested against the growing tent in his pants, which made your inner muscles clench involuntarily. Seeking comfort and relief in equal parts, he rested his head on your shoulder, breathing in your scent. He started to grind his member against you, so eager for the pressure. Three times he did this, agonizingly slow, his husky voice whispering your name against your neck at each pass, and you can feel his teeth graze your skin.

With all the wetness and heat pooling in your center, you were sure that you could come right then and there, but he stilled himself as if on cue, looking back at you with lopsided grin. You pulled your legs away from him, your breath ragged.

"There's something I need to show you," he said with a growl.

"Anything, Tooru," you panted, "anything you want."

He took you away from the wall, wrapping one strong arm around your back to cradle you against him, and he carried you to one of the seats. He set you down on the edge of it before kneeling ceremoniously in front of you.

"Watch," he demanded. You are all too willing to obey, lying back to prop yourself up on your elbows, eyes centered on him as he hiked your skirt up toward your hips. He placed his hands on the inside of your calves, stroking them upward in a steady climb to reach your inner thighs, parting your legs even further as he goes, until he has enough space to crouch between.

At the first press of his plush lips to the inside of your knee, your heart started beating wildly in your chest. He maintained eye contact, trailing greedy kisses along the elegant line of your thigh, one after another. Every inch brought him closer to your overheated core. You trembled for him and he watched with fascination as your breathing became rapid and shallow.

Right before he reached his mark, he paused to lick his lips and you couldn't help but whimper at the sight of him. He rewarded you with a long, firm kiss against your clit, lighting up your nerves, the thin fabric of your panties the only thing still separating you from him. For a moment, he closed his eyes as if savoring it before pulling away, and you moaned his name, desperate for more.

"You're already soaking wet, fuck, I just have to get a taste." he chuckled. His expression was determined, dark pupils of his beautiful eyes wide with lust.

"Do it," you begged. "Oh god, Tooru, please."

"A girl who knows what she wants, I like it." he purred along with a short laugh. He hooked his fingers beneath the trim of your panties, brushing against the delicate skin near your entrance before bringing the garment down your legs and then off your feet. Without hesitation, he buried his head between your legs, licking you in a broad stroke across your folds.

A gasp escaped your mouth almost immediately and he moaned against you, making you want him all the more. You leaned forward and weaved your fingers into his hair, tugging gently and holding him close as he massaged you with his voracious tongue.

He became desperate for friction so he used one hand to palm at his hard member through the thick barrier of his pants, but it's not nearly enough, and watching the obvious effect you have on his desire filled you with an unfettered passion. You fucking adored him.

"You're so perfect, Tooru," you panted as he nuzzled against you, sucking gently on your clit. "So perfect, you have no idea."

He pressed down forcefully with the palm against his member, loving how exquisite his name sounded coming from you, each syllable balanced carefully on your tongue, even in the midst of your pleasure. He groaned, the rich gravel of his voice causing vibrations that set fire to you from the inside out.

With his free hand, he reached up, the pads of his fingers rubbing against your slick entrance, teasing you.

"Is this what you want from me, baby?" he whispered.

Every time you looked at him, you wanted everything from him, and you didn't remember how not to, you longed to say it but instead all that comes out is an urgent, "Yes Tooru, please."

He slid one finger between your folds, as deep as it could go, then a second, and you squeezed them with a keening whimper.

"Soft," he mumbled, his lips brushing against you as he twisted his fingers, those eyes trained on his task and never leaving it. "You're so soft inside."

You bucked against his hand, a wordless plea for motion, and he obliged, driving his fingers in and out at a steady pace. He set his mouth back to work against your clit, licking and sucking diligently until you are teetering on the edge of orgasm. Every fiber of your being is drawn taut, imploring him to guide you over completely.

"Oh god, Tooru, you're... oohhh, that feels so good. You're so good, Tooru," you purred, peeking down at him as you writhed against the consummate ministrations of his tongue and fingers. "I'm so close," you barely managed to utter.

His eyes flick upward, watching your face as the cord inside you snapped and you came apart against his mouth, his lips still smudged against you when you do. Your head fell back, and you mumbled his name again and again as that beautiful lightning raced through your system.

He angled back, allowing you to sit upright once the steady beat of your ecstasy faded. His gaze was unrelenting and his lips were moist, enraptured by your performance. After you were able to catch your breath, you quickly found yourself saying, "Your turn."

You sunk to your knees before him and began to pull his pants down so that they pooled around his ankles.

"Such a good girl, so eager to please, aren't you?" he said under his breath.

"I need to taste you," you murmured, your trembling hands moved to his boxers to casually slip them down so his member sprung free. He hissed softly as his hand lightly gripped at the back of your head as his other moved to his member, shifting it so that he could drag it against your lips, his pre-cum already dripping off of the head. It gave you a rush to know that you had already caused him to become so turned on. You had been waiting so long to see him like this, exactly like this. No more than an inch separated your lips from him, your hot breath making him tremble, and you could feel your mouth starting to water in anticipation. His heady scent made you dizzy with desire.

"That's right, take it baby girl," he voiced in a hoarse tone. The pet name nearly caused you to choke as you licked gently at the tip, causing his grip to tighten in your hair almost instantaneously. You massaged it with the flat of your tongue, lips pressed together tightly around the ridge to provide suction.

"Don't tease me, just take my cock," his tone wasn't one that was low or grumbled yet he was encouraging you and you couldn't help but want him even more now than when you first stepped in the trailer. Under any normal circumstances you would have found his words vulgar and probably walked away and never looked back, but the way he looked at you just made you want to do anything this boy ever asked you to do.

You slowly lowered your mouth onto his length, nearly taking him all the way in. It's thick and heavy on your tongue, and you wondered absently if he would fill up every part of you so well, because you'd sure be willing to try. Just the thought of it caused a heated pressure to begin building in your core.

"That's a good girl, take it all." he purred.

His small praises only riled you up, in fact, you began to crave them as you started to move up and down his length, taking whatever you couldn't fit in your mouth into your hand and pumping it rapidly.

"Fuck, yeah just like that baby, keep going," he cooed.

His hips bucked upwards lightly to meet your mouth, causing his length to hit the back of your throat and making you gag. You hollowed your cheeks as he continued to grow in volume, the praises falling from his lips sounding like heaven to you.

Every other thrust of his rigid member, now glistening with your saliva, is accompanied by an ardent gasp of your name. You can't ignore the throbbing in between your legs any longer, and you rubbed impatient fingers against your clit and damp, swollen folds. He slowed his pace as you moaned around him. His hand gripped at your hair again, pulling you off him with a loud pop, your lips now bruised from the way you had been taking him all this time.

"Tooru," you gasped, "I'm so wet for you, Tooru."

"Just for me?" he chuckled and then he quickly added, "Lucky me," he growled, "I figured if I'm going to cum, I might as well do it in your pretty little pussy first."

You stood back up on your feet and you didn't even respond as your hand moved to his cheek, standing on your tip-toes so your lips could collide once again. He smirked in the kiss as you jumped up, your legs wrapping around his waist as his hands gripped at your thighs. He pressed you up against the wall, shifting your skirt lightly so that his length could slip underneath the thin fabric.

You still had your panties on but it seemed as if he had grown too impatient for one more unnecessary step. He slid them to the side in a hurry and positioned his length in front of your entrance.

"What could you possibly need?" he snarled, the rough grate of his voice a full octave lower than usual. He pressed the tip of his member between your thighs, running it back and forth along your soaked folds, "Tell me exactly what you need."

"You." you replied promptly, eyes pleading, eager to have him inside you, but he refused to give. You had none of his discipline. Needy whines escaped your lips as you squeezed your thighs together, gliding your clit across his shaft in a last-ditch bid to alleviate some of the mounting tension, you would have done anything just to have him inside you. "Please Tooru, I need you. I need you inside me."

The corner of his lip pulled up in a smirk, his eyes meeting yours with a glint of amusement. He chuckled, making you let your guard down before he shoved his length into you. As if on cue, you both let out a moan, and he gave you a moment to adjust before pushing the rest of his length inside you.

He seemed to get the hint when you began to lightly grind your hips down onto him, eager to feel him take you deeper. He began at a slow pace, building up a rhythm that had you begging for more within seconds.

"Calm down baby girl, we're just getting started," he said with a laugh. You continued whining as his pace barely gave you any of the satisfaction that you so desperately needed. He wanted you to be crying out his name and he was determined to get just that.

"You're mine now," he growled as his thick member stretched your walls like he belonged there. "No one else can have you; do you understand? You're mine, and mine alone," he whispered, his words suddenly turned dark, as his thrusts got harsher, accentuating certain points of his words.

You wanted to speak; you needed to say something, anything, but the coiling tightness in your stomach reduced you to a mewling mess.

"Answer," he barked, increasing his authoritative grip on your hips as he angled himself upward to hit a particularly responsive spot within you.

"Yes!" you cried out, rocking back to match him stride for stride. "Yes, Tooru, I-I understand. I'm yours," the last part comes out as barely more than a whisper, your mind occupied with the one thing you knew to be true: that you always had been.

"Then I am yours," he murmured, wrapping his voice with a gentle cadence that made your frantically pounding heart skip a beat. His pace slowed to an even, tamed rhythm and he reached down past your hip to rub circles over your clit. "Would you like that, Y/N?"

"M-more than anything," you stuttered. Your legs tightened around him as he buried his face in your neck, his hot breath covering your soft skin and leaving goosebumps in its path.

"Please," you breathed out, growing desperate for more than what he was willing to give you.

"Please what? Use your words, baby girl," his thrusts slowed again, becoming shallower as he waited for a response.

"Harder, please," you whined as he thrust upwards rather harshly, catching you off guard as he smiled at you menacingly. "You're even prettier when you beg like this. You're so fucking perfect."

His grip on your thighs tightened as he sped up his pace to one that now had you going mad. You threw your head back, trying your best not to cry out at the realization that you were still in this trailer that he had taken you to. He suddenly pressed his lips against yours, hungrily kissing you with such passion and rigor you felt yourself falling further.

"Oh god, Tooru... I-I'm... oh, I'm close," you warned him, feeling yourself on the crest of your climax. You panted against his lips as he pulled back a bit, his eyes now directly locking with yours.

"Come for me," he ordered, "be a good girl and come for me."

You cried out as your eyes rolled into the back of your head, your back arching even against the wall that was supporting you. He continued to thrust into you through your high until his hips came to a halt, his seed spilling inside of you. He bit down against your shoulder as he came down from his climax, and you could already feel a bruise forming beneath the surface but it was nothing compared to what had just happened.

It was a good few minutes before he pulled out of you and planted you firmly on the floor, careful to make sure you could stand on your own two feet. You felt dirty but you loved it, the feeling of his cum now sticky inside of you as you panted heavily, your body shivering.

He began to pull his boxers up, his pants following as he buckled his belt, and he turned to look at you with a sinister smirk on his face.

"Looks like you'll have a story to tell your friend now, huh?" he winked.

You swallowed a nervous gulp, you were still hazy from it all, but if one thing was clear it was positively your adoration for him and you relished in what just occurred between you two after all that waiting.

"Tell her now that you're spoken for," he leaned down to plant a soft, affectionate kiss upon your parted lips, "Now get dressed so we can take this to your bedroom."

___________________________________

[sincerely-raine]

Lovesick (Todoroki Shouto x Reader)

love·sick

/ˈləvˌsik/

adjective

in love, or missing the person one loves, so much that one is unable to act normally.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Kinda short, also one of my first 'x reader's)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Almost everybody has a voice, whether they use it or not. Kouda? He uses it to talk to animals. Tokoyami? To communicate with Dark Shadow. And Shouji? He's never been one to talk much, but he likes to converse once in a while.

Todoroki has always been quiet. Even quieter around you. You never understood why. 'Is he shy?' You thought, 'Though he seemed fine talking to the others? Maybe I'm out of his league...he is Endeavor's son after all, and a handsome rich kid too, why would he need a normal person like me in his life to be anymore than just another fan?'

You wouldn't let that get in the way of making new friends. Whether he likes it or not.

But the truth was...your thoughts were completely wrong. Little did you know, his feelings for you were so strong he may as well take the world record for being the biggest lovebird to live.

Everytime you were around, he got so nervous, felt so fuzzy inside, he couldn't bring himself to speak. Caught up in his head, thinking about how beautiful you are, how adorable every expression you made was...how you were so nice towards him, even before the sports festival. He would be so blatantly rude to you, block you off, straight up tell you he didn't need friends, yet you still tried to invade his social life.

You're so persistent, and thoughtful, and understanding...once the sports festival was over...he couldn't stop thinking about you.

How he wished he could speak to you. Everytime you said something, he would just stare into your eyes with an expression so hard to read.

"She probably thinks I'm not interested in her...but how can I show my true feelings when all I can do is stare?" He murmured to himself before sitting up on his bed.

He looked over to a notebook sitting on his desk. That was it! He can write to you! Surely, that'll work!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He sighed once he made it to your dorm. All he needed to do was slide the paper under the door, that was all! 'Who cares if they don't replicate your feelings, right?'

...right?

He was shaken from his thoughts when he saw your door open. You were standing there, 3 inches apart from him, with bedhead and adorable pajamas. Barely even awake.

"Hey, Todoroki," you said ever so quietly with the cutest blush,"Need something?"

...

"Todoroki? Hello? Anyone in there?" you giggled at your own reaction as he just stood there. "Well uh...it was nice playing stand infront of someone's dorm room with you, but I really should brush my teeth now. Gotta stay hygienic! Bye-bye!" he watched as you walked towards the elevator. What was he doing? Who cares. He was so close to you...he could smell your sweet, natural, cotton candy scent. He could almost touch you, hug you, even kiss you.

Wait...the letter! He was supposed to give you that love letter! And you were gone. Well, nothing's stopping him from giving you a late love letter...maybe even checking out your room? No...that's creepy to do that without permission...but it's not creepy if they don't know.....

He reached for the door handle and turned it, opening the door to reveal all the things you love in one dorm.

All the equipment and gear for the sports you love to play, every doodle and sketch you've ever drawn, a twin bed covered with multiple blankets and pillows with your favorite fandoms on them. He looked over to the corner of your bed and saw a journal with a lock on it. Your diary? Maybe so. And you were even foolish enough to leave the key right on your pillow.

He set the letter down and used the key to unlock the diary, and read anything he found interesting. He hoped you wouldn't walk in on him reading your book of secrets.

Over the past 5 minutes, he's already learned so much about you. Your pet cockatiel you had to leave at home to abide dorm rules, your older sister who you missed so much, all your past crushes and friends, and even enemies. And finally he got to the one page he needed to read.

And he read every last word.

"I always wondered why he never talks to me...did I say something? Am I annoying? And why do I have to like him? The one person who doesn't even bother to speak to me. I wish I never had the ability to feel, I know this will end in heartbreak and our relationship being even more awkward than before. It always does.

But I won't stop talking until he makes me. It'll teach both of us something! He'll learn to use his words instead of waiting for someone to use their mind reading quirks and I can work on whatever he tells me to!"

Were you talking about him? Who do you have feelings for?? He didn't know what to think.

He closed and locked your diary, left the letter and closed the door behind him. Walking back to his dorm, he was lost in his thoughts, hoping he'd get answers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"My legs hurt..." you whined, plopping onto the couch. "You'll get used to it!" Mina chimed in,"I always felt that way after playing Dance Dance Revolution but it gave me dancer legs after a while, and cool moves~" you giggled at her once she started doing the strangest dance she could think of.

"Thanks for taking me to the arcade, guys, it really did take my mind off him for a while."

Kaminari sat down next to you,"Don't worry bout it, but hey, if you just mentioned him, doesn't that mean you're thinking bout him right now?"

"Why don't you just ask him what's up?" Kirishima chimed in.

"Yeah, and keep asking over and over until he gives in."

You stood up "Sero, if I do that I'll just annoy him so bad that I'll have an even lesser chance to hook up with him...but thanks for the idea?"

He shrugged in response. "I'm gonna go to bed, sleeping will make Saturday come faster."

"Goodnight!" Uraraka said as you walked by. "G'night, chako."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You opened your door and saw a piece of plain, lined paper sitting in the middle of your bed. "Did I leave this here?"

You gently picked it up and laid down.

"Dear (Y/N),

I'm sorry if I upset you with my silence. I don't mean to leave you hanging all the time. But your presence makes me so flustered, I get lost in your words. I can't even use my own words to talk with you.

You make me lovesick. It's impossible to function as a normal human when you're around.

Everytime I see your sparkling eyes, my heart skips a beat. Everytime I hear soft voice, I feel like I'm listening to music. When I smell your sweet scent, I could faint.

I love you so much it's unhealthy.

Please forgive me for being so rude.

Your secret admirer, Todoroki."

...Love?

......Secret?

Todoroki???

Okay, for one, it's not secret when he tells you his name?

You were so shocked, you were expecting him to confess, but you weren't expecting a love confession! Not that you were mad, you were anything but mad. You didn't think you'd visit the arcade, come back, to try sleep, then get hit with a love letter from the one guy who acts like he hates you! (Even on accident!)

That night, you dreamt of red and white.

Part 2? Maybe? Possibly?

And don't be scared to let me know if I made any mistakes or give me suggestions!

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior 5/7/21: WRATH OF MAN, HERE TODAY, THE UNTHINKABLE, MONSTER, THE WATER MAN and More

It’s a new month, and I guess going by previous years pre-COVID, this weekend would normally be the start of summer. This year, we’re instead getting a summer with a lot of movies that would normally be dumped into April or February or some other uneventful month. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t or won’t be any good movies, but really, there’s nothing that feels like a summer movie until A Quiet Place Part II and Disney’s Cruella open on Memorial Day weekend.

There’s been lots of great developments, though, including the Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn reopening this Friday and then in a few short weeks, theaters may be allowed to be open with no capacity rules although social distancing and masks will probably still be in place. Believe me, it’s been a confusing week as the city that got used to being on the backburner when it comes to reopenings, especially with movie theaters, is now dealing with arguing politicians competing to see who could throw open the then most doors fastest. It’s actually pretty embarrassing.

That aside, this week’s The Weekend Warrior column is brought to you by the new album “Coral Island” from Liverpool band The Coral, which I’ve decided to listen to on loop until I finish this column, because it’s taking me so long to get through it. (Eventually, I switched to Teenage Fanclub’s “Endless Arcade,” since I hadn’t had a chance to listen to it yet…. And to an old standby, Royal Blood, with their own excellent new album, “Typhoons.” At least the record business seems to know it’s the summer!)

Before we get to this week’s new movies, a couple tidbits. First of all, I’m thrilled that my friends Larissa Lam and Baldwin Chiu’s documentary FAR EAST DEEP SOUTH can finally be seen by the entire world, or at least the United States. It debuted on PBS World Channel on Tuesday night as part of the “America ReFramed” series, but for the entire month of May until June 3, you can watch it On Demand HERE, and that is huge! (There will be other ways to see it that you can read about here.)

This is an amazing MUST-SEE doc that looks into the little-known Chinese communities that took root in Mississippi in the early 20th Century and how they became such a huge part of that area with their markets, also bonding with the African-American communities that were similarly dealing with racism from the typically white post-Civil War South. It’s not just a history lesson, and it’s an incredibly moving story about a family trying to find its roots in the most unexpected places. There was a good reason why the couple’s short “Finding Cleveland” won the Oxford Film Festival while I was on the jury that year, and Far East Deep South similarly won an award there last year after its World Premiere at Cinequest was almost scuppered by COVID. It’s amazing how much more relevant and important this film has become since I first saw it last year, since both Asians and African-Americans are dealing with serious racial issues, and this movie shows that more than anything, they should be working to boost each other rather than fighting. Do check it out On Demand this month if you get a chance!

Another musician making movies is Mr. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters. I mentioned his documentary WHAT DRIVES US last week, but I actually only got to watch it on Thursday, and like his previous film Studio City and HBO mini-series, Sonic Highways, it’s a fantastic look at the music biz, this time through a variety of artists who began their careers by piling into vans and driving around the country. That is, except Lars Ulrich from Metallica, who mentions that the band was never so small or indie that they didn’t have a bus. But Grohl has used his vast connections to bring in a lot of great musicians including The Edge from U2, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and more, making this a very entertaining movie both for fans of the various bands but also live music fans in general. I gotta admit that as much as I loved What Drives Us, it did bring me down a bit since it’s been almost 14 months since I’ve seen any live music, and I really miss it. This is now streaming on The Coda Collection, which you can subscribe to through Amazon Prime Video.

Guy Ritchie is back with his latest movie, WRATH OF MAN (Miramax/MGM), which reunites him with Jason Statham for the first time since 2007’s Revolver, I believe. Statham plays the enigmatic Paul “H” Hill who works at cash truck company Fortico, responsible for moving hundreds of million dollars around Los Angeles each week. Fortico has recently been hit by a lethal robbery, and H’s team soon learn that there’s a lot more to their new coworker, who happens to be looking for revenge against the man who murdered his son.

(Unfortunately, reviews for the movie are embargoed until Thursday at 6pm, so I can’t tell you whether it’s any good or not. Until Thursday night. Sorry!)

But I will talk about the movie’s box office prospects, because why not? Ritchie’s last movie, The Gentlemen, opened in January 2020, during the “before times,” with $10.6 million, but that was more of a classic Ritchie ensemble crime-comedy. Wrath of Man is more of the type of movie Statham has been making over the past few years, a cross between a revenge thriller and a heist flick. In fact, Statham has done a pretty good job creating his own brand through a variety of action-thrillers as well as a number of franchises including “The Transporter” movies, “The Expendables,” and eventually joining the “Fast and the Furious” franchise as Deckard Shaw with Furious 7 in 2017. Statham then went off to make Hobbs and Shaw with Dwayne Johnson, which didn’t do bad with $174 million. Before that, Statham starred in The Meg, a summer shark attack movie that grossed $145 million. Statham going back to help his old mate i.e. the director that gave Statham his start is pretty huge.

But as I said earlier, those were all in the “before times” and with the box office the way it is, it’s hard to imagine that the exciting reunion of Statham and Ritchie can open with more than $10 million but maybe closer to $8 million, because MGM/UA just doesn’t have the marketing clout of a Warner Bros. or Universal. Even so, that should be enough to be #1 this weekend as both Mortal Kombat and Demon Slayer continue to fall away. Unfortunately, if the movie *is* any good -- and I can’t tell you one way or another -- then by the time reviews hit, people will already have other plans for the weekend than to go see the movie. So yeah, that’s pretty dumb on the part of MGM, huh?

UPDATE: MGM is putting the movie into 2,876 theaters and maybe I'm being overly optimistic, because, as you'll read below, the movie IS pretty good and reviews have remained positive with the American reviews rolling in last night, still at 70% Fresh at this writing. Maybe that'll help the movie do a little better, maybe as much as $9 million, although I'll probably owe MGM an apology if it cracks $10 million, and I don't think it will.

Mini-Review: If you’ve seen the trailer for Wrath of Man, you might go into Guy Ritchie’s latest thinking you know what to expect, because it’s sure being sold as another typical Jason Statham revenge thriller. Don’t be fooled by the marketing, the movie really is Ritchie’s chance to make his own version of Heat, an L.A. heist movie that owes as much to Rashomon as another movie being released this week.

Wrath of Man begins with the heist of an armored truck that turns deadly with the wanton murder of a couple guards. From there, you might think we know where things are going when Statham’s “H” company whose truck was hit, and on his first day, he stops a similar heist by killing the truck’s attackers. H is immediately the hero of the company, although he still has quite a few suspicious coworkers and the feeling is quite mutual. Ritchie’s film then slips into the second episodic chapter which goes back five months to that initial heist where we learn that Statham’s son was killed by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I don’t want to go too much deeper into how the movie and story play out, because like The Gentlemen and some of Ritchie’s more intricate films, there’s a lot that purposefully isn’t made very apparent at the beginning. To many, this movie will be seen as even more macho than most of Ritchie's films, to the point where even the only woman guard, Dana, being just as macho as the men. As the movie begins, there’s a lot of joke-cracking and crotch-grabbing, all while Statham’s character silently observes and only acts when necessary.

The film’s shift to more of a classic Ritchie ensemble does slowly take place, but by the third chapter, it shifts to the group perpetrating the cash truck heists with an “inside person,” taking the movie to yet another place that makes it more obvious that this is Ritchie’s attempt at delving into the L.A. heist genre that other filmmakers have done so well.

Oddly, Statham doesn’t have too many lines, acting almost like a Terminator in his determination to right wrongs, but as always, Ritchie puts together a fantastic ensemble cast including a number of great American character actors who we rarely get to see in such great roles. I was particularly impressed with Jeffrey Donovan, who has appeared in a number of otherwise forgettable crime films this past year. The same can be said for Holt McCallany as H’s truck driver “Bullet,” but Ritchie also cast the likes of Josh Hartnett and Scott Eastwood in smaller yet still significant supporting roles, all of whom become more interesting as you start figuring out who all the players are.

Like I said, the movie is fairly macho and the few women play very small roles, but it’s how things are set-up in the first few acts to then change course and build to an absolutely amazing third act that will undoubtedly bear comparisons to Heat. And yet Wrath of Man (which is actually based on a little-seen French crime-thriller) does branch away from some of Ritchie’s standards, first of all by being far darker and even more violent with any of the wisecracking humor that pervades a lot of Ritchie’s work to counterbalance such violence disappearing once the flashbacks begin. It’s all punctuated by a fantastically tense score by Christopher Benstead, which seems a bit much at first but eventually settles into the perfect pace and tone for the action.

Despite disappearing for a good chunk of the movie, Statham is still great, basically killing everyone as his characters are wont to do, but watching how all of the different ideas come together leads to such a satisfying conclusion that one hopes those who might be put off, thinking they know where it's going due to the somewhat pathetic and obvious marketing will give it a chance to see how Ritchie has changed gears as effortlessly as he did with Aladdin a few years back.

Rating: 7.5/10

After even a longer time since he directed a movie, Billy Crystal once again takes the helm for HERE TODAY (Sony/Stage6), a movie in which he plays comedy writer Charlie Burns, whose chance encounter with Tiffany Haddish’s lounge singer, Emma Payge, leads to an unlikely friendship, as he struggles with early stage dementia.

I’ve known about this movie for over a year now, and I was pretty excited to finally get to see it, since I was such a fan of the other movies Crystal has directed, 1992’s Mr. Saturday Night and 1995’s Forget Paris, and it’s just amazing to me that he hasn’t directed a movie since.

At first, it seems like it’s the type of meet-cute we’ve seen so much in Crystal’s past filmography, but his pairing with Haddish isn’t something that might work on paper, but in fact, their comic styles mesh so perfectly together that it’s amazing that no one thought of putting them together before.

Crystal wrote the film with comic Alan Zweibel, who adapted it from his own short story “The Prize,” which refers to Haddish’s character winning Charlie in an auction for a lunch. Actually, her ex won the lunch, and she decided to use it because… free lunch! It’s a pretty simple set-up but one that allows the filmmakers to explore some of the odder things that happen in life.

Much of the movie’s humor plays upon the differences between the two characters, and how unexpected their friendship is. I can totally relate, because I have a lot of good long-time friends who most people might never expect us to be friends, but Crystal, Zweibel and Haddish pick up on that and create a movie that’s very funny but has enough other characters around the duo toa allow their characters to show how they’re just really nice people. We see that with how Charlie takes a young writer at his late night show under his wing or how Emma livens up the bat mitzvah of Charlie’s granddaughter. Oh yeah, and Haddish sings. She actually has a number of great performances in the movie, and seriously, anyone who watches this movie is gonna wanna see a smart filmmaker put Haddish in a musical immediately.

The film also acts as a truly touching tribute to Crystal’s friend, the late Robin WIlliams, who was diagnosed with the exact same type of dementia after his suicide death, and knowing that fact, makes the film even more poignant. More importantly, it doesn’t use Charlie’s condition for laughs, and for that alone, I feel like this is ten times better than that overrated Oscar winner The Father.

Here Today’s biggest problems come in the third act when it feels like the movie is starting to over-extend its welcome, even going into somewhat expected places, but it recovers from that rough third act to land a really nice ending. Crystal has always proven himself to be a really strong mainstream filmmaker (ala Rob Reiner and others) who makes crowd-pleasing movies, and it’s so nice seeing him going behind the camera for a movie that’s obviously very personal but also highly relatable.

As far as box office, I certainly have high hopes that Crystal still has an older audience of fans who might want to see him on the big screen again. I’m just not sure if this will be in more than 1,000 theaters, and though I’ve seen quite a bit of marketing, I just haven’t seen Crystal or Haddish do nearly as much in terms of getting out there that would be necessary to reach an audience that might want to venture out into movie theaters to see the movie vs. waiting until it’s on cable/streaming. There’s also Tiffany Haddish’ fanbase, and there could be some benefit for the movie coming out the same week as her new CBS show “Kids Say the Darndest Things.”

I’d love to be optimistic with this making $4 to 5 million but it’s probably more likely to be closer to $3 million especially with capacity limits still in place for most theaters and the audience generally being older.

UPDATE: Maybe I was a little too optimistic, because I enjoyed the movie so much and it will probably be closer to $1 or 1.5 million since other reviews aren't as great.

Next, we have two movies finally being released many years after their festival premieres…

The Swedish apocalyptic thriller THE UNTHINKABLE (Magnet), directed by Victor Danell, is finally being released after playing genre fests in 2018 and 2019. It stars Christoffer Nordenrot as Alex, a young piano virtuoso who ran away from home due to his abusive father Bjorn (Jesper Barkselius). Years later, he returns home for his mother’s funeral after she’s killed in a terrorist attack on Sweden. At the same, there’s a virus that’s erasing people’s memories, but Alex is still in love with Anna (Lisa Henni), the girl he had a crush on when he left, and the three of them will have to help each other face all the horrible things hitting their home at the same time.

As I was watching this movie, a lot of it felt eerily familiar to me, but I couldn’t figure out why. The more I watched it, the more I realized that I actually HAD seen the movie before. Sure enough, I saw this movie over two years ago at the “What the Fest?!” in New York two years ago, and I honestly don’t remember loving it. Still, I decided to give it a fresh look, hoping to get more out of it on second viewing.

Some of the same things bothered me on this second viewing, because it’s really hard to figure out exactly what is going on and whether the horrific events are natural, man-made or a combination of both. For some time, we get so mired into Alex’s lame relationship with Anna, and when he returns home, his conspiracy theory-driven father is busy protecting a bunker that’s being invaded by foreign military troops he thinks are Russians. We cut between these two disparate scenarios while sometimes returning to the capital of Sweden and throwing in a few big set pieces. It’s so disjointed that you feel like you’re watching a lot of random unrelated events, maybe a bit like last week’s About Endlessness -- maybe it’s a Swedish thing?

There are aspects of The Unthinkable that are quite commendable, particularly those action moments and how the mystery about what is happening develops as the film goes along. Eventually, the film does find a more consistent pace, and things start becoming a little clearer, which makes the final act better than much of what we’ve watched earlier. Even so, it’s still quite annoying how long it takes to figure out what’s going on, even on a second viewing, and for most people, that may already be far too frustrating to get through it.

Hitting Netflix on Friday over THREE years after it premiered at Sundance is music video director Anthony Mandler’s directorial debut, MONSTER (Netflix), based on the novel by Walter Dean Myers. It stars Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Waves) as Steve Harmon, a 17-year-old film student put in jail, accused of murder in a bodega robbery. His defense lawyer (Jennifer Ehle) is trying to help him be released, but he’s fighting against the odds of a judicial system that sees him as a “monster” because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I have to be honest that I did go to see this at Sundance the week it premiered, and for whatever reason, I just wasn’t feeling it, so I only really caught about twenty minutes of it. Watching it now with more time and a little less weary than I usually am towards the end of Sundance, I was able to appreciate Monster more for what it is. On the surface, it’s just about Steve’s case and how what really happened unfolds before our eyes and we learn more about those around Steve and how their influence may have pulled a smart and studious young man into the criminal world that now has him in prison with much more violent life-long criminals.

We already knew that Harrison was a great actor, but Monster shows us that he was already on his way to greatness with this movie that for whatever reason got buried even as it dealt with issues that have been in the headlines almost every day since this debuted.

Mandler takes an interesting approach, both non-linear and also with blatant nods to Kurosawa’s Rashomon, which is even cited by Steve’s teacher, played by Tim Blake Nelson. Jeffrey Wright and Jennifer Hudson are decent as Steve’s parents, but they’re generally smaller and non-showy roles compared to the moments between Harrison and Ehle. Much of the film takes place in the courtroom with flashbacks showing what happened through the viewpoint of whomever is on the stand, which eventually includes Steve himself.

The way Mandler handles the material may lean more on the artiness rather than something more mainstream -- Michael B. Jordan’s Just Mercy comes to mind -- but it’s just as powerful in showing how someone like Steve can be othered by society into being a criminal. Sure, there have been other handlings of this sort of material that I thought were better films, but if you know anyone who has ever had dealings with the “justice” system and know how unfair and horrible it can be even to the innocent, then Monster will certainly strike a chord.

Also hitting Netflix this week is the new series based on Mark Millar and Frank Quitely‘s comic books, JUPITER’S LEGACY (Netflix), another kind of twist on the superhero genre ala Amazon Prime Video’s series based on Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson’s The Boys. I love the comics, and I can’t wait to finally get around to seeing Netflix’s first adaptation of a Millarworld property.

David Oyelowo makes his directorial debut with THE WATER MAN (RLJEfilms), a movie about a young boy named Gunner Boon (Lonnie Chavis), whose mother (Rosario Dawson) is battling leukemia. In an effort to cure her, Guner goes off on a journey along with a teenage girl named Jo (Amiah Miller) to find the mythical Water Man, who can provide them with a magic token that might save Gunner’s mother’s life.

I’ve interviewed Oyelowo a few times before, and I really like him a lot, so I had really high hopes for him as a director since I feel he’s just a terrific actor. Unfortunately, the material here is just not strong enough that I think even a far more experienced filmmaker could make something out of it.

Set in PIne Hills, we meet Gunner, a bright kid who loves drawing comic books, but he has trouble connecting with his father (Oyelowo), so when he has an idea that might help his sick mother, he goes off with a head-strong teen named Jo, in search of the Water Man, a summertime adventure permeated by a lot of very bad low-budget visual effects.

Honestly, I’m not even sure where to begin with where The Water Man falters, because Oyelowo has such a great cast, including Alfred Molina and Maria Bello in tiny parts. The story is a problem, as is the writing, which is just so bland and dull, that there’s really nothing in Oyelowo’s direction or any of the performances that really can salvage it. Neither of the child actors have much charisma or personality, and even Dawson’s performance, which would normally be a showstopper is repeatedly lessened by the constant cutting back to the kids. (And as someone who beat leukemia myself, I’m never a fan when cancer is depicted in movies as a death sentence rather than just another hurdle in life that needs to be overcome.)

Oyelowo himself may be one of his generation’s best actors, but he brings so little to the role of Gunner’s father, maybe to not take away from his younger star, but it hurts that he doesn’t do more to create a stronger conflict by making the character more horrible to drive Gunner away. The actual Water Man doesn’t improve things when he finally shows up, essentially talking like a pirate but not even remotely paying off.

Honestly, The Water Man seems like such a misguided venture -- Exec. Produced by Oprah, no less -- and it might have been totally forgettable if the characters didn’t keep saying the title of the movie every five minutes.

Hitting theaters Friday after a festival run is Tran Quoc Bao’s action-comedy THE PAPER TIGERS (WELL GO USA), starring ALain Uy, Ron Yuan and Mikel Shannon Jenkins as martial artists once known as “the three tigers but now middle-aged men must set aside old grudges and dad duties to avenge the murder of their teacher. I’ve had a screener of this since last summer when it played at Fantasia Festival in Montreal, and I just never got around to watching it, but if I’m able to squeeze it in before the weekend, check back here for my review.

Streaming on Shudder this Friday is Ryan Kruger's South African comedy-thriller FRIED BARRY (Shudder), starring Gary Green as Barry, a violent street junkie who is abducted by aliens who take over his body in order to… well, actually… they do a lot of drugs, have a lot of sex and other craziness. It’s a pretty strange and bizarre movie that reminds me a little of movies like a lower-fi Under the Skin or Beyond the Black Rainbow, and much of it is driven by the insane and unique performance by Green and the odd characters he encounters that I think will find its fans for sure, but it will definitely be for a very select audience of genre festival fans, as this is by no means a mainstream genre film.

Speaking of which, another movie out this week which I wasn’t allowed to see in advance is Gia Coppola’s MAINSTREAM (IFC Films), starring Maya Hawke as a young woman seeking internet stardom by making YouTube videos with a charismatic stranger, played by Andrew Garfield, until “the dark side of viral celebrity threatens to ruin them both.” Yup, it’s one of THOSE movies. It also stars Nat Wolff, Jason Schwartzman and Johnny Knoxville, but I haven’t heard anything good about it, and I’m not sure my curiosity is piqued enough to spend any of my own personal money to check it out.

Hitting Amazon on Friday is the doc THE BOY FROM MEDELLIN (Amazon) from Matthew Heineman (City of Ghosts, Cartel Land), a portrait of musical superstar J. Balvin, as he prepares for a massive sold-out stadium show in his hometown of Medellin, Colombia, which is hindered by the growing civil unrest in the area.

Lots of other movies this week, but a few that i just wasn’t able to get to this week, including:

ABOVE SUSPICION (Lionsgate) INITIATION (Saban Films) ENFANT TERRIBLE (Dark Star Pictures) QUEEN MARIE (Samuel Goldwyn Films) SILO (Oscilloscope) CITIZEN PENN (Discovery+)

That’s it for this week. Next week, Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson star in SPIRAL: FROM THE BOOK OF SAW (Lionsgate) and Angelina Jolie returns for the thriller THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD (New Line) and Timur Bekmambetov’s thriller, PROFILE (Focus Features). That’s right. This will be the first weekend in over a year where we’ll have three or maybe even four new wide releases.

[ari-shipping-stuff]

Monochrome Week 2020

Day Three - Fake Dating AU

———

@monochromeweek

———

The night was alive. Colorful lights pulsing like a heartbeat. Lively disco music pumping everyone up like an adrenaline rush.

Weiss usually scoffed at parties like this. Ugh. Dance clubs. So crowded. No oxygen. But surprisingly, she found that she could finally stop holding her breath.

Henry wasn't there, forcing her to dance. Or talk about him. Or stay at his side at all times because he had no life. She could bop her shoulders to the music in content freedom. Full-out dancing had always been Ruby and Yang's forte. Which was why she stayed back at the bar to talk with Blake.

They hadn't seen each other in nearly a year, ever since Blake transferred schools, which was a shame, considering that was the year their friend circle had formed.

Weiss was the tech-savvy one of them four. She kept tabs on everyone's social media (even if they didn't want her to) and had noticed several changes on Blake's account. She was never one to post selfies. Just pictures of cute cats and her dark academia. And even if she didn't post anything in months, Weiss thought her latest picture was something worth noting.

She took a sip from her Jack Frost, swirling it around to play with the ice.

"How's Adam?"

Blake nearly choked on her drink, coughing when she put it down.

"What?" she croaked.

"When were you going to tell us about him?" Weiss tilted her head.

Blake sighed, rubbing her temple.

"We lasted like a month, Weiss; there's nothing to tell."

Weiss raised a brow. "A month, huh? What happened there? You guys looked pretty sweet in that photo together."

Blake snorted. "He posted that one. Wanted the world to know I was his whore."

"Sounds bad."

"It was bad. Still is. I broke up with him, but he's just not giving up," she grimaced, downing a gulp of purple cocktail. "Bastard."

Weiss snorted.

Pause. Then—

"Your dad still brainwashing that Marigold guy?"

Weiss groaned, throwing her head back in frustration.

"He doesn't even need my dad to tell him to do stuff anymore. He just goes ahead and thinks I'm infatuated with him or something. You know, that 'hard to get' mentality or something."

"Yeah, I know the type." Blake replied dryly.

"You think they'd leave us alone if we got into a relationship?" Weiss snickered.

Blake snorted. "Yeah, maybe."

They settled into a comfortable silence then. Weiss accepted that statement as the joke it was supposed to be. But it began to resonate in her head. The more she thought about it, the more it began to make sense in its own ridiculous way.

"Weiss?"

"Hm?"

"What are you scheming in there?"

Weiss paused. She downed the rest of her cocktail.

".. What if we did?"

"What if we what?"

"What if we were in a relationship?" she said. "That would get them to piss off."

Blake raised her eyebrows, glancing away nervously. She bit her lip.

"I.. I don't know, Weiss.." she said. "Seems a little extreme, don't you think? A-And are we even sure it'll get them to leave us alone?"

"But it makes sense!" Weiss exclaimed. "You know they won't take our word for it, Blake. Neither of them will get the picture unless they see that we're interested in someone else."

Blake drank down the last of her Purple Rain, deep in thought. Weiss distracted herself with the lavender glitter on Blake's eyeshadow.

Blake pulled her phone out of her pocket.

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "What're you doing?"

"Texting Yang. My place or yours?"

"Wh-What?"

Blake glanced at Weiss, standing up.

"So we can plan." Blake said. "We'd have to start as soon as possible, right?"

Weiss blinked up at her.

".. My place."

•

In all the years she knew Weiss, this was admittedly the first time Blake had ever been inside her room.

She thought it was regal-looking, to say the least. Perfectly cleaned. Icy white walls, silk curtains and sheets.. Like some ice castle.

Blake put down her bag, laying it next to the mountain of pillows at the head of the bed. She looked back at Weiss, only to see her pulling up a large frame of wood from a nearby chest.

Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Do you really need that corkboard?"

"Of course, we do!" Weiss said. "If we're going to make a game plan, we're going to have to do it properly!"

"You mean, we can't just do PDA and act like.. I dunno, Qrow and Clover?"

Weiss would've laughed at the inside joke, if not the circumstances. Instead, she shot Blake a sour pout. Which was far from the desired effect.

"Blake, if we're going to sell this to the public, you need to be serious about this," she scoffed, spreading out her arms for emphasis. "Like I said, we have to do this properly!"

"I am serious!" Blake exclaimed, crossing her arms. "If you're so experienced about stuff like this, why don't you tell me what your 'properly' means?"

Weiss blushed furiously, jabbing a finger at Blake. She opened her mouth, as if trying to say something. But nothing came out. She didn't know either.

Blake just sighed, propping herself on her arm.

"I'm starting to regret agreeing to this." she mumbled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss cried, crossing her arms defensively. "I'll have you know, I'd make a great fake girlfriend if you were actually cooperating with me!"

"Uh-huh."

Weiss huffed, looking away, a pout on her lips. But her gaze found her clock. Then her expression softened. She punched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head.

"We've spent all this time arguing.. My father will be home soon, and we don't even have so much as a first move!" she groaned.

Blake looked towards the white alarm clock, wincing. 10:50.

"Alright, look," she spoke up, surprising Weiss. "Let's say our relationship started off as a secret. Several months ago. And by secret—"

"—Not even Ruby and Yang would know." Weiss finished. She nodded. "Yeah, that'll work. Then.. We're going to make us public."

Blake pursed her lips. "I.. I'll ask around about you. Pretend I'm interested. Get people talking. Would that work?"

Weiss nodded, the tiniest of smiles forming on her face. It was a little infectious, prompting a grin from Blake.

"And," Weiss added. "There's a party tomorrow night. Ruby and Yang's place. It's a little less of your scene, but if we're seen dancing together or holding hands, it'll probably do something."

Blake nodded. "Yeah."

"That should be all we have to discuss now." Weiss said. "We'll think of more at the party, alright?"

Blake nodded, standing up. She reached towards her bag, only to have Weiss get there first.

Weiss raised her eyebrows, laughing lightly, handing it back.

Blake smiled a bit, glancing to the side.

"Looks like we never needed the corkboard, after all."

Weiss glared at her. "Just shut up and leave."

•

This was a slightly smaller party compared to last night. There were a few dancers in the middle of the living room. But mostly, people were in pairs or three's; talking in the corners. Fairy lights. Finally, some punch that wasn't spiked.

Weiss lounged on a bean bag with her usual group, in a circle on the couches they claimed early. But instead of contributing whatever bizarre shower thought debate was going on, Weiss just sipped on her punch, her mind far away.

"Hey, Weiss?" Ruby whispered. She sat on the couch right next to Weiss, so she only had to turn her head.

"Hm?"

"Did you and Blake talk much last night?"

Weiss already knew what prompted this question. Though it didn't stop her heart from racing.

"I guess so, yeah." she shrugged, feigning nonchalance.

"It's been a while, huh?" Ruby grinned crookedly. "Since the four of us were together in one place."

"Yeah," Weiss sighed, turning to check the door. "It was."

"So why'd you two leave early?"

Weiss flinched from the question. She took her time in answering.

"Winter got worried. She called and told me to come home. Guess Klein didn't tell her where I'd be." she shrugged. "Blake just wanted to walk me home."

Ruby's smile grew at that. "Mhm.."

Weiss raised an eyebrow at her best friend, who swirled her punch around the red cup with her evil 'I'm planning something you definitely won't like' grin.

"Ruby.."

"Yes, Weiss?"

"Ruby."

She only giggled. She put her elbow on the armrest, with her face in her hand.

"Blake just texted us last night. Aand she was asking about you."

"Uh-huh. And?"

"And—" she raised her voice, prompting the rest of the party to join the conversation. "— it wasn't just me and Yang, Weiss. She texted all of us! Right, guys?"

There were collective sounds of agreement around the table. Weiss rolled her eyes.

"And?"

Ruby groaned.

"Well," Nora interrupted. "She kinda sounded like she was interested."

Ruby stood on the couch, gesturing to Nora with extreme exaggeration.

"Isn't she with that Adam Taurus guy you told us about, Weiss?" Jaune piped up. "The one in her picture?"

"They broke up." Weiss replied simply.

"Looks like someone asked." Yang smirked.

"Blake's fair game now." Nora added, sipping her punch.

If one could drink punch slyly, Weiss was certain Nora was doing it right.

"And Henry Marigold?" Oscar added quietly. He recoiled at the disappointed expressions he got from the majority of the group. "Not that I like him.. It's just that he's been pining for Weiss even before I got here. Wouldn't he take action?"

"So you do believe Weiss and Blake are getting together?" Nora asked, jabbing a chip in his direction.

Oscar shrugged. "Yes? I'm not Ren."

"Hey!"

Weiss sighed. Thank their lack of focus. At least, she wasn't being focused on anymore.

But then, as if on cue, Weiss caught the distant sounds of door chimes. She spun towards the door, and there she was, nervously recoiling into herself. It might've been the fairy lights, but Weiss could've sworn her cheeks were alight with pink.

She was about to get up to get her until she heard the obnoxiously loud coughing from behind her. Weiss gritted her teeth, smiling sarcastically at the group.

"And I suppose Blake just showed up because she wanted to?" Yang teased.

But as it turned out, Blake didn't wait for Weiss. She found the group herself, especially with Ruby's frantic waving.

"Blake!" she exclaimed, her voice reaching up a few more octaves. She gave Weiss a knowing sideways glance. "What brought you here~?"

Blake twirled a strand of hair around her finger.

"Oh, uh.. Weiss invited me last night."

"She did, did she?" Nora raised an eyebrow, elbowing Jaune excitedly.

Weiss buried her face in her hands miserably.

"Anyway.." Blake continued awkwardly. "I hope it's no trouble if I just, uh.." she reached down and gently grabbed Weiss's wrist. ".. Borrow Weiss for a minute?"

Yang cleared her throat.

Ruby grinned encouragingly, reaching up to whisper in Blake's ear. Whatever that was, caused Blake's face to grow increasingly red. She didn't say anything else and pulled Weiss up.

"Come on, Weiss." Blake sighed amusedly, dragging her to the dance floor.

Blake gingerly put her hands on Weiss's waist, bringing an intense blush to the shorter girl's face. She could still feel the burning gazes of her schoolmates in the back, and so desperately wanted to ignore it.

A cold jolt went up her spine when Blake took her hands, bringing them up to her shoulders. Weiss raised an eyebrow at her.

Blake could only shrug, looking down.

"You were zoning out." she mumbled.

Weiss nodded, moving forward, so that their bodies were touching.

It was Blake's turn to give her a questioning look.

Weiss hesitated, but she shrugged as well, laughing a bit.

"We look like we're being forced to dance."

Blake nodded. "Fair enough."

They swayed in silence from there, perfectly content in not talking. After a few minutes or so, Weiss saw cameras flashing in the corner of her eye. They were doing this for the public, weren't they? To shove it down the boys' throats.

Without a word, Weiss leaned her head on Blake's shoulder, breathing in a musk of honey.

"Convincing, right?" she whispered.

Blake snorted, a soft smile on her face.

•

They left as the party lost its swing. Blake's old school would certainly have something to talk about tomorrow. Weiss Schnee, leaving her Prince Charming for an old sweetheart. If Blake's friends weren't attending said school, she'd have no reason not to despise it.

Instead of heading home right away, they decided the night was still young and went to a restaurant near Blake's house. They were both so focused on their so-called 'photoshoot' they forgot to grab a handful of chips on the way out.

Next thing they knew, they were laughing so hard, they were choking on their sandwiches.

"I can't believe you would do me dirty like this!" Blake mocked, barely containing her laughter. "Oh, god, are you sure you guys were never together?"

"News spreads fast, doesn't it?"

"Especially when Ruby and Nora are the ones spreading it." Blake chuckled.

Weiss grinned. "Anything from your side?"

Blake snorted, shaking her head. "Honestly, I'm almost scared for when he does."

"Why's that?"

Blake shrugged, smirking sarcastically. "Let's just say he'd be far more intense than whiny texts."

Weiss frowned worriedly, tilting her head. Hesitantly, she laid a hand on Blake's shoulder.

"Blake."

Something churned in the pit of Blake's stomach. Not in a bad way. Like light little flips. Flaps. Butterflies. But she couldn't wrap her head around it. Maybe it was something in the way Weiss could say her name like that. It soothed Blake easily. Even if just a little.

"I'm fine." Blake sighed, taking a mournful bite out of her grilled cheese. "He just texted me earlier this morning."

"He did?" Weiss murmured. "What'd he say?"

Blake took her time in answering, chewing ever so slowly. When she finally swallowed, it felt sharp.

"Just.. He called me out for avoiding him. Even though I explicitly told him we were over, he still thinks entitled to me." Blake growled. "He denied stalking me, manipulated me, and now he has the gall to say I'm overreacting? He's just unbelievable!"

Weiss felt her blood boil. This guy walked all over Blake, called her the bad guy, even after all that? She couldn't wait to meet this guy. If only to break his legs.

She carefully brought her hand to Blake's, gently stroking the back with her thumb.

Blake's eyebrows raised at the gesture. Instinctively, she stretched her fingers outwards, fitting them between Weiss's.

"I'd never do that.." Weiss mumbled.

Blake didn't know the thought process of that statement, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

Then Weiss's eyes snapped up, meeting Blake's gaze. But Blake was losing her mind. Noticing everything.

Her heart stopped. She could smell Weiss's faint vanilla and petrichor musk. The usually-invisible specks of indigo in Weiss's large, sapphire eyes were easy to spot. As well as the faded scar running down her left eye.

This was the closest they've ever been to each other. Not just in the physical aspect. This was just so much more intimate than the dance somehow. Blake felt close to Weiss and it was driving her insane.

"Thanks."

———

this ended up being too long, which was why it took me ages to post. and this will also have a sequel on day five

though, this whole thing was my favorite to write ^^

— ari

———

part one | part two | part three | part four

[kate-read-that]

Everyone knows there's two groups in Scott's town: bikers and players. On one hand, bikers are a mess to be around: always looking for trouble, making noise, partying all over the city.... a mess. Th issue is, most have good grades and know enough about machines and motors and such to give classes to the mechanics from town.

On the other hand, players are nice looking, kind hearted, smart boys that never make a fuss and are always there to help the community however they can. Most are football players, runners and basketball players or all of those at the same time. They're a charm to be around, if you're lucky enough to get in their circle.

"Welcome to Pop's, please sit wherever, its early yet" says Peter to his friends, careful to keep equilibrium on his rollers.

"Thanks Mr, we'll take the same table we usually do" Steve laughs and goes sit at their usual table with the rest.

Serving the table next to them, pretty blond looks at Peter with adoration.

"Is Claire still trying to get you to ask her out, Peter" MJ asks, fully knowing the answer already. Peter whines.

"I've tried to discourage her in a million ways! I'm bi, but I'm not interested in her, I dont know why she doesnt get it!"

"Man shes hot and funny, what is there not to be interested about?" Sam asks, one broe arched in disbelief.

"If you like her, ask her out! That'll get her off me" Peter begs while writing down their orders, even thought theres no need.

They always order the same food and wait until Peter finishes his turn to go so something around the city, and tonight's no exception, until new company arrives.

The door opens to Tony S., major douchebag of the city, and his friends, the major dumbasses, Nat, Clint and Bucky B. Peter's friends instantly look awkward and pissed, and the other persons in the diner look at Tony's and his friends with dread. Who know what they might be up to. The fact that they cant be thrown off high school because his amazing grades pisses off a lot of people.

Peter swallows and calms himself. He hopes Tony wont cause problems in the diner, because that's the last thing he needs and tmhe really doesnt want to kick anyone out. Besides, he isn't sure how he would kick them out if he had to.

Despite his nervousness, he rolls to them and smiles politely: " Welcome to Pop's, please sit wherever, today is not as full"

"What about you sit on my lap, darling?" Tony claimed he was bi a long time ago; more than claimed, he was caught having sex with some guy under the major's statue. Peter counts to five so he doesnt reply to that.

"Choose whatever table you want, I'll go serve you right now" he then turns around to give the cooker his friends orders, hoping he doesnt look too startled.

Tony usually mocks them in high school, and they mock right back, but he has never said anything sexual to him. It's strange, thinking of him that way, like someone you can have sex with. Peter shakes his head and rolls back to Tony's table.

Nat and Clint are too busy signaling at each other to notice he's there, and Bucky is checking something on the other side of the diner. Peter is too shy to say something when no one is paying attention, so he waits until Tony tells his friends to shut up and order already because they're making Parker loose his time.

Peter looks at him surprised, but smiles and starts taking notes. Clint has a little bit problem to order, because his deaf and his parents couldnt teach him to talk until he got in school, but he manages. Peter likes Clint, he's nice and seems a good person, but he doesnt understand why he mixes with the rest.

Nat is adopted and she's always in trouble for this thing or the other, she's always quiet but when she talks is like she's always trying to test you, somehow. Bruce had to give her math classes for a while and he said she's actually not that bad, but she still scares Peter.

Buckys parents are cool, they let him leave alone, which sounds incredible, but hes always argues with teachers and missing class, and hes always inappropriate and rude to people.

And Tony's parents are as rich as it gets, but they like to live away from big cities so they're here until tony graduates. Peter doesn't know much about them, except that they no longer pick Tony up when he gets arrested so one of the members of their staff does it. His uncle Sam is a cop, and he says theres nothing sadder than parents that dont care about his son enough to get mad at him.

So Peter tries to be kind to them, but it's so hard when all they do is mock him and his friends. Besides, Tony always has the expression, like he's to good for everyone else! It drives Peter mad.

"I'm going to have the Burguer 6, with chips and a piece of that ass" Tony pretends to read seriously from the menu, but his friends dont laugh. Peter's tired of the jokes, but he needs the job and Tony is not going to ruin this for him.

"Sure thing, dude, maybe when hell freezes. What else?" The others do laugh this time, to Peter's confusion, and order their meals.

.....

"Dude he absolutely hates you" Bucky seems to find this hilarious, even though hes Tony's best friend and he should support him, dammit!

"Of course he had to wear shorts, not like I could keep my mind straight or something" Tony moans, watching Peter roll away like the cute doll he is.

"You're like an animal dude" Clint says, little sloppy but understandable.

"Pathetic" Adds Nat, as if Tony needed confirmation of the screw up.

"And besides, since when is your mind straight?" Bucky laughs at his own joke, like the idiot he is, Tony thinks, while checking the other side of the diner again.

"At least I dont stalk Rogers from here like some kind of pervert" Tony smiles wide at Bucky's affronted face, blushing and frowning. "Whatever".

"Dude, just tell him you're into him and ask him on a date, this suave shit is not your style" Clint signs, too tired to try and talk. Tony signs back "Suave is totally think you jerk!"

"Not when you care" Nat interrupts as direct as always, looking seriously at him. "Food here is good but if you did yourself a favor and went straight to it we wouldnt have to come here and hear you whine"

"Straight?" Bucky chimes again, entertained. Nat hits him in the back of the head "Idiot."

"I will, alright? I will"

Rught then, Peter comes back with their drinks and Tony leans back.

"I dont know what I like the most, you coming to me in those cute rolls or you going away in that killer short"

All his friends look at him exasperated, and Tony cant believe he actually said that to Peter. Hes never going to get a date with his cheesy fucking lines.

But Peter laughs. Not a big laugh, okay, but a short, cute one that he tries to hide.

"Maybe youd like me better without both, huh Tony?" He leans towards Tony a little, his hand on Tony's shoulder for a second.

Hes gone just as fast as he came, leaving the whole table shocked.

Tony knows he should close his mouth, but he cant believe Peter Parker just legit flirted back at him. What the hell? He needs a cold shower right now, and his friends need to stop looking at him.

"Did you pay him to say that or something" Tony knows Bucky is trying to be funny, but truth is he cant explain that act either, and when he looks at Nat and Clint for help, they're just staring at him like a third head just grew out.

...

Peter is hyperventilating.

"I cant believe I flirted back. What the hell is wrong with me?" His friends are looking at him like he just told them he likes to dance hula naked in december, and Peter cant blame them

"Huh, maybe the fact that you've had the hots for him for years?"MJs voice cuts the air. Peter looks at her in disbelief.

"I have not! He's arrogant and careless and despective and rude and..."

"And hot and intelligent and funny, in your opinion" MJ adds, smiling "I've seen you laugh at his jokes when you think no one is watching, and you cant deny hes hot and smary"

"Maybe you should date him"

"Dont be ridiculous, I'm leaning to girls in this period of my life. And he's into you, not me"

Peter couldnt believe MJ. He did not have the hots for Tony, and Tomy was not funny, not all the time anyway, and Tony Stark was not into Peter in any way, shape or form.

And yet he had felt so good flirting with him. Seeing his amazement when Peter had answered. For once, Tony was not in control of everything and playing his jokes, he was shocked.

And Peter did that to him.

So Peter decided, what the hell, let's try this out. If he ends up being an asshole, my friends will kick his ass for me.

"If you like him, go ahead, but he looks like too much trouble for me" Steve said, looking worried. He and Bucky had been childhood friends, but they bad separated later in life and Steve didn't like to be close to him or his friends, Tony included.

"Yeah, and if he's a jerk to you well talk to him" Sam smiled threatingly, clapping his hands.

"Nat is really nice to be around when you meet her" added a blushing Bruce, who had been crushing on the ginger since they met but was way too shy to say or do anything.

Peter kept working until he had to deliver Tony's food. He tried not to show he was nervous and he definitely didnt check his ass before going out the kitchen with the food.

"Number 6,8,12, and 3 for you guys, with chips for everyone and a piece of ass for Anthony" he looked at Tony intently, trying to guess his reaction. For a second Stark just stranded there, shocked, until he slapped Peter's ass so strongly all the diner turned around. Or maybe it was because Peter had let out the loudest moan a boy his size could produce.

Peter thought he was going to kill himself. What was that?? One thing is flirting,but that? He was so losing his job. Trying to keep as much dignity as he could, he said "That's more than a piece, and it hurt, you idiot" and he turned around and left, head high and eyes burning from shame.

....

Tony was going to kill himself.

"Dude, what the fuck? He was kidding you dumbass" Bucky, again, was laughing at him. Although this time Tony couldnt blame him, fuck it. What the hell was that?? It's not like Peter's bubble butt didnt deserve one or two good slaps, but Peter worked there!

On the other hand, how could have Tomy anticipated that Peter was going to react like that? That moan could have brought people from the death, nd it certainly brought some of Tony's parts as well.

"It seemed like he liked it" Nat said, like she was reading Tony's mind. She was trying to keep herself from laughing, while Clint signaled that he was scarred for life.

Tont got up without knowing what he was doing. People weren't looking directly anymore, but he knew they were still totally focused on his movements. He got in the staff room without problems. Apparently Claire was too shocked to say nothing about it.

As soon as he got in he saw Peter, sitting in a corner, head buried on his lap.

"Dude what the hell? Are you alright?" Tony rushed to him scared. Peter just laughed.

"You're kidding? I'm si getting fired after that. What the fuck, man? In which world is that an appropriate way of flirting?"

"So we were flirting?" Tony wanted to confirm, and he realized now he sounded like an ass.

"Oh my god you slapped my ass but you dodnt know we were flirting? Dude! You're all class arent you?" Peter frowned at him.

"Didnt seem like you cared" Tomy knew he was being a dick, but he couldnt help it when Peter was right there, all long legs and blushed and nervous and biting his goddamn lip making it even redder than usual. If possible, Peter got even more red. "I liked that a lot, but that doesnt mean you can do it in my job, you idiot"

"What about my place? When you finish here?" Tony knew he was going to be totally rejected after that but he had to try, right?

"Ah, no, I'm not letting you win after that. You're taking me on a date first, and if you behave I'll let you take me to your place and well see what happens" Peter said, knowing full well he was going to be ditched.

"Deal"

"Wait, you sirious?" Peter opened his eyes in disbelief.

"What, you're not?" Tony arched his brow.

"I am, I am. Okay, deal"

"Can I ask you something, before I leave?"

"What?"

"Would you wear those shorts to our date?"

[bandblogging]

Let Me Down Slow (Calum Hood imagine)

Pairing: Calum Hood x reader

Words: 2.2k

Requested: yes @yessii-i asked (short version): "a fic based on the song “Let Me Down Slow” by New Hope Club were the reader and Cal are best friends and the reader is in love w/ him and starts acting weird so he confronts them and when they confess he doesn’t reciprocate their feelings."

Summary: basically the request

A/N: I feel like this could've been more angsty sorry.

Also this is based on the song Let me down slow by New Hope Club, check them out I did for this and they are genuinely really good!

___

Been on the point of giving up

For over a year and a half you had been able to keep your feelings down and to yourself but now you felt like you were at the point of breaking. Calum had been your best friend for almost four year but you still didn't know what his reaction would be. At first it had crept up on you, thinking about him more, wanting to spend more time together. Suddenly he looked even more attractive to you, something almost pulled you towards him. It took you a while to admit to yourself that you clearly had a crush on him and even longer to accept that you loved him. The last thing you needed was to ruin you friendship but you felt you wouldn't have a different choice for much longer.

If all is fair in war and love

Then why do we fight?

For a whole week now you hadn't talked or seen Calum, the longest time in your whole friendship. You couldn't bare the sight of him flirting with other girls or running after them. Last week had ended with a fight between you two, about something really stupid and unnecessary. It might have been about a TV show or something but you couldn't even remember, it had been that stupid. Those fights had become more frequent, often started by him, challenging something you had said.

'Cause we don't really talk about life no more

Tonight however you were seeing him again, there was a small get together at his place and surprisingly you were explicitly invited. He had texted you just that morning, breaking the silence and reminding you about it. A spark of hope grew in your heart and a grin formed on your face. Maybe there was still a chance that things would go back to how they used to be.

In the back of your head however you knew that you couldn't keep your feeling from him for long. You loved him and even though you didn't want to lose your friendship you didn't think that just being friends would work for you. You had practiced saying the words to him what felt like a hundred times in the mirror already but none of them felt right. Usually you could read him pretty well but thinking about his reaction you didn't have a clue. Maybe he was really good at hiding his own feelings and you weren't the only one feeling this way, but maybe not. He could just as well feel absolutely nothing for you and not want a friendship when he hears this.

The plan was to see how this evening would evolve and depending on the outcome you'd finally tell him. So you got ready and took a uber to his place. You recognized a few cars along the street and guessed that the place was already kinda crowded.

Your suspicions were right, the living room was full of people and you found Calum in the kitchen. You placed the snacks down on the table and went up to greet him. "Cal, how's it going?", you asked him and smiled. "Y/N, drinks are in the fridge-", he said but got interrupted by a friend of his. He didn't even smile at you when he disappeared with the other guy and left you alone in the kitchen.

When the night comes crawling, I'm holding on

You felt your throat close up and your heart dropped. He had immediately destroyed the little bit of hope you had left. You couldn't understand his action, couldn't wrap your head around it. You were the one with feelings, you should be the one to act weird not him.

The others were deep in conversation when you joined the living room and you looked for a place to sit down in peace. A few people threw some greetings towards you as you passed them and after a few short words you found an empty chair to sit in. You sipped on your drink, not really interested in getting drunk.

People came up to you and even though they were your friends you weren't in the mood to talk. There was just one person that you wanted to talk to but he was on the balcony, having a smoke and laughing with others. You felt yourself stare at him and tried to break your gaze but he still met your stare. You turned away quickly, embarrassed by his eyes boring into yours.

When you looked back most of the others were back inside and he was stood outside with a two girls, clearly flirting.

For something to change, tension to break

'Things aren't going to change' you whispered to yourself, looking into the bathroom mirror. You saw the dissapointment in your eyes and felt the knot came back in your throat, indicating tears. You swallowed hard, trying to think of something else. Somehow you managed to put on a smile and when you came out of the bathroom you fled into the next conversation you could find. The offered drink was a welcomed distraction and maybe getting drunk wasn't such a bad idea.

A couple of hours passed that way and Calum was at the very back of your mind, almost forgotten. You felt a bit tipsy, a certain confidence boost coming with it. You chatted with people you usually didn't talk much too and somehow ended in a conversation with someone you barely knew. He told you he was a friend of Luke's and that he didn't know many people, so you stayed with him for a while. It took you far too long to realize that he was flirting with you. Once you picked up on it you started to feel uncomfortable, you didn't want to lead him on. You excused yourself from the conversation quickly and made your way through the crow again. You bumped shoulders with someone and when you turned around to apologise it was Calum. "Oh, sorry", you muttered towards him but kept going.

There's something different in the way you look

You pushed your way through the people and went out onto the balcony. This wasn't you, you wouldn't usually act that dismissive of Calum but some part of you just did it. You leaned against the balustrade and stayed out there for a while. A couple people came outside too, smoking and chatting with you for a bit. Before they went back inside they said goodbye, mentioning that they were heading to a different party now. You wished them a good rest of the night and stared back into the dark backyard. You remembered nights were you stayed out there with Calum and looked at the stars, talking about stupid stuff and having a sleepover just like friends do. Back then you hadn't caught feelings yet and it had felt so innocent. Now you weren't sure if it would happen ever again.

A while later you turned around and for a second you were confused, the living room was pretty empty only a couple of people left. Most had probably gone to the same party. You wanted to push yourself off the balustrade and walk back in when you saw Calum. He had his armes wrapped around a girl, her sucking on his neck and surely leaving hickeys. You couldn't help but roll your eyes and look a bit disgusted. You were still shaking your head when Calum's eyes met yours and his blissful expression suddenly changed. He muttered something to the girl who begrudgingly let go of his neck and pulled away. He walked towards the balcony with an unamused expression. He shut the door behind him and you immediately knew this wasn't going to end well. "Honestly what the hell is going on with you?", he asked you and crossed his arms. "I don't know what you mean", you replied but didn't meet his gaze. "This isn't you, why are you acting like that", you could tell that he was annoyed. "I still don't know what you want from me, but honestly I can just leave that'll make it easier.", you threw towards him in a bratty tone and added a whispered, "can be me for once". "Lately you've been so-", he couldn't find the words and just huffed a few times, "-why Y/N?". "Why what? Goddammit Calum just tell me what bothers you, oh wait you don't want to talk to me", you crossed your arms too, copying him. He took a breath and took a step towards you. "Just tonight, you brushed me off multiple times, you left to some part of my home with some stranger and whenever I am with girls you look like you will murder them", he tried to keep his voice down but it wasn't working very well. "I am the one acting weird?", you asked outraged. "You didn't want to talk to me for a week and tonight you were the one that brushed me off. I thought we were supposed to be best friends.-", you took a deep breath, "-Also the guy, I literally showed him the bathroom and we talked in the hallway". You huffed and leaned back on the balustrade, staring at him. "You ignored my call the first time", he exclaimed but you quickly cut him off. "Because we were fighting, a fight you started by the way".

It was unusual for you two to fight and you didn't like it. This was the exact opposite of what you wanted to do with Calum but he had no right to talk to you like that. To you he was the one in the wrong, the one breaking your heart.

If you're gonna let me go

It's gonna hurt so choose your words

"Fighting? You remember how that started? You almost jumped a girl because you thought she was touching me without my consent even though I was clearly trying to hit that", he raised his voice. Remembering it made you wince quietly, jealousy really had struck you that night. "And now you again, why can't I make out with them. You don't have to choose them for me, I can do that myself. It's almost like you want to-", he suddenly stopped and looked at you, realising what was going on. 'Don't say it, don't say it', repeated in your head but he still went ahead. "-like you want that to be you", now Calum was the one staring at you.

There was silence, deafening silence. You didn't want to tell him this soon, not this way but now you didn't have another choice.

"Because that's exactly what I want Calum. Because I want to be the one that makes out with you.", you admitted and kept your head down. "I want to be the one you choose"

More silence, silence that was slowly breaking your heart. It was obvious now that he wasn't feeling the same and anticipating his words was hard.

Baby, let me down slow

"Y/N", his tone was apologetic and you swear you heard your heart break. "I'm sorry", he muttered out. The rest of your heart dropped and you felt your throat close up once again. This time however tears shot in your eyes and you could barely hold them back. You nodded your head in trance, waiting for him to say more.

When he didn't, you broke the silence. "I love you Calum, I can't just turn that off", your voice was shaking. He looked up and met your eyes. "I just don't", he whispered back. You let his words repeat in your mind a few times before the first tear fell.

If love is just a wicked game

Then why do we play?

You hated yourself for loving him. It was stupid, it was dumb. It only brought you heartache, you had a perfectly good friendship and you had to ruin it. Love had never been on your side and once again it was just there to hurt you. He stood in front of you, not moving, not saying anything. "I should leave", you manage to choke out and push yourself away from the railing. "Y/N", Calum's voice made another tear fall down but you knew this wasn't going to change anything.

If you're gonna let me go

It's gonna hurt so choose your words

"What does this mean?", he asked and stepped in your way. "It means that I love my best friend who doesn't love me back", your tone was bitter. He looked taken aback but didn't move. "For our friendship", he added. "For what's left of it?", you asked and a sad chuckle fell from you lips. "I don't know, nothing good I guess. I can't see you making out with girls, always wishing it was me", it was hard for you to admit but maybe this really was the end.

"Maybe we shouldn't see each other for a while then", Calum's words hit you hard, so hard because they were right. "Maybe", it was more of a whisper. You moved around him and went inside, keeping your head down, avoiding the others.

Once the front door had shut behind you you couldn't hold it together anymore. Tears started streaming down your face and you were shaken by sobs. The way home was long and usually you would take a taxi but you needed the fresh air. It was hard to breathe between the sobs, the lump in your throat not helping.

Baby, let me down, oh

Everything was taken from you in one night, your love, your heart, your best friend, your friends and now your breath.

[savysavannah]

Challenge 1

Special thanks to @damian-schreave and @hadleyjaneharper for the rps.

Also the last section is not in fic format because its 2am, im lazy, and you get the gyst from the RP. Apperantly this is too long so part 2 soon.

    The Prince was off in Paloma for a bit so we were of little use in the Palace, no idea why they had us move in so early. Therefore, I’d spent most of the day with some books I’d grabbed from the library. Primarily they were legal books since it never hurts to brush up. But every once in a while, such as now I’d need to go and grab some food. 

I brought my notepad and a book on contract law with me and walked into the kitchen. There was another girl also in the kitchen. We haven't spoken to each other, she didn’t seem unfriendly or particularly awful company, just hadn’t really had the moment to. I grabbed a plate of fruit and wondered if she would say anything. After a moment I sat down and resumed reading. 

Then a small sad sigh came from the young woman who was looking down at her phone with a sad face. It wouldn’t be too bad if I took a break for some conversation. However, the young woman looked troubled, she may not be in the mood. I yawned and stretched then mumbled, but loud enough for her to hear, “God, I could use a drink.” and wondered if the other would take the bait. 

There was a beat before the other spoke, “Long day?”

“More or less. Lots of reading, missing work. How about yourself?”

She shrugged “Its...different than what I’m used to. Lots of sitting still when I’m used to spending my days moving around.” SHe grimaces then sighed, “The adjustment period is always the toughest, though.”

I thought for a moment trying to remember the occupations of the selected, “The dancer?” I asked. 

She grinned “Yeah. Hadley.” She raised an eyebrow, “And you?”

“Lawyer.” I said and stood from the table, walked over to Hadley and held her hand out, “Savannah Mars, Labrador, three.”

She shook my hand, “Nice to meet you.” then thought for a moment, “You said you were missing work? Do you work at a law firm?”

“Kinda. I work for the Illean Civil Liberties Union in their legal division. It's a non-profit which focuses on civil rights and for me civil legal cases. Lgbt+ rights defense, domestic defense, that sort of thing.”

“Oh, that’s really cool.” She said, seeming actually interested in my work. “Are you missing the casework, or something else?”

“It's pretty hard for me to step back from my work. Since I'm kind of left worrying about my clients. A new guy took over my cases but I'm trying to still work in my own way by studying up on some legal sections I work in less frequently but still may come up. Such as contract law.” I explained not fully hearing her other question. 

She nodded, “I understand, sort of. I’m left worrying about how my ballet company is going to perform, with somebody else taking over the role in the Nutcracker that I’ve had the past few years.”

“Yeah the transition really is nerve wracking. Have you seen them perform though?” I asked hoping that could at least provide some solace. 

“I’ve seen pictures on Instagram, but no videos yet. We were just finishing up our performance of Cinderella when I left. Nutcracker rehearsal started a few days after, but it’s a show we do each year, so... “ She sighed “ It /should/ be fine.”

I nodded, “well if they assigned them the role try and have faith in their qualifications. That's what I'm keeping in mind for mine. They did go to law school so it's fine. They got the role so it’s fine.” I said partially for her and partially for me. 

She sighed a little hesitant, “Yeah, you’re probably right. Competition is just gonna be a bitch and a half when I’m sent back.” She chuckled wryly.  

“Well maybe you'll win and then you won't have too. Who’s gonna take a role away from the future queen of Illea.”

“That’s extremely unlikely to happen.” She then almost smirked “What about you? If you win, nobody’s going to tell you no in a courtroom.”

I laughed, “If I win I'll kill myself.” Then I realized how dark that sounded, though it didn’t seem to phase her.

“I hate to say that I feel the same way, but…” She shrugged and nodded, “I feel the same way” For a moment I was confused, why would she join if she felt the same way? Then it clicked, a dancer would be a five, lower class, need the money.

“You're a five right? Did you apply for the money? If you don't mind my asking that is. It would just make sense why you'd dislike to win.” 

“It…” She bit her lip, “Kind of? It’s a long story involving a deadbeat mom, a shitty health care system, two starving artists, and a kid with leukemia.” She said with an apologetic smile. Whatever she’d be apologizing for I can’t say. 

“Well shit man, I'm glad you got in then. Both for the money and for a break from that. I know this society fucking sucks and we've got a likely shit for brains hier, but if you ever need a lawyer I'm here to help. Hopefully, being a three now will provide some help for you too.” I said then caught myself making a mental note to not be so vulgar with my language. 

She gave me a small smile, “Thanks. Now I just have to figure out what I’m doing with the rest of my life, after throwing my career into dance, only to become a Three.” She laughed, “What about you? Why did you enter? It sounds like you had a pretty cushy gig going on.”

It wouldn’t be smart to tell the truth, but lying when Hadley had been so open felt wrong, I sighed and said, “My brother. Basically he forged my entry and I didn't want him to get into legal troubles for that. He's a fucking idiot.” I sighed and let that last cuss word slide as he is a fucking idiot. 

She snorted, “Men really do only have two brain cells.” She gave a small smile, “I’m sorry that you ended up in that situation, though. That’s rough.”

“Yeah. I tried to beat him up but my other brothers stopped me. It was really a mess. Had to find out from a waitress asking for a photo with me.” 

She shook her head, “My best friend told me that he was so upset to see me, “throwing my life away,” as if I hadn’t entered to help him and his brother.” Sounds like an ungrateful ass. She sighed and looked down at her fruit, “When did life get this messed up?”

A question with too big of an answer. A bit panicked and not knowing what to say I took a strawberry off my plate and held it out to her, “Fruit?” 

She chuckled and took the strawberry, “Thanks.” She takes a bit, chews, and then pauses, looking at Savannah, “You know what I could really go for right now, though? A good gin and tonic.”

“God that'd be great. You know what, let's make some. One glass can't hurt.”

She shrugged, “Sure, sounds fun. I’m down.” She looks around, “I know they keep the wine in that cabinet, but I haven’t found the liquor yet.”

After gathering our ingredients we get to work making the glasses, “so, what's your plan in all this?”

“In the selection?” She raises an eyebrow and then shrugs, she starts pouring things into the mixer bottle, “Stay here for as long as I can so I keep making stimulus checks, and then get sent home before I’m stuck spending the rest of my life here.” She finishes pouring and looks at Savannah, “You?”

I sighed, “about the same. Give the money to the non-profit I work for. I was hoping I could root for you to win, you seem like you have a good head on your shoulders to influence him, but the more I think about it the more I realize that's like damning to hell.

She snorts, “Well, I still appreciate the compliment, and I would’ve said the same about you.” Then she sighs, “I’ve always known that it’s been like this, though. He gets to squander every penny he has on luxury shit, whereas my paychecks…” another sigh, “But life isn’t fair.”

“Yeah. And then waste the money on useless shit and trying to pass dumb laws like making 'cats' illegal instead of actually fixing the problems in this country.” I said and poured myself a glass of the drink.

She poured some for herself and then shook her head with an eye roll, “Don’t even get me started on that debacle. Why even joke about things like that?”

“Because he doesn't comprehend how the people of his own country are suffering. He's just so blind with privilege. Not that I have much to speak on but at least I freaking try to think about others in the country and their situations.”

She gave me a small smile, “You didn’t seem like the type to blow your money on worthless things to me, at all. I don’t even know what I’m going to say to him when we have that interview in a few days.”

“Yeah I think im just gonna be polite for the sake of not causing a scene that'll haunt me my whole life” I said and took a sip, then clarified, “polite though, not kind.”

She nodded then drank too, “I really went from putting on one type of show for Twos to another.” 

“Any idea what you're gonna do as a three?” I asked.

She pursed her lips and shook her head, “I haven’t taken a science or maths class since I was eleven, and I don’t have the money for university. I guess I could work as a translator, or if that doesn’t work out, marry a five and go back to dancing.” She took another sip of her drink, “Hopefully I’ll be here long enough to figure it out.”

“Do they not have like threes who are dance teachers? I haven't really looked much into the area myself but it may make sense.”

She shook her head, “For me, at least, it was mostly Russian immigrants who were former dancers themselves, so Fives.”

I thought for a moment, “Well if you ever need history lessons, english, or legal aid I'm around. I dug into my pocket and pulled out a business card, since it’s not like either of us plan to be here long,  “Just all the way up in Labrador. Where are you from again?”

“Allens. So, not too far. Thanks.” She replied and looked at the card.

“Welcome.” I replied, finished off my drink then wrote down another idea. 

Hadley narrowed her eyes curiously, “What are you writing?”

“Just an idea for a proposition with the ICLU. There are probably other girls in a similar situation as you being lower caste now upper be it through marriage or selection, it may be helpful to talk about implementing a caste readjustment program.”

She lifted her head, smiling just a little, “That sounds like a great idea.” Then a little quieter she added,  “I'd appreciate it.” 

“Hopefully my boss will agree and pass it onto the innovation department. I'll write a quick memo about it to her later.” I smiled happy to have something to do.

“You really love your job, don't you?” She asked. 

I nodded, “It makes me feel like I have some kinda purpose. As cheesy as that is to say.” Making actual change in Illea instead of just prancing around doing whatever else I could have grown up to do. 

“No, I get that.” She looked down, “As a kid, I never really felt like I belonged, but on the stage, dancing?” She looked a little distant, “Standing out was a good thing.”

I nodded,  “Mhm. Have you thought of ways you could continue working while at the palace?”

She smiled, “Actually, I had a conversation with Prince Eaton about that, and I’ve been able to work out a schedule that allows me to still practice, even though I have to do a little more work to catch up on lessons.”

“That'll be good. If you wanted too you could put on a performance and donate the profits. That way you could be working towards a goal too instead of general practice.”

She tilted her head, “That's an interesting idea. I’ll keep that in mind.”

I nodded, “Well it was nice meeting you, Lady Hadley. But it is probably time for me to get back to work.” Then held out my hand to shake goodbye.

She took it, giving it a shake. “Nice to meet you too.”

It was pretty late in the afternoon by the time I was escorted to the interview room. Damian was in a navy blue suit jacket, dress pants, and a white button up shirt. He smiled at me as I got closer.  His eyes flicker to my nametag for a second before he speaks, “Hello, Lady Savannah. It’s a pleasure to meet you in person.”

I smiled trying to stay polite, then gave a small curtsy, “The same to you, your highness.”

He smiled back, taking a few steps back and gestured for me to go into the interview room. In the room is a sofa, surrounded by stage lights and a few cameras, what a romantic first meeting. There is one camera on a swivel stand, that is currently focused on Damian and I. He starts walking into the room, looking at me as he talks, "How have you found your first few days here, so far?"

I debated giving him a short one word answer of 'fine' but Danny's words of 'don't ruin your own happiness" slipped into my head. "They've been fine. I've enjoyed your library. It's helped me feel like I can in some ways continue working by catching up on legal matters normally outside of my areas of expertise."

He nodded while smiling then took a seat on the sofa, "So you're a lawyer, then? What kind of law do you practice?"

Reluctantly I sat next to him, hopefully I wouldn't catch an STD from proximity alone, "Yes, I practice primarily civil and criminal law with the Illean Civil Librities Union. So primarily defending people who are in bad situations due to outdated laws which need amending." My tone came out more passive aggressive than intended, but it was slightly justified as he should have been working to amend said laws and help people instead of partying.

"That's a great thing, to be doing. What got you into law?"

"Well I was at the University of Labrador. My best friend I'm the sorority I was in decided to go to a protest over women's rights in illea. We went, someone man came and antagonized some women, she defended herself verbally, got arrested, felt up by the officer, then was unable to do anything legally about it. I felt that was unfair so I decided to look into being a lawyer, liked the process, graduated in 2 years, went to Yale and here I am." 

He lets out a low whistle, looking down for a second. I couldn't help but be a but prideful at my accomplishment, then looks back up at me, more serious than before, his jaw tense, "I'm really sorry that happened to your friend." He said and fell silent. What a conversation killer. 

"It's fine." I said trying not to dwell on it, "How was your time in undergrad? Partied a lot, I saw." I said the passive agressiveness coming out again. 

He smiled, a little more relaxed than before, but not as relaxed as he was when he first entered the room, "I enjoyed my last few years of freedom before entering the real world, yes." He then raised his eyebrows, grinning a little wider, kind of teasing, "And what about you? Being in a sorority and all, I doubt you were much of a homebody yourself." 

I couldn't help but completely flush and bit down my urge to absolutely smack him upside the head. "It was a brief phase. It was fun. But also a waste of time." I chuckled a bit remembering my airheaded behavior in that year, "had I already been working harder I may have been able to finish faster and help more people."

He grinned a little at how flustered I was, which just made me want to punch him more, then smiled a little more genuinely towards the end, "We're still young. We have our whole lives to keep fixing things."

i frowned, "That isn't true. We never know when we're going to die. Something could always happen so we should be trying to help as much as we can. Not to mention while we" I paused after my slip of the tongue, but didn't correct it "partied in undergrad people were suffering who could have been helped."

There's a flicker of a frown on his face when I mentioned how short life is, but he lets it go, tilting his head when he looks at me, "We can't save everyone. That's impossible. We can try to do as much as we can, but there will always be more people in need of help.

"Partying isn't trying."

He raised his eyebrows, "You didn't even know you wanted to be a lawyer, back when you were partying in college."

I got kinda flustered again, he's right, there's no logically sound way to win. Yeah but I should have, I wish I had. Would have made the time a lot less regrettable." I said then cleared my throat, "Though, this is a bit of a heavy topic for our first meeting, don't you agree? Your- Damian." I barely corrected myself from saying Your Highness.

He chuckled, "A bit, but it's different from the surface level talk about work and provinces." He inclined his head, "Though, if you think about it, you never would have discovered your passion for law if you hadn't joined your sorority." He shrugged and gave a stupid grin which made me blush even more. 

Finally I snapped and turned to point a finger at him, "You won okay. I can't regret something if I didn't know to do something better, but that doesn't make topless jello shots any less of an embarrassing memory." I exclaimed then heard what I said and wished to curl into a ball and die. 

He chuckled a little, "We all have our moments. It's okay."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door then, and a guard pokes his head in. Damian nods at him, then turns and looks at me, "Unfortunately, we'll have to exchange stories another time. It appears our time today is up."

I sighed in relief at my rescue, then mumbled under my breath, "Thank God." I stood to curtsy, "Your-" I cringed a bit at the error, "Damian."

He chuckled again, "It was a pleasure to meet you Savannah. Until next time." He smiled at me when we got to the door, and stopped in the doorway.

I smiled back politely, "Thank you for the conversation. Till next time." 

*savy was taking a break from her work and decided to out for a walk in the gardens. She had always been a fan of taking runs when stressed snd the gardens were providing a peaceful alternative. She was walking around when she thought she saw a bunny in the bushes. Being the gal she is she wanted to see it closer so she stepped off the path and walked into the gravel. Immediately her heel sank in the gravel. She lost her balance for a moment but didnt fall. Instead she panicked. She debated stepping out of her shoes to get it out but she didnt wanna hurt her skin on the gravel. Instead she tried to wiggle it loose and hopped no one was near*

*rip savannah, but Damian is out distressing by playing basketball at that point in time, and from where he's standing as he shoots this basket, he can see someone clearly struggling with something in the gardens. he can't see who it is, or what the problem is, but he figures he should go check it out. he tucks the basketball under one arm, jogging towards the person he can see, calling out* Hey, everything okay?

*savannah hears him call out an knows immediately it's the last person in the world she'd want to find her like this* Absolutely peachy! *calls back and debates ditching the shoes*

*he slows to a stop when he gets closer, his eyes going from savannah's face to her foot* Mmm, looks like you've got yourself in a bit of a sticky situation, there.

*is extremely flustered* no situation at all. I said I'm fine. *aggressively wiggles the heel and almost trips so she squeaks but manages to catch herself*

*when he sees her almost trip, he lunges forwards to catch her before she hits the ground, but then she catches herself, so he's like "oh was that for nothing?" he looks down at the shoe, furrowing his brows, thinking* Here, let me help with that, before you actually fall.

I'm not going to fall and I don't need your help. I'm perfectly capable of defeating some gravel on my own

*he takes a step back* Alright... if you insist... *hes not going anywhere, just watching her, waiting to see what she'll do*

*huffs when she doesnt hear him walk away and continues to wiggle then huffs when shes not getting anywhere* Fine. If you're just going to stand there anyways you may as well help.

*he chuckles, setting the basketball down on the ground, kneeling down to look at the gravel and the heel, before beginning to dig the heel out with his fingers* Not the best shoes to walk off the path in.

*rolls her eyes* I didn't think about that. I thought I saw a bunny and got distracted

*he can't help but raise his eyebrows at that, grinning, twisting the heel a little to unscrew it from the gravel* Was it at least a cute bunny?

*his tone is a little teasing*

It was cute, be careful with your tone though when your face is near my foot. *once its free she steps back on the path so she doesn't sink again*

*he chuckles, joking* What, are you planning on giving me a royal nose job with your shoe?

You could probably use one. *offers a hand to help him stand back up*

*he picks up his basketball, taking her hand, still grinning at her, teasing* Maybe it's just the angle you've been looking at it from.

*stands on her tiptoes looking at his nose* Nope. It's a little off. Nose job it is.

*she pinches his nose* its a big flaw. Doubt you'll be able to get a wife like that

*he chuckles* I don’t know, my nose has never gotten in my way before

*considers* You're right, I'm sure that was just your sense of responsibility that got in the way.

*he raises his eyebrows* You know, I’ve never turned in an assignment late, or anything for work late. Never asked for an extension.

I somehow find that doubtful. Your reputation of being a loose partier precedds that of a responsible duitiful person.

Well, it’s the truth. *he shrugs* If you’re really curious, you could email my professors. It’s all about finding a balance. *he smiles*

*grumbles because he seems to be honest about it* What did you even study?

I dual majored in political science and marketing. You?

*sighs in relief* at least you werent a buisness major. Political Science and History for me on a prelaw track.

*he nods, smiling, genuinely curious* Did you prefer one over the other?

Probably political science. I mean I love history it's why I added it. For fun since it's just like learning stories and seeing the modern day impact of said stories. But political science felt more efficient. Like it helped me have a better understanding of the philosophy of political thinking which has helped me a lot in law. Plus I just liked the professors more.

*he smiles* Understandable. Good professors make it so much easier to learn the content

*smiles* yeah and lots and lots of highlighters. Did you have a favorite topic in political science?

*grinning* I took a really cool course on comparative political economies - I really like the economic side of things. That, and the classes I had to take on international politics. *he looks over at savannah* What about you?

Probably civil politics. I've always been a fan of civil work. I honestly thought about working for the AFEI instead of the ICLU but decided I wanted to do more personal legal work than policy legal work. But it's always been the work that has interested me more since it's important to bring up civil conflicts within the country and try to help as much as possible. But learning about where we came from in terms of The United States vs the civil policies of Illea was an interesting course for me, especially because of the overlap of History and Political Science.

*he nods as she talks, thinking that all over* I think work guided what classes I liked as well. Because beyond national politics, I also have to think about international politics, trade agreements, and maintaining Illéa’s position in the world.

*seems slightly surprised* so you actually liked your major? I assumed you just were kinda forced to pick it

I was kind of forced to, but I could still pick the classes that interested me more. *He shrugs* Plus I really enjoyed my marketing major.

*thinks for a moment* Can I ask you something and have an honest answer? No bullshit PR answer. I'm just trying to figure out if we can trust you to be our future king through this, at the very least.

Sure *he nods, pursing his lips a little* Ask away.

Do you actually want to be the king of this country? Like aside from the perks you have from it, do you care about the work?

I do care. *he pauses, swallowing* I really do. It’s just...it’s a lot of pressure to accept from a young age.

*she thinks for a moment* Noted. Thank you for your honesty. *Looks at the basketball* Do you play much?

*he smiles kind of sadly* Not as much as I used to. I’ve gotten a little busy helping to run the country, and such.

*gets an idea* Do you wanna make a bet with me?

*he grins* Depends on what it is

Basketball. I'm working on a program right now with the ICLU, a coworker wants to come visit me and discuss about it but appreantly work visits aren't allowed during this. If I can get more hoops in you'll arrange that?

*he furrows his brows* Better yet, I could just organize for your coworker to visit under the guise of another event going on. Just give me a few weeks to work out the details.

*kinda chuckles because shes competitive* oh? Youre scared you'll lose? But if that's what you prefer

*he laughs* No, I just know I’d win, and I’d hate to deny you the ability to see your coworker

Fine. You'll set up the meeting, then I'll just prove to you that I would win had their beem stakes.

*he narrows his eyes at her, extending a hand to shake, still grinning* Deal

*shakes it firmly then kicks off her heels planning to walk to the court barefoot.* Would be an unfair advantage for me to still be in them

*he raises his eyebrows* Why, they helped square up the height difference between us, at the very least *he chuckles*

*almost elbows him over that but barely stops herself* I don't need that help. I'm perfectly capable of crushing you independent of my shoes

*he laughs* I played basketball in uni, you know?

As did I. Well- not in a club. A guy who I was *ponders for a moment* acquainted with, played it therefore I played with him and his friends fairly often

*he raises his eyebrows* And how tall was your acquaintance? Because I’m used to playing with people my height, but also my mom and sister, who are - *he puts his hand somewhere around his shoulder because they’re 5’4” and 5’5”* - about this tall

He was around 6'3. His friends the same or more. Don't worry I'm well aware of the disadvantage of my height and very prepared to utilize it

*he chuckles* Oh, I’ve got to see this. *when they get to the court he starts dribbling the ball casually, walking towards the middle of the court* Do you want to start with the ball, or should I?

*thinks for a moment and puts her shoes down on the edge of the court and rolls up the bottoms of her dress pants a bit* You can start with it.

*he raises his eyebrows at her rolling up her dress pants, but he nods* Okay, if you insist. *he waits until he’s ready before starting the play*

*she walks up prepared to steal since she cant block*

*he starts dribbling more seriously, quickly maneuvering around her, taking three large steps with the ball, and then shoots a basket, and it goes in*

*she kinda huffs about that dislikes. But once he has the ball again she tries again, this time getting it and doing her UNDER THE LEGS MOVE AND SHOOTS*

*he turns around, a little in shock* That is not a legal move!

Hmmm *puts her finger to her chin very smug* I dont think it explicitly says in the rules that you're not allowed too. You use your height I'll use mine *VERY SMUG*

*he narrows his eyes* Fine, best 2 out of 3? Whoever gets this next shot wins, then

*SHES BEING COCKY NOW* Aw is the wittle princey calling it quits so soon? His fragile ego damaged? *bats her eyes teasingly*

*he narrows his eyes* Fine, best three out of five, then. *he starts dribbling the ball right from here he is, and it’s a long shot to his basket from there, but he’s pretty confident, so he goes for it, and somehow it actually goes in. he raises his eyebrows at her* Still think you’re gonna win?

*crosses her arms* That was luck. *goes to get the ball since shes closer*

Or just sheer skill. *he smirks a little*

*turns to face him just to roll her eyes and gets the ball. She then dribbles it back to the middle or something idk how basketball works*

*he follows her to the middle, standing in front of her, knees bent in that “ready” position idk wtf it’s called lmao*

*that position makes knees wide so she dribbles and goes to do her fast under the leg move again*

*he sees it coming this time, and takes a few steps back, keeps his arm in front of him to reach for the ball, which he gets, and then dribbles across to the the hoop he has to score in, taking the shot, and watching it go in again. he grabs the ball as it bounces back up, raising his brows at savannah* One more, or are you good? *he grins a little*

*huffs again and crosses her arm* Fine we'll call it at 3 to 1. But in my defense it's been awhile.

*he grins* Well, you’re always welcome to practice out here with me, if you want.

I can't tell if you're being taunting or not *rolls her eyes and walks up to him then holds out her hand to shake for the end of the game*

*he takes her hand and shakes, then gives her a genuine smile* No taunting. I mean it. I’d love to have someone new to play with.

I'll consider it then. I am getting slightly bored of your homes running path for exercise.

*smiles back even tho she doesnt wanna because it was a nice offer*

*he tilts his head from side to side* Yeah, the running trail through the gardens is kind of short. There are better ones /in/ Angeles, if you ever want to check them out

Not sure I'm allowed to just waltz on out of here, but I'd love the names of any you know. My grandmother lives near her so I'm sure I'll be visiting soon enough after this if not immediately so.

*he shrugs* I could also drive you sometime, if you want. I /do/ have a car.

*seems a bit surprised* You know how to drive?

*he furrows his brows* Of course! I got my license as soon as I was legally allowed to.

But its not like you need too? Don't you have like drivers?

*he looks a little confused and taken aback* I’m sure some exist, but why would I want someone else to drive me when I could be free and drive myself?

I'm not sure. I just know rich people, like for example my cousin *mumbles for a moment to find the phrasing* So my grandmother is in charge of the Mars Candy Corporation. My mom's older brother Nathaniel will be taking over it, his kids also my cousins all have drivers. They're like twenty something now but Jackson is always bragging about how he doesn't have to take the effort to drive himself places. I just assumed other people who could afford them would have them, especially busy people who could work instead of drive.

*he blinks* Wow, I never even would have considered that. *he shakes his head* No, I like driving. Being able to roll the windows down and blast the music...it’s like a few moments of freedom. *he shrugs, smiling a little sadly*

*she noticed the smile then something clicks* so freedom is your vice. You act out to feel free, thus the partying. You mentioned earlier the responsibility of being a prince being am influence on the partying. A lack of freedom makes sense. *she knows shes getting too personal but her curiosity and worry for the future gets the best of her* But what does that mean you're going to do when you're king? You'll have even less. How do you plan to maintain that restriction without bursting and needing freedom?

*he stiffens a little at her analysis because damn it’s spot on, but sighs towards the end* Getting as much out of life as I can now. I always knew what my future held for me. So I can plan accordingly. *he forces a small grin, trying to joke* Besides, with any luck, I’ll be old and almost out of energy by the time I’m king.

*furrows her eyebrows concerned* That doesn't work. *sighs* Believe me I'd know. But we aren't wired to run off memories. Instead we develop habits and coping mechanisms. Everyone snaps from time to time, you'll go back to what made you happy last. For you I assume that'll be partying. Which is something you can't do as king, and assuming it wont be till your old isn't right either, regardless of if that was a joke it's not something that you can lean on since millions of people could be relying on you and you'd be unprepared. You are going to be king, You are not going to have freedom, you are going to be under immense pressure and responsibility, honest answer, what are you going to do when you need to snap?

*he narrows his eyes at her, this time more out of irritation than anything else, and he’s a little sarcastic* Gee, thanks for the reminder. Though, for the record, I /haven’t/ partied since uni, and I have no plans to in the near future. So perhaps I’ll rely on my other coping mechanism, such as basketball, or taking a drive.

Yeah well it's the truth and uni wasn't that long ago. It's hard to break habits. I mean I partied like 4 times a month in undergrad and I still use it. That was forever ago but that's not how humans work. You're gonna lean on what you've leaned on. You're going to get shitfaced, you're going to want what you used to have, you're gonna idolize those times in uni and want them back. But you're not going to have it and it's going to be hard and shitty but you have to tough it out because of the country that relies on you and this is proving to me that you're not going to be a reliable King for the people who need you.  

[punkscowardschampions]

Jude & Jac

Jude: [post rave] Jude: you can stop your 1 woman campaign now, freshers looks fun, I admit it Jac: That's why they give out free shit and throw these things Jac: convince people like you, good to know you've fallen for it 🎣😏 Jude: I'm convinced enough to crash Trinity's 😜✌ Jude: here on out Jac: good luck, jailbait Jac: the two years you've got left in school show 👶 Jac: you can't even grow unconvincing facial hair like the boys in my year Jude: nah they don't, why ma & da get so stressed every time I leave the house 💋👗👠 Jac: Predators enjoying the fact you think so is another issue entirely Jude: 🙄😏 Jude: can never just have a nice chat with you Jac: What do you need to chat about? Jude: what do YOU need to chat about? Jac: That was an...attempt, I'll give you that Jude: alright, here's the nudge, her name starts with S & last time she was ranked she was at like a 4 Jude: but I'm willing to bump her up in light of recent events Jac: You've reconnected and + 1 up, have you? Jac: That's nice Jude: taking a decent 📷 is good for a few points Jude: probs should lose 'em again when it's dad 👍 but whatever Jac: Very generous Jac: do appreciate you keeping your 👍 to yourself Jac: what do you wanna ask then? Jude: ikr I'm in a generous mood Jude: I'm not forcing you into a q & a Jude: I just think it's good you're mates again Jude: be a bit weird having her there & not Jude: some girl isn't gonna be there 📷 to turn her into a headless 👻 whenever shit gets awkward Jac: That your professional opinion, captain obvious? Jac: well, cheers for your blessing, like Jude: I could tell you were waiting for it so Jac: Clearly Jac: the little you think about has always been my GREATEST concern 😏 Jac: and she'll be up and over the 🌙 at her new score, of course Jude: all I REALLY wanna know is if she has a 🌾🐄 accent now, like? be honest Jude: it's still silver 🥄 yeah? Jac: Err, come on, it was NEVER Southside Jac: and even if it was, that'd count for NOTHING here Jac: so posh some of 'em it's a speech impediment Jude: so you're saying she don't fit right in with the 👸🤴 & qualifies as a bit of rough instead Jude: gutted for her Jude: her ma'd be even more 💔 wonder how she is Jac: That isn't funny, Jude Jude: not about her mum, that was well sad Jude: posh boys not thinking Sav is, is a bit though Jac: Have you ever tried engaging your brain before you speak Jac: not being completely insensitive should not be this hard for you Jude: ?? Jac: Don't ?? at me Jac: you say it's 'well sad' but you're the one that cracked a joke in the first place Jude: I didn't Jude: not about that Jac: I'm not pulling it from nowhere, it's still on my screen Jac: I don't think you realize how badly you come across half the time Jude: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come across like a massive dickhead Jude: I think Sav's alright, I'm not trying to take the piss out of her Jac: Well it's alright this time 'cos you only said it in front of me Jude: be going a bit far to check in with her Jude: not weird at all Jac: you're saying I SHOULD put it past you? Jac: you are weird Jude: I'm saying I'm not about to say it front of her as I don't talk to her, am I Jac: doesn't mean getting into the habit of saying every 'hilarious' thought that enters your head out loud is a plan Jude: yeah alright Jude: fair enough Jac: Anyway, Sav isn't interested in any boys that look like they came from 🐴s not 🐒s Jude: 🤣 Jude: you wanna be careful saying 👦🏽👦🏾👦🏿 look like 🐒 but I get you Jac: She hasn't got a boyfriend of any colour so I weren't saying that Jude: I didn't reckon so, not unless she got a lad to follow her to uni Jude: but who wants that? Jac: Her ex was holding her back hardcore but he's given that up, thankfully Jude: he sounds like a right laugh & not at all like a prick Jac: That's boys for you Jude: 😜 Jude: when do they grow up? 40s or what? Jac: Have you met our father? Jac: never Jude: oh great Jac: 🤷 Jude: it's alright for you, you can get all the 🤓 lads when you're done studying or whatever Jude: least they'll be smart Jac: smart boys are worse Jac: they want to explain everything to you Jude: really? Jude: fuck that then Jac: dumb but kind are the lofty heights you can shoot for Jude: like a 🐶 Jac: yep Jac: loyalty too, forgo the collar Jude: yeah you're right that is lofty heights Jude: maybe when I'm 40, I can find a lad that don't need one Jude: stop him going over the road & 💔 me Jac: shitting where you eat is gross but convenient, that's boys Jude: 👍 Jude: Jess is so lucky he can pick a lad or a girl Jac: Most people are undesirable Jac: gay lads will only touch him if they think he's straight and that's their type Jac: and girls are a whole different beast altogether Jude: that'll be why he's so 😒 Jac: as a rule or more than usual right now? Jude: we all know why he's 😒 right now Jude: you pissed off somewhere more fun without him Jac: I think he's just fine Jac: and he did it first, every weekend, like Jude: speaking of, his latest gig was not the one Jude: so he's probably 😒 about that Jac: like, he was shit, the crowd weren't the right one or the equipment weren't? Jude: he needs a better 🎸 but that ain't news Jude: seemed like he didn't wanna be there to me Jac: Hm, a fight with one of his girlfriend or boyfriends then Jac: meant to make him better so he's fucked up there Jude: relatable Jac: 🙄 Jac: alright Jude: don't be 🙄 @ me Jude: your dating history ain't spotless Jac: I've never dated anyone so it is Jac: 📑 definition Jude: your hook up history then, you know what I mean cos me either Jac: I don't fall in love with them like an idiot, it's entirely different Jude: I fell in love with the one, who I was dating for a bit Jude: I'm not going about falling for 'em all Jac: Still did, didn't you Jac: I can't even remember any of mine Jac: nothing came into play but proximity and timing Jude: 🏆🥇 if you want Jac: take it over your 💔 obviously Jude: yeah Jac: 🙄 I repeat Jude: whatever Jude: I was stupid, it was ages ago Jac: you brought it up Jude: it was my mistake, I can Jac: not a sounding board for your whining Jude: alright, my bad Jac: used to you Jude: you've got your own room now, get over it, like Jac: unfortunuately, that doesn't stop us sharing a family so I don't think I will, thanks Jac: unfortunuately, that doesn't stop us sharing a family so I don't think I will, thanks Jude: it's a part time one for you now, don't have to see this face til 🎄🎅☃️🎁 Jac: Unfortunately, can stay over Spring though, but there's no catering in the Xmas hol 💔 Jude: 👎 - 1 point to St Andy's Jude: is Sav going to her mum or dad for the hols? Jac: better than home, get all my meals and room cleaned for me every week so Jac: literally only just got here, who's thinking about leaving Jac: some other halls you can stay, so maybe she'll find someone there, so she only has to do actual Xmas day or whatever Jude: me now, maybe I should bother going to uni if they're gonna clean for me Jac: only if you get into a good one Jac: and pay extra, hence most people are self-cater, but what else do I need my grant, loan and scholarship for, may as well Jude: 🤔 I hear you, that's unlikely Jac: you have time Jac: two years can change everything Jude: not my 🧠 it can't Jude: my concentration ain't there unless I'm doing 🎨 Jac: you could try harder, and you know it Jude: at what? Jac: concentrating on enough subjects to get you into a decent Uni Jac: you don't need every one, just enough to boost your points Jude: sounds easy that 😤😏 Jude: if I'm only in it for the 🧹🧺 🧼🧽 & I ain't 🤓 enough for one of 'em, ain't much point Jac: It's not about being nerdy or naturally intelligent, it's about being smart with the system Jude: yeah but it's probably also about going cos you wanna learn stuff & be there not just cos you wanna leave home for a bit Jac: most people never use their degrees, so you tell me Jude: that's true Jude: what subjects then? Jac: Depends what you want to do, Art in some form, assumedly? Jac: Fuck Irish and Spanish and PE, duh, knuckle down with your rest to up your points as much as you can then absolutely ace Art Jude: Alright, I'm decent at PE anyway Jude: that'll be easy points Jac: Exactly, no need to purposely fuck them up, but focus harder on the rest, especially the ones you are less decent at without trying Jude: please tell me you've left your notes here Jac: Of course Jac: under my bed, if you haven't lit it on 🔥 Jude: it's only been a week, gimme chance Jac: well, don't reckon they'll let you get a double yet Jac: I still need a place to crash in the holidays and it certainly won't be beside you snoring your head off Jude: might do if I steer clear of lads for a bit Jude: not that I've done half as much with 'em as everyone reckons I have Jac: People find shit to chat regardless, not worth paying no mind to, no more mind to stupid lads either Jude: I don't care if people don't reckon I'm a virgin still even though I am Jude: it's not like it matters Jac: Yeah, those people will all be irrelevant before you know it Jude: loads of people are well jealous of your uni btw Jude: reckoned you'd wanna hear that Jac: Of course Jac: x2 Jude: 😏 Jac: It's more of a flex than Trinity even, and only a handful of people got in there Jude: when did you work out what you wanted? it feels like you've been going on about it forever Jude: but like actually Jac: 🤔 Jac: I can't remember a point where it wasn't my plan, honestly Jac: more abstract when I was little and didn't have the titles and disciplines to put to it but Jac: I always liked murder mysteries and shit, what makes us tick Jude: right Jude: you love a true crime podcast Jac: 😏 Jac: but I'd rather deal with the living murderers than the corpses of their victims so Jude: well yeah Jude: 🦴🦷 bit gross Jac: 🧠 are much better Jude: long as you're not cutting into it Jac: I won't be Jac: if I'd combined biology, and gone that route Jude: I won't be either, tah Jude: science is proper hard Jac: Psychology has a shit load of it involved anyway, but I can blag it Jude: you're SO excited, I can tell Jude: 🤓💕 Jac: Of course I am Jac: it's everything I've ever wanted Jude: it's weird you're so far away though, it don't feel like you are Jac: Glad my prescence and now abscence had/have such a huge impact on you Jac: we both know why though so Jude: yeah Jac: it's different now Jude: good Jac: alright then Jude: give my love to Savannah, I know she'll have missed me Jude: that's the impact I have Jac: 👌👌 Jude: 😝 Jac: Do you really have a problem with Savannah? Jude: course not, I told you I think she's alright, it's just bants Jude: why does she have a problem with me? Jac: yeah, it's a massive grudge she took all the way to Sligo and back Jac: 🙄 Jude: you know what I mean Jude: has she said that I come across as a massive dickhead too or something? Jude: I don't wanna upset her, like Jac: you haven't come up a load in conversation, like Jac: oddly enough Jac: it's that Jac: she's like my girlfriend alright so you can't be a dick about her anymore, alright Jude: alright then Jac: is that all you're gonna say Jude: I won't take the piss out of her no more, like I said, I didn't mean it anyways Jac: you can react, you know Jac: it's big news on multiple counts Jude: it makes sense Jude: I get it now, why you were like that after she left Jac: Good Jac: I want you to know that Jac: don't change how it was, but still Jude: you could've just told me you rated her 10/10 Jude: is that why she left? like her family always seemed a bit off but I didn't think they were that bad Jac: I couldn't, though Jac: no, her mum wasn't coping Jac: as we all know now, and then the Isabelle stuff went down, so their dad stepped in Jude: yeah, but I mean, that's not part of why she slit her wrists, is it? Cos Sav doesn't need that to carry Jac: it was because the dad left and then took them, to put it as bluntly and without nuance as possible Jac: but that's all on him, not the girls, her mum isn't like blaming them, their relationship is getting better Jude: at least she was alright with you too dating then, nobody needs that dark ages mentality shit Jude: she's got enough going on Jac: well, she doesn't know about that yet Jude: but you were together back then, yeah? Jac: no, it's a new development Jac: as in, like, the other night new, no one really knows, I barely do Jac: things were complicated before Jude: oh okay, soz for backtracking so hard, I just thought Jac: yeah, that was the problem Jac: shit was assumed or it wasn't Jude: what a headfuck Jude: you're okay now though, right? Like the other night went alright Jac: I guess for context, before she left, I did kiss her and it went horribly Jac: I loved her then but she didn't and then she was gone Jac: I see how it sounded like pining there but no Jac: it's good now though, things have changed, we both have Jude: I knew something happened that night when you came back early, you were like a 👻 or like you'd seen one Jac: Yeah, that was what it was Jude: it won't happen again if things are different so Jac: not as bad Jude: I'm glad Jude: that this is the ending you get, cos it's not one, it's more like a beginning or whatever Jude: you don't have to be just excited for uni Jac: I know Jac: not that there's anything wrong with just being excited for Uni, tah very much Jac: whatever happens, I think we'll be able to stay friends this time so Jude: or you'll just marry her & have all the kids she obviously wants Jac: let's not get carried away, shall we Jude: 1. you never said I couldn't have bants with you still Jude: 2. there's nowt I don't know about her life plan, she talks LOADS Jac: You only have a problem with that because you want to be the one talking Jude: course I do Jac: it cannot be overstated how much I'd rather listen to her, is the point ❤ Jude: it'd be a bit rude if you were already like nah tah 🤐 it, babe Jude: probably don't do that Jac: That's your top tip and people really think you're not a virgin? Jac: Interesting Jude: it don't work out well for the lads who TRY it with me 😏 Jude: people reckon I'm not cos I'm that 🥇 yeah Jude: & cos lads have loads to say for themselves, most of which is bollocks Jude: but you're not a sounding board for my whinging, I remember Jac: 'Bants', dear sister, 'bants' Jude: 👍 Jac: anyway, I've got to go Jac: there's this variety show that is apparently hilarious, either actually or in how bad it is so Jude: & I've got loads of 📝📚📖📏📐to do if I'm gonna have my own freshers Jude: top quality entertainment like that, literally how could I not? Jac: sure you'll want to be in it yourself 😏 Jude: you're correct Jude: 👋 then