#ill be taking a long break from twitter holy shit
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hexitca · 11 months ago
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Rant about Puritan fandom culture!
Well I typed it on twitter but then I had more to say so tumblr it is!
Under read more
WARNING: Long as fuck
Here's some pics
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I know I basically said the author of Heartstopper "brought it on themselves" but yea they kinda did.
You can disagree with BL/Yaoi you can hate the shipping discourse or shipping in fandom in general but you cant frame it in a "i hate [that] bc it's sinful/fetishistic and I'M ABOVE THAT BC I'M WHOLESOME AND BETTER THAN THOSE DISGUSTING SHIPPERS"
bc that's gonna bite you in the ass...as it is doing now. The fucking image of their character's google history is so tame and normal, esp in LGBTQ+ spaces! Yet they are being called a pedo? Crazy. In the end, you only hurt yourself!
I never bothered with HS bc i just wasnt interested in it but thats just my preference. It's sad to see ppl, esp young ppl, turn on a series of LGBTQ+ representation just bc of the author's past (or current? idk) stance on the BL/Yaoi or MLM or whatever genre just bc their stance wavered a bit in a simple comic image. Something that is so fucking normal also! but they will grow up and realized how limiting it is to restrict themselves just to appear pure within a group.
Yet the artists/writers/creators are traumatized by the witchhunt. I know I said the author brought it on themselves for supporting anti but damn I don't want them being accused of being a pedo! Or ANYTHING! NO ONE DESERVES THAT. I dont know anything about the author other than surface knowledge but at the end of the day, all this online shit, doesnt matter. It doesnt! Me saying that is ironic bc im typing this post up right now!
but it's something we care about! I care about fandom spaces, I care that creators are getting attack for something as mild as this even if they invited these ppl into their circle. We're human and we change our views a million times a fucking day. I could agree with one thing and disagree with it another. That's why anti discourse pisses me the hell off! It's just a bunch of bullies looking to make themselves feel better by shaming others! I don't respect that type of behavior. And I hate that they just run around saying shit like "kys" over a two characters fucking?!? It amazes me beyond words.
Fandom has never been without its discourse. But the puritan bullshit is not even fandom discourse, it's just straight up bullying and harassment. It doesnt take much to tailor your fandom spaces to your preferences, i should know ive been in fandom spaces since I was fucking 13 years old. I didn't explore nsfw/porn/anything until I wanted to when I was 18. That is MY personal experience. I never put that on anyone else BUT MYSELF. If I saw nsfw and didnt want to see it I blocked the person. Not make a fucking witch hunt out of it. You are in charge of keeping YOURSELF in check not some person who shared nsfw art/fanfic. How fucking hard is it to turn the "don't show me nsfw" toggle on??? Bc it's not about that. Y'all just wanna be mad and be above someone so why not ppl minding their own business.
And guess what? There ARE ppl who are bad and support nsfw art/writing. They fucking suck. They are outliers and deserve to be called out when they get exposed. But many times, ppl always go "see i told you all the ppl in THAT fandom were pedos/freaks/etc" hmmm sounds like when conservatives go "see...that queer person turned out to be bad, SO all queer ppl are bad" DO YOU GET IT?? It never works out with that line of thinking. You are harming innocent ppl minding their own business. You are harming yourselves when you grow the fuck up and realize that "OH actually...I am curious about sex" and have ppl who you thought were your friends eat your face. PLS wake the fuck up.
If you're an anti:
I hope you recover from that
go fuck yourself
if you're offended by me saying "go fuck yourself", pls take that as a sign to log off the internet and go touch grass. As someone who has done that many of times, it's very refreshing.
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anosci · 1 year ago
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Media Thread
im making a list of media ive watched/played/etc this year with brief thoughts. its going to be far less featured than my music list, but still a bit long. again mirroring twitter except this time because fuck twitter.
list below the cut
~January~
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1/ Princes Arete (2001) I was sold on this movie under the premise that it's similar to Kino no Tabi. and… it is. kinda. Kino and Arete would be cool pals. Every character is interesting, which seems rare(?) Only real drawback: the hostage situation kinda really sucked.
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2/ Time of EVE (2008/9) the classic tale: androids indistinguishable from humans as an allegory for racism. but unlike DBH, this is actually really good. its a story that feels like a single thread in a vast tapestry that'd be fascinating to explore, but too bad: you only have 6 eps
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3/ Spice & Wolf (2008) i remember loving this show. i don't remember understanding the economics. I took notes this time. I still struggled. (spoilers for ep3) regardless: wow this is a good show. weirdly, I saw myself in the relationship portrayals. I guess that means its realistic?
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~February~
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4/ Spice & Wolf II (2009) i feel like this kinda fell off? :( like it tried too hard to be action-packed. and that worked sometimes. but that first arc was just… :( it feels like a case of "just needs an editing pass. needs a bit more focus" i'll treasure S1 more, after all
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5/ Double Fine PsychOdyssey (2023) absurdly captivating. i say that it's a miracle that any video game gets made ever. this shows that Psychonauts 2 was several miracles in succession. it's simultaneously illusion-shattering and inspiring.
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6/ The Owl House S1 (2020) finally sat down to watch this. it's GOOD. lots of worldbuilding to chew on, and then it picked up quite nicely. im immediately pouncing on S2 and feeling glad i was late enough to be able to marathon
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~March~
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7/ The Owl House S2 (2022) stumbling down the boulderest mountain and hitting every rock on the way down. the rocks represent engagement. i am engaged. i adore this show. it is a little weird to suddenly freeze mid-tumble.
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8/ Broken Age (2014) (Dr. Mick's LP) delightful start! brilliant, even! then the big bad is revealed and…. meh. I watched Dr. Mick's playthru tho, and holy shit that's some really cool commentary.
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9/ Double Fine Adventure! (2015) its a little unfortunate that the nature of gamedev means that the ending is kinda anticlimatic but good lord what an amazing journey. i'd watch a million of these.
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10/ Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) ok ok fine ill [finally] watch it …oh its good. like really good. its rly funny but in a way that fascinatingly beside the point? yeah I can see why some ppl didnt like this but i think its super fun
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11/ Nichijou (2011) a nice and cute slice of life thing… that occasionally breaks out some quality jokes. though only half of them landed for me. i feel like i would've gotten more out of this if I caught it at the time.
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~April~
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12/ The Owl House S3 (2023) i had a lot of reservations about the collector initially but having seen the entire arc: that came together nicely! still sad that it's The End, but like. good overall!
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13/ Penguindrum (2011) i DONT think i followed 90% of the themes and their connections. that said, i DO love the way metaphors are treated as "literal". confusing maybe, but i adore the idea of "paint what you feel not what you see" applied to storytelling.
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~May~
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14/ From the New World (2012) this has a mess of an opening (several) episode(s), but it eventually found its footing and became quite a cool action adventure… thriller i guess? i do take some issues with bits and pieces but it was a good watch overall.
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15/ GinGitune (2013) fluff. the lightest, fluffiest of fluff. melts in water. there are several elements that couldve been mined for drama and intrigue but they were all treated as background elements. (this isn't a bad thing, but it's not what you might expect.)
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~June~
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16/ Space Dandy (2014) dropped after ep4, but on good terms i guess? fun animation, funky vibes, sometimes even funny! anime johny bravo…or I think i saw a Dirty Pair comparison, which feels right. but im not meshing with the silly wacky high nrg antics rn. maybe another time.
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~July~
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17/ Death Parade (2015) rly misleading intro (i was ready to drop lol) rly rly promising setup by ep4 RLY good development and mildly biffed ending, but hard to fault considering its a 12ep. i love the aesthetics, worldbuilding, characters. overall i really really liked this!!!
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18/ One Punch Man S1 (2015) i forgot how fun this show is! and the great worldbuilding! i dont plan to move to the second season again tho. i thought about grabbing the manga instead but good lord it's way longer than i thought. oh well.
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19/ Flying Witch (2016) slicest of life with a la croix touch of supernatural. the normal slices didn't do much for me 90% of the time. but the supernatural slices? choice. (…mostly.) tbh i just want an entire season of that cafe.
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~August~
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20/ Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto (2016) i was skeptical, but this actually worked rly well. for moment. a short, beautiful moment. most of the potential here was stifled by trying to add high school drama/plot. the comedy tho, at its best, had a vibe i havent felt since hayate
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~September~
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21/ Saiki Kusuo no Psi Nan (2016) it is VERY EASY for a comedy show to slide from "absurdity = funny" to "this is just annoying". somehow, this never crossed that line, which was weirdly refreshing? not always a winner, but overall a good mix of laughs and superpower exploration.
21b/ edit to add: oh this was right after Sakamoto! Man. The two feel kind of kindred but Saiki is leagues better at staying fresh.
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22/ Viewfinder (2023) short but very sweet mind-bender puzzler thing. the story had a cool foundation but fumbled in execution imo. but the gameplay? top notch. felt great through and through. never too difficult. beautiful idea and beautiful execution.
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23/ Flip Flappers (2016) uncertain about the show at first, and then, after watching… im still uncertain. i did enjoy it, but I also felt outside the audience ig? a case where I can imagine a version of this show that knocks my socks off, but as-is it's just a fun ride
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24/ Fionna & Cake (2023) my expectations were very low and they were VASTLY exceeded! think this show is at its strongest when exploring characters w short stories, which was most of this. the ending felt slightly fumbled…i think it couldve rocked me but instead it was just :).
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~October~
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25/ Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye (2021) i already played and loved this game, but happened upon About Oliver's playthrough and fell in love again. truly that is The Most outer wilds playthrough. good lord.
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26/ The Amazing Digital Circus (2023) interesting and filled with style… but not for me. i'd list complaints but basically all of them are strengths and favorites for someone else. yknow?
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~November~
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27/ Little Witch Academia TV (2017) as the credits roll, i find myself with two thoughts: croix was done dirty and wow this is SPECTACLE. aptly magical. oh also! it was quite fun to follow along with contemporary discussion
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~December~
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28/ Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (2023) oh it's like. really good. i dont remember the movie so i cant compare but this stands well on its own and i love the character exploration, even if i dont like some of the uhh… what would you call that? scifi jokes? (spoiler territory soz)
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29/ Land of the Lustrous (2017) FLOORED by how much I loved this. qualms about the CG turned into admiration, the shading drawing me into the world. worries about annoying characters melted away to find admirable layers. THE USE OF SYMBOLISM kept me SO well fed. and the pacing!
29b/ cont: my only complaint that isn't a nitpick: i hate how it left so, so, so many threads loose. i faceplanted my dashboard during the decelerating pace between the first 10 eps and the final 2. i get that it's from an ongoing manga but that still felt maximum bummer.
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30/
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tarosin · 3 years ago
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the great adventures of y/n tubbo tommy ranboo and george - trampolines and chaos
this is part 13 to the great adventures series
an: so it’s very clear y/ns love language is spending time with people and physical touch, all love mentioned is platonic
you and ranboo settled in rather quickly. However, there was good and bad news the bad news was you both had to isolate which meant when tubbo would go out with the others the pair of you couldn’t go the good news however, was that it would only be for a week and that you could both spend a lot of time together catching up and talking about anything that came to mind making the pair of you grow close. the pair of you would work on the scrapbook with tubbo, this was your favourite thing to do as ranboo would add his own twist to it and often came up with new ideas, you would both stream together for your twitch channel when tubbo was out and when he would come home you would all stream on ranboos channel. you often found yourself helping ranboo film videos for youtube or help him cook when tubbo was streaming. since you shared a room with ranboo every night you would sit on the couch pulling him close so you could play with his hair whilst a random film would play in the background, today was no different you sat on the couch and put bo Burnham's inside on whilst you waited for him to walk over with a blanket so he could sit in between your legs letting you play with his hair
“your hair got long boo…I’m going to try and plait some of it”
“I couldn’t get a hair cut and you know this”
you laughed quietly to yourself continuing to plait some of his hair he would occasionally sigh and pretend he didn’t like it but it was pretty obvious that he was beginning to relax under your touch, you continued plaiting his hair listening to him quietly sing along to the songs. it was moments like this you both loved and appreciated but would never tell anyone that it happened. it was your little secret.
after five days passed you and ranboo were free to go meet with others again meaning you could finally go out and film the trampoline vlog for tommys channel which you spent the last five days planning. safe to say you were excited, you hadn’t been to a trampoline park in a while. you woke ranboo up at 10 am you didn’t need to worry about tubbo as you heard him walking around talking to his phone it took a few minutes to realise he was doing a Twitter space. tubbo sent you a message earlier to let you know that there was a package for you near the door so once you got ready you went to grab it, inside was a couple of shirts, hoodies and hats from your sample merch you were honestly amazed. ranboo walked up to you grabbing one of the shirts and a hoodie.
“y/n these look great wow”
“I got a couple of each size, find the sizes you want and they’re yours”
a few minutes later ranboo walked back into the room wearing your merch
“mind if I wear it for the vlog”
“of course you can ill be showing it on stream later”
and with that you all made your way to the tubbo and began your journey to the trampoline park, it was a relatively quick trip the three of you spent the entire trip talking about stream and youtube ideas.
as soon as Tommy saw you all walk into the trampoline park he ran over tackling you all into a hug
“Hey guys, how have you been! we’re just waiting for George”
“speak of the devil he’s just arrived..ranboo I am not an armrest”
“sorry y/n it’s not my fault that you’re the perfect height to be one”
a few minutes later you all made your way to the trampolines. this is where the chaos began you all didn’t know where to begin, excitement took over and safety when out the window. you and ranboo challenged each other to see who could jump higher
“CATCH ME RANBOO”
“HUH Y/N”
you jumped from the trampoline you were on into ranboos arms (luckily as if he didn’t catch you, you would have fallen)
“thank you boo”
Tommy dragged you all the area where you had to try and hit the person opposite you off of the plank, you stood laughing as tubbo instantly hit Tommy making him fall
“boooo”
“I’d like to see you do better y/n”
“bet..tubbo get back on”
the pair of you put up a decent fight, Tommy ended up distracting tubbo which allowed you to win, you then went against George and won then ranboo decided to go against you
“…haha hey boo looking awfully tall today”
“you look awfully short today”
you then tried and failed to make him fall ranboo on the other hand was able to make you lose your balance however you weren’t going down on your own so you dragged him down with you. after that you stood in awe watching tubbo do tricks on the trampoline
“look at him go he’s like a gazelle”
“I'm sorry ranboo what gazelles have you been watching”
“you don’t know what I’ve seen y/n”
you laughed as Tommy went up next claiming that he could also do that…he couldn’t.
George noticed a box and attempted to jump over it followed by you who only just managed to jump over it as you got distracted on the run-up, up next was tubbo who jumped over it, Tommy tried to jump over it but ended up rolling over it you stood shaking your head as ranboo went next unsurprisingly he jumped over it easily then lied down on the box
“Hey how’s it going”
you and Tommy had the same idea
“we’re going to jump over you ranboo”
“oh no please don’t- OH GOD”
so you and Tommy failed to jump over him and crashed into him
“hey boo-“
“that didn’t go to plan”
“no, it didn’t”
you and Tommy got up and decided to lie down with him you noticed tubbo at the run-up getting ready to jump over the three of you, you all screamed as tubbo successfully jumped over thou all
“holy shit”
“oooohhhh”
“didn’t doubt you for a minute tubs”
you got up and went over to George who seemed to be having a lovely time on the trampolines, you heard screaming in the background and turned around to see ranboo chasing Tommy who decided that the safest option would be to run headfirst into the wall
“what the fuck is up with him”
you all stood on the inflatable safety hazard not knowing which way it was going to turn, this didn’t go well for any of you as everyone but ranboo (because he was filming) was instantly hit by the inflatable you ended up on the floor you looked up to see ranboo looking down at you
“don’t look at me like that boo”
“you really do amaze me”
“I put a rock in your pocket”
“no- what how”
you couldn’t contain your laughter as ranboo pulled out a rock which you did indeed place in his pocket sometime during the trip. you all decided to try again on the inflatable this time it went slightly better…for less than 30 seconds you got hit and dragged over to tubbo and George who had also been hit
“Hello boys”
a few minutes later you tubbo and ranboo tried again this time it went well for you, you managed to pay attention and ignore ranboo who was shouting that he will beat the machine. well, it went well till ranboo got hit as you found it hilarious which ended up being your downfall as you got distracted.
you all decided to have a totally safe game of dodgeball
“guys it’s like mcc”
you and ranboo looked at each other before yelling about how you both wouldn’t know, you decided to aim at tubbo who was focusing on Tommy which allowed you to hit him multiple times
“Y/N I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS”
you made your way over to him tackling him resulting in you both falling
“We are bee boy”
“I hate you”
“love you too”
after helping tubbo up and aiming at Tommy you heard ranboo yelling
“I just got hit in the balls by tubbo...OW AND Y/N THANKS A LOT”
“you’re welcome my beloved”
you sat with ranboo as the others continued to play dodgeball, he tapped your thigh to get your attention, you turned your head to see him holding part of his glasses
“your other pair is in my bag I’ll go get them”
“I’ll come with you”
after ranboo told the others the pair of you made your way to your bag
“thank you y/n…how did you know I’d break them”
“tubbo and I both carry a spare pair on us just in case. we went out to get them on our way to the airport”
the pair of you made your way to the others who were now stood waiting for you
“Woah what the fuck is this”
tubbo tapped your shoulder and whispered that someone is on their way to explain what it was, a few minutes later one of the workers came over and explained how it works and what to do, you all watched Tommy go up you tubbo and ranboo constantly made jokes about him the entire time, you continued to do this as tubbo went up
“can I clickbait this if you die”
“oooh can i”
ranboo went next you and tubbo both tried to hit him with the dodgeballs from earlier however you both missed you watched as ranboo slid down and looked at you
“sup”
“oh god I’m next”
you went next the entire time you made comments about not letting go
“what if I don’t let go”
“I will personally drag you down”
you looked down to see Tommy pretending to get ready to drag you down
“NO TOMMY”
and with that, you let go
“Hello boys that go fast doesn't it”
George went next and screamed the entire way down you and tubbo looked at each other questioning if you heard the same thing before looking back at George
“Are you okay”
one at a time you all jumped off of the mini wall onto the soft landing below, Tommy landed funny accidentally hurting himself
“Tommy I love you but you’re an idiot”
ranboo went next landing in the same pose as before
“sup”
“stylish..real stylish”
tubbo pushed you off before you even had the chance to jump
“TUBBO I SWEAR TO GOD”
“REVENGE FOR HITTING ME IN DODGEBALL”
the others sat down looking up at you and ranboo who was now stood on the wall looking down on them
“jump”
“okay”
“wait what”
ranboo grabbed your hand and jumped off onto the landing taking you down with him
“Why does this always happen to me why not George or Tommy”
Tommy ran off after asking you all if you all thought he could request a song as he returned you could hear mask beginning to play and Tommy trying to sing along whilst running over to you all. you all then spent a good while messing on the trampolines so Tommy had footage to use for a montage after that you all made your way to some chairs so you could have a minute to relax and have a drink. you sat next to tubbo trying not to laugh as you watched ranboo attempt to drink the water through his mask
“oh wait did you just-“
“now your mask is going to be wet”
tubbo and Tommy ended up running off to get more content for the vlog and George ended up walking off somewhere, ranboo looked at you before welcoming you with open arms, the two of you sat in each other’s embrace watching Tommy and tubbo run around the park.
“you doing okay boo”
“I’m alright a little hot”
“that’s expected I mean you’re literally wearing a hoodie and mask with glasses I’m surprised you can even see when you're on the trampolines”
“I can't”
the two of you sat talking for a few more minutes before going back to the trampolines running, jumping and falling over. 10 minutes later you sat with Tommy watching George definitely do something on the floor, you weren’t quite sure what he was trying to do
“wooo go, George”
“thank you y/n”
at this point, it was clear you were all getting tired you all went off to buy a slush before sitting back down in the chairs you were making your way to sit with tubbo however your dear friend ranboo pulled you down to sit with him
“oh hello”
“hi y/n”
“I have a slush”
“as do i “
before you could speak again you heard Tommy and George messing with a walkie talkie, you sat looking at the two of them not realising that ranboo also had one
“give us more trampolines”
“hi George”
as you didn’t expect this you jumped slightly making ranboo turn his head and laugh
“Jesus christ when did you get that”
“well tubbo gave me it I was going to tell you but I wanted to scare you y/n”
after cooling down you all went to the play area, you found a slide and ran to it ranboo not far behind
“y/n wait for me we can go down together”
“okay go behind me”
ranboo got on behind you and held onto your waist so you didn’t go down without him. Tommy noticed this and wanted to join the chain
“We can go down together”
“alright hop on”
“slide trio”
“tubbo…there’s four of us”
not wanting to be left behind, George decided to join the chain
“is everyone ready”
“no”
“don’t care”
and with that, the five of you made your way down the slide, after this Tommy dragged you all to the mini jump area where you all sat watching George have a great time
“I don’t care about the rules”
“you’re doing great”
you all ended the trip at the inflatable safety hazard again, you sat with ranboo who kept an arm around your waist whilst recording Tommy who was just constantly being hit and knocked over even though he wasn’t playing
“just get out just get out”
“get out get out”
“he’s dying”
“I'm using this for clickbait on stream”
later that night you decided not to stream as you decided that you’d rather spend the night scrapbooking and playing random board games with tubbo and ranboo
taglist
@fuzzycloudsz @wtfwriter @bearytime @milkydisaster @dumb-chaotic-bi-energy @uselesssapphickitten @l0ver0fj0y @etheriaaly @xx-smiley-xx @hawarun @kylobensgirl @cawcaw-pretty-thing @reverse-iak @renleicrashed @augustine-is-joy @c1loudee
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just-a-fangirl13 · 4 years ago
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Thoughts & Theories about MacGyver 5x10 [MacRiley]
HOLY SHIT! 
This episode was absolutely INSANE. Im writing out my thoughts once and for all because I need to stop thinking about everything that happened (I highly doubt I will be able to but here's to trying)
SPOILERS FOR 5x10 OFCOURSE
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Straight off the bat, I was screaming *internally* and yelling at Mac when he showed the diamond to Bozer. I suspected it yesterday when we got the snippet of Murdoc saying the words DIAMOND and RING with extra emphasis..(everyone on twitter said I was jumping to conclusions.. I thought so too honestly) But damn I did NOT expect them to actually do that!
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Now here's why I am not mad about it anymore. [this is my interpretation you are free to disagree]
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Firstly, when Mac told Bozer he was going to propose he didnt say I’m doing it because I love Desi or I want to spend the rest of our lives together or because she’s the one (doesn't mean he doesnt care for her ofcourse)
He said “Ever since I lost my dad & Jack, I have been thinking about the bigger picture and a commitment to make things work is exactly what Desi and I need right now. A grand romantic gesture.” He wanted to propose for stability so he could finally be on the same page with her. They never really defined their relationship before and this was a way for Mac to final bring it together. A grand romantic gesture is usually something people use to win their partners back which is what Mac was trying to do I guess. It almost sounds like he has to do it so he doesn't lose her again 
(ill get to my second reason in the end)
Then ofcourse Bozer tells Riley about it so she can be prepared. Bozer is such a good friend. He is supportive of Mac AND wants to protect Riley. I love him for it! He really is doing everything to be the best friend he can to both of them. (Leannas death was so painful and I just want to hug him but thankfully Riley had that covered.)
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Next we get the BIG REVEAL. The moment all of us had been waiting for. 
The moment that SHOOK Angus MacGyver and CHANGED EVERYTHING!
Rileys Feelings!
“You want me to say it out loud? Fine. Yes I had feelings for Mac. There I said it. and yeah watching him and Desi together was breaking my heart so I moved out of his house. I should have said something to him a long time ago but I didn’t and now its over. ”
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I had the opposite of a HEART ATTACK! (my heart rate was through THE ROOF!)
I have to say they really really outdid themselves on this reveal. 
SIDE NOTE: If anyone comes for Riley and tries to call her a slut or a home wrecker? You will have me to deal with. Even after Murdoc played the clip of her confession she still tried to deny it and brush it off so it wouldn't complicate things for Mac and Desi. If Riley had wanted, she could have easily told Mac this to his face while he was dating Desi and then let things happen from there but she DIDNT. She kept that secret buried so deep she herself was in denial.
(also if anyone calls Mac a player or anything like that.. I will end you. He is doing his best to deal with everything that has happened to him and people keep giving him shit for it....)
Anyways, we see Mac’s expression & he is just confused and shocked and clearly not trying to think about it because it changed EVERYTHING for him. 
[Murdoc saying I THINK IM ON TEAM RILEY was a HUGE HIGHLIGHT for me! I love him so damn much!]
Desi took it really well too actually. If they keep going down this road of growth and maturity for her I think I could actually like her again. (Russ too when he apologised to Bozer) 
She didnt throw a hissy fit or say I knew it or look at Riley like she was the villain. She focused on the mission & I respect her for that.
(Riley does say, “the next thing you are going to hear on that recording-” and then gets cut off by Desi.. If this will come into play at some point later on or if it was just her trying to explain herself, remains to be seen.)
Then after the climax, we finally hear Riley say the words to Mac in real time and we get our FIRST MacRiley hug of the season! 
At this point I thought they would agree to be friends and make the friendzone thing clear BUT NOPE. (you have no idea how happy I am about it not going down like that!)
I was also a puddle on the floor. SO
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“Mac look-”
“You don’t have to say anything if you dont want to. Really.”
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“I want to. Last year in Germany. I realised I was starting to have feelings for you. Real feelings. I didnt want to make anything weird between you and Desi. I didnt want to mess up our work or our friendship so I decided to bury it. Until the feelings passed.”
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“Emotions aren’t a science. You can’t control them.”
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Gosh they are so perfect together! The way they look at each other and the HUG! OH MY GOD THE HUG! Its just perfection.
Now we also see this from Desi’s POV. Again no anger or jealousy from her. I think it was an understanding. She realised that she and Mac were never going to work.. maybe a little pain but honestly everything that went down with her and Mac was her fault too. The lack of trust and understanding was always a problem for them. Sure, things were going well but she didnt seem like she was ready for a commitment if im being honest. If Mac had proposed I think Desi would have said no.(again nothing wrong with that) 
She didnt want to label their relationship..they haven't said the words I love you to each other and I dont think they even live together. It really was way too sudden.(these are just things im assuming people define how well a relationship is going by.. I have no experience.)
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Then ofcourse we have what im calling the goodbye scene. Its the break up before the break up in my opinion.
Desi tells Mac that they should pretend the last 24 hours never happened (that might actually include Mac wanting to propose but make of it what you will..) and that they should have a clean slate. But its very clear from Mac’s face and Desi sees it too that he isnt 100% onboard with it. He cant forget about it.
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Which is when Desi says “Look Mac just do whatever you feel is right” and Mac looks confused.
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She then gives him a goodbye kiss. 
Look if you have ever watched any show/movie before where the characters are saying goodbye to each other or breaking each others hearts...THERE IS ALWAYS A KISS ON THE CHEEK. A final farewell of sorts. 
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That is what it seemed like to me. It was Desi telling Mac to do what he has to. Even if it inevitably leads to their break up.
Again real emotional maturity from Desi here!
Then we get the scene, Monica Macer (the show runner) tweeted about back in December.
Mac knocking on someones door. If im being honest? I thought it was Desi’s place and he was going to propose...
BUT it turned out to be Riley’s.
Mac clearly hasn't stopped thinking about what happened. I wouldnt either if my best friend who has put her life on the line for me and trusts me 100%, now has feelings for me? That would turn my world upside down too.
especially if I had feelings for her that I buried so deep that I never acknowledged them.
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Also this is my scenario for how their first kiss goes down just FYI.. (Mac showing up at Rileys doorstep and finally confessing his feelings and kissing her *probably won't happen that way now though, but I still love it*)
Mac hesitates for a second before finally knocking on her door.
“Mac? Everything okay?”
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“I can’t pretend like the last 24 hours didnt just happen. They did. So I gotta ask. Did it work?”
“Did what work?”
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“Hiding your emotions and letting it pass. Did they go away?”
and I proceeded to pass out. My brain just checked out...
Now initially in all my freaking out I thought Mac was asking Riley about his feelings. If HE buried them deep enough would he still be able to move on with Desi but then I rewatched it and I realised he was asking RILEY if her feelings were still there, if there was still a possibility of something ever happening. 
She never told him its all good now! my feelings are gone and it was a long time ago. She told him she buried it but he needed to know if a future with Riley was something tangible. 
BASICALLY ANGUS MACGYVER ASKED RILEY DAVIS IF SHE WAS STILL IN LOVE WITH HIM. *I think I need to go to a hospital now*
So this was my second reason for not being annoyed about the proposal. The writers used it to show what a huge impact it would have on Mac. How much Rileys feelings would actually mean to him. the GAME CHANGER it would be.
A friend of mine said it was kinda funny and a little jarring but I liked it. (I could have done without the proposal) But I understand why they did it. They couldnt have Mac and Desi break up the same day Riley’s feelings came out because then people would hate Mac. They had to make him want to take the next step with Desi but then drop a bomb on him, that would make him question everything.
Again this is what I took away from it.
BUT GOSH WAS THIS EPISODE AMAZING!
I do get that some people are not happy with this and some said it was too sudden *not like we’ve been waiting since season 1 or anything* but I think after 5x11 things will slow down again. Mac may break up with Desi only at the end of the season when he finally comes to terms with his feelings. (Some people are still cautious and I get it but after everything that just happened I find it hard to believe that Mac and Riley won't end up together after all.. not to mention the leaked script conversation between Mac and Riley from 5x15)
Now I dont know how the final scene ends.. they definitely dont get called away for their solo mission immediately after because Mac’s cheek injury is relatively healed in this stills, which means Riley does answer Mac’s question. She may try to avoid it or deflect but he is standing right there so...who knows.
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Next weeks episode is a MacRIley solo mission and lets just say things definitely are heating up a bit..*wink wink*
YUP IM HYPED. 
BRING ON THE SEXUAL TENSION AND THE ANGST!
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mistresseast · 4 years ago
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Here is my shuake temporary amnesia threadfic I posted to Twitter earlier! Presented to you in screenshots for the full cinematic experience of being spammed with gross fluff on your timeline. The complete text is under the cut in case you don’t want to or can’t wade through all of those images ❤️
The procedure was really simple. Akira’s appendix hadn’t burst or anything, it was just inflamed and the doctor decided to have it removed as a precaution. Nothing to get worked up about, Goro kept telling himself. His husband would be in and out within a day, no hospital stay required.
Akira was all jokes before the surgery, teasing Goro about putting on a nurse’s outfit to take care of him at home, and Goro just said something threatening about suppositories, which earned a cheeky laugh.
It didn’t take long, and the other thieves showed up right as Akira was getting out. He was pretty woozy as the anesthesia wore off, but Goro was just relieved everything had gone perfectly, according to the surgeon.
When Goro comes back, eyes red-rimmed but dry, the thieves are visibly struggling to hold it together. Ryuji is facing the corner, shoulders shaking. Ann and Futaba are clinging to each and Haru has her hand over her mouth. Makoto is holding her head like she has a headache.
Except when Akira is coherent again, he’s...weird. He keeps avoiding Goro’s eyes and he barely responds to the others when they speak to him. Goro tries to take his hand, and he locks up, going pale. The others just watch, looking awkward, and Goro excuses himself, suddenly feeling ill.
Akira is sitting up in bed, beaming.
“What happened?” Goro asks.
Sumi smiles innocently. “Nothing.”
Goro eyes them all with suspicion. “The neurologist will be here soon to clear him for discharge.”
“Great,” Ann squeaks.
“Somehow, I do not think--” Yusuke starts before two of the others shush him.
Well, that’s weird, but when are the thieves not weird? Goro is more interested in Akira, who’s staring at him with a crooked grin.
“Feeling better?” Goro asks, retaking his seat.
“I am now that you’re here,” Akira says, flashing him a wink.
Goro squints at him. “Are you sure? You were pretty out of it earlier. I can go get a doctor—”
“That was nothing,” Akira insists. “I was just surprised to wake up to someone so pretty waiting at my bedside.”
“Oh is that what it was.” Rolling his eyes, Goro sits forward to guide Akira back down against the pillows. “You shouldn’t be sitting up. You’ll pop your stitches.”
“Yes, sir.” Akira lies back obediently and catches Goro’s hand when he tries to pull away. “I can think of some more fun ways to pop them, anyway. Are you free later?”
Goro stares at him while Futaba lets out a hysterical giggle and Makoto mumbles something.
“You think you’re so cute,” Goro says eventually. “The doctor said to hold off on that for at least a week.”
"Oh, right." Akira hitches up his coy smile. "What's your schedule like in a week, then?"
Cheeks warm, Goro cuts his eyes to the others, who are all studiously avoiding looking at the bed. "What's gotten into you?" he scolds. Akira is never this…overt in public.
Akira's smile droops. "I...sorry, I—" He flicks a glance at the others as well, and Goro catches Ann giving an encouraging little hand wave.
"What?" Goro directs at her. "Is something wrong?"
She shakes her head quickly, eyes wide and glittering.
"Everything's fine," Akira insists. "I was just...uh, wondering if, after I'm recovered, you'd like to grab some coffee or something?"
Goro furrows his brows at him. "You realize that's a ridiculous question, right? What are you playing at?"
"But—you—" Frowning, Akira darts a look down at the ring encircling Goro's fourth finger, then over at the rest of his friends. "You guys—"
Futaba bursts out laughing and Ryuji nearly keels over from the force of his own elated wheezing. Makoto pinches the bridge of her nose.
"Sorry," Akira mumbles, releasing Goro's hand, cheeks red. "I guess they thought it'd be funny to play a trick on a sick person."
"A trick?" Goro repeats blankly.
"Of course you're already taken, someone as hot as you—" Akira scrubs a hand through his hair. "I saw your ring but they said it wasn't—you weren't—"
Realization clicks in Goro's head and he angles a glare at the others, which apparently breaks the final seal because the remaining thieves, minus Makoto, dissolve into helpless giggling.
"I'm really sorry," Akira continues, oblivious. "If I knew, I wouldn't have hit on you, but you're just so...and when I woke up and saw you being so nice to me, I thought, you know—" he grimaces. 
"Oh my god." Goro rubs his temples.
"When you left, I asked them if you were single and they said yes, but they were just taking me for a ride." Akira scowls at the others. "Not cool, guys."
Futaba snorts. She has her phone out and pointed at them but Goro can't worry about that at the moment. "Akira, how much do you remember right now?"
Akira shrugs. "Everything's pretty hazy. I figured you all had to be my friends since you don't look like family and you were all really happy when I woke up, but I can't remember the specifics. That happens with anesthesia sometimes, right?"
"Yes, it—" Goro breaks off on a sigh.
"Look, I'm really sorry again," Akira says earnestly, "—and I hope this doesn't make things awkward with us, but I just wanna say that I hope whoever you're with knows how lucky they are."
"Oh, they do," Ryuji pipes up. "They never shut up about it!"
The others all snicker and Goro wishes he was close enough to elbow Ryuji in the gut.
"Good." Akira smiles sadly, putting Goro in mind of a kitten left in the rain. "Who is it, anyway? Do I know them?"
Goro makes a strained noise in the back of his throat. "Akira, it's you."
Akira blinks. "What?"
Digging in his pocket, Goro produces a simple silver band and grabs Akira's hand. "You're the person I'm with, we're married—" he slides the ring into Akira's unresisting finger. "And your friends are all assholes."
Akira stares slack-jawed at his ring. "Wait, really?" He glances between Goro and the others. "Really?"
Goro nods with another sigh while the others struggle to compose themselves.
"Sorry," Ann says, at least looking a little contrite. "When we realized he didn't remember you, we just couldn't resist."
"We owe you," Sumi titters. "Please don't be mad! We'll make it up to you!"
"You absolutely will," Goro grumbles, already planning just how he's going to make the thieves pay for this.
"Hang on—" Akira snags Goro's hand again, eyes shining. "We're really married?"
"Yes," Goro answers patiently. "For nearly two years."
"Holy shit," Akira marvels. "How did I manage that?"
"Here we go," Futaba groans.
Goro shoots her a warning look before reaching over and smoothing Akira's fringe off his forehead. "Hopefully you'll remember that on your own soon." He doesn't really want to recount the whole operatic series of events.
Akira leans shamelessly into the touch, a dopey smile growing on his face. 
The neurologist assures them that Akira's brain is fine and that this kind of disorientation is common after general anesthesia. Nevertheless, he stays in the hospital until his memories start returning.
"Look at it this way," Ann suggests while Akira hides his face in embarrassment and Goro signs his discharge papers. "Now you both know that Akira's not just into you because you tried to kill him."
Goro still isn't pleased with the thieves, but he's starting to see the humor in the situation. "That's definitely a load off my mind. Though now I'll have to rethink our anniversary plans."
Akira whines something that sounds like "please stop"
"I did quite enjoy hearing about how hot I am, though."
Akira lowers his hands, pouting petulantly. "I tell you that all the time."
"You should remind me more often."
"Oh?" Some familiar impishness sparks in Akira's gaze. "So you like when I praise you?"
"Your memories must still be hazy because that's not a secret."
"Please don't do this," Makoto begs.
Laughing, Akira ignores her and makes grabby hands at Goro. Smirking, Goro sets his clipboard aside and leans forward, allowing Akira to pull him into a kiss.
It's just as sweet as always.
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sapphire-innit · 4 years ago
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I'm not gonna apologize for there being a break because this is a hobby and I do this at my own pace lol. THAT SAID, let's hop back in!
Vod: Tommy's Exile Is Coming To A Close (rp) oh man here's the drowning again. At least Ranboo and Niki are greeting him in chat that's cute
of COURSE its raining lol, very Moody
...don't like that Tommy is actually looking forward to Dream visiting. The gaslighting is really setting in. He's not eating enough either
Tommy's always moving around, he's such an active character, so it REALLY hits when he freezes, even just for a moment or two. Yes this is in response to the funny Lazerbeam lava death comment that somehow turned very sad very quickly lol
He's very openly talking about his death too. And his skin is even worse I think, hes got SUCH bags under his eyes.. and ALSO THIS IS STILL HIM TALKING ABOUT HOW TO SEX 3 afdfd
Chat: "This is so sad and so funny at the same time" I saw that smirk cc!Tommy, you know exactly what you are doing!! LOL he broke face for juuuust a second cause that's EXACTLY the tone he's going for
I am a bit .. concerned about HTS3, because so far every time hes tried to write things down, its hmm. Been revealing to say the least
...I'm still nervous about when Dream is gonna log on, even while he's going on about the 'thinking palace'. Its... impressive how much I actually dread that, and how well they've conditioned me to expect it
adfsfdsfds Ranboo how did I laugh at that '''joke''' omg. Tommy was so happy to get mail though :( and yeah like I thought every time he tries to write things it gets sad. It's a really good storytelling device: cc!Tommy is using it to be more explicit and I think that's pretty clever actually
I can't help but wonder how carefully coordinated these exile streams are, especially this deep into the arc. Like, did cc!Tommy go on the discord before this and tell them to not visit today? Obviously Dream visits are coordinated, but I'm just a bit curious about the back end of things
"Visit Techno? no no, what would Dream think" >:(
"I wanna go and see someone, I wanna go somewhere, I wanna meet people. You know now and then it just re hits me that I actually, I actually just can't, can I" ;-;
He's self-soothing and it hurts
"My time with Tubbo has come and gone" "He chose against it" excuse me, just CRYING FOREVER NOW ;-; ;-; ;-;
...it really is disturbingly like a suicide note isn't it, with all this talk of it being his final thing to do
The days when he's not visited really set in the depression don't they? cc!Tommys still good at balancing the tone so it doesn't get too sad but SHEESH
Tommy's gotten pretty good at building actually, like he's not perfect or anything but the thinking palace looks pretty good for what it is
Its actually been half the stream without Dream thank fuck
...he's thinking about it, about going into the nether portal. GOD I'm so worried and upset because I DON'T want to see what Dream would do if he broke his exile, even knowing he wouldn't kill him most likely.
"Why did I do this, why did I make it harder for people to come visit me" !!! ahhhh realization of self-destructive tenancies fuck, and just after he almost visited L'manburg tooooo
"I'm going to revamp this, why did I do this???" *Immediately stares into the lava for SEVERAL seconds* f u c k
"Chat what is Tubbo's favorite block" Aaaaaaaaaaaa
:( :( Ranboo IMMEDIATELY willing to help WE STAN A TOMMY STAN
the fuckign GHASTS I'M!! what a tone switch!!! TOMMY WHY DO YOU NOT HAVE A BOW I MEAN I KNOW WHY BUT STILL afdfdf
those fucking jumps in the path scare me and now there's a HOLE IN THE PATH this is so fucking DANGEROUS afdsfssdf someone is totally gonna fall in that
awww cc!Wilbur watching the stream even when hes away thats so sweet <3
"...and Ill put cobblestone in the middle and everyone will come see me!" does this feel like Bargaining to anyone else? Just me? alright...
"And then we fight, we fight for everything we have left" ;u;
NIKI!!!!!!
this is gonna go so poorly!!! I hate it!!! (also don't talk over her tho pls)
is Ranboo also in the chat? Ranboo & Niki friendship underrated for sure lol
"How have you been" "................good" you can see the decision to Lie omg adfsdf
ah actually getting a fire res potion BEFORE falling into lava, one can Hope
lol Ranboo and Niki having so much trouble getting back to spawn RIP them, FUNDY why did you take them so far away and then LEAVE
"how can I be with other people and still be so alone" oof yeah thats the true bitch about what Dream's doing isn't it :(
adsfsdfsf accidentally almost getting himself banned from Twitch ALSO HOLY SHIT TOMMYYYY DON'T JUMP LIKE THAT OMG
also who the heck was chanting "do a flip" in chat holy shit what is this thirst for blood
lol asking RANBOO of all people for hot takes adfsafdf
ohnoooo almost twitch ban NUMBER 2 aadfdfws
also who the fuck was spamming nsfw copy pasta in his chat adfsfd
LOL what is the drug conversation Niki is trying to do???? What is happening???? FUNDY WHAT DID YOU TELL THEM
"I feel too old to be in this conversation" MOOD NIKI, MOOD lmaooo I love you
adfdf Tommy how can you even be mean to Niki, shes so sweet and sounds so upset about it lol
do I even WANT to know what the Dream twitter drama was????
LOL always laugh when a cc bails out of a joke lmao its so funny to me for some reason
SHES RIGHT AND SHE SHOULD SAY IT!!!!!!!! BEST HOT TAKE, REDDIT SUCKS LMAOOO ABSOLUTELY CORRECT
he keeps almost spleefing Ranboo adfdsfs
aww lol he actually is being careful after being told off lmao ohnooooo "That was worse than the time Wilbur shouted at me for being in his office. It's like being told off by the quiet teacher" NIKI IS SO DISTRESSED omg adfdsfdswfds
I think cc!Tommy did not realize the power that he wields....
OH NIKI'S SKIN IS SO CUTE!!!!
"Just a really long cross, Jesus was tall!" omg Ranboo that was actually clever
lol and now Jack is here ! nice
"Do a flip" CHAT WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS
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sunmoonandeddie · 5 years ago
Text
don’t forget to sing
pairing: bucky barnes x reader
word count: 4,973
summary: You meet someone new in the most unlikely of ways during the quarantine in New York City.  An alley is six feet apart, right?
chapter warnings: swearing, mention of sickness
masterlist
a/n: Let me know what you think!
This was just fucking perfect.
Of course.  Of course you’d move to New York City three weeks before a fucking pandemic.  Cities were a cesspool for illness, and the Big Apple was no exception.
Your dreams of going out and exploring the city and finding little spots that you could call your own now that you were a real New Yorker and not just a tourist anymore were gone.  You’d been so busy unpacking and getting set up at your new job that you’d only gotten to go out for groceries.
And now all of New York City was shut down.  Broadway was closed, for heaven’s sake.  You couldn’t remember a time when that had ever happened in your lifetime.
It was mildly terrifying.  And by mildly, you meant extremely.
Thankfully, your job was primarily online anyway.  You were a playwright and you were basically an intern and assistant for Tony Kushner, possibly one of the greatest playwrights of all time.
But you were lonely.  At least before you were ordered to stay home, you could go out and get a little human interaction at the grocery store, even if the cashier was just telling you your total.  But now, everyone at the grocery store eyed each other warily.  Like you’d infect them with the virus at any second.
Which, it was possible.  It was why you only went late at night in order to avoid most of the crowds.  And also why you’d sewn a mask out of an old t-shirt in order to protect yourself.  And also why you’d stocked up on groceries so you wouldn’t have to go for about two weeks.
“I don’t know,” you said as you held the phone to your ear, wandering back and forth in your tiny little apartment.  Your best friend was on the other side, a thousand miles away.  “It’s getting really bad here.”
And, of course, she could try to understand, but Hope was all the way across the country.  She’d gotten a job in her hometown in California after graduation.  “I think we’re starting to head that way, too.  Are you going to be okay?”
“I think so,” you said, trying to be cheerful as you sat at your desk, pulling your knees up to your chest.  “I’m used to being alone, remember?  I’m a writer.  All I need is coffee and my laptop and I’m ready to hibernate.”
Hope let out a sigh, and you could hear the creak of her bed as she laid down.  “I don’t know.  I just think that maybe you should come out here.”
“I can’t.  I don’t have that kind of money.  And I just got here.  I don’t want to run away at the first sign of trouble,” you said as you opened up your laptop.  “Besides, I’m probably safer here locked away in my apartment by myself than I would be in your big house with you, your parents, and Scott.  Your parents work in a lab with hundreds of other people.  They have no idea if any of them have it.  It’d probably be safer for you to come stay here with me.”
“Me in that shoe box?” She scoffed.  “As if.”
Your laptop whirred to life as you ran your finger back and forth over the mouse pad.  “We talked about this.  You’re a California girl.  I’m New York.”  A smirk settled over your face as you cradled the phone between your ear and your shoulder, typing in your password.  “Two households, both alike in dignity—”
“Jesus, theatre kids are the worst,” she muttered.
You barked out a laugh as you pulled up your latest word document.  “I’m a grown woman, you know.”  You reached over your desk and opened up the curtains, figuring you could use a little change of scenery, even if it was just the apartment building across the alley.  The red brick was illuminated by the setting sun, the sky painted in shades of orange and gold.
There’s a tense pause between the two of you.  There’s a lot of unspoken words.
The both of you know that this is serious.  People are dying and there’s nothing the two of you can really do except hope and stay inside as much as possible and wash your hands.  And this is the first time the two of you have lived apart since your sophomore year of university.  It’s a big change and of course, all this happens right when you’re on your own.
“Are you going to be okay?” Hope asked, her voice cracking.
Taking in a shaky breath, you rest her head in your hand.  “Yeah.  Yeah, I’ll be okay.  You just worry about staying healthy yourself, okay?  And take care of your parents.”
Her parents were both a little older, and they were at risk with everything going around.  They’d become your second family in the years since you’d first met Hope, and had even let you live with them for a while after graduation while you saved up for your move to New York City.  Hell, they’d paid for you to come spend school breaks with them.  They were your family.
And now you were all alone with no way to get to them.  Even if you did want to fly, all incoming and outgoing flights were being canceled.  They hadn’t officially announced that they’d be closing the airports, but it was coming.
A light in the apartment across the alley from yours flicked on, and your eyes were immediately drawn to it.
“Oh…,” you breathed out, accidentally cutting off what Hope was saying.
“What?”
“There’s a…  There’s a man.”
“A man?!  We are in a pandemic!  There’s no dating in a pandemic!”
You went quiet as your elbow rested on your desk, your chin in your hand.  “He’s… gorgeous.”
And gorgeous, he was.  He looked like he’d just gotten out of the shower, with the towel swung low on his hips.  Dark hair was smattered across his broad chest like some hero on the cover of a trashy romance novel.  He ran his fingers through his long, damp hair as he opened up the drawers of his dresser, picking out boxers and sweats.
“God…  He looks like he just walked off a photoshoot with, like… Vogue,” you said quietly.  Drool was starting to drip from the corner of your mouth, you were so entranced.
“Wait…  Really?” Hope said, her voice rising.  “I need details!  Now!”
Brows furrowed, you couldn’t take your eyes off of him.  “You have a boyfriend.”
“Who I haven’t gotten to see in over a week.  Scott is the love of my life, but I need to live vicariously through you,” she said.  “The most romance we have right now is when his internet actually works and we get to FaceTime.”
You were in a trance, just watching him move around his room.  “You know how cute I thought Jimmy Woo was?  He was in my Econ class and then we went on, like… two dates?”
“Yeah.”
“I would feed Jimmy Woo to a pack of hyenas if this man asked me to.”
But of course, nothing good could last.  Your elbow slipped off the edge of the desk and your face slammed down onto the wood.  “Oh, my god,” you groaned as you fell to the ground, clutching your mouth.  “Holy fuck…”
Hope was shouting at you through the phone, demanding to know whether or not you were okay.  She was more frantic than you’d ever heard her.
Pulling your hand away from your face, you winced as you saw the dark red blood.  “Shit. Shit, shit, shit…”  You didn’t think you’d knocked out a tooth, thank god.  You were sure that you’d be able to feel that.  “Yeah…  I think I’m okay.”  You started to pull yourself up, glaring at the blood that was on the edge of the desk.
But when you found the Most Handsome Man in the World staring at you from his window, looking just as worried as Hope sounded in his towel, you quickly ducked back down, willing him to go away.  You don’t think you’d ever been so embarrassed.
“Hope, I’m going to throw myself from the Brooklyn Bridge,” you hissed into the phone as you sat on the floor, leaning against your desk.  “He saw me bust my face open!  Or he heard it!”
There’s a pause, and then a snort.  “You have to admit, it’s kinda funny.  And the type of thing that would only happen to you.”
“Gee, I’m so happy you’re having fun with this,” you said.
You stayed down there for an extraordinarily long time, hoping to whatever god was out there that he’d stop looking.  When you finally emerged from your hiding place, you found that he was watching a movie with his bedroom light off, his eyes completely focused on the television.
And there was a whiteboard leaning against the window, messy scrawl in blue marker.
Hope you didn’t hurt yourself too bad!!  And I’m glad you enjoyed the show ;)
More than a little appalled at how blatant he was, you grabbed a piece of notebook paper and a Sharpie, writing out your reply before sticking it to the window with a piece of tape.
Nothing but a busted lip and broken pride :(
You shut your curtains, carefully cleaning your wound before getting to work on your latest writing assignment.  Though occasionally, you could remember the strange interaction and a smile would creep across your face.
Which would then cause you to wince in pain as the cut on your lip came open again.
Right before you went to bed, you peeked out of your curtains to see if he’d replied again.
Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone what I saw :)  Goodnight!
You quickly wrote out a reply, taping it up before heading to bed.
Pinky promise?  Goodnight!
When you woke up, there was already another note left for you, and the man seemed to be gone.
Good morning!  I hope your lips feel better!
You had no idea when he’d be back or why the hell he’d left.  It was a pandemic after all.
Granted, a lot of people still had to work in this whole mess.  It was ridiculous.
Feeling a little bold, you wrote out a message.
You wanna kiss it better?
But you quickly crumbled up the piece of paper and threw it away.  Despite the fact that you’d seen him almost completely naked the night before, you didn’t know him.  He’d only said three sentences to you so far, and they were written out.
It was the quarantine equivalent of sliding into someone’s direct messages on Twitter or Instagram.
Should you even reply?  He was…  He was the kind of guy you saw on Love Island.  Too perfect and too ripped and sweet and mysterious and friendly, all at the same time.
You’d been getting into a lot of shows you wouldn’t have watched before while quarantined.  You’d watched the entire first season of the American version of the show, and you’d probably start the United Kingdom version sometime that day.  It wasn’t like you had anything better to do.
“Have you written back to him?” Hope asked as you set up your laptop on your desk, pulling up Spotify.
“What?” You asked, your phone cradled between your ear and your shoulder.  “No.  It was a one time thing.  It’s done.”  Before she could reply, you said your goodbyes and hung up.  You really needed to clean and that wasn’t going to happen if you chattered away on the phone with Hope like you usually did.
Music blasted from your laptop’s speaker after you hit play, and you threw open the window, letting the late winter air in.  It had started to get really stuffy in your apartment and you needed something to do other than work and binge watching or you’d go insane.
You didn’t even notice that your neighbor that lived across the alley had come home, and was watching you with a delighted smile on his face.
You were half-dancing, half-cleaning, belting out the lyrics without a care as you got more and more into it.  “Didn’t even know it!  No punches left to roll with!  You got to keep me focused!  You want it?  Say so!” You sang, twirling around with your trash can in hand as you picked up all the various little items.  “Let me check my chest, my breath right quick!  He ain’t ever seen it in a dress like this!  He ain’t ever even been impressed like this!”
Unseen by you, the mysterious stranger took a few steps forward, grateful that he’d left his window open.
“Prolly why I got him quiet on the set like zip!  Like it, love it, need it bad!  Take it, own it, steal it fast!  Boy, stop playin!’  Grab my ass!  Why you acting like you—”  You turned around, breaking off with a squeak as you saw him standing there watching you, your trashcan and an empty mug in hand.  You were completely frozen as he stared at you with a slight smile, leaving you a deer in headlights.
Suddenly, you were hyper aware of just how awful you looked.  Your hair hadn’t been washed, or your face.  You were wearing a men’s two XL hoodie that you’d stolen from some guy you’d fucked for a few months in college and a pair of sweatpants that you’d had since you were on the middle school track team that were still too long in the feet.  You’d done shot put and discus.
Why the fuck were you thinking about shot put and discus?  You hadn’t thought about it over twelve years.  It wasn’t like you were ever any good at it.
The Most Handsome Man in the World was staring at you, holding a takeout box at a mug of tea.  But at least he was fully dressed, even if that didn’t awake away from how attractive he was.  “Hey,” he said with an easy smile.
“Hi.”  Your voice cracked as you spoke, and you’d never wanted to slam your head against the wall more.  How could you be this much of a fucking loser?
“I like your music choice.  Who is that?” He asked curiously as he set his food on the bed, kicking off his shoes before sitting down.
Yeah, he was definitely just as attractive fully clothed as he was naked, which was truly a feat in itself.  Surely there was some kind of award for that, right?
You realized you’d been staring at him in silence and coughed, replying, “Doja Cat.”
“How’s your lip?”
“Good.”
“Good.”
The two of you stared at each other, him happily munching on the chicken nuggets he’d picked up.  You hadn’t moved an inch.
“I’m James,” he said after swallowing.  “But my friends call me Bucky.”
You gave him your name as you slowly moved a few steps closer, sitting down in your desk chair and pulling your knees up to your chest.  “What kind of a name is Bucky?”
He chuckled, dipping his next nugget into the sweet and sour sauce.  “My middle name is Buchanan.  My best friend, Steve, started calling me Bucky when we were in kindergarten, and I don’t know… it just stuck.”
“I mean…”  You shrugged, wrapping your arms around her legs.  “‘S alright.  I like James though.”
“You can call me James.”
“Oh.  Okay.”
It felt intimate, somehow.  Calling him by his first name.
The quarantine was forcing people to revert back to Victorian ways of social conduct.  If you were lucky, you’d get your own Mr. Darcy.
But with the sweats you had on, it was more than likely that you’d end up an old spinster.
How did he find it so easy to talk to a complete stranger?  Granted, you were a lot less intimidating than he was.
“How’s your lip?” He asked, his head tilting to the side as he peered over at you.  “You don’t need stitches, right?”
There was an unspoken worry there.  Needing stitches meant you’d probably go without, since all the hospitals were so backed up with those that had fallen ill.  And going to the hospital just meant you’d risk your own health by coming in close contact with those going to get treated for Covid-19.
“If you do, I have a first aid kit I keep here in my apartment with the stuff to do stitches,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.  “But I wouldn’t exactly be able to come over there to help you.  You’d have to do the stitches yourself.”
Your brows furrowed as you looked at him.  “Why do you have the stuff to do stitches in your first aid kit?  I did see this one episode of one of those crime shows where they used safety pins to hold a gash open, but I can’t remember what show it was.”
Mirth sparkled in his eyes as he watched you.  “I’m a nurse.”
“Oh,” you said, relaxing.  But then you remembered, and your heart sank.  “Oh.  I… James.”
James looked rather sheepish as he looked down at his feet.  “It’s nothing really.  But I can’t use the elevator since it would risk someone being in an enclosed space with me.  So… you know.  I don’t really need leg day, right?”  He let out a weak laugh, clearly trying to blow it off.  “I’m not allowed to use the gym anymore.  Not that I would.  I don’t want to risk infecting anyone, even if I don’t have it yet.”
The way he said ‘yet’ hurt your heart.  He knew the position he was in, how dangerous it was.
There was nothing you could really say to him.  What the hell could you say?  Thank you for your service?  Technically, you could, but you remembered how your dad had felt about it.  He’d been a field doctor over in Afghanistan until he’d died on his fifth tour.
“I was just doing what needed to be done, sweetheart,” he’d said to you when you’d asked.  “Trying to save as many people as possible.  I don’t need thanks for that.”
But fuck.  James was going out everyday to fight an opponent that he couldn’t see.
“My lip is fine,” you said eventually, breaking the silence with a weak smile.
“Good,” he said, clearing his throat.  “I’ll let you get back to your solo concert.  I’ve gotta shower.”
Things went on as normally.  Or, at least, as normal as things could be in a time like that.  Only now, you had someone to talk to that wasn’t Hope every night.
He wouldn’t tell you about what it was like at the hospital though.  He’d get this far away look in his eyes and his face would pale.  “Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about, darlin,’” he’d croon, a sad smile on his lips.  “You let me worry, and you just keep yourself safe and inside, okay?”
Sometimes you’d miss him.  He’d be at the hospital for days on end, sleeping in on-call rooms and eating from vending machines.  That’s when you’d leave little notes all over your window for him to read when he got back.
But then one day he came home and you could just tell that he was more worn down that usual.
“James?” You called out softly as you pushed the window open.  You hadn’t seen him in two days.  “Are you okay?”  You leaned half out the window, your elbows resting on the ledge.
He took in a shaky breath, his eyes squeezing shut as he willed himself not to cry.
“James?”  You’re about to repeat your question when he looks up, staring blankly at the wall.
“Steve has it,” he said quietly, his voice cracking.
Your heart stopped inside your chest.  “Oh.  Oh, James…,” you breathed out.
A few tears slipped down his cheeks, his hands clenched at his sides.  “I went into a room in the ER and there he was.”
You’d heard so many stories about his best friend since childhood that you felt like you knew Steve already.  Bucky had met him when they were just five years old, on the first day of kindergarten, and it’d been history from there.  But Steve had been sickly and small up until they were about seventeen, when he’d undergone some revolutionary clinical trial.  Fixing his heart and lungs had kick started his entire system and it was like everything magically went away.
“Not even that stupid treatment prevented him from getting sick,” Bucky said quietly.  “He looked…  He looked like he was on his deathbed.”
You paused, before crawling out of the window and out onto the fire escape.  “James, take my hand.”
You knew it was stupid.  It was really, really stupid.  He was around those with the virus daily, but he needed you.  You’d risk it to give him a little bit of comfort.
“What?” He said, looking at you like you’d grown a second head.  “No.  No.  I can’t.  What if I give it to you?”
“Then we’ll figure it out,” you said, insistently holding your hand out to him.  “Take my hand.”
Sniffling, he reached his hand out of his window and took yours, your fingers intertwining.  He took in a shaky breath, a fresh wave of tears coming on as he squeezed his eyes shut.  “I don’t know what to do,” he admitted after a long moment just holding your hand.  “I’m so fucking scared.  I don’t want to go in there day after day.  I know people need me but I…”  He looked up at you with sea glass eyes.  “I don’t want to die.”
“You’re not going to,” you said firmly, with as much conviction as you could muster up.  “You hear me?  You’re not going to die, and neither is Steve.  We’re going to make it through this.”
“Sometimes I just… hold their hand,” he said, so quiet you could barely hear.  “They’re dying alone.  Their family and friends aren’t allowed in to see them.  So I just… stay with them.  So they have someone there.”  Bucky lets his head fall into his chest, his shoulders slumping.  “And then I have to call the family to let them know.  And I just hope that maybe…  knowing I was there with them helps a little.  But it’s not the same.”
You tighten your grip on his hand, not daring to look down because you’re several stories up and if you lean a little too far, it would result in a trip to the hospital you can’t afford.  You haven’t been outside in days.
You don’t realize that you’re crying right along with him until you taste the salty brine of your tears on your lips.
“We’re going to be okay, James,” you said, though you weren’t sure if you were trying to convince him or yourself.  “This won’t last forever.  And I’m going to be here with you, okay?  No matter what happens.  I’m here.  I’ve got you.”
He squeezed your hand once more before letting go, nodding for you to go back inside.  “Go wash your hands.  Now.”
A smile creeps across your face as you surrender to his wishes, crawling back through your window.  “Yes, sir.”
He’s touch and go the next few days.  Sometimes he seems upbeat, positive even, about the whole situation.  Others…  Well.  He had plenty of reason to be down.
“You know, you’re a pretty good singer,” he commented one night.  He was sitting against the window, leaning his head against the frame.  You had climbed out onto the fire escape again with a blanket wrapped around your shoulders.  “That night that I heard you singing to that song…  The Doja Cat one?  You’re good.”  His head tilted to the side in the way that a puppy might.  “Why don’t you sing more often?”
“I used to,” you said after a deep sigh.  “I used to sing a lot.  I was going to be a musical theatre actress.  But I got told so often that I was better at writing than performing so… I don’t know.  I guess I just decided it’d be better to pursue something I was better at.”
His lower lip was caught between his teeth as he looked at you.
You’d never had someone look at you the way he did.  Like he wanted to see all of you, like he craved it, needed it, even.  It was exhilarating.
“That doesn’t mean you stop singing.”  He moved to rest his chin in his palm.  “Even if you don’t become a performer professionally, you don’t stop singing.  Especially in times like these.”
“What?  Like those fake videos of people in Italy?” You asked with a snort.  A breeze wound through the alley and you tightened the blanket around you.  “The one that Katy Perry retweeted?”
“You know that’s not what I mean,” he said with an eye roll.  “My ma used to sing around the house.  Hearing you…  It made me feel like I was home again.  Just for a little while.”  He smiled slyly.  “And you have pretty sick dance moves.”
Groaning, you climbed back into your window, shooting a glare at him.  “You promised not to talk about my dancing!”
“It was cute!”
“Was not!”
“Was to!”
You took in a deep breath as you stared at him with narrowed eyes.  “No,” you said, pointing a finger at him.  “No, it’s not.”  Before he could reply, you started to shut the window, calling out, “Goodnight, James!”  The window shut with a definitive click and you winked as he flipped you the middle finger.
Steve came home three weeks later, completely clean of the virus.  The quarantine finally ended on May 22nd, 2020, the amount of cases down to maybe a hundred that were contained within the hospital.
In that time, you’d gone outside a total of six times to get groceries.  You’d gained ten pounds, even with the basic exercises you were doing in your apartment to keep you active.  You’d also saved up two thousand dollars, since you weren’t going out and you’d put a parental lock on your laptop and phone so you couldn’t go online shopping until further notice, but you were lucky in that way.  You had an extremely well-paying job that you could do online, and your boss wasn’t an asshole.
Millions of New Yorkers flooded the streets, crying and hugging and touching everyone.
You hadn’t been touched in so long.  The last time had been when you’d held Bucky’s hand on your balcony, and that had been the only time he’d allowed it since he didn’t want to get you sick.
He’d been lucky that he didn’t get it himself.  Most of those that had fallen ill were healthcare workers.  Overworked, tired healthcare workers.
You stepped out of the front doors of your apartment building, feeling an overwhelming sense of elation.  You’d already talked to Hope that morning on FaceTime.  Her and her parents were celebrating by going to their favorite restaurant that was allowing dine-in again.
Tears pricked your eyes as you watched the people around you.  It reminded you a little bit of those pictures of V-Day in New York City at the end of World War II.
But where was Bucky?
He’d been at work yesterday, and since you hadn’t seen him, it probably meant that he’d passed out in an on-call room instead of coming home.
But you needed to see him.  You didn’t care if he was all gross and greasy.  You just needed him.
You loved him.
Your eyes locked in on a familiar head of long, brown hair sticking a little bit above the crowd.  He was awful tall.  When he turned his head, it only confirmed it.  “JAMES!” You shouted, trying to break through the roar of the crowd.  “JAMES!”
His brows furrowed, his head turning a little towards the sound of his voice.  When his eyes landed on you they went wide as saucers, his lips forming your name even though you couldn’t hear him over the people.
The two of you pushed through the hordes of people, trying to reach one another.  When you finally broke through, you threw yourself into his arms, your arms wrapping around his neck as he twirled you around.  The both of you were crying happy tears, wide smiles on your faces.
“We made it,” you whispered, your voice cracking.  “We’re okay.”  You pulled back enough to cup his face, so many words you wanted to say getting caught in your throat.
But before you could say them, he pulled you into a kiss, one hand on the back of your head and the other on your hip.  Grinning against your lips, he dipped you just a little, holding you tight.  To passerby, it was a remnant of the iconic V-Day kiss.  But you couldn’t think about that.  All you could think about was Bucky.
“Hi,” he said softly as he pulled away, breathing heavily.
Your nose nudged against his as your eyes fluttered open.  “Hi.”
He stole another kiss, your heart skipping a beat inside your chest.  “You better not stop singing now that this is over,” he said quietly as he held you to him, refusing to let go.  “Can’t go a day without hearing your pretty voice.”
“You’re a sap.”
“Your sap.”
“My sap?!”
He had a cheeky smile as he looked at you, cupping your cheeks.  “Does this mean I can take you on a date now?”
You were lucky.  You knew people who got the virus, but none of them had died.  Others didn’t have the same luck unfortunately, and it was a tragedy.  But you don’t stop singing during dark times.  You just sing a little louder.
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dustedmagazine · 4 years ago
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Ian Mathers’ 2020: We’re stuck inside our own machines
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I’ve had a song I loved in high school and haven’t thought much about since stuck in my head. The song “Apparitions” by the Matthew Good Band is a fine example of the alt rock of the late 90s; if you grew up then but somewhere down in the states (or elsewhere) instead of my southern Ontario you may well have your regional equivalents, and like this one they may not resonate terribly strongly outside of their time and place. It popped back into my head after a long time recently and of course 2020 has changed it a little. A song that as a teen I felt keenly as about loneliness (albeit also about how technology can feed into that) of course now plays on my nerves as another small piece of art about the way that most of us (those scared and/or responsible anyway) have only that relatively narrow, technologically mediated connection to the people we love. All of us, artists and listeners alike, are trying to fit our feelings and art and selves down these little connections, with some success.
On a personal level, 2020 wound up being stressful in ways we couldn’t have predicted even after the pandemic hit. In circumstances that could have seen governments on this continent support those unable to work (and those who shouldn’t have to), support those workers who are truly essential, support workers and renters and even landlords and small businesses, instead we got a near-total abeyance of those governments using the resources we provide them with to save any of us. On a personal level my wife and I were lucky enough to be able to work from home (not that it didn’t come with its own forms of stress, and now that I’m off until January I have several work/stress-related illnesses to recover from) but still saw friends and loved ones lose good, used-to-be-sustainable livings overnight, saw family businesses succumb to a near-total absence of effective government support after months of trying to keep above water, etc.
It is probably no surprise that this is not a situation conducive to listening to music, let alone writing about it; I have deliberately and happily kept busy on behind the scenes stuff at Dusted that I could still manage but looking, at the end of the year, at the amount I managed to actually create is demoralizing if not at all shocking. I’m not sure I think next year will be ‘better’ in many important ways, although at our job there is a growing feeling among coworkers that next year has to have some work/life balance because 2020 was, maybe more than anything else, unsustainable.
That’s not to say I didn’t spend a lot of time and emotion on music this year, and if nothing else constant sleep deprivation, stress, and panic meant I was probably open to being deeply moved by all sorts of art even more than normally (it’s gotten to the point where I can’t even read a sad or moving twitter thread out loud to my wife without getting teary, which is kind of… nice?). Funnily enough the band that did the most to keep me sane didn’t really put out anything in 2020. Personal favorite, Low, instead started, in early April, getting on Instagram with something they called on whim “It’s Friday I’m in Low.” With one brief break they have now done by my count at least 35 shows (catalogued here, by the way), every Friday at about 4 my time.
Admittedly it’s easier for Low to pull this off than some bands, since the 2/3 of the trio that sing are a married couple (they’ve had a couple of socially-distanced backyard shows with bassist Steve Garrington, but he’s mostly been isolating elsewhere). These shows have seen the band’s Alan Sparhawk take a mid-set break to do follow-up phone interviews with the acts featured in the COVID-curtailed touring bands series Vansplainingthat they started on YouTube, or just to give a tour round their vegetable garden and talk tips. It’s seen Alan and Mimi Parker draw on their impressive, 25+ year body of work (averaging 4-5 songs a set, I don’t think they’ve repeated themselves yet) and talk a bit between songs about pandemics, politics, song choices, and whether Alan should grab his bike helmet this time.
They’re not the only musicians out there speaking love and sanity (and playing music) into the strange digital interzone filled with hate and disinformation where we’ve all been forced to gather while locked down, but they were and the most consistent and steady signal being emitted each week. No matter how tired I was from work or what new symptoms I’d developed or what horrific thing I read into the news, even if I had to take an emergency nap while it was actually airing, every Friday the show was there. Once things do return to something more like normal, it’s one of the few things I’ll unambiguously miss about this weird-ass year.
So if that makes an argument for Low as my band of the year (admittedly again… it’s not like Double Negative has aged poorly, either), that does a disservice to those 2020 records I did connect with; even if there are still literally dozens I have to go through, many of which I expect to love, my top picks this year (if as unrankable by me as always) hit me as hard as any top pick in recent years did. So here I present a quick and informal top 5, which the rest of my top 20 following in alphabetical order. Here’s hoping for more time and space in 2021 for music, and even more than that, for more support for those who need it from those who could have been providing it all this time. (The Matthew Good Band, incidentally, always did best with their ballads. “Strange Days” is another I’ve had in my head these days; the image of moving “backwards, into a wall of fire” has stuck with me since the 90s and it’s never felt more grimly appropriate.)
Greet Death — New Hell
New Hell by Greet Death
This one is, in some sense, cheating; it came out November 2019. But that just means it’s the latest winner of my personal Torres Prize for Ian Being Late to the Party (so named because becoming slightly obsessed with Torres’ Sprinter just after I sent in my 2015 list was the first time I noticed that one of my favorite records of each year tends to get picked up by me just after I call it quits on the year, no matter how long I try to wait). This very doom and gloom slowcore/metal/(whatever, just know it’s heavy) trio at first felt very much like my beloved Cloakroom (whose Time Well has also won a Torres Prize) but sure enough nuances revealed themselves. Back in February it felt almost a little too negative, but then the rest of 2020 happened. And the extended burns of “You’re Gonna Hate What You’ve Done” and the title track remain searing.
Holy Fuck — Deleter
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Probably the record I’ve been trying to write about the longest in 2020, and the one I’m most disappointed in myself that I just couldn’t get the requisite paragraphs together. It’s a wonderful effort from the consistently great Toronto resolutely human-created (and —mediated) dance music quartet, one that both feels like a summation of everything they do well, and with the addition of some outside voices (including strong turns from the singers of both Hot Chip and Liars) a step forward at the same time.
Spanish Love Songs — Brave Faces Everyone
Brave Faces Everyone by Spanish Love Songs
As the year got worse, this roar of defiance only got more crucial for me to hear every so often; I was a big enough fan of it, even after writing it up for Dusted, that when they solicited fan footage for a subsequent music video you may just be able to get a glimpse of me in it. (I’m the one in a “No Tories” t-shirt.) My punk rock-loving twin brother was the one who introduced me to Spanish Love Songs and we were supposed to spend an evening in June screaming along to them live in a packed, sweaty room. I need that in my life again.
Julianna Barwick — Healing Is a Miracle
Healing Is A Miracle by Julianna Barwick
It’s a sign of what 2020 has been like here that even just this album title leaves bruises, and while I privately worried Barwick would have a hard time following up 2016’s sublime Will (probably my favorite record that year), it seems that continuing to take whatever downtime she needs to keep focusing and refining her particular muse has once again yielded amazing results. Anyone who thinks they know what a Barwick track sounds like should really check out, say, “Flowers”, but much of this record absolutely sounds like Barwick, just even better than before. She also boasted my wife and I's favorite streaming concert of 2020, an absolutely gorgeous rendition of this album with Mary Lattimore showing up.
Phoebe Bridgers — Punisher
Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers
I joked on Twitter recently that I have far too nice a dad (and far too good a relationship with him) to be as obsessed as I am with Phoebe Bridgers’ “Kyoto”, but here we are. Like most of her generation, Bridgers’ social media presence ranges from shit-posting to inscrutable, but even though things are often just as hard to figure out in her beautiful songs (as they often are in life), there’s an emotional clarity to them that can just grab you deep down. Couple that with seriously impressive songcraft and the progress from her already astounding debut Stranger in the Alps and more than anyone else in 2020 I’m excited to see just where the hell Phoebe Bridgers is going to go, because it feels like she’s talented and hardworking enough to go just about anywhere and drag a lot of our hearts with her.
Other Favorites
Aidan Baker & Gareth Davis — Invisible Cities II
Anastasia Minster — Father
Deftones — Ohms
Hum — Inlet
Kelly Lee Owens — Inner Song
Mesarthim — The Degenerate Era
Perfume Genius — Set My Heart On Fire Immediately
Protomartyr — Ultimate Success Today
Rachel Kiel — Dream Logic
The Ridiculous Trio — The Ridiculous Trio Plays the Stooges
Sam Amidon — Sam Amidon
Shabason, Krgovich & Harris — Philadelphia
Stars Like Fleas — DWARS Session: Live on Radio VPRO
Well Yells — We Mirror the Dead
Yves Tumour — Heaven to a Tortured Mind
Five Reissues/Compilations/etc.
Aix Em Klemm — Aix Em Klemm
Bardo Pond — Adrop/Circuit VIII
Charles Curtis — Performances & Recordings 1998-2018
Coil — Musick to Play in the Dark
Hot Chip — LateNightTales
Ian Mathers
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ubernoxa · 5 years ago
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The Sip: A GNR Modern Day AU
Chapter 6: Just Friends
Previous Chapters: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
Chapter Summary: Alanah gets a call from her manager and Duff surprises her with some help.
Warning: Fluff
I sat on the couch in Sandy’s and my apartment wishing I was anywhere else.
Declan had surprised Sandy for dinner and they were currently out eating at some fancy restaurant.
A couple hours earlier, Declan showed up at our door with a dozen roses dresses in a full suit. Apparently it was their six month anniversary, but you wouldn’t know that if you saw Sandy at the party last night. There are times I wonder if she knows what the definition of committed relationship is. I can’t judge though, my last relationships was borderline fake.
Originally we were supposed to record, but they both looked so excited to go. Before Sandy could break the news to him on how she couldn’t go, I told her we could reschedule. We had some prerecorded stuff, so we could just post that instead. She was still hesitant, so I added on that I could livestream cooking. Eventually she caved and left for her dinner with Declan. I hope she didn’t cheat on him, but the way that stranger’s arm was wrapped around her led me to believe the worst. She was supposed to be the smart one out of the two of us. She didn’t leave without making a comment on how I should invite Duff over for the stream. I swear she just wanted me to get in a relationship again, so we could go on double dates and couples vacations.
I continued to stare in the mirror as I finished applying my foundation. My heart skipped a beat as the sound of my phone ringing echoed through my apartment. Duff?
To my disappointment, it was only my media manager..well both Sandy’s and my media manager. We hired her a while back to help us with the legal side of YouTube and to help with our social presence.
“Hey Alanah, hows it going?”
“Good, Good...preparing to do the livestream I just texted you about,” I began to begin working on my eyes as I spoke.
“Okay well...you know how I hate getting into your personal life Alanah, but...” God I wish she would just spit it out. I knew she was going to ask about if I was dating Duff or not. I know we’re not, but I....I don’t know. After this morning’s bathroom event, I needed to know what that meant to him. No way that was just two friends hanging out, or maybe that’s how a rockstar hangs out with girls? Fuck.
“Are you dating Duff,” I let a fake laugh escape me once she finally got around to asking the question.
“No, just friends.” Yup, just friends would had sex multiple times in the past 24 hours and then relaxed in a jacuzzi together. Just casual friend things.
My manager went silent for a couple seconds. Was she expecting me to say yes?
“Things just ended with Mark, and I just want to enjoy being single. I won’t lie, I shed a couple tears when I heard he said Alanah who....but I’ve heard worst things. Why are you asking?” I stopped applying my makeup and focused on my manager. She went silent again, and that wasn’t ever a good sign.
“Well, you were tagged in some social media posts.....” she once again paused causing my patience to go extinct. SPIT IT OUT.
“There was a video from the paparazzi, Ill send it your way. I know Mark is a celebrity, but he wasn’t a household name like Duff. If you two do start dating you are aware that you are going to lose your sense of privacy right? You’ll be added to his list of ex’s. That’s what you will be known for,” I let out a sigh as she finished talking. Jesus Christ, we aren’t even dating and I was already getting this talk.
“Just friends,” I faked the confidence in my voice before I heard her mumble something.
“Well I’m glad you’re doing well, I’ll send you a link to the video I was referencing. If you and Duff are JUST FRIENDS you should ask him to help cook for your stream tonight,”
“Really?” I sounded like a nervous middle schooler as I spoke. Why was I nervous?
“Yeah, could be fun. Have a good one Alanah,” she hung up before I could even say goodbye...typical.
I opened up Instagram and was immediately met with a bunch of notifications. Whoever ran the Gun’s Instagram page had tagged me in a couple of photos. Most of them consisted of photos from earlier in the night of us around the BBQ. I was surprised to see that I looked decent in most of them, and in a couple...only a couple of the photos...Duff and I did look like we were dating. He had is arm wrapped around my waist or I was sitting on his lap. We aren’t dating though just friends.
I went over to his page to message him, and that’s when I froze. I immediately clicked on the most recent post and scrolled through the photos. There was one photo that caught my attention. It was from when we were eating dinner last night. It must have been cropped because it was just the two of us, but I remembered this moment. He had just made a joke that was so stupid I couldn’t help, but laugh. Yesterday I didn’t notice it, but he was smiling down at me as I giggled in the photo and he had his hand wrapped around my waist. I couldn’t read into that much more. We are just friends. We are nothing more than friends. FRIENDS.
I logged into the Instagram account specifically for Sandy’s and my YouTube channel and began to record a video.
“Hey guy! Hope you’re haveing a great Tuesday. Sandy is out celebrating an anniversary so you’re stuck with me tonight!”
“Tonight I will be live-streaming me attempting to cook something you guys comment below! So comment your ideas and hopefully I won’t burn them!”
I then when to share the video on twitter and Tumblr to try to gain traction.
I put some music on and began to scroll through the comments trying to find an idea of what to cook. The comments started out as helpful but after some scrolling a lot of the comment were about Duff....I placed my phone out and let out a sigh.
“Are you and Duff dating?”
“Wow, talk about a rebound”
“Duff + Alanah... #upgrade”
Why did I have to deal with this bull shit? Not that I wouldn’t mind being his girlfriend....but he was a rockstar and we were JUST FRIENDS.
I was pulled from my thoughts as my phone began to ring. Speaking of the devil, it was Duff.
“Hey, what’s up?” I smiled as I looked at my screen. His hair was all over the place and he looked exhausted. It must had been a long practice.
“I’m about 30 seconds away from killing my bandmates, you?”
“Well I’m currently trying to chose what to cook for my livestream,” I quickly checked what I looked like on the screen. I was thankful that I put makeup on and did my hair, I looked pretty good..not to toot my own horn or anything.
“How about Thai Salmon?” I was caught off guard by his recommendation.
“Ohhh uhhh I don’t know how to bake that.....and umm...I don’t want to look like a fool on livestream,” I was tripping over my words, unable to cease talking.
“Well if you need help, I’m actually a decent cook. I could even show you some stuff if you want,” he wanted to help me cook?
“Yeah sure!” I could feel a smile growing on my cheek from ear to ear as I spoke. I watched a smile flash on his face as I answered.
“Great! So I’ll bring the ingredients we need and we also have to soak the salmon for two hours before it’s cooked!”
My stomach was performing backflips as Duff talked. He was excited. He was excited to hang out with me. Holy shit.
Time flew by as I began to setup the two cameras. The first was on a rather large tripod allowing you to see the entire kitchen, which wasn’t much, and the second was a small camera that would be used for more close up shots.
***Buzz***
I practically jumped out of my skin when I heard my apartment’s doorbell ring. I bolted towards my intercom to the lobby, “Hello?”
“Hey Alanah, it’s Duff I got the stuff, wanna let me in or we can try to cook in the lobby?” I chuckled as I hit a button on my intercom and buzzed in. What if he thinks less of me because of my small apartment? What if he thinks I’m below him? Is my apartment too dirty? Is it too clean?
A knock at the door pulled me out of my chaotic merry-go-round of thoughts.
I took a deep breath and opened my door.
“So this is what your apartment looks like,” he had a small smile on his face as he walked around looking at the photos that hung on the wall.
“It’s not much, but it’s home,” I shrugged leaning against the table for support.
“Its cozy! I got the food, shall we begin?”
“Umm...yeah..uhhh..yeah..so since the salmon needs to marinate I’m doing a little prerecording for the video to post later in the week if that’s fine,” I wanted to kick myself repeatedly for stumbling over my words. God! I felt like such a baffoon.
“How can I help?” I watched as he looked at my camera positioned to look at the entire room.
“You can do whatever you want! If you wanna help with the cameras it’s up to you. If you want to sit on the couch and be on your phone that’s fine too,” I shrugged watching his body language as I spoke. He actually wanted to help....the rockstar was looking to help..weird okay.
“So that camera there is for overall shots while this one is for like close up,” I held up the second camera showing him how to properly hold it.
“So this first part isn’t live?”
“Yeah, I don’t want to make everyone wait two hours. I usually take live-streams and create highlight videos,” I began to pull the items out of Duff’s cloth bag.
I looked over to see Duff fiddling with the second camera and eventually turning it on. Out of the corner of my eye I then watched as he turned on the second one. Maybe he wasn’t as unfamiliar with cameras as I expected him to be.
I then felt him wrap his arms around my waist.
“Hey...Duff,” I could feel my heart rate about to explode through my chest. I’ve had sex with him before, why was I nervous around him? Why the hell was him being so close to me making my stomach become an Olympic gymnast?
“Don’t mind me, I’m just turning on your mic,” and with that I hear a faint click from a small switch that turned my mic on. He then clapped once and went to pick up the second camera.
“I’m ready when you are,” I could feel my cheeks turning red as he spoke. His damn smirk never leaving his stupid face. He knew what he was doing.
“Alright, welcome to another cooking with Alanah and Sandy, but this time there is no Sandy so we will see what happens! My current goal is to not burn the food,” before I could continue Duff’s laughter echoed through my apartment.
“What? Also cameramen should be quiet!” I teased back pointing at the camera, only making his laugh harder.
“Alanah, babe, I’ve seen your previous cooking videos and I think your goal should be to not burn down your apartment,” I froze as I tried to make out what he said between laughing.
Babe?
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t get rid of the smile that had grown on my face.
“Alright so tonight we are making teriyaki salmon! The first step is to create the marinate!” I pulled out the cooking instructions I had made Duff write before he came over.
“Alright so for the sweet chili sauce we will combine water, white vinegar, cornstach, garlic clove, and.......maple syrup,” I looked over at Duff as I read the last ingredient.
“Are you messing with me Duff?” His laughter filled the room once again and I couldn’t help but join him. His laugh was contagious.
“If I was messing with you I would have either been more subtle or more outlandish,” I watched as he placed the camera on my mini tripod infornt of the bowls I had setup for mixing.
We spent the next thirty minutes preparing the sauce together, and I loved every second of it.
“And now we wait for two hours while the salmon soaks,” Duff said into the camera before smirking at me. He was good in front of a camera and he knew it.
“So now we have two hours,” I finished turning off the cameras and my mic as he spoke.
“Do you have anything in mind in how to spend the time?” This time I couldn’t help but let a smirk wander into my face.
Without hesitation, Duff pulled me in and we began to kiss as he dragged me to my bedroom.
24 notes · View notes
osomatsu-san-quotes · 5 years ago
Text
Time to get to know me a little more, don't have to read, just something 4 fun
1. Who was the last person you held hands with?
My mom-
2. Are you outgoing or shy?
shy
3. Who are you looking forward to seeing?
Not really anyone-
4. Are you easy to get along with?
Depends. If work then no, if just hanging out then I think so
5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you?
‘‘I like’‘ friend: probably. ‘‘I like’‘ crush: no
6. What kind of people are you attracted to?
outgoing ppl and that just like memes and gaming. Don't know really
7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now?
Nope
8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind?
my older, middle brother
9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable?
little bit
10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with?
Mom
11. What does the most recent text that you sent say?
‘‘Ah, ok.’‘
12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now?
Kenshi Yonezu songs. (Nighthawks, Lemon, Eine Kleine, Loser, BNHA Intro 2/Peace sign)
13. Do you like it when people play with your hair?
Yeah but I have hair that is greasy 24/7. So the person would probably be grossed out before they touch it
14. Do you believe in luck and miracles?
Ye
15. What good thing happened this summer?
summer sucks so badly- but I guess…..I- don't know actually
16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
Never kissed someone before
17. Do you think there is life on other planets?
Nah
18. Do you still talk to your first crush?
Nope, I told him and after years of being good/best friends we stopped talking
19. Do you like bubble baths?
absolutely
20. Do you like your neighbors?
don't have them. Or I just never talk to them
21. What are your bad habits?
This is kinda embarrassing but thumb sucking. like a baby. Also, nail biting
22. Where would you like to travel?
Japan or China
23. Do you have trust issues?
yeah.
24. Favorite part of your daily routine?
sitting behind my computer
25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with?
My face
26. What do you do when you wake up?
think about life and lay there for 30 mins
27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker?
darker. I'm a marshmallow now
28. Who are you most comfortable around?
My older youngest brother
29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up?
Ye, surprisingly
30. Do you ever want to get married?
Probably yes
31. If your hair long enough for a ponytail?
I think it has to say ‘‘Is’‘, so yeah, it is
32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with?
Interesting question- I don't keep in touch with the new celebrities so idk.
33. Spell your name with your chin.
oh god- Ill just use my nickname ppl know me as, not my real one:
RfdIkVERf     -  River
34. Do you play sports? What sports?
I have a worse condition than a snail
35. Would you rather live without TV or music?
without tv. Don't watch it. Also, you have youtube
36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them?
Once.
37. What do you say during awkward silences?
Nothing
38. Describe your dream girl/guy?
Likes gaming, horror, memes, and is overall a nice guy to talk to
39. What are your favorite stores to shop in?
Outside? You want me dead?
40. What do you want to do after high school?
Probably go into game design
41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?
Depends on what they have done
42. If you're being extremely quiet what does it mean?
I'm being myself
43. Do you smile at strangers?
If I try to smile I look like I am disappointed in them or angry
44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean?
outer space.
45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning?
Remembering I have youtube vids to watch and I have books to read
46. What are you paranoid about?
the things I don't know
47. Have you ever been high?
Nope
48. Have you ever been drunk?
Nah
49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about?
Yeah. So I ain't going to tell it
50. What was the color of the last hoodie you wore?
Purple. I am wearing it rn
51. Ever wished you were someone else?
Yeah, constantly
52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself?
My face
53. Favorite makeup brand?
I don't do makeup
54. Favorite store?
Don't go to stores
55. Favorite blog?
Can't think of anything on the top of my head. Too many
56. Favorite color?
Purple or black
57. Favorite food?
Broccoli or something unhealthy like hamburgers
58. Last thing you ate?
McDonald's
59. First thing you ate this morning?
Worstenbroodjes
60. Ever won a competition? For what?
Yeah. Won a playback competition in 4th grade of elementary
61. Been suspended/expelled? For what?
Once. I yelled back at my teacher
62. Been arrested? For what?
I'm too much of a pussy to do something to get myself arrested
63. Ever been in love?
Of course
64. Tell us the story of your first kiss?
Mk. It all started when I was a baby and my mom kissed me on the head
65. Are you hungry right now?
Just ate
66. Do you like your Tumblr friends more than your real friends?
Don't have Tumblr friends, (Or real friends)
67. Facebook or Twitter?
Twitter
68. Twitter or Tumblr?
Tumblr
69. Are you watching tv right now?
Nope
70. Names of your best friends?
Don’t have them
71. Craving something? What?
A drink
72. What color are your towels?
blue, blue, black, white
72. How many pillows do you sleep with?
around 5
73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?
Yeah
74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have?
over 100 probably
75. Favorite animal?
Bears or cats
76. What color is your underwear?
Night sky dark blue
77. Chocolate or Vanilla?
Chocolate
78. Favorite ice cream flavor?
Chocolate
79. What color shirt are you wearing?
Purple hoodie
80. What color pants?
dark grey sweatpants
81. Favorite tv show?
Tanked
82. Favorite movie?
UhHHhh Osomatsu san the movie probably, not sure yet.
83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2?
Never seen both but I think I like Mean Girls from what I've seen and heard
84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street?
Mean Girls.
85. Favorite character from Mean Girls?
Never seen it
86. Favorite character from Finding Nemo?
random, but Dory
87. The first person, you talked to today?
My older middle brother
88. The last person, you talked to today?
Mom
89. Name a person you hate?
To many
90. Name a person you love?
my family
91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now?
100% 24/7 yes
92. In a fight with someone?
Have been.
93. How many sweatpants do you have?
around 5
94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have?
9
95. Last movie you watched?
Detective Pikachu
96. Favorite actress?
don't have one
97. Favorite actor?
don't have one
98. Do you tan a lot?
No
99. Have any pets?
ye
100. How are you feeling?
could be better, could be worse
101. Do you type fast?
ye
102. Do you regret anything from your past?
of course, I do
103. Can you spell well?
Depends if I'm rushing: not
104. Do you miss anyone from your past?
Ye
105. Ever been to a bonfire party?
Yep
106. Ever broken someone’s heart?
Yeah
107. Have you ever been on a horse?
Mhm
108. What should you be doing?
Getting ready to go to bed
109. Is something irritating you right now?
Nah
110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt?
Nada
111. Do you have trust issues?
Isn't this question asked before?
112. Who was the last person you cried in front of?
Mom
113. What was your childhood nickname?
Never had one
114. Have you ever been out of your province/state?
Yeah
115. Do you play the Wii?
Used to
116. Are you listening to music right now?
Nope, for once
117. Do you like chicken noodle soup?
Never tried it
118. Do you like Chinese food?
Kinda
119. Favorite book?
Warrior Cats
120. Are you afraid of the dark?
Pretty spoopy shit
121. Are you mean?
I dunno
122. Is cheating ever okay?
Nope
123. Can you keep white shoes clean?
Waste of time when they are going to be dirty again by the next day
124. Do you believe in love at first sight?
Never thought of it.
125. Do you believe in true love?
Probably not
126. Are you currently bored?
YEah
127. What makes you happy?
Spending time with myself
128. Would you change your name?
Mhm
129. What your zodiac sign?
Libra
130. Do you like subway?
Never tried it
131. Your best friend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do?
Think about life and what to do
132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with?
This has been asked before
133. Favorite lyrics right now?
‘‘Write a story of a hero!’‘ - Peace sign
134. Can you count to one million?
Yeah but I ain't gonna try rn 
135. Dumbest lie you ever told?
A lot, hard to pick one
136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed?
Open
137. How tall are you?
around 5′9
138. Curly or Straight hair?
Straight
139. Brunette or Blonde?
Blonde
140. Summer or Winter?
Winter
141. Night or Day?
Night
142. Favorite month?
October & December
143. Are you a vegetarian?
Nope
144. Dark, milk or white chocolate?
Dark
145. Tea or Coffee?
Neither
146. Was today a good day?
Yeah
147. Mars or Snickers?
Mars
148. What’s your favorite quote?
‘‘Eh’‘ -points to sweater- ‘‘ ‘Not my problem‘ ‘‘
149. Do you believe in ghosts?
Kinda??
150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page?
don't have a book next to me
Wow if you are here holy shit- ty??
-Mod Nekomatsu
11 notes · View notes
snow-lavender · 5 years ago
Text
And That’s the Tea
After Jackie’s first interview, confusion spreads through social media. But hey, at least it’s funny?
AO3 link here
Thanks for reading!
Out of the Comic Pages
In recent years, the popularity of superhero stories has skyrocketed. This has led to some individuals emulating the behaviours in these stories. These “Real-Life Superheroes” have started taking justice into their own hands, to varying effect. The Telegraph’s Brittany Pearson sat down with one of these vigilantes, known simply as the “The Brighton Vigilante”, or the BV.
Pearson: So first of all, I want to thank you to agreeing to this call. I think you’ll have an interesting perspective people will want to hear.
BV: Yeah, no problem. You seemed pretty chill about all this, and I figured if people know I’m not, like, an insane person, they’d feel a little better about me being around.
[Laughter]
P: To start off, would you like to introduce yourself?
BV: I guess? Right now I just go by BV. One of these days I’ll think of a better name. Um, I work…is that the right term? It’s not like I get paid for this.
P: However you want to define it.
BV: Right. So I…operate out of Brighton, England. I just kinda hang around the streets and help people if they look like they need it. Muggings, assault, you know, anything like that.
P: And you’ve been doing this for how long now?
BV: About two years.
P: What inspired you to begin this sort of work?
BV: I’ve always had a problem with assholes picking on vulnerable people. I got a lot of shit in Secondary School, and so did my friends, so I learned martial arts to defend myself. Nearly got expelled more than once.[Laughter] Yeah, that’s not gonna help my case. But uh, anyhow, when I moved to the city, I saw some of the uglier stuff here. I figure the police aren’t gonna be able to get to everyone, so I decided to pick up some of the slack.
P: Were there any people in your life who specifically inspired you?
BV: Yeah, uh…my cousin. He, um, he saw that I was getting into fights a lot. So he tried to get me to use that for good. It really meant a lot, since my other family was just trying to get me to stop instead of help me focus.
P: And does he know what you’re doing now? Is he proud of you?
[Pause]
BV: He’s not really…available right now. But I think he would be proud. If he was.
P: Oh, I’m sorry for your loss.
BV: It’s fine.
[Pause]
P: Is it alright if we move on?
BV: Sure, yeah.
P: What fighting styles do you rely on, and what sort of training do you have?
BV: Um, I, [sniff], sorry, I mostly use karate and boxing, and some parkour for getting around. And I do have first aid training, if that’s what you mean?
P: Your voice has deepened significantly since you first entered the public eye. Was there another Brighton Vigilante whom you took over for?
BV: [Laugh] No, no, it’s just the tea.
P:Your costumes, are they handmade, or outsourced, or taken from military supply stores?
BV: I just…..
Thank you for reading! For the full article, please subscribe to The Telegraph, or make a donation here.
>=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=
Jackie walked into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. Chase perked up as he walked in, leaving the toastre to ruffle his hair. “Hey, I’m proud of you! The article turned out great!”
Jackie pushed off his hand. “That came out today?”
Yes, this morning, Jameson signed from the kitchen table. I’m just reading it now. You did very well for your first interview!
“Thanks, guys.” Jackie said, grabbing a cup of coffee. Chase patted him on the back. “Got anything you need to do today? We should celebrate.”
“It’s really not that big of a deal.”
“Nuh-uh, I’m buying ice cream later.”
“Well, I mean, I’m not gonna turn that down, even if I don’t need it.”
Everyone gradually settled. Chase fried up some bacon and eggs as Henrik and Marvin slunk their way in. Breakfast passed without much fuss, aside from everyone drilling it into his head how proud of Jackie they were. Jameson cleared the table as Chase booted up his laptop.
“Yes, I do remember that in my ethics classes. We touched on it very briefly, though. I am not sure how much help I will be,” Henrik was saying.
“Any help is something. This course is kicking my ass-” Jackie was interrupted by Chase  breaking down laughing.
“Everything okay over there?” Marvin asked, eyebrow cocked.
Chase waved a hand as he gasped for air. “Just, just check twitter. Holy shit, I can’t believe how stupid some people are.”
“…Alright?” Jackie pulled out his phone. As soon as he logged onto twitter, he was bombarded by headlines.
What is “Tea”? What exactly was the Brighton Vigilante referring to?
“TEE”: A new street drug? Journalists are investigating a new drug with adverse effects on the voice box.
Is afternoon tea alienating teens?
How golf may be shaping childrens’ senses of justice.
“What. The Fuck” Jackie said. He clicked on one article at random.
THE SUN: Is Internet Drama pushing our children over the edge? Could new sources of entertainment be a threat to your child? Perhaps. Some are now positing that scandals, colloquially referred to as “Tea”, could be warping developing views on the world. The frequency of this drama makes children believe the world is in dire straits, raising mental illness, and, in one case, making them resort to such extremes as vigilantism.
[Continue]
Comments- 1084
-This is the funniest article I’ve read all year.
-Your heard it here first guys, James Charles caused my depression
-Oh yeah, it’s totally the youtubers. Couldn’t be the planet rapidly deteriorating, or corporations exploiting their workers, or the US have LITERAL CONCENTRATION CAMPS. That would be ridiculous.
“What, on God’s green earth, are they smoking at the Sun?” Marvin laughed, reading over Jackie’s shoulder. “Holy hell.”
“Yeah, I’m just gonna..” Jackie pointed upstairs. “Make a call.”
Out of the Comic Pages
(Edit) After publication, BV contacted our offices with the following message:
“Hi, so people seem to be a bit confused about something I said. I meant “T” as in testosterone. I’m a trans dude, so I’m taking hormones. That’s why my voice deepened. And please don’t use this as an excuse to demonize trans people. Please.”
June 18th, 2019: yourfaveisatransicon.tumblr.com - The Brighton Vigilante from Real Life is a trans icon! (I swear I’m not making this shit up.)
11 notes · View notes
skepsys · 6 years ago
Note
tell us more about your two lovely OCs please! how did they meet? how did their ship start? :eyes:
oOOOHGFGGGGG BOYYY Okay well ive only had them for about a week or so? two weeks? not very long so some things are still prettyyyyy loose/vague, despite HOW MUCH time ive been putting into them LOL but there’s some pretty solid building blocks regardless so Here We Go
to clarify ahead of time in case i havent already somewhere, SAINT is the robot with the toothy mask and Maverick is the guy with the white jacket
READMORE CAUSE HOLY FUCK THIS GOT LONG
ill be honest, they start off trying to kill and generally being pretty nasty to each other....! they’re both assassin/hitman/mercenary types so theres naturally a lot of rivalry there over who gets the real good jobs and stuff, but it’s made pretty personal right off the bat because Maverick is very smug and annoying and from the second he meets SAINT he makes sure to make it ABUNDANTLY clear that he’s better than him.  Maverick’s been in the game a lot longer than SAINT; the first time SAINT ever takes a job, he shows up to crash it and steal this Super Secret technology he had been sent to grab (which he was going to do ANYWAYS bc it was tech related to human augmentation, which he’s a Big Fan of, but SAINT getting there first presented him an opportunity to be an aggravating show-off, which of course he couldn’t resist...).  underneath the snarky flair with which he one-ups and outmaneuvers SAINT in this first encounter there’s a pretty serious threat to step off his turf Or Else, which as i said sparks a pretty bitter, intense rivalry
they spend a Good Long While beating the shit out of each other, like its ON SIGHT every time, Maverick has the upper hand for the first while, considering that while SAINT is COMPETENT, having been developed for combat, the fact still remains that he’s technically not a robot, but an AI whos spent a lot longer living in a computer than running around out in the world.  he eventually gets the hang of it though, and learns to see through a lot of Maverick’s feints and tricks.  they get pretty into it, SAINT has torn off one of Maverick’s (entirely mechanical and therefore fixable) arms in a rage because hes SUCH an insufferable dickhead, Maverick has trapped SAINT in a gigantic gas explosion... its kind of a miracle that the two of them make it out the other side alive every time??
it starts turning around when in the middle of one of their dumb scraps they get grabbed by some shaaaaaaadyyyyyy paramilitary group that i havent Super developed yet, but they turn out to be the Main Villains of the story so yknow theyre important.  the two of them are of interest because Maverick’s got absurdly advanced augments and implants, like “shouldnt really exist” advanced, while SAINT is a cutting-edge combat AI riding around in a unique, high-tech body.  the intention is theyll both be picked apart to be reverse-engineered, but not too long after getting caught and detained, Maverick manages to break himself out, bc being a slippery little weasel is kind of his thing
he then DELIBERATELY goes out of his way to track down SAINT and get HIM out too, in his words because “even though SAINT’s a pain in the ass, he doesn’t really deserve to be straight-up tortured”.  unfortunately he can only find SAINT’s AI, and not his body, and given that he’s got precious little time to figure out what to do, the two of them pretty much settle on getting SAINT’s AI out of the facility and then coming back later for his body.  unfortunately AGAIN they’re both idiots and think uploading a fully fledged combat AI suite to cerebral implants that are only really suited for enhancing reflexes and split-second decision making is a good, reasonable idea
long, painful story short, in the time it takes to escape and get to safety, Maverick’s brain almost practically melts from the strain, nearly killing both him AND SAINT in the process.  luckily with the help of a guy named Harlan, a genius bioengineer and Maverick’s ex they manage to get SAINT out and into a server he can live on for the interim
they do eventually get SAINT’s proper body back after a time where he has to live between a server and a shoddy temporary replacement body (which he is very angry about the entire time) but i havent Exactly figured it out since that has GOT to be very difficult and probably more than a 1.5 man job.  the two of them actually manage to have some actual normal conversations during this time but its kinda awkward and stilted.  theres a fair amount of realizing like “oh huh this dude is just A Normal Guy with like, thoughts and interests and stuff not relating at all to wanting me dead” on both sides
after this point they still butt heads fairly often but its toned WAY down; SAINT especially is kinda like “Hm.” because why on earth would this dude go so far out of his way to nearly die just to save someone who his only interactions with have been filled with vitriol and violence...? (spoiler its cuz Maverick is generally actually a pretty good and selfless guy underneath all the smugness and attitude)
eventually they start teaming up instead of constantly smacking each others’ wrists at every turn, around when the story starts really picking up and said aforementioned Shady Paramilitary Group starts becoming a proper real threat and theyre joined by a whole cast of other characters that i havent drawn yet (Harlan, as well as Leta, an AI programmer who worked on an early iteration of what eventually became SAINT, Jamie, Maverick’s older sister who’s a mechanic/pilot, Eleven, super-hacker extraordinaire, to name a few)
their progression from “kind of awkward friends” to “boyfriends, actually” isnt sth they rlly think about directly, its literally.  theyre both so goddamn STUPID it takes another character pointing out how theyve gone from “he’s fine, we work together pretty well i guess” to “id literally willingly die for this guy at the drop of a hat and also oh yeah i let him have access to some of my tech functions so we can keep better track of and support each other during operations better” for them to be like “wait oh shit oh fuck i might be in love”
THAT GOT SO GODDAMN LONG I LOVE THESE DIPSHITS SO MUCH IM CONSTANTLY BLOWING UP MY OC TWITTER W SHIT ABT THEM....IM TRULY LOST IN THE SAUCE ON THIS ONE... 
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shirtlesssammy · 6 years ago
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14x07: Unhuman Business
Then:
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LaLaLa, this is not happening, LaLaLa
Now:
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Uh, something seems to be wrong with my TV. Just Lucifer Nick blabbering on about his family and his regret for killing people that won’t help him find who killed his family.
At the bunker, Jack is not doing great, guys. Cas is attempting to heal him, but whatever is wrong with Jack is beyond his angel powers.
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As the boys discuss their impossible situation, Jack falls to the floor, coughing blood and foaming at the mouth. They rush him to the hospital ASAP. 
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Worried Dad Dean is HIGH MAINTENANCE, but I’ll forgive his overbearing ways. Jack is in deep trouble. First, the hospital just needs some basic data, like name and date of birth, both of which the Winchesters fumble on. Jack’s a Winchester you doofs! And I guess Jack is 18. And his dad exploded. Jack then collapses and the medical staff rush him to a room, Sam, Dean, and Cas by his side. 
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(That framing tho)
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God, my TV buzzed out again. Please stand by while I figure out WHY WE SHOULD CARE ABOUT NICK. He talks to a reporter and learns there was a cop, Frank Kellogg, who was patrolling Nick’s neighborhood the night his family died.
At the hospital, Jack’s tests results all came back negative. They’re going to have to run more tests. (Lol, I love how all of this is put in the vaguest way possible. Like not all tests are positive or negative, and what are they testing for?) The one thing they do know: His body is in complete systemic shutdown. (I read on Twitter the friendly reminder that you’re not a real hunter until you’ve died and come back again. Coolcoolcoolcoolcool.)
The brothers decide it’s time to explore other options: Rowena. Dean suggests calling her. Sam already did. (Samwitch! --my Saileen heart hates me every time I goof about this) (Natasha: SAME) The doctor walks in on the boys dressing Jack to leave. AND LET ME JUST FALL INTO A PIT OF EMOTION watching Cas put his coat on Jack.
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ROWENA arrives as fast as she can (like, oof, there isn’t anything in this for her. She just showed up to help the Winchesters? Guh.) She thinks Dean is in trouble, but Sam reveals it’s really Jack, Lucifer’s son. Rowena’s out. Before she bolts though, Jack works his magic nougat ways.
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Rowena breaks the bad news that without Jack’s grace, his nephilim body can’t sustain itself. Cas offers up his own grace to save him. I’M NOT CRYING, YOU’RE CRYING! As Ro is nixing that idea, Dean’s vision starts to blur and his hearing warbles in and out. 
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Not sure what was happening in this next Nick scene. He’s weird around a woman in an alley. She invites him back into the bar (WHY?) (Natasha: WHYYYYYYYY?) and then he secretly pulls a knife. In a brief moment of clarity, he yells at her to get away and she runs. And for the record: the giant neon S stands for Satan.
At the bunker, Overprotective Dean brings Jack a sandwich and milk. PURE. Jack is packing up and ready to hit the road, live a little before he dies. I’M NOT DYING, YOU’RE DYING.
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Dean gets some serious dimples of discontent after listening to Jack but he’s not disagreeing with the boy.
Sam and Cas AND Rowena are on the research train. Cas presides over a mountain of books while Rowena and Sam call everyone they think might be able to help the poor young wee nephilim.
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Dean gets the updates. The books are a bust, but Sam talked to Ketch, who has tipped them off about a shaman who might help. Dean takes all this in...maybe? In actuality, Dean wavers in and out of focus again. Oh, Dean Bean. Cas offers to tackle the shaman lead and the Winchesters can stay behind to look out for Jack. Enter Jack, with backpack, ready for adventure! Dean and Jack are heading out, to Castiel’s disapproval.
A little while later, Dean and Jack pick up some burgers and Dean tosses Baby’s keys to wee Jack. It’s driving lesson time! There’s so much wrapped up in this scene: Dean’s stunted childhood, his incredible capacity to nurture, Jack’s hero worship. MY HEART is wrapped up in this scene. They ease out on the road and Jack gains confidence quickly.
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Dean turns on some tunes and BTO’s “Let it ride” sets the mood. Classic rock is such an important aspect of this show, and we didn’t realize how much we missed it as a set piece until this scene of open road driving.
(I’ll confess that I spent the first viewing of this scene ready for Jack to pass out and the car to careen dramatically off the road. I’m glad it didn’t.)
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Cas heads out to find Sergei the shaman but before he goes, he talks with Sam about Dean’s reaction to Jack’s illness. “He seems to be taking this particularly hard,” Castiel observes. Sam tells him that Dean feels bad for the time he spent wishing Jack a swift and painful death at the beginning of last season.
Heartbreaking dialogue alert:
Sam: He’s lost people. We’ve all lost people but…
Cas: This feels different. Losing a son feels different.
But stow away those emotions, friends, because it’s time to go back to fun!Dad Dean. They’re eating more fast food, pulled over on the side of the road. “I’m a driver!” Jack announces gleefully. Yes, bby. Dean suggests a bar with promising hook-up potential. (Me: flashes back to Dean’s “Last night on Earth” speech with Cas back in season 4...and like, all of season 3.) Jack’s got other plans.
Nick finds Frank Kellogg, brings up the bare facts of his case, and then pushes Frank inside and holds him by the throat. Time to chat.
By a tumbling, small river, Jack gets into Dean’s deepest emotions like he’s ordering an ice cream shake at a diner. While they fish, Jack casually brings up that Dean and his father went fishing and that it was one of Dean’s happiest memories of him. Dean tries to dissemble, but Jack’s sure as a rock. (Now, there’s been some discussion about whether this was meant to refer to John or Bobby. My vote’s heavily on John. Dean loved his father, was disappointed by him, and longed for many things he could never have at the same time. Fishing with John Winchester was probably a shocking circle of calm - a pool of stillness and peace.)
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Jack tells Dean that he wouldn’t miss the big, showy things in the world. Instead, he’d miss more time with Dean and the other people in his life.
Dean BARELY holds it together, a quaver in his voice as he returns, “Who’d’ve thought time with me would make you sentimental?” Dean. Bean.
Meanwhile, Cas drives his adorable blue car to meet Sergei the shaman. He’s immediately enveloped in a circle of holy fire. Thanks, buddy.
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Sergei lives in a pimped out trailer, with flowers painted on the exterior and lushly colored and patterned textiles draped all over the interior. He proposes a “recharging agent” for Jack - something to shock his system and derail the degeneration. He offers Cas archangel grace (purportedly from Gabriel) and a spell to activate it. And the cost is simply that the Winchesters will owe him a favor. Sounds like a hell of a price to me.
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Meanwhile Nick beats the shit out of Frank Kellogg. We learn that Nick’s neighbor saw Frank leave his house the night of the murders and the cops made him cover it up. Frank confesses that he met a man named Abraxis outside of Nick’s house and the next thing he knew, he was covered in blood. Frank was possessed by a demon which is some crazy ass shit, right? Sigh. Nick kills Frank horribly anyway, in a scene that goes on for WAY too long.
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WAY the fuck too long.
In a giant breath of fresh air, we get back to the bunker, once again full of TFW 2.0 and Rowena Our Queen. They hand Jack the grace and it enters his body as Rowena chants the spell. Lights flicker. Jack’s eyes glow golden again. It’s worked!
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Jack stumbles and falls again, worse than before.
Cas chews out Sergei via phone call and Sergei defends himself by saying that “science is sometimes trial and error.” It’s...awfully reminiscent of Michael’s experimentation, yes? It also reminds me of real world experimental parallels - now and throughout history. In a word: yikes.
Side note: Having once had a loved one’s body try to shut down in the ICU with no discernible cause...this episode really did hit home for me. It’s so easy in fiction to have a magical healing ability, and so much harder when there’s no explanation, no quick cure, and treatments that have your doctors crossing their fingers. I feel for all these dudes, and the doctors as well, is what I’m saying.
Anyway, Cas is pissed, and vows to smite Sergei’s ass if Jack dies.
For Vengeful Science
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At Frank’s house, Nick prays to Lucifer and begs him to come back. In the blackness of the Empty, what looks like the Empty entity morphs into being and its eyes glow Lucifer-red. Well, fuck. (I’m actually excited to see the Empty again, but I am quite displeased about Lucifer.)
In the bunker, TFW mourns Jack’s rapidly failing condition. Rowena counsels them to stay by his side, for death approaches on swift wings.
Root Beer Quotes:
He’s sick, his name is Jack Kline, his father exploded.
Samuel, I thought we were beyond this.
Well, if it’s grace he needs, he can have mine.
Eyes on the road.
This is the best day ever!!!
Born with a wheel in your hand, huh?
Life isn’t all these big, amazing moments. It’s time together that matters.
Life - all of it - is a risk.
Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!
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emypony · 6 years ago
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ARES HEADCANONS WITH THE BOYS, AFTER THE BREAK
Some ARES (more like ot2/ot3/ot4 headcanons with Haizaki, Asuto, Nosaka and Nishikage) headcanons for @ozrockbitway (if i remember right dfljkghfdg it’s been long ago since we talked about it, I think??) and @producktions @someatsu @blueberry-pastel @suzunofuusuke @kirinoisbestboy @sinfonylanglader @therealruney @calmystorm-saltycandy (hope u dont mind the tag ^^’’) @shawn-and-aiden-frost-9 i guess if u wanted to read as well @mimirk63 ITS NOT YUUICHI but ya kno ;w;’’
i literally dont even know who else would care about these (mostly joke) headcanons so iM SOWWY if i like, dont tag some ppl ;;
also im sorry that these are like all over the place tho jfldghkfk
ANYWAY with that out of the way
1. so I was discussing about Nishikage baking and. i got it. Nishikage works @ Tasty part time. He makes ambitious creations. Nosaka enjoys watching the behind the scenes. (Asuto will eat anything he makes)
2. Asuto starts hanging around Nosaka and Nishikage thought this would be bad and that Yuuma would stop hanging out with him but is thankfully proven wrong as Asuto pretty much always invites both of them to hang out with him. Nishikage starts to 'adopt' Asuto as Nosaka's friend and feels the need to PROTECC him as well. they also become great friends and this eases Nishikage because Nosaka finally has someone to spend time with that can somewhat get him out of his shell. Related to #1, Asuto will bother Nishikage and ask him if he's cooked something new yet. Nishi is afraid to cook more things at first but is prompted by Asuto because THAT BOY will literally eat anything, bad or good.
3. Nosaka actually likes dry jokes but no one knows since nobody really likes dry jokes and doesn't make them. Asuto ends up with a book EXACTLY about dry jokes and he finds them interesting and funny but not as much as Nosaka, so when he uses one of those jokes it makes Yuuma laugh and it takes everyone by surprise (especially Nishikage)
4. Nosaka snorts when he laughs.
5. I see Asuto and Nosaka becoming friends before Asuto and Haizaki (even if they're acquaintances) Haizaki comes on later along.
6. Asuto is claustrophobic and that's how the ot3 friendship starts. He, Haizaki and Nosaka somehow end up stranded in somewhat of a locker and he starts freaking out. Despite the issues between Nosaka and Haizaki they don't like seeing the cheerful Asuto being scared like that. Asuto asks them to hold his hand and they reluctantly did that even if they didn't like being next to each other. After that incident Asuto was a bit more open around them and uses his 'persuasive' powers to get them to hang out with him.
7. Haizaki is the tallest, followed by Asuto and then Nosaka. Nosaka is a bit conscious about his height and even if Haizaki makes fun of him, Asuto reassures him and tells him its okay.
8. Nosaka would be really bad at portraying his feelings even if it's something simple or complicated so he makes really weird comparisons and nobody understands except Nishikage even if sometimes even he's wondering what's going on in his mind.
9. I originally planned Nosaka to be a Vegan but I don't wanna do that he's just been taught to always eat healthy because there was no other alternative. he sometimes sees Asuto stuffing his face with unhealthy (fast food/other) stuff and it confuses him because he's still like perfect and fit and he doesn't get it. With time Asuto makes him try things he wouldn't normally eat by himself and even if he doesn't eat that regularly, he'll sometimes accept Asuto's invitation to get things he hasn't tried before. He's really big on trying foreign food but maybe once every few months.
This is a lot of Nosaka fdkjghd im sorry i love him a lot AND I DIDNT EVEN KNOW IT
10. One day Asuto's friends find him, Nosaka and Haizaki playing cards in his room (i think they'd keep the friendship hidden for a while don't ask me why). Norika would take a liking to Nosaka but not romantic. She ends up doing his nails or make up as a thing. He looks dashing with black polish. Haizaki has none of that and even if Nosaka is really :|  and stoic he'll pretty much go with anything.
11. this was like, a multiple headcanon thingy with @suzunofuusuke and @producktions alike
Nosaka is a heavy sleeper and Nishikage is the opposite. #Nosaka and Nishikage share a bed, fight me. Due to his past Nosaka has nightmares and moves a lot in his sleep so frequently he'll fall from the bed which'll make Nishi wake up and freak tf out because dfljkgf where's Yuuma?? and hes just sleeping on the floor
12. Nishi and Nosaka sometimes both stare at Asuto and how pure he is dfljghfdg like "damn Asuto's a nice friend"
i'll uh, try some Haizaki too since I've basically neglected him holy shit
13. Things get better with Akane and after Asuto basically has him talk things out with Nosaka, he becomes a lot less stressed and angry and finally starts to open up to Asuto, at least. He's a bit awkward at interacting outside the soccer field so it takes a bit of time to be comfortable around both of them, but Asuto always made it easy. He's still a bit intimidated by Nishikage though, even if he has no ill intentions towards Haizaki and they've even successfully hang out together alongisde the other two a few times. They share a love for spicy food.
14. HAIZAKI NEEDS GLASSES and he doesnt like wearing them but he's really cute in them. Asuto would always tell him that he looks cute in them and he wouldn't like it. Men aren't cute. Haizaki isn't cute!! >;C Nosaka would just quietly tell him that they look good on him nonetheless and he'd blush and say 'thanks' and thats their interaction okay #stolen from @someatsu
15. Haizaki has his ears pierced but nobody knows cuz of his long hair and that it's not allowed @ school. He likes to try out diff earrings in his spare time. Asuto catches him one day and never lets him hear the end of it but when they sometimes go walking around shop districts he'd loudly proclaim "Those would look real good on you, Haizaki!" when he'd see any cute earrings and such. poor Hai chan will try to hide from view at that. Nosaka chuckles. also stolen from @soatsuko w permission dw
16. starring guest hiro again with headcanons he shoved into my arms: Haizaki doesn't use social media because he doesn't see the point of it. Had Twitter once but got bored. likes baggy hoodies. probably has a collection of berets (this one's on @araiguma-koon)
17. @arbegagordon gave me an idea so Haizaki and Akane used to play Toontown so now that Akane isn't playing anymore, Haizaki still logs in but gets sad. Through some kind of unconventional means Asuto starts playing Toontown with him because he wants to make him happy and even if Hai chan won't admit it he's pretty happy that Asuto does this for him Nishihkage plays cooking mama Nosaka tries a lot of games but he gets bored fast because he thinks he's not good at them. He REALLY likes the pet games though. EDIT: I FORGOT. NOSAKA PLAYS ALICIA ONLINE AND NONE OF Y’ALL CAN TELL ME OTHERWISE. he likes collecting pets and clothes. he would defs cosplay his AO character omg
18. this was a collaboration of my ideas and @producktions and her analysis post basically she said that no one usually cheers for Nosaka SOOOOOOO, after Asuto finds that out he goes to all his matches and screams like fucking crazy for him and even if Nosaka won't show it he'll smile sometimes to himself because Asuto does this for him and expects nothing in return and just wants to see him smile and it’s OOF so pure
19. Asuto has both Nosaka and Haizaki merch. (you know, for support! Asuto is big on making his friends feel loved) They're both embarrassed by it and whatever they say they can't make him NOT wear it in public, as he's hanging out with THEM.
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willreadforbooze · 5 years ago
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Hello fellow boozie readers!
If you haven’t heard about #Booziebookathon, it’s our week long readathon we host every year! AND ITS RIGHT MEOW!! Check out all the details here! Shout out to Linz and Melinda for doing ALL of the planning for it. You’re the best. Be sure to follow our readathon twitter for sprints!
Sam’s Update:
I got a lot of reading done this week, which is surprising, considering how busy it was. But Booziebookathon started on Saturday, and got a bunch done. I’ve decided that I’ve failed at Medieval-a-thon…. cause I definitely didn’t read what I said I would. The NEWTs start on Thursday (our TBRs scheduled to drop on Thursday), so I gotta finish up these books so I can start my Metal Charmer career!
What Sam finished this week:
Recursion by Blake Crouch: I adored Dark Matter and Ginny and Parker both adored this one so I picked it up on audio. About half way through and loving it, I need to know how it ends.
Descendant of the Crane by Joan He: WOWOWOWOWOW. I couldn’t put this down. I flew through it, only to be SO SAD that this isn’t a series. I seriously need to know more. RUDE.
What Sam’s reading now:
Booziebookathon Gin: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Oh holy shit, whyyyy did I think this book was over-hyped? It is perfectly hyped. I’m listening on audio and LOVING IT.
Booziebookathon White Wine and Smirnoff Ice: Demon in the Whitelands by Nikki Z. Richard: This had a slow start, but basically this is a post-apocalyptic story where all technology is banned. The bastard son of a cleric, Samuel, is basically thrust into the role of being a caretaker to what the mayor calls a “demon”. A child, albiet violent child, with one arm and doesn’t speak. His job is to befriend it/her. I’m enjoying it now… that I’m 2/3 the way through, but I don’t feel the urge to pick it back up each time…
The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad: Buddy reading with Ginny and Liz and also for book club. It’s taken an interesting turn but I don’t want to say too much here, because we still have to discuss as a group.
Ginny’s Update:
Currently Reading:
The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad: This is still for a book club, I’m still reading it slowly. There was a pretty big twist and I’m enjoying seeing it ripple out.
Leap Days: Chronicles of a Midlife Move by Katherin Lanpher: this is one of my books for Boozie Bookathon and it fulfills my Gin challenge (book on tbr forever). So far Katherine has moved to New York and is talking about how weird it is… yup. It’s gonna be that kind of book.
The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman: IT’S THAT TIME! I’m reading the fifth book in this series that I adore. Irene is being called in to act as mediator in a conversation between the Dragons and Fae. Her boss for the job is a major dick (and I’m pretty sure it’s going to turn out he’s even more sinister). Ugh, Loving this! (If you’d like to start at the beginning, my first review is here.
Finished
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah: Welp, Trevor Noah had a very interesting childhood. It’s interesting to read this book to see a completely different perspective of growing up. I’m used to hearing mostly Americanized, or at least overtly Western points of view, so to hear this story that was completely outside of what I consider the norm was endlessly interesting. I wasn’t super fond of the jumping around in time. I found it a little confusing at times, talking about his stepdad and then, chapters later, talking about how his stepdad came into his life. Overall, I still thought this was a strong narrative and would definitely suggest this to someone who likes biographies. 4.5/5
A Kiss for Midwinter by Courtney Milan: This is a novella that goes in the Brothers Sinister series. Gonna be honest, I don’t even remember who’s parents these are supposed to be and just read it as a standalone. It’s still charming. Dr. Grantham was there when as a teenager, Lydia was told she would never be in society becuase of a teenage pregnancy. He was also there years later as she wanted nothing to do with him. He’s quirky and she’s been hiding from things she hasn’t wanted to think about and it’s pretty damn fucking cute. I really enjoy the way Courtney writes her characters, there’s always depths. 4/5
Rafe: A Buff Male Nanny by Rebekah Weatherspoon: Yup, definitely back on my romance novel kick. This book was delightful as, as the author says, it’s pretty much just pure fluff. the kids are cute, and speak the way children do. Rafe was ridiculously attractive and a family man throughout. Sloan is ridiculously competent, dealing with a shitty ex-husband and just wants someone to make her life easy… Fortunately Rafe makes it very hard… that was terrible… I don’t apologize.4/5
An Unconditional Freedom by Alyssa Cole: Welp, Alyssa Cole is one of those always gonna read authors. I accidentally skipped book 2 (don’t worry, I’ll get back to it). This follows Elle’s friend from the first book Daniel, who is dealing with some emotional and psychological scars. Janeta Sanchez is trying to become a double spy in order to save her Southern beau and her family. Except, unsurprisingly, that beau is a jackass. But they’re in the Loyal League and trying to get some information. It’s interesting to read Daniel’s perspective and I liked getting both the internal and external perspective on him. Alyssa Cole is a phenomenal writer and ugh, so many good words. 4.5/5
The Soldier’s Scoundrel by Cat Sebastian: Well, Cat Sebastian is apparently another author where I’ll read everything. This is a delightful romance between Jack, who handles scandals behind the scenes, and Oliver, an ex-soldier who is worried that her sister has been scammed by Jack. They’re immediately attracted to each other but have to solve a mystery together for… reasons? REgardless, I really enjoy the way that Cat brings characters who might be outside of what is currently considered the norm, and shows the ways they could have lived in the past. She shows their struggles but makes sure they have a happy ending, and I just really enjoy that. Both of these characters are kind of dicks in their own way, but I enjoy their moments of earnestness. 4/5
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami: I’m not a runner. I don’t ever think I’m a runner. But I think it’s fascinating to read running books and learn about what drives other people. It seems that so often running helps them quiet their minds. This book was interesting and I enjoyed a peek into an authors/runners mind. 3.5/5
Captain Marvel: Volume One by Kelly Sue Deconnick (there’s a bunch of people on this but my read list is already 7 books long and there’s just a limit to what I have the patience and energy to do): This was delightful. I’m not super familiar with Captain Marvel but I met Kelly Sue at Bookcon and really enjoyed meeting her (I’ve also read Bitch Planet, which if anyone wants to read a dystopian comic I highly suggest this one). I loved the mystery of what was causing the illness, and the way she could read between the lines. Ugh. This is what I wish more comics were. 5/5
Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes: Probs gonna write a review on this one. Wait and see.
Temporary Break for BoozieBookaThon
Iron Gold by Pierce Brown: Gonna be honest, I don’t remember much from the original series but I used a random number general and this is what came up. I’m like two pages in so I’m mostly just confused.
Minda’s Update:
What Minda is reading now for Booziebookathon (and soon NEWTs):
The Liar’s Daughter by Megan Cooley Peterson – An ARC from ALA, out 9/10, for the Beer challenge. About a girl who was brainwashed by her father and his cult.
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick – As the winner of the 1963 Hugo Award, meets the Whiskey & Champagne challenges.
All Systems Red by Martha Wells – Following the longest, I thought I’d read the shortest for the Shot & White Wine challenges.
The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon – I’ve borrowed/returned/renewed this title eight times, which I think means it’s been on my list for awhile. This fulfills the trifecta: Vodka, Gin, and Red Wine challenges.
What Minda finished before Booziebookathon: 
Tiger Queen by Annie Sullivan – I actually finished this at the start of my trip. This was good—the world building was especially inventive since it came out of a short story with an open ending. Review to come.
All the Water in the World by Karen Raney – This book was super sad and really tugged at the heartstrings—at least for the first half. Drops in early August! Stay tuned for review.
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert – Listened to this one on audio during my flights… so many flights. But this book was super captivating! I would highly recommend reading the audiobook because of the writing style—it really feels like an old woman is telling her story to you. Also will review.
Clear My Name by Paula Daly – Crime fiction focused on a UK version of the innocence project. Edge-of-seat type stuff with an end twist I didn’t see coming. Also also will review!
Linz’s Update:
I was on family vacation–which we all know isn’t actually vacation–and still managed to get some reading done.
What Linz read:
No Judgments by Meg Cabot: One of the many Bookcon ARCs, this romcom-y book was…not great. The protagonist was pretty dumb and kind of shallow, the romance felt a little forced, and the resolution was really telegraphed.
Sophia, Princess Among Beasts by James Patterson: Woof. Basic. DNF.
We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia: Girls are raised to be sisterwives in this dystopic, Latin-inspired first of a series. The concept is actually pretty good and I loved the love story twist, but the worldbuilding left me wanting.
The Way You Make Me Feel by Maureen Goo: I liked this more than I thought I would. The protagonist is a monster, but I just spent the week with teenage relatives so it’s not inaccurate. Goo’s take on diversity is interesting and thoughtful. There is also a foodtruck and I was starving while reading.
Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay: My first finished book for booziebookathon AND MY HEART COULD NOT TAKE IT. Authentic, on point, emotional rollercoaster.
What Linz is currently reading:
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The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern: WHICH I AM BACKBURNER-ING BECAUSE OF BOOZIEBOOKATHON BUT I AM GOING TO CLAW MY FACE OFF UNTIL I CAN PICK IT BACK UP IT IS SO GOOD
– *About* to start Slay by Brittney Morris, but imma need a minute after finishing Patron Saints of Nothing
Until next time, we remain forever drunkenly yours,
Sam, Melinda, Linz, and Ginny
Weekly Wrap-Up: July 22-28, 2019 Hello fellow boozie readers! If you haven't heard about #Booziebookathon, it's our week long readathon we host every year!
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atlanxic · 7 years ago
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ok so i actually have an extensive arc-v/zexal crossover university au that i’ve talked a lot about on my private twitter and on discord but i think it’s time to put it all on tumblr. i wanted to make this all one post but i actually feel like it’s too much for that? so here’s part one of..... five or so?
yuuto, shun, and ruri lived in the same apartment complex as children, theyve known each other literally forever.
in middle school, yuuto & shun both discover hardcore/punk music and spend a couple years being kind of awkward and terrible about it until high school hits and they kind of level out. ruri teases them a lot for liking that awful racket but eventually she gets into it too, mostly because her and shun are kind of inseparable for quite some time. the three of them go to the local shitty music venue just about every weekend. for the first year or so ruri insists shes going to keep them out of trouble but like i said, she gets more into the music after a while.
shun and yuuto both mosh, shun probably more frequently than yuuto. they show up to school with bruises pretty often and rumours are started that they get in fights a lot or that theyre involved in a gang. there are also rumours that theyre dating, which dont go over very well, and result in them getting in actual fist fights a couple times. they try dating for like... 3 months in grade 7, and then decide that its weird and they work better as friends.
yuuto wears his hair in a mohawk for about a year before switching to the spiky mess we know and love. towards the end of middle school, they meet kaito at a prog-rock concert, all four of them pressed against the front rails together kaito and yuuto hit it off immediately, and exchange phone numbers after the show. shun is immensely suspicious. they text a lot, and then they start hanging out, and then they start going out. shun threatens to beat kaito up, kaito is fine with it, yuuto is not. etc.
meanwhile, ruri and sayaka meet in class. it doesn't even occur to shun to be suspicious of her until he catches them making out. he yells about it, sayaka is understandably frightened. ruri tells him off for scaring her girlfriend. she stays angry at him for longer than she has before. he eventually gives in and apologizes to both of them, but in a kind of dickish way.
yuuto and kaito break up towards the beginning of 11th grade. neither of them are upset about it, they stay friends. it was mostly because kaito felt like he needed to focus more on school, now that he's getting into college prep-level courses. yuuto cries about it once, and it takes several hours to convince shun that violence would be neither appropriate nor helpful.
all four of them move to a different city for college. sayaka goes to school in the town they grew up in. her and ruri stay in touch, but after half a year they decide that the long distance thing isn't working out for them. they still hang out when ruri and shun go back for the holidays, and its fairly bittersweet.
yuuto shun & ruri dont realize that kaito is going to the same school as them until all four of them are present at a queer alliance meet & greet. shun glares at him across the room for a while before yuuto notices he's there and goes over to say hello like a decent person. yuuto and kaito immediately hit it off again. theyre both kind of "fuck you grew into yourself really well im Gay."
immm gonna say that in first year, yuuto & shun live in the dorms together. they eventually decide the res life is not for them but. apartment hunting when youre like 18 and moving out for the first time is a bit much, so dorms it is.
anyway, shun catches yuuto and kaito making out in their shared dormroom like 3 fucking days after the meet and greet. kaito's expression is one of fear and conveys that he knows full well that shun is 2 seconds from beating him up. yuuto is kinda pissed off about it. yuuto and shun have a long conversation that night about how protective shun is. they fall asleep in each other's arms.
kaito avoids them for a little while, but the next time they see him, shun makes a genuine apology. yuuto and kaito start dating again a few weeks later. ruri is surprised and delighted about it. ruri ends up dormed with rin in first year.
they get along reasonably well, but they dont get close until rin accidentally lets slip that she's gay, and then ruri is like "oh thank god, me too." the context is probably: that yuugo visits them like basically every other day, and is Really Obviously In Love with rin, and rin's affectionate with him, so ruri just kind of assumes theyre dating. and at one point is like, do you want me to go somewhere else so you guys can make out, i could hang out with my brother tonight its nbd. yuugo blushes bright red and is like aaaaa its not like that, like, exactly like he does in canon. and rin's like “lmao im gay. i mean. what.”
ruri probably ids as pan? but anyway, shes like "ohhhh cool me too.” they both kind of stare at each other while this new info sinks in, and then yuugo says something and the moment is broken.
this is still a bit before yuugo's gay crisis
[later, during yuugo's gay crisis about yuuya] [rin] yuugo you had a crush on a boy in /middle school/ [yuugo] no i didnt i had a crush on you [rin] you used to complain to me about how hot he was like every lunch break [yuugo] that doesn't mean anything? [rin] obviously it does? how are you only realizing this now
ruri discovers that rin's been wanting to go to queer alliance meetings but has been too shy about it, so she drags her along. and someone mistakes them for yuzu and selena. idk who it would be..... sawatari maybe?
sawatari is like, Flaming Gay, a legitimate twink despite iding as bi.
anyway theyre like, thats not us, youre mistaken, and sawatari, instead of fucking off, is like, "holy fuck you have to meet them, you look so much the same it's eery." sawatari drags them through the party for like 20 minutes before actually finding yuzu and selena, and he's like "look i told you."
and all four of them are kind of like "holy fuck???" they get a selfie together, its not very good because the lighting is terrible, and they spend the rest of the evening hanging out.
yuzu and selena had a class together and hit it off immediately, theyre already dating. theyre a bit surprised to learn that ruri and rin /aren't/ dating. rin blushes at the suggestion and gets raised eyebrows all around. the four of them become fast friends and start getting lunch together and studying together on a regular basis.
ruri and rin meet yuuya through them, and because yuuya is friends with Everyone, they become friends as well. which sets the stage for yuuya and yuugo meeting, and yuugo's consequent gay crisis.
shun, ruri, and yuuto as pakistani immigrants, they arrived when they were very very young but they get a lot of shit for it anyway, especially ruri, who wears a hijab.
i figure the commons would be mostly latinx/mixed. so like, yuugo, rin, and shinji are all latinx. i rlly like the concept of black crow with a bleached-orange hi-top fade and subtle freckles. yuuya, yuzu, and gongenzaka can pprrobably be white? dennis could be ethnically jewish & light-skinned. fusion dimension crew are mostly japanese, so sora, yuuri, and selena. i.. am not really sure about reiji? following the theme i guess white/japanese mixed. tsukikage is japenese & immigrated like within his memory rather than a few generations back, he's bilingual. jack is latino and white-passing.
i like the concept of shun as a veterinary student, partly because i think he'd follow his interest in birds if things hadn't gone horribly wrong and partly because i find the idea of this edgy asshole in scrubs really funny. yuuto takes social work and ends up with crow as a teacher. yuuya, dennis, sawatari, and sora are all drama majors. yuuri is in botany. reiji is a law major, as well as being on the debate team and the student council. he never fuckign sleeps. shun also joins the debate team, and they do Not get along, but since debate team is the yelling hobby anyway, thats fine. yuzu is in the music program. selena is in poli-sci. yuugo stays in engineering. i dont, know about the rest of everyone.
conceptually, this is a north-eastern reasonably liberal college town, featuring two colleges and a trade school. one college is for the arc v kids, the other one will eventually be populated with zexal kids when i get to know them. kaito starts in zexal school and transfers at the beginning of second year. everyone is in first year rn except reiji and tsukikage, who are in second year, and also are dorming together, and also are gay.
so now that thats all set up!! back to the plot!!
ruri and rin meeting yuzu and selena happens a couple weeks after ruri and sayaka break up. selena hears about it and is like, hey if you need a rebound i can hook you up with someone, and ruri is like. "i feel like itd be disrespectful to date someone else before im over sayaka, ill stay single for a while." she never actually completely gets over sayaka, but she does eventually get enough emotional distance to move on. every time she goes home for the holidays they have awkward not-quite-gay moments.
much like in sfu, sawatari is loaded and hosts house parties whenever his father is away on business trips.
once the 4 girls are hanging out on a regular basis, they all sort of get to know each other's orbital boys. like rin and ruri get introduced to yuuya and get to know sawatari better. yuuya's goal is to be friends with absolutely everyone, and they make good progress on it.
yuzu and selena get to meet yuugo. yuugo is starry-eyed at all four of them, but alas, they are all too gay for him. at one point selena slaps him in the face and he spends like the next two weeks thinking about it lmao
likewise, they all get to meet shun. shun immediately decides that he is going to protect all of them. rin finds it kind of cute, yuzu finds it kind of weird, selena is outright offended about it. they get along a lot better with yuuto, since yuuto is just, easier to get along with. he joins their lunch dates once in a while, as does yuuya.
selena and yuuri met in their high school gsa and relentlessly gossip about everyone they meet. selena introduces yuuri to the rest of the girls exactly once, it does not go well. probably kye gives them all backhanded compliments. shun hears about this from ruri later and decides that yuuri is his enemy.
the first time yuuya and yuugo meet, its because the girls have invited both of them to lunch. yuuya introduces themself with a firm handshake and a wink. yuuya flirts a bit throughout the meal, as they tend to do. yuzu tells yuugo after the fact like, "dont mind them, theyre always like that." yuugo tries not to think about it much.
the second time they meet is at one of sawatari's giant house parties. yuuya, being slightly inebriated, is even more flirtacious than usual. yuugo gets it into his head that this is some kind of challenge, and refuses to back down from yuuyas advances until theyre in a closet together and yuuyas hand is up his shirt.
the next gay he visits rin to have a gay crisis. ruri politely sees herself out so they can talk.
i want to say shun is having a similar crisis about having come very close to having a one night stand with reiji. not because it was gay but because he hates the guy.
rin is exasperated but understanding, she rubs yuugo's back and calls him a pathetic baby while he whines. by the end of their conversation, yuugo has accepted that he's bi, and additionally, that making out is Great and he should do more of it. rin is slightly worried and gives him a safe sex talk, he yells and covers his ears during the entire thing.
meanwhile, shun is like "i fucking hate that guy why was it so satisfying to bite him" and ruri is like "bro i love you but thats way tmi, please do not tell me about your sadistic hatesex kink or whatever the fuck it is youre trying to convey." yuuto, also present, is like "i cant believe you made out with that asshole, and you still have the nerve to get angry at basically anyone i kiss for no fucking reason." shun swears up and down that it will not happen again, and also says that he has already apologized several times for being possessive about both of them, please let him live it down.
(it absolutely does happen again.)
(the second time they actually do go all the way, it is the best sex of shun's life, and he's upset about it.)
[yuuto voice] you have a Problem, why cant you date someone decent and have vanilla sex like the rest of us
rin slowly develops a huge crush on ruri. when she tells yuugo about it, hes like "yeah she's really pretty i completely understand."
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