#like the one really cool thing and everyone involved is just like…nah let’s focus on uninteresting stuff instead

[bereft-of-frogs]

I will always be a little mad - at both Leigh Bardugo and the showrunner for Shadow and Bone - that they introduced the most interesting concept and then just dropped it never to be heard from again.

What the fuck happened to the Council of Tides. Where are they. Were they just too cool for you???? Why must you tempt me with this fire concept and then never mention it again? Why????? Explain.

[osmpalliumduo]

Dream smp actor au my beloved

First season

Dream is a very famous actor, his movies got recognition very quickly regardless of being a pretty new actor, the most popular out of all of his movies being “Manhunt” an action movie that has a lot of improv and fighting scenes

After his second movie of Manhunt he decided that along side with some of his close friends and co-workers to start a tv-show called the Dream smp

It took a really long while to get all the actors for the first season, a lot of planning and getting people to work on sets and props

Some of the actors Dream got to participate were his close friends Sapnap and George who were in the cast of his last movies “Manhunt”

Tommyinnit was a kid Dream found in a small community of actors called “Hypixel: Sky Block series” he went ahead and literally snatched him from that serie and added him as one of the main leads of the storyline of his serie

Tubbo was kind of a addition out of the blue, Tommy after joining the cast decided to take Tubbo with him, a fellow friend and co-worker in the Hypixel series. Dream didn’t had a problem with it after realizing that both kids were insanely talented

Wilbur was, in Dream’s words, the best addition to the cast he could had ever imagined, Wilbur had been in the past in several other popular shows like “SMP Live” and “SMP Earth”

Wilbur not only did an excellent work as an actor but also added so much into the story, helping Dream several times with the storyline and script, eventually becoming a co-writer of the script over all season one

Making the serie itself was hard, but getting everything together and editing was a whole lot of work

But the most difficult thing was actually acting, the thing was that the whole cast of the serie got along so well, that when it was the time to actually act, getting in character was kinda impossible

Even for Dream was difficult to get in character

The whole war declaration took at least five shots because Dream kept breaking character or Sapnap kept wheezing

Eret’s betrayal was one of the last scenes to be recorded because it was just really really hard for the cast to actually act hurt or not joke between lines

The Tommy vs Dream duel was so funny to the cast, even more when Tommy was done with makeup and he literally had an arrow inserted in his stomach

So many memes, so many

The L’manberg era was one of the most difficult to act and write, the cast being new and not used to the whole atmosphere

But when the election and pogtopia era hit in, it was much more easy for the actors to take everything much more serious

Jschlatt and Technoblade were added to the cast and it was insane for everyone, both actors being really close friends of Wilbur because of their old projects together (SMP Live, SMP Earth, etc)

The election arc was, described by the whole cast, as one of the best parts of the whole season

Quackity would pull this insane improvs moments between shots and everyone would just have to run with it, getting a lot of extra but very cool scenes

Tommy and Tubbo would just pull the strangest faces in shots whenever they knew that the camara focus wasn’t in them just to try to make each other laugh

Niki and Awesamdude would sneak food into the set all the time, bags of chips, coffee, chocolate, sometimes even cake

Wilbur, Schlatt and Quackity had this whole competition between them where they would literally live inside the set and whoever stayed the longest would win 100 dlls

The pogtopia era was more easy to record, but much harder to act

Wilbur had lots of trouble being actually mean to Tommy and overall acting as an antagonist

When recording sometimes he would just stop and ask Tommy if he was okay and make sure to let all of the cast know he didn’t meant what he was saying

Tubbo Schlatt and Quackity had overall a very good time recording, most of the time laughing after hard scenes and joking around

Not Schlatt and Techno collectively suffering cus they got at least three hours of makeup prep because of tusks and horns 😭✋

The pogtopia set was one of the hardest to archive, this one having legit stares and buttons on the walls

Tubbo and Wilbur fell down those stares at least five times, Techno almost convinced Dream to use a harness on set

Technoblade revealing the vault full of weapons and stuff for the revolution was such a difficult scene to make because everyone kept messing around with the cool props

Schlatts death was easy to act, as soon as he died he made a peace sign and screamed “I’m outta here!” And proceed to walk out of the set😐

Moving on, Philza’s addition to the last episode of the season was something most of the cast wasn’t aware of, most of the reactions (besides Philza and Wilbur) being completely genuine

Philza is known for his famous serie called Hardcore and a couple of appearances on others people’s series

The end of the season was something hard to do, people had to use harnesses and when explosions occurred they had to be literally thrown into the air getting a lot of genuine screams

Tommy was supposed to be the president of L’manberg but he decided to pass the power to Tubbo in a moment of improv, Dream and Wilbur liked that scene a whole lots

The cast made Wilbur a funeral party after the last shot, lot of people got drunk while Phil just took care of the minors and made sure they didn’t get in trouble <3

Second season

The second season was something that all the fandom awaited eagerly, wanting to see what had happened with L’manberg and the beloved characters, so Dream and Wilbur made sure to make everything perfect, everything connecting points on the story

Ranboo was one of the new additions, a new actor that worked on his own going from place to place, the well known place like Hypixel, Bedwars (Invited by Purpled) and in his own side of TikTok

Dream found out about him and decided to add him just on a go, he of course wasn’t ready for the big impact the boy would have in the story at all

Now, Ranboo is one in the suffering gang, every morning having to spend hours in makeup along side with Tubbo (horns) Wilbur (ghost) and Tommy (exile appearance)

By the way, Ranboo’s storyline was supposed to be separated from the whole L’manberg and Exile story, but Tommy and Tubbo liked him a lot so decided to add him on their storylines

Tommy was supposed to burn down George’s house alone, but the same day they were recording he asked Dream to add Ranboo. And Tubbo decided to make Ranboo his minutes man out of the blue with simple improv and Ranboo went along with it

Oh, talking about Exile

If the cast thought Pogtopia had been hard to act??? Wait for the Exile arc

Literal pain, for literally everyone involved

Tommy is a lil shit but it was legitimately difficult for Dream to be actually that villain and manipulate and ahg, pain

Tubbo and Tommy had so much trouble recording the whole fight scene at the wall, it took at least three days to get the shot right because Tommy and Tubbo couldn’t stop breaking character or laughing

Oh yeah, it was difficult to this kids to stay away from each other, they were so used to working together that it was legitimately difficult to not be together

Which caused for Tommy and Tubbo to sneak into eachother sets and try to chat and just vibe together which would end up with Ranboo dragging Tommy away from Tubbos set and Quackity doing as well with Tubbo

New L’manberg was nice to record, Tubbo tells when he is asked about it, it was a really nice change for the dynamics, including Ranboo and Fundy more, tho he missed Tommy dearly during the recordings

At the very end of exile, one of the last shots, most exactly when Dream has to blow up Tommys stuff, he accidentally tripped with one of the props and ended up breaking a leg

The recording went straight to Twitter where people lost their shit over the scene, mostly because Dream tried to continue the scene with improv but Tommy lost his shit and they had to take the whole shot again after Dream got checked up

Technos execution was planned to happen really early in the season but Techno kept forgetting that he had to get on set so they had to move it slightly at the end, the end of exile and the execution hitting at the same time

The butcher army cast had the idea of the bloody aprons, Dream had this whole thing were they would have this really cool uniforms but they just went “nah, bloody aprons”

Ranboo was supposed to have one as well but he tried to use his character’s morals to get out of it, he succeeded, no bloody apron for Ranboo :)

The whole execution scene at Technos house was so funny to record, things without effects are extremely hilarious

Quackity kept messing up his lines, Tubbo kept falling and tripping when he had to run, Ranboo just didn’t knew what to do, Fundy kept blocking “hits” that he was supposed to take

Techno just wanted to be finished already, he was so tired 🥲

Moving on, the whole death scene where Techno uses the totem of undying was mostly made with editing, the anvil was a green square made out of foam, and the totem was just a green stick

Really funny without effects, really badass after editing

Moving on! Tommy living in a hole was literally not planned, Tommy was supposed to try and hide inside Technos room but he said fuck that and made the team make another entire set for something that would last tops a week 😐

Techno and Tommy had a blast doing the whole “Welcome Home Theseus”. The scene was taken perfectly the first shot because the both of them were so excited for that scene

Finally Tommy can leave the suffering makeup gang cuz his character is healthier now 😌✌️Techno is now taking his place suffering in makeup prep because of his scars and tusks

The day of the Festival was so important to the storyline so everyone was extremely nervous before recording, but it was okay, the whole episode came out really well

Tommy and Techno had to use green capes between the invisible shots and it was just hilarious for everyone on set

Tubbo accidentally forgot his speech and had to improvise in front of all the crew

Dream fell at least twice when he was “building” the walls around L’manberg again

Tubbo and Tommy kept laughing or apologizing to eachother while in the fighting scene

Tubbo accidentally slipped and the disc Mellohi accidentally broke when he was about to give it to Dream 😬

The whole Doomsday deal was something really really hard

A lot of what happened was made with editing so most of what happened on set was just green screens and sounds out of computers to let the actors know what was happening

Technos dogs were actually from a fan! This fan had this whole adoption establishment and decided to let the cast use em for the recording! They even got a tour :)

Technos and Tommy’s whole exchange during doomsday is supposed to be heartbreaking and sad to watch, but Techno and Tommy have such a good relationship that they just, kept laughing, Tommy kept making faces and Techno’s voice wasn’t genuine while saying his lines

Ghostbur’s exchange with Phil almost didnt happened because Wilbur kept refusing to spend five hours in makeup prep lmfao

The whole cast did sang the L’manberg anthem after it was blown up, even Dream and Techno. The clip of the cast just singing will forever stay in Twitter

The aftermath of doomsday was a good change of things, much more calm recording sessions for at least a few weeks

Snowchester was something that Tubbo came up with as pure improv, he liked the idea of some kind of retirement place so he decided to add it after doomsday

Ranboo moving in with Phil and Techno was complete improv as well from Phil’s and Techno’s part, Ranboo literally had no idea what was happening when Phil invited him to live with em

Ranboo literally got snatched lmao

Endgame or the final disk war was surely something

The prop team had to make bout four new sets in the matter of a week, the most hard one to make being the mountain one

Tommy and Tubbo knew that the whole episode would be hard to record but they were still extremely hyped just because they got to record together again as besties

Makeup time at the end was about eight hours, Tommy suffered a lot while Tubbo was just used to it at this point

THE WHOLE PRISON SCENE WHERE ALL THE SERVER GOES THROUGH THE PORTAL??? PAIN.

Everyone is lost, no one knows when to cross, people are missing armor, no one knows where the fuck George is, Punz keeps breaking his sword accidentally, everything is falling apart

Quackity wanted to play a prank on the cast by appearing shirtless in the super intense scene but everyone was so tired of recording that Quackity was actually shirtless in the final shot

Dream stayed in his obsidian box at least half an hour because Tommy kept messing up his lines

At the end of the season, where Dream is finally taken to prison Wilbur makes his appearance to Tubbos and Tommys surprise

Their reactions were genuine because only Dream and Wilbur knew that part of the script

Overall, the end of the season was amazing and the fandom went insane with it

Extra stuff <3

Nobody knows if Skeppy and Bad are actually dating or not, it is a mystery for everyone

Most of the pets used in set were borrowed from fans :)

The Drista saga are used as comedic relief or filler episodes, Drista being actually Dream’s lil sister who insisted in wanting to appear in the show as a god

Michael is actually Technos little brother who went to the set a couple of times cus Techno was babysitting him. He made his way into some of Ranboos and Tubbos shots, after that they decided to adopt him and make Michael canon just cus they liked the kid a lot

Dream decided to give Karl the chance to have a spin off of the show called Tales of the smp after realizing his talent at storytelling. Karl had the possibility to get new actors for the serie but he decided to use the same cast and just make them act differently, the fandom loved it

Wilbur and Tommy had this cool idea between them and after a while of writing and planning they decided to start their own show called the “Origins SMP” featuring some of their friends from other shows, not only the Dream smp

[thanks for reading lol, I think I got slightly carried away]

[shihalyfie]

Yamato, Adventure’s most dramatically emotional cast member

The “edgy cool bishounen rival” has been such a staple of shounen anime for years that the moment you look at Yamato and his position next to Taichi, it’s easy to go “ah, yep, there it is.” But just like how Taichi’s actually very different from the shounen hero stereotype, Yamato, despite what his first impression and character design might suggest, is in fact the complete opposite!

Actually, I’ll start this off with an interesting story from Yamato’s own voice actor, Kazama Yuuto:

Yeah. When my agent asked me which role I wanted to try out, I thought I couldn’t do a pretty boy character like him, so I was really astonished when I was chosen for the role. Afterwards, when I asked Kakudou-san [the director] about it, he said that he’d decided on me the instant I’d come in... I’d heard that Yamato was a cool character, which I thought was a part of him that didn’t agree with me. So there was that factor in the beginning. But I learned that he was actually quite similar to me, and a surprisingly passionate guy.

I don’t generally have a huge tendency to include voice actor comments in analysis about writing, but I do think it says a lot that even his own voice actor walked in expecting the typical “pretty boy rival” character to the extent that he felt he’d have difficulty doing the role at all, only for the actual nature of Yamato’s character to catch him off guard! Because, yeah, that really is the case: Yamato’s first impression really is very deceptive, and his actual personality is, indeed, full of open passion and emotion in nearly every way.

Yamato in Adventure

...No, really, it really does not take long for it to be very clear that Yamato’s immediately not like the stereotype his character archetype would suggest, considering that even as early as Adventure episode 2, he was depicted as very obviously being open about his opinions, even if that made him quick to criticize.

When you talk about “rival” characters, usually, the reason such characters seem cold and standoffish is that there’s a certain degree of pride to them, or, in other words, they want to keep up a facade of being “cool” and rational and thus aren’t quick to show their emotions. But Yamato isn’t like that at all! From the very beginning, he speaks often, is very open and honest about his thoughts, and doesn’t seem to even really care what others think at all.

The Adventure novels do, in fact, make clear that he was more closed-in prior to arriving in the Digital World, and these bursts of emotion were actually unusual behavior for him at the time -- but it’s not because he’s prideful or anything! Firstly, it wasn’t necessarily that he deliberately cut himself off from others -- rather, he was still willing to engage in some degree of friendly interaction:

It wasn’t because he was lonely. In fact, many of his classmates would greet him with a friendly “Yo!” or “Hi~!” when they came across him and, naturally, Yamato would respond back with a smile.

And, in fact, said novel indicates that there’s a lot going on deeper than him merely suppressing his emotions for the sake of it:

The people around Yamato may have thought that he was a cold, aloof person, but that was only because he didn’t show what he thought to other people. When had he become like that? He hadn’t been like that when he was younger. But after his parents decided to divorce and his mom took Takeru by the hand and left home… Don’t go! Please don’t go! Don’t leave me! The truth was, he had wanted to plead with her and cry — but he couldn’t. Part of it had to do with his father standing by his side. Maybe his mother had secretly wished for Yamato to say that to her. But at that moment, Yamato had thought that he would never show weakness in front of his mom, even if he died from it. It was his own decision to follow his dad. Ever since coming to the Digital World, even Yamato was surprised by how much emotion he expressed. All of the emotion that he’d held back while at home, at school, had come bursting out without pause.

It’s also important to understand the reasons why he blows up so easily at Taichi in Adventure episodes 3 and 6 and whatnot -- he does it because he’s constantly looking out for the others and worried about their welfare. Pretty much all of the arguments he has with Taichi for the majority of the series involve him objecting to his perception of Taichi as insensitive, because Taichi has a tendency to tease others or bid for everyone to keep pushing forward into dangerous situations or when they’re tired. So, really, Yamato gets angered and emotional and picks his fights with Taichi because he cares too much, not because he’s deliberately trying to cultivate an image of being detached. Once they were outside the range of his family and their classmates and stranded in another world, Yamato’s bleeding heart instantly won out, and he started advocating for the welfare of everyone else.

This is why Yamato’s the one who gets the Crest of Friendship, because even though he starts off by putting up a defensive wall between himself and the others and seems very difficult to deal with, even when he gets angry and upset, he’s constantly upset on other people’s behalf. Even from the very beginning of the series, he’s actually one of the most caring people in the cast!

Really, the entire first few introductory episodes with Yamato can be pretty succinctly described as Yamato coping really badly with all those years of emotional suppression and letting it out in some pretty severe outbursts, especially when it comes to Takeru, whom he’d never been able to properly take care of as an older brother due to their parents’ divorce. (And while he’s definitely a little better at managing it, Takeru himself is actually also doing a pretty bad job with that whole emotional suppression and lack of catharsis thing.) Standoffish and cold? Nah -- not when Yamato has the single highest count of openly breaking down and crying out of the whole cast in Adventure.

And, for all it’s worth, remember that stereotypical “cold rival” characters in this kind of shounen series would normally be very ashamed at others seeing them so emotional, but Yamato...doesn’t really seem to care about the others seeing him do some really embarrassingly reckless stuff during his episodes of exploding over Takeru’s welfare. Once it’s past him, he doesn’t really dwell on it and moves on. Again: Yamato isn’t the kind of person who actually cares that much about what other people think of him.

Adventure episode 18 is an often-overlooked episode when it comes to Yamato, but it’s significant because it makes it clear that he doesn’t really have a problem being conversational and friendly with others (especially since, remember, any emotional suppression had more to do with the trauma and sensitive feelings surrounding his parents’ divorce and a desire to not show weakness) -- he starts a very lighthearted, friendly chat with Koushirou over why they’re looking for their Crests, and even admits that the reason he wants his own Crest is that he’s self-conscious about the idea of everyone else changing and improving as people while he gets left behind. That’s a really personal thing to admit, and arguably something very sensitive! It’s something you wouldn’t even blame him for potentially being self-conscious about! But he’s perfectly humble in admitting that this is something he wants to improve in, and carries on this entire conversation in a light-hearted, cheerful manner.

This episode takes place during a time where everything seems to be “safe” (they’re within Piccolomon’s barrier and finally have a proper place to sleep), and are on the verge of finding their own Crests in a situation that does not ostensibly involve running for their lives, so this is when you get to see Yamato in a relaxed situation. And, really, he’s very friendly and open, with no restraint about it. He really isn’t the kind of person to be condescending or cold by nature!

It’s even more incorrect to pin Yamato as someone who tries to act more on rationality (again, like the “cold rival” stereotype would suggest) because, in fact, he’s the kind of person who gets completely carried away by his own caring for others to the extent of irrationality. For instance, in Adventure episode 23 when his conflicting loyalties to Takeru versus wanting to help Jou in his situation get all mixed up, and he tries to buy into PicoDevimon's trick to turn Jou against him as a solution to taking sides before Jou clearly indicates this is the case, and Yamato doesn't hesitate to feel really bad about it. Openly so. Condescension? Nah.

No, really, I could just keep taking screenshots from Adventure all day if you want evidence of “Yamato is openly and passionately emotional to explosive degrees because he cares too much about others, and makes no real pretense of hiding it.” If you’re still not convinced, I don’t know what to tell you.

When Yamato infamously succumbs to Jureimon’s bait in Adventure episode 44 and ends up picking a fight with Taichi -- possibly his most self-centered action in the entire series -- it’s interesting to see that Jureimon does use the word “rival”, the same word used in anime trope lingo to describe “the person you’re constantly fighting with and competing with in order to improve yourself”. The reason why this is fascinating is that Adventure is making a point here that this kind of “stereotypical anime rival” relationship would be extremely unhealthy for these characters.

No, really: at least as far as Yamato’s concerned, and what defines the kind of “friendship” these particular kids need, what these kids need is mutual emotional support, not engineered conflict that can be passed off as “they fight but it’s a sign of how much they know each other!” Remembering that Adventure is, in many ways, a series that prioritizes wanting to focus on portraying the intimate nature of human behavior, it’s not surprising that it goes out of its way to make clear that centering your relationship with a friend around needing to “outdo” them is a really bad thing. (Observe how 02′s Daisuke and Ken also don’t fit the “rivals” archetype at all and are merely a straightforward relationship of best friends in little to no conflict, despite occupying the stereotypical position.)

But Jureimon successfully digs into all of Yamato’s insecurities about his perceived lack of self-improvement and his tendency to compare himself to the polar-opposite Taichi in terms of Taichi’s charisma and way of (ostensibly) playing better to Takeru’s dislike of being coddled. And so, the engineered conflict happens, and, of course, it traumatizes everyone around them. When Yamato finally manages to get over himself after some timely intervention from “the one who seeks stability” (Homeostasis) in Adventure episode 45, everyone in the group is miserable from the ordeal.

Adventure episode 51 basically lays down the two major issues Yamato had been facing up until that point, and ties it into a neat bow: the reason Yamato had become so obsessed with self-improvement was because he wanted to prove he was "independent" and "not weak", but in the end, he still sees himself as an inferior person compared to everyone else -- culminating in him eventually seeing Taichi as a better person than him. Gabumon reaches out to Yamato by clarifying Yamato’s right to not compete, but be unique; it’s not about competing or being a “better” or “worse” version of others, it’s finding his important niche in the group or in the world with the things only he’s good at. Yamato says it in explicit words in Two-and-a-Half Year Break:

Dad doesn’t remember. On the day when we had to decide whether Takeru or I would go with him… Neither Dad or Mom could decide, so I did. I thought, this way, Takeru would be able to stay with Mom. I chose for myself. And after that, I always chose for myself. Or that’s what I’d planned to. Even though I was called a Chosen Child, it was me who was going to choose what to do. No way was I going to be used for other people’s convenience. Maybe that’s why I went so far to keep myself from making friends. But in the end, I acknowledged that what I was doing was unreasonable. After all, I’m not living in this world by myself. If I hadn’t met Gabumon, I never would have realized that. The person I am right now, is not alone.

As long as Yamato only ever sees himself as a replaceable piece meant to fill in the same niches as everyone else, he’ll continue to be horribly critical of himself for not being a perfect person and ultimately being “useless” or “not necessary”. But it’s not about being perfect or a better or worse replacement, it’s about embracing himself and what he can do in his own way, and, indeed, at the end of the episode, Yamato’s arrival on the scene makes it clear that the group ultimately needs both of them, not just one.

It’s also interesting in that, whereas most of the kids (especially in the Adventure finale) are very open about their own feelings to their own partners, Yamato and Gabumon are capable of “communicating” in some sense just by Yamato playing the harmonica. But it’s perhaps because Yamato is normally so open and passionate about his own feelings that such a tacit method is something they can do -- they’ve already bared themselves to each other so many times already, that in the end, all they need to do is just enjoy the abstract things together.

Yamato in 02 and after

So by the time we get to 02, any trace of coldness or detachment from Yamato has completely vanished.

I cannot emphasize this enough: completely vanished. Even in the middle of being a heartthrob for the teenagers in school thanks to his good looks and work with his band, he’s open and lacking in condescension whatsoever, and it’s basically like seeing the openly friendly Yamato from Adventure episode 18 for a whole series. Actually, it already says a lot that he’s in a band, considering it feels like shifting his music activities to a full-on band is there to make a deliberate statement that Yamato is now much better at socializing and working in organized groups now -- it’s a far cry from having to work solo or independently, and it’s significant that “the person who wanted to be able to do everything by himself” is now interested in doing something a bit more cooperative. (And to lend further to the idea he’s sentimental and constantly thinks of others, his band, the TEEN-AGE WOLVES, is all but confirmed to be named in indirect tribute to Gabumon.)

He’s open, conversational, makes a lot of silly faces throughout the series, and basically the only thing he has left that remotely resembles the “pretty boy rival” stereotype is that he’s deep in the aesthetic. But even then, you get the impression that he just does that because he genuinely likes it, not because he’s trying to be “cooler than you” or anything. And it’s easy to see why: Yamato, quite simply, got over himself. He stopped restraining himself all the time in his attempts to become a perfect person, and simply let himself loose to express himself how he wanted, and ultimately became a perfectly sociable and friendly person who’s now even popular at school!

Yamato’s punch on Taichi in 02 episode 10 is often taken as evidence that Taichi and Yamato embody the “rivals who constantly get in fights but are somehow still friends” trope, but this tends to avoid the actual context of the rest of the scene -- in fact, Daisuke himself rightfully points out that if Yamato had done this out of any actual anger or condescension, this would have been a really cruel thing to do to Taichi when he’s already going through so much. But Yamato’s not doing this out of resentment or condescension, he’s doing this for Taichi’s own sake to help him get out of his stupor, and the important part here is that he immediately holds out a hand to him afterwards. Or, in other words, this isn’t something they’re doing out of conflict, but out of communication, and it’s now at the point where Taichi understands Yamato’s intent, and Yamato knows that what he wanted to do would be conveyed to Taichi, without words.

That is why Taichi and Yamato are finally so close now: they understand each other’s feelings. They’re not competing with each other. They’re not resenting each other. They’re sympathetic and forgiving of each other, and they communicate, verbally or otherwise.

It’s followed by a scene in 02 episode 11 that’s also often construed as Taichi and Yamato advocating fighting as part of a healthy friendship, but, again, this omits context: they talk about their fighting in past tense! They’re referring as fighting having been part of the things they had to do to understand each other now, when they clearly aren’t in that kind of conflict anymore. The idea they’re espousing is that Daisuke and Takeru need to let out their feelings and have some catharsis if they want to truly understand each other (which is, indeed, how Taichi and Yamato eventually settled their differences) and hopefully get to a position of mutual understanding, instead of the others forcing them to have peace for the sake of peace and not letting their feelings get out on the table. (And, ultimately, Daisuke spends the rest of the episode thinking about Takeru’s position, and none of the 02 kids ever end up in this bad of a brawl for the rest of the series, yet manage to build a friendship in spite of that -- so, yes, the important part was that they had their feelings out in the open and got catharsis, not fighting in itself.)

Yamato also has an interesting role in the 02 drama CDs, including one entirely devoted to him (Letter). Said drama CD has quite a few things to note:

Gabumon says that Yamato being rather silent and not speaking up about what he’s thinking is unusual behavior for him.

As much as Yamato’s managed to do a better job opening up in general, he’s still suffering from extreme self-worth issues, considering himself as worthless if he’s not able to do anything for a girl in the hospital, even though it’s of course completely reasonable he can’t do much. Despite that, he continues to emotionally fixate on her welfare and basically self-flagellate and do a lot of pretty emotionally occupied things in the process.

Speaking of getting emotionally occupied, as much as he ends up snapping a bit at the people on the beach who keep annoying the hell out of him, he eventually feels so bad for the shaved ice seller that he forces himself to eat it just for him. (Even though it’s freezing.)

Yamato’s a really poetic person. Almost sappily so.

On top of that, Armor Evolution to the Unknown gives us an ever-so-slight glimpse of his dating life with Sora -- which, while he hadn’t been super-flagrant about, he also hadn’t been hiding either (he’s clearly willing to engage in a bit of PDA as per 02 episode 43), and, if the admittedly-kind-of-crack drama CD is to believed, he’s actually very emotionally passionate about his relationship to her, and very dedicated! Beyond just the (very sudden) passionate declaration of love to her in the middle of tap dancing, when Sora is found to have been worrying about him being cold lately, he immediately goes out of his way to try and make things right and prove his love...

Yamato’s initial appearance in Kizuna pretty much defines in a nutshell what his and Taichi’s relationship eventually turned out to be: they’re willing to banter because they’re comfortable with each other, but when it all comes down to it, they appreciate and trust each other deeply. Again, the point is that Yamato and Taichi are emotionally there for each other, considering that (even if he ribs Taichi a bit for it) Yamato’s willing to come all the way down to meet Taichi for late-night beer and talk to him through his emotional troubles.

And, yes, Yamato’s still there to be a concerned minder for Taichi and to make sure he doesn’t get too inconsiderate of what he’s doing -- but there’s no conflict over it, just the two of them balancing their necessary roles as part of the group and keeping each other in check. Again, as was made clear back in Adventure, it’s not about one person being more necessary than the other, it’s them both working together to fulfill their own roles.

As one of the central characters in the movie, Yamato’s also having an existential crisis of adulthood, and in his case, it’s that he’s playing everything too much by ear but isn’t really sure what he wants to commit to. He’s still enjoying music as a hobby, but it’s apparent he doesn’t want to commit to it as a career (which is, well, quite the common thing for those who have hobbies in middle school) -- and moreover, the novel indicates that it’s not bringing him happiness the way it used to. (The movie goes out of its way to depict Yamato feeling isolated with both a harmonica and a band, referencing that neither Adventure nor 02′s ways are doing it for him anymore.)

Beyond the motorcycle we see Yamato driving a few times in the movie, the official website profile makes it clear that this is one of his major new interests, and it’s presumably why he’s also attending an engineering school -- he can’t decide on a long-term goal, so he’ll at least experiment with the thing he likes. Yamato’s always been someone who thinks with emotions and feelings, so it fits him.

We also learn that he’s surprisingly studious, and is picking up some things that run contrary to his image (the glasses!), including the fact he seems to like school enough that he wants to do more school while he figures out what he wants to do. This is something that happens in real life for a certain kind of person in a career-based existential crisis -- as many people as there are who play very badly with educational structures, there are also people who rely very heavily on the structure of college or grad school basically handing you tasks to do on a plate, and find the job market to be scarier than staying within that bubble. It’s not too unreasonable to imagine that Yamato, who in certain ways has never really been the kind of person to assertively have an idea of “this is what I want to do!” and generally works by immediate feelings instead of long-term goals, would end up becoming that kind of person. As he says, it’s really just him trying to postpone the inevitable decision and get a grace period.

Since “shutting out one’s own partner (and therefore one’s own inner self)” is key to the cause of partner dissolution, Yamato’s way of it isn’t as direct as Taichi or Sora (who end up actively shutting out their partners in a bid to become an adult), but is most certainly there -- especially when he’s the one who drops a mocking line about the idea of bringing Gabumon to his school. (It’s not about whether it’s actually doable or not; it’s the fact that he laughs and scoffs at how stupid this is.) The fact he treats friends drifting apart as an “inevitable” thing, and eventually is shown very obviously to be keeping Gabumon out of the phone conversations (in stark contrast to the 02 quartet going out of their way to keep them involved on the other end) ultimately boils down to: neglect. Yamato’s coasting by on everything he likes, but it also means he’s just letting everything happen, instead of consciously pursuing things and passionately following things with gusto, the way he used to.

But we do see Yamato’s single-minded and passionate side come out again -- while Taichi shuts down and ruminates on what to do about his impending loss of Agumon, Yamato’s the one who desperately runs around trying to figure something out, recruiting the 02 quartet into it, losing sleep over it, and eventually having a passionate confrontation with Taichi as the climax approaches. (Note that this, again, is not a real conflict in nearly the same way the two of them would be spitting insults at each other all the way back in Adventure; it’s just the two baring their own feelings, and Yamato quickly accepts Taichi’s answer very easily because he, too, feels the same. Again: they’ve become very good at communicating.)

Yamato does eventually let Gabumon back into his periphery instead of neglecting him so much, and their final scene together in the movie involves them resuming their old method of tacit communication that they’d once shared together, with Yamato playing the harmonica. It’s a sign of Yamato finally embracing those things in the past that used to make him happy rather than cultivating an uncomfortable relationship with it just because he’d kicked it out of his career prospects, and ultimately coming to terms with what he likes and what makes him happy.

And speaking of career prospects...

The question of “why did Yamato become an astronaut?” is one that’s infamously weirded out people all over the globe because of how much it clashes with his image, and how much of a kind of “out-there” thing it is that had virtually no precedent whatsoever in Yamato’s prior hobbies. (Although, if you really think about it, space travel isn’t that huge of a hurdle as it sounds for a world like this where Digital Gates exist to bend space-time; you just send a probe with a Digital Gate link up there...) The original meta reason was, simply, that it was a holdover from one of the original ideas for the third Adventure series, in which they would be investigating forces that were obstructing evolution from space. (The original logical progression was that Adventure would have a threat from the Digital World, 02 a threat from the real world, so the theoretical third series would be space...) When you think about which of the original Tokyo Chosen Children would be the most likely to actively pursue this route, it actually is likely to be Yamato, given that Taichi is more of a person who’s an overall leader and coordinator, whereas Yamato, who’s much more up-front aggressive and openly passionate, would be more likely to want to tackle the situation with his own hands.

Kizuna -- or, more specifically, its novel -- offers another (and not mutually exclusive!) explanation:

While studying at graduate school, Yamato came up with a dream he had for his future. He wanted to study cosmology, and become an astronaut. The way there would not be easy. There was a whole mountain of things he’d have to do to get there. But Yamato had a certain ambition in mind. Someday, he was going to go to space with Gabumon. Whenever he thought of that future, Yamato was willing to do anything to get there.

Remembering that Yamato was at an engineering school (presumably originally from the motorcycles connection), it seems that he eventually “ran into” the career option by chance and happenstance, and thought about it and decided he wanted to follow it for the sake of going with Gabumon. It’s a very “romantic” and sappy kind of “out-there” dream, and, actually, that’s the point -- Yamato is a ridiculous romanticist, the kind of person who waxed about barbecue back in Adventure episode 6, and compared his relationship with Takeru to Hikoboshi and Orihime back in 02 episode 17, and spouted a bunch of poetic words at the sea during Letter. And, remember, he’s always been openly shameless and passionate about everything he’s felt and liked, and has never cared what other people would think.

And in the context of Kizuna, where Yamato was slowly losing touch with himself and his passions and eventually lost Gabumon as a result, it’s a very important sign that everything’s on its way back to healing, and that he’ll be able to achieve that future where they meet again.

[hellfire-menace]

San leaves his AU

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

San is laying on his couch, watching one of his favorite TV series, but he can't really focus on it.

There was the signiture loud crackle of Sci's portal opening up followed by a knock at San's door not long after.

San got up and opened the door for Sci, "Hey . . ."

"Hey! Woah, you ok there bud? you're lookin a little rough tibia honest." Sci half heartedly chuckles, looking more concerned than anything.

"Yeah, yeah . . . Just didn't really sleep right . . ."

Sci frowned. "What's up?"

"Just feel nervous I guess . . . Overthinking some things a bit . . ."

"You wanna talk about it? ... And do you mind if i come in"

"yeah . . . Uh come in . . ." San let him inside. Sci nods gratefully and steps in. San closed the door behind him and sat down on the couch. Sci joined San on the couch and faced his friend, worry etched into his features.

"So what's eating you?"

"I'm just nervous that I'll see him again . . . I literally avoid going to my brother because he lives near there . . . Like he could be anywhere and i don't want to see him, it's honestly destroying me . . . Like this constant fear and stress . . . It doesn't let me sleep sometimes . . ." San sighed "Nothing here brings me happiness anymore, only our little meetings . . ."

"Oh geeze... I'm sorry... I didn't know you were having such a hard time." Sci reached out to pat San but quickly retracted his hand. He wanted to comfort him but didn't wish to trigger his sensitivities with being touched.

"it's okay i guess . . . Just have to get over this . . ."

Sci sat in silence with his hand folded in his lap.

"Honestly i wish i could just leave . . . Just for a while, take a break from this life . . ." San wrapped his arms around himself.

"I mean... you could? If you wanted you could come stay with me for a little while." Sci started sounding a little excited as he spoke. "I really wouldn't mind, and I could show you my lab." He twiddled his thumbs in his lap, looking at San with a very faint blush on his face.

"r-really? I could?" San' tone of voice is a bit excited too, he seems happy at this proposition.

"Well yeah! ...I mean, but there are some risks involved...." Sci tugged on his shirt collar.

"Like if this universe was to RESET you could get erased from the code... or there is a very small potential when traveling to get stuck in the anti-void between universes. I haven't had that happen yet... but some of the spiders that volunteered for the time that went wrong... when i managed to bring them back they'd... changed... I'm not trying to spook you though! I'm sorry, I just figure you ought to know what you're potentially getting into." Sci chuckled nervously.

San nodded slightly, he thinks for a moment, before looking at Sci, "I want to do it"

Sci's face broke into a big grin. "Oh hell yeah!" Sci looked jittery with excitement. "I haven't brought anyone back with me before! This is going to be so fun! and oh... the data I could collect from this!"

San is smiling at him, he seems happier now.

"Ok um... So! When do you wanna leave? I assume you'll wanna grab some things before we go..."

"y-yeah, uh . . . I should take some clothes, right?"

Sci chuckled, "That would definitely be a good idea. Think anything you'd take on a vacation. Here, I can even help you pack!" Sci jumped up from the couch and held a hand out to San to help him stand.

San hesitantly grabbed his hand and stood up, "you can help me if you really want"

Between the two, packing went by quickly and they both were standing outside of San's house within half an hour. San with bags in hand and Sci fiddling with his portal device, hands shaking lightly in excitement.

"You ready?" He flashes a wide grin at San.

"yeah!"

"Perhaps you would like to do the honors then?" Sci held out the device and made a grand gesture to the button that needed pushing.

San looked at Sci then pushed the button.

There was a whir and a crackle of a portal trying to start but it quickly fizzled out, leaving the two looking on in dead silence.

"Heh... T-This doesn't usually happen i swear." Sci chuckled nervously. He smacked the side of the device a couple times and pressed the button again, a portal springing to life solidly before them.

"so see you on the other side?" San is still looking at Sci.

"Hold up." Sci holds out a hand as if to stop San and kicks a rock through the portal, watching it with narrowed sockets for a second.

"Ahhhh ok yeah we're good let's go." He picks up some of San's belongings, smiles at him, and confidently walks through the portal.

San picks up the rest of his things and goes after Sci through the portal.

On the other side of the portal Sci's setting San's things on a table in a large brightly lit laboratory.

It's cluttered but organized, everything separated in respective groups. And the air was filled with the sound of machinery whirring.

Some of them were plain and boxy with flashing and blinking lights and some of tem were foreboding and alien looking and along one wall several were printing out a nonstop stream of information on paper that was neatly folding itself into piles.

"wow . . ." San is looking around, clearly amazed by what he's seeing.

Sci turns around and looks at San. "Heh yeah there's alot going on huh? Sorry it's kinda a mess right now though... I wasn't expecting company." Sci rubs the back of his skull bashfully.

"it's . . . it's amazing! this is your lab? Like seriously it's amazing" San is excited.

"Yeah, I-I mean, yeah! Thanks!" Sci chuckled, a light blush dusting his cheeks. "It is pretty cool isn't it? Want me to show you around?"

"yeah!"

"Sweet! You can just set your stuff over there... or wherever here lemme show you the most dangerous one first!!!" Sci's grin took on a slight manic edge to it in his excitement.

San put down his things and came closer to Sci.

Sci's standing by a large dark looking piece of machinery with a nozzle pointed directly into a dusty looking glass case He flicks a few switches and it whirs to life, making a loud grinding noise.

"This is a disintegrator ray! Watch this." Sci pulls out a heavy thick board and places it in the glass case with an apple and shuts the door. He looks to San to watch for his reaction and pushes the button.

The surface of the apple bubbles for a split second before imploding violently and leaving a dusty scorched indent in the board.

"No matter, physical or magical can withstand it's force!" Sci flicks it's switch off, halting the grinding noise emanating from it.

"This could kill everyone in this multiverse if it were to explode!" He said excitedly.

"wow . . ." San is clearly impressed.

"Heh yeah, right? Pretty sweet." Sci chuckled. "Let me know if you wanna try putting anything in there."

"okay" San is smiling slightly, He's clearly happy.

"And this one?" Sci bounds over to a plain looking yellow metal box with a simple red button on top. "I got super wasted one night and made it for shits and giggles. All it does is turn anything you put inside it blue for 48 hours. Probably the least dangerous thing here." Sci smiles at it fondly. "It's so dumb and pointless. I love it."

San chuckled, "sounds like fun"

Sci did this for a while, leading San around the lab, showing off different machinery, telling him all about what everything did until he got to the machinery along the back wall printing nonstop. "And these monitor the au's I've visited!"

"Oh, what do they monitor exactly?"

"The timelines, resets, fun value, number of souls in an au... how many people are takin a shit at any given moment." Sci chuckles. "Nah I'm just messin with you on that last one. It's mostly just basic stats and statistics."

San chuckled, "seems interesting"

"Heh well I think it is at least." Sci watches the machine pumping out information for a moment before turning back to San. "But, yeah... this is my lab."

"it's really amazing, how you thought of so many things, how you built them and they actually work" San is still amazed by everything he saw, He's smiling softly.

Sci blushed. "Thanks... ya really think so?"

"yeah! It's just so cool!"

Sci's face lights up even further at the complement. "Heheh thanks. I suppose you wouldn't mind helping me in here a little bit later then?"

"I wouldn't, honestly I would be glad to help you" San is blushing slightly.

"Cool. Cool. Uhmm cool. Heh sorry I'm done saying cool." Sci chuckled nervously.

San chuckled too, "so what now?"

"Well we-" Sci starts to walk towards the table of San's belongings and stumbled, tripping over his own feet.

San caught Sci, "are you okay?" His voice sounds worried.

Sci looked up at San eyes wide and his cheekbones lighting up brightly. "Ye-yeah. Heheh... I'm just falling for you." His mouth clacked shut as soon as soon as he realized he said the flirtatious pun out loud.

"I-I mean-" Sci stammered nervously.

San blushed too, an orange blush dusting his cheekbones, "I . . . i-it's okay, g-great that you're n-not hurt"

"Thanks." Sci's soul pounded in his chest... This was probably the closest he'd been to San ever... What with his haphephobia... His haphephobia!

"Oh! I'm sorry I can stand!" Sci scrambled to stand and rather clumsily got to his feet, brushing the wrinkles from his lab coat.

San nodded slightly, watching Sci to make sure that everything is okay.

"Well as I was saying we could go get you settled in for your stay." Sci continued to nervously adjust his lab coat.

"Sure"

[mae-gi-writes]

Awkwardly In Love | Mingi (ATEEZ)

Volleyball player! Mingi can’t seem to take his eyes off the girl on the bleachers whose got her nose stuck in her book.

Genre: FLUFF AND CUTE AWKWARD MINGI SBGKJDGJ I CAN’T HE RUINS ME. 

Word count: you just gotta know that it iz quite a long ride. I apologize for that.

----

She's always got her nose buried in her book.

That's what catches Mingi's attention at first.

See, he's not one to read. Nor does he have any interest in reading and books and the things that come with it. Growing up in a household full of children involved in physical sport, books had counted for nothing but a minimal afterthought. That, and the fact that their financial struggles made it so that they didn't spend on books if it could be helped.

So seeing her always carrying around piles and piles of books has Mingi wonder how much extra cash does she have to spend on all this imaginary stories.

When he realizes that the reason she's always on the same spot on the bleachers is due to her cousin being in the same volleyball team as he is, he can't help but start asking questions.

"Yeah she's my mother's sister's daughter," Hongjoong says with a small affectionate smile, "we basically grew up in the same household so she waits for me after classes."

"You guys close then?" Mingi asks in a forced nonchalant tone. He keeps his eyes on the ball being served on the other side, palms already closed and upturned at the ready.

"Ready?" His teammate calls.

"Yeah!" They both holler.

He serves. The ball swoops in a beautiful arc and Mingi steels himself before receiving the ball with trained precision.

Pack!

"Closer than siblings," Hongjoong answers as the ball flies over the net, "why do you ask?"

Mingi is about to answer when he spots the ball. Hongjoong sweeps in, steering his legs to tap the ball high in the air.

Tap!

Mingi's head swivels up, catches the ball to throw it back at Hongjoong.

Pack!

"In!" The referree calls to signal that they've marked the final point to the game. The pair allow sighs to leave their lips as they slowly make their way out of the court.

"Uhm," Mingi's chest heaves up and down with effort. Sweat dots his forehead as he racks for an excuse, "just curious I guess."

"Want me to introduce you?"

"Uh-- I--That's not--necessary--"

It's too late though, for Hongjoong is already calling out her name, "Y/N!"

Her head lifts from where it's been buried in her book.

Her cousin motions for her to come forward and no sooner is she stepping down from the bleachers that Mingi's neck flushes bright red, and he knows deep down it's not from the fact that he's just exercised.

"Y/N, meet Mingi my teammate," Hongjoong's grin is definitely one that is suggestive, which does nothing for Mingi's confidence.

"Hi," she sends him a warm smile, extending a hand. Mingi shakes it and can't help but notice how tiny her fingers are in comparison.

Delicate fingers, so breakable. Cute.

"H-Hi, I'm Mingi," Oh god, he hopes he doesn't sound like an idiot.

"Mingi's always been on the team. He's the ace after all," adds Hongjoong.

"Ah, that's cool," Y/N nods.

That's how it starts really. At every practice, Mingi makes it a must to talk to her, even if it's juet a tiny greeting, or a slight wave of his shy hand whenever he's already on the court when she stumbles in with her pile of books tucked under her arm. There's just something about her, something that pulls him in like an invisible string even though he can barely make his way through one sentence when he's gazing straight into her eyes.

Once, he musters up the courage to ask her about the book in her lap and the amount of joy flushing up her cheeks makes it so palpable that he feels giddy from her own excitement.

"I'm currently reading Peony in Love," holding up the book so he can see, she continues, "it's a historical novel about this Chinese girl that falls in love with someone who isn't her betrothed, then dies only to realize that this someone is actually her betrothed."

"That's actually really heartbreaking."

"Yeah well, so are most romance stories," she shrugs, "like the titanic."

"I've never actually watched it."

"What?! You're kidding me?"

He shakes his head, ducking his head in embarrassment as he wonders whether she thinks of him as a loser because of his apparent lack of intellectual knowledge.

But instead, he is faced with her enthusiasm, "we should watch it someday! It's like a classic, you'll love it if you like dramatic endings."

"You--" he feels his chest tighten in excitement, "you're serious?"

"Of course I am! I'll let Hongjoong know."

His heart does drop a little at Y/N's cousin's name. He'd hoped that they'd be alone, just the two of them.

Nevertheless, he makes his way over to Hongjoong's flat on the said night and is surprised to find not just the pair of cousins But an entire group of familiar individuals that he's seen hanging around the corridors and classrooms.

"Hey you came!" Hongjoong claps Mingi's back as he steps into the doorway, "I invited some of my close friends too. You probably know them."

As Mingi greets the rest of the group whe exchanging soft pleasantries, he finally catches sight of Y/N's figure darting between tall frames before she emerges, grinning, "hi, Mingi right?"

He can't help but blush right down to his toes, "h-hey, what's up?"

"Sorry for all the noise. The guys just wanted to crash here. Told them we were watching titanic and they promised they wouldn't make running commentaries."

"It's alright. I know them all a little. We're in the same class."

"Ah cool. You guys all in the same major then?"

Mingi scratches the back of his head, "nah I'm in Psych. But since they're all in the sciences like Hongjoong we do have same classes."

"Cool. I wish I could've taken Psych," she puffs up her cheeks into a pout and Mingi's fingers itch to pinch her cheeks.

She can't be that cute. She just can't be.

"So are we starting the movie or what?!" One of the guys --his name is Yunho, Mingi guesses -- calls out.

"The way you're talking Yunho, it's almost like you're the one who really wants to watch it," Hongjoong replies sassily while throwing both arms around Y/N and Mingi respectively before guiding them to the tv room. He dips his head towards Mingi's ear as the group settles in, "don't worry bro, I'll make sure you sit next to her."

Blushing furiously at the older boy's comment, the latter doesn't even have time to defend himself when he is being pushed onto the couch right next to Y/N's figure.

"You a big tears kind of guy?" The girl murmured, popcorn in lap. She extends it out to Mingi, who shyly grabs a handful.

"I guess it depends," Mingi murmurs, "are there animals in there?"

"Oh so you're that kind of guy."

He flushes. What kind of guy is she referring to?

The movie starts with the narration of an old lady gazing at a sapphire necklace, bedore the screen gives way to a shot of the ship itself in all its splendour, glistening a bold black and white in the midday sun.

Mingi knows he should be concentrating on the movie. And it's true, he really should, especially when Y/N had asked him to because it is clearly a classic he can't possibly miss out on. But alas, his eyes keep dashing back and forth between the screen and Y/N's face, stealing looks whenever she is not looking. It's almost like a magnetic pull tugging his gaze back to her no matter how hard he forces his eyes away; flitting over her eyes focused in attention, eyebrows furrowed at the middle with her mouth hanging open like a child amazed with naked wonder.

What can she possibly be thinking? What is going on inside that imaginative mind of hers?

What magical dimension is she traveling to without his knowledge?

It's only when the romance between the two protagonists start blossoming that he finally tears his eyes away to focus on the movie itself, all the while sensing Y/N's heat permeating from her body to his in a way that causes a permanent flush in the back of his neck.

The movie ends all too soon, with tears in Y/N's eyes and some of the other guys as they debate over the ending and how stupid Rose was for not giving Jack some space on the wooden board.

"Well to be fair, he would've probably sunk the entire board," Seonghwa argues. He's the pretty boy that everyone knows of, the one whom every girl has been crushing on since his admittance to their college.

"If I were Rose, I wouldn't want to keep living without the love of my life," Y/N points out, "I would've drowned myself with him."

"Jesus Y/N, that's terrifying," Hongjoong says.

"It's true though!"

The look in her eyes whenever she spoke of movies was a look of naked excitement. Like now, Mingi spots the familiar fire burning through her gaze, a gaze he finds alluring on her. It's like it breathes life into her face. It's similar to the one she wears whenever she's reading.

A few days later on campus, he bumps into her hurrying out of the library as he walks in, almost sending her flying before his arm snatches out to hold her shoulder.

"Sorry," he says hastily while putting her back on her feet and releasing her like she's just burnt him.

"S'okay," Y/N sends him a reassuring smile, "where you going?"

"Assignments. I'm late on my research paper because of practice," Mingi scratches his head. He nods towards her books, "what caught your interest this week?"

"Oh I'm just re-reading A Darker Shade of Magic," she grins like a little child being caught. Something in Mingi's heart softens like butter.

"What's it about?"

"It's so cool, it's like this guy with a super cool coat that has hundreds over coats inside it. And he's a magician and there are parallel worlds that have different wavelengths of magic. So he can travel through the different worlds and--" she stops abruptly then before her cheeks colour in shades of pink, "sorry. I'm rambling again--"

"No no no," Mingi cuts her off, causing her to blink, wide-eyed, "please...continue. I--I like it when you talk about your books. You--You always seem so alive and excited."

"Oh," her face flushes even more as another troop of butterflies tickle Mingi's stomach. She's so damn cute! "Thanks...Mingi."

He tries to analyze the flickering expressions on her face, though he guesses it is close to feeling embarrassed.

"A--Anyway I--I'll get going," Mingi hurriedly says, moving past her with flaming red ears upon realizing what he has just said, only to feel her hand clamp down on his.

He turns to see her, averted gaze and all, little fingers clamped onto his shirt, "do you--do you want to...go see a movie sometime?"

----------

Hongjoong had threatened Mingi with a multitude of ways of killing him in case he broke Y/N's heart, albeit the fact that the taller man stated that no, they weren't going on a date,.and anyway flirting had never been Mingi's strongest points anyway.

"Sure. If it's not a date, what is it then?" Hongjoong had asked with a roll of his eyes.

"It's just two people hanging out," Mingi had protested through red ears and scarlet tinged cheeks.

As per the said man's suggestion, the pair decides to meet up at the cinema entrance to choose the movie of their choice. Y/N is decked in a simple white t-shirt, loose cut-off jeans with red sneakers, and as Mingi silently admires her sense of simple fashion the heat that rises through the back of his neck is enough to make him avert his gaze bashfully.

They settle on a romantic comedy and he volunteers to buy the popcorn so that she can find some decent seats. As he settles into the cinema room and the lights dim into darkness, he places the popcorn box into her hands, waving her off upon her rising protests.

"But you--"

"I'll share it with you, don't-- don't worry," he replies, hand scratching the back of his neck.

Don't sweat it, he says to himself. It's fine. It's not a date. It's just two friends enjoying each other's presence.

Halfway through the movie, Mingi reaches for the popcorn only for their hands to collide. He retracts it like he just burnt himself, causing the said girl to chuckle softly. She reaches over then, with a handful of popcorn, before plopping it straight into his mouth without warning.

Mingi blinks. Heat goes straight to his ears.

When his eyes find hers, she only graces him with a timid smile, before returning back to the movie, totally unaware that his heart is now practically galloping out of his chest.

Jesus, what she does to his heart.

Mingi has never been so whipped in his life, but right now, he's pretty certain that he doesn't mind if that means she can accept his heart.

"Well that was fun," Y/N says the moment they step out of the cinema hall, "wasn't expecting it to be so lovey dovey though."

His head ducks, "I'm sorry," he mutters, "I didn't know you weren't into--"

"Oh no no! Not at all! We both chose it. You have nothing to feel bad about!"

"I'm not that into movies," comes his mumble.

"What?" Y/N stops in the middle of the road as she blinks up at him in shock, "you should've told me!"

"I wasn't interested in seeing the movie, I just wanted to see--" he hesitates slightly, "you."

What the fuck Mingi, he feels like choking himself foe his stupidity. Why was he acting like a total turd? This was ridiculous! She's just a girl, a cute one sure, but still! It's almost like he's lost all ability to make conversation.

He tries once more, "I'm--I'm sorry I shouldn't have--“

“No, I“m the one who's sorry. Here, let me treat you. Ice cream?” and then, her eyes widen, "you do like ice cream right?"

That'a enough for his lips to tilt up into a smile, "I'd love ice cream."

---

Once they settle on a bench at the nearby park, it seems like all nervousness suddenly ease from Mingi's consciousness and slowly, he starts opening up to the said girl as they lick at their ice cream cones. The sun sets over the horizon, turning the blue sky in scarlet hues that reminds him of summer days that last forever.

"Architecture's tough but honestly, that was the only thing my parents would let me study," Y/N says, empty ice-cream stick in hand as her gaze sweeps over the park and its passerbys.

"I guess it makes sense, considering our economy recently," Mingi agrees.

"And you? Why Psych?"

He lifts his shoulder in a half-hearted shrug, "I guess I just like analyzing people. It's intriguing, knowing how people think, how they act around others."

"You want to be a therapist?"

"I don't know if I'm strong enough to help people get out of their problems when I can't even help myself."

He feels her eyes on him and finds interest in the way the wind blows across the grass blades.

Her voice is soft when she says, "you don't have to be that kind of hero, if you don't want to."

His heart swells with warmth and sudden affection, though he says nothing but nods in agreement.

It's easily past ten when they trudge back to Y/N's house, with nervousness swimming through Mingi's stomach in apprehension to Hongjoong's earlier threats, though Y/N reassures him that Hongjoong is mostly all talk and no action. That reassures the tall man slightly, until his feet start bristling upon spotting her front porch.

"Thanks for keeping me company today," Y/N tilts her head up, her profile bathed in the backlight of her house, "next time, let's not go to the movies."

Mingi's heart skips, "I didn't mind it."

"I know, but I want to do things that you like too," she grins.

A surge of courage rises through his chest as he tells her that he'd like that a lot too.

Except the thing that falls out of his mouth instead is, "I like you too."

She blinks.

He blinks back, realization settling in like a dull ache in his stomach.

Horror sweeps through him. Oh no.

It hadn't been in his plan to expose himself like this, exposing himself like a dog who wants a tummy rub, but then again there's no sign of rejection that flickers across Y/N's face, which he takes as a good sign as he fumbles for the right words, "uhm, I-- I mean, I didn't mean--"

"You didn't mean that?"

"What?" His eyes widen, "no no! Of course I mean it, I just--"

He gasps at his own words, cupping a hand over his mouth as the girl before him explodes into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

"Oh my gosh," her eyes crinkle up into those adorable crescents of hers, "you're so cute."

Scarlet pink blossoms across his cheeks. Averting his eyes, he wishes that the floor can just come and swallow him up right there and then.

"Right," clearing his throat, one hand reaches up to scratch his ear, "well, I-I'll just go--"

He's halfway turning around when Y/N's hand trickles through his, as gentle as water flowing through his fingertips.

"Wait," she murmurs.

His breath stalls. Inhaling a soft breath, he slowly shuffles back, not daring to meet her gaze when he feels like he's just put his heart on the table for her to do with as she pleases.

Her voice is a gentle breath of a whisper, "don't go."

And then, she's up on her tippy toes and pressing a light kiss to his cheek. Mingi's skin practically lights on fire as another round of butterflies erupt in his chest at her touch, and he can't help but stare down at her, jaw slack, as she gives him the shyest smile he's ever seen.

Cute! His mind screams. Cute cute cute!

"So," Mingi's mind comes back into focus upon hearing her voice, eyes finding her biting down onto her lower lip, “Well, uh--I guess--I guess this means I--I like you, or something.”

"uhm,” his ears are so hot with heat he feels they might fall off as he forces himself not to gawk at her, though it’s proving to be quite difficult as he’s trying to muster the courage to come out with a reasonable answer. 

“I--well, uh--how does this--I don't know--do you want to...uh possibly,” he swallows thickly, before exhaling the words in a rush,”...goouttodinnerwithme?"

Y/N blinks in confusion, "I'm sorry?"

Come on, Mingi! He thinks to himself in growing desperation. Don't be such a wimp!

"Do you... want to...go out with me? S--Sometime?" His throat is clogged with so much embarrassment he fear he might choke.

But when he feels soft fingers trace his chin, he looks up, right into her dark brown eyes sparkling with a tinge of playfulness, excitement and naked joy brimming at the corners.

"I'd love that," she whispers.

And she lifts herself up once more to land a kiss on his mouth, softly, shyly, a mere brushing her mouth against his.

Mingi stumbles upon impact, hands unconsciously grasping her waist as his back comes in contact with the railing lining her porch.

His eyes are wide when she pulls away, biting her lower lip like she can't help but feel nervous from this bold action that has taken him by surprise.

"What--" Mingi chokes on his words, lapses into silence while staring down at her.

The girl merely glances down. A blush taints her cheeks and even though his fingers are shaking and he feels like his heart is about to jump out of his chest at the mere prospect of their closeness, his body moves before his brain does.

Closing the gap between them, it's his turn to press a kiss now, a chaste one that tells her that he reciprocates these feelings wholeheartedly. And Y/N responds by wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer so that their chests touch, mouths moving slowly in harmony as they chase each other and mold together in a way that leaves Mingi breathless and his heart stuttering like he's just won a race.

If it is, then it's the most importance race of his life.

It is only when they pull apart, breathing into each other with barely millimetres separating their mouths, that he can't help but laugh at the realization that this girl in his arms is his.

"What?" She says while smiling up at him. So gorgeous, so breathtaking. And she's his.

"Nothing," he can sense the heat flooding his cheeks once more, "I just-- I'm just...happy."

And there it is, that same smile that he loves so much. The smile that holds magical words and countless secrets to the amazing mind she beholds. He can't want to delve into her thoughts and pick at her brain, knowing that all of them are going to be precious memories he'll hold dear to his heart.

That smile.

Hongjoong's voice suddenly erupts out of nowhere like a nightmare, "don't think I didn't see you guys kissing out there!"

---

I’m so whipped for Mingi and he’s like 2 years younger so I feel like such an old noona *sighs*. 

Anyway, let me know if you’d like more Ateez content! <3 Stay safe guys, and thanks for reading! 

[wrestlingplaylists]

Tam Nakano & Kagetsu’s Greatest Hits: Being a summary of my favorite wrestling feud with links

NOTE: This post assumes you have a Stardom World subscription or know someone who does. In 2017, Tam Nakano, the Stardom Dream, hasn’t been in World Wonder Ring Stardom very long. She was an idol singer first, then she got famous doing exploding bat deathmatches (which are more or less what they sound like). Stardom signed her, but she’s out of her element, there’s no gimmicks here. With no friends and no bats, she hasn’t been winning much and she’s starting to feel really lost.

In the 5 Star Grand Prix Tournament, she fights Io Shirai, the ace of Stardom and leader of Queen’s Quest (a faction of super competitive tomboy types). The girls who check on her after her match are Hana Kimura and Kagetsu from Oedo Tai (a faction of hot goths who don’t play by the rules). Queen’s Quest and Oedo Tai fucking hate each other and this will be important later. https://www.stardom-world.com/set/1412/contents/1403?fcid=14

Hana and Kagetsu face each other later in the same show. All of Oedo Tai is pulling for Hana to win the tournament, but Kagetsu believes her job as the leader is to make her juniors prove themselves, so she isn’t about to go easy on Hana. When the match is over, Tam sees the way Oedo Tai takes care of each other and she asks to join. More than anything, Tam wants a family, and Oedo Tai seems like that to her. https://www.stardom-world.com/set/1412/contents/1405?fcid=14 

Tam gets injured pretty soon after joining and gets kind of shunted off into a manager role. It’s not the coolest thing ever, but at least she has a cool new costume and a panda stuffy. Meanwhile, another new member (Natsu Sumire) has joined Oedo Tai and the rivalry between them and Queen’s Quest has really started heating up. After an epic 4v4 match, Kagetsu has a special request for a final faceoff between the entirety of both factions. Tam is also here and she is a delight. https://www.stardom-world.com/set/298/contents/297?fcid=2

At the January 2018 Anniversary show, Oedo Tai and Queen’s Quest have a 5v5 elimination match with the stipulation that the last wrestler eliminated will be kicked out of their team. It’s a huge match for both teams and Tam is back for it. Finally, she will prove her worth to Oedo Tai now that she’s back from her injury and can fight alongside her chosen family. https://www.stardom-world.com/set/1593/contents/1592?fcid=2 

Tam and her new tag partner, Mayu Iwatani, announce their intention to win the Goddess of Stardom tag team belts. The belts that Hana and Kagetsu took from Mayu and another partner not that long before all this. Needless to say, Oedo Tai sees this as a betrayal. Tam was supposed to find her own way but not like this. This is personal. https://www.stardom-world.com/set/1613/contents/1611?fcid=2 

Tam and Mayu challenge for the tag belts and, well, it’s emotionally intense for everyone involved, but at least it means the feud is over right? Right? https://www.stardom-world.com/set/1620/contents/1617?fcid=2 

Lol nah, Oedo Tai is as pissed as ever. Things are still extremely tense and personal. Natsu challenges Tam and a partner of Tam’s choice to a tag match against her and Kagetsu to end the feud once and for all. Any stipulation Tam wants. https://www.stardom-world.com/set/1687/contents/1686?fcid=2 

IF YOU ONLY WATCH ONE MATCH IN THIS POST PLEASE MAKE IT THIS ONE!! I don’t know what else I could say here. Tam and Io get their revenge on Oedo Tai with the gimmick that made Tam famous. An exploding bat death match. I don’t want to overhype it too much, but it’s a real good capper for the feud and I just, yeah, I go back to this one a lot. https://www.stardom-world.com/set/1073/contents/1072?fcid=2 

With the Oedo Tai feud more or less ended, Tam spends some time working on herself and helping to build Mayu’s new faction, Stars. She mostly plays supporting roles in other people’s stories for a long time and doesn’t get a ton to do specifically with Kagetsu. But she does have a few tense moments with Hana, and it’s interesting to see Hana and Oedo Tai starting to begrudgingly respect Tam again. She’s stronger and more confident than ever.

It’s the last match of the 2018 5 Star Grand Prix Tournament before finals. Tam hasn’t been having the best tournament. She only has one win so far, but she hasn’t been letting it get to her. Though she’s lost and lost, she’s kept her spirits up and she’s going into her match with Kagetsu with her head held high. Kagetsu, for her part, is the World Champion now and she’s won nearly all her tournament matches despite increasing tension within Oedo Tai, She only needs one more win to secure her place in finals. https://www.stardom-world.com/set/1678/contents/1676?fcid=2

At the January 2019 Anniversary show, Tam challenges Momo Watanabe for the Wonder of Stardom belt, but it’s not really about the belt. Tam remembers losing to Momo a year ago. She remembers being kicked out of Oedo Tai, losing her family and having to start over. She’s dyed her hair black like the old days, she’s made her peace with her past. And whether she wins or not, Tam is determined to prove that Stars has made her better and that she can no longer be disregarded. https://www.stardom-world.com/set/19/contents/70?fcid=1 

The Cinderella tournament, a one day tournament where competitors are eliminated over the top rope, hasn’t historically gone great for Tam. She just never seems to take it especially seriously. Even meeting Kagetsu in the first round doesn’t seem to bother her. She says she thinks about fighting Kagetsu all the time. She says it nonchalantly and with a smile. Tam’s not angry anymore. She and Kagetsu are finally equals and this will be the night that proves it. https://www.stardom-world.com/set/346/contents/352?fcid=1 

Through 2019, Tam’s main focus is Stars and her relationship with her teammates. She has something of a rivalry with her teammate Arisa, at first they fight over Mayu’s affections and then over the Wonder of Stardom belt after Arisa takes it off Momo. The rivalry grows into a grudging respect and I could make a whole playlist for that storyline. What’s relevant here is that by the time the Goddess of Stardom Tag League rolls around, Tam’s tense friendship with Arisa has consumed all her time and energy. When the two face Kagetsu and her new partner Andras Miyagi, Tam isn’t even thinking about Oedo Tai. What matters to her is the hope of winning the tournament and the relationship she’s built along the way. Though of course, Kagetsu hasn’t forgotten, and the draw at the Cinderella tournament was only salt on the wound. It’s been two years since the bat match and the humiliating Grand Prix defeat, and Kagetsu is still too angry for words. https://www.stardom-world.com/set/876/contents/885?fcid=1 

It’s the January 2020 Anniversary show. Kagetsu has announced her retirement. Tonight is Tam and Kagetsu’s last match together and they’re going to leave it all in the ring. I have a lot of feelings about this one. I’m just gonna let you watch it.

https://www.stardom-world.com/set/1025/contents/1030?fcid=22 

A month later, Kagetsu prepares for her last match in Stardom. A gauntlet match against the entire Stardom roster. Every friendship, every rivalry, every weird tense relationship in between, it all ends here for Kagetsu. Tam is here too, but for once it isn't about Tam. Here, Kagetsu gets to be the hero of her own story and pass the torch to a generation of wrestlers she helped train. And I'll be damned if it doesn't make me cry every time.

https://www.stardom-world.com/set/1127/contents/1126?fcid=22

[karasimpno]

{Day 06} - If I Loved You | Ushijima x Reader

Pairing: Ushijima Wakatoshi x Gn!Reader

Genre: fluff, tender Ushi-Waka meet-cute!!

WC: 2.1k

Warnings: drinking, mention of a frat party, discussions of L O V E

⍋⋆*❅｡. 25 days of fic-mas mlist .｡❅*⋆⍋

If I loved you words wouldn’t come in an easy way ‘round in circles I’d go —If I Loved You; Carousel (music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein)

It was a raucous party at the end of your senior year of college and you hardly knew anyone there.

You’d had a sweet mixed drink with barely any alcohol in it while your roommates who had dragged you to the party and everyone around you was hammering back shot after shot. There was a kitchen island full of booze and someone who had started bartending to boot, collecting an impressive jar of dollar bills as he did so. Downing the rest of your drink, you decided to take a step outside – it was only 10pm and you were already sort of itching to leave.

Closing the front door behind you, you stepped out onto the porch, audibly sighing before you realized: you weren’t alone. 

Sitting toward the bottom of the porch stairs sat a hulking man with shaggy chocolate hair, his back to you. You cleared your throat and he glanced back at you with dark eyes deep-set into his severe features.

“Mind if I sit?” you asked. His eyebrows shot up a little but he gestured vaguely welcomingly at the steps next to him. You smiled and sat on the opposite side of the stairs, even with him, grateful for the cool nighttime air and the break from inside. As you were getting settled, you glimpsed his toned golden skin and distinctively sharp features and realized you recognize the man.

“Hey...you’re Ushi-Waka, right?” you asked. “I’ve seen a couple of the volleyball games.” He peered at you curiously.

“Yeah. Who are you?” he asked, not unkindly. His voice was startlingly deep. You answered him with your name and smiled, taking in the nice spring evening when he responds with silence. Not looking to get involved with anyone new at the end of your college career, you internally berated yourself when you caught your gaze sneaking over to how his hair swept across his forehead, making him look all too casually dashing. His eyes remained focused on the road past the gate to the frat house. Feeling friendly, you decided to try to strike up a conversation.

“You’re really good at volleyball! Your spikes are like...killer,” you offered. He glanced back at you again, as though he were trying to read you.

“Hope you’re not...scared or anything,” he said awkwardly. You couldn’t tell if he was joking or not – he looked pretty serious. His hulking frame stretched over the wooden stairs, exposed calves leaving no muscle to the imagination. You could see why some people might find that intimidating but it did nothing but favors for him in your eyes. You decided it was a joke and playfully turned out one of your pockets.

“Well I’m broke as a joke so what’re you gonna do – steal something from me?” you laughed. “And aside from that, I can take pretty good care of myself.” Despite the rigid features of his face, his eyes on yours were a warm golden color. He didn’t laugh, but continued to look at you. The two of you leaned apart to let someone walk up the front steps between you, the noise of the party surging then becoming muted again as the front door opened and closed with a slam. Maybe it was the sweet drink you had just finished, but the night was nice and you were in a better mood than you were inside, so you took a whim.

“Hey, you wanna get out of here?” you said suddenly. He cleared his throat, a bit too loudly.

“Wait you mean like... uh,” he said, his face faltering a bit.

“Oh! No – no like do you wanna go for a walk or something,” you assured him, blushing a little. “It’s nice out and the party’s loud.” Ushijima had a funny feeling about you. You reminded him a bit of his friend who brought him here, Tendou, with your openness. Normally he’d be hesitant to leave him at a party, but something about your warmth convinced him to take you up on the offer.

“Sure,” he said evenly, rising to his feet, pushing his hands into his pockets. Despite yourself, you found your breath catching when you saw him at his full stature. Even when you stood, you had to lift your chin to meet his eyes. The two of you walked haltingly away from the front door, silently turning down the residential streets toward a park you knew of. He felt like the contradiction of some mighty Greek god, sculpted in intimidating power yet walking almost awkwardly beside you. You made small talk, exchanging your majors, where you were from, and post-graduation plans. His eyes stayed focused on the sidewalk, treating you to a good view of his strong profile. You noted how handsome his slightly-upturned nose was and instantly told your subconscious to shut up with its unhelpful observations. His every step was graceful and controlled.

There was a moment of silence, only broken by the occasional brush of wind through blooming trees overhead. He cleared his throat.

“So...have you ever been in love?” he asked. You nearly snorted, a sharp exhale pushing out of your nose and the corners of your lips quirking upwards. You glanced at his face, biting back a smile, but when you saw his unchanged, stoic expression, you decided he must surely just have the driest sense of humor of anyone you’d ever met.

“No,” you laughed. “I’ve never been in love. I’m not the marrying kind so I can’t just go falling in love with anyone,” you teased. Unexpectedly, you caught a glint in his narrowed eyes which darted over to yours.

“So if I said I’d marry you, you wouldn’t marry someone like me?” he challenged.

“Sure I would. If I loved you, it wouldn’t make any difference what you....” you trailed off, your brows furrowing. Was he being serious? First the comment about being scared of him, then talking about “someone like him”...he seemed like the kind of man to take pride in his physicality. Based on the way you’d seen him play, in fact, you would bet on it. But had someone made him feel different or weird? You felt your heart softening a little towards him.

“How do you know what you’d do if you loved me? How you’d feel?... Anything?” his voice had a soft lilt to it but his face remained impassive as he side-eyed you.

“I don’t know,” you laughed at the bizarre interrogation, but decided to play along. “But I know...it would distract me constantly!” you said mischievously, playfully frustrated. “I couldn’t get a thing done and I’d just sit staring into space, being so in love with you,” you mused, a half-smile on your face at the idea.

“But you aren’t,” Ushijima poked, seemingly serious. You met his eyes.

“No. I just know how I’d be,” you admitted, the playfulness seeping away from your voice as you grew more thoughtful. You’d thought about the idea of being in love tons of times. As much of a hassle as it seemed, you also had to admit you loved the idea of it. You exhaled, suddenly pensive, drawn away by the idea.

“If I loved you, I wouldn’t know how to tell you, that’s for sure. I couldn’t find the words...and I’d try to tell you, but I’d be afraid...and shy,” you seemed to catch Ushijima’s attention at this. Your eyes met again for a brief moment before you jerked your focus away, turning your gaze to the cherry trees framing the park the two of you were entering. You cleared your throat, letting levity slip back into your voice with a smile.

“But I’d let you slip through my fingers and then you’d leave!” you said with a dramatic sigh. “Neeever knowing how. I. felt,” you sing-songed, teasing him. “If I loved you, that is.” You playfully nudged Ushijima with your elbow, inhaling deeply. The two of you walked in silence for a moment.

“The cherry blossoms sure are beautiful,” you remarked quietly when he had nothing to say to your hypothetical. “You can smell them in the wind.” He blinked.

“There’s not much wind tonight,” he observed. You furrowed your brows at him then glanced around. He was right, any breeze that had blown by earlier had died down and the air felt almost stagnant.

“You can’t feel or hear much of anything tonight,” he said, in what you would almost call a somber tone. “But I like it. It makes you feel kind of...small,” he mused quietly. You looked at him. He was wrapped up in his own thoughts and it was, you hated to acknowledge it, rather beautiful to watch his brow work through the idea. “When I was younger, sometimes on nights like these, my dad would take me out on our rooftop and we’d look at all the stars.” He glanced up, thoughtful. After a moment, the two of you slowed to a stop, your eyes still trained on his strong features as he gazed at the sky. His irises flicked down and quickly over to yours and you were suddenly aware that you had been staring. You swallowed and looked away at the cherry blossoms.

“I sorta wonder...” he trailed off, then let out a soft laugh at himself. You snapped your head towards his, amused. It was the first time you’d actually heard him laugh that evening, soft though it was. It was sweet. “Nah...” he said with the gentlest smile, and walked over to a park bench.

“What?” you asked, his smile contagious. You followed him and took a seat on the opposite site of the bench, tucking your legs underneath you.

“Nothing. I mean, if I loved you.... God I can just see it. I’d be all weak and reserved. I’d be too shy to tell you either but... I’d be whipped for you,” he was teasing now, you could tell. You could begin to see the glint of his teeth behind his lips. He wasn’t exactly what you would call a flirt, but the idea had sparked his interest. He was hard to read but you found you were enjoying unlocking the puzzle.

You swallowed, suppressing an involuntary smile at the idea of Ushijima Wakatoshi being whipped for you.

“But you aren’t!” you interjected, as he had so diligently reminded you in your musings.

“No, I’m not.” His soft smile shot through you and you quickly reminded yourself that you were just flirting, passing the time on the night of a boring frat party, nothing more. In a few minutes, you’d be heading back to the party and dragging your drunk friends home. His eyes lingered on yours just a moment before returning to the sky. There was a pause and you could swear you heard him sigh.

“But I know what you mean. I can see what I’d be like, if I loved you. The words, the timing would never be right. Even if I was dying to tell you how I felt, I’d be too nervous,” he had returned to his pensive default. “You’d lose interest and never even know that I loved you,” he trailed off. Silence. “Hypothetically, of course,” he added. You found that you weren’t smiling anymore, simply thinking of the idea and watching his gears turn.

“But I don’t plan on marrying either,” he said, his voice gaining a harsher, rushed edge. “My career comes first.”

“Don’t worry about it,” you said absently, your gaze returning to the trees around the park as a funny feeling settled in your chest. It was a nice evening. And here you sat, with a man you’d just met, talking about love. It was one of those special moments where the lateness of the hour just made people say things with a certain reverence and weight that they wouldn’t have over casual lunch. He was leaning against the back of the bench, his hand resting out to his side. You noted the distance between yours and his and wondered if they had been that close before.

“You were right,” you started and his gaze shifted to your face, “about there not being a lot of wind tonight. The blossoms are just falling by themselves,” you said, watching them float to the ground. Suddenly, you felt the outside of Ushijima’s little finger come to rest against the outside of yours. You glanced down, then your eyes tracked up to his, which were already on your face, molten gold and almost afraid-looking, despite their ferocity.

“Just their time to, I guess,” you exhaled.

A/n: PLEASE go listen to the Jesse Mueller and Joshua Henry’s recording of this here!!!! This song makes my heart swell and I never thought I’d draw out this side of ushi like this - I’ve never gotten softer towards a character bc of my own writing before but now ushi just stays on my mind 🥺

Taglist: @izagraceee​ @musicgetsmeoutofbed​ @azo-musxas​ @tsumurai

[backwardscapsmh]

day 4 of @omgcpanniversaryweek: free space

this hops/bully fic has been in my drafts for a while so i kind of finished it?? idk how i feel about the ending at the moment. anyways, enjoy! comments and constructive criticism are appreciated! 🥰

oh, cause to tell you is too scary // so i’ll just say something else // like how was fall semester // and what was that song about? // i’ll try to hide the way i feel // but i’ll just wanna shout

- pancakes for dinner by lizzy mcalpine

Hops is not nervous, okay? He’s not nervous in the slightest. He’s the epitome of calm. He is as cool as a cucumber. He is, as Nursey likes to say, chill. Really, he is. It’s just that he’s going to Bully’s dorm. And his roommate is not going to be there.

And it’s not like he’s against hanging out with Bully, with no one else around. He actually likes hanging with Bully alone a lot. Bully’s awesome! He’s funny and calming and talented and...Hops just likes him a lot. He’s a good friend, so of course Hops likes hanging out with him.

But sometimes he looks at Bully, with his gorgeous long hair and just all around attractive facial structure, and he thinks some things are much more on the romantic side of things, rather than platonic.

His head fills with daydreams of Bully wrapping his arms around Hop’s waist as they cuddle on the couch. Bully wrapping his large hand around Hop’s own. Bully letting Hops run his fingers through his hair. Bully pressing soft kisses down his neck. It’s not something he should be thinking about a friend. A strictly platonic one.

But it happens sometimes. He can’t help it, especially when they’re alone. Bully will settle closer to him, and Hops will then be hyper-aware of their proximity. He’ll only be able to focus on how he could reach out and just grab Bully’s hand, or drop his head on his shoulder. It’d be easy, but then he remembers how his feelings would ruin everything. So he puts more space between them, but then all he thinks about is Bully.

It’s just better for everyone involved if there are other people around when they hang out. Other people to distract Hops from his feelings for one River Bullard.

But he doesn’t want to be the weird friend who can only hang out with someone if they’re in a group, so he forces his feelings down when Bully suggests he and Hops watch one of Hop’s favorite animes together. He said he wanted to watch it because Hops talked about them so much and they sound interesting. And how can Hops say no to his crush telling him that he wants to watch something with Hops because Hops told him it was good?

He can’t. So that’s how he ends up here, in front of Bully’s dorm door, ready to go in there and watch anime on Bully’s college mandated twin size bed, when his roommate isn’t there.

So yeah, maybe he’s a little nervous, but he’ll be fine. He swears. It’s not like Bully is going to be any different than he is normally. Hops can pretend that he only has platonic feelings for him. He can totally do that.

So he knocks on the door, completely confident, and then Bully opens the door. He takes a look at Bully as the door squeaks slightly on its hinges.

Oh fuck. He can’t do this.

No one told him that River Bullard wore glasses?! Why didn’t he know that Bully wore glasses?! Why did no one tell him that he looked fucking hot in glasses too?!

No one could have warned him?! No one could have said “Hey Hops, just a warning, Bully wears horn-rimmed glasses and he looks like every single fantasy of a hot man you’ve ever had. Prepare yourself,” and given him time to prepare?!

Because he definitely needed that warning. Bully looks so hot it’s honestly insufferable. His long hair is pinned up with what he can only assume is a normal Ticonderoga pencil, which is already causing poor Jonathan Hopper’s heart to do jumping jacks. He’s wearing an old t-shirt with some faded lettering that Hops can’t be bothered to read because he’s distracted by how the fabric stretches across Bully’s wide shoulders. And of course, perched on his nose is the offending pair of glasses.

Hops thinks he might pass out.

“Hopper? Are you okay?” Bully asks, tilting his head sideways, eyebrows furrowing.

“Huh?!” he startles, nearly dropping the microwave popcorn and blanket he’s holding.

“You looked kind of scared for a minute there. I didn’t mean to startle you dude.”

Hops nervously chuckles. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Alright. Let’s get started! I’m really excited to watch this. It sounds cool from what you told me,” Bully’s smile is blinding as he leads Hops into his room.

His room doesn’t have any shocking changes Hops wasn’t aware of. He’s been in Bully’s room before so he knows what to expect. This is familiar territory.

“Thanks for having me over man,” he says as he and Bully both settle on Bully’s way-too-small-for-2-hockey-players bed, arms barely brushing.

He’s trying to focus on other things. Like the pictures of Bully’s roommate’s wall. Like the Spider-Man print on the blanket his mom bought for him when he got into Samwell. Like Bully’s hands typing on the keyboard, queuing up Sk8 the Infinity. Like the wisps of hair that have fallen from the updo Bully did with a pencil. Like the few sporadic freckles that dot Bully’s face. Like Bully’s deep brown eyes.

“You good?” Bully’s voice snaps him out of his daze.

“Yeah,” he manages to choke out, smiling as best he can. “Just a little distracted.”

“Okay. If you don’t want to watch this we can do something else. I don’t mind.”

Oh my god, could this man get more perfect?

“Nah, I love this show. Let’s do it,”

“Alright, if you need to leave, just let me know,” Bully smiles at him before pushing play and settling back, his shoulder lighting pressing into Hops’s.

If only he was brave enough to reach out and tangle their fingers together. Or brave enough to tell Bully how he really feels.

Maybe one day, but not right now. There’s too much at stake.

[chubbyreaderwriter]

New Guy

Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver x Chubby/Plus Size Reader

Imagine: Peter likes you but doesn’t know how to tell you, until some other guy starts hitting on you. 

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: swearing 

Masterlist

Peter didn’t realise he was staring at you again until Jean nudged him, “You look like a creep, stop it.” Peter sighed, “Well I can’t help it, look how cute she is man, you telling me you don’t stare at her?” Jean rolled her eyes at Peter, “I don’t get why you don’t tell her how you feel, instead of watching her all the time like some pervert.” Peter ignored Jean, choosing to stare at you again, admiring every little thing about you. He had crushed on you from the very beginning if he was honest with himself. You were different than anybody he’d ever met before and he thought you were just so cute, especially your body. 

Usually Peter was confident and reckless and did what he wanted when he wanted to do it, but when it came to you he was nervous and scared. He could barely hold a conversation with you at first, always stuttering over his words and saying the wrong things. He could talk to you normally but when it came to asking you out or telling you how he feels, his mind just stopped working and he gets unbelievably nervous. He hated it, in a perfect world, you would already be his girlfriend right now and he wouldn’t be staring at you across a field wishing he had the balls to ask you out. 

In the middle of his daily session of watching you, he noticed some guy walking up to you. He sat up straight, “Uh, who is that?” Jean glanced over to get a good look at the guy, “New kid, joined a couple days ago I think.” Peter watched as he got closer and closer and started talking to you. Peter nudged Jean, “What are they saying? Does he think she’s cute? Is he trying to get with her? Does she think he’s cute? Jean, tell me!” Jean pushed Peter away from her, “Go find out yourself.” Peter’s pining was sort of cute at first but now it was just annoying and Jean didn’t want anything to do with it.

Peter did as Jean suggested and was sat next to you under the tree within the blink of an eye. You jumped and lightly smacked his arm, “Peter, what did I tell you about scaring me like that?” You whined in his ear and Peter smiled at you, because you were just so adorable but then he remembered the guy in front of you and his smile faded. You looked at the guy as well, “Oh right, Peter this is Michael, Michael, this is Peter.” Peter and Michael both nodded their heads at each other, sort of reluctantly. 

Michael cleared his throat as he turned back to you, “So (Y/N), we still on for tonight?” You smiled “Uh, sure.” Peter looked between the two of you, “What’s tonight?” You turned to face Peter, “Oh, Michael wants me to catch him up on classes.” Peter, hating the idea of the two of you being alone, suggested, “Well why don’t we invite the gang? We can all help out.” You agreed, “That’s a great idea and you’ll get to meet some new people, what do you say Michael?” Peter noticed his fake smile but you did not, “It sounds like fun, I’ll meet you guys later then.” 

Peter was happy to watch that guy leave but now it was just the two of you. You leaned against Peter, “So did you need something?” Peter shook his head, “Nah, just thought I’d come say hello to your new friend.” You giggled and joked, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were jealous.” Peter froze, thinking that you had caught onto him but then you started laughing, “Relax, I know you don’t think of me like that, why would you?” It hurt Peter to hear you say that about yourself but now wasn’t the right time to tell you his feelings (except it was but he was too scare to say it).

You got up and left, heading towards the school to get something to eat. Peter rubbed his face with his hands, “You’re such a wimp, she was right there and you didn’t tell her. Now that stupid Michael is gonna go after her, I know it.” While Peter was cursing himself and his own cowardliness, Jean had made her way over to the speedster by the tree, “Yep and you better make a move quick because he likes her too.” Peter glared at her, “Thanks Jean, as if I didn’t know that already.” 

Jean rolled her eyes at him, like always, and walked with him back inside to head to their next class. By the end of the school day, Peter was already sick of hearing Michael’s name come out of your mouth. He hated the way you talked about him, saying how cool and funny he was. You should be saying that about him! Not Michael, ugh Michael. Peter was jealous, there was no doubt about it. You didn’t get why Peter was in such a bad mood by the end of the day, he seemed okay that morning. 

It was finally 6pm and you were walking with Jean to one of the many living rooms in the house, where you had all agreed to meet to help Michael study. Well, Jean was more interested in what might happen between you, Michael and Peter, but she wasn’t going to tell you that. Michael was already there, making awkward conversation with Scott when you two arrived. Michael practically ditched Scott to hop over to you, “(Y/N)! I’m glad you made it, your friend seems.. interesting.” Scott flipped him off behind his back and it was hard for you not to laugh but you didn’t want to embarrass Michael. 

Kurt showed up next, poofing into the room, blue smoke lingering in the air for a few moments. He chose to sit next to Scott, seeing as nobody else was. You looked around and saw no sight of Peter, “DO you guys know where-” An arm was slung around your shoulders and you turned to see Peter sitting next to you, “Looking for me?” You blushed a little and Peter took that as a personal victory. He loved it when he made you blush, it made him want to kiss you every time. 

Michael, however, didn’t like that and sat on the other side of you, despite Jean heading to sit there first. She pulled a sour face at Michael while you weren’t looking and decided to sit on a chair by herself, pulling out her books. You did the same, “Okay Michael, what do you want to start with?” Before he could even answer, Scott groaned, “Oh come on? I thought this was for him to get to know us? I don’t want to sit and study all night.” Everyone looked at you and you thought it was unfair, they all knew you folded under pressure, “Ugh fine, okay.” 

You put your things away and looked at Scott, “You decide then since it’s your idea.” You stuck your tongue out him but he didn’t care and moved in his seat, “Alright, lets play never have I ever.” Kurt perked up, “I have not played this game before, what are the rules?” Scott hummed, “Well you say something like ‘never have I ever drank beer’ and if you have done it, you take a shot.” Jean sighed, “We don’t have shots Scott.” Scott sighed, “Alright, then just raise your hand.” Michael whispered in your ear, “I’d prefer the shots, wouldn’t you?” You scoffed out a brief laugh and Peter bit the inside of his cheek, trying his hardest not to push Michael away from you. 

You moved into a more comfortable position but this meant Peter couldn’t put his arm around you anymore. He was disappointed for sure but didn’t say anything. Scott cleared his throat, “Okay, I’ll start, never have I ever used my powers in public.” Everyone raised their hand and you chuckled, “Well, that was obvious Scott.” Scott threw a cushion at you, “if you’re so smart, you do the next one then.” You caught the cushion and held onto it, “I will, never have I ever got drunk.” You raised your hand, along with Michael, Peter and Scott. Both Kurt and Jean’s hand stayed down. 

You grinned at those two, “We need to get you guys drunk...on second thoughts maybe that’s not a good idea.” Jean chuckled, “Yeah, maybe.” It went around the room taking turns and you had a couple of laughs when it got to Jean’s second turn and she looked right at Peter as she said, “Never have I ever had a crush on someone in this room. I will know if you’re lying so don’t cheat.” Peter glared at Jean as he raised his hand but his eyes widened as you slowly raised yours as well. But his happiness was gone when Michael raised his hand too. Scott laughed, “Oh man, this is awkward. Who do you have a crush on, (Y/N)?” 

Michael looked at you and so did Peter and you couldn’t handle everybody looking at you. You suddenly got up, “I need a drink.” They all watched you leave and Michael chuckled, “You guys think she likes me?” Jean gave him a forced smile while Scott awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and poor Kurt looked clueless. Michael, clearly not reading the vibe in the room, turned to Peter, “How do you even focus with her around, don’t you just want to take her to your room and fuc-” Peter glared at him, “Don’t talk about her like that.” Jean, Scott and Kurt were all looking at him but he didn’t care.

Michael scoffed, “Or what? I can say what I like, she’s gonna be mine soon and there’s nothing you can do about that. I can see you’re sweet on her so I’ll make sure she doesn’t scream my name too loud.” That was it, just the thought of his hands on you made him lunge at Michael and punch him, using his powers to make it hurt more. The others looked shocked but they didn’t really want to get involved so they just kind of sat there watching them. 

When you came back, you gasped when you saw Peter and Michael fighting each other on the ground, with Peter having Michael in a headlock and Michael trying to wriggle out of it.” You ran over to them to pull Peter off him, “Let go! Stop it, why are you fighting?!” Peter pushed himself away from you but before you could say anything else, Peter held the back of your neck and took you both up to his room. You immediately fell onto the bed, trying to get rid of that awful feeling whenever Peter used his powers with you. 

Thankfully, Peter waited until you were okay again to start talking, “Why were you fighting Peter?” He grit his teeth but didn’t say anything, “Why Peter?” Raising your voice slightly to get his attention. He looked away from you, “He was saying that he wanted to touch you and I didn’t like that.” You moved to sit in front of him, “Why didn’t you like it?” Your voice was quieter now but Peter still was too nervous to look you in the eyes, “Because...”

You saw his leg bounce and realised he was nervous so you gently held his hand, “It’s okay, you can tell me.” Peter sighed and finally looked at you, “Because I like you okay? I’ve liked you for a while now and just the thought of that douchebag touching you made me angry and I couldn’t stop myself. I’m sorry.” You smiled and Peter blushed, damn it. Why did you have to be so cute. 

You blushed as well as you scooted forward a little bit to be closer to Peter, “So I’m your crush then?” Peter’s mouth felt dry as he nodded. You giggled, “I never did say who my crush was, did I?” Peter could only stare at you and he felt his heart racing as you looked back at him, “My crush is you, Peter.” For the first time with you, Peter didn’t think about anything, he just acted. He leaned forward and put his hands on your face to be able to kiss you. You gasped and closed your eyes, happily kissing him back, your own hands moving to hold onto his shoulders. “Have I died and gone to heaven? Cause that’s what it feels like.” You giggled at him, “You took the words right out of my mouth, now shut up and kiss me.” Peter was only too happy to comply. 

The position was kind of awkward so he moved his hands to your waist and pulled you onto his lap but you squirmed a little, “No, I’m too heavy.” Peter wrapped his arms around you so you couldn’t move, “No you’re not babe, now where were we?” Peter grinned before kissing you again and you couldn’t help but smile into the kiss, finally you had your man. You had been imagining this moment for a long long time but you wouldn’t have it any other way. 

[fiddlepickdouglas]

Viva Las Vegas, Pt. 9 - A Case

Summary: Sunset Curve Alive AU, Willex, is it a lead?, 2k

@trevor-wilson-covington is the bestie who makes these lovely edits, we stan supportive friends

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8

Late the next morning, the guys stood with Julie’s family at the airport. Alex couldn’t believe that weeks of jamming together, writing music together, goofing around while Ray was filming, and dinners cooked by Julie’s aunt Victoria had all passed so quickly.

“It’s only another two months,” Julie was muttering to Luke, her eyes looking up into his with a special gentleness. Her hands gripped the top handle of her backpack with white knuckles.

“You’re gonna kill it out there,” Luke encouraged. The softness he applied was so different from what Alex usually saw, and he wasn’t looking forward to how miserable Luke was about to get in her absence. A painful thought told him it was probably similar to how he was at the moment, no matter how much he wanted to deny it. Having someone else reflect that wasn’t as nice as he thought it would be.

“Okay, kiddos, let’s get a photo!” Julie’s aunt was saying, shepherding them all together.

“Your mother asked me to take more pictures, so I’m taking all the pictures I can, sobrina,” Victoria came back.

“Tía,” Julie protested, rolling her eyes but smiling anyway.

Getting in formation, Alex positioned himself in the back by default, resting his arms on the shoulders of his bandmates while Julie, Flynn, and Carlos huddled together in front. After being uncomfortably squished into Reggie for a few seconds, he got blinded momentarily with the flash and was pretty sure he’d blinked. Then again, he was sure Bobby had been giving Reggie bunny ears, Luke was off balance, and Carlos had pulled a face, so it was likely that Flynn and Julie were the only ones who looked good in the photo.

“Ay, dios,” Victoria said afterward. “Your mamá is at least going to laugh a lot when she sees these.”

“I don’t know about the rest of y’all,” Flynn said, flipping her braids over her shoulder. “But I look amazing.”

Everyone chuckled and Ray picked up his carry-on.

“Alright, one last hug for everyone and then we’ve gotta board,” he said, pulling Carlos into his side. “You be good for your tía, alright?”

“Promise!” Carlos nodded with his typical grin.

Julie was already squished by Flynn and all the guys at once.

“Okay, before I get hugged to death,” she teased. They all let go of her. “I’ll miss you guys.”

“We’ll keep in touch, though, right?” Luke asked, his eyes wells of hope.

Julie looked up at him and smiled demurely.

“If you had a phone I could reach you with, then of course,” she told him.

“Yeah,” Luke muttered, pulling a Sharpie out of his back pocket. Alex smirked at seeing him be so prepared. Luke grabbed Julie’s hand and scribbled out a number, both chuckling lightly the whole time at how over the top he was being. “There, you’ve got my number.”

“Great,” Julie said with mixed awkwardness and amusement. “I’ll try not to wash my hands before I give you a call.” With that, she shouldered her bag and waved at them before joining Ray on the plane.

Bobby wrapped an arm around Luke’s shoulders and pivoted him so they could walk out of the terminal. Flynn and Victoria followed behind them while Carlos began running ahead of the boys.

“Don’t go too far, Carlos,” Victoria warned. “We don’t want to lose you.”

“You could still find me if you wanted!” he taunted, even though he made sure he remained in sight.

“He’s right,” Flynn smirked.

“Doesn’t matter,” Victoria said. “I’m taking a break while my sister needs support.”

Alex’s interest piqued at what he overheard.

“Wait, what do you mean?” he asked, pulling back from the rest of the group.

“I mean I’m putting my job on hold to help take care of my sister,” Victoria said, slightly confused at his question.

“Yeah, but what was your job?” he insisted, trying not to sound too intense about it.

“Oh,” she laughed. “I was on a team of investigators. We worked on missing person cases, mostly. But I’m taking a sabbatical.”

A mesh of things rushed into Alex’s mind and he wasn’t sure if he dared say them out loud. He had that strange feeling again, like he’d had when he first met Willie in the diner. That exhilaration.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” Victoria told him casually. “If you’re wondering about Luke, his case is through a completely different department, and I can’t do anything for or against him.”

“No, it isn’t,” he started. “What if there was evidence of a really old case? What would it take to pick it back up?”

She blinked at him.

“Well, if it’s a strong enough lead, then it would be worth looking into,” she said. “Why, do you think you know something?”

“No,” he said finally. “Well, it’s probably nothing, just a funny coincidence.”

Reggie’s words from last night echoed: sometimes a kid is just a random kid. Other arguments surfaced. There hadn’t been anything to tip him off that Willie had gone missing as a kid, it was just a poster with the same first name. Why did he get so excited about it? He gripped the strap on his fanny pack.

Victoria looked at him with mild concern.

“Okay,” she said. “Like what?”

Looking at the guys, Carlos, and Flynn in the distance, Alex breathed in nervously.

“I actually saw a poster for someone, and usually I don’t pay attention, but it matched the description of someone that I met a few weeks ago.”

“You mean, when you were in Las Vegas?”

He nodded.

“I would have to see the whole case, and reopening old ones takes a little more work. But if you truly think you know something, Alex, this is a very serious matter and I would need as much information as you could give.” She looked at him firmly.

Alex was caught on all the thoughts swirling in his mind as they entered the parking garage. He felt himself begin shaking. Maybe he was jumping the gun?

“Well, like you said, you’re taking a sabbatical. And I’m still thinking it’s a coincidence, so, I’d hate to take your focus away from Rose.”

Victoria smiled politely, although her eyes didn’t reflect it.

“Well, I appreciate that,” she told him as she made towards where Carlos and Flynn were already waiting at her car. “If you change your mind, just let me know.”

A car horn from somewhere else was heard and Alex saw the guys all waving at him to join them in the van. Taking in a deep breath, he nodded to Victoria and ran over to join his bandmates.

“Dude, what are you doing talking to Julie’s aunt?” Luke wondered.

“Nothing,” Alex responded. “She just has a cool job and I wanted to know about it.”

“You know who else has a cool job, Alex?” Luke asked. “We do. We have the coolest job. Don’t get distracted.”

Alex buckled himself in as Bobby pulled out of the garage.

“I’m not, I swear!”

Reggie just patted him on the back with his goofy smile. Alex rolled his eyes, knowing the guys meant well. He could feel that all of them were trying to be normal around him, so he couldn’t blame them for their efforts. He knew he hadn’t been as easy to deal with lately. It wasn’t anything major, but something had gotten him acting more closed off from them, and he was balancing letting the guys be aware of it and trying not to burden them with it at the same time. Maybe that’s why he wanted to connect Willie to the missing kid. It probably had made him think he could get closure after everything that had happened on the trip. He didn’t want to accept the saying ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.’

He couldn’t focus on that now, though. They had a few small gigs lined up and needed to get practicing. Opening for Julie had broadened their fanbase a little and things were going to change. Alex already didn’t handle change well. If he remained focused on something else, it was only going to make matters worse.

Later that night, they were just wrapping up practice in the garage. Bobby had popped a string on his guitar and ran into the house to grab a replacement.

“Alex, you were killing it, man!” Reggie was saying.

“Nah, I was just keeping it steady,” Alex shrugged.

“Seriously!” Reggie insisted. “You’re like the Energizer bunny! You know, always in pink, keeps us going, banging the drums - ”

“You should never make that comparison again,” Alex said, holding a hand up. “But alright, I was smoking, I’ll admit it.”

“Yeah,” Luke joined in. “Keep playing like that and you’ll be the next Neil Peart.”

Bobby reentered the garage.

“Hey, Alex,” he said. “You’ve got a phone call.”

All the guys, including Alex, looked confused. 

“Okay...guess I’ll go get that,” he said, heading into Bobby’s house.

Finding the phone attached to the wall outside the kitchen, Alex picked up the receiver.

“Hello?”

“Alex, it’s Victoria, Julie’s aunt,” he heard on the other line.

“Hi,” he answered, even more confused than before. “How did you know I would be here?”

“The number your friend gave my niece. She said that’s where you kids like to practice. I guess I called at the right time!”

He simply nodded in response, even though she couldn’t see it.

“Anyway, I wanted to know more about this person you saw.”

“Oh, okay.” He tried to remember as many details as he could while he gave them to her. He was pretty sure he could even remember the address for the hotel. Victoria just said ‘mmhmm’ in between everything, like she was writing it all down. It got Alex sort of excited, even though he remained bewildered that she was asking him for all of this information.

“Okay,” Victoria sighed after a few minutes. “I need to ask a favor of you boys.”

“Yeah, anything,” Alex said.

“Look after Carlos for a couple days? I can pay each of you.”

“Uh,” he blinked in surprise. “Yeah, cool, we can do that.”

“Perfect! And Alex, muchas gracias.”

“It’s nothing,” he said, glad to recognize at least one phrase in Spanish. “Thanks for calling.”

“No problem, kiddo. Ba-bye.” She hung up before him.

Alex slowly put the receiver back in place as he stood there processing. What had he just involved himself in? Julie’s aunt hadn’t exactly explained why she suddenly wanted to know everything about Willie. As he went back into the garage, he tried to calm his nerves.

“Well, who was it?” Luke asked as they all sat around waiting.

“Julie’s aunt,” Alex told them. “She wants us to watch Carlos for a couple of days.”

“Aw, yeah!” Reggie exclaimed, pumping his fists excitedly.

“Why didn’t she just tell me, then?” Bobby wondered.

“Because she wanted to finish the conversation that you guys so rudely interrupted before,” Alex said, only half-joking. 

Luke and Bobby shared a puzzled look, but let it slide.

“Did you tell her we have a gig in a couple days?” Luke asked.

Alex’s eyes widened.

“Oh, no, I forgot,” he said.

“He can just be our VIP,” Reggie stated, clearly unbothered about it.

“That works,” Alex said, gesturing to Reggie.

A cold realization hit him and he clenched his fist. He’d forgotten to mention more than their gig to Victoria: he also hadn’t told her about Willie’s amnesia.

Victoria looked down at the picture in her hand. It was familiar, since she had worked on that case when it first opened. One of the few that had gone unsolved in her department for a long time. She sincerely hoped she wasn’t about to make a mistake.

“So, where are you going?” Carlos asked as he chewed a mouthful of fries. They were sitting beside the wall of posters on the pier.

“I’m just checking on something,” she said vaguely. “If you want, I can bring back something for you.”

“A million dollars?”

She chuckled. “Unfortunately, I don’t think so.”

“Are you gonna be solving a case?” he queried.

Looking at the picture again, Victoria sighed and gave him a sympathetic smile. She knew he would want to help.

“I’m not sure, bendición,” she said. “But maybe.”

Checking the address she had written down and the map once again, Victoria stepped out of her car and into the hotel lobby. No one was at the front desk, so she rang the bell on the counter. A young man with dark curly hair appeared.

“Welcome to the Desert Oasis, how can I assist you?” he said cooly, and she recognized his Brazilian accent.

“Hi, I made a call this morning for a reservation? For a Victoria Mo- ”

“Ah, yes, I remember your call,” he interrupted. He looked up the room in his records and pulled out a key. “Your room will be on the second floor and then all the way down the hall to your right. Have a wonderful stay.”

“Thank you,” she said, taking the key, grabbing her one bag and heading up as fast as she could.

Hermana mía, por favor me perdones, she prayed silently in the elevator. If she was going to solve one case while she was supposed to be on sabbatical, it would be this one. She remembered searching high and low for this boy eight years ago and the devastation then. Rose would surely understand this, right? Victoria knew that if their positions were swapped, Rose wouldn’t be able to help doing something similar to help the people around her. It was just a family trait, she figured.

Getting situated inside the room, she pulled out the poster she’d pulled off the wall from the pier at Santa Monica and laid it on the table. Alex had called him Willie. She hoped they were the same.

[charlie-pippin-faraday]

Please break out your detailed, extensive, itemized list of every single thing you hate about S3 of hoa

*cracks knuckles* don’t say i didn’t warn you

let’s start with some positives

Things I liked about S3

Patricia and Eddie ❤️

like I am a peddie bitch and they are the literal only reason I bothered to watch literally any snippets of S3 at all

Eddie being a fucking simp 💖

The Patricia and Jerome fake date makes me cackle literally every time, so put that in the plus column

KT’s cool I guess, she could’ve been an awesome add-on if you hadn’t like ripped everything else apart

Things I HATED about S3 - LITERALLY everything else

here’s the main problem that threw off literally everything: no Nina???? then LITERALLY what is the point. she was the fucking driving force. nothing felt right without her

and then doing that made you break up Nina and Fabian which???? why?????? the entire first 2 seasons were spent showing that they cared about each other most in the world you can’t just drop it like it never happened and didn’t matter

and then, subsequently, you had no idea what to do with Fabian all season. god I love him but he lost something, you did nothing with him; the guy who was the number 2 billed character in seasons 1 and 2 just felt like an afterthought. he just became an information bank which :(

you sent away Amber?? why would you do that??

I didn’t like Patricia and Eddie breaking up. Like damn @ HOA writers is it that hard to write people in an actual lasting relationship? you tend to focus on the chase and not the relationship. watching people navigate a loving and committed relationship is compelling, too. P&E are better as a kickass pair and should never have broken up

my extremely hot take: Eddie didn’t need to have powers. he didn’t need to be the osiris or whatever the fuck. listen I LOVE Eddie dearly but tbh I didn’t like a single thing about that whole thing. 1) the idea of him being Nina's “protector” just felt icky and wrong to me. 2) I loved the idea of Eddie being normal and having all these great qualities anyway. like just being a regular guy but STILL being as adventurous and protective and wanting to be a hero? beautiful. he didn’t need all this. he didn’t need to be “special.” it felt forced??? having Eddie do all the same things and having those same traits but without the powers or whatever just would have been absolutely beautiful to me

I have conflicting feelings about Eddie being sibuna leader. Maybe if they had built up to it then it would have made more sense, but it just felt really sudden and abrupt and a little forced. he’s not a BAD leader (dumb, but not bad) but god the vibes were just off

really this problem just stems from the you-abruptly-tossed-Nina-to-the-curb problem, god everything just felt WRONG without her, and idk how to forgive them or any of the subsequent decisions they made bc of it

idk how I feel about alfie/willow. the jury’s out on that one

the main mystery/sibuna plot was questionable at best. the whole sinners thing had its moments but overall, meh

FABIAN/MARA????? WTF?????? doesn’t make one lick of sense. nope. get it out of my sight. they could’ve been cool friends but if you wanted that then maybe you should have started it a season and a half earlier

don’t fucking talk to me about how much they absolutely DESTROYED Jerome’s character. Jerome is my absolute favorite character and I am absolutely DISTRAUGHT about what they did to him in S3. like all that development that happened? especially during season 2? GONE. oh, you wanted him to grow and change and develop and be a better person? nah, we’re gonna hit the reset button on that. wtf happened.

why the FUCK would you do that to Jerome/Mara. if I had my way, he absolutely NEVER would have cheated on her. with his season 2 development, him cheating wouldn’t have made any sense, but you erased all of that I guess. and maybe they don’t last but it certainly doesn’t go like THAT. like?? why did you write that?? he spent an ENTIRE TWO SEASONS falling for Mara and opening up to Mara as the person he trusted with intimate, sensitive parts of his life. he developed and grew to be a better person because of that relationship. EVERYTHING through the whole first two seasons was building up to them being together, them trusting each other and being each other’s person and I just don’t understand why you would do that. they made them do a complete 180 from their S2 personalities and nothing that happened made sense and I’m really upset about it

Jerome wasn’t involved in the mystery hardly at all?? like is it really a house of anubis season without Jerome being tangentially involved with the mystery on the other end, his storyline eventually merging with sibuna’s? he felt useless suddenly, and it made me extremely upset. Jerome is a really intriguing and dynamic character who does so many interesting things, and S3 reduced him to a cheating storyline. even if he’s not IN sibuna (which he SHOULD have been, but that’s a different rant), he should be involved in the sibuna plot!!!! i’m extremely upset about everything they did with Jerome

I hated the ENTIRE Mara/Joy/Willow/Jerome storyline. HATED it. The majority of the season was just “getting revenge on Jerome” and I just. hated it. every single part of it. you could have had so many better things for them to do. every time i’m rewatching I skip past every second of this storyline it’s boring, cringey, gross, and takes up far too much time.

I hate literally everything about Jerome/Joy it doesn’t make sense they don’t vibe; I can probably count the number of times they interacted before S3 on one hand; you literally could not pay me to watch footage of them get rid of it burn it with fire

Another hot take: KT and Joy should’ve been lesbians. specifically lesbians with each other, but definitely lesbians on their own. I get that nickelodeon probably wasn’t “allowed” to do that but. they should’ve been

KT didn’t need to drive a wedge between Patricia and Eddie, they could’ve all been friends with no problems. this DEFINITELY would not have been a problem if they’d let KT be a lesbian

there were MANY friendships that needed to be built upon. namely: Eddie/Fabian, Alfie/Fabian, Eddie/Jerome, Patricia/Alfie/Jerome as a trio, Patricia/KT, needed more Patricia/Mara

strengthen the Patricia/Joy and Alfie/Jerome bonds

man I just want everyone to be friends??? I love friendship

reiterating the things I hated most: they should NOT have broken up Patricia and Eddie, they should NOT have put KT between them, and they tbh should NOT have insinuated anything romantic there at all. TIRED of that shit. just let them be in love all season is that so hard

Fabian deserved better

JEROME DESERVED BETTER

burn the Fabian/Mara and Jerome/Joy pairings with fucking fire

should not have sent away Nina and Amber everything just felt wrong

there are SO many better choices they could have made. like....so many. @ HOA writers hire me to re-write the season

in conclusion: Patricia and Eddie being in love was the literal only good part of S3. fin.

[mcytrabbithole]

The Crash (Prologue Pt.2)

The second part of the prologue for my new fic! This is a fic about what would happen if the members of the Dream SMP and Hermitcraft got thrown into a new situation together.

If you want to read the first part of the prologue, you can read it here   

Tags: @shineisalive , 

Warnings: Suffocation, vomiting, sudden muteness, SMP members feeling some pain

Word Count: 2473 

It was a...normal day on the Dream SMP. At least as far as their normal days could go, which was to say that it was the most chaotic thing possible. Todays chaos involved the fact that things had finally boiled over for the seventeenth time. Now it was time for another showdown, this time the showdown was going on right past the fear sign that was outside of Pogtopia.

This was it, another battle for Pogtopia, another battle towards gaining their freedom. At least, it was looking like it was going to be another. The whole server was there, some watching, some ready for a fight. Niki and Eret were watching, because Niki didn’t have enough armor and Eret just couldn’t bring himself to fight. Seeing the people who are your home fight for the right to go back to the place they once called home isn’t something that many people would want to see. 

Through out the day, as time led up to the battle, things had been...odd. Not just normal SMP odd either, odd like things had been going weird odd. Dream had noticed this as he always did, because as the admin, or the ‘god’ as he was jokingly referred to, he had to know what was up with his server. So if that meant sometimes he had to watch the chaos a little bit before he understood what was going on, then so be it. 

Tommy had lost his pickaxe twice, even though he and Techno both knew it had been in his bag, and it reappeared in a chest that was by the potato farm. They hadn’t even been near the potato farm. Well, Techno had been but Tommy hadn’t been down there so they didn’t know how it had ended up there. Dream knew Tommy had had the pickaxe in his bag, he had seen him with it, so he knew that that had to have been a glitch. No biggie, one glitch isn’t a problem.

Then Dream had had the weirdest glitch he had seen in a while pop up.

Nihachu has burnt to death

The_Eret has burnt to death 

The_Eret: Me and Niki weren’t even near one another and I wasn’t near any lava so I don’t know what just happened

Nihachu: I was just working on fixing some holes in a wall and then I just died? Dream could you take a look and see what happened?

Dream: Yeah, did you guys lose anything?

The_Eret: Nah, it says I burnt to death but all my stuff is where it was when I died 

Nihachu: Same here. 

Dream: I’ll take a look at it 

Dream sighs as he reads over the messages a few more time, he didn’t really use his admin powers for much besides getting people their stuff back and giving people the supplies they needed. He double checks to make sure that he’s alone, which he was considering he was by himself in his house, and then he takes off his mask, allowing himself to see the code and take a look at it. 

He didn’t take his mask off a lot for many reasons, but it was mainly so that he wouldn’t have to focus on the code that he could see thanks to being an admin. For some admins it was a case of needing something so they could see the code, for others it was a case of needing something so that they couldn’t see the code. 

As he looks over the code to try and figure out what was wrong, he frowns. Everything looked right, but something just felt...wrong. It was like that itch at the back of your throat that you get even when you feel healthy as can be. Maybe he just hadn’t looked at the code in a while, maybe it was just the nerves that came with every battle that he fought in. Just because he’s a good fighter doesn’t mean that he doesn’t get nervous before a fight. Especially one like the one that was going to go down outside of Pogtopia, because that fight meant a fight against his friends. 

He checks the time, the frown remaining on his face as he realizes how little time he has left until the fight. Dream takes a deep breath, taking one last look at the code before he puts his mask back on. Dream begins to make his way over to Pogtopia, trying to ignore that feeling at the back of his throat. It was just nerves, just his connection to the server being a bit stronger because of what was about to happen. 

When he arrived, he saw that the sides were slowly beginning to form. Seeing Fundy, George, his team, fight against him wasn’t something he wanted, but he was willing to put aside his feelings. Dream looks over to where Wilbur, Tommy, and Techno were standing; they were quietly talking about something. Dream acted like he was middle ground, standing in between the two groups that had begun to form. 

He couldn’t help but listen to the Pogtopia side of things, being an admin allowed for these moments. Allowed for him to listen in, figure out what people were saying and feeling without having to let himself get close. Some might call it rude, but he knew he needed to hear how the people he was going to fight alongside were feeling, even if he couldn’t reveal that he was fighting alongside them yet. 

“Wilbur, are you sure you can handle going up against him? He’s still your son, even if he’s a traitor.” For once, Tommy wasn’t yelling and screaming. He was worried, worried for his friend. Wilbur sighed, taking a deep breath,” I can handle this, Tommy.” Though Dream could tell, Wilbur hated doing this. Going up against his son, it was something Wilbur never pictured happening. “Wilbur,” Techno spoke, using that same voice, but they could tell he was serious,” Am I allowed to hurt him? Cause I don’t wanna accidentally stab your kid if you’re not cool with me stabbing your kid.”

“Techno,” Wilbur looked at Techno, he sounded tired, looked tired,” If you absolutely have to, then stab...and if there is no other option, go for the kill. He’ll just respawn and be a bit pissed at you, or me...probably me.” Techno nods, he was always glad to go into another fight, but he also didn’t want to be the one that killed the people that they didn’t wanna kill. 

Dream decides to stop listening to the conversation and just take a second to look around. He wouldn’t listen to the Manburg side, not even what Fundy had to say right now. Dream could see that those who were watching were the ones who couldn’t fight, though if they end up needing them, he’s more than willing to drop the gear that Niki needs or that Eret may need. 

Finally, after quite sometime, the sides have spoken quietly to each other and now the real talks could begin. Dream stayed where he was, in the middle, but he was fully prepared to make a break for it and run for the Pogtopia side if he had to. The talks began calmly enough, with Wilbur saying,” Are you lot quite sure that you want to do this?” And Schlatt actually laughed, being far too arrogant for a man who didn’t wear armor,” Oh we’re quite sure, Wilbur.” 

Dream sighed, looking between the two sides. He figured taking a shot at one last civil conversation was worth it. “Before you guys decide to go all out and murder one another,” He glances between the two groups,” One last chance to change sides, one last chance to talk things out peacefully, like adults.” He takes a deep breath and freezes at the sudden tightness he feels in his throat. 

Both groups had been paying attention to Dream, so when he suddenly stopped talking, they all noticed. Dream tries to take another breath, but he can’t, and suddenly he’s gripping at his throat hoping to god that he’ll be able to breathe again. He’s gasping for breath, and people are trying to figure out what’s going on. 

“Dream?” George says his friends name, concern for his friend running through him just as it did for everyone else, besides Schlatt. “He’s just faking it to buy time.” Schlatt says this easily enough, but everybody looks at him like he’s just snorted a bunch of blaze powder. Dream could swear that he was starting to see spots, unaware of the fact that he had started to shake. Fundy almost took a step, but he was sure that Dream would be fine.

Then it hit Dream again, and he hit the ground, landing on his hands and knees. “Dream!” George, Sap, and Bad went running towards their friend. Schlatt puts an arm out to stop George,” Don’t.” George just gives Schlatt a look,” He’s my friend and I’m going to check on him.” Then he pushes past Schlatt and heads over to Dream. 

Dream was gasping for breath, trying to get in any air at all, but it just wouldn’t happen. “Dream, can you hear us?” Bad asks this, carefully crouching down next to his friend. “Does anybody have any water?” Sap looks towards both groups, war bedamned, his friend is in pain and he doesn’t want to see him in pain. Niki digs around in her pockets, finding a glass bottle,” I’ll get some water from the river!” She went running towards the river, Dream was a good guy and he needed the help.

Dream manages a nod, he could hear them, but things were getting faint. “Can we take the hood off of your head?” Bad was doing his best, so he figured yes or no questions were the best ones to ask right now. Dream nods again, getting the hood off might help. Bad carefully pulls the hood off of Dream’s head, and it helps for a moment, but then the pain comes back a thousand times stronger, causing him to let out another gasp. He could feel the lack of oxygen getting to him, could feel the bile in the back of his throat from how much the pain made him want to vomit. 

“Dream, I think we’ll need to take the mask off of your face.” Bad says this carefully, knowing that Dream hated taking his mask off around people. Dream manages to think about it for a moment, then manages to shakily lift one of his hands, moving his mask just enough for his nose and mouth to be uncovered. That did help, allowing him enough air to breathe for longer than a moment. 

Then suddenly, the pain stopped, and he was breathing again, though right after this, he does vomit. Bad rubs his back as Niki comes running up with a bottle of water, which she hands to George, cause she still doesn’t want much to do with Sapnap. George thanks Niki for the water as she heads back over to the sidelines where she and Eret had been. 

Once Dream had stopped vomiting, George handed him the bottle of water and Dream practically downed it. Once he had finished the water, he went to thank George for it...and couldn’t speak. He frowns, trying to speak, but nothing comes out. Dream couldn’t talk, he couldn’t talk, oh this could not be happening. George frowns,” Are you having trouble talking?” Dream nods, sitting up as best as he can. 

“What on earth is happening?” Wilbur seemed confused, concerned for Dream, but confused. “I think he can’t speak anymore.” Sap frowns, this was weird. Dream never felt any level of bad, so for him to have something like that happen...what on earth was going on? 

Dream tries to speak again, but nothing comes out... and the pain comes back, except now it was in his chest. He doubles over, hitting the ground on his back this time. “Shit!” Sapnap and George both looked like they had no idea how to help and Bad was so freaked out that he didn’t even bother to say language. 

Wilbur decides he’s going to take a step forward and see if he can help...and then the pain hits him straight in the chest and he hits the ground. “Wilbur!” Tommy is at his friends side in an instant, Niki running over to see what was going on. On instinct, Fundy reacts,” Dad!” He takes off towards them, Schlatt tries to stop him, placing an arm out and saying,” Don’t. Let him suffer.” Fundy responds to that by whacking Schlatt upside the head and ducking under his arm. Unfortunatley the pain to hit him a moment later and send him to the ground not too far from the midline of what had been the land between the two groups.  

Schlatt frowns,” What kind of display of weakness is this?” Was this some sort of weird trick? Surely this was the only reason Dream and Wilbur would both be doing this. They had to be playing some sort of trick on him, that was the only thing that made sense. 

Tubbo saw Tommy hit the ground and he almost went to him, almost went to his friends, but he didn’t want to risk it. Then he sees Eret hit the ground and he runs over to see if he could possibly help him. Right now, Eret was technically neutral so surely helping him wouldn’t be a bad thing. As he reaches Eret, the pain hits him and he ends up on the ground near Eret. 

Then it starts to hit them all one by one, eventually everyone had hit the ground from pain...the only one left standing was Schlatt. “Ha! Look at all of you acting so weak! What kind of weird trick is this?! You think you’ll get pity from me just because you’re all in a little pai-” Before he can finish his rant, which was probably something about how strong he is, the pain finally hits him and he hits the ground. 

As the pain hits them, they all shut their eyes, hoping that the pain would stop. That’s when they felt the change, the shift, the feeling of their code suddenly being moved somewhere else. Dream felt it the most, felt the way the server changed, he could practically feel it in the very beginnings of his code. 

Suddenly, the pain stops, and when they opened their eyes, things were very different. Some were in an open field, others were separated from one another...but no matter where they had ended up, they weren’t alone. All they knew was this was not the SMP that they knew, at least, not entirely...and the people they saw were definitely people that weren’t in the SMP. 

[saedii-gilwraeth-simp]

This post but I wanted to do it all with BillyxArsinoe - Part 2: electric boogaloo (REPOST BC I FINISHED IT THIS TIME)

How do they fall asleep? Wake up? Any daily rituals?

Billy always says hello to Arsinoe first when he gets home. It doesn’t matter if it’s a party and there are 50 people between Arsinoe and the front door, Billy always says hello to her before anyone else. And Arsinoe always kisses Billy’s cheek before she gets out of bed because she’s too groggy to say hello properly.

How’s their team work? Do they share well?

Wins three-legged races every time. They are masters of communication so they work together really well and tend not to step on each other’s toes. They share pretty well unless it’s blankets.

Are they open about their relationship? How do they feel about public displays of affection?

Billy and Arsinoe fucking love talking about each other to other people because they love being together. In terms of PDA, they are… very enthusiastic and it has definitely gotten them in trouble before.

First impression of each other? Was it love at first sight?

They really didn’t click when they first met and it was definitely not love at first sight. I call it the “Billy is the epitome of a privileged white man” effect

Nicknames? Pet names? Any in-jokes?

They only call each other pet names when they’re tired. And they probably have a million in-jokes that I’m not funny enough to come up with

Any tasks that are always left to one person?

Arsinoe always makes the bed bc she knows Billy likes to get into a made bed at the end of the day. Billy always washes and puts away the dishes bc the repetitive motion messes with Arsinoe’s bad shoulder

What annoys them the most about their partner? Would they change it if they could?

Billy gets upset over how far Arsinoe takes things when it come to helping/protecting her friends and family because it can get her hurt, but he wouldn’t change it bc he knows he would do the same thing. Arsinoe doesn’t like that Billy wants to protect her constantly but she wouldn’t change it bc very few people (basically Jules and Mirabella and that’s it) have ever cared about her enough to protect her

What do the like best about their partner?

Arsinoe adores how gentle but fierce Billy is and Billy loves how much joy Arsinoe brings to the lives of everyone she meets

Do they discuss big issues? Religion? Marriage? Children? Death?

They discuss it when they first start permanently living together. Neither are religious bc Arsinoe has trauma from the temple and Billy just doesn’t really care about religion. Both agreed very early on that they wanted to get married and have children. Neither wants to talk about death, they’ve had enough of that that they just want to push the conversation away.

Who drives? Cooks? Does the handiwork? Cleans? Pays the bills? Handles the public?

Billy drives, neither cook, Arsinoe does the handiwork, both clean, Billy pays the bills (bc patriarchy). Neither handle the public.

Do they celebrate holidays? Anniversaries?

They like to celebrate holidays bc it gives them a chance to get everyone together to celebrate. And they both go ham for anniversaries.

Is there a wedding? What was the proposal like? Any kind of honeymoon?

So Billy just proposes on a nondescript Sunday in summer when they’re chilling on the porch and he looks over and the sun is lighting Arsinoe up and he just knows that this is the perfect moment, so he grabs the ring he’s carried around for months out of his pocket, puts it on the table open and says “Hey babe, let’s get married” and that’s it, they’re engaged. So, the wedding is nice and the reception is rowdy but also very intimate - Billy and Arsinoe definitely cried during the vows they wrote themselves and their flower crowns were gorgeous. And for their honeymoon, they go to this really nice manor in the country and do typical honeymoon things ;) ;)

What do they do for fun? Do they have a favorite activity or do they like to switch things up?

They go on fun dates around the city - lots of horse-racing, boxing and rugby. Their favourite though is to try to find different, better places for picnics each week. It’s began to get very competitive.

Anything they both dread?

Both really don’t enjoy being separated. Which is not to say that they always have to be together or that they can’t exist without each other, but they enjoy each other’s company so long periods of separation make them sad.

How adventurous are they?

I mean, this is a couple who recreated “We’re going on a bear hunt” so they get pretty wild.

Do they keep secrets? Lie? Cheat?

They might keep secrets to surprise each other time to time, but they both value and love each other too much to even consider lying, cheating or keeping big secrets.

What would make them break up? Would it be permanent?

Nothing and if something did, it sure as fuck wouldn’t be a permanent break up.

What are their dates like? How long do/did they date? Do they ever feel the need to take a break from each other?

Their dates are pretty fun and involve food and laughing, regardless of what they do/where they go. They “dated” for like 3 years simply cause they’re both young and have all the time to get married. and they don’t really feel the need to take breaks but they do sometimes, just to feel independent.

What do they fight about? What are their arguments like? How do they make up?

They don’t really have big explosive arguments and fights because they’re good at expressing themselves. But when they do fight, they both yell and then they get really silent and then they talk it out. And then makeup sex.

What does their home look like? Their room?

The townhouse in the city - where they are normally - is mostly shades of baby blue and has the vibes of a rich 18th century family home. Their bedroom has sapphire blue walls and curtains with a four poster bed and a dresser and a wardrobe against the opposite wall. They have an ensuite with a massive bath and double vanity and a walk in robe. They also have a farmhouse and that is a lot more quaint.

Do they share any interests or hobbies?

Both enjoy looking after their chickens and the horses they own at the races but other than that they have their own hobbies.

Does their work ever interfere with the relationship?

Billy’s work requires a lot of travel that Arsinoe can’t go on sometimes, so they have to shift how their relationship works sometimes, but for the most part, it doesn’t matter how far apart they are.

How do they hug? Kiss? Tease? Flirt? Comfort?

Billy sometimes hugs Arsinoe around the shoulders and will kiss her temple, usually when he feels talking will ruin a quiet moment. Otherwise, Billy tucks Arsinoe into his chest and wraps his arms over her shoulders when hugging her. Arsinoe always puts at least one hand on Billy’s neck and Billy always puts on hand on Arsinoe’s waist/hip when they kiss. If Billy wants to tease, he holds Arsinoe’s hips and kisses her neck. Arsinoe could reveal an ankle and Billy would blush tbh. Both are terrible flirts so they don’t flirt very often. And in terms of comfort, a hand hold or a good hug is really good for them.

Any doubts about the relationship?

Nah, their solid

How much time do they spend together? Do they share their feelings, or hold things in?

They spend a lot of time together (to be clear, they definitely are comfortable to ask when they need independent time) but it’s not like they’re constantly speaking, touching, they could just be sitting in the same room and it’s comfy. And they’re the best at sharing feelings, mostly bc they’re both shit at holding things in.

How do their friends feel about their relationship? Their families?

Their friends think they’re an excellent couple. Billy’s family tries to focus more on Billy’s happiness than how unconventional Arsinoe is as a Mainlander partner

Do they have kids? Grow old together? Split up?

Billy and Arsinoe have four children, triplet boys and a girl who are agents of chaos but grow up surrounded by so much love and acceptance (unlike how their parents grew up). B*A do grow old together and are still a fucking power couple in their 90′s

What are their vacations like?

Both work quite hard day to day so when they’re on holiday they usually relax, stay in bed late or meander throughout local towns. 

How do they handle disasters or emergencies? Minor injuries? Sickness? 

Both are very calm, cool and collected during disasters or emergencies. Billy stresses about injuries and sickness while Arsinoe’s pretty nonchalant bc she usually knows how to fix it. However, neither like it when their kids are sick.

Could they manage a long distance relationship?

They could but they wouldn’t want to

Do they finish each other’s sentences? Pick up any phrases or habits from each other? Know when the other is hiding something?

They definitely have the ability to finish each other’s sentences. Arsinoe has picked up Billy’s habit of tapping fingers on any surface that is nearby and Billy has taken on Arsinoe’s habit of rubbing a cheek when nervous. And yes, they know when each other is hiding something but they trust that whatever is being hidden will be revealed when right.

Do they ever get into trouble? Is it serious, or are they just mischievous? 

Oh boy they get in trouble so much but in the fun, saucy, “we’re a young couple in love” kinda way

What kind of presents do they get each other? Do they only do it on special occasions?

They usually will get each other something heartfelt or practical, sometimes a mix of both. They aim to stick to holiday/birthday sharing but every now and then, it’ll be a matter of “I saw this and thought of you.”

Do they have any pets?

More chickens than they know what to do with. A couple of cats that come and go and a golden retriever that their kids got but won’t reveal how, they just bought it home one day.

Do they bring out the best in each other, or the worst? Do they have a fatal flaw?

They bring out the best in each other and they’re the definition of married people who are best friends. They don’t really have fatal flaws.

What’s their greatest strength as a couple? Their weakness?

Greatest strength is how much they love each other so they create an environment that is so comforting. They’re weakness is that they’re so cute it makes people angry.

How much would they be willing to sacrifice for the other? Any lines they refuse to cross?

They wouldn’t do anything a morally sound person would consider deplorable but they would definitely sacrifice a lot for each other. 

What are they like in the bedroom? Any kinks/fetishes/turn-ons? Anything they won’t do?

Look, they’re def 50/50 vanilla/kinky but in terms of specific turn ons, Arsinoe has a thing for Billy’s hands and Billy likes Arsinoe’s legs and butt (very valid takes). I also think that they would try different bedroom things at least once, for experimentation purposes.

Who initiated the relationship? Who kissed who first?  When did they realize they were in love?

They both kind of initiated the r/ship and technically Arsinoe kissed Billy first. Billy realised he loved Arsinoe when she jumped in front of the bear and Arsinoe realised she loved Billy when he tried to save her from the priestesses.

Any special memories? Do they have a special place they like to go to?

Their special memories come mostly from when Arsinoe came back from Fennbirn to the Mainland, their wedding day and their kids birthdays. Their special place is on the townhouse roof bc it’s quiet and they can see the stars really well from there. 

Are they party-goers? What are they like when they’re drunk? Does it happen often?

They go to the occaisional party if they like the people who will be there. Arsinoe can’t get drunk and Billy doesn’t drink bc he doesn’t like how angry and aggressive it makes him.

Do they let each other get away with things that would normally bother them?

Yes, but only to a certain extent. If it really bothers one of them, then that person will make a comment and that will prompt a change in behaviour from the offensive party.

Do they talk often? What about?

They talk all the time. Sometimes it’s dumb jokes or to check in with each other but mostly it’s just fun and boring married couple conversations.

Are the comfortable with each other? Anything they have to have their privacy for?

Billy and Arsinoe are very comfortable with each other. There’s nothing specific they require privacy for unless it’s for a surprise.

Any special dreams or goals they have as a couple? Any heartbreaks? Regrets?

I mean, they just really desperately want to have a normal “white picket fence” life with each other, marriage and kids included. They don’t have a lot of heartbreaks (simply bc at some point, the amount of trauma they’ve suffered has to stop) and they don’t have regrets because that’s not how they choose to live their lives.

[imlostinsantacarla]

@beaming-ben:  hey! i just wanted to say i’m enjoying your lost boys posts :) was wondering if i was able to make a request with Y/N (so others can enjoy it) x Marko? it would be where the reader is new to santa carla and they are at the boardwalk looking at the stores and stuff. Marko notices them who turns out to be his mate and he starts talking to them. the reader would be quite shy in this but eventually opens up and Marko would be really sweet to them. Thanks for your time :) x

(a/n: heya love, sorry that this took so long for me to get around to! i hope you enjoy what i’ve come up with, i really tried my best! thanks for your request as well. - admin kat 🌙❣)

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Title: You Don’t Talk Much Do You? (Marko x Reader)

Summary: Moving out to the Murder Capitol of the World and into the home of your eccentric grandfather after a divorce between your parents has you longing for a night of fun. When your two brothers accompany you onto the infamous Boardwalk for the night, their teasing ways get under your skin and you feel the need to break away and cool off. Doing this means that you run into a particular blonde-haired boy that isn’t just trying to chat you up to win you over for the night, but for eternity.

Word Count: 2,269 (lmaoo 69)

Warnings: mentions of parents divorcing, angsty teenager stuff?, nothing else really.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Being new to Santa Carla had an overwhelming pressure as nighttime rolled around and the Boardwalk was filled with the static buzz of teenagers having a blast of a time whilst the flashing lights of the fair rides busily illuminated the night air. There was a charge of excitement in the atmosphere which had you practically bouncing on your heels, a grin spread wide across your face. It seemed as though it had been an eternity since you had even stared fun straight in the face.

Currently you were situated between your two brothers, Michael and Sam, whom were bickering like school children over the topic of Sam needing and not needing babysitters to accompany him.

“I’m not a kid any more, Mikey! I can find my own way around here no problem.” Sam sassed with an exasperated tone, total offense clouding his countenance as he looked up at his older brother indignantly.

“Yeah, yeah,” Michael rolled his eyes, giving a hasty shake of his head, “tell that to mom after you get lost for the fifth time today.”

“Hey! The first time was my fault but the other four were your terrible sense of direction. Right, y/n?” Sam blabbered enthusiastically, though his face was heating up due to embarrassment.

“Huh?” You hummed, eyes averting from the roller coaster and landing on Sam who seemed even more offended that you hadn’t exactly been paying any mind to his side of the argument, never mind Michael’s point. “Sorry, what did you two losers say?” You inquired with a quick scratch to the back of your neck.

Michael grinned silly at you before staring down at Sam. “Jesus, and I thought mom was bad.” to which Sam laughed at, their brotherly bickering having become a thing of the past and your fleeting attention span now the main focus.

“You’ve seen plenty of rides before, I don’t see what the big deal is, y/n!” Sam stated matter-of-factly, his bright eyes illuminated with mischief.

“Yeah, I know. But when was the last time us three got to have fun instead of being stuck between mom and dad arguing?” You sassed, a tint spreading across your cheeks. Your statement was nothing more than sincere. Being in between two parents going through a divorce was messy and heartbreaking for everyone involved, but it seemed to have taken it’s toll on you the most. You’d assumed the role of keeping what was left of your family intact, like human glue, and it was the most exhausting job you’d slid into for awhile now.

“Jeez you make it sound like you’re the one going through the divorce yourself.” Michael scoffed mockingly, no doubt attempting to get under your skin as he usually did.

“YoU mAkE iT sOuNd LiKe YoU’rE tHe OnE GoInG ThRoUgH tHe DiVoRcE yOuRsElF.” you did a pretty bad imitation of his voice, throwing your hands up in the air as you did so. “You sound like you don’t give a shit.” you spat, pushing past your older brother.

“Great! Now she’s gonna go tell mom you were an ass to her and probably blame me too!” You heard Sam practically shriek behind you. You didn’t care, you just felt like you needed to get away from them, they were practically suffocating you.

___

Parting from your brothers had lead you to only dig yourself deeper into your own thoughts. You went from store to store that littered the Boardwalk and scanned the shelves of them absentmindedly with a lot weighing down the theme of your train of thought. Moving away from Phoenix had been challenging for you, especially parting from your friends, and your parents going through their divorce was hard, - even if your mother had managed to do it with little mess -. The change of moving to another state made you almost weak with nausea. When summer was over you’d be going to a new school with new people and the thought alone made you want to spew. Making friends back in Phoenix had been challenging enough as it was...

You missed your friends desperately, you knew you were gonna miss your old school even once summer was over here. Everything here was daunting and weird. I mean, your Gramps didn’t even own a TV! He had Taxidermy swarming around his whole house. The thought of that beaver he’d given Sam sent shivers down your spine as though The Angel of Death were tickling it. You were genuinely living with a crazy old man and your somewhat dysfunctional family. The odds of enjoying your time here didn’t look so hot. I mean, you were living in the Murder Capital of the World.

The exhaustion you felt seemed to morph into sore legs from having walked around the pier several times. You’d even walked past your brothers ten times, ignoring them whenever they’d called on you. They knew that when you were in a bad mood to just let you walk it off in order to cool down. Besides, they were the ones who’d agitated you in the first place. The least they could do was give you time.

The whole intention of coming to the Boardwalk was to have fun, engage in excitement: You’d wanted to go on every ride you saw, eat till you were so full you’d spew and watch the live bands play. You hadn’t bagged on miserably idling around a comic book store until the two kids behind the register eyed you all funny till you left.

Now you were at one set of stairs that lead down to the actual sand of Santa Carla’s beach. Your eyes scanning the scene before you with dull eyes of envy. The moon was strikingly pale against the velvety black night sky, tiny specs of stars dancing to the music of the local teenagers guffawing and fooling around on the sand beneath. The waves of the ocean were a velvety black, the moon casting an eerie silvery glow onto it, it’s reflection warbled as the salty water lapped onto the sand and retreated. There wasn’t just total darkness, on the sand, where there were teenagers, there were also oil drums glowing orange with dancing flames in the center of the group, providing warmth and light to their shenanigans. There were hundreds of oil drums littered all over the beach, like small beacons of light attempting to break through the darkness of night.

A sense of desperation to join them left your stomach jumping and twisting apprehensively, making you miss Phoenix all the more. You’d do almost anything to get out of the funk you’d sunk into, even if that meant doing something stupid and getting yourself grounded for all eternity by your mother. You weren’t astray to rebelling against her in the past. She knew that plain as day, which is probably why she had told your brothers to head out with you.

You climbed halfway down the stairs until you sunk down onto them, deciding you didn’t have enough courage to just throw yourself into any one of the orange circles that scattered the beach. Anyone of those groups could be filled with nutters and weirdos. You weren’t looking to get yourself into anything you couldn’t get yourself out of. But you observed the people your age, maybe even a little older than you, dancing and singing, - clearly both drunk and/or high on something -, with curiosity.

“You just gonna watch all the action go down from here?” You heard a voice clear as day in your ear, causing you to jump straight out of your skin, a yelp being pulled from your throat. You whipped around to find a boy your age with the dumbest grin plastered straight on his face, like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. “Whoa! Easy.” His voice came out husky as he placed his hands up by his head, partially gloved, palms facing you.

You were stunned for what felt like seconds but stretched on for well over a couple of minutes. The guy was stunning, blond and wore the most peculiar jacket of gold and red that possessed patterns, faces, pictures... You weren’t even aware that you’d been staring till he chuckled again. “You know, you might wanna close your mouth before you drool everywhere.” He teased, his nimble and icy fingertips coming under your chin and forcing your mouth closed with a soft tap. He had his head tilted to the side, blue orbs penetrating yours like he was staring straight through your soul.

“O-Oh, s-sorry.” You cleared your throat, tearing your face away from him and looking out over the beach once more. You were grateful that it was dark where you were, so the blush that consumed your face now was well hidden, - at least you thought it was -.

“Nah, it’s all good. I’m not complaining.” You heard the grin forming on his face as he spoke. Suddenly the space on the step beside you was occupied and you could feel his gaze on your face now. “You new here? I haven’t seen you around before.” He inquired, leaning closer to you in a non-intrusive way. There was curiosity in his eyes as you met them.

“Yeah.” You hummed, nipping your bottom lip between your teeth. This felt odd, no guy, - especially this attractive -, had ever really spoken to you. You always thought it was because you weren’t attractive, but you knew the biggest part of it was because your older brother Michael (by one year) wouldn’t let any guy get within twenty feet of you. So the fact that this guy was sat here chatting to you made you wonder where in the hell Michael was at.

“Cool. Where’re you from?”

“Ph-Phoenix.” You muttered softly, eyes dipping down as you spoke. The way that he was looking at you made you feel a little unsettled.

“Cool, cool.” He mumbled, pulling out a pack of cigarettes, plucking a smoke out and placing it between his lips before lighting it. The flame from his lighter made it possible for you to fully see his face, which almost made your jaw slack open once again. He was definitely attractive. He laughed again. “What? You want one?” He offered the opened carton to you, to which you declined and he chuckled once more. “Alright. You’re not much of a talker are you?” He quipped humorously to which you felt your ears redden and you shook your head.

“I’m Marko, by the way.” He mumbled around his cigarette, puffing smoke in your direction.

“y/n” you smiled softly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear as you watched him.

“Michael’s sister?” Marko inquired with a quirked brow.

“How’d you know that?” You were baffled and slightly terrified to say the least.

“Me and my buddies met your brother, we’re friends. He told us about you.” Marko clarified with a puff of smoke flowing from his lips as he spoke.

“That’s funny, he never mentioned you...” You hummed thoughtfully, “Oh God, what’d he tell you about me? That I’m a Monster Bitch from Hell?” You rolled your eyes indignantly.

“Somethin’ like that.” He simpered, eyes skimming up and down your body with interest as he spoke. “With the way he was describing you, I thought you’d look like a Demon of something.”

“I’m so gonna flatten him when I get home.” You muttered under your breath to which he laughed at. You turned to look at him once more with creased brows. “Then what do I look like to you?”

“Hot.” You laughed when he said that, shaking your head as you tipped it backwards. “I mean that in a non-demon kinda way.” He added.

“Well, that’s good I suppose.”

“You think so?” Boy he was a flirt, you could already tell. He was definitely funny also, which you liked. Funny guys were always more interesting to you. They were better than the hotheaded types, at least in your opinion they were.

“I dunno, would you prefer that I looked like one?”

“Nah, not really! I think you look great as you are.” He flashed his pearly whites at you with a confidence you’d never seen before and it spurred the pair of you into a conversation filled with flirtatious comments. You swore you’d never spoken to someone this much in your life - even with your very own family -.

Speaking with Marko seemed to flow naturally between the pair of you, which made your heart gallop a million miles per hour. However, even though he was nice to talk to, there was something about him that caused a spark of suspicion in you, like danger lurked around the corner if you continued to converse with him. But there was something else that was pulling you towards him, something you couldn’t quite put your finger on because you’d never felt this before. It was like a rope was tied across your midsection and Marko felt it too. The more either one of you resisted the tighter the pull felt, forcing you in his vicinity. 

And sure, you’d talked to cute guys in the past before your brother intervened, and there was always a sense of giddiness in your gut as you did so. Yet it didn’t compare to the warmth that seemed to spread through your muscles as he inched closer and closer to you with each question and answer that flowed from both of your mouths. Something about this seemed natural and destined, like nothing could get in the way of or break it apart.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

please like, reblog and follow for more!

requests: open!

[haro-whumps]

Group Whumpees 8: Need

CW: death ment, slavery, crying, multiple whumpees, aftermath of abuse, abusive relationship from the victim’s perspective

Tag List: @bleeding-demon-teeth @theycomeinthrees @redwingedwhump @whimperwoods @inpainandsuffering @whole-and-apart-and-between @whump-whump-whump-it-up @whumpingupastorm @newandfiguringitout @lonesome--hunter @looptheloup @icannotweave  @deluxewhump @whumping-every-day @yeet-me-out-a-window @what-a-whumpy-world @burtlederp @constellationwhump @swordkallya @finder-of-rings @fairybean101 @adventuresofacreesty @arlennil @thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight

Masterlist

The problem with having sex dreams was that they absolutely never made sense, involved kinks Galo himself did not have, and weren’t even particularly arousing. They just left him vaguely unsettled and staring up at his ceiling with his arms crossed over his belly, squinting.

“Alright. So that’s how we start today, I guess,” he muttered, and hauled himself upright. He unwound the bandage on his arm and surveyed his wounds, and decided that it was time to do away with the bandages, and probably gonna be the last day to disinfect the cuts. He was healing well. He got dressed, brushed his teeth, grabbed the disinfectant, and went to the kitchen.

Now that the funeral was out of the way and he didn’t have arrangements to make or family to talk to or furniture to move, his number one priority could be focusing on helping the slaves. If he were to create a sliding scale on how well they were doing, he would probably put Nyla and Greyson closer to “better” and Evan, Sasha, and Lilah closer to “worse.” Sasha was petrified of him, but she’d done best when he had her making food for the funeral. So he drew the conclusion that she liked to feel useful, and was more at ease when she had a task to focus on, rather than just, like, Galo’s presence or whatever.

So.

“Morning Sasha,” he greeted as he entered the kitchen. She took her thumb off the blender--she’d taken to making his shakes for him, in the mornings, and he had to admit she got them just how he liked--and kissed his extended hand. “Mind helping me with my arm? It goes faster if someone else does it for me.”

Sasha took the disinfectant seriously, focused solely on the task, and he smiled a little. She was kind of intense, in her own quiet way. He found it charming.

“Thanks.” He flexed his hand to test his arm, not making the mistake of flexing the arm itself, and gave a nod of approval. “Has everyone been eating?” Galo asked, knowing he’d not really been around much, the last few days. If anyone had missed meals, he wouldn’t know.

Sasha nodded. Her eyes were wide and downcast, as she handed over his thermos, and he bent over so he could smile at her.

“Good girl, Sasha!” Her eyes darted to him, then down, a flimsy smile tugging at her lips and her shoulders hunching slightly. “That’s what I wanted to hear. Or, well, see. Keep it up, okay?” Galo prompted with a hand on her right shoulder. Another nod, and he gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Good girl.” Another fleeting smile.

Sasha liked praise. Evan did not seem to. Nyla did, Greyson was outwardly passive about it, and Galo still hadn’t seen a lot of Lilah. Just The Incident™ and the introduction meeting and not much else.

He tried to think while he was on the treadmill, formulate some kind of plan on what he was going to do with them all. He knew stability was going to be key. A routine was a must, and to be fair, Galo would need one too. His boss had told him not to bother with the two weeks and so he’d officially quit his job, but just going to the gym wasn’t going to be enough structure for him.

He should volunteer. Put in hours at a soup kitchen or animal shelter or something. He’d look up local volunteer efforts in his city when he got home; if he gave four hours every weekday that’d be enough to give him structure, but not so much that Galo would get fatigued or overwhelmed. After deciding on that course of action, he just ran, mind blank and body sweating.

He showered, drove home, threw a fleece around his shoulders (it was a pleasantly cool day), and then dutifully pulled up his laptop. He opened his notebook and flipped to a blank page, and wrote down “Ongoing observations of praise” with an underline, then listed how each slave currently reacted to it. He also wrote down where they preferred touch, if at all, and then put it away with the intent on updating the list as time progressed. 

He scrolled immediately past any religious-based volunteer groups, not interested in that shit in the slightest, and quirked his lips as he passed by hospitals and blood drives. He was not a medical professional, and while he could theoretically keep up in an environment that fast-paced did he really want to? Nah. He was retiring in his thirties, at least at the start he intended to take it easy and enjoy it as best he could, given the situation with the slaves. So probably not gonna take it easy for a while. But all the more reason not to burn himself out at his replacement for a job. 

He opened a tab for a volunteer firefighter group. He was physically very fit, and fire wasn’t a particular phobia of his. But again, fast paced and high stress, maybe not the best choice for right that particular moment. He bookmarked it, though. Maybe later.

Then he opened a tab for his city’s parks and recreation organization, and got interested. He clicked around a bit, gathering that there was a very wide range of opportunities and tasks that needed handled, pretty much year round, and hey, he’d take rainy days off. He emailed the person listed on the site and detailed that he was freshly unemployed, was looking for daily tasks, was interested in litter cleanup, mulching, gardening, and painting outdoor benches and picnic shelters, and he could start pretty much immediately. He lived in a large city, so there were quite literally hundreds of parks that needed tending. He, a single volunteer, would not be held responsible for anything more than his part, and he was genuinely excited by the idea of doing more with plants than just the little potted buddy on his windowsill. 

“Master?” 

Galo snapped out of his thoughts, head whipping over and then down, to find Greyson kneeling next to his chair.

“Hey, Greyson,” Galo said, blinking and recalibrating his brain. How long had he been there? Galo hadn’t heard him come in.

“Do I interrupt, Master?” he asked without looking up from the carpet.

Galo glanced at his computer screen, with his email that he’d finished drafting but needed to read over before he sent it. Lying was not a good basis for a relationship, but telling Greyson yes might spook him.

“It’s nothing that can’t wait,” he decided on, a truth that ideally took pressure off of Greyson. “What’s up?”

“I would like to request an indulgence, Master Galo. I will do anything you ask in return.”

“You already do everything I ask you to do, Greyson,” Galo pointed out with a gentle chuckle, leaning over the armrest to brush his fingers over the back of Greyson’s jacket. Again, no outward reaction, but Galo assumed Greyson would at least tense if he didn’t like it, so? Galo tugged on the fabric of his jacket, urging him to sit on the floor itself instead of his heels, and Greyson moved fluidly, legs bent to the side. “Go ahead and just ask.”

“May I visit Mistress Bethany’s grave?”

Galo blinked, neither of them moving for a long moment. That was not on the list of things he expected to be asked for. He didn’t have an official list or anything, but if he did, it wouldn’t be on there.

Greyson didn’t seem like an overly vindictive type, so getting written up for public urination probably wasn’t on the schedule. Then again, Greyson didn’t seem like much of anything, from an outside perspective, and if anyone deserved to have her grave pissed on it was Galo’s aunt.

“Yeah, dude, sure. Like, now..?”

“Whenever Master would prefer,” Greyson said quietly, and Galo pat his back between the shoulder blades.

“Lemme wrap up this email and then we can head out, yeah?”

“Thank you Master.” Greyson waited with one hand braced on the carpet, the other resting in his lap, face low to the ground, entirely immobile. Galo might think he was a statue if he was going off of movement alone. He read over his email, corrected a spelling error and reworded his parting sentence, and then sent it.

“Alright, let’s vamonos.” Galo stood and the fleece around his shoulders flared briefly, like a cape almost, and he folded and hung it over the back of his chair. Greyson stood gracefully, and Galo took note of the bright red rose tucked into his breast pocket. It matched his tie. He didn’t comment, though; Greyson could do whatever he wanted with his appearance and Galo didn’t want to make it sound like he disapproved (and it was very easy for him to accidentally sound like he disapproved, here). 

In the garage Greyson swaned ahead of Galo and opened the passenger side door, but did not actually get into the car until after Galo was sitting in the driver’s seat, buckling himself in. “You good, Greyson?”

“Yes, Master,” Greyson said, startling only just a little. Galo might have imagined it. Once he was also seated and buckled, Galo drove the now-familiar route to the cemetery, and pulled to a halt just next to the row.

“She’s the fresh grave at the end there,” Galo said, pointing in the direction. He thought carefully on how to word his next question. “Would you like me to come with you, or can I wait here in the car?”

“Whichever you prefer, Master.”

Eh, should’ve expected that. “I’ll wait here, then. You go do whatever you need to do; take your time. I’m in no rush.”

“Thank you Master.”

“Sure, Greyson.” Galo watched him leave the car and walk down the row, then pulled out his phone. Let the man have some privacy. 

--

“Hello, Mistress,” Greyson said softly, consciously putting effort into moving fluidly, gracefully to his knees. The soil of the grave was still loose, freshly turned, and Greyson’s otherwise immaculate pants touched the strip of grass separating her from her neighbor with two silent thumps.

He took a deep breath. Master did not like when he knelt like this. Slowly, he shifted to sit on the ground, his legs to the side, like his living owner liked, not the one whose grave he sat beside.

“I would kiss your hand in greeting,” Greyson whispered, “but that is not an option any longer.”

Agitation welled inside him. He was sitting incorrectly. He’d learned this lesson, learned proper posture over and over and over with each smoking cigarette. And although Master Galo insisted on new posture, it was not Master Galo that Greyson knelt next to in that moment.

He lurched forward, hand coming up to cover his mouth, and he knelt properly, like he was meant to. His Mistress was dead, but he would kneel beside her grave like he knelt beside her in life. His anxiety abated, slowly, but markedly, as he knelt low to the grass.

“I apologize, Mistress. I reacted poorly,” he whispered to the dirt. It made one of the knots in his stomach loosen, if not unwind. And Mistress was no longer here to punish him for the infraction, so his apology really was the end of it. He knelt there, breathing, saying nothing, for a time.

He should… ‘do whatever he needed to do,’ and stop wasting Master Galo’s time. But he’d urged him to take as long as he needed, and just this once, Greyson would like to actually do what he’d set out to.

But what to say? What to say.

“Your nephew is nothing like you,” Greyson said, hands clasped pristinely in his lap. “We do not understand him at all. He’s pleasant and cheerful, slow to anger, we don’t know his rules, and his punishments have been mild, more or less. Hunger and recitations, so far.”

Greyson lifted his head, kneeling with his spine straight, most of his weight on his ankles. He stared forward, chin and eyes perfectly level. He took in the rows and rows of headstones, the occasional splash of color where people had left flowers. Mistress’s own grave had many, leftover from the ceremony two days before. Without looking, he lifted his hands and unfastened the rose from his breast.

“I wish I knew why I wanted to come here, so badly,” he said, lowering his hands to his lap again, flower clasped between them. He cradled it loosely, careful of its thorns. “I wish I knew what I was looking for.”

He saw the gust of wind before he felt it, rolling through the grass, past the headstones, before rustling him gently. There were a few trees, in this cemetery, but none close to him, and they were fairly far away from each other. 

“I hated you.” He said it louder than the rest he had said so far, harder. He would’ve been beaten for that tone, if she were alive, and not a bad memory lying six feet below him and a little to the right.

“I hated you,” he repeated, quieter, and he felt his throat constrict, his chin spark with unwelcome tension. He blinked. He looked up, breathing in deeply. He willed himself not to tear up.

“I hated you,” he whispered skyward, to the woman who was certainly not.

Rose clasped gently in one hand, he gingerly removed his glasses and folded their arms, individually, and set them in front of him. Normally, if he was kneeling for his Mistress and his glasses were off, it was because she intended to hurt him, and didn’t want to break his glasses. Such an expense was not something to be wasted on the likes of him.

“I hated you,” he said, barely audible at all. 

He lifted one knobby hand to his face and covered his eyes, grinding his jaw as his lips pulled back, a sob trapped behind his teeth. His body curled forward, not to submit, not to bow, just in on itself as the tears spilled over, tension lancing his body so badly his hearing whited out for a moment.

“I loved you,” he gasped, and there. He’d said it. “I miss you as much as I don’t.” He fumbled for the tissue he’d had the foresight to bring and blew his nose twice, then held it beneath his nose. His tears were, at this point, a lost cause. 

“I hate you, I’m glad you’re dead. You hurt the others so badly. You hurt me all my life. You were cruel and unrelenting and the one time I prayed, I prayed for your death.”

Greyson sobbed, fingers curling instinctively tighter around the rose, thorns pressing into his skin in warning. No further.

“But I knew you,” he whined, some distant and untouchable part of him surprised by how high his own voice was, “You were fussy and always so anxious about what other people thought of you, and when good things happened unexpectedly you would get so happy…”

Greyson bent over all the way, fist to the dirt, flower poking out the top, the back of his hand pressed to his thighs as he held the tissue to his face, still.

“I hated you,” he insisted, begging to be believed, “I hated you so much.”  He blew and wiped his nose, running out of dry spots on the tissue. He wanted, so badly, to lie down on his side, to curl up around her leg with his hand to her ankle, beseeching, like he used to. He crumpled the wet tissue in his hand, used up, nothing left for it but to be discarded.

He wept.

--

Galo had started with 195 unread emails in his inbox, and had now successfully pared them down to 17. Most of those were marked unread for strategic reasons, so he wasn’t lowering that number beyond that. He’d responded to all social media notifications, and had even popped into his guilds’ discords to let everyone know that he wasn’t dead, just that his aunt was. He told them he’d ideally be back online here sometime in the future, but he wasn’t quite sure when. 

He enjoyed that, when his guildies sent their condolences, he was able to respond with nah dw abt it, she was a heinous bitch and the world is better with her gone. He also enjoyed that he pretty much immediately heard back from someone agreeing and sharing an anecdote about their own shitty family members, may they not rest in peace at all.

Should Galo… check on Greyson? He knew he told the guy to take as long as he needed, but it had been well over an hour. He glanced at the clock and told himself he’d wait ten more minutes. Ten more, and then he’d wander over. At least ask if the guy wanted to talk about it, if everything was otherwise fine.

--

Greyson pocketed the wet tissue; these pants would need washed, anyway. He fumbled only momentarily before he got his glasses back on his face. He uncurled his fingers so the rose perched on his open palm, red pricks from where he’d gripped too hard marking his hand, but that was fine. They were shallow, and the blood was dry.

The grave had a mass of flowers already, left by Mistress’s large network of peers, friends, family. The rose became indistinct the moment he set it down, a single bloom amongst many.

He left it there as he stood, sorely, and he actually had the audacity to catch himself on her headstone when his right knee buckled. He wasn’t as young as he used to be. He stood, bent improperly, waiting for blood to circulate into his legs again. 

He turned, and forced himself to look at the car, still idling where he’d left it. Now he had to return to his Master, the one who was alive, and answer for the time he’d wasted. Pay whatever price his request had incurred.

Master Galo had been right, after all. Greyson would do anything he liked, with or without the indulgence. Master could order him, and he could hurt or use or claim Greyson whenever and however he desired; perhaps only Mistress Bethany had looked for reasons and excuses to do so. Perhaps such was part of her games, but not his.

Greyson walked smoothly, with the practiced grace of three decades in his heels. He opened the car door (fearing only in the moment that he pulled the handle that it might be locked) and sat down, buckling himself. He knew how he must look. Dirt on his pants, his face an ugly wreck.

Master Galo made no comment, only opened the center console and handed Greyson a pack of tissues.

“Thank you, Master,” Greyson said hoarsely.

“Yeah, dude,” Master said softly. He put the car in drive and said nothing else, the entire drive home.

Once inside, he placed his hand on Greyson’s shoulder and told him, “Take it easy, yeah?”

“Yes Master,” Greyson said, even though he had no idea why that was his owner’s reaction. He’d wasted his time, as well as his own. He should work harder, to make up for the time lost, not take it easy. But an order was an order. And whatever Master Galo’s games were, this one, at least, the family was fairly certain they knew. He wanted to be obeyed, even if the orders made no sense, even if they were strange and confusing.

But Greyson was good at obeying. Even if the orders made no sense. Even if they were strange and confusing. So he would obey, and if he obeyed, maybe he and his family could stay “winning” this round of Master Galo’s mindgames.

Nyla, however, there would be no winning with.

“Where were you?” Nyla hissed, frantic, one hand cupping Greyson’s cheek, her other pressed firmly to the center of his chest as she backed him into the hallway wall. 

“I asked Master Galo to take me to Mistress’s grave. He indulged me.”

“He--you asked for an indulgence?!” Nyla asked, aghast. Greyson didn’t need to nod. “Did you at least have to pay for it?”

“More mindgames.”

“More mindgames--!” Nyla cut herself off, one hand pressed to the cool wood by Greyson’s ear, the other making a fist and coming down, very lightly, twice to the center of his chest. “Grey.”

“Nyla.”

“I rely on you; you know that?”

Greyson lifted his hands and settled them gently on Nyla’s hips. “I know.”

“I need you to not go off the rails, okay? For me? I need to know you’re not going to be reckless and do stupid things anymore. Please.”

“I promise,” Greyson said quietly, “I will not ask for another indulgence. Not until you say I may.”

Nyla sighed, her head dropping and replacing her fist on his chest. He pulled her into a hug, and she returned it tiredly.

“You hold this family together, Nyla.” He kissed her hair. “I’m not trying to make that more difficult for you than it already is.”

“So why--” She took a deep breath. “Why did you ask for an indulgence?” she asked at a much more reasonable volume. “Why that indulgence, specifically?”

Yeah, it’d be really nice, if he knew the answer to that.

“I can’t explain it,” he said honestly, arms tightening around her warm solidity only briefly. “I needed to. I’m sorry.”

He held her, lips pressed to her hair, arms around each other, until Sasha arrived with a soft, “Uhm, Grey?”

Her hands were anxiously tugging on the lock of hair she kept free, specifically for the purpose of anxious tugging. “M-Master said you’re h-home. You need t-to eat.”

“Thank you, Sasha.” Greyson nudged the side of Nyla’s head with his nose before the separated. “Master ordered that I ‘take it easy,’ too. I don’t know why.”

Nyla rubbed at her face. “More mindgames.”

He offered her a smile, terse and a little strained, but well-intentioned, and she was good at reading the meanings of his gestures. She bumped her knuckles against his chest and went off, and Greyson smiled at Sasha, who looked at him with worried eyes.

“Lead on.”

Sasha’s lips quirked briefly and she returned to the kitchen. Greyson trailed after her, silent as a ghost.

Next

[punkscowardschampions]

Dash & Lux

Dash: ☀️🧙🏽‍♀️🎶🥁🎸🪕🧚🏿‍♂️🌿🌼🧚🔮💃💫🔥🕺🏻🌳💗🍯🍻

Lux: That is almost exactly what the inside of my head looks like right now!!!

Lux: Is mind-reading a power that is bestowed upon you believers this eve?! 🤔😲

Dash: Right on

Dash: it’s one of many, trust

Lux: I’m ever sadder I can only be an observer now

Lux: Telepathy would be the most useful!

Dash: you gotta open your 👀 at least twice

Lux: I can 👀 at it, all of it in its splendour, just not participate

Dash: Bummer! What’s got you backing off? You don’t look like no wallflower chick to me

Lux: I got the dress code 🌻🌻🌻

Lux: Sunflowers are so strong-looking for flowers, don’t you think?

Lux: Not dainty and delicate

Lux: Well, I’m a Christian and technically this is a Pagan ritual so it’s a big 🚫🚫

Lux: I am finding it super interesting though

Dash: they don’t look strong, they are, babe 🌻🌻🌻 cleaned up Chernobyl, it’s far out what they can do

Dash: its roots, yeah, but we’re not all pagans here & we all still find something to celebrate, you could do St John the Baptist’s birthday as a christian, bonfires were big for that too

Lux: Whaaaaaaaaaat????! TELL ME MORE

Dash: about 🌻🌻🌻 or 🎂🔥🎇🎆?

Lux: 🌻🌻🌻 birthdays are contentious too

Dash: Helianthus annuus, from the Greek helios, meaning ☀️ they can remove poisonous chemicals & metals from the ground, water or air

Dash: they spread rapidly & can stabilize if not totally clear a field in 3 years, it’s 🤯

Lux: I wish I’d gone to school

Lux: Do you know any more fascinating things?

Lux: That sounds like magic

Dash: the world’s full of magic, but it wasn’t school that taught me to recognize it

Lux: Share the secret, kind sir

Dash: you’ve got the 🔑 & this here’s your kingdom, all you have to do is hang out & stay hip to what you 👀👂👃👅

Dash: 🧠➡️⬅️⬆️⬇️↗️↘️↙️↖️↪️↩️⤴️⤵️

Lux: I’ve 👅 so many wondrous tastes today

Lux: I feel full in so many senses of the word

Lux: How long have you been a member of the kingdom, stranger?

Dash: quest accepted to lay that feeling on you in every sense, then it’ll be a rad celebration

Dash: I’ve been here since I could walk, everywhere else is too big a drag to keep me

Lux: Oh, that’s so kind!

Lux: Everyone is so open and willing to teach me things

Lux: For instance, quick, when’s your birthday, wolf boy

Dash: it’s that kinda space 🦊

Dash: 20th of January 🎂 got me on the cusp ♑♒

Lux: Twins!

Lux: My birthday, which I’ve never celebrated before, is the 20th of March 😱

Lux: Someone, I’m not sure who, was just telling me about the Celtic tree signs

Lux: ‘If you were born in the month of the birch, you probably have a fresh and unusual outlook on life. People born under this Celtic tree astrology sign tend to be highly driven and are always full of zeal and ambition. They always want more and try to reach new horizons and expand their knowledge. Some of the characteristics attributed to the Birch sign are tolerance, toughness, and leadership. The Birch signs can brighten a room with their smile and quickly charm other people’

Lux: Yay or nay 🐺

Dash: you charmed so far or nah? [obviously smiling at her wherever she is as well like heyyy]

Lux: [definition of this emoji 🤭]

Dash: What’s your celtic tree sign?

Lux: ‘Those born under the Alder sign are natural pathfinders. They have the ability to move people and quickly gain followers to their cause. The Alders have a way with words, mingle easily and people love to be around them. They possess a mystic charisma, confidence and strong self-faith. Other character traits are: a good focus on goals and ideas, can’t tolerate fluff and waste.’

Lux: I am unsure but flattered 😊😊😊

Dash: I dig it

Dash: they let you know if we’re compatible? Your ♓♈ cusp makes you mad desirable to all signs

Lux: You need to see who here was born 15th April to 12th May or 2nd September to 29th September

Lux: But it says I’m compatible with you, so how does that work?! 😣

Lux: There’s so much I have to get my head ‘round

Dash: You’re gonna be 🥰💖 for me while I’m 🔍 for a 🐈 or 🐤 born on those dates?

Lux: Hey, that’s way less nice!

Lux: but I can also be looking for people born 13th May to 9th June AND 10th June to 7th July so 😋

Dash: those signs are full of it, trying to make me look uncool but don’t sweat it, I’d never cut you that low, like

Lux: If it’s not in the 💫s I can still say I’m pleased to meet you today as friends, Mowgli

Dash: Look up

Dash: if you don’t see a 🌠 I can show you a 🐺🌟 & 🦊🌟 chasing each other across the sky

Lux: [obviously literally does]

Lux: That’s very Disney 🏰✨

Dash: is that allowed?

Lux: I watched some at a friend’s house one time

Dash: & how was it?

Lux: 😭 but romantic

Dash: Anyone told you the oak king story yet?

Lux: Okay, thank Goodness

Lux: this lady with the dreads and the big back tattoo tried to tell me but I couldn’t understand her 🙊

Lux: Redeem your gentlemanly reputation and save both of us the embarrassment

Lux: Her accent was wild! 🤯

Dash: did her version start with Fadó, fadó?

Dash: wouldn’t be a wild guess

Lux: I won’t credit you with any telepathic skills this time, then

Lux: also I’d need to 👂 it again to confirm fully but yes, I think so

Dash: [send her an utterly unnecessary voice memo]

Lux: It sounds more intriguing when you say it

Dash: [obviously gotta tell her the full story in an irish voice memo purely for the #flex and the flirt cos you know damn well you’re gonna have to translate it, boy]

Lux: 🤩

Lux: Did you learn that here too?

Lux: I’ve lived so many different places and yet I only know the one language

Dash: My ma started it but when the establishment took over it was a bad scene & turned me off for time, last few years here it felt groovy again having that connection & I refound the 💚☘️

Lux: It’s really cool

Lux: it sounds old, or like elvish or something else not real

Dash: it’s a trip, you’ve gotta get someone to teach you while your fly by lasts

Lux: Oh, I live here 😊

Lux: I room with Nora, do you know her?

Dash: Beats me, what’s her deal?

Lux: Her and her brother Finley have been here for a while, but not forever like you

Lux: but there are a lot of people here so I’m not surprised you’re not sure 😅

Dash: not a clue but loads of people are too rattled to wanna get involved, could be her vibe

Dash: or she just ain’t outta sight like you

Lux: She’s totally involved, she secured like all of the sunflowers for today

Lux: well, me and Amber helped but she was definitely the most enthusiastic

Dash: 🌻👑! I do know her, but her in with Amber & instant karma means she’s not gonna mess around with me

Lux: Ooh, what did you do

Dash: jack, Amber’s hassling me cos I’m not trying to be her old man, she gets super rash & things get heavy with 0 slack

Lux: Hmm I shouldn’t have asked 🤐🙉

Dash: ask her why she’s making a move on my older bro now if not to try & lay a trip on me, babe’s lost it

Lux: Whaaaaaaa

Lux: You have a brother?!

Lux: Is he invisible?

Dash: I wish

Lux: Which one is he, point him out

Dash: [points in the direction of their house lol]

Lux: [a face of understanding like oh okay]

Lux: How does Amber know him then?

Dash: from stalking me

Lux: I don’t think she would do that

Lux: She must’ve just bumped into him or something

Dash: at my house, yeah

Lux: It’s cool, it’s not really my business

Dash: open 👀 like I said

Lux: 📖

Dash: that too 🧠💗🤲

Lux: I can agree with that sentiment

Dash: we’re groovy then

Lux: Of course 😊

Lux: enjoy your evening

Dash: back at you, golden girl ☀️🎇👸🏼

Lux: I like your outfit too

Lux: it’s very ☀️🧙🏽‍♀️🎶🥁🎸🪕🧚🏿‍♂️🌿🌼🧚🔮💃💫🔥🕺🏻🌳💗🍯🍻

Dash: [comes over and ties a chain of flowers around her wrist like it’s a friendship bracelet energy]

Lux: [clearly delighted with this]

Dash: [ask her if she wants to dance even though you know damn well she’s only observing because kind of boy you are]

Lux: [so rude lowkey when she’s struggling so hard with what she does and doesn’t believe now, we’re in enough of a dilemma without your help but there we go; thus we will go dance with you because we do want to and we can make arguments that that isn’t joining in with the rituals of it all]

Dash: [he’s lucky Amber is busy because she would fight him, but instead enjoy your dance you two]

Lux: [the audacity of your lies about her, we were so awkward like 😬 anyway, we will have a nice dance though]

Dash: [such a dickhead he can only be humbled by fire, full offense Nora because we’re ignoring you hen cos you’re clearly wise to his bs]

Lux: [there’s clearly a growing group of gals who are unimpressed by your nonsense and that will be interesting to navigate]

Dash: [Definitely, but yeah probably do slip away like a snek before any of those gals do kick your ass]

Lux: 🎃👠🐁🌠🕛

Dash: A 📘 for the 🔥

Lux: 🤔?

Dash: it’s a drag, all that heavy shit with her fam is a bummer, she gets to split but only til 🕛 that’s some 🌠

Lux: Yeah, it’s enough to get help though and then she gets saved

Dash: nah, to get shafted, she don’t get to dance with anyone else there, it’s a scam

Lux: 😅 who else does she need, she’s got the prince, silly!

Dash: someone who recognizes her next day?

Lux: Touche 😏

Lux: Being a 🤴 is a lot of work

Dash: What 🤴 told you that?

Lux: Where to begin

Lux: I’ve known several who would say as much and the 👸s would never disagree

Dash: Fadó, fadó, fadó a bhí ann…

Dash: but I’d shut it down from the beginning, they gotta be shining you on

Lux: I’m going to have to have translate open constantly, I see 😰

Lux: but very noble

Dash: I try, like you & your ☘️ it’s chill we’ve all got your back

Lux: It would be way worse if it was the only language any of you spoke

Lux: thank goodness 😅

Lux: there’s lots more that’s more pertinent for me to get a grip on

Dash: 🧝🧝🏻‍♀️🧝🏽🧝🏾‍♀️

Dash: we’ve got you on the rest too, like, goes without saying

Lux: Most everyone has been super welcoming

Dash: how long have you lived here?

Lux: Not long enough that that’s insulting 😋

Lux: but gosh, a couple of weeks? Must be

Dash: nah I meant cos I don't wanna explain to you what sorta place this is like you're fresh through the door if you've had loads of time to find your own way

Lux: Oh no, I’m a total n00b

Lux: Hazel got me here but I’ve kinda just been left to it since

Lux: Anything you wanna tell me would be appreciated

Dash: did Amber or Nora give you the tour?

Lux: Amber’s been super busy and Nora likes to stay in our room mostly

Dash: not super welcoming

Dash: but it’s no sweat, I’ll show you round, we’ll have a blast

Lux: they’ve both got their own stuff going on, I don’t expect them to drop it for me

Lux: but that would still be cool, thank you!

Dash: say when

Dash: it’ll be as electric under the ☀️ as the 🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑🌒🌓🌔🌙

Lux: I can 👀 in the dark

Lux: You choose

Lux: find me when you’ve stopped having the MOST fun?

Dash: 🐺🐾🦊

Dash: Meet me in the orchard at midnight, ditching your shoes before

Dash: there’s an 🍏🌳🍎 you can 👀 the whole farm from the top of

Lux: And you’ll remember what I look like?

Dash: you look unreal

Dash: unforgettable

Lux: I got creative with the arts and crafts 🌟⚡️☀️

Lux: I’ve always made my own clothes

Lux: well, I made them for my sisters before

Lux: looking unforgettable was not the end goal there though

Lux: that was for secret

Dash: my nan would be hip to you, she used to make her own clothes, for her girl & her sister too when they wanted, it’s still a vibe for her

Lux: I will make her something then

Lux: what’s her style?

Dash: indescribable

Dash: I’ll show you pics

Lux: Awkward if your nan is cuter than you

Dash: at our age she totally was

Lux: Awh, you’re so sweet

Lux: I have nothing nice to say about my meemaw

Dash: keep it for mine when you meet her

Lux: You’re gonna introduce me to your nan? 😊

Dash: right on, she’ll wanna put whatever you make on for you to 👀 & it’s only a few fields over

Lux: 🏞 it’s a crazy beautiful spot to live, that’s for sure

Lux: so you live with her?

Dash: Yeah, my ma grew up there & when my parents called it quits she wanted to move back

Lux: You’re close-knit

Lux: that’s special

Dash: closer than I am to my da

Lux: Does that upset you?

Dash: I don’t let it upset my equilibrium, he’s uptight, that’s his problem not mine

Lux: I understand

Lux: I don’t agree with my dad on a lot of things

Lux: it’s still sad though

Dash: I got killer people round me, a 2nd family here accepting me for who I am, it ain’t cool he don’t, but they give me what I need

Lux: I’m happy for you

Lux: Seriously

Lux: again, that’s special, you should be really grateful

Dash: I am, believe me

Dash: you’re gonna scope out how special it is here now I’m in charge of showing you everything

Lux: I’d love to see your 🌍 how you see it

Lux: Kinda sounds like everything I need, honestly

Dash: you can, easily when we’re sharing a branch

Lux: 🧚‍♀️ you’re dainty, I trust you won’t let me fall

Dash: I’ll let you fall into something good though, new heights

Lux: Will it hurt?

Dash: no way

Lux: You aren’t pranking me, are you?

Dash: there’s no plastic on me, I’m being real with you

Lux: If you’re gonna try and jump me out in the orchard I’ll have to show you crazy and I really can’t afford to lose this place okay

Lux: so if I believe you right now and you were lying, it’ll be worse than it would’ve been, you feel me?

Dash: Hurting you isn’t my action, I’m about a gentler touch than that

Lux: and I’m not a bully, that’s not my vibe so that’s the warning out of the way

Dash: avenging 👼 I get it

Lux: My costume has you fooled, I think

Dash: Wait, so you’re pranking me?

Lux: No, I swear! 😅

Lux: I don’t feel like I’ve been anywhere near as nice to you as you have to me though

Dash: but you did dance with me & that was choice

Lux: I wanted to

Dash: me too, I wasn’t asking just to be nice

Lux: even though you’re very nice

Lux: I believe that

Dash: I think we’re getting somewhere

Lux: You understand why I’d find a boy like you being interested in me dubious at first, right

Dash: Nah, but I’m listening

Lux: Well it’s embarrassing to say

Dash: alright, listen, I think you’re the most

Dash: I’m embarrassed I’ve not met you before tonight

Lux: There are so many people to meet

Lux: and you’re like the 🤴 of this place, huh

Lux: you have to dance with all the ugly stepsisters too

Dash: if Amber said write that to bait me I’m shutting up

Lux: I think Amber left 🤔

Lux: And who’s calling her ugly, even if you guys have beef, like no way

Dash: & Nora’s gotta be back in your room cos that’s her bag, yeah?

Dash: so where are you?

Lux: I’m in the middle of [one hippie activity] and [another]

Dash: [go find her and dance with her again obvs, we can be bolder about if some of the haters are gone and it’s later so he’s clearly a bit more drunk/high by now too]

Lux: [the way you’re probably sober like how lmao, not saying you always are or will be ‘cos no but gotta have our wits about us ‘cos witchery is afoot; but yeah we all know it can shamelessly way more of a Thing™]

Dash: [at least Amber was too until her row with the bae even if she wasn’t the most present in other ways, so it wasn’t just you gal, but yeah, dispel any remaining fears she may have that you’re not into this please boy with this moment]

Lux: [we know you got your own going on, it’s good, this drama has to happen whether you like it or not babe sorryyyy, when you’re then even more into it because it’s like HELLO IS THIS ALLOWED, so new and fresh to get to remotely be this brazen]

Dash: [shouldn’t LOVE that for you but I do, we should probably let y’all go on your tour then because we’re both in a mood and there’s nobody to separate you]

Lux: [probably, but I will insist on making you wait ‘til midnight regardless]

Dash: [it is a fat mood and I did pick that time deliberately so yeah, dance the night away first hens]

Lux: [sure it’s probably near that time anyways]

Dash: [yeah absolutely]

Lux: [we can skip to the after in this if you like?]

Dash: [are we thinking am like did y’all fall asleep together or?]

Lux: [Hmm, do we go with the Cinderella and have her bounce or do we go against it and not, because then she would think he wasn’t a dick later]

Dash: [even though he’s a dick I still want all the cute I can grab with my smol hands]

Lux: [it’s not like you can’t be like I just fell asleep it’s nbd with it so yeah okay

Dash: [I also like the camber parallel of it all so]

Lux: [true true, we can do it, then you can just have breakfast as a group because duh, was it sunday or monday today?]

Dash: [I think it’s sunday aka Cosmo is having his 2nd date with Ruby tonight and then Camber breakfast dates start monday]

Lux: [okay then you will have to think of a creative way to ditch her then boy hohaha]

Dash: [at least he can just go home because Amber only stayed to angrily eat some fruit and Cosmo had a busy day ahead because I doubt the shower situation at this commune is thriving, water probably runs out always]

Lux: [what a poser lmaooo]

Dash: [and very rude not to invite her when she probably wants to shower or bathe too]

Lux: [we literally got gems stuck to our face but pop off]

Dash: [we know you’re not because your mother is there and sick of your behaviour but yes, it wouldn’t kill you to let her boy]

Lux: [no offence but run him over, anyway, some time later]

Lux: are you ⬇️🍄?

Dash: 🛹⚡️

Lux: aha, cool

Lux: good thing you didn’t invite me I’d end up 🤕 for sure

Dash: I didn’t stop you falling out of a tree last night to have you fall off a board later in the AM

Lux: Hey, you make it sound like I was 🤏 close! 😆

Dash: nah, your balance is sound

Lux: I don’t recall you stepping on my toes, either

Dash: don’t wanna have to start the day off doubting your 🍒 recall, that’d be a bad scene

Lux: I was totally sober thank you 😅

Dash: easy to claim the magic’s all you when I ain’t met you before but I’m a believer

Lux: Wait, was that a compliment or a diss?

Lux: Maybe I’m contact-wasted

Dash: contact with Nora would get you more sober, there’s a diss

Lux: Awh, don’t be mean!

Lux: She’s been really nice

Dash: chill out, I’m only playing

Lux: Hmm 😏

Lux: anyway, what are you doing later?

Dash: I said I’d hang with Yara

Lux: Oh cool, who’s that?

Dash: I’ll introduce you after

Lux: after what?

Dash: we’re done messing around

Lux: wow, alrighty then

Dash: you’ll like her, she’s a trip

Lux: I’m not totally sure she’d want you to 💬 that

Lux: or I’ll know what to 💬 now

Dash: it’s no biggie

Lux: idk, this is not the way I was raised

Lux: you say it’s not but idk, you know

Dash: you don’t have to meet her

Lux: Yeah

Dash: I think she’s rad but you gotta make up your own mind

Lux: It’s not about her

Dash: nah, you, I understand where you’re coming from, it’s a new world

Lux: Right, it seems really icky to me that you’d tell me any of this

Lux: it’s not about how rad she could be

Dash: Come on, Lux, I’m keeping this honest

Lux: I guess

Lux: Why do you need to tell me though, I don’t get it, for real?

Dash: I like you, I don’t want it to get twisted

Dash: 📖

Lux: Okay, I appreciate the sentiment then

Dash: I’ll come find you later, on my own

Lux: That’s okay

Lux: I’ve got lots of chores to catch up on

Dash: they’ll be done faster if I help you

Lux: I can’t stop you

Lux: the place is a mess after last night and the more people who pitch in the better

Dash: I don’t get why you’d wanna stop me

Lux: I don’t really wanna hang out now, not today anyway

Dash: I can’t believe you’re being like this

Lux: Being like what?

Dash: Amber

Lux: I’m not

Lux: you can’t hang out now, I can’t hang out later, how is it any different?

Dash: the way I’m travelling through today is a straight line, yours is all over the place

Lux: Good for you?

Lux: It doesn’t matter either way though

Dash: doing a u turn on me does matter

Lux: It does?

Lux: because last night you thought I was rad, so obviously this morning I wanted to hang out with you again, so I think it’s my turn to do the 180, if you think about it

Dash: I still think you are, last night was unreal & we can be again, I’m just asking you to take 5 cos I can’t split on Yara after making plans time ago

Lux: That’s fine, it’s not fine to be mad at me ‘cos I ask you to take 5 too

Lux: that makes it make no sense

Dash: I’m not mad at you, I’m trying to make sense of why you’re mad at me

Lux: I’m not mad at you, I’m upset

Lux: You only need to ask

Dash: idk I didn’t think this would go down how it is

Lux: Me either, I guess

Dash: you for real want space?

Lux: I don’t know

Lux: Can I get back to you on that?

Dash: yeah

Lux: I wanted to see you again

Lux: I thought you’d want to see me too

Dash: I do, you read me right last night, why are you gonna start disbelieving yourself today?

Lux: You want to see Yara more

Dash: I wanna see her too

Lux: Okay, have fun then

Dash: we cool?

Lux: I don’t know

Dash: idk what's turned you different, you were laying it on me like you got it, how I'm

like royalty & everyone wants a piece of my time

Lux: Oh my Gosh

Lux: I wasn’t being serious and I didn’t think you were

Lux: do you honestly think that, like what?

Dash: It's a touch plastic saying I'm like 👑 but still close to how it is

Lux: Um, you don’t even live here

Lux: you have a whole house and family

Dash: I'm here with my chosen family as much as I can be

Lux: Yeah, but what do you

actually do for this place, or anyone here?

Lux: The audacity to act like it’s your kingdom, that’s laughable and gross all at once

Dash: back off babe, I do whatever they need me to do

Lux: Babe-ing me right now isn’t a good look

Lux: manual labour at best makes you help, not visiting royalty

Lux: are you crazy, like, who do you think you are, seriously I’m so curious

Dash: Who are you? Thinking you can lay this trip on me about what I can & can't do

Lux: I’m not telling you you can or can’t do anything

Lux: I asked you not to call me babe, which is basic politeness

Dash: nah, you're telling me I don't belong to this place

Dash: questioning how I do like

it's up to you

Lux: I said you don’t live here, and you don’t

Lux: and I’ve never seen you contribute, maybe you were super busy before I got here, then I’ll apologize for that

Dash: you're doing a census, yeah? Hold up [everyone currently who doesn't live her like the petty prince he is]

Dash: I've got family here, they all keep me busy

Lux: Cool? Thanks for telling me who else is a tourist ???

Lux: You’re just being defensive, there’s no need if you’re secure in that and your place here

Dash: quit trying to rattle me

Lux: I’m truly not

Lux: but no, we’re not cool now

Dash: I made it known from the top where I live

Lux: Where you live isn’t the issue

Dash: what's your issue? I'm loved & welcomed here, that's all I said

Lux: That’s nice

Lux: I don’t really want to discuss my issue with you, with you, right now, if that’s okay

Dash: later then

Lux: See you around, Dash

Dash: I can't believe you think I'm a flake, this has me totally unglued, you know

Lux: I don’t feel great about it either

Dash: how can I make you feel less bummed out?

Dash: your tour was the most far out I've ever given

Lux: I don’t think you can, it’s done now

Lux: I just need some time to change what I thought this was, or was gonna be, in my head

Lux: but thanks, for offering

Dash: take your time to 👀 what we can be & how you wanna evolve

Lux: Maybe we can be friends later on

Dash: I’d dig it

Lux: I liked talking to you last night

Dash: I felt more connected to you than I usually do

Lux: I don’t think you’re an awful person, FYI

Lux: I just think you could’ve been clearer, and accept that you hurt me without getting way defensive, you know?

Lux: I can accept you didn’t mean to

Dash: I thought I was being clear

Lux: Yeah, I know

Lux: I’m from a very different background and place, it just didn’t translate well, clearly

Dash: yeah

Lux: but I thought I’d put that across well enough that you got that too

Dash: I do get you, but I can’t 180 myself to fit

Lux: No, I’m not asking you to fit my understanding, it’s fine you don’t

Dash: What are you asking?

Lux: Nothing, honestly, I’m trying to explain why I’m upset

Lux: Just like you can’t 180, I can’t change how I see and feel about it immediately, even if some of the ways I were raised are outdated or potentially bad, you know

Lux: You don’t need to do anything

Lux: From my perspective, it felt like a 180 and hurtful to tell me about hooking up with someone else the morning after

Lux: I know how you think and operate is totally different, but that’s it

Dash: but I wanna do something, to help you

Lux: You are nice…

Lux: I don’t know though, what would help?

Dash: I meant what I said last night about showing you this place, making it feel more like a home, how it is for me

Lux: Maybe you could come back and help with the chores

Lux: I shouldn’t have said you NEVER help out, I’ve not been here long enough to make that observation

Dash: maybe it looks like I don’t, cos with family you take liberties sometimes, that kid who’s naughty at home & don’t say shit at school, comfortable to play up

Lux: I have 8 brothers, I understand 😅

Dash: you can have that too, should

Lux: I did, as much as any of us did

Lux: I was a boy, remember

Dash: with 0 limits though, people trying to control & change what you do is for outside of here, I don’t have to think in my dad’s 🟥🟧🟨🟩🟦🟪⬛️⬜️🟫 way or do what my ma reckons is righteous

Lux: Sounds idyllic, Dash

Dash: it is

Lux: You have to understand my experience of people doing exactly what they want means someone is being exploited or abused for that person’s privilege

Lux: my parents had their utopia at the price of the things we wanted, needed

Dash: that’s why you need this new experience

Lux: Okay

Lux: I do want new experiences

Dash: the farm has the magic to grant you whatever you’re here for, no wish is the wrong size

Lux: You really seem to believe it so I will try too 😊

Dash: I’m about to 🛹⚡️ back if you wanna clean the opposite end or hide from me in the 🍏🌳🍎

Lux: That’s cool

Lux: but thanks for the warning 💗

Dash: don’t let how out of this world you look distract me then

Lux: I so don’t so that won’t be an issue 😌

Dash: It's an accident, huh? I feel you, it must be my fault I can’t look away

Lux: You’re way too smooth for your own good

Lux: but I wouldn’t say that’s a fault, necessarily 🤭

Dash: Hey, I didn’t manifest you into being, even if last night did feel like it had to be cosmically devined somehow

Lux: I felt it too

Lux: no one has ever

Lux: not like that anyway

Dash: you’re like a song I can’t get out of my head, I don’t want it to turn sad

Dash: I’m sorry I got you unglued too

Lux: It’s a lot more complicated than just you

Lux: it’s a whole thing

Dash: You’re gonna find people to share how heavy it is

Lux: 🤞

Dash: they’ll carry you through & even if it’s Amber I won’t let it bug me

Lux: I’m sure that’s a misunderstanding

Lux: I could talk to her? Subtly, of course

Dash: yeah, her misunderstanding me, you’ve got your reasons, she’s not new to any of this

Dash: her problem is she thinks she’s the most & everyone else should think she’s choice no matter what

Lux: Do you think she likes your brother?

Dash: no way, unless she’s got a football obsession now too

Lux: 🧲 maybe

Dash: idk

Lux: Me either

Lux: it just seems a bit crazy otherwise

Dash: he’s as uptight as my da, she’s never gonna get nowhere trying to mess around with him, whatever she’s doing it for

Lux: She won’t have any problem finding someone new

Lux: you said he’s older, right?

Dash: not loads, but he’s gonna be done with school in a sec

Lux: I see

Lux: so you’re the 👶

Dash: til my dad’s new lady puts her demands in

Dash: how many sisters you got to go with your 8 bros?

Lux: you don’t like her at all, huh

Lux: and 5, so they had a tough job being outnumbered

Dash: you heard of a WAG? That’s her whole deal

Dash: whoa, so you had a full time secret sewing job

Lux: yes, we lived in England for a while, that’s how I ended up here

Lux: like a Kardashian, I can see you not having a lot to bond over

Lux: exactly 😂

Dash: you gotta teach me, my nan would be jazzed

Lux: I’d love to!

Lux: there’s a surplus of old clothes to practice on

Dash: still a chore, we get to skip cleaning, yeah?

Lux: Mending isn’t as fun as creating but you’ve got to start somewhere so, I think so 😊

Dash: 😁

Dash: we’ll have a blast cos I gotta start somewhere on earning your forgiveness too

Lux: You’re sweet, Dash

Dash: I’m being for real

Lux: I know you are

Lux: I don’t know what to say though because I’m awkward 😳

Dash: it’s a hands on kinda task & you already know what you’re doing with it, it’ll be me feeling 😳

Lux: No flirting, only crafting

Dash: 🧷📏🧵✂️🧶📍✨

Lux: That’s a very impressive emoji selection

Dash: missing 😍💞🥰💓😘💘 but it’s chill

Lux: Idiot 😏

Dash: 💟 is the compromise

Lux: Okay, that’s adorable

Lux: allowed 🤭

Dash: [show up and take her hand to lead her off to sew, we know you weren’t far away bitch]

Lux: [the way you just melt when he shows, oh gal]

Dash: [I’m upset about it]

Lux: [we know you really like him, for better and worse rn]

Dash: [thank god he does actually like you and it’s not a straight up Drew and Ro situation happening]

Lux: [we can only do that ‘cos they both lowkey suck so we aren’t sad lmao]

Dash: [I like this gal too much to be that evil]

Lux: [it’s drama enough without it being entirely one-sided like no lol]

Dash: [I hope some sewing does take place amidst the blatant flirting because learn a useful skill for once in your life dickhead]

Lux: [we aren’t gonna just roll over immediately ‘cos actually did upset us so you will have to]

Dash: [yay]

Lux: [so that’s probably the vibe for today ‘cos yeah we absolutely won’t even though it’s clear we still like you like that too, so you’ll just have to hang out platonically]

Dash: [it’s gotta be the vibe for a while, sucks to suck boy, but obviously hang out until that girl comes to find you because you clearly do also wanna hang out with her platonically it’s not just like that vine where he breaks the skateboard]

Lux: [a quality vine]

Dash: [do we wanna leave this here?]

Lux: [I think we can]